AP Psych Semester 1 Study Guide

John Watson

Behaviorism, Little Albert, Classical Conditioning

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Psych, Structuralism, Introspection

Ivan Pavlov

classical conditioning; Dogs Salivating

Edward Titchener

Structuralism, brought Wundt’s Ideas to the U.S.

William James

Functionalism, Wrote 1st modern Psych Textbook; we have social instincts such as love and sympathy

Sigmund Freud

Unconscious Mind, Psychodynamic

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt

Psychiatrist

person who specializes in the study, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, is a medical doctor. give referrals for medications

Psychologist

seek to observe, describe, explain, predict and modify behavior and mental processes. Explaining behavior. observe and describe behavior and mental processes to better understand them.

Social Worker

helps individuals, families, groups or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning or creating societal conditions favorable to that goal.

Naturalistic Observation

​​Careful observations of animals or people in their natural environment

Observer Bias

The tendency to see what we expect to see, or what we want to see. Causes researchers to influence the participants of an experiment

Case Study

An observation technique that uses interviews, observation, or records to gain an in-depth understanding of a single person, group, or phenomenon

Correlation Coefficients

The direction of the relationship between variable and its strength, helps us figure how closely two things vary together, and thus how well either one predicts the other

Experimenter Bias

experimenters allow their expectations to affect their interpretation of observations

Confirmation Bias

attention to information that confirms our beliefs/expectations, ignoring information that contradicts them

Experimental Group

Group that is exposed to the independent variable, receives the experimental manipulation

Control Group

No treatment or some kind of treatment with no effect, used to control for the possibility that other factors might be causing the effect that is being examined

Independent Variable

The factor that the experimenter controls and manipulates

Dependent Variable

The variable that is being measured or tested in an experiment

Confounding Variable

Variable that the experimenter did not account for initially that affected the dependent variable

Placebo Effect

​​A real response, positive or negative, to an action or substance based solely on expectations

Random Selection

Process in which subjects are selected randomly from a large group such that every group member has an equal chance of being selected.

Representative Sample

A group that closely matches the characteristics of its population as a whole

Ethical Guidelines

informed consent, debriefing, protection, deception, confidentiality, withdrawal

Mean

Average of all the scores in the distribution. Most commonly used measure of central tendency, although accuracy can be distorted by extreme scores.

Median

Central score of the distribution.

Mode

Score that appears most frequently.

Nervous System

Body’s communication network that consists of all nerve cells, the “Body’s Electrical Wiring”. Allows organisms to sense, organize, and react to information in the environment

dendrite

Part of neuron, branch-like extensions that receives electrical messages from other cells

soma (cell body)

The cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell, contains nucleus

axon

Fiber that extends from the cell body to the terminal endings, its job is to carry messages out to other cells

myelin sheath

Layer of fatty substance produced by certain glial cells, wraps around the axon to protect the nerve fiber from damage, insulating sheath, speeds up the neural message

terminal branches (buttons)

Tips at the end of the axon, send signal to other neurons

Synapse (synaptic gap)

Meeting point between neurons.

Synaptic Vesicles

store various neurotransmitters (chemicals) that are released at the synapse.

How big is the Synaptic Cleft or Gap?

Less than a millionth of an inch wide

Receptor Sites

Receive signals

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals used to send a signal across the synaptic gap

Threshold, Resting Potential

The neuron become more positive causing the axon’s next channel to open, and then the next, like dominoes falling

All-or-None response

When a neuron fires it is at full strength or not at all, strength of action potential is constant

Agonist

mimic effect or block neurotransmitter reuptake

Antagonist

block a neurotransmitter’s functioning

Central Nervous System

Coordinates the actions and interactions of the brain & spinal cord, body’s main control center

Peripheral Nervous System

Includes the sensory nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the CNS to the rest of the body. Process changes in internal and external stimuli and communicate that information to the CNS

Somatic Nervous System

Includes the nerves that transmit signals from your brain to the skeletal muscles to allow voluntary movement

Autonomic Nervous System

Regulates involuntary and unconscious actions

Sympathetic Nervous Systems

Emergency response system, If something alarms, enrages, or challenges you. “Fight, Flight or Freeze”

Parasympathetic Nervous Systems

Functions to calm the person. “Rest & Digest”

Endocrine System

Sends signals by passing hormones through the bloodstream. These hormones are secreted (produced/passed on) from a number of different parts of the/ the brain

Pituitary Gland

Pea-sized structure located in the core of the brain, where it is controlled by an adjacent brain area, the hypothalamus. Regulates stress, growth and reproduction, including some parts of pregnancy and childbirth. Secretions also influence the release of hormones by other endocrine glands

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder in which a person falls immediately into REM sleep during the day without warning

Sleep Deprivation

The condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute

PET Scan

Inject Radioactive Glucose into Brain, see where it burns most

EEG

Oldest (1950’s)-Detects electrical activity directly under electrodes

MRI

Magnets and Radio Waves, SOFT TISSUE DETAILS!!!

Lesioning

Tissue destruction; a brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.

Medulla

Located at the top of the spinal cord (transition zone), controls life sustaining functions

Pons

The larger swelling above the medulla that connects the top of the brain to the bottom, the bridge between cerebral hemispheres and both medulla & cerebellum. Role in several autonomic functions such as stimulating breathing and controlling sleep cycles

Reticular Formation

Network of nerves that carry messages between parts of the brain stem

Thalamus

All sensory information passes through the thalamus it is considered the sensory “relay station” of the brain, passing information on to the cerebral cortex

Amygdala

Primarily involved in processing emotion and survival responses. Becomes active during potentially threatening situations (coordinates fight-or-flight response). Influences aggression and fear

Hypothalamus

Regulates body temperature, thirst, hunger, sleeping, walking, sexual activity and emotions, link between the brain and glandular system. Responsible for motivational behavior

Corpus Callosum

Bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres, messages move from one side of the brain to the other

Left Hemisphere

Specializes in language, speech, handwriting, calculation, sense of time and rhythm, and basically any kind of thought requiring analysis. Controls right side of body

Right Hemisphere

Appears to specialize in more widespread processing involving perception, visualization, spatial perception, recognition of patterns, faces, emotions, melodies, and expression of emotion

How information is transmitted from our visual fields

Visual information is translated by the rods and cones, is transmitted to the bipolar cells and on to the ganglion cells which bundle together and leaves the eye via the optic nerve. Information from each visual field is sent to the opposite side of the brain at the optic chiasm.

Brain Plasticity

The ability to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in the brain in response to experience and even trauma

Frontal Lobe

Areas of the cortex located in the front and top of the brain, responsible for higher mental functions, interpret & control emotional behaviors, make decisions, carry out plans

Temporal Lobe

Areas of the cortex located just behind the temples containing the neurons responsible for the sense of hearing and meaningful speech

Parietal Lobe

Sections of the brain located at the top and back of each cerebral hemisphere containing the centers for processing sensory signals such as touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

Occipital Lobe

Section of the brain located at the rear and bottom of each cerebral hemisphere containing the visual centers of the brain. Information from left half of visual field of both eyes processed in right occipital lobe, right processed in left occipital lobe

Broca’s Area

Controls production of speech

Wernicke’s Area

Role in understanding language and making meaningful sentences

Bottom-Up Processing

Involves starting with an incoming stimulus and working upwards until a representation of the object is formed in our minds. Begins at entry level with what our senses can detect. Requires no previous knowledge or learning

Top-Down Processing

Form our perceptions starting with a larger object, concept, or idea before working our way toward more detailed information. Influenced by expectations, existing beliefs, and understanding. Big Picture → Tiny Details

Weber’s Law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount). Bigger stimuli require larger differences to be noticed

Transduction

The transformation of stimulus energy to electrochemical energy of neural impulses (except smell)

Subliminal Stimuli

When stimuli are below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Sensory Adaptation

Reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it

Perceptual Set

Predisposition to perceive things in a certain way

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to focus on a particular sound while partial filtering out other sounds

Selective Attention

We center our attention on certain important elements of our environment while other things blend into the background or pass us by completely unnoticed

Nerve Hearing Loss

caused by damage to the cochlea's cells or damage to the auditory nerve

Cochlear Implants

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Gestalt Principles

the different ways individuals group stimuli together in order to make a whole that makes sense to them.

Proximity

when an individual perceives several objects that are close together as belonging together

Closure

there is an innate tendency to perceive incomplete objects as complete and to close or fill gaps and to perceive asymmetric stimuli as symmetric.

Similarity

parts of a stimulus field that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as belonging together as a unit.

Continuity

our brains tend to see objects as continuous or smooth rather than disjointed or discontinuous

Figure and Ground

Tendency of the visual system to simplify a scene into the main object that we are looking at (the figure) and everything else that forms the background (or ground)

After Images

Describes the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

Cones

Light-detecting cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions, directly involved in our ability to perceive color

Rods

Specialized photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions, involved in our vision in dimly lit environments as well as in our perception of movement on the periphery of our visual field

Blind Spot

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

Relative Size

Perception of size is altered by the relative sizes of other objects around us

Linear Perspective

​​Depth cue that makes parallel lines appear to converge at a vanishing point on the horizon

Interposition Effect

Partial blocking of one object by another object, perspective that the blocking object is closer

Phi Phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Volley Principle/Theory

an information encoding scheme used in human hearing. Nerve cells transmit information by generating brief electrical pulses called action potentials.