Psych Exam 1 Study Guide

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior

Psychology is ________ compared to other sciences

young

Psychology began in…

Western Europe

Who was William James?

First to take a scientific approach to study Psychology

Critical Thinking

“purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed” thinking that seeks to examine evidence, evaluate conclusions, solve problems, make decisions, and formulate reasonable and accurate conclusions.

What are WEIRD samples?

Research participants from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic backgrounds.

What is Behaviorism?

An approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior

Cognitive Revolution

Focused on uncovering the underlying mental processes for behavior.

Scientific Method

A set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence

Who is the father of the scientific method?

Ibn al-Haytham

Empericism

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Theory

a hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomena

Hypothesis

a falsifiable prediction made by a theory

Independent Variables

the manipulated variable (the hypothesized cause)

Dependent Variables

the measured variable (the hypothesized effect)

Operational Definition

a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms

Theory v Hypothesis

A theory is supported by evidence while a hypothesis is formed before an research has been done.

Reliability

the tendency of a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing

Validity

the extent to which a measurement and a property are conceptually related

Measure

a device that can detect the condition to which an operational definition refers

Measures of central tendency (center or midpoint)

mean, median, and mode

Variability (extent measurements differ)

range and standard deviation

Normal Distribution

a mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle

Population of Interest

the full set of cases the researcher is interested in

Sample

The group who participated in research and who belong to the larger group (population of interest) that the researcher is interested in understanding

Naturalistic Observations

a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people or animals in their natural environments

Correlational Research

A type of study that measures two or more variables in the same sample of people and then observes the relationship between them.

Third Variable Problem

the fact that a casual relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the naturally occurring correlation between them because of the ever- present possibility of third variable correlation.

Experimental Research

A study is which one variable is manipulated, and the other in measured. Experimental research can establish causation.

Manipulation

the creation of an artificial pattern of variation in a variable in order to determine its causal powers

Random Assignment

a procedure that uses a random event to assign people to the experimental or control group

Experimental Group

the group of people who are treated in a particular way in an experiment

Control Group

the group of people who are not treated in the particular way that the experimental group is treated in an experiment

Placebo Effect

The influence of a subject’s beliefs and expectations on their experience

Internal Validity

The characteristic of an experiment that established the causal relationship between variables

External Validity

the property of an experiment in which the variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way

Significance

Establishes whether the sample results can be used to generalize and infer about the broader population

Neurons

cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information processing tasks

Soma (Cell Body)

the part of the neuron that coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive

Dendrite

the part of a neuron that receives information from other neurons and relays it to the soma

Axon

the part of the neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Synapse

the junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another

Neurotransmitters

chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron’s dendrites

Neurotransmission

The transfer of information between neurons

Action Potential

The electrical impulse “fired” by neurons when stimulated with enough energy. A wave of change in electrical potential that rushes down the axon.

Amygdala

plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories

Central Nervous System

composed of the brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

connects the CNS to the body’s organs and muscles

Somatic Nervous System

conveys information into and out of the CNS

Autonomic Nervous Systems

carries involuntary and automatic commands that control blood vessels, body organs, and glands

Sympathetic Nervous Systems

prepares the body for action in threatening situations

Parasympathetic Nervous System

helps the body return to a normal resting state

Endocrine System

a network of glands (organs) throughout the body that receive signals from the CNS and PNS to release chemical messages known as hormones

Limbic System

a group of forebrain structures involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory

Brain Stem

The part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord, located in the lowest part of your brain at the base of the skull, ensures that your brain gets the oxygen it needs. It regulates vital functions such as breathing and heart rate

Cerebellum

Hangs off the back of the brain stem, contributes to coordination, precision, balance, and accurate timing.

Pons

An upper brainstem structure that controls breathing and relays sensations, such as hearing, taste, and balance, to the subcortex and cortex.

Medulla Oblongata

A lower brainstem structure that controls autonomic functions, including heart rate and blood pressure, and reflexes like swallowing and coughing.

Reticular Formation

A structure thats runs through the brainstem and is connected to many parts of the brain; plays a central role in arousal and attention.

Homunculus

a very small human

Somatotopic Organization

The point for point correspondence of an area of the body to a specific point on the central nervous system. Supports a map of our body’s skin surface and the sense of touch.

Cerebral Cortex

The outermost layer of the brain; supports cognitive skills, complex emotions, and complex mental activity, including your sense of mind and self

Gyrus

the raised part of the cerebral surface

Sulcus

the fissures of the cerebral surface

Occipital Lobe

processes vital information

Parietal Lobe

processes information about touch

Temporal Lobe

responsible for hearing and language

Frontal Lobe

has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement

Single Dissociation

A lesion to brain structure A disrupts function X but not function Y

Double Dissociation

a lesion to brain structure A disrupts function X but not function Y, a lesion to brain structure B disrupts function Y but not function X

Sensation

simple stimulation of a sense organ

Perception

The organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation

Transduction

what takes place when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system

Synesthesia

the perceptual experience of one sense that is evoked by another sense

Psychophysics

methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to that stimulus

Absolute Threshold

the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus

JND (Just Noticeable Difference)

the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected

Sensory Adaptation

sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions

Light: Wavelength

perceived as a hue and corresponds to what we see as color

Light: Amplitude

the height of a light wave and is related to our experience in brightness and intensity

Blindspot

a location in the visual field that produces no sensation on the retina because the corresponding area of the retina contains neither rods nor cones and therefore has no mechanism to sense light

Rods and Cones

Rods are for night vision, only showing shades of gray. Cones detect color. Rods are more plentiful than cones.

Color Perception

The individualized perception of different colors

Opponency

Pairs of visual neurons that work in opposition

Trichromatic

the pattern of responding across the three types of cones that provides a unique code for each color

How do we see?

Light passes through the cornea, pupil, lens, and then retina

Ventral Pathways

Carries visual information to the temporal lobe such as object shape and identity

Dorsal Pathways

Carries visual information to the parietal lobe such as location and movement of an object

Sounds: Frequency

How high/low a sound is

Sounds: Amplitude

How intense a sound is

Timbre

a listener’s experience of sound quality or resonance

The Outer Ear

collects sound waves

The Middle Ear

transmits vibrations

The Inner Ear

transduction into neural impulses

Somatosenses

the body senses

Olfaction

the sense of smell

Gustation

the sense of taste

Gestalt Laws

principles that define a set of rules that the visual system follows in order to differentiate between simplicity, closure, continuity, similarity, proximity, and common fate

Consciousness

a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind

Intentionality

attention