psych 1100 (lundquist) exam 1, Psychology Exam 1 LUNDQUIST

four definitions of psychology

1. science of mind and behavior

2. science of experimental epistemology

3. science of knowing and experiencing

4. science of things that move around on their own

1879- wilhelm wundt in Leipzig, Germany

found the first laboratory dedicated to psychology , separating psychology from philosophy for the first time

1913- john broadus watson

declares that to be a science, pyschology must only study the observable and thus must be a science of behavior, rather than of mind; this inaugurates roughly 6 decades of dominance of American psych by behaviorism

What happened in 1967?

(an arbitrary date for the beginning of Cognitive Psychology:) Ulric Neisser publishes his textbook called Cognitive Psychology, outlining the areas of study (e.g., attention, memory, perception, language) that had begun yielding to investigation in the decade previous and presenting a consensus view of the new field that solidified its popularity and led to its rapid ascendance.

1913

John Broadus Watson

What was Watson's goal?

To eliminate the study of the mind in psychology and replace it with the study of observable behavior.

1967- ultric neisser

arbitrary date for the beginning of cognitive psychology; he publishes his testbook called Cognitive Psychology- outlining the areas of study that had begun yielding to investigation in the decasde previous and pressenting a consensus view of the new field that solidified its popularity and led to its rapid ascendance

What are the 4 parts of classical conditioning?

- US (unconditioned stimulus - e.g., food in mouth):

input to a reflex

- UR (unconditioned response - e.g., salivation to food):

output of reflex

- CS (conditioned stimulus - e.g., bell): initially results

in investigatory response, then habituation;

after conditioning, results in CR

- CR (conditioned response): response to CS;

measure amplitude, probability, latency PAVLOV

1967

ultric neisser

Who introduced operant conditioning and what is it?

B.F. Skinner introduced operant conditioning which is when behavior is strengthened by presentation of positive reinforcers

what is the origin of knowledge?

(rationalism/nativism answer)

everyone is born with innate ideas; experience provides occasion for knowing

what is the origin of knowledge? (empiricism/associationism answer)

everyone is born as a clean slate (tabula rasa); experience is source of knowledge

What was Skinner's argument in the book Verbal Behavior?

Children learn language from operant conditioning. They imitate and are reinforced with a reward.

how is knowledge arrived at? (rationalist answer)

people learn by operation of mind- manipulation of concepts and ideas

What was Chomsky's critique of Skinner's book?

Chomsky says that children say a lot of things that their parents have never said and have never reinforced. Chomsky says there is an inborn biological program that holds across cultures helps with language development.

how is knowledge arrived at?

(associatist answer)

people learn by connecting experiences in the world

What is the Psychology as "the science of knowing and experiencing?"

knowing = more than just storing information like a computer

- animals know how to behave so as to meet goals

experiencing = more than just registering light wavelengths like a computer

- see blue, hear note played on clarinet, taste salt

different from knowledge or information: describe blue to a blind person, describe taste of salt without the word "salty"

source of all motivation

psych as the science of knowing and experiencing (definitions of both)

knowing- more than just storing info like a computer

experiencing- more than just registering light wavelengths like a computer

- you can see blue

What is the Mind-Body problem?

dualism - universe is made of two interacting substances: physical matter (including body) and non-physical immaterial stuff (like soul / mind / thought) - from Descartes around 1640 / early scientific revolution

- how they can interact, no one knows (Descartes: happens in pineal gland)

why are knowing and experiencing natural phenomena?

not covered by any other science, can't be applied fully to anything not living

dualism

universe is made of 2 interacting substances: physical matter (body) and non-physical immaterial stuff (soul, mind, thought)

What did Descartes believe about animals?

He believed that animals just knew how to do things, but they didn't experience. They are like a machine. This led to a lot of animal testing and abuse.

dualism trick

dual- composed of 2- mind and body

What is the materialistic position?

The materialist position that the mind is the product of neural activity is an assertion made plausible by lack of alternatives, and the computer metaphor is used to try to make sense of how neural activity could give rise to knowing and experiencing.

Scientific materialism -> Neural assumption -> Computer metaphor

materialism

universe is made of one kind of substance- physical matter (which must include mind - if mind is real)

What is psychology as "the science of things that move on their own'?

Science since origins in philosophy has dealt with matter and motion

-Ancient Greek philosophy c. 600 BCE:

matter: Thales's concept of matter, later Democritus and atoms c. 400 BCE

motion: naturalistic (non-supernatural) account of motion and change culminating in Aristotle's physics c. 350 BCE

-Scientific Revolution 1600s and after - all nature viewed as matter in motion

matter: Dalton's atomic theory 1803, Einstein's confirmation of atoms 1905

motion: Newton's mechanics uses differential equations for change over time, Einstein's relativity 1915 combines space and time into one fabric

scientific materialism

all that exists is matter in motion

- includes physical variables like mass, length, velocity, etc

- excludes all psychological variables such as color, sound, taste, knowing, and experiencing

> animals must interpret reality and assign meaning

Things that move around on their own eventually produce all of psychology:

-have goals or "motivation" (movement is not random)

-detect / recognize / know when goals are met or not met (knowledge)

-know their environment so as to move through it (perception)

-change behavior based on experience (learning)

-useful to preserve a record of their encounters with the world or to be changed by it (memory)

and so on...

psychology as the science of things that move around on their own

- things that move on their own are things that behave and therefore eventually produce all psychology (knowledge, perception, learning, etc.)

- psych applies to humans not

What is the experiment described in class involving the amygdala and hippocampus?

Someone whose amygdala was damaged would not be scared of the horn when the color blue was shown, but would remember it. Someone whose hippocampus was damaged would be scared by the horn but not remember what color is is associated with.

US: the loud noise

UR: the Galvanic skin response (fear), automatically elicited by the loud noise without any conditioning

CS: the blue slide (but not the other colors), which was followed by the loud noise

CR: the Galvanic skin response (fear), eventually produced when the blue slide is shown

frontal lobe

serves as the brain's executive center- the CEO of the mind

What is Phrenology and what were its claims?

Franz Joseph Gall tried to identify different regions of the brain.

-Brain carries out functions of the mind

-Mind consists of a number of different abilities, brain corresponded to all of these different abilities

-When somebody has an excess of one of these traits, it is because the part of the brain is physically larger

-There are bumps in the brain and you can feel them through the skull because the skull fits onto the brain exactly

damage to the frontal lobe

- severe personality changes

- unpredictable and wild behavior

- inappropriate behavior in social settings

What did Franz Joseph Gall discover?

1) cortex as functioning tissue, not just protective covering ("cortex" is literally "bark" or "skin")

2) commissures (or connecting pathways) between brain hemispheres, other than the already known corpus callosum

3) crossing of ascending nerve pathways from spinal cord to contralateral hemispheres of the brain

4) distribution of and distinction between grey matter and white matter tracts (where grey matter was recognized in the 20th century as mostly neuron cell bodies doing information processing, and white matter as mostly myelinated axons sending signals over longer distances)

parietal lobe

weaves together sensory info to create your sense of spatial layout

What is a reflex?

Automatic, stereotype movement produced as the direct result of a stimulus

temporal lobe

interprets sound, including speech

How many neurons do we have?

10 billion to a trillion

What is the resting potential?

inside of cell is 70 mV more negative than outside due to Cl- ions inside and Na+ ions outside (so RESTING POTENTIAL is -70 mV).

damage to temporal lobe

drastically alters language and memory abilities

occipital lobe

interpret visual information arriving from your eyes

What happens when there is a stimulation of a neuron at resting potential?

Stimulation of neuron lets in Na+ ions, which makes the inside more positive: -70,-69,-68,-67...

Stimulation of a neuron can be like seeing light and stimulating the neurons in your eyes

damage to occipital lobe

visual deficits

What happens when enough Na+ ions come in to make it -55mV?

When enough Na+ ions get in for the potential to be reduced to -55 mV, suddenly the doors (ion gates) to the cell membrane are flung open allowing Na+ to rush in

So much Na+ enters that the potential doesn't just go to 0 -- it shoots all the way up to +40 mV, so the inside is now positive relative to the outside (the ACTION POTENTIAL)

neuroscience

a multidisciplinary effort that seeks to understand the nature, function, and origins of the nervous system

What happens when a neuron reaches action potential (40+)?

Ion pumps work to reduce potential back to -70 mV by pushing positive ions out (actually K+ because Na+ goes out slower; then ANOTHER pump takes Na+ back out and puts K+ back in)

neuron

the individual cells that act as the main information processors of the nervous system

What is the threshold?

-55 mV is a threshold: below that voltage there is no action potential - firing is "all or none"

part of a neuron

dendrites

cell body

axon (and axon terminal)

What happens when there is a very intense stimulation?

More intense stimulation doesn't cause a more intense action potential -- just more frequent ones (up to 1,000/sec!), and in more neurons

dendrites

input side of the neuron, receives signals from many other neurons

What does the action potential do as it travels down an axon?

Action potential travels down length of axon by depolarizing neighboring areas

Travels NOT at speed of electrical current in wire, but rather at about 50 to 100 m/sec

cell body

contains the neuron's nucleus and all the elements needed for the normal metabolic activities of these cells

How did Hermann Helmholtz measure how fast a signal travels down nerves?

Hermann Helmholtz measured how long an electrical signal travels down nerves by shocking a frog and waiting for the leg to kick

axon

output side of the neuron; sends neural impulses to other neurons

How does one neuron fire/communicate to the next? Talk about the parts of the neuron

-Synapse is gap between two neurons (the presynaptic and the postsynaptic neurons); terminal endings of presynaptic neuron relay

impulse to dendrites of postsynaptic neuron

-Terminal buttons contain little sacs (vesicles) of chemicals (neurotransmitters); at action potential, vesicles burst and release neurotransmitters into synapse

-Receptor molecules on membrane of dendrite are like little locks to be opened: neurotransmitters are the keys, and this is what opens ion gates to allow Na+ inside in the first place

motor neurons

transmit neural impulses from brain to muscles

*carries an efferent signal that allows the brain to control the muscles

What can be done to help people with depression?

people with depression can be given drugs to block the re-uptake so that the serotonin will stay in the synapse.

efferent neurons

nerves that carry messages outward from the CNS

What is the difference between the excitatory state and the inhibitory state?

-Neurotransmitters may open a gate to let Na+ inside: excitatory (more likely to fire) because potential is getting smaller, toward -55

-Or they may open a gate that pushes positive K+ ions out: inhibitory (less likely to fire) because potential is getting larger (-70, -71, -72...)

afferent neurons

nerves that carry messages towards the CNS

What did Sherrington do?

Sherrington cut spinal cord from brain on a dog to see if you scratch the dog's stomach and it's legs still kicked. Temporal summation is when you put the stimulus on the dog multiple times to get a response. Spatial summation is when you apply the stimulus in 3 different spots to get a response. (The stimulus is scratching the dog)

interneurons

neurons that are neither afferent nor efferent; carry info from one neuron to another

What did Sherrington conclude about the central excitatory state?

Sherrington concluded that there was not an unbroken pathway from stimulus to response, instead there was some collection station (central excitatory state) where the stimulus can pile up in between the chest and leg of the dog. The stimulus collects in the central excitatory state until there is enough stimulation to go down the final common path and make the dog kick.

most neurons are not afferent or efferent; they make connections within the CNS and fall into 2 groups:

projection neurons: link one area of the CNS to another distant area (typically long axons)

interneurons- make local connections with the nervous system (usually have short axons or none at all)

What did James Gibson claim?

Psychology is locomotion, requires perception or knowledge of the environment and control and coordination for meeting goals

glia

other type of cells that make up the brain

What is a neuron?

Individual cells that act as the main information processors of the nervous system

What are the dendrites?

The "input" side of the neuron, receive signals from many other neurons.

functions of glia

- provide nourishment for neurons

- control nutrient supply

- play a role in brain development

- increase the speed of neuronal communication

myelin

fatty substances that make up glia

What is the cell body?

The cell body contains the neuron's nucleus and all the elements needed for the normal and metabolic activities of these cells.

why do we see gray and white areas in brain x-rays?

the white area is myelinated axons traveling long distances

grey area consists of cell bodies, dendrites, and the unmyelinated axons

What is the axon?

The "output" side of the neuron and sends neural impulses to other neurons.

action potential

neuron's main response to input as well as the fundamental information carrier of the nervous system that involves electrical charge

action potentials are measuring..

voltage difference between inside and outside of the axon

resting potential

-70 millivolts

- voltage difference when axon is not being stimulated

excitable threshold

-55 millivolts (for mammals)

- needed to excite axon

What is the myelin?

A fatty substance that makes up some types of glial cells; these cells wrap around the axon of some neurons, providing an insulating "myelin sheath". nodes of ranvier make the electricity go faster.

what happens if excitable threshold is met?

voltage difference will drop to zero and start to increase until reach +40 millivolts- then will return back to -70 millivolts

What are the terminal buttons?

The somewhat enlarged, often club-shaped endings by which axons make synaptic contacts with other nerve cells or with effector cells (muscle or gland cells). Axon terminals contain neurotransmitters of various kinds, sometimes more than one. Contain "vesicles" containing neurotransmitters; released at action potential

what is the cause for the action potentials (changes in voltage)?

the concentration of different ions inside and outside the membrane

What are the parts of the nervous system and their nicknames?

Central- "center"

Peripheral- "outside of center"

Somatic- "body" (part of peripheral)

Autonomic- "self rule" (part of peripheral)

Sympathetic- "excited states" arousal FIGHT OR FLIGHT (ANS)

Parasympathetic- "vegetative, calm states" Non emergency functions like eating FEED AND

BREED or REST AND DIGEST -- hypothalamus controls this (ANS)

what governs concenration inside/outside the cell membranes?

ion pumps- actively pumping ions into and out of the cell

What is the central nervous system?

The brain and spinal cord

ratio of Na+ to K+ moving within membrane

3 Na+ out for every 2K+ in

What is the peripheral nervous system?

All of the nerves that connect to CNS by the spinal cord.

resting potentials (represented as ion concentrations)

while at rest, K+ are the only ions allowed to move into the cell (Na+ can't), this leads to a surplus of K+, K+ flow outward toward the extracellular fluid (taking away positive charge), resulting in a very negative voltage inside the cell

What is the somatic nervous system?

All of the (efferent) nerves that control the skeletal muscles as well as the (afferent) nerves that carry information from the sense organs to the CNS

what happens to ions when the neuron is stimulated?

Na+ ion channels open allowing Na+ into the cell, causing an overflow of positive charge

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Includes all the (efferent) nerves that regulate the various glands in the body as well as those that regulate the "smooth" muscles of the internal organs and blood vessels

what happens when a neuron's membrane is disturbed?

it is briefly depolarized- it loses the electrical charge that normally exists across the membrane

What is the sympathetic branch?

Tends to "rev up" bodily activities in preparation for vigorous action

propogation of the action potential

depolarization occurs at one location, but spreads because it leads to the opening of another nearby channel, causing Na+ to rush into that location

acts as a domino effect

What is the parasympathetic branch?

Restores body's internal activities to normal after the action has been completed

What are the parts of the hindbrain?

-Medulla

-Pons

-Cerebellum

what prevents the propogation from going on forever?

the refractory period

explain the refractory period

area of the membrane that was just depolarized is unresponsive when the area next to it is depolarized- makes sure the action potential propagates in one direction

What is the function of the medulla?

breathing, heartbeat, blood circulation

what helps to increase the speed of propagation and how?

myelin sheaths

prevents flow of ions in or our> this ensures that action potentials only happen at the nodes