PSYCH 100 UIUC Exam #1

What are the two modes of thinking & their descriptions?

1. Intuitive - instant, unconscious, automatic, and emotional thinking.

2. Analytical - slow, rational, conscious, reflective, reasoning, and deliberate thinking.

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.

Nautralistic Observation

Looking at a population in their natural habitat. (useful for people who can't follow instructions in an experiment; animals, infants & people with a disability.

HIGH external validity

LOW internal validity

External Validity

Generalizability of the results to the real world.

Internal Validity

Extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a study.

Case Study

Watching one person, who usually has something unusual about them, and recording what they do different.

LOW external validity

Surveys & Self-report

Use of questionnaires to assess characteristics such as personality traits, mental illness, interests, motivations, opinions, and attitudes.

Important Terms:

1. Random Selection

2. Reliability

3. Validity

Random Selection

A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

Important Terms:

1. Test-retest

2. Inter-rater

Test-retest

A method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions.

Inter-rater

If the criteria set forward is reliable, different judges or readers should give a very similar score.

(e.g., A gymnast judge should give a similar score in comparison to another judge)

Validity

The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

(e.g., A test regarding depression with questions about anxiety on it --> invalid)

Can an invalid test be reliable?

Yes, a test may be reliable without being valid, but a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable

Reliability vs. Validity

Consistency vs Accuracy.

Correlational Design

Research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated.

B could cause A; A could cause B; there could be a third variable, C, which causes A & B.

Is correlation causation?

No.

What is the one method we can use to infer cause and effect?

Experiments, we are actively manipulating something so we can infer that any difference in the groups is caused by the change that we initiated.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

Random Assignment vs. Random Selection

Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by random assignment vs. selecting people to participate in a study from a larger population.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested

Control Group

The group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Independent Variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependent Variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Confounding Variables

Factors that cause differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the independent variable.

Placebo Effect

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

Nocebo Effect

Harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm.

(e.g., voodoo doll phenomenon)

Experimenter Expectancy Effect

Phenomenon in which researchers' hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study. To prevent this, experimenters use double blind studies.

Demand Characteristics

Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects.

Ethics

The principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions.

Descriptive Statistics

Central Tendency: mean, median, mode.

Spread: range, standard deviation.

Mean

Average.

Median

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean.

Neurons

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Axon

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Cell Body

Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm

Axon Terminal

The endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored.

Synpase

Gap between neurons.

Glial Cells

Cells that make up the myelin sheath, hold the nerve cells in place, get rid of waste & nourish the brain.

Action Potentials

Electrical messages sent by axons

Absolute Refractory Period

The minimum length of time after an action potential during which another action potential cannot begin.

Neurotransmission

The process of transferring information from one neuron to another at a synapse.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons.

Neural Plasticity

The ability of the brain to change in response to experience.

Synaptogenesis

The process by which neurons form synapses with other neurons, resulting in trillions of connections when you learn something new.

Pruning

The process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die.

Myelination

The process by which axons become coated with myelin, a fatty substance that speeds the transmission of nerve impulses from neuron to neuron.

(e.g., myelin sheath)

Central Nervous System

Brain & spinal cord.

Brain Lobes

Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal.

Frontal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement.

Important Terms:

1. Motor Cortex

2. Prefrontal Cortex

3. Broca's Area

Motor cortex

Located in the frontal lobe & controls voluntary movements.

Prefrontal Cortex

Part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language.

Broca's Area

Located in the frontal lobe & controls speech production.

Parietal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch, and spatial awareness.

Important Terms:

1. Somatosensory Cortex

Somatosensory Cortex

Located in the parietal lobe & registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.

Temporal Lobe

An area on each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex near the temples that is the primary receiving area for auditory information.

Important Terms:

1. Primary Auditory Cortex

2. Wernicke's Area

Primary Auditory Cortex

The region of the superior temporal lobe whose primary input is from the auditory system.

Wernicke's Area

Located in the temporal lobe & is involved in speech comprehension.

Occipital Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information.

Important Terms:

1. Primary Visual Cortex

Primary Visual Cortex

The region of the posterior occipital lobe whose primary input is from the visual system.

Basal Ganglia

A set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements.

(e.g., reflex)

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Hypothalamus

Feeding behaviors, fight, flight, sexual behaviors.

Works closely with the endocrine system.

Amygdala

Fear & aggression.

Hippocampus

Memory.

Cerebellum

Balance & coordination.

Brain Stem

Connects the brain and spinal cord; midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata, reticular formation.

Pons

Sleep & arousal.

Medulla oblongata

Heartbeat & breathing.

Midbrain

A small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward.

Reticular Formation

Controls alertness & arousal.

Peripheral Nervous System

A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord.

Important Terms:

1. Somatic Nervous Sytsem

2. Autonomic Nervous System

Somatic Nervous Sytem

Controls the body's skeletal muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs.

(e.g., heart beat)

Important Terms:

1. Sympathetic

2. Parasympathetic

Sympathetic Nervous System

Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations. The "fight".

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest & digest. The "flight".

Endocrine System

The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

Important Terms:

1. Pituitary Gland

2. Adrenal Gland

3. Sex Hormones

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Adrenal Glands

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

Sex Hormones

Hormones that regulate the development and functioning of reproductive organs and that stimulate the development of male and female sexual characteristics.

Brain Mapping

A set of neuroscience techniques used to create a map of the various brain areas and their functions.

Important Terms:

1. Phrenology

2. Neuropsychology

3. EEG

4. fMRI

5. PET

6. TMS

Phrenology

The detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.

Neuropsychology

The study of the behavioral effects of brain damage in humans.

EEG

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Best temporal resolution

Bad spatial resolution

fMRI

A form of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain that registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain.

Bad temporal resolution

(the time it takes for the oxygen to get to the

brain is the bad temporal resolution)

Good spatial resolution

PET

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.

Bad temporal resolution

Good spatial resolution

TMS

The use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions.

Start to make cause and effect inferences.

Lateralization of function

Degree to which a particular function, such as the understanding of speech, is controlled by one rather than both cerebral hemispheres.

(e.g., split-brain patients)

Nature vs. Nuture

Related to whether heredity or the environment most impacts human psychological development.

Behavioral Genetics

The study of the effects of heredity on behavior.

Important Terms:

1. Family Studies

2. Twin Studies

3. Adoption Studies

Family Studies

Researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see how much they resemble one another on a specific trait.

Twin Studies

A common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects behavior.

Adoption Studies

Assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

(e.g., as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner)

Sensitization

An increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus.

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events.

UCS

Unconditioned stimuli; stimuli that automatically triggers a response.