Psychology // Neuroscience Notes (College Level)

Phrenology (Franz Gall)

theory that the bumps on the skull could reveal our mental abilities and character traits

Classical Conditioning

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

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind. Father of psychoanalysis.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Reinforcing Feedback Loop

An amplifying or enhancing feedback loop, also known as a "positive feedback loop" because it reinforces the direction of change. (Positive)

Balancing Feedback Loop

a stabilizing, goal-seeking, regulating feedback loop, also known as a "negative feedback loop" because it opposes, or reverses, (Negative)

Cognitive Revolution

The shift away from strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s, characterized by renewed interest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental processes.

Who Declared: "Psychology, as the study of behavior." ?

John Watson

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Psychoanalytics (Freud)

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Behaviorism (Watson)

Behavior could be reliably measured. The effect of experience upon it should be the focus of psychology.

Functionalism (William James)

early school of thought promoted by W. James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.

Gestalt Psychology

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

Humanistic Psychology

an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings

Id

a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification.

Ego

the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Superego

the mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly learned as parents exercise their authority

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

founder of classical conditioning while trying to study digestive system

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals (External)

Mental Processes

internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior (Internal)

Case Study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cord, controls automatic movement

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

connects the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, organs and senses in the periphery of the body

Somatic Nervous System (SNS)

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Division of the autonomic nervous system that slows down body functions, activated when you relax or when SNS stimulated too long.

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). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

Endocrine System

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Split brain

a condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them

Lobotomy

immoral brain surgery for treatment of certain mental disorders, known for intentionally damaging the frontal lobe

EEG (electroencephalogram)

shows brain's electrical activity by positioning electrodes over the scalp

M.E.G (magnetoencephalography)

a brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain's natural electrical activity

PET (positron emission tomography)

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy.

fMRI (functional MRI)

A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function.

Conscious

the state or quality of awareness of internal and external states, thoughts, feelings, and the surrounding environment

Preconscious

the layer of the mind containing thoughts, memories, and feelings that you are not currently aware of

Sustained Attention

The ability to focus on a single task, stimulus, or activity over an extended period

Selective Attention

We choose specific things in our environment to pay attention to while ignoring others, filtering out less important information

Dichotic Listening

participants listen to two different messages at the same time with each message being played in one ear then asked to repeat one of the messages they hear. people memorized the one they payed attention to,

Cocktail Party Effect

Despite heavy stimulation, something can switch your attention.

Inattentional Blindness

When your attention goes to another object or task, you fail to notice unexpected objects even if they appear where you are focusing,

Divided Attention

How well we can focus on many things at the same time, basics of multitasking. When we try to pay attention to multiple things at the same time, we pay less attention to each thing result in slower performance, more mistakes, and greater mental fatigue

Switch Tasking

An executive brain function that lets you move your attention from one activity to another.

Capacity Theory

Idea that attention is a limited resource.

Mind-Wandering

When your thoughts shift away from the primary task you should engaging in

Thinking

the active mental process of using the mind to consider, reason, solve problems, form opinions, and process information.

Concepts

Building blocks of cognition, symbols of anything mental.

Formal Concepts

A mental category defined by a strict, universal set of rules, guidelines, or properties that must be completely met for an item to belong

Natural Concepts

a mental category that people form through direct or indirect real-world experience rather than a strict set of fixed rules

Schemas

Mental structures used to organize knowledge on concepts and knowledge.

Prototype (Psychology)

Mental image or best example of a concept, comes to the mind quickly. often most average depiction.

Exemplar

Any example of an item with an overarching concept.

Dual Process Thinking

Automatic Thinking

Unconscious, unintentional thinking.

Controlled Thinking

Conscious, willing thought. Can only use when you have the attention, intention and ability: eg. Motivation

Judgemental Heuristics

Mental shortcuts people use to make,

Availability Heuristic (Automatic Thinking)

A mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgement on the ease with which they can bring something to mind (e.g; Stranger Danger)

Representativeness (Automatic Thinking)

A mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case.

Base-Rate Information (Representativeness)

Information about the frequency of different categories in a population

Stroop Effect

A cognitive delay and mental conflict that happens when you try to name the ink color of a word instead of reading the word itself.

Anchor & Adjustment (Automatic Thinking)

Anchor: The Initial Starting Point.

Estimate: Up or Down from the Anchor.

Most people don’t adjust enough from the Anchor.

Counter-Factual Thinking (Controlled Thinking)

Mentally challenging some aspect of the past as a way of imagining what might have been, the easier it is to mentally undo an outcome, the more emotional the result may be.

Problem Solving (Controlled Thinking)

A problem in a situation in which a person has a goal that is not accomplished yet.

Problem Space (Controlled Thinking)

All possible configurations of steps to solve a problem.

Algorithms (Controlled Thinking)

The process/set of steps taken in order to solve a problem.

Hill Climbing (Algorithms)

Working Backwards (Algorithms)

Means-End Analysis (Algorithms)

Analogical Problem Solving

A type of problem solving where an individual thinks of a similar problem and solution to a similar, unsolved problem and solution.

Prior Experience (Analogical Problem Solving)

Uses a past solution (the source problem) to solve a new, similar challenge (the target problem) by transferring underlying structural principles rather than surface detail

Mental Set

An established frame of mind or tendency to approach a problem the exact same way it was solved in the past.

Fixation (Bias)

an intense, persistent focus or "stuckness" on a person, object, idea, or early stage of development

Confirmation Bias (Bias)

The tendency to search for information that supports pre-existing beliefs.

Belief Perseverance (Bias)

Tendency for people to retain

Illusionary Correlation (Bias)

Perceiving an association between two variables where there is none

Illusionary Causation (Bias)

Perceiving a causal relationship between two variables where there is none

Framing (Bias)

The way an issue is worded can impact the way we interpret the situation.

Cognitive Dissonance (Bias)

T.he mental discomfort a person feels when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or ideas, or when their behavior does not match their belief

Critical Period (Language)

Two Factor Theory Intelligence

Two types of intelligence

S - Specific Intelligence

G - General Intelligence

Multi-Intelligence Theory

The theory of 9 types of intelligence,

Triarchic Theory

Purely analytical and logical thinking skills, creative thinking and practical thinking.

Validity

Reliability

Binet-Simon Intelligence Test

a psychological measurement that compares a person's cognitive, intellectual, or emotional performance to the average level of performance for a specific chronological (birth) age

Mental Age

Wechsler Intelligence Scale

Motivation

Biological Motivation

Semiconscious, natural motivations integral for survival (hunger, thirst, sleep etc)

Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

Drive Theory

That humans are driven to maintain homeostasis, if the body deviates, it creates a need to fix the deviation.

Social Motives

Need for achievement, affiliation and influence

Acute Stress

Short Term Stress

Episodic Acute Stress

When acute stress is experienced on a regular basis

Chronic Stress

Long Term Stress

Good Stress

Experiences where you rise to a challenge, rewarded by a positive outcome.