Pschology 100

What are the 3 different types of research?

1. Descriptive: describes

2. correlational: relates

3. experimental: investigates cause and effect relations

What are the defining characteristics of descriptive research? (5)

1. Collecting data

2. variables

3. operational definitions

4. reliability and validity

5. distributions 

Variable

anything that can vary 

ex:heartbeat, height

Qualitative

Non-numerical information that describes attributes, opinions, behaviors, and life experiences.

*Ex: hair color, major, occupation*

Quantitative

numerical quantity or a measured value 

ex: age, height, score on test

Operational definition (experimental design)

defining a concept in terms of how you measure it a precise, measurable description of an abstract concept so it can be observed and tested in a study

*ex: At the doctor you are asked to rate your pain on a scale, this gives a measure of your pain or trying to assess someone’s honesty you ask how many times they have lied the past week*

Reliability vs validity

Reliability: measurement is consistent and repeatable 

Ex: a clock that is broken consistently will give the same time. However, this does not mean the time is accurate meaning it has no validity 

Validity: the measurement is accurate and actually measures what it claims to measure.  

Ex: The questions accurately reflect symptoms of clinical depression and align with real-world diagnoses, meaning it measures what it is supposed to measure

Science wants BOTH validity and reliability

Central tendency in normal distribution

values that describe the typical or central point of a behavioral dataset (Mean, median, and mode)

Variability

• describe how much data points spread out from the center in a distribution

-range, standard deviation 

“d” normal distribution meaning and how to get it?

d=effect size

d=mean 1 - mean 2 /Standard deviation

What are the 3 types of descriptive research?

1. Naturalistic observations

2. Case studies

3. Surveys

What is naturalistic observation? What are its strengths and limitations?

Naturalistic observation: observe without interfering 

*ex: observe a teachers behavior in the classroom, observe animals in the wild* 

Strengths: gives us an idea of what is going on

Limitations:

1. the subject can act differently knowing they are being observed

2. we can not observe a meaningful cause and effect

What is case studies? What are its strengths and limitations

Case studies: intensive examination of behavior and mental process in an unusual individual. ex: *ruby franke kids*

Strengths: we can observe how specific traumatic events (abuse or medical accident) can affect a persons behavior 

limitations: 

1. there is no baseline of how the individual acted before the traumatic event or study 

2. there is no replication

What are surveys? What are their strengths and limititations? What is sampling, population, and sample?

Survey: having people complete questionnaires

Strength: access to information that could be difficult to get and have a consensus opinion of a population 

Limitations: Wording can introduce a great bias, need lots of responses, the people who answer the questionnaire could create a bias 

Sampling: who is included in your study

Population: The entire group your are interested in 

Sample: the people in your study (must be representative of the population)

Advantages and disadvantages of descriptive research

Advantage: can describe behavior as it occurs in the real world 

Disadvantage: can not draw any conclusions about cause and effect

Correlation Design

A research design that investigates the association between 2 Quantitative variables

correlation

relationship between quantitative variables (r=)

r=

• r=0 means there is no relationship between the two variables (no correlation)

• r=1 means there is a perfect relationship between two variables (linear line)

• Anything greater than r-.05 is considered a strong correlation 

positive correlation

Both variables move in the same direction 

Negative correlation

Variables move in opposite directions

Spurious correlation

a relationship where two or more variables appear linked, but they do not have a correlation

*Ex: Babies named Ava increase and so does cow population* 

Words to describe correlation

• Predicts

• Correlates

• Associated with 

• Is related to 

• Is more likely

Words to use to NOT describe correlation 

Anything to suggest a cause and effect relationship

• increases/decreases

• Makes 

• Causes

Strength and limitations of correlational research

Strength

• Can describe strength of associations between variables 

• Can help us predict behavior 

Limitation:

• Cannot determine cause and effect relationship

What does experimental research allow us to do?

allows us to draw conclusion about cause and effect

Two Key features of an experiment:

1. Random assignment

2. Manipulation of an independent variable

Experimental group (experiment research)

the group that receives the manipulated  treatment 

Control group (experiment research)

 a standard baseline in an experiment or study that does not receive the treatment or intervention being tested. 

Independent vs dependent variable (experiment research)

Independent variable: what the researcher manipulates, what is controlled 

Dependent variable: the exact factor that you measure or test in an experiment, and it changes in response to the independent variable

Double blind design (experiment research)

neither the researcher nor the participants knows the which conditions the participants are in 

Confound (fault of experiment research)

an outside, uncontrolled factor that distorts a study’s results by affecting both the independent variable and the dependent variable.

experimenter expectations (fault of experiment research)

researcher's unconscious influence on the outcome on a study

Placebo effect (fault of experiment research)

a physical or mental improvement in a person's condition after they receive a fake, inactive treatment, driven entirely by their belief and expectation that the treatment will help

participant demand (fault of experiment research)

participants try to behave in the way they believe the experimenter wants them to behave 

Quasi designs (fault of experiment research)

Participants are selected and placed into groups based on pre-existing conditions, natural boundaries, or specific cutoffs rather than random allocation.  This is because the experiment would be too unethical to inflict on participants

Strenghts and Limitation of experimental research

Strengths: can determine cause and effect relationships

Limitations: 

• Sometimes by isolating variable and manipulations then you create an artificial situation that does not represent the real world (research lacks external validity (the extent to which the results of a study can be applied to real-world situations, different groups of people, and other settings))

• Some things are impossible to practically/ethically manipulate

Neurons

a cell in the brain specialized for sending fast signals

What is the purpose of Glial cells? What are its functions? (5)

Purpose: Support neuron cells that are important for brain function 

Functions:

1. Insulate neurons with myelin which allows faster communication

2. Provides physical support

3. clean up

4. regulation of the chemical environment

5. some communication

Cell body (soma)

1. the central core of a neuron

2. houses the nucleus

3. powers the cell's metabolic activities

Dendrite

Branches receive signals from other neurons (postsynaptic terminal)

axon

sends signals to other neurons (one per neuron) (pre synaptic terminal)

Myelin sheath

insulate axon to help send signal more quickly

Synapse

 a specialized junction that allows a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell

• tiny gap between the ends of one neuron cells axon and the other cells dendrites

Neuron signaling within a neuron steps (3) and characteristic of action potential (4)

Action potential: 

1. signal travels from dendrites to the axon through electrical impulses

• Signals are one-way

• Signals are all or none 

• The neuron stores electrical energy by maintaining a difference in charge between inside and outside of the neuron 

• When the neuron fires an electrical signal it travels quickly down the axon 

2. When the signal reaches the terminal buttons, it triggers a release of neurotransmitters into the synapse 

3. After firing, there is a brief period where the neuron cannot fire again in order for it to recharge 

within neurons it is electricity

Neuron signaling between neurons steps (3) (vocab: synaptic cleft, synaptic vesicle, reuptake)

1. Synaptic terminal of one neuron and the dendrites of another create a synaptic cleft 

Synaptic cleft: the synapse is the space between one neuron and another

2. Synaptic terminal sends neurotransmitters from their synaptic vesicle to attach to receptors on the dendrites

Synaptic vesicle: small pockets of neurotransmitters

If any neurotransmitters remain in the synapse, it undergoes reuptake, which means they are taken back to the axon terminal

3. Dendrites receive the chemical signal from the other neuron which causes electrical signals (action potentials) within the neuron

Excitatory vs inhibitory neurotransmitters

Excitatory neurotransmitters: Encourage a neuron to "fire" and pass a message along

Inhibitory neurotransmitters:  encourage neurotransmitters to calm a neuron down and stop it from firing

Neural plasticity

The brain's ability to change even into adulthood (most plastic in early childhood)

4 basic processes of neural plasticity

Four basic processes:

1. Axon and dendrite growth: London taxi cab (quasi experiment)

2. Synaptogenesis: the formation of new synapses (connections) between neurons in the nervous system

3. Pruning (cell death): Synaptic pruning is a normal brain process that removes weak or unused neural connections,

4. Myelination: forming an insulating fatty sheath around nerve cell axons, which dramatically speeds up and synchronizes electrical signal transmission in the brain

Long term potentiation (LTP)

increased, stronger signal causes an increase in neurotransmitters and therefore an increase in receptors 

Empirical approach

An approach that relied on systematic observation and evidence obtained through experience or measurement

What does the peripheral nervous system contain?

sensory and motor nerves

What are the 2 subsections of the peripheral nervous system?

Somatic nervous system: 

voluntary movement

Automatic nervous system: 

non voluntary functions (heart rate, breathing)

What are the 2 subsections of the automatic nervous system?

Sympathetic: Drives flight or fright; Prepares the body for sudden stress, danger, or exercise

Parasympathetic: control more relaxation (rest and digest)

What does the central nervous system contain? What are the protections?

Contains: Brain and spinal cord

Protections: 

• Both are encased in bone 

•  The brain is cushioned by the three layers of the meninges 

Top layer: Dura mater

Middle layer: arachnoid

Bottom layer: Pia mater 

• The brain is cushioned by cerebrospinal fluid

Spine purpose? (4)

1. to connect the brain to the body

2. to act as a main communication pathway from brain to body

3. reflexes

4. interneurons

What are interenruons? What are the 2 neurons it connects and their functions ?

Definition: a type of nerve cell that connects sensory neurons and motor neurons inside the central nervous system.

Sensory signals: Carry touch, temperature, and pain signals from the body's tissues and organs toward the central nervous system.

Motor signals: Carry movement instructions and commands away from the central nervous system to muscles, glands, and organs.

What are the cerebrum and cerebral cortex? What is the purpose of the cerebral cortex?

The two main parts of the brain. The cerebrum is the largest overall region of the brain. The cerebral cortex is the surface layer covering the cerebrum; the largest part of the cerebrum.

Cerebral cortex purpose: takes in sensory information, and is responsible for higher brain functions

What does the frontal lobe control? (3) What are three specialized areas of the frontal lobe and their purpose?

Frontal lobe: 

Controls: movement, planning, and problem-solving.

• Motor cortex: planning, initiating motor movements, preparation of motor movements

• Prefrontal cortex: responsible for thought, planning, decision making, and self control

• Brocas area: language production

What are the main controls of the Parietal lobe? What are the two specialized areas and their responsiblities?

Controls: processing touch, temperature, spatial awareness, and manipulation of object in your mind. Proprioception: tracks where your body parts are in space and where objects are located around you

• Primary somatosensory cortex: receives sensory information

  • Motor cortices: sends voluntary movement commands to your muscles

  • Somatosensory cortex: Interprets incoming data from your skin, joints, and muscles regarding touch, pressure, and body position

What are the main controls for the Temporal lobe? What are the 3 specialized areas and their functions?

Controls: hearing, language, and memory.

• Auditory cortex: Receives auditory information

• Wernicke's area: language comprehension

• Visual recognition: face and objects 

What is the main function of the occipital lobe? What is its specialized area and function?

Controls: vision

• Visual cortex: receives and processes visual information

Insular lobe location and main controls (3)

Location: lies beneath frontal and parietal lobes

Control:

1. involved in sensing and tracking internal states (awareness, emotions, and internal organ signal)

2. maintaining homeostasis

3. taste processing (gustatory)

corpus callosum purpose

Connects the 2 hemispheres of the brain and lets them communicate and send signals 

Limbic system overview and what it contains?

Overview: Processes information about internal states; emotion, motivation, memory 

Contains:

Thalamus

Hypothalamus

Amygdala

Hippocampus

Thalamus purpose

Acts as a relay station for sensory signals heading to other parts of the brain

Hypothalamus

releasing hormones to keep internal balance (homeostasis) fighting, fleeing, feeding, and mating

amygdala

Manages strong emotions like fear, aggression, and pleasure

hippocampus

Memory formation

Basal Ganglia purpose? What happens if it gets damaged?

Purpose: control of movement and learning of movement 

When damaged: there is a direct link to Parkinson's

What does the brain stem contain? (3)

1. Midbrain

2. pons

3. medulla

Midbrain function (3)

Functions:

1. Visual tracking

2. Auditory Reflexes

3. alertness (wakefulness)

Pons function (2)

1. Bridge between cerebrum cortex and cerebellum

2. Facial Control (eye movements, expressions)

Medulla function

Vital Regulation/maintenance (Controls automatic functions like heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure).

Cerebellum functions

Balance and coordination of movement and other cognitive functions

Nature vs Nuture: Nature (What are chromosomes, what are genes)

genes; hereditary

Chromosomes:

• How we store our DNA

• All of our cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes in their nucleus 

• Coiled and condensed strands of DNA 

Genes: are segments of DNA that contain instructions for building protein molecules

Nature vs Nurture: Nurture

Experience: learning 

How the environment influences your behavior and genes

What is behavioral Genetics

the study of how individual differences between people are related to genetics and the environment

What is heritability? What are some characteristics? (3)

 A statistical measure; The portion of variation in a trait across a population that can be attributed to genetic differences.

• Identical twins have high heritability 

• Heritability is low for most traits

• High heritability does not mean environmental factors do not play a role (ex: number are fingers are high heritable but someone might have less fingers due to environmental factors like an accident)

Molecular genetic studies

complex human traits are influenced by thousands of genetic variants, each having a very small individual effect

Type of gene-environment interactions (3)

Passive: Genes lead to certain characteristics, and the world responds to us different because of those characteristics (ex: naturally kind, will be treated more kind)

Active: Genes causes us to to seek out certain experiences (ex: curious people will seek out more experiences)

Epigenetics: Genes turn on or off in response to environmental factors

Behavior genetics methods (4)

• Family studies: Measure how strongly continuous traits (like height or blood pressure) or categorical traits (like a medical diagnosis) cluster within families using correlation coefficients 

• Twin studies: Compare identical (monozygotic) twins with fraternal (dizygotic) twins to isolate genetic versus environmental contributions

• Adoption studies: Compare adopted children to both their biological parents (sharing genes) and their adoptive parents (sharing environment) to separate nature from nurture

-Findings: As a child gets older they become more like their biological parents 

• Molecular genetic studies: examine specific DNA variations to understand how genes influence psychological traits, behavior, and mental health conditions

What is Evolutionary Psychology?

 the study of how human behavior, thoughts, and emotions have been shaped by natural selection to help our ancestors survive and reproduce.  Focuses on what makes all humans alike

What are some assumptions about evolutionary psychology? (5)

• Behaviors, like physical characteristics, are to some extent genetically determined

• Behaviors vary across individuals

• Certain variations of behavior increase the individual's chances of surviving and reproducing.

• Offspring that survive are more likely to pass on their genes to the next generation

• Over time genes related to those behaviors will increase in the population in future generations

What is an explanation of behavior using the evolutionary approach? What is an example?

Providing an evolutionary explanation of a behavior by making a claim that the behavior is a result of an evolutionary trait.

Example:

Question: Why do we tend to overeat? 

Evolutionary explanation: In our evolutionary environment, calories were scarce. People who ate a lot when food was available increased their chances of survival.

What are criticisms of the evolutionary approach? (2)

• Explanations can not be tested and are too easy to generate

• a way to justify undesirable behavior (like young attractive women marrying older rich men for their money)

Natural selection

Traits that lead to increased reproduction and survival will be more likely to be passed on to succeeding generations

Social Role theory

 behavioral differences between men and women stem from the societal division of labor and resulting gender roles, which are originally rooted in human evolutionary physical difference

Sexual Strategies theory? What are the two distinct pathways?

Theory: how evolution has shaped us to provide a mating advantage rather than just a survival advantage. The psychology of human mating strategies and the ways in which women and men differ in those strategies

Two distinct pathways: intrasexual and intersexual.

The two types of sexual strategies

Intrasexual competition: occurs when members of one sex compete against each other, and the winner gets to mate with a member of the opposite sex. 

Intersexual competition: if members of one sex are attracted to certain qualities in mates—such as brilliant plumage, signs of good health, or even intelligence—those desired qualities get passed on in greater numbers, simply because their possessors mate more often

Sex differences in sexual strategies theory

1. females are more choosy for mates because they have a higher investment cost than males

2. Modern women have inherited the evolutionary trait to desire mates who possess resources, have qualities linked with acquiring resources (e.g., ambition, wealth, industriousness), and are willing to share those resources with them. On the other hand, men more strongly desire youth and health in women, as both are cues to fertility.

Psychological adaption

mechanisms of the mind that have evolved to solve specific problems of survival or reproduction

Error management theory

deals with the evolution of how we think, make decisions, and evaluate uncertain situations

• Cost asymmetries: low cost high reward or high cost low reward

Genotype vs Phenotype (psychology)

Genotype: the set of genes you have inherited 

Phenotype: your physical and behavioral traits

Molecular genetic studies (behavior genetics methods)

examine specific DNA variations to understand how genes influence psychological traits, behavior, and mental health conditions

Culture definition? How does culture influence people?

Definition: A pattern of shared meaning and behavior that is passed from one generation to the next (inherited)

Influence:

• Tells people how to view the world and how to go about their life 

• tells people how to interact and deal with certain situations

• Is ever changing and related to evolution

Cultural inteligence

is the ability to understand why members of other cultures act in the ways they do. Rather than dismissing foreign behaviors as weird, inferior, or immoral, people high in cultural intelligence can appreciate differences even if they do not necessarily share another culture’s views or adopt its ways of doing things. 

Characterisitcs of culture (4)

• Shared

• Learned

• Cumulative (cultures collective learning grows across generations)

• Versatile (seeing yourself as different identities depending where you are)

What does culture affect?

Culture affects nearly every aspect of psychology, from perception to moral reasoning.

• Identity

• Emotions

• Etiquette

• values/morals

What are two methods of studying cultures?

Ethnographic: Living among the culture you are studying for years

Cross-Cultural studies: Use standardized measures to get quantitative information for comparing cultures

Advantages and disadvantages of Ethnographic studies?

Advantages: it is culturally sensitive and studies people in their natural environment

Disadvantages: Difficult to make comparisons between cultures because data collected is qualitative