Psych 100 Study

psychological science

the study, through research, of mind (mental activity), brain, and behavior.

levels of analysis

biological, individual, social, cultural

behaviorism

focuses on observable behavior

structuralism

theory of consciousness that seeks to analyze mental images, feelings and how they relate

functionalism

approach that focuses on the adaptiveness of the mind and behavior

gestalt psychology

emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts

psychodynamic theory

individual drives and forces that explain human behavior

correlational research

research methods that examine and describe relationships between variables, but do not determine relationships

positive correlation

both variables increase or decrease together

negative correlation

increase in one variable leads to decrease in the other variable

zero correlation

change in variable does not predict change in the second variable

independent variable

variable that is manipulated in an experiment

dependent variable

measured variable after manipulation

scientific method

observation of phenomenon, question, theory, hypothesis, design study, conduct study, analyze data, report results

confound

anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally cause variation in results of a study (ex: location of experiment such as large window room vs. small private room)

expectancy effect

expectations lead them to treat a variable in a way that produces expected results

clever hans expectancy effect

hans the horse performed math problems for crowds, while his owner directed him. when a psychologist tested the horse's math skills without his owner or a crowd, he could not solve the math problems.

random sample

every member of the population of interest is equally as likely to be included (ex: students going to school in the US)

convenience sample

a convenience sample is taken from a subgroup of the full population that happens to be available (ex: students at a particular school)

dendrites

branchlike extensions of the neuron that detect chemical signals from nearby neurons

cell body

where information from thousand of other neurons is collected and integrated

axon

outgrowth of a neuron by which information is conducted from the cell body to terminal buttons

terminal buttons

buttons at the end of the axon which release chemical signals from neuron into the synapse

synapse

space between sending and receiving neurons where chemical communication occurs

agonists

drugs and toxins that enhance the actions of neurotransmitters by introducing a drug that increases neurotransmitters, or one that blocks the receptors on the presynaptic cell that trigger the reuptake of the neurotransmitter, thus keeping it in the synapse longer, or by mimicking the action of the neurotransmitter on the postsynaptic cell, thus activating the receptor

antagonists

impair the function of neurotransmitters by introducing a substance that reduces amount of neurotransmitters, facilitating neurotransmitter destruction, or by blocking the postsynaptic receptors, thus preventing the neurotransmitter from activating them

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight, prepares body for action by increase heart, blood flow, inhibiting stomach etc.

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest, lowers heart rate and breathing, stimulates stomach

the four lobes of the cerebral cortex

frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal

frontal lobe

thought, planning, personality, emotions/regulation, movement, recall memory

parietal lobe

attention, touch, spatial relation

temporal lobe

sound processing, entering new info into memory, language

occipital lobe

visual processing, receives info from opposite side

cerebellum

controls motor function, damage could effect balance, coordination

primary somatosensory motor cortex

a strip in the front part of the parietal lobe that runs along the central fissure from the top of the brain down the sides and groups nearby sensations (ex: feeling on fingertips is near palms)

hypothalamus

regulates bodily functions such as body temp, sleep, blood pressure, appetite, water intake

hippocampus

forms new memories

amygdala

learning to associate things w emotional response, processing emotional information (ex: evaluates facial expression), responding to biological stimuli, fear, survival instincts

thalamus

gateway to brain, receives all incoming info before arriving at the cortex, keeps you asleep

biopsychosocial model

biological practices, psychological practices and social influences shape mental life and behavior

what is the body's biological response to stress?

-> stress begins in brain w stressor

-> hypothalamus first activates the sympathetic nervous system, which activates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine and norepinephrine

What is the bodys biological response to stress?

-> triggers increased heart rate, redistribution of the blood supply from skin and viscera (digestive organs) to muscles and brain, deepening of respiration, dilation of the pupils, inhibition of gastric secretions

-> adrenals secrate cortizol to prepare the body for injury

general adaptation syndrome

alarm (increased heartrate, blood pressure), resistance (immune system increases activity to fight stressors), exhaustion (psychological and immune systems fail)

emotion based coping

trying to prevent from having an emotional response to a stressor (coping strategies: venting, social support, positive reinterpretation)

problem focused coping

taking direct steps to address a problem, perceive stressors as controllable (coping strategies: planning, changing stressor)

benefits of exercise

improved psychical and mental health, reduced risk of cancer and heart disease, improved memory, cognition, growth of neurons, larger brain, faster healing of wounds

sensation

detection of physical stimuli and transmission of that information to the brain

perception

processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory information

bottom-up processing

based on psychical features of stimulus (ex: you recognize a splash of root beer based on your experience of the scent, moisture, and taste)

top-down processing

how knowledge, expectations, past experience shape interpretation of sensory info

how touch travels from skin to brain

tactile information -> information travels through axons through the central nervous system and reaches the thalamus, which then sends it to the primary somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe

unconditioned response

response that doesn't have to be learned

unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that elicits response without prior knowledge

conditioned stimulus

stimulus that elicits response after learning

conditioned response

conditioned stimulus response after learning

classical conditioning

autonomic process in which a neutral stimulus elicits a newly learned response because it has become associated with a stimulus that already produces that response (dog knows sound of can opener means food)

stimulus generalization

stimulus similar to conditioned stimulus produce conditioned response

stimulus discrimination

ability to differentiate between stimuli

operant conditioning

reinforcement and consequences of an action determine likelihood of repeating behavior in the future (ex: rat is trapped in a box with a pedal that opens the cage so that it can eat food)

throndike's law of effect

positive result-> likely to result again

negative result-> unlikely to result again

positive reinforcement

a pleasurable stimulus is delivered after a behavior (e.g., giving a dog a treat for sitting)

negative reinforcement

engaging in behavior to remove an unwated stimulus (ex: putting on a jacket in the snow, picking up a crying baby)

positive punishment

decreases the behavior's probability through the administration of a stimulus (ex: being called to the office and reprimanded)

negative punishment

decreases the behavior's probability

through the removal of a usually pleasant stimulus (ex: getting car taken away)

Negative Punishment

primary reinforcer

satisfy biological needs such as food and water

secondary reinforcer

don't satisfy biological needs, established through classical conditioning such as money

social learning

ability to learn by observing others, modeling (copying) and through instruction

serial position effect

recall ability depends on the order a list is presented because it's easier to remember things at the beginning and end of the list

primacy effect

people have a good memory for items at the beginning of a list

recency effect

people have a good memory for items at the end of a list

explicit memory

memory that is consciously retrieved

procedural memory

type of memory that involves skills, habits and are preformed automatically (ex. driving a car, bike)

episodic memory

memory for past experience defined by time and place

semantic memory

memory for facts outside of personal experience

state-dependent retrieval

the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same mental state during encoding and retrieval (intoxicated or not)

context-dependent retrieval

the improved ability to retrieve information when the conditions of the original learning environment are reproduced

retrograde amnesia

trouble recalling events prior to trauma

anterograde amnesia

trouble recalling events after trauma

case of h.m.

h.m. had severe seizures that prompted doctors to remove parts of his medial temporal lobe which resulted in him having anterograde amnesia the rest of his life

ways to improve memory

creating meaning, organization, structuring info, elaboration, personal examples, study in different environments

algorithm

guideline that yields the correct answer

heuristics

informal guidelines used to reduce the amount of thinking needed to make decisions

prototype model

within each category there is a best example

exemplar model

all members of a category are examples and together form the concept and determine the category

availability heuristic

making a decision based on the answer that most easily comes to mind

representative heuristic

tendency to place person/object in a category if theyʻre similar to prototype

stereotype threat

occurs when members of stigmatized groups perform poorly at a task because of anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype about their group

piaget's stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor

birth - 2 years: differentiates self from objects, acts intentionally, achieves object permanence

pre-operational

2 - 7 years: use language to represent, can't understand other viewpoints, classifies objects by 1 feature

concrete operational

7 - 12 years: think logically, classifies objects by several features

formal operational

12 + years: think abstract, concerned w/ hypothetical, the future

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

conservation

the realization that properties of objects remain the same even when appearance changes

how do developmental motor milestones differ across cultures?

in some cultures children do not learn to crawl before walking, and sometimes children learn at different paces

harry harlow's study

infant monkeys were put in a cage with a "mother" made of wire which produced milk and another "mother" made of soft terry cloth that did not. when frightened the infants went to the soft mother for comfort.