Psych AP Test Review

Psychology

derived from physiology and philosophy

structuralism

used INTROSPECTION (act of looking inward to examine mental experience) to determine the underlying STRUCTURES of the mind

functionalism

need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior

psychoanalytic/dynamic

unconscious, childhood

behavioral

learned, reinforced

humanistic

free will, choice, ideal, actualization

cognitive

perceptions, thoughts

evolutionary

genes

biological

brain neurotransmitters

sociocultural

society

biopsychosocial

combo of biological and sociocultural

Mary Calkins

first female president of American Psychological Association

Margaret Floy Washburn

1st female phD

Charles Darwin

natural selection and evolution

Dorothea Dix

reformed mental institutions in U.S.

Stanley Hall

1st president of APA

William James

Father of American Psychology-functionalist

Wilhelm Wundt

father of modern psychology-structuralist

basic research

purpose is to increase knowledge (rats)

applied research

purpose is to help people

psychologist

research or counseling – MS or PhD

psychiatrist

prescribe medications and diagnose – M.D.

independent variable

purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

Experimental group

received the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple exp, groups

control group

placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1

placebo effect

show behaviors associated with the exp. group when having received placebo

dependent variable

 measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

double-blind

Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people assigned to (drug studies)

single blind

only participant blind – used if experimenter can’t be blind (gender, age, etc)

quasi

experimental design – random assignment to conditions is impossible (can’t randomly assign gender)

operational definition

clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables – allows replication

confound

error/ flaw in study

random assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random –increase chance of equal representation among groups (spreads the lefties across both groups)

random sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study –everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

representative sample

 Sample mimics the general pop. (ethnic, gender, age)

stratified sampling

if you need to ensure a rep. sample you can separate your population before you sample (ex. make sure get 80% women, 20% men)

correlation

-adv.identify relationship between two variables

-Disadv: No cause and effect

-(CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION)

positive correlation

variables increase & decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

3rd variable problem (lurking variable)

diff. variable is responsible for relationship (breast implants & suicide)

illusory correlation

belief of correlation that doesn’t exist (old man predicts rain from arthritis)

social desirability

people lie to look good

wording effects

how you frame the question can impact your answers (see Loftus in Cognition)

naturalistic observation

Adv: real world validity (observe people in their own setting)

Disadv: No cause and effect

Case study

Adv. Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail – lots of info

Disadv: No cause and effect

neuron

basic cell of the nervous system

dendrites

receive incoming neurotransmitters

soma

cell body (includes nucleus)

axon

AP travels down this

myein sheath

speeds up AP down axon, protects axon, MS destroys this

terminals

release NTs – send signal onto next neuron

vesicles

sacs inside terminal contain NTs (rhymes w/?)

synapse

gap between neurons

action potential

 movement of Na and K ions across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon (more Na outside – like a salty banana)

all or none law

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)

refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP

sensory neurons

receive sense signals

afferent neurons

brain accepts signals

motor neurons

signals to move

efferent neurons

signal exits brain

interneurons

cells in spinal cord responsible for reflex loop

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

rest of the nervous system

somatic nervous system

voluntary movement

autonomic nervous system

involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)

sympathetic nervous system

Arouses the body for fight/flight (generally activates – sympathetic to you getting eaten by a tiger helps you run away)

parasympathetic NS

established homeostasis after a sympathetic response (generally inhibits)

neurotransmitters (NT)

Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons

Gaba

major inhibitory NT

glutomate

Major Excitatory NT (get excited when seeing your mates!

dopamine

reward and movement

serotonin

moods and emotion

acetylcholine (ACh)

memory

Epinephrine and Norephinephrine

sympathetic NS arousal

endorphins

pain control

oxycotin

love and bonding

agonist

drug that mimics a NT

antagonist

drug that blocks a NT

reuptake

Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake – treatment for depression

hindbrain

oldest part of the brain

cerebellum

movement/balance

medulla

vital organs

pons

bridge between regions-basic functions

reticular formation

alertness

forebrain

higher thought processes

amygdala

emotions, fear

hippocampus

memory

hypothalamus

Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors – link to endocrine system

thalamus

relay center for all but smell

cerebral cortex

outer portion of the brain – higher order thought processes

occipital lobe

vision

frotal lobe

decision making, planning, judgement, movement, personality

parietal lobe

sensations

temporal lobe

hearing and face recognition

somatosensory cortex

map of our touch receptors-in parietal lobe

motor cortex

map of our motor receptors – located in frontal lobe

left hemisphere only

damage results in aphasia (damaged speech)

broca’s area

inability to produce speech (Broca-broken speech)