Studied by 46 peoplePsychology
the study of mind and behavior
Mind
perceptions, thoughts, memories, processes (information)
Behavior
everything we do that can be directly observed
HM case study
A patient who had extensive brain surgery to correct epileptic seizures which left him with severe anterograde amnesia; could not create new memories
aneterograde amnesia
an inability to form new memories
retrograde amnesia
loss of memories from the past
Clive Wearing
has both types of amnesia, 7 second memory
Nativism
belief that people are born with some knowledge; associated with Plato
Empircism
all knowledge comes from experience (tabula rasa theory, blank slate); associated with Aristotle
Plato
believed in nativism
Aristotle
believed in empircism
Genie case study
The case of a young girl who was not exposed to language until 13 years old and could never fluently acquire it giving evidence for the critical period theory.
Phrenology
Mental characteristics are determined by size and shape of skull; associated with Franz Joseph Gall (late 18th century)
Franz Joseph Gall
founder of phrenology
Paul Broca
discovered area in the brain (named for him) in the left frontal lobe responsible for language production
Broca's area
part of brain in left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
Hermann von Helmholtz
studied human reaction time; estimated the length of nerve impulse; physiology and psychology
Wilhelm Wendt
established the first experimental psychology laboratory, used a form of introspection in which he asked subjects to use self-reflection and verbalize what they are experiencing
Structuralism
an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
Introspection
examination of one's own thoughts and feelings
Functionalism
A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish; associated with William James
illusion
an error in the brain's perception or judgment
Gestalt Psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts; explains how illusions work
Cognitive Psychology
the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating; associated with Frederic Bartlett
cognitive neuroscience
A field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity; which parts of the brain control which processes; associated with Karl Lashley
behavorial neuroscience
an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes
evolutionary psychology
the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection; associated with John Garcia
William James
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment
hysteria
example of how mental illness can translate into physical symptoms; first discovered by Jean-Marie Charcot and Pierre Janet
Functional Neurological Disorder
physical symptoms with no physical explanation - mental illness plays a part
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind (repressed memories and urges). Father of psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis
an attempt to bring the unconscious to the conscious mind; developed by Freud (shown as couch therapy in pop media)
humanistic psychology
an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings (like Humanists); developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
Pavlov
founder of classical conditioning while trying to study digestive system
Pavlov's Dogs
First experiment that created and demonstrate the theory of classical conditioning
classical conditioning
a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
John Watson
behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat; argued against Freud
Behaviorism
the view that psychology should be an objective science and studies behavior without reference to mental processes
B.F. Skinner
Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning; believed every behavior could be engineered through reinforcement
operant conditioning
subject chooses an action, and it is followed by reinforcement or punishment
Frederic Bartlett
experimentally demonstrated the reconstructive nature of memory; people remember how stories should have ended rather than the acutal ending
Karl Lashley
Found that memory is not stored in just one place of the brain; tested on rats
John Garcia
Researched taste aversion; showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance
social psychology
study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another; associated with Norman Triplett
cultural psychology
the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
Absolutism
psychology is the same regardless of culture
Relativism
some aspects of mind/behavior change based on culture
Margaret Mead
cultural anthropologist who helped support theories of relativism
Complexity
humans (and the human brain) is complex and hard to study
Variability
human behavior is varied and unpredictable
Reactibility
humans change their behavior when they know observation is occuring
Scientific Method
Theory → Hypothesis → Gather evidence → Modify theory accordingly (repeat)
case study
an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
observational study
observes individuals and measures variables of interest but does not attempt to influence the responses
psychological tests
procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values
objective tests
Tests that can be scored easily by machine, such as multiple-choice tests and selected-response tests
projective tests
personality assessments that present ambiguous visual stimuli to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind (ex. Rorschach ink blot)
Reliability
tests produce the same results regardless of location, time, or scorer
test-retest reliability
using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency; people tend to do better the second time
alternate forms reliability
using different varieties of the test to measure consistency between them
Validity
The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure
Power of a test
measurement of how many false negatives a test produces
Surveys
Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions; prone to selection bias (voluntary response) and response bias (lying)
correlational study
a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other
experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
placebo effect
the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
Correlation does not equal causation
correlation does not equal causation (this is very important)
experimenter effect
tendency of the experimenter's expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study
participants want to please
Participants may act in ways that they ordinarily would not
single-blind study
study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group
double-blind study
An experiment in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows whether the participant has received the treatment or the placebo
inferential statistics
numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population; was this variation due to the variable or just chance
longitudinal study
research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period (same people over long time)
cross-sectional study
A study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time (different people at the same time)
Ethics
Participants must have informed consent and little or no incentive
Neurons
Individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information.
cell body
Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm; keeps neuron alive
Axon
A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.
Dendrites
Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
myelin sheath
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons
Nodes of Ranvier
gaps in the myelin sheath that allow for faster transmission of information
motor neurons
neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
Interneurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs; control reflexes
resting potential of a neuron
-70mV
action potential of a neuron
triggers at -55mV and goes up to +40 mV
refractory period
a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired; it cannot fire again until it reaches -70mV
autoreceptors
signal the presynaptic neuron to stop releasing the neurotransmitter (when concentration of neurotransmitter in the synapse is high enough)
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory; low levels = Alzheimer's
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system; low levels = Parkinson's, high levels = schizophrenia
Norepinephrine
helps control alertness and arousal; low levels = depression
Serotonin
Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal; low levels = depression.
Endorphins
natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
L-dopa
A drug for Parkinson's disease that contains the precursors to dopamine so that once it is in the brain, it will be converted to dopamine
Prozac
SSRI; limits reuptake of serotonin so that there is more floating around
Central Nervous System (CNS)
consists of the brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system
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; controls voluntary motion (sensory and motor neurons)
autonomic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs; controls involuntary action
sympathetic response
"fight-or-flight", when activated, increases norepinephrine in the body, increasing heart rate; blood goes to brain and muscles
parasympathetic response
"rest-and-digest", when activated, decrease heart rate and brings blood into the digestive organs; calms the body
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