Psychology 1

Psychology definition

Study of brain, mind, and behavior

Empirical

based on systematic collection of data

Scientific method

set of assumptions, rules, and procedures scientists use to conduct research.

laws

principles that are so general as to apply to all situations in a given domain of inquiry

theory

integrated set of principles that explains and predicts many, but not all observed relationships within a given domain of inquiry.

Conceptual Variable

abstract ideas that form the basis of research hypotheses.

2 types of conceptual variables

Simple and Complex

Example of Simple Conceptual Variable

age, gender, weight. (easy to measure)

Example of Complex Conceptual Variable

anxiety, cognitive development, learning, self esteem (harder to measure)

3 main methods a researcher uses to collect, analyze, and interpret data

Descriptive, Correlational, and experimental research

Descriptive research

provides a snapshot of current state of affair.

Correlational research

discover relationships among variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge.

Experimental research

measurement of the influence of manipulation

Case studies

descriptive records of one or more individuals experiences and behavior

Naturalistic observation

Research based on the observation of everyday events.

Descriptive Statistics

numbers that summarize the distribution of scores on a measured variable

Common casual variable

A variable not part of the research hypothesis that causes both the predictor and the outcome variable and thus a correlation.

Construct Validity

the extent to which the variables used in the research adequately assess the conceptual variables they were desired to measure.

Statistical significance

The confidence with which a scientist can conclude that data is not due to chance or random error

statistical conclusion validity

the extent to which we can be certain that the researcher has drawn an accurate conclusion about the statistical significance of the research

Internal Validity

the extent to which we can trust the conclusions about the relationships between independent and dependent variables

Confounding variable

One experimental condition differ systematically from those in other conditions

Experimental bias

a situation in which the experimenter subtly treats the research participants in the various experimental conditions differently, resulting in an invalid confirmation of the research hypothesis

Double-blind experiment

Both the researcher and the research participants are blind to condition

replication

repeating previous research

meta analysis

statistical technique that uses the results of existing studies to integrate and draw conclusions

3 empirical challenges in psych

Complexity, variability, and reactivity

Validity

extent to which a operational definition and a property have a clear conceptual relationship.

reliability

When a measure produces the same results every time it is used to measure the same thing

Law of large numbers

as sample sizes increase, the average property of the sample closely reflects the average property of the population from which it was drawn.

Demand Characteristic

When participants behave as they think an observer wants or expects them to behave.

Correlation does NOT establish causation

true.

Manipulation

changing a single variable in order to determine its casual power

Consciousness

our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment

Dualism

The idea that the mind is separate from the physical body

Unconscious

indicates senseless or a barrier of awareness

Mindfulness

A state of higher consciousness that includes an awareness of the thoughts passing through ones head

hypothesis

your tenative prediction.

external validity

ability to generalize from our experiment outside of the study.

+/- of using a cadaver brain

+ lead to discoveries about brain structure

- studies are limited due to the fact that the brain is not active

EEG recording

Measure electrical activity across

the surface of the brain

fMRI

measures blood flow in the brain during different activities, provides info about neuron activity and functions of brain regions

TMS

temporarily deactivates a small brain region, the goal is testing the casual effects of the deactivation on behavior.

Is the resting potential of a neuron positive or negative?

negative -70mV

All or none principles

When thresholds are met and a action potenitial fires there is only one strength

Order in which neurons recieve transmissions

dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminals

Peripheral nervous system

nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord

central nervous system

is the brain and spinal cord

Autonomic (NS)

involuntary, we can't control. organs, blood-cells, glands, heart rate.

Somatic (NS)

voluntary control of the body's movements. use of muscle.

Sympathetic (NS)

"fight or flight"

Parasympathetic (NS)

returns body to resting state

dorsal

top of the brain

ventral

bottom of the brain

anterior

front of brain

posterior

back of the brain

Lateral

away from the midline

medial

Toward the midline of the brain

Frontal Lobe

movement, emotion regulation, speech, planning, self control

Parietal lobe

symbolic processing, interprets sensory info

occipital lobe

vision

Temporal lobe

language processing, memory, complex visual processing

Neuroplasticity

Changes that occur in organization of the brain as a result of experience (damage/ recovery)

sensory receptors

specialized neurons that respond to specific types of stimuli

sensation

when sensory info is detected by a sensory receptor

transduction

conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

subliminal messages

messages presented below the threshold for conscious awareness

just noticeable difference (JND)

The amount of something that must be changed for the difference to be noticeable

Perception

the way sensory info is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced.

Bottom up processing

sensory info from a stimulus in the environment driving a process. (data assembly)

top-down processing

Knowledge and expectancy driving a process (theory testing)

Sensory adaption

when you don't perceive stimuli that remain relatively constant over prolonged periods of time.

signal detection theory

The ability to discriminate between a true sensory stimulus and background noise.

Cornea

transparent covering over the eye. Serves as a barrier between the inner eye and outside world. Focuses on light waves that enter the eye.

Pupil

small opening in the eye through which light passes and the size of the pupil can change as a function of light levels as well as emotional arousal. Dialates when its dark.

iris

colored portion of the eye.

Lens

provides additional focus

Fovia and retina

light sensitive lining of the eye. fovia is the center.

Cones

specialized types of photoreceptors that work best in bright light conditions.

Rods

Specialized types of photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions.

optic nerve

carries visual info from the retina to the brain

optic chiasm

optic nerve from each eye merges just below the brain

After image

describes the continuation of a visual sensation after removal of the stimulus

depth perception

ability to describe things as being in front, behind, above, below, or to the side of other things.

binocular cues

rely on the use of both eyes

binocular disparity

the slightly different view of the world that each of our eyes receives

monocular cues

seeing 2D things and your brain perceives it as 3D

linear perspective

the fact that we see depth when we see 2 paralell lines that seem to converge in an image

Psychophysics

the branch of psychology that studies the effects of physical stimuli on sensory perceptions and mental states (Gustav Fechner)

Signal detection analysis

a technique used to determine the ability of the perciever to seperate true signals from background noise

responce bias

behavioral tendency to respond "yes" to the trials which is independent of sensitivity

Webers law

just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original intensity of the stimulus

subliminal stimuli

events that occur below the absolute threshold and of which we are not conscious

Blindsight

a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Gestalt psychology

perception involves more then simply combining sensory stimuli

figure ground relationship

we tend to segment our visual world info figure and ground

figure= object or person ground= background

law of continuity

we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines

principles of closure

we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather then as a series of events

pattern perception

our ability to discriminate among different figures and shapes.

Occurs by following the principles described above.