Intro to Psychology Exam #1 (Lipscomb University, King)

What is psychology?

Scientific study of human behavior and processes, study of the soul.

The Origins of Psychology in History

4th century BCE: Aristotle used observation and questioning to understand the body-psyche relationship. Questions were answered through observation and guesses.

Phrenelogy (1800s)

Idea that using the bumps on the skull, you can determine intellect and character traits.

Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911)

Studied heredity, theorized that greatness runs only in certain families, most fit people have high intelligence are wealthy.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Defined psychology as "science of mental life", added 2 key elements to enhance scientific nature of psychology (sensations and Feelings).

Structuralism

Examines basic elements of life

Titchener

Mentored by Wundt, relied on "self-report" data

Functionalism

Survival and adaptation

William James (1842-1910)

Father of American psychology, studied human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, speculated that all thinking was for survival.

Gestalt Psychology

"The Big Picture"

Mary Caulkins

First woman in psychology, 1st female president of APA.

Margaret Washburn

2nd female president of APA

Behaviorism

"scientific study of observable behavior" without reference to mental processes

John Watson & B.F. Skinner

Dismissed introspection, Watson & Rayner conducted conducted "Little Albert experiments.

Behaviorist

Someone who studies behavior in hopes to help someone modify that behavior.

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Behaviorist, specialized in classical conditioning (learning).

Psychoanalytic Psychology

Effect of the unconscious thought and emotions on childhood behavior.

Sigmund Freud

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.

Humanistic Psychology

Rejected Freud, an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the influences on current environment.

1960s Cognitive Psychology

Scientifically explored ways in which info is perceived, processed, and remembered

Nature vs. Nurture

Name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior

Charles Darwin

Wrote On the Origin of Species

Positive Psychology

Explores human flourishing, uses scientific methods to investigate building of good life that engages skill-building and a meaningful life that extends beyond self.

Basic Research

Builds psychology's knowledge base.

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Psychologist

Study the mind and behavior of people

Counceling Psychologist and LPC-MHSP

Help people to cope with challenges and crises and to improve their personal and social functioning.

Clinical Psychologist and LPC-MHSP

Assess and treat people with mental, emotional, and behavior disorders.

Educational Psychologist

A psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn

Developmental Psychologist

A psychologist who studies the emotional, cognitive, biological, personal, and social changes that occur as an individual matures

Community Psychologist

Work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all.

Industrial/Organizational Psychologist

A psychologist who uses psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees and managers

Experimental Psychologist

A psychologist who studies sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions

Psychiatry

Branch of medicine, can prescribe psychiatric medication.

American Psychological Association

Professional organization representing psychologists in the United States.

DSM5

The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Critical Thinking

Refers to a more careful style of forming and evaluating knowledge than simply using intuition.

Scientific Method

A logical, systematic approach to the solution of a scientific problem.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

An educated guess, testable prediction.

Methods of research

Case study, Observational Study, Self-Report, and Experiments

Case Study

Intensive study of a single group, incident, or community.

Survey

Examines many cases in less depth, can be biased.

Longitudinal Study

A study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time.

Cross-Sectional Study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables, not necessarily causation

Naturalistic Observations

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

Milgram Study

"Teacher" administered what they thought were real shocks to a "learner".

Stanford Prison Experiment

Study conducted to investigate the effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard and role playing.

Sample

Small group of participants, must be representative.

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Stratified Sample

A sample drawn in such a way that known subgroups within a population are represented in proportion to their numbers in the general population.

Causation

What do experiments study?

Variable

A factor that can change in an experiment.

Independent Variable

Variable that is manipulated.

Dependent Variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Control Group

The group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Ethics

The principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

An expectation that causes you to act in ways that make that expectation come true.

Placebo

A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.

Placebo Effect

Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement.

Single-Blind Experiment

An experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment.

Double-Blind Experiment

An experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment.

Statistics

The collection and classification of data that are in the form of numbers.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study

Normal Curve

The bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Mean

Average

Median

Middle number

Mode

Most frequently occurring score

Statistical significance

When sample averages are reliable and difference between them is relatively large.

Forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain

Brain components?

Neurons

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Axons

A part of a neuron that carries impulses away from the cell body.

Myelin Sheath

A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter that affects memory, learning, alertness, and arousal. Absence can cause depression.

Endorphins

"Morphine within"—natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables movement and memory. Absence can cause paralysis and Alzheimer's.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, emotional arousal and movement. Absence can cause Parkinson's, surplus can cause schizophrenia.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger, sleep, and mood. Undersupply can cause depression.

Agonist

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action.

Antagonist

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action.

The Nervous System

The body's electrochemical communication network.

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Spinal Cord

Nerves that branch up and down the spine.

Peripheral Nervous System

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.

Somatic Nervous System

Controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls automatic/involuntary movement

Sympathetic Nervous System

Expends energy (fight or flight)

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest and digest (conserve energy)

Endocrine System

Set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream that regulate processes such as growth, reproduction, and nutrient use (metabolism) by body cells.

Hormones

Chemicals produced by your glands that regulate the activities of different body cells.

Adrenal Gland

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress.

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. It regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Thyroid Gland

Gland that produces thyroxin and affects metabolism.

Sex Glands

Secrete sex hormones: testes (males) and ovaries (females).

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Graphical record of brain-wave activity obtained through electrodes placed on the scalp and forehead.

Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT)

A sophisticated 3D X ray of the brain.