Some groupings

Methods of research

Case study

  • Studying the ‘case’ of one person

  • E.g. Finease Gage with the spike in his brain

Correlational study

  • Studying the cause and effect

Experiment

  • There is an independent and dependent variable

Longitudinal study

  • study on one/group of people over a long period of time (typically years)

Meta Analysis

  • Cross referencing multiple studies to verify validity or assume a conclusion

Ethical Guidelines

  • Consent and/or assent

  • Confidentiality

  • No mental or physical harm

  • Debrief

  • No deceit

Chemicals

Dopamine

  • involved in mood regulation, pleasure, reward pathways

  • Associated with feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement in behavior

  • Low levels can lead to Parkinson’s disease

  • Dysregulation of dopamine pathways can lead to schizophrenia

Serotonin

  • regulates mood, anxiety, and happiness

  • Played a key role in sleep, appetite, and digestion

  • Too little can lead to depressive symptoms, anxiety disorders, and OCD

Norepinephrine

  • Involved in the fight or flight response

  • Affects mood and arousal levels

  • Dysregulation of norepinephrine may affect attention and impulse control: ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

Acetylcholine

  • important for learning and memory

  • Plays a role in muscle activation and control

  • Alzheimer’s disease associated with low levels

  • Myasthenia Gravis: An autoimmune disorder affecting the communication between nerves and muscles,

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

  • Acts as a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

  • Reduces neuronal excitability and helps to regulate anxiety

  • Low levels linked to anxiety disorders

  • Epilepsy: Dysregulation of GABA can lead to seizure disorders

Glutamate

  • Maine excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain

  • Involved in cognitive functions such as learning and memory

  • Excess glutamate can lead to alzeheimers

  • Schizophrenia: imbalance of glutamate

  • Autism spectrum:Altered levels of glutamate

Endorphins

  • Natural painkillers that promote feelings of pleasure and reduce pain perception

  • Also associated with the body’s response to stress and pain, providing relief and enhancing feelings of well-being

Perspectives

Behavioral Perspective

  • Focuses on observable behaviors

  • Emphasizes the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior

  • Key figures: B.F. Skinner, John Watson

Cognitive Perspective

  • Studies mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving

  • Investigates how people understand and think about the world

  • Key figures: Jean Piaget, Albert Bandura

Psychodynamic Perspective

  • Examines the influence of unconscious processes and childhood experiences

  • Emphasizes the role of internal conflicts in shaping behavior

  • Key figure: Sigmund Freud

Humanistic Perspective

  • Focuses on individual potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization

  • Highlights the subjective experience of individuals

  • Key figures: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow

Biological Perspective

  • Examines the connection between biology and behavior, can include the brain chemicals

  • Looks at genetics, neurotransmitters, and brain physiology

  • Key figures: Roger Sperry, Michael Gazzaniga

Sociocultural Perspective

  • Considers how cultural and social contexts influence behavior and mental processes

  • Highlights the importance of societal norms, values, and expectations

  • Key figures: Lev Vygotsky, Albert Bandura

Evolutionary Perspective

  • Examines how evolutionary principles influence psychological processes

  • Explores aspects such as natural selection and adaptation

  • Key figures: Charles Darwin, David Buss

Brain

Cerebrum:

  • Responsible for higher-level cognitive functions (reasoning, planning, problem-solving).

  • Divided into frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

  • Frontal lobe:

    • Executive functions, decision-making, voluntary movement.

    • Contains the motor cortex.

  • Parietal lobe:

    • Processes sensory information (touch, temperature, pain).

    • Spatial awareness and navigation.

  • Temporal lobe:

    • Auditory processing, memory, language comprehension.

    • Contains the auditory cortex.

  • Occipital lobe:

    • Processes visual information.

    • Contains the visual cortex.

Cerebellum:

  • Coordinates movement and balance.

  • Motor learning and coordination.

Brainstem:

  • Regulates basic life functions (breathing, heart rate, sleep-wake cycles).

  • Includes the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain.

Limbic System:

  • Emotion, motivation, and memory.

  • Includes the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus.

Amygdala:

  • Processes emotions (fear and aggression).

  • Emotional memory

Hippocampus

  • convert short-term memories into long term memory

  • Storing and organizing memories for retrieval

Hypothalamus

  • regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sleep patterns

Thalamus

  • regulated sensory info to the brain

  • Receives input from all the sense, except for smell

  • Injury could cause deafness and blindness

Sleep

Two forms of sleep: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non REM

Stage 1. NREM

  • light sleep that lasts a couple minutes

  • slowing heartrate and decreasing blood pressure

Stage 2. NREM

  • True sleep that lasts 15-20 minutes

  • Periodic appearance of short bursts of rapid, high-amplitude brain waves (Sleep spindles)

Stage 3 & 4. NREM

  • Period of sleep that lasts 20-40 minutes

  • low levels of breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate

Stage 5. REM

  • *The initial NREM lasts about an hour, after stage four, the sleep reverses through stage 3 and 2. However instead of re-entering stage 1, the sleeper enter REM sleep*

  • REM is characterized by rapid eye movement and loss of muscle movement

  • Time spent in REM sleep decreases over ones lifespan

Additional notes on sleep:

The sleep cycle experiences 90-minute cycles of alternating NREM and REM sleep

The first REM is short, but throughout the course of the night it will become longer and less time is spent in NREM

Sleep disorders:

Insomnia

  • most common, constant problems with falling asleep or waking up too early

Sleep apnea

  • Greek for “want of breath“

  • Loud periods of snoring, interrupted breathing, gasping for air, and brief awakenings

Sleepwalking

  • More common in children

  • characterized by an episode of walking or performing actions during stage 3-4 NREM sleep

Ego defense mechanisms

  • Repression

    • Preventing anxiety inducing thoughts

  • Projection

  • Denial

  • Reaction formation

    • Thinking or behaving in a way that feels opposite to your own unacceptable thoughts and feelings

  • Displacement

    • Redirecting emotions to something else

    • ex. a usually aggressive person channels their anger/emotion into competitive sports

  • Rationalization

    • Justifying ones actions by using socially acceptable explanations

  • Regression

    • Reverting back to past experiences

  • Sublimation