Psych Final

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Can happen when the experimenter knows who is in the control vs experimental groups and their behaviors change accordingly. The experimenter acts a certain way and the patient picks up on it etc.

Single Blind Study

When the participants do not know if they are in the experimental or control group BUT the experimenters know who is in each group.

Double Blind Study

When neither the participants OR the experimenters know who is in the control vs experimental groups. This helps experimenters avoid self-fulfilling prophecies.

Collect Data

1st goal of a psychologist

Explain the data/explain what's happening

2nd goal of a psychologist

Predict behavior

3rd goal of a psychologist

Influence behavior

4th goal of a psychologist

Quantitative Research

Numbers based research/results. Example: A survey where you answer about your feelings on a scale of 1-10. Can be easily measured. Typically quicker and cheaper than qualitative research.

Qualitative Research

Case studies, observational studies and potentially longitudinal studies are all examples of this. The data gained can be more anecdotal than scientific. More expensive and longer than quantitative research methods.

Correlations

A description of how sets of data might relate to each other.

Positive correlation

When both sets of data increase in relation to each other. Example: The more I do my laundry, the more clean clothes I have.

Negative Correlation

When one set of data decreases as the other increases. Example: The more I do my laundry, the fewer dirty clothes I have.

Psychosocial Theory of Development

Theorized by Erik Erikson. Every person develops throughout their lives. Social approval is necessary to each stage of development. You must go through your current stage to reach the next stage.

Psychosexual Theory of Development

Theorized by Sigmund Freud. Development occurs mostly during childhood through adolescents. You must learn to suppress sexual and aggressive urges to become a better person. You must go through the stages step by step. You cannot skip stages.

Maturation

Internally programmed growth. All babies have stages they physically go through irregardless of culture.

Apparent Hypocrisy

When a teenager notices adults doing the things they have told the teenager NOT to do. Understanding an ideal vs others living up to it. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Rationalization

Explain away failures to protect your sense of self. Example: I didn't do well on my paper because the teacher hates me- NOT, I didn't do well because I only met half the paper's requirements.

Invulnerability

Believing nothing bad will truly happen to you. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Self-Consciousness

Thinking everyone is thinking about them. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Argumentativeness

Teenagers build their own views by arguing about anything and everything. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Finding Fault with Authority Figures

Questioning decisions made by the adults in charge. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Indecisiveness

Trouble making even simple decisions. Happens due to a combination of immaturity and idealism.

Central Nervous System

Contains the brain and spinal cord. Command center of the body.

Peripheral Nervous System

All the nerves NOT part of the Central Nervous System.

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls your involuntary (automatic) body functions. Ex. Blinking and reflexes

Somatic Nervous System

Controls your voluntary movements. Ex. Shooting a basketball.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Prepares the body for intense physical activity. (Fight or Flight Response) Spends energy

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Relaxes the body or slows high energy functions. Saves energy

Temporal Lobe

Part of the brain. Main job is processing auditory information.

Parietal Lobe

Part of the brain. Main job is integrating all the senses.

Frontal Lobe

Part of the brain. All higher level thinking happens here. Doesn't finish developing until the mid 20's (24-25 or so)

Occipital Lobe

Part of the brain. Main job is processing visual information.

Right Hemisphere

The creative, holistic side of the brain. This part of the brain recognizes faces and looks at things as a WHOLE.

Left Hemisphere

The logical, verbal side of the brain. This part of the brain is responsible for your ability to speak and looks at the PARTS of things.

Hormones

Produced by the endocrine system

Neurotransmitters

the message carriers of the nervous system

Endocrine System

Made up of glands in the body. Uses hormones to spread slow and widespread messages.

CT

An imaging technique to study the brain. Very detailed X-Ray

MRI

AN imaging technique to study the brain. Used to study the structure of the brain.

fMRI

Functional MRI- An imaging technique that detects an increase in blood flow to the active structures of the brain.

EEG

Used with the recording and stimulation techniques to study the brain.

Lesions

A way to study the brain by purposefully damaging part of the brain to study changes in behavior (Animals only! No humans)

Ivan Pavlov

The scientist who discovered classical conditioning by studying his dogs.

Classical Conditioning

Behavioral psychology theory. Your behavior is shaped by stimuli and responses. You can be trained to have a specific response to a stimuli after going through the conditioning.

Operant Conditioning

Behavioral psychology theory. Consequences (Both positive and negative) and punishments shape behavior. The person being shaped performs actions voluntarily and is given reinforcement based on whether the trainer wants the behavior continued. \`

Repression

Suppression of unpleasant memories (Can be embarrassing or traumatic)

Stages of Memory

Encoding, Storage and Retrieval

Id

Unconscious motivations and desires (Like the devil on your shoulder)

Ego

The part of your personality that makes plans and is the bridge between the Id and Superego

Superego

The part of your personality that is concerned with what is right, what you should do and is the source of guilt when you do something wrong.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality

Projection

Defense mechanism in which you put your feelings onto someone else. Ex. You don't want to admit you're jealous so you accuse your significant other of being the jealous one.

Reaction Formation

Changing an unacceptable reaction into an acceptable one.

Regression

Reverting to an earlier pattern of behavior.

Displacement

Taking your feelings out on someone who is NOT responsible for the feelings. Ex. The Grinch yells at Max even though he's truly angry at the Whos.

Sublimation

Pushing unacceptable feelings into a different activity. Ex. Going for a run when you're angry.

Trait Theorists

Study personality and look at the TRAITS themselves. Look at things like introversion vs extroversion, how much of a risk taker you are etc.

Humanist Theorists

Study personality by looking at successful individuals. Goal is to self-actualize.

Behaviorists

Believe all personality and decisions are created through outside factors and training.

Psychosurgery

Lobotomies are an example and should only be used as a last resort.

Medical Model

Belief that psychological disorders have a physical cause and can be treated for that cause. Medicine should be used for psychological disorders.

Cognitive Therapy

Changing how you think can change how you behave.

Behavioral Therapy

Using classical and operant conditioning to shape behavior and work on psychological disorders.

Humanistic Therapy

Focusing on self-actualization and making yourself a better person. You have the ability to affect your own life.

Psychodynamic/Psychotherapy

Looking for unconscious motivations and desires to determine how we have come to be who we are.

Integrative Holistic Therapy

Taking pieces from multiple therapies to create a therapy unique to each patient.

Adjustment Approach

Defining normality as: Those who are able to get along in life (adjust) are normal.

Deviance Approach

Defining normality as: What the majority does is normal.

Problem\= Majority is not always right and what is normal in one culture would be abnormal in another.

Psychological Health Approach

Mental disorders are like an illness and can be treated.

Problem\= You can't tell if people are self-actualizing

Stereotype

Set of assumptions about an identifiable group of people.

Prejudice

Preconceived, unjustified and usually negative attitudes towards a person or group.

Bias

Favoring one group over another

Mere-Exposure (attitude)

Constant exposure to a new idea causes people to begin to view the new idea favorably.

Source

The origin of the message. Success of the message is based on the credibility of the origin.

Boomerang Effect

When the opposite outcome happens due to the perception people have of the source.

Ex. A spokesperson for a ranch is discovered to be a vegetarian. The goal was for the ranch to sell more meat but most people will stop supporting the ranch because their spokesperson doesn't even eat the product they are sponsoring.

Sleeper Effect

When you forget the original source of the message but the message itself stays. Delayed impact of the message.

Halo Effect

How you view a person in one setting determines how you think of that person in all settings. Ex. If you are a good employee, your manager probably thinks you are good in all parts of your life and vice versa.

Assumed Similarity Bias

When you treat someone favorably BECAUSE they seem similar to you in some way.

Fundamental Attribution Error

When you make a judgement about a person's character based on their actions without taking outside influences into account.

Groupthink

When belonging to the group is more important than critical thinking. Bad decisions will be made!

Self-Serving Bias

Taking credit for successes but blaming others for failures.

Lawrence Kohlberg

Developed the idea of moral development. His experiment was criticized because he only included boys from a specific economic group.

Stanley Millgram

Famous experiment on obeying authority in which he discovered most people are willing to do anything an authority figure tells them to do.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction to a question.

Control Group

Used in experiments and is NOT exposed to the independent variable.

Experimental Group

Used in experiments and is exposed to the independent variable.

Independent Variable

The part of the experiment that changes. EX. in an experiment on how different types of music impact plant growth, the Independent Variable would be the different music types the plants are exposed to.

Dependent Variable

This is what is measured in an experiment. Ex. In an experiment on how different types of music impact plant growth, the dependent variable would be the rates of growth for each plant exposed to the music.

Diabetes

An endocrine system disorder in which the pancreas does not produces the appropriate levels of insulin and an example of how biology might impact behavior.

Alzheimer's Disease

A nervous system disorder in which memory and other important mental functions are destroyed and an example of how biology might impact behavior.

Menopause

An endocrine system event in which a female's body transitions from fertile to infertile and an example of how biology might impact behavior.

Parkinson's Disease

A nervous system disorder in which a person's control over their body deteriorates and an example of how biology might impact behavior.

Split-Brain Operation

Performed to help treat debilitating seizures by cutting the corpus callosum and separating the hemispheres of the brain.

Outcome Expectations

Bandura's term for our personal predictions about the outcomes of our behavior

fully functioning

an individual whose person and self coincide

Troxler Effect

The fading of peripheral images when the eye is fixated on a central object. The small, involuntary micro-eye movements that occur during fixation help minimize this effect.

Procedural Memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits