Psych (Section 1)

psychology

scientific study of the mind and behavior

philosophical dualism

the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things; embraced by Descartes

philosophical materialism

the view that all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena (i.e., result of some physical activity in the physical brain)

philosophical realism

the view that our perceptions of the physical world are a faithful copy of information from the world that enters our brains through our sensory apparatus (as referred to by Locke)

philosophical idealism

the view that our perceptions of the physical world are our brain’s best interpretation of the information that enters through our sensory apparatus

philosophical empiricism

the view that all knowledge is acquired through experience

philosophical nativism

the view that some knowledge is innate rather than acquired (argued by Kant, that you’re preprogrammed w/ knowledge about concepts like space, time, causality, and number)

reaction time

the amount of time between the onset of a stimulus and a person’s response to that stimulus

structuralism

an approach to psychology that attempted to isolate and analyze the mind’s basic elements

introspection

the analysis of subjective experience by trained observers (reporting “raw experience” rather than their interpretation of it)

functionalism

an approach to psychology that emphasized the adaptive significance of mental processes (adapted by James Angell)

natural selection

the process by which the specific attributes that promote an organism’s survival and reproduction become more prevalent in the population over time (proposed by Darwin)

hysteria

a loss of function that has no obvious physical origin

unconscious

the part of the mind that contains information of which people are not aware (coined by Freud)

psychoanalytic theory

a general theory that emphasizes the influence of the unconscious on feelings, thoughts, and behaviors (dev. by Freud)

psychoanalysis

a therapy that aims to give people insight into the contents of their unconscious minds; Freud believed was the only way to confront patients

behaviorism

an approach to psychology that restricts scientific inquiry to observable behavior (coined by Watson)

principle of reinforcement

a principle stating that any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated and any behavior that isn’t rewarded won’t be repeated

Gestalt psychology

an approach to psychology that emphasized the way in which the mind creates perceptual experience

developmental psychology

the study of the ways in which psychological phenomena change over the life span

social psychology

the study of the causes and consequences of sociality

cognitive psychology

the study of human information processing

evolutionary psychology

the study of the ways in which the human mind has been shaped by natural selection

cognitive neuroscience

the study of the relationship between the brain and the mind (especially in humans)

behavioral neuroscience

the study of the relationship between the brain and behavior (especially in nonhuman animals)

cultural psychology

the study of how culture influences mental life

empiricism

the conviction that accurate knowledge of the world can be acquired by observing it

scientific method

a procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts

theories

explanations of natural phenomena

hypothesis

a falsifiable prediction made by a theory

empirical method

a set of rules and techniques for observation

operational definition

a description of a property in measurable terms (e.g., happiness = the amount of dopamine in someone’s brain, or happiness = the # of times someone smiles in an hr)

construct validity

a feature of operational definitions whose specified operations are generally considered good indicators of the specified properties (e.g., most of us think the frequency in which a person smiles → appropriate way to operationally define the property of “happiness”); is largely in the eye of the beholder; valid when most beholders agree it’s a property indicator

power

a detector’s ability to detect the presence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property; feature of a good detector

reliability

a detector’s ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property

demand characteristics

those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects (e.g., telling your friend you think they’re smart if they ask you)

naturalistic observation

a technique for gathering information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments; how psychologists avoid demand characteristics

observer bias

the tendency for observers’ expectations to influence both what they believe they observed and what they actually observed

double-blind study

a study in which neither the researcher nor the participant knows how the participants are expected to behave; common way for psychologists to avoid observer bias

population

a complete collection of people (e.g., population of human beings – 8 billion, population of Californians – 38 million)

sample

a partial collection of people drawn from a population

frequency distribution

graphic representation showing the number of times that the measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values.

normal distribution

a mathematically defined distribution in which the frequency of measurements is highest in the middle and decreases symmetrically in both directions

mode

the value of the most frequently observed measurement

mean

the average value of all the measurements

median

the value that is in the middle

range

the value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement

standard deviation

how each of the measurements in a frequency distribution differs from the mean

variable

properties that can have more than one value

correlation

a relationship between variables in which variations in the value of 1 variable are synchronized w/ variations in the value of the other

correlation coefficient (r)

a mathematical measure of both the direction and strength of a correlation

natural correlation

a correlation that is observed in the natural world (can tell us whether 2 variables have relationship, but can’t tell us if they have causal relationship)

third-variable problem

the natural correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them because a third variable might be causing them both

experimentation

a technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables; logic is that if there are 3 possible causes of any correlation, if we eliminate 2 of them, one must be the real one

manipulation

a technique for determining the causal power of a variable by actively changing its value; e.g., changing value of Xbox from on to off; helps eliminate ⅔ possible causes

independent variable

the variable that is manipulated in an experiment

dependent variable

the variable that is measured in an experiment

self-selection

a problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines the value of the independent variable to which the participant was exposed (e.g., letting the kids choose what games they play)

random assignment

procedure that assigns participants to conditions by chance; think coin flip

internal validity

an attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships

external validity

an attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way (operationally define variables in an experiment as they’re defined in the real world)

case method

procedure for gathering scientific info by studying a single individual (e.g., someone who’s especially remarkable)

random sampling

technique for selecting participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample; in doing so, the sample is representative of the population, allowing us to generalize from the sample to the population

replication

an experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population

Type I error

when researchers conclude there’s a causal relationship between 2 variables when in fact there’s not; i.e., false positive

Type II error

when researchers conclude that there is not a causal relationship between two variables when in fact there is; i.e., false negative

informed consent

a verbal agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail

debriefing

a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study (if a participant is deceived in any way before/during a study, they must be provided with a debriefing, and if participant was changed in any way, psychologist must attempt to undo that change)

neurons

cells in the nervous system that communicate with each other to perform information-processing tasks; where all thoughts, feelings, and behavior spring from

cell body (soma)

the largest component of the neuron that coordinates the information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive (e.g., protein synthesis, energy production, metabolism)

dendrite

receive information from other neurons and relay it to the cell body (one of two specialized extensions of cell membrane that allow them to communicate)

axon

carries information to other neurons, muscles, or glands (one of two specialized extensions of cell membrane that allow them to communicate); can be very long

myelin sheath

an insulating layer of fatty material that covers axon, composed of glial cells

glial cells

support cells found in the nervous system; some digest parts of dead neurons, others provide physical and nutritional support for neurons, and others form myelin that insulates the axons of nearby neurons and allows those neurons to carry info more efficiently

synapse

the junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another (the gap); adults have trillions of synapses

sensory neurons

receive information from the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord; receive signals for light, sound, touch, taste, smell; 1 of 3 major types of neurons

motor neurons

carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement; 1 of 3 major types of neurons

interneurons

connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons; most of nervous system is composed of interneurons; work together in small circuits to perform simple and complicated tasks (e.g., identifying location of sensory signal, recognizing familiar face); 1 of 3 major types of neurons

resting potential

the difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron’s cell membrane

action potential

an electric signal that is conducted along the length of a neuron’s axon to a synapse; basis for everything we think/feel/do

refractory period

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated; during period, neuron’s electrical and chemical balance is restored

terminal buttons

knoblike structures that branch out from an axon; each filled w/ vesicles/bags containing neurotransmitters

neurotransmitters

chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron’s dendrites, which contain receptors

receptors

parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and either initiate or prevent a new electric signal

acetylcholine (ACh)

a neurotransmitter involved in a number of functions, including voluntary motor control; found in brain neurons and in synapses; activate muscle movements and helps regulate attention, learning, sleeping, dreaming, memory

dopamine

a neurotransmitter that regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal; plays a role in drug addiction

glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain; enhances transmission of info btwn neurons

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; tends to prevent firing of neurons; too much can cause neurons to become overactive → seizures

norepinephrine

involved in states of vigilance, or heightened awareness of dangers in the environment; influences mood and arousal; low levels → mood disorders

serotonin

involved in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness, eating, and aggressive behavior; influences mood and arousal; low levels → mood disorders

endorphins

chemicals that act within the pain pathways and emotion centers of the brain; release of endorphins in brain → runner’s high

agonists

drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter (activates neurotransmitter by binding to a receptor)

antagonists

drugs that diminish the function of a neurotransmitter (prevents neurotransmitter from acting / lessens its effect)

nervous system

an interacting network of neurons that conveys electrochemical information throughout the body

central nervous system (CNS)

composed of the brain and spinal cord; receives sensory info from external world, processes and coordinates this info, and sends commands to skeletal and muscular systems for action

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

connects the central nervous system to the body’s organs and muscles; composed of somatic nervous system and ANS

somatic nervous system

a set of nerves that conveys information between skeletal muscles and the central nervous system

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

a set of nerves that carries involuntary and automatic commands that control blood vessels, body organs, and glands; two major subdivisions are sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system

a set of nerves that prepares the body for action in challenging or threatening situations (e.g., if walking alone late at night and hear footsteps behind you in dark alley, it dilates pupils to let in more light, increases heart rate and respiration to pump more oxygen to muscles, etc.)

parasympathetic nervous system

helps the body return to a normal resting state (when far away from attacker, body doesn’t remain on red alert, so reverses effects of sympathetic nervous system)