Psych Exam 1

psychology

study of behavior and mental processes

goals of psych

describe, predict, explain, infkuence

nature v. nurture

are people born with or is it because of the environment

wilhelm wundt

founder of structuralism, german physiologist, studied mental reaction times to visual/auditory stimulus

edward b. titchener

student of wundt, structuralist, established psych at cornell, used introspection

introspection

self reflection, observing one’s own mental and emotional processes

problems with introspection

not reliable, one person’s thoughts response would not be the same as someone else’s, could not study complex thoughts, too limited

william james

founder of functionalism, father of psych in US, establish lab at harvard, interested in animal evolution, expanded psych to direct observation

consciousness

stream of mental activity that shifts and changes

freud

psychoanalysis, austrial neurologist, beleived early life experiences shaped who we turn out to be, influenced mental health and therapy practices, unconscious motivations of people

pavlolv, watson, and skinner

behaviorism

rogers and maslow

founders of humanistic psych, focus on the needs of individuals, personal growth, self direction

biological perspective

looking at genetic make up, brain, neurons, hormones, genetics

psychoanalysis

focus on underlying motivations and early experiences shaping adulthood, dreams, sleep, unconscious

behavioral perspective

observable, measurable behavior, learning process, environment shapes behavior

humanistic psych

motivation, self imrpovements, individualism, personality

cognitive perspective

examine behavior through thoughts

evolution perspective

past experiences passed down through ancestors influence culture and behavior

descriptive research

no change, no manipulation, no cause and effect

cross sectional design

different group assessed at the same time

longitudinal design

one group assigned at different points in time

naturalistic observation

observe behaviors naturally

case study

study one person for a long time, for unusual behaviors/conditions

survey

ask series of questions, good for a large population poll

correlational study

compare relationship between variables

experimental research

demonstrate cause and effect by manipulation

human ethics

1) informed consent

2) no deception

3) confidentiality

4) debrief

animal ethics

research must be justified, how will they contribute to society, personnel must be trained, pass through a review board for approval

neuroscience

study of brain, brain function, and nervous system

neuron

basic cells of nervous ystem

parts of neuron

dendrite, cell body, axon, axon terminal

dendrite

receives info

cell body

has nucleus, provides energy, processes info from dendrites

axon

tube that messages are sent through

axon terminal

branches at the end of the axon that sends a message

sensory neuron

senses from skin to brain

motor neurons

messages from muscles to brain

interneurons

communicate with other neurons

glial cells

provide structure and functional support to neurons. make up 50% of brain volume, clean up dead cells and makes up myelin sheath

types of neurons

sensory, moto, and inter

action potential process

1. resting potential, 2. stimulus threshold reach, 3. depolarization, 4. action potential, 5. repolarization, 6.hyperpolarization, 7. refractory period, 8. resting potential

action potential

gathering enough energy to send messages

at resting potential more ____ charged ions are _____ than _____ charged ions on the _______

negative; inside; positive; outside

at the end of action potential, what is sent?

neurotransmitter

myelin sheath

speeds up action potential

messages sent in neurons are either

excitatory or inhibitory

excitatory message

continue sending along (positive)

inhibitory message

stop sending (negative)

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers

norepinephrine

fight or flight, physical arousal

serotonin

happy, sensory, moods, feeling satisfied, sleep

deficiencies in of serotonin cause

parkinsons

dopamine

“reward drug” love

deficient in aceytolcoline result in

alzheimers

aceytolcoline

learning, memory, mind and motor

glutamate

memory, sends excitatory messages

extra glutamate results in

seizures

GABA

calm down, relax, sends inhibitory messages

endorphines

adrenaline, released in response to stress and pain

nervous system

made up us CNS and PNS, trillions of nerves bundled together everywhere to communicate

Central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

everywhere, made up of somatic and autonomic

somatic

voulntary movements, motor nerves send messages to CNS to go to muscles

autonomic

involuntary movements, heard, breath, digestion. makes sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system

emergency system, prepares you to face a threat

examples of SNS in effect

pupils dialate, hunger stops, lungs expand

parasympathetic nervous system

cool down, return back to normal

examples of PNS in action

hunger returns, lungs go back to normal, digestion continues

when does the sympathetic nervous system activate

physical stress, psychological stress, falling in love

endocrine system

glands that secrete hormones into blood. lasts longer than nervous system

hormones

messangers send from glands to blood to bring the body to rest

pineal glads

sleep

hypothalamus

“master swithc board” controls pituitary

pituitary gland

“master gland” produces growth hormone, controls release of other glands

thyroid

metabolism

ovaries and testies

sexual developmental

adrenal glands

produce epinephrine and norepinephrine

pancreas

regulate blood sugar, insulin, hunger

neuroplasticity

brains ability to adapt

neurogenisis

making new neuronsf

functional plasticity

area w specific function dies, function goes somewhere else in brain

structural plasticity

changing physical structure of brain

regions of the brain

hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain

hindbrain

basic life functions; pons, medulla, cerebellum

midbrain

auditory and visual processing

forebrain

limbic system, cerebral context, advanced cognitive function

cerebellum

HB, balance, coordination, equilibrium, behind pons

pons

HB, connects 2 sides of medulla, coordinates movements with both sides

medulla

HB, breathing, heart beat, etc

limbic system

FB, high level cognitive function, under cerebral cortex. made up of hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus

hypothalamus

four f’s. food, fear, fight, fornification

thalamus

process sensory information except smell

amygdala

bad emotions, fear, anger, disgust, almond shape, emotional memory stored

hippocampus

memory forming

cerebral cortex

FB; the folds/outer portion

occipital lobe

vision

parietal lobe

pain and perception

temporal lobe

auditory

frontal lobe

thinking, planning, emotional control, voluntary muscles

prefrontal lobe

personality, high level cognitive function