Intro to psych final

correlational study

data collected/plotted to examine relationship between 2 things

positive correlation

one variable increases OR decreases with the other

negative correlation

association where one variable increases while the other decreases

case study

study of person; can include interviews, observations, testing

identifying cognitive, emotional, & behavioral traits

used to diagnose others

done over long period of time

experiment

control group

not exposed to independent variable; used as a baseline

experimental group

exposed to the independent variable; group being tested

independent variable

factor being manipulated to determine cause/effect

element being tested

dependent variable

what is being measured to determine effect of IV

double-blind study

researcher + participants don’t know the groups they are in

only supervisor knows

single blind study

only researcher knows which group each participant is in

(placebo, high dose, low dose)

naturalistic observation

used to observe people/animals in their normal environment; usually step 1 of research

naturalistic obs adv

cheap, easy prep, comfortable for person/animal, unknowing—>act natural

naturalistic obs dis

no control, bias, no firm conclusion

laboratory obs

observations done in lab, hospital, or doctor office (controlled environment)

lab obs adv

control, sophisticated equipment

lab obs dis

atypical behavior, discomfort

survey

questionnaires asking about opinions and experiences

survey adv

anonymity—>honesty

survey dis

hard to get representative sample, lying

placebo

inactive substance

EEG

electrodes placed on the scalp to record waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface

(sleep study/seizure)

lesion

controlled tissue destruction

MRI

magnetic fields and radio waves produce images of soft tissue

shows brain anatomy, 30+ mins

fMRI

successive MRI scans; shows brain function & blood flow

PET scan

radioactive glucose injected into patient

active neurons shown on display

warmer color = more activity

CT scan

series of Xrays from many different angles, then computer combines them all to make 3D image (computer composite)

used on brain or body

aka CAT scan

amygdala

2 areas of the brain containing neurons that influence anger, aggression, fear, and rage

cerebellum

helps control voluntary movements like muscle memory and coordination/balance

medulla

regulates automatic organ functions like heart rate, breathing, etc

pons

parietal lobe

location: near side/top of skull above occipital region

involves sensations/perceptions like pain, pressure and temperature

frontal lobe

location: behind forehead

involves motor control and complex speech, decision making, judgement

includes social filter, right vs wrong

occipital lobe

location: back of skull

visual perception like color, form, and motion

temporal lobe

location: above ears

deals with hearing like auditory processing'

lobe is responsible for opposite ear

pituitary gland

tiny part of brain that regulates all glands and hormones

hypothalamus

maintenance behaviors like eating, drinking, body temp, hunger, glucose levels

hippocampus

formation of memories

thalamus

relays sensory messages to parts of brain (excluding smell)

Broca’s area

location: frontal lobe, left hemisphere

speech production center (moving mouth, finding the right word)

Wernicke’s area

location: left side, middle back

comprehension of speech, making sense while speaking

Reticular formation

control of consciousness

alertness, sleepnig, physical coordination

if damaged you can go into coma

Narcolepsy

symptoms

• daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, paralysis, hallucinations

risk factors

• age 10-30, runs in family, hormone changes, stress, swine flu/strep throat

home treatment

• strict schedule, scheduled naps, avoid alcohol & nicotine

Sleep apnea

symptoms

• breathing stopping & starting, snoring, gasping, headache, sleepiness

risk factors

• obesity, thicker neck, narrow airway, men, old age, family

home treatment

• CPAP machine, BPAP machine, surgery, ASV

sleep paralysis

symptoms

• can’t move limbs, hallucinations, can’t speak, daytime sleepiness, fear

risk factors

• insomnia, destructive sleep patterns, PTSD, family history

home treatment

• sleep on side, reduced exposure to light, tire out body

restless leg syndrome

symptoms

• constant urge to move legs, worsened symptoms in the evening

risk factors

• no direct cause, hereditary, pregnancy, damage to arms, legs and feet

home treatment

• iron deficiency treatment, electrical stimulation, massages, warm or cool packs, magnesium supplements, iron supplements

night terrors

symptoms

• screaming, fear, waving limbs, usually outgrown, 2-3hrs after falling asleep, does not remember night terrors, appear awake (eyes open)

risk factors

• stress, underlying conditions like rls, sleep deprivation

home treatment

• CBT, hypnosis, muscle relaxation, meditation, anticipatory awakening

Kleine-Levin Syndrome

symptoms

• long periods of sleep, extreme sleepiness, increased appetite

risk factors

• flu-like illness, drugs and alcohol, boys aged 12 (usually grow out of it)

home treatment

• lithium, IV steroids, wake promoting agents

REM

sleep Stages and characteristics

effects of sleep deprivation

flashbulb memory

detailed, emotionally significant, evolved from survival, hard to forget

storage decay

memories short or long term gradually fade away

influencing factors: time, new memories interfere, age

ex: forgetting facts from a test last week

context dependent memory

recall of info when context around the memory are the same

ex: walking into old school and remembering things

state-dependent/mood-congruent

memories triggered by mood felt during memory

ex: likely to remember times you were sad if you are sad

proactive interference

difficult to learn/remember new info bc of existing info

ex: calling student name of older sibling

retroactive interference

difficult to remember old info bc of new info

ex: forgetting how to drive stuck shift after learning automatic

psychogenic amnesia

sudden loss of identity memories often caused by trauma, stress, or depression

defense mechanism

ex: witnessing war then forgetting who you are

source amnesia

unable to remember where knowledge was acquired

disconnect between verbal and event memory

ex: don’t remember learning to talk

transient global amnesia

temporary memory loss for short duration of time

retain basics like identity

linked to air travel

can’t recall recent event or how they got to where they are

ex: episode starts, person is talking then they forget what they are doing

serial position effect

likely to remember first and last things in a list

implicit memory

unconsciously used long-term memory used for repetitive tasks

ex: walking to classes

explicit memory aka declarative memory

type of long term memory relating to memories of fact

divided into semantic and episodic memories

ex: memorizing things for history test

distributed practice

we learn material more effectively when we study it several times

mnemonics

memory aids/techniques used to help remember something

childhood/infantile amnesia

adults unable to remember episodic memories from early childhood

few snapshot memories

result of undeveloped limbic system in childhood

ex: unable to remember what you did each day in preschool

milgram’s obedience study

1961

world event: holocaust

testing conformity

participants: 40 men aged 20-50 recruited through newspaper ads, from new haven, given $4.50 beforehand

believed they were participating in memory study

participant is always the teacher, shocks the actor when they get answers wrong, acted specific reactions

results: 65% reached highest level volts

influences: from yale, lab coat, physical separation, divided responsibility, limited time for reflection, contractual obligation

led to long term ethical guidelines (debriefing)

stanford prison study

1971

objective: trying to study whether treatment of American prisoners

solomon asch conformity study

social facilitation

people perform better when others are around (only true for simple tasks/already learned)

social inhibition

person changes their behavior in social situations bc they are scared of being judged

worse performance bc of a crowd

social loafing

people in a group put in less effort bc the effort is pooled

central route persuasion

method of persuasion based on facts and reasoning

peripheral route persuasion

opinions based on superficial qualities like physical attractiveness

ex: choosing a college bc its close to a beach, not for your major

bystander apathy

when you don’t intervene in a situation because you think someone else will

self-serving bias

tend to attribute success to personal traits or natural ability (neglect the situation)

attribute failure to things out of our control like bad luck or other peoples’ actions

fundamental attribution error

observer explains someone else’s behavior by underestimating the situation and overestimating personal traits

groupthink

dissenting ideas suppressed in favor of keeping group harmony

maintaining cohesiveness

just-world bias

bias where people think the world is inherently fair and everyone gets what is deserved

karma