Studied by 0 PeopleTags & Description
socrates and plato
the mind and body are separate, the mind continues after death, knowledge is innate
Aristotle
need data, knowledge comes from observation and is not innate
rene descartes
agreed with the greeks, dissected animals, fluid in brain flows through nerves to muscles causing movement
francis bacon
founder of modern science, empiricism
john locke
tabula rasa; the mind is a blank slate at birth on which experience writes
empiricism
knowledge is the result of experience and that scientific knowledge is developed through observation and experimentation
wilhelm wundt
established the first psychology lab, wanted to measure the “atoms of the mind”, the fastest mental processes
edward bradford titchener
introduced structuralism to study the elements of the mind, used introspection
structuralism
early school focused on identifying the elements of the mind the way early chemists developed the periodic table to classify elements
introspection
the process of looking inward to directly observe one’s own psychological processes
charles darwin
natural selection of mental and physical traits, adaptive evolution influenced william james
william james
introduced functionalism, principles of psychology
functionalism
assumes a purpose, smelling and thinking must have helped us evolve
mary whitin calkins
student of william james, denied a phd because she was female, memory researcher, first female president of the apa
Margaret floy washburn
student of edward titchener, first female to earn psych phd, the animal mind
behaviorism
approach that focused on observable behaviors, ignoring any underlying cognitive factors. Created by John B. Watson
freud
developed psychoanalysis and personality theory
abraham maslow and carl rogers
humans strive to reach their full potential, unconditional love, personal growth
humanism
“third force” in psychology, the study of potential and personal growth
cognitive psychology
the study of mental processes; thinking perceiving, learning, remembering, communicating, and solving problems
cognitive neuroscience
the study of the brain activity linked with cognition
psychology
the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and other animals, uses empiricism and the scientific method to critically evaluate evidence
behavior
any observable and measurable action taken by a person or animal
nature
behaviors and mental processes occur because they are innate
nurture
behaviors and mental processes occur as a result of experience or the environment
positive psychology
the scientific study of human flourishing, the goal of discovering and promoting human strengths and virtues, strengthens individuals and communities
case study
a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studies in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
strengths in a case study
allow for examination of rare or unusual behavior, provide a large amount of qualitative data, suggests directions for further study
strengths in a naturalistic observation
subjects behave normally outside of a lab setting, data collection is unobtrusive
limitations in a naturalistic observation
independent variable cannot be isolated, cannot determine cause and effect, observations by researchers may be subjective
strengths of the survey method
able to take a “quick pulse” of people beliefs, behaviors or opinions, able to include many cases
limitations of the survey method
response bias, wording effects can skew the outcome, acquiring a random sample is difficult, can not determine cause and effect
correlation
a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and how well either factor predicts the other
positive correlation
two sets of data tend to rise or fall together, measured from r=0.1 to +1.0
negative correlation
one set rises while the other falls measured from r=-0.1 to -1.0
random sampling
choosing a representative sample of the population being studied
random assignment
assigning the participants to the experimental or control group by chance
independent variable (IV)
the factor in an experiment that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied, given only to the experimental group
dependent variable (DV)
the outcome that is measured in an experiment; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated, measured in both groups
confounding variable
a factor other than the factor that is being studied that might influence a study’s results; age, IQ, ethnicity, sex, political beliefs
experimental validity
the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to
ethical guidelines safeguard human research participants
informed consent, protection from harm, debriefing, right to withdraw, confidentiality
descriptive statistics
numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups, includes measures of central tendency (mean, median, and mode) and measures of variation (range and standard deviation)
mean
mathematical average of a set of numbers, add the scores and divide by the number of scores
median
the middle score in a distribution, arrange scores from highest to lowest with half of the data above and half below the number
mode
the most frequently occurring data point in a distribution
the influence of outliers on data and which measure of central tendency is best used to describe the data
the median will be a better descriptor of data when the mean is impacted by outliers
range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
1 standard deviation from the mean
68%
2 standard deviations from the mean
95%
3 standard deviations from the mean
99%
inferential statistics
examine relationships between variables in sample, allows us to infer/predict trends based on data taken from a sample of a population
descriptive statistics
describe a population or data set, uses measures of central tendency, uses measures of variation
statistical significance
statistical statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance
neuron
a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system
axon
attached to the soma, the neuron that passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
neural impulse
action potential; electrical signal traveling down the axon
myelin sheath
the fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons; covers the axon of some neurons and hooks speed neural impulses
terminal branches of axon
the ends of the axon containing terminal button which hold synaptic vesicles that store neurotransmitters
dendrites
bushy, branching extensions that receive messages from other cells, conducting impulses toward the cell body
cell body/soma
the part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, the cell’s life support center
deterioration of the myelin sheath can lead to:
motor impairments such as multiple sclerosis
glial cells
cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in thinking, learning, and memory
how is a neural impulse generated
if the combined received chemical signals exceed a minimum threshold, the neuron fires, transmitting an electrical impulse (action potential) down its axon by means of a chemistry-to-electrical process
threshold
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
what is the outside of an axon’s membrane charged with before the beginning of the action potential?
positivly charged sodium (Na+) ions
what is the inside of an axon’s membrane charged with before the beginning of the action potential?
negatively charged proteins and a small amount of positively charged potassium (K+) ions
first step in an action potential
the first section of the semipermeable axon opens its gates once the threshold is met, Na+ ions flood through the channels
why do Na+ ions rush in the channels
the ions try to balance the charge of the slightly negative membrane, this causes a slight depolarization
what is the second step in an action potential
the depolarization changes the electrical charge of the next part of the axon, gates in this second area now open, which allows even more Na+ ions to flow into the channel
how do K+ ions move out
at the same time, gates open in the first part of the axon allowing K+ ions to flow out, this depolarizes that section of the axon
what happens after K+ ions move out
the sodium/potassium pumps continues to depolarize new sections of the axon and depolarize previous sections
how does the impulse move
polarthe influx of the positive ions is the neural impulse, the impulse moves down the axon like dominos, one falling after the other
polarization
the resting rate of the neuron, charge is more positive outside the membrane, and more negative on the inside
depolarization
the action potential; the rushing in and out of positively charged ions
repolarization
the refractory period; the closing of the membrane and reestablishing a more negative charge inside
how do neurons communicate with each other
the sending neuron releases neurotransmitters across a synapse to the receiving neuron
neurotransmitter
chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron
synapse
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
what happens when an action potential reaches an axon’s terminal branch
it stimulates the release of neurotransmitter molecules
acetylcholine (ACh)
enables muscle action, learning, and memory, produces neurons that deteriorate with Alzheimer’s
dopamine
influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion, oversupply linked to schizophrenia, undersupply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in parkinson’s disease
serotonin
affects mood, hunger, hunger, sleep, and arousal, undersupply linked to depression
