PSYCH 104 ALL TERMS

Psychology

study of mind and behaviour

Behaviour

actions and responses

Mind

internal states and processes

Nativism

knowledge is innate rather than aquired

Empiricism

all knowledge is acquired through experience

Mind Body Dualism

mind and body are separate entities

Rene Descartes

philosopher who believed that the body was made of material substance while the mind was made of immaterial substance, and that mind and body communicated through the pineal gland

Monism

belief that mind and body are one, mental events have origin in physical events; Thomas Hobbes (goat) believed this

Wilhelm Wundt

psychologist who created structuralism

Structuralism

break consciousness down into structural components, Titchener + Wundt

Introspection

analysis of subjective experience by trained observers

Functionalism

study of the function of consciousness relative to adaptive significance, William James

Behaviourism

approach to psychology focusing only on observable behaviour

Radical Behaviourism

philosophy developed by B. F. Skinner in which no accounts of what occurs in the human body explains origins of human behaviour

Sigmund Freud

creator of psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

technique used to uncover unconscious processes and their impact on conscious processes

B. F. Skinner

created radical behaviourism, and skinner box

Skinner Box

lab apparatus used to study animal behaviour containing a mechanism that an animal can manipulate to obtain reinforcement

Humanistic Perspective

emphasizes free will, personal growth, and attempting to find meaning in ones existence

Self Actualization

highest level in Maslow’s Pyramid in which all needs are met and one’s potential is fully realized (Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow)

Cognitive Perspective

examines nature of mind and how mental processes inform behaviour

Gestalt Psychology

approach to psychology emphasizing the way the mind creates perceptual experience

Cognitive Neuroscience

study of what happens in brain during mental processes

Behavioural Neuroscience

studies biological basis of brain processes and physiological functions underlying how one feels, perceives, and thinks

Evolutionary Psychology

explains how evolution shaped modern human behaviour

Sociobiology

social behaviours built into humans as products of evolution

Theory

plausible/scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena

Law of Parsimony/Occam’s Razor

principle identifying simplest explanation with the least amount of assumptions of an observation

Hindsight Understanding

explanation that makes sense in context

Descriptive Research

describe behaviour in nature

Case Study

method of gathering scientific info with a sample size of one

Survey Research

collecting data from a representative sample group through questions

Naturalistic Observation

observing people in natural environments, unknown to observation

Correlational Research

finding relationships between variables

Correlation

relationship between two or more variables

Negative Correlation

increase in one variable results in a decrease in the other

Positive Correlation

increase in one variable results in an increase in the other

Perfect Correlation

r=1,-1

Matched Sample

two groups in an experiment where subjects are all equally representative

Matched Pairs

two groups in an experiment where equally representative pairs are split 

Experimental Research

technique for establishing the casual relationship between variables

Causality

influence by which a cause contributes to the production of another event

Variable

property with a value that can change across individuals and over time

Independent Variable

variable that is manipulated in an experiment

Dependent Variable

variable that is measured

Between Subjects

two or more separate groups: control and experimental group(s)

Within Subjects

one group serves as both control and experimental group

Placebo

harmless substance that looks like treatment drug

Reliability

ability to produce same measurement when measuring same thing

Validity

conceptually related to property of study

Power

ability of a measure to detect differences in a property of an operational definition when differences are present

Operational Definition

specify how a concept will be measured, observed, or applied in a study

Demand Characteristics

aspects of an observational setting that make people behave as they think they should

Experimenter Expectancy Effects

the unconscious influence that responses/behaviour of scientists can have on participants

Observer Bias

the tendency of observers to not see what is there, but instead to see what they expect or want to see

Double Blind Study

researcher nor participant knows which is treatment or control

Random Sampling

technique choosing participants ensuring every member of a population has equal chance of being included in a sample

Random Assignment

uses random event to assign to experimental/control group (ie drawing lots)

Descriptive Statistics

methods for describing and summarizing data

Central Tendency

value of measurements near centre of distribution

Mode

value of most frequently observed measurement

Mean

average

Median

value in middle of distribution

Histograms

groups data by score, height of bar is proportion (bar graph)

Range

largest measurement in frequency distribution minus the smallest measurement

Frequency Distribution

describes the number of observations for each possible value of a variable

Standard Deviation

average difference between measurements in a frequency distribution from the mean

Internal Validity

extent to which a piece of evidence supports a claim about cause and effect, within the context of a particular study

External Validity

validity of applying the conclusions of a scientific study outside the context of that study

Glial Cells

hold neurons in place, make and move nutrients, forms the myelin sheath, removes toxins, creates blood brain barrier

Myelin Sheath

fatty insulation layer derived from glial cells

Nodes of Ranvier

places where myelin is extremely thin/absent, allowing for faster signals within a neuron

Synapses

functional connections between neurons and target

Synaptic Cleft

gap between dendrite and axon terminal

Neurotransmitters

chemical substances that carry messages across synapse to excite or inhibit other neurons

Five Stages of Chemical Communication

1. Synthesis

2. Storage

3. Release

4. Binding

5. Deactivation

Excitatory Neurotransmitter

signals depolarization and increases resting potential of post synaptic neuron

Inhibitory Neurotransmitter

signals hyperpolarization and decreases resting potential of post synaptic neuron

Glutamate

excitatory specialized neurotransmitter expressed in the whole brain; controls behaviours esp. learning and memory

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitter expressed in the whole brain; controls behaviours esp. anxiety and motor control

Acetylcholine (ACh)

excitatory neurotransmitter that is active in synapses involved in muscle movement and memory

Norepinephrine

excitatory AND inhibitory neurotransmitter that functions at specific sites; involved in learning memory, wakefulness and eating

Serotonin

(mostly) inhibitory neurotransmitter that functions at specific sites effecting mood, eating, sleep, and arousal

Dopamine

excitatory AND inhibitory neurotransmitter that functions at specific sites; involved with voluntary movement, learning, motivation, pleasure

Endorphin

inhibitory (mostly) neurotransmitter involving pain/stress; oversupply=insensitivity to pain, undersupply=hypersensitivity to pain

Sensory Neuron

neuron type that carries input from sense groups to spinal cord & brain

Motor Neuron

neuron type that transmits output impulses from brain + spinal cord to muscle and organs

Interneuron

neuron type with connective/associative functions within nervous systems

Inferential Statistics

tests significance of group differences to see if effect observed is meaningful

Clinical Psychology

psych specialization concerned with assessment and treatment of mental illnesses/psychological problems

Cognitive Psychology

psych specialization that examines internal mental processes such as memory, perception, learning, and language

Neuroscience

psychology field specializing in the nervous system and brain

Developmental Psychology

psych specialization studying how people grow, develop, and adapt at different life stages

Experimental Psychology

psych specialization using the scientific method to collect data and research the psych field

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

psych specialization studying improvement of human behaviour within teams/organizations

The Scientific Process

1. IDENTIFY a question

2. Form a HYPOTHESIS

3. Gather INFORMATION

4. ANALYZE data

Variability

how much measurements differ from one another

Null Hypothesis

states any observed differences between samples are due to chance

Somatic System

part of PNS responsible for voluntary movement

Autonomic System

part of PNS responsible for involuntary movement