Gen psych exam 1 fall 2024

Hindsight bias

overestimation of the ability to predict an outcome.

Empiricism

test ideas with the use of date (aka evidence)

Steps in scientific process

1- formulate a question

2-formulate a hypothesis

3-design the study to test the hypothesis

4-perform study and interpret data

5- communicate findings

Operational definition

a statement about the procedures the researcher used to measure a variable

descriptive methods

research techniques that aim to accurately describe a phenomenon or behavior by observing and collecting data without manipulating variables

Case study

 in-depth analysis of one subject (or more)

Observation

Describe and measure people's and/or animals’ behavior systematically

Survey

Asking people questions about their thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions and recording their answers.

Problems with surveys

1. Wording

2. Response bias- a pattern of responses to questions that do not accurately reflect the content of the question.

Random sampling

everyone in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample.

Correlational method

measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Positive correlation

variables change in the same direction

Negative correlation

variables change in opposite directions

Correlation coefficient ®

 an indicator of the strength of the relationship between two variables (ranges from -1.00 to +1.00)

Experimental method

•  researcher changes (manipulates) one variable and measures the effects of that change on another variable

• Only research design in which cause and effect can be inferred

Independent variable

manipulated by the experimenter

Dependent variable

outcome variable

Experimental (treatment) condition (group)

receives treatment/stimulus.

Control condition group

 does not receive treatment/stimulus

Confounding variable

a variable that is potentially responsible for the results, but is not the variable of interest (not the independent variable).

Random assignment method

used to place participants into an experimental condition in which participants have an equal chance of being in every condition.

Experimental control

The researcher makes sure that no factors other than the IV are changing and thus could affect the DV.

Placebo effect

observed improvement following an inert treatment

Placebo control group

 participants who receive a placebo rather than actual treatment or nothing

Expectancy effect (type of experimenter bias)

results when the experimenter’s hypothesis (expectation) leads unintentionally to behavior toward the participants that then increases the likelihood that the participant's behavior will confirm the hypothesis.

Single bind procedures

the participants do not know if they have been assigned to the experimental or control group

Double-blind procedures

neither the participants nor the researchers know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group.

Generalizability

generalization of an outcome to other groups and settings

Replication

replication of study

Biological/Neuroscientific

How physical systems (ex brain) affect behavior, feelings, and thoughts

Evolutionary

Natural selection of traits

Behavior genetics

• Contribution of genes and environment to behavior

• Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic

• Unconscious dynamics within the individual

• Behavioral 

• Learning via reinforcements and punishments

• Cognitive

• How people reason, remember, interpret

• Sociocultural

How social and cultural forces shape individuals' behaviors

Nervous system

 complex communication network made up of neurons

Neuron

 a specialized cell that transmits neural messages to other neurons, glands, and muscles

Dendrite

 receives neural messages from other neurons

Cell body (soma)

 houses DNA

Axon

 a thin tube that transmits messages away

Glial cells

 provide structure for neurons, some form blood-brain barrier (prevents some toxins from entering the brain), some form myelin sheath

Myelin sheath

specialized cells that are wrapped around the axon to help transmit messages

action potential

The electrical signal within a neuron that travels from the cell body down to the end of the axon (neural firing)

threshold

level of electric charge needed to stimulate action potential

all or none response

once the electric charge of the neuron reaches a certain threshold, it fires an action potential

neuron transmitters

Chemical signal between neurons

More intense stimulations

neurons fire more frequently and a higher number of neurons fire, neurons individually cannot go above or below threshold

Synapse

 junction between 2 neurons

Neurotransmitters

 chemical messengers that travel across synapses from sending neurons to receptors on receiving neurons 

Reuptake

 sending neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters

Excitatory signals

 increase the likelihood that neurons will fire

Inhibitory signals

decrease the likelihood that neurons will fire

Acetylcholine

 muscle action, learning, memory

Endorphins

 reduce pain and promote pleasure

Dopamine

voluntary movement, reward, learning, memory

Serotonin

 involved in sleep, appetite, mood

Glutamate

 excitatory- learning, memory enhancement 

GABA

 inhibitory- calms

Epinephrine and norepinephrine

 involved in stress response 

Agonists

 increase the normal activity of a neurotransmitter

Antagonists

decrease the activity of a neurotransmitter

Motor neurons

carry signals from the brain or spinal cord to muscles, skin, and glands

Sensory neurons

carry messages from receptors to the spinal cord and brain

CNS

 brain and spinal cord

• Response to sensory information

• Sends messages to muscles, glands, organs

Spinal cord

an extension of the brain

• Handles both incoming and outgoing messages

• Acts as a bridge between the brain and body below the neck

Spinal reflexes-

 automatic responses that occur without any brain movement 

PNS

• All of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord

• Allows communication between CNS and sensory systems

• Contains somatic and autonomic nervous systems

Somatic nervous system (voluntary)

sensory and motor pathways

Autonomic nervous system

consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, automatic

Sympathetic nervous system

increases physiological arousal, fight or flight

Parasympathetic nervous system

 decreases arousal , rest and digest

Hormones

chemicals secreted by endocrine glands into the bloodstream

Hypothalamus (brain structure)

controls pit gland

Pit gland

-” master gland” because it produces hormones and sends it to other glands

Adrenal glands

 important in mood, energy level, stress response

Pineal gland

 regulates circadian rhythm (the body's natural 24-hour cycle of physical, mental, and behavioral changes that are controlled by a biological clock in the brain)

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Detect electrical activity of neurons in particular regions of brain

PET scan- positron emission tomograpy

Records biochemical changes in the brain as they are happening in different locations

CAT scan

computerized axial tomography

• X-ray beams sent through the head

• Picture of brain tissues

MRI

 uses a magnetic field to measure the activity of various brain areas 

fMRI

functional magnetic resonance imaging

• Uses MRI to measure the relative activity of various brain areas during tasks

Medulla-

controls life-sustaining bodily functions

Pons

 involved in sleep, connects cortex to lower brain regions

Reticular formation

 controls alertness; attention

Thalamus

relay station; directs incoming information from sensory receptors to the cerebral cortex

Cerebellum

 coordination of movement; balance, and muscle coordination; memory of simple skills 

Amygdala

 emotions- aggression, fear

Hypothalamus

regulates endocrine activity; controls hormone release, reward/pleasure

Hippocampus

 “gateway to memory”, enables the formation of new conscious memories 

Frontal lobes

at the front, planning, creative thinking, personality

contains motor cortex- voluntary movement

mirror neurons- fire when observing another person doing something