PSC 1 M1

Id

unconscious primitive drives/urges (ex. hunger, thirst, sex)

pleasure principle/seeking immediate gratification

superego

social rules of right and wrong → inner morality

pride, guilt

ego

rationality, the self, the part seen by others

balances id and superego; reality principle

usually conscious

neurosis

tendency to experience negative emotions

caused by imbalances in the system (according to Freud)

defense mechanisms

unconscious protective behaviors that reduce anxiety

denial

refusing to accept real events because they are unpleasant

displacement

transferring inappropriate urges or behaviors onto a more acceptable or less threatening target

projection

attributing unacceptable desires to others

rationalization

justifying behaviors by substituting acceptable reasons for less-acceptable real reasons

reaction formation

reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own beliefs

regression

returning to coping strategies for less mature stages of development

repression

suppressing painful memories and thoughts

sublimation

redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels

oral

mouth → smoking, overeating

weaning off breast/bottle

anal

anus → neatness, messiness

toilet training

phallic

genitals → vanity, overambitious

Oedipus/Electra complex

Latency

period when sexual feelings are dormant in children aged 6-puberty

Genital

sexual reawakening

those who reach the genital stage with no fixations are well-balanced, healthy adults

Alfred Adler

individual psychology, inferiority complex, social tasks

individual psychology

our drive to compensate for feelings of inferiority

inferiority complex

a person’s feelings that they lack worth, and don’t measure up to the standards of others or of society

social tasks

occupational (careers), societal (friendship), love (finding an intimate partner)

Erik Erikson

psychosocial stages of development (trust v. mistrust, autonomy v. shame/doubt, initiative v. guilt, industry v. inferiority, identity v. confusion, intimacy v. isolation, generatively v. stagnation, integrity v. despair)

Carl Jung

analytical psychology, collective unconscious, archetypes, introversion vs. extroversion

analytical psychology

working to balance opposing forces of conscious and unconscious thought, and experience within one’s personality → continuous learning process, mainly in the 2nd half of life

collective unconscious

universal version of the personal unconscious, holding mental patterns/memory traces, which are common to all of us

archetypes

the ancestral memories (part of the collective unconscious), as expressed through literature, art, and dreams

reflect common experiences of all people

introvert

energized by being alone, avoids attention, speaks slowly and softly, thinks before speaking, stays on one topic, prefers written communication, pays attention easily, cautious

extrovert

energized by being with others, seeks attention, speaks quickly and loudly, thinks out loud, jumps from topic to topic, prefers verbal communication, distractible, acts first thinks later

Karen Horney

womb envy, unconscious anxiety

unconscious anxiety

normal growth can be blocked by basic anxiety stemming from needs not being met, such as childhood loneliness and/or isolation

3 coping styles

moving towards people

affiliation and dependence

moving against people

aggression and assertiveness

moving away from people

detachment and isolation

facts

observable realities

opinions

personal judgements, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate

deductive reasoning

Type of reasoning that starts with general principles and applies them to specific situations to reach a logical conclusion.

ideas are testing in the real world

inductive reasoning

A type of reasoning that uses specific observations to form a general conclusion or hypothesis. It is based on probability and does not provide certainty.

real-world observations lead to new ideas

clinical/case study

scientists focus on one person or a few individuals for a long period of time (not good for generalizing)

naturalistic observation

observing behavior in its natural setting

observer bias

observers/scientists may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals or expectations

inter-rater reliability

a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations by different observers

archival research

when researchers use existing records to answer various questions

longitudinal research

data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time

cross-sectional research

researcher compares multiple segments of the population at the same time

ex. studying dietary habits over time → 20 year olds, 30 year olds, 40 year olds at the same time

attrition rates

reduction in the number of research participants due to dropouts

(very high in longitudinal studies and increases over the course of the project)

correlational research

researching if a relationship exists between 2+ variables, but does not necessarily imply cause and effect

correlation coefficient

number between -1 and 1, with a value of 1 (+ or -) indicates strong correlation, and a value of 0 indicates no correlation

illusory correlations

false correlations

confirmation bias

looking for evidence to support our guess, and ignoring evidence that would falsify it

operational definition

precise description of our variables

experimenter bias

possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study

single-blind study

participants are unaware of whether they’re in the experiment/control group

double-blind study

both researchers and participants don’t know the group assignments

informed consent

written description of what participants can expect

deception

purposely misleading participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment

participants must receive a debriefing at the end

polygenic

traits are controlled by more than one gene (the case for most traits)

mutation

sudden, permanent change in a gene

range of reaction

our genes set the boundaries within which we can operate, and our environment interacts with the genes to determine where in that range we fall

genetic environmental correlation

our genes influence our environment, and our environment influences the expression of our genes (epigenetics!)

nervous system

composed of glial cells and neurons

glial cells

provide scaffolding on which the nervous system is built, help neurons line up closely with each other to allow neuronal communication, provide insulation to neurons, transport nutrients and waste products, and mediate immune responses

neurons

interconnected information processors that are essential for all of the tasks of the nervous system

soma

cell body of the neuron, where nucleus is locatedd

dendrites

input sites of neurons where signals are recieved

axon

major extension from the soma, down which signals are transmitted

terminal buttons

ends of the axon

synaptic vesicles

inside the terminal buttons, and hold neurotransmitters

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers of the nervous system

myelin sheath

coats the axon and acts as an insulator, increasing the speed at which the signal travels

not continuous

crucial to normal operation of the neurons

Nodes of Ranvier

the small gaps in the myelin sheath

synaptic cleft

small space between two neurons, important site where communication occurs

receptors

proteins on the cell surface where neurotransmitters attach, vary in shape, with different shapes to match different neurotransmitters

membrane potential

provides energy for the signal

resting potential

the state of readiness in which the membrane potential is held between signals

threshold of excitation

when the charge (created by Na-K pump) reaches a certain level, at which the neuron becomes active and action potential begins

all or none phenomenon

action potential

electrical signal that typically moves from the cell body down the axon to the axon terminals

reuptake

neurotransmitter being pumped back into the neuron that released it in order to clear the synapse

psychotropic medications

drugs that treat psychiatric symptoms by restoring neurotransmitter balance

acetylcholine

muscle action, memory

beta-endorphin

pain, pleasure

dopamine

mood, sleep, learning

gamma-aminobutyric acid

brain function, sleep

glutamate

memory, learning

norepinephrine

heart, intestines, alertness

serotonin

mood, sleep

agonists

chemicals that mimic a neurotransmitter at the receptor site

antagonist

blocks/impedes the normal activity of a neurotransmitter at the receptor

central nervous system

brain + spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

connects the CNS to the rest of the body (all nerves)

somatic nervous system

part of the PNS

conscious/voluntary activities

relay of sensory and motor information to and from the CNS

consists of motor and sensory neurons

motor neurons

efferent fibers

info from CNS → muscles

efferent = exit

sensory neurons

body → CNS

afferent fibers

afferent = arrive

autonomic nervous system

part of the PNS

controls our internal organs and glands, outside the realm of voluntary control

sympathetic nervous system

part of the ANS

preparing the body for stress-related activities

parasympathetic nervous system

part of the ANS

returning the body to routine, day-to-day operations

spinal cord

allows the brain to work

relay station

routes messages to and from the brain

has its own system of automatic processes (reflexes)

neuroplasticity

how the nervous system can change and adapt

cerebral cortex

surface of the brain, characterized by gyri (folds) and sulci (grooves)

associated with consciousness, thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory

longitudinal fissure

deep groove that separates the brain into two hemispheres