Exam #1 Psychology

Exam #1 Psychology

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes

The 2 Steps of the Inductive Method

1) Theory, 2) Research

The Characteristics of Scientific Research

It is Empirical, Quantitative, Predictive, Replicable

Psychophysics

Gustav Fechner, Study the subjective experience of physical senses

Analytic Introspectionism

Wilhelm Wundt, All conscious experience is comprised of combinations of mental elements

Structuralism

Edward B. Titchner, He took Wundt's study and brought it to America where its results were not replicable

Functionalism

William James, What is interesting is not the contents but the purpose of mental processes to help adapt to the environment, Evolution

Behaviorism (1913)

John B. Watson, Psychology should be a purely objective experimental branch of natural science

Behaviorism (1938)

B. F. Skinner, Thinking and feeling is "convert" behavior and not the cause of behavior, Behavior is shaped by its consequences

Gestalt Psychology 1

Wolfgang Kohler, Learning involves mental processes

Gestalt Psychology 2

Max Wetheimer and Kurt Koffka, Our minds interpret and organize our experience of environmental events in predictable ways

Cognitive Psychology

Mental processes must be studied to understand human behavior and experience

Biological Psychology

To understand behavior and mental processes requires scientific research on the physical structures and bodily events that cause them such as the Endocrine System and Nervous System

Neuroscience

The study of the structure and function of the brain and the rest of the nervous system

Evolutionary Psychology

Charles Darwin, Individuals best adapted to their environment survive to reproduce

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud, Behavior is caused by connections between unconscious thoughts, feelings, and wishes

Hysteria

A physical symptom that is not caused by physical causes

Humanistic Psychology

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, Human beings are unique, compared to psychoanalysis. They have a tendency to grow and develop higher goals

Positive Psychology

Martin Seligman, Scientific study of strength's and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive because psychology has tended to focus on negative experiences

5 Steps of the Scientific Method

1) Hypothesis, 2) Test, 3) Gather Data, 4) Analysis of Results, 5) Publish Results

Hypothesis

A testable description of a relationship between events

Case Studies

Observe and describe the effects of the phenomenon of interest on a single person

Data

Is information gathered under controlled conditions and used to test a hypothesis

Population

The entire group used to generalize findings

Sample

Part of a population that is studied to reach a conclusion on the entire population

Experimental Research

Systematically varies an aspect of the situation, control all others, and observe the effects to establish a cause and effect relationship

Variable

A characteristic that varies

Independent Variable

The variable that the researcher manipulates

Dependent Variable

The variable that can not be manipulated

Analyzing the Results

Based on Statistical analyses of results, the hypothesis is accepted or rejected

Publishing Results

Peer Review, Replication

Brain Size 4 Million Years Ago

450-650cc

Chromosomes

Tightly coiled structures of DNA and Protein

Backbone of DNA

Sugar and Phosphate

Bases of Chromosomes

Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine

Gene

Segment of a DNA molecule, about 20,500 in the human body, 1% of DNA molecule

Genotype

The set of genes that we inherit, two of each

Phenotype

Observable traits

How Natural Selection Works

1) Environmental Pressure, 2) Competition, 3) Selection of fittest Phenotype, 4) Reproductive Success, 5) Frequency of the Genotype Increase

Contemporary Evolutionary Theory

Humans, like all organisms, are collections of mechanisms for passing on their genes

Alleles

Different patterns of DNA that occur at particular locations

Epigenetics

Environmental events can cause switches to turn genes on and off

The Nervous System Broken into 2 Parts

1) Central Nervous System, 2) Peripheral Nervous System

Central Nervous System Broken into 2 Parts

1) Sympathetic, 2)Parasympathetic

Sympathetic

Creates Bodily Arousal, Mobilizes body to respond to danger and stress

Parasympathetic

Creates Bodily Calm, Rest and Digestion

Somatic Nervous System Broken into 2 Parts

Sensory Input, Motor Movement

Sensory Input

Neurons carry messages toward Central Nervous System

Motor Movement

Motor neurons carry messages from CNS to muscles

Brain Stem

Extension of the top of the spinal cord

Medulla

Automatic control of breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure

Pons

Regulates sleep, connects cortex and cerebellum

Recticular Formation

Alertness and Attention

Cerebellum

Balance, coordination, learning of movement, order

The Limbic System

The emotional center of the brain

Hypothalamus

Monitors blood and determines internal body state, Controls Endocrine System, Regulates appetite

Amygdala

Involved in emotion, fear, aggression, and memory

Hippocampus

Establishes long term memories

Pituitary Gland

Controls growth rate

Parathyroid Gland

Regulates Calcium

Thyroid Gland

Regulates Metabolism

Adrenal Gland

Activates sympathetic nervous system

Pancreas

Regulates Blood Sugar

Ovaries/Testes

Reproduction/Sexual Function

Forebrain

The cognitive center of the brain

Thalamus

Sensory and motor conduit between midbrain and cerebral cortex

Cingulate Gyrus

Attention and cognitive control

Basal Ganglia

Voluntary Motor Control

Cerebrum

Top most layer of the brain

Cerebral Cortex

Thin Gray-Matter that covers the cerebrum, Carries thinking and perceiving

Corpus Callosum

Connects the two cerebral hemispheres

Prefrontal Cortex

Frontal Lobe, Language, Memory, Executive Functions, Planning, Impulse

Motor Cortex

Frontal Lobe, Sends signals to the muscles

Mirror Neurons

Frontal Lobe, Mimicry and empathy

Perception of Space

Parietal Lobe, Body location, Object, and Speech

Somatosensory Cortex

Parietal Lobe, Touch, Pressure, Temperature, Pain

Visual Cortex

Occipital Lobe, Vision, coordinates with other areas of the cortex

Auditory Cortex

Temporal Lobe, hearing, language, autobiographical memories

Association Cortex

Critical regions that combine information from various other parts of the brain

Sensation

The reception of stimulation from the environment, creating a pattern of nerve impulses to the brain

Perception

The interpretation and organization of sensory stimulation patterns by the brain

Sense Receptors

Specialized cells that react to specific stimuli

Transduction

The conversion by receptors of external energies into a nervous system signal

Sensory Pathway

Bundles of neurons that carry information from the sense organs to the brain

Sensory Adaptation

Response strength sense receptor declines with continued stimulation

Psychophysics

The ability to detect sensations under ideal conditions

Iris

Muscles that modify the amount of admitted light, color is a combination of 2 pigments

Pupil

Opening that admits light

Sclera

White area of the eye

Receptor Cells

Contain photopigments that change on exposure to light, Convert light energy to neural impulses

Bipolar Cells

Involved in color vision

Ganglion Cells

Axons leave the retina to form the optic nerve which travels to the brain

Blind Spot

Area of the retina containing no receptors caused by the optic nerve

Brightness

Caused by Amplitude (Intensity) or the height of the waves

Color

Caused by Wavelength or the length of the waves

Cones

High acuity, require bright light, concentrated at the fovea, involved in color vision

Rods

Basic shapes and forms, respond to low levels of life, concentrated at periphery, there are none in the fovea

Trichromatic Theory

There are 3 types of cones that respond to 3 ranges of wavelengths of light

The 3 Colors of Cones in the Trichromatic Theory

Blue, Green, Red

Opponent Process Theory

Bipolar cells are excited by one color of light which are inhibited by its compliment