Psych 1004 Exam 1

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior & mental processes

Aristotle

we understand & experience the world through thought

science based on observation

Descartes

behavior is subject to natural, external causes

mind-body dualism

Mind-body dualism

humans have mind not controlled by natural laws

Wilhelm Wundt

1st psychology lab

structuralism: study of structure of immediate conscious experience

introspection: self-examination of mental processes

William James

functionalism: study of how mind works

behavioral & practical applications of psych

6 perspectives

1. Pyschodynamic/psychoanalytic

2. Behaviorist

3. Humanistic

4. Cognitive

5. Neuroscience

6. Social-cultural

Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic

Freud: psychotherapist who believed behavior comes from unconscious conflicts

Behaviorist

Objective action

behavior comes from environment

Skinner: observable behavior, behavior changes through learning

disagrees w/ psychodynamics

Humanistic

Maslow

self-concept, human potential

Cognitive

mind

psychometrics: measuring mental functions, capacity

Alfred Binet: 1st intelligence test

Neuroscience

influence of nervous system on behavior

Socio-cultural

societal norms

influence of other people on behavior

Scientific Method

1. Observation

2. Hypothesis

   1. based on theory

   2. tentative statement expressing relationship between variables

   3. must be falsifiable

3. Design a study

   1. variables & measures

4. Collect & analyze data

5. Conclude

Theory

collection of interrelated ideas/observations that explain & predict

Empiricism

observation/recording of data

basic psychology

using scientific method to learn ab topics

applied psychology

using knowledge to solve & prevent human probs

sensory neurons

afferent (ascending) pathways to brain

motor neurons

efferent (descending) pathways from brain

interneurons

link between sensory & motor neurons — in brain & spinal cord

diffusion

movement from higher concentration → lower concentration until evenly dispersed (equilibrium)

pre-synaptic

neuron before firing

post-synaptic

neuron after firing

neurotransmitters

chemicals released by neuron & binding to another — travel across synapse (small gap) to trigger next release

excitatory

encouraging firing

inhibitory

discouraging firing

seratonin

Mood: sleep regulation/regulate daily cycle, appetite, anxiety, depression

many antidepressants increase

dopamine

mood: emotions, pleasure, attention, (athletic) movement

schizophrenia — too much

Parkinson’s — too little

norephinephrine

(quick) emotional arousal/energy

acetylcholine

memory & learning

• Alzheimer’s — too little

muscle activity (ex. smiling)

• affected by black widow venom

glutamate

very common excitatory NT in brain

learning & memory

GABA

very common inhibitory NT in brain

depressant, relaxant

alcohol enhances

somatic nervous system

voluntary

sensory & motor neurons

autonomic nervous system

involuntary

breathing, body temp, hunger

sympathetic & parasympathetic

sympathetic

activates fight-or-flight, reacting to things

ex. inc. heart rate, inc. breathing rate, pupils dilate, inhibit digestion

parasympathetic

active more often

controls normals operations & calms body

ex. dec. heart rate, dec. breathing rate, pupils contract, stimulate digestion

spinal cord

reflex responses

relay to/from brain

basic brain structure

lower structures — basic life processes

upper structures — complex cognitive function

thalamus

relay station

hypothalamus

autonomic info, homeostasis

limbic system

hippocampus & amygdala

hippocampus

memory/learning

amygdala

emotion center

cerebral cortex

• outside layer of brain

• 2-3 mm thick—lots of surface area pushed tg

• complex & abstract thought (human thought, ex. time)

• lots devoted to integrating new info w/ prior knowledge & ideas

• helps inhibit inappropriate responses

• adaptable (plastic) when young

• 2 hemispheres connected by corpus collosum

  • each side controls opposite side of body

  • most tasks require both sides

• ¾ is assoc. area (not sensor or motor) — deciphering/integrating current sensory info w/ past

frontal lobes

thought, plans, language

parietal lobes

touch

temporal lobes

hearing & language

occipital lobes

vision

Phineas Gage

railroad accident damaged pathways btwn limbic system and frontal cortex — altered personality — impulsive, less focus, less emotional control, less relating to others

Jodie

removed right hemisphere affected by disorder and was fine — remaining neurons made new connections

sensation

• detection of stimuli

• involves transduction

perception

organizes/interprets sensation — occurs in brain

bottom-up processing

perceptions formed as result of combining inputs abt basic features (ex. first time seeing specific abstract image)

top-down processing

brain interprets sensory info based on prior knowledge/experiences

transduction

process of converting energy from environment into neural impulses — occurs at receptor neurons in eyes, ears, skin, etc. (ex. eye’s retina is transducer)

Gestalt psychology

believed people perceive signs/sounds as organized wholes

4 principles

Law of proximity

things that are close tg go tg

Law of similarity

objects that look similar go tg

Law of continuity

eye is drawn to continuous lines/shapes

Law of closure

perceive whole even if object is incomplete

Seeing in 3 dimensions

• relative size — larger = closer

• height in visual field — distant objects higher in field

• interposition: closer objects block farther ones

• linear perspective: parallel lines converge in distance

• reduced clarity — farther objects look fuzzy

• light & shadow — casting shadow provides 3D cue

assimilation

visual system incorporates nearby elements into an object’s boundaries when assessing size

2 categories of bias

cognitive & statistical

Behavior

overt action & reaction

Action potential

caused by movement of charged ions in & out of axon