Psychology 1000 Exam 1 (Mizzou-Miller)

Psychologist

Describes someone whose career involves predicting behavior.

Neuro/Bio Psychologist

Someone who monitors nervous system reactions from events or drugs.

Cognitive Psychologist

Someone who studies how people process information.

Developmental Psychologist

Someone who views how people change and develop over time.

Personality Psychologist

Observes how we respond to people, how we grow and change from situations, and how we behave in a constant way.

Social Psychologist

Observes how people should act in certain situations, how people around you act and set expectations.

Cultural Psychology

How culture and traditions grow and vary over time.

School Psychologist

Helps with academic performance and is there as a counselor.

Industrial/Organizational (IO) Psychologist

Works in corporations to improve efficiency and act as a counselor to workers.

Hindsight bias

knowing of signs of something but not able to predict future event

Confirmation bias

selective sampling of information. Placing great importance on evidence that supports your beliefs

self serving bias

failing to accurately judge source credibility, seeing relationships that don't exist

John B. Watson

-Learned "Determinism" perspective on behavior.

-Found there is no relationship between brain Myelinization and learning ability.

-Wrote the Behaviorist Manifesto

-Showed there is relationship between behavior and response

-Stated that psychological disorders can be treated by changing behavior

Extrasensory Perception

The ability to look into another's mind.

Scientific Inquiry

-What is the evidence?

-Where did the evidence come from?

-How was the research done?

Why is it important to detect myths?

-Psychological myths can be harmful

-Can cause indirect damage

-Acceptance of myths can impede our critical thinking in other areas

Scientific Method

A systematic and objective approach to answer research questions

-Theory, Hypothesis, Research, Support/fail to support the theory

What are the steps to the scientific method?

Form a hypothesis, conduct a literature review, design a study, conduct the study, analyze the data, report the results

Operation definition

a definition that qualifies and quantifies a variable so the variable can be understood objectively

Case Study

method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization

participant observation

a type of descriptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation

naturalistic observation

a type of study in which the researcher is a passive observer, separated from the situation and making no attempt to change the behavior

self report method

surveys or questionnaires, gather data from a large number of people

Parsimony

The simplest version to look at things

Variable

Something in the world that can vary and that a research can measure

Correlational Studies

How variables are naturally related to each other in the real world

Directionality Problem

Which variable caused changes in the other variable?

Third-Variable Problem

Does another unmeasured variable cause another to change?

Illusory Correlation

Perception of correlation when non exists

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured

Experimental group

the participants in an experiments who receive treatment

Control group

participants that receive no intervention or who receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable

Confound

anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the study's different experimental conditions

Representative sample

population that accurately reflects the members of the entire population. A representative sample should be an unbiased indication of what the population is like.

Convenience sample

consists of people who are conveniently available for the study

Random assignment

placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable

Institutional Review Board

Groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants

Informed consent

participants make a knowledgable decision to participate

Selection Bias

Things you want to avoid choosing when looking for variables to study.

External validity

The degree to which the findings can be generalized to other people, settings or situations

Validity

data must accurately measure the concepts that you think they measure, accurately represent phenomena that occur outside of the lab, and accurately reveal effects due specifically and only to manipulation of the independent variable

Construct validity

the extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure

internal validity

the degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds

Mean

a measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers

Median

a measure of central tendency that is the value in a set of numbers that falls directly halfway between the lowest and highest values

Mode

a measure of central tendency that is the most frequent score or value in a set of numbers

Range

the distance between the largest and the smallest value

Standard Deviation

A statistical measure of how far away each value is, on average, from the mean.

Santiago Ramon y Cajal: The Neuron Doctrine

-The nervous system isn't random

-There is consistent and predictable communication

-Behavior comes from neural communication

Neurons

Specialized to receive, integrate, and transmit information

Glia

Provide structure, support and protection; aid communication, and repair damage

Central Nervous system

the brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

all nerve cells in the body that are not part of the central nervous system. The peripheral nervous system includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems

Genotype

the genetic constitution of an organism, determined at the moment of conception

phenotype

observable physical characteristics, which result from both genetic and environmental influences

Hereditiy

the transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring by means of genes

Heritability

a statistical estimate of the extent to which variation in a train within a population is due to genetics

Somatic nervous system

component of peripheral nervous system; transmits sensory signals and motor signals between the central nervous system and the skin, muscles, and joints

Autonomic nervous system

a component of the peripheral nervous system; transmits sensory signals and motor signals between the central nervous system and the body's glands and internal organs

Sympathetic

division of the nervous system that prepares the body for action(autonomic)

Parasympathetic

division of the autonomic nervous system; it return the body to its resting state

Describe the role of genetics and the environment on human behavior

Environmental factors may also influence how a gene, once turned on, influences our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Genetics is typically used to describe how characteristics such as height, hair color, and eye color are passed along to offspring through inheritance.

Sensory Neurons

(Affron) Sends info from the feeling to the nervous system

Interneurons

Integrates the feeling into the brain

Efferent

Motor neurons, tells the muscle to move

Dendrites

Receive the info from other neurons

Axon

Info always leaves the cell body and goes through this

-Small and send info

Myelin Sheath

Covers the axon but aids the sending of messages

Terminal Buttons

Release the info into other neurons

Chemical Neuron Communication

Happens between neurons (Neurotransmitters)

Electrical Neuron Communication

Happens in the neurons (Membrane is polarized and has action potential)

How Electrical Works

The sodium and potassium channels open. The cell becomes depolarized. The sodium channel closes and repolarization begins. Finally the potassium channel closes.

Drugs

Change/inhibit neurotransmitters from communicating

Acetylcholine

Responsible for motor control, learning, memory, sleeping and dreaming

Epinephrine

Responsible for energy release

Norepinephrine

Responsible for arousal, vigilance and attention

Serotonin

Responsible for emotional states, impulsiveness, and dreaming

Dopamine

Rewards and Motivation as well as motor control over voluntary movement

GABA

Inhibition of actions proteins, anxiety reduction

Glutamate

Enhancement of action potentials, learning, and memory

Endorphines

Pain reduction and rewards

Dementia

A decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life

-Problems with memory, communication and language, ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning and judgement, and visual perception

Alzheimer's Disease

A type of dementia that is most common

-Occurs when plaque (deposits from protein Beta Amyloid) builds up between the neurons in the brain

-Tangles are a buildup of tau protein in the cells

Electroencephelograph (EEG)

Measures the brain's electrical activity

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Scans the brain's metabolic activity

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI)

Maps mental activity based on oxygen and blood

Consciousness

Open eyes, sleep-wake cycles, consistently aware of surroundings, can communicate

Minimally Conscious

Open eyes, sleep-wake cycles, inconsistently aware of surroundings, inconsistent communication

Persistent Vegetative State

Open eyes, sleep-wake cycle, no evidence of awareness of surroundings, no communication

Coma

No open eyes, no evidence of sleep-wake cycle, no evidence of awareness of surroundings, no communication

Insomnia

Peoples' mental health and ability to function is compromised by their inability to sleep.

Idiopathic Insomnia

Not sure why someone has insomnia

Transient Insomnia

Something in their environment is causing someone to not sleep

Iatrogenic/Poor Sleep Hygiene

Occurs when using your phone when you wake up in the middle of the night, or when you use drugs to try and fall asleep.

Pseudoinsomnia

Believe we are out and about with friends at night when really you are actually sleeping in bed. Your dream feels so real that you think you have been awake all night.

Narcoleptic insomnia

A sleep disorder in which people experience excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours, sometimes going limp and collapsing

Circadian Rhythm

Our bodies time clock that regulates when we are tired and when we are awake

Zeitgaber

A source that causes the circadian rhythm to function. (Light, noise, heat) Cause you to wake up or fall asleep

Hypocretin/Orexin

Chemical in your brain that causes you to feel awake