PSY2012 Final 3

psychology

scientific study of the mind and behavior, both of which depend on processing in the brain

critical thinking

systematically evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions

critical thinking entitles?

keeping an open mind

recognize the evidence that is present

determine reasonable conclusions; should the claim be accepted or rejected

contemporary school of thought:
psychoanalytic

freud

unconscious thoughts
maximizes pleasure

contemporary school of thought:
gestalt

wertheimer and kohler

individuals' perceptions as a unified whole

contemporary school of thought:
behaviorism

watson and skinner

behavior in response to environment

"monkey see, monkey do"

contemporary school of thought:
humanistic

maslow and rogers

how people can become happier and more fulfilled; focuses on goodness, freewill, & choice

contemporary school of thought:
cognitive

miller and neisser

internal mental processes that INFLUENCE behavior

Hypothesis

A testable prediction

operational definition

something that can be tested and measured

Theory

well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations

true experiment

The only research strategy that can determine that something causes something else

involves randomly assigning people to different treatments and then looking at the outcome

NEED indep and dep variable

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

driving performance

DEPENDS on what participant does

control group

group that does not receive the experimental treatment

experimental group

group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance

minimizes preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

directionality problem: correlation

which variable caused changes in the other

third variable problem: correlation

A problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables

as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest

what makes an correlational study different from an experimental study?

correlational studies aren't cause and effect

observational studies

Researchers carefully and systematically observe and record behavior without interfering with behavior

typically used in natural environments

surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people DIRECTLY about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions

case studies

a research method that involves the intensive examination of a few unusual people or organizations

sample

a subset of the population

population

general group you want to know about

dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information

cell body

info received from thousands of other neurons is collected and integrated here

axon

lets neuron transmit info to other neurons

conducts electrical impulses

myelin sheath

fatty material that covers and insulates some axons

allows faster movements of electrical impulses to axon

terminal buds

transmit messages to other neurons

synapse

space between neurons where communication takes place through neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters

chemical substances that carry signals from one neuron to another

axon potential

neural impulse that travels along axon and causes release of neurotransmitters into the synapse

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cord

organizes and evaluates info, sends the PNS to perform behaviors

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

VOLUNTARY

Automatic Nervous System (ANS)

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)

INVOLUNTARY

sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

parasympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

REST AND DIGEST

endocrine system

a communication system that uses hormones to influence mental activity and behavior

hormones

The chemical substances released by the endocrine glands

glands

Organs or tissues in the body that create chemicals that control many of our bodily functions

Neuroplasticity

property of the brain that causes it to change through experience, drugs or injury

corpus callosum

lets info flow from left & right hemispheres

frontal lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead

speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

motor cortex

neurons send messages directly to the spinal cord to move body's muscles

controls voluntary movements

somatosensory cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch and body position

occipital lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

primary visual cortex

The region of the cerebral cortex that receives information directly from the visual system

located in the occipital lobe

temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language

primary auditory cortex

the region of the superior temporal lobe whose primary input is from the auditory system

thalamus

relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus

directs eating, drinking, body temperature

helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion

helps with homeostasis

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage

pons

sleep and arousal

A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

substantia nigra

An area of the midbrain that is involved in motor control and contains a large concentration of dopamine-producing neurons

Medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Cerebellum

A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills

balance and coordination

Sensation

detection of external physical stimulus and the transmission of info abt this stimulus to the brain

Perception

brain's further processing of sensory info

Transduction

sensory receptors change the stimulus input into signals that the brain can understand

bottom-up processing

perception based on the physical features of the stimulus

top-down processing

perception based on knowledge, expectations, or past experiences

absolute threshold

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect

difference threshold aka just noticeable difference

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

sensory adaptation

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

kinesthetic sense

internal sense that tells you how your body and limbs are positioned in space

vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

monocular depth cues

cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone

binocular depth cues

clues about distance based on the differing views of the two eyes

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

conditioned\= learned

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response

not learned

unconditioned response (UR)

reaction that's elicited instinctively

not learned

conditioned stimulus

prompts a reaction only AFTER learning has occurred

learned

conditioned response

reaction that's elicited only AFTER learning has occurred

neutral stimulus (NS)

a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

unconditioned response is the same as \_____________ \___________

conditioned response

conditioned stimulus is the same as \_______________ \_________________

neutral stimulus

extinction

conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus is repeated without the unconditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

previously extinguished response reemerges after the conditioned stimulus is presented again

stimulus generalization

learning that occurs when stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus produce the conditioned response

stimulus discrimination

learning to differentiate between 2 similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus

shaping

a conditioning paradigm used primarily in the experimental analysis of behavior

allows you to build desired behavior

positive reinforcement

the ADDITION of a stimulus to increase the probability that a behavior will be repeated

negative reinforcement

the REMOVAL of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (ex: food)

secondary reinforcer

reinforcing only after the organism has been conditioned to find it reinforcing

positive punishment

DECREASES the behavior's probability through the administration of a stimulus

negative punishment

the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

observational learning

learning by observing others

can be negative or positive

Capacity and duration of sensory memory

capacity: high capacity, almost limitless

duration: ranges for the different sense but (.2-4 seconds)

capacity and duration of long term memory

capacity: practically limitless

duration: pretty much until death

capacity and duration of short term memory

capacity: small

duration: 20-30 seconds

According to George Miller's memory span, how many items can we hold in our short term memory at one time?

5 to 9

+/- two

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units

often occurs automatically

elaborative rehearsal

Using working memory processes to think about how new information relates to ourselves or our prior knowledge (semantic information)

provides deeper encoding of information for more successful long-term storage.