PSYCH FINAL
Psychology: Scientific study of the mind and behavior
Psychologists study everything about the human experience (Human brain, consciousness, memory, personality, etc.
Psych- soul, mind Ology-scientific study of
Scientific (quantified), Behavior (observable outward action), & Mental Processes (thoughts/feelings)
Empirical Method: method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation
Wilhelm Wundt: psychology is a scientific study of conscious experience
Introspection: a process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible (remained subjective)
Edward Titchener: Wundt’s student, developed Structuralism
Structuralism: understanding the conscious experience through introspection
Focuses on contents of mental processes rather than their function
William James: 1st American psychologist, professor, changed the scientific study of consciousness in a practical and meaningful way
Functionalism: how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment
Sigmund Freud: patients problems arose from the unconscious mind
Phobias are the result of unconscious conflict
Unconscious: part of our mind where we push down our dark desires
Psychoanalytic Theory: focus on the role of unconscious in affecting our behavior
Focuses on early childhood development and is cured when desires are understood
Dream analysis, First thoughts, Slips of tongue
Kohler, Koffka, Wertheimer:
Gestalt (whole) Psychology: sensory experiences can be broken down into individual parts; how those parts relate to each other is often what the people responds to in perception
Ivan Pavlov: classical conditioning
Behaviorism: focus on observing and controlling behavior; science of behavior
Conditioning: learning a reflexive response to stimulus
John Watson: father of behaviorism, Little Albert Study
Created a phobia using conditioning technique demonstrating that phobias are learned and not unconscious
B.F. Skinner: how behavior is affected by consequences & how to manipulate voluntary behavior by changing the consequences of behavior
- Reinforcement, Punishment, Operant Conditioning, Classical Conditioning
Humanism: emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans
Free will & empowerment of the individual
Carl Rogers: client-centered therapy
Therapists need unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy
Abraham Maslow: proposed a hierarchy of human needs in motivating behavior
Biopsychology: structure & function of the nervous system generate behavior
Evolutionary Psychology: human behavior is a result of psychological adaptations that help people successfully function and survive
Sensation & Perception: both physiological aspects of sensory systems and the psychological experience of sensory information
Sensation: Sensory info; sights, touch, smell, etc.
Perception: Experience of the world which is influenced by where we focus our attention, our previous experiences, or our cultural backgrounds
Cognitive Psychology: how thoughts relate to our experiences and behavior
Developmental Psychology: the physical and mental attributes of aging and maturation (Piaget)
Personality Psychology: patterns of thoughts and behavior make each individual unique
Social Psychology: how we interact and relate to others
Clinical Psychology: diagnoses and treatment of psychological disorders and problematic behavior
Health Psychology: individual health is directly related to biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences
Industrial/organizational Psychology: psychological theories, principles and research applied to workspace settings
Industrial: job Analysis, recruitment, selection, etc.
Organizational: job attitudes, motivation, leadership, etc
Chapter 2: (7 Questions)
Correlation: Relationship between two or more values
Positive Correlation: two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller
Negative correlation: two variables change in different directions, one becoming larger as the other gets smaller
NO/Zero Correlation: changes in two variables are not related to each other
Cause and effect relationship: changes in one variable Cause the changes in the other variable
Illusory Correlations: false correlations believed when people believe a relationship exists when it does not
Random Sample: subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
Random assignment: Method of experimental group assignment where all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group
Longitudinal: study the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time
Cross-sectional research: compare multiple segments of a population at a single time
Naturalistic Observation: observation in normal environment
Difficult to set up and control, observer effect/bias, blind observer
Realistic behavior
Lab Observation: observing behavior in a lab
artificial situation & difficult to generalize findings to real world situations
Control over environment & specialized equipment
Case Studies: study of an individual in great detail
Tremendous detail & source for hypothesis generation
May not generalize to others
Surveys: identifying attitude, opinions, or behaviors through a series of questions
Quick & easy to give, large data, study of private behaviors
Not always accurate, small variations can affect outcome, ensure representative sample
Archival Data: past records to answer research questions
Experiments: researcher manipulates one variable and measures the effect of the manipulation on another to determine causality between the two variables
Independent Variable: influenced/manipulated by experimenter
Dependent Variable: variable the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had
Control: participants that do not experience the manipulated variable
Confounding: extraneous variable that affect the variables you are interested in studying
Chapter 3: (5 questions)
Neurons: essential for all tasks of the nervous system
Dendrite: receive messages from other neurons
Soma: cell body of neuron responsible for maintaining life of the cell
Axon: carries the neural message from the cell body to the axon terminals for communication with other cells
Terminal Buttons: contains synaptic vesicles which store neurotransmitters
Myelin Sheath: fatty substance that coats the axons of neurons, to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse
Nodes of Ranvier: open spaces found in the myelin sheath that encase the axon
Somatic: relays sensory and motor information
Autonomic: nerves that control all the involuntary muscles, organs, and glands
Sympathetic: reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal
Parasympathetic: restores the body to normal functioning after arousal
Spinal Cord: delivers messages to and from the brain, quick reflex system, sensory nerves bring messages in and up to the brain
Brain: billions of interconnected neurons, bilateral, distinct lobes
Gyro: bumps on brain
SI: deeper grooves on brain
Corpus Callosum: connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain
3 main Categories of the Brain: Forebrain, Midbrain, Hindbrain
Cerebral cortex: surface of the brain that is associated with our highest mental capabilities
Parietal Lobe: proccseeing various sensory and perceptual information
Somatosensory Cortex: essential for processing sensory information from across the body
Temporal Lobe: hearing, memory, emotion, aspects of language
Auditory Cortex: strip of cortex responsible for processing auditory information
Wernicke’s area: speech comprehension
Occipital Lobe: visual processing
Visual Cortex: interpreting incoming visual information
Frontal Lobe: planing, organization, judgement, attention, motor control, personality
Motor Cortex: planning and coordinating movement
Prefrontal Cortex: higher level cognitive function
Broca’s Area: language production
Thalamus: most senses are routed before being directed to the brain for processing (relay center for the brain)
Amygdala: experience of emotion and tying emotional meaning to our memories
Hippocampus: essential for learning and memory
Hypothalamus: regulates homeostatic processes including body temperature
Pons: connects the brain and the spinal cord, regulates brain activity while asleep
Medulla: controls automated responses like breathing
Cerebellum: controls our balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills
Reticular Formation: important in regulating the sleep/wake cycle, arousal, alertness, and motor activity
Substantial nigra & Ventral tegmental area: control of movement, mood, reward, and addiction
CT: X-rays and creates an image through X-rays passing through varied densities within the brain
PET: small amounts of radiation injected into the blood and tracked
MRI: uses a giant magnet to align atoms in brain to produce a picture of tissue
FMRI: measures blood oxygenation & brain activity
EEG: placing electrodes on scalp to see brain waves
Chapter 4: (4 questions)
Adaptive Theory: function of sleep is essential to restore resources expended during the day
Restorative Theory: we sleep to restore physical health and mental functioning
Consciousness: awareness of internal and external stimuli
Altered state of Consciousness: state in which there is a shift in the quality or pattern of mental activity as compared to wakefulness
Insomnia: difficulty falling or staying asleep
Somnambulism: complex behaviors with eyes open but still asleep
REM Behavior Disorder: mechanism that blocks the movement of voluntary muscles fails
Narcolepsy: sudden slip into REM sleep
Freud/Wish Fulfillment Theory: dreams preserve our sanity by allowing us to gratify forbidden or unrealistic wishes
Cartwright/Information Processing Theory: dreams reflect daily life events that are important to us
Hobson/Activation Synthesis Hypothesis: dreams are a result of our brains imposing narrative explanations to explain random brain activation
Chapter 5: (4 questions)
Sensation: occurs when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor
Perception: way that sensory information is interpreted, organized, and consciously experienced
Amplitude: height of a wave measured from peak to trough
Frequency: number of waves that pass within a given period of time
Optical illusions: Rotating Snakes
Gestalt Psychology: “The Whole is different from the sum of its parts”.
Figure-Ground Relationship: we tend to segment our visual world into figure (visual field) and ground (background)
Proximity: things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together
Similarity: things that alike tend to be grouped together
Continuity: we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines
Closure: the idea that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts
Lens: clear structure behind the iris, suspended by muscles and finishes the focusing process started by the cornea, focuses light into retina
Cornea: clear membrane that covers the surface of the eye, protecting the eye and focusing light coming into it
Pupil: opening where light enters the interior of the eye
Iris: round muscle (eye color), changes the size of the pupil to let in more or les light to help focus
Retina: final stop for light in the eye, transducers light
Photoreceptor cells: responds to various light waves
Fovea: central area of retina with densely packed specialized photoreceptor cells
Ganglion Cells: sends signals to the brain via the optic nerve
Optic Nerve: carries visual information from the retina to the brain
Chapter 6: (4 questions)
Classical Conditioning: a process by which we learn to associate one stimulus with another
Unconditioned Stimulus: stimulus that elicits a reflexive response (food)
Unconditioned Response: a natural unlearned reaction to a stimulus (salivation to food)
Neural Stimuli’s: stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response (bell)
Conditioned stimulus: stimulus that elicits a response after repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned response: behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus
Stimulus Discrimination: learn to respond differently to stimuli that are familiar
Only show CR in presence of CS
Stimulus generalization: conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
Shows CR in the presence of CS and similar stimuli
Operant Conditioning: organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequences
Positive Reinforcement: behavior is followed by presentation of something pleasant that increases future likelihood of behavior
Negative Reinforcement: behavior is followed by removal of something aversive that increases future likelihood of behavior
Continuous Reinforcement: receive reinforcer each time target behavior is displayed
Partial Reinforcement: does not get reinforced every time they display the desired behavior
Fixed vs. variable: number of responses between reinforcement or amount if time between reinforcement is FIXED (unchanged set) or VARIABLE (varies or changes)
Interval vs Ratio: schedule is based on INTERVAL (time between Rienforcment) and RATIO (number of responses between reinforcement)
Fixed Interval: delivered at predictable time intervals
Variable Interval: reinforcement is delivered unpredictably
Fixed Ratio: Rienforcment is delivered after a predictable number of responses
Variable Ratio: Rienforcment is delivered after an unpredictable number of responses
Shaping: tool used in operant conditioning
Instead of rewarding only the target behavior, reinforce successive approximation of target behavior; reinforce responses that are similar to the desired behavior
Observational Learning: learning by watching others preform a behavior and then imitating that behavior
Chapter 7: (4 questions)
Schema (plural: schemata): mental collection of related concepts that organizes information and allows brain to work more efficiently
When a schema is activated, brain automatically makes assumptions based on “known” information about that collection of information
Prototype: a strong example or representation of a concept
Role schema = mental collection of information about how individuals in certain roles behave; firefighter, professor
Event schema (cognitive script) = mental collection about a set of behaviors (i.e., routine); how to board an elevator, greet someone
Concepts: categories of information, ideas, images, experiences that share common characteristics or attributes
Groupings of similar information
Allow relationships among different experiences to be compared
Integrate new information
Natural Concepts: formed through direct and indirect experiences defined by a general set of features, not all which have to be present; snow, birds, fruit
Artificial Concepts: formed by learning specific rules defined by a specific set of features that have certain defining properties; geometry
Functional Fixedness: mental set involving thinking about objects only in terms of what they were designed for (can’t think outside the box)
Anchoring Bias: Tendency to focus on one piece of information when making a decision or solving a problem
Hindsight Bias: Leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it wasn’t (knew it would happen all along)
Conformational Bias: Tendency to focus on information that confirms your existing beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs (seek belief confirming information)
Representative Bias: Tendency to judge an event by the extent to which it resembles the typical case (unintentionally stereotype things)
Availability Heuristic: Tendency to make a decision based on an example, information, or recent experience that is readily available to you, even though it may not be the best example to inform your decision (pop into your head)
Creativity: ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions, and possibilities
Divergent thinking: thinking “outside the box”
Convergent thinking: ability to provide a correct or well-established solution to a problem (all lines lead to one answer)
Creativity: ability to generate, create, or discover new ideas, solutions, and possibilities
Divergent thinking: thinking “outside the box”
Convergent thinking: ability to provide a correct or well-established solution to a problem (all lines lead to one answer)
Standardization: manner of administration, scoring, and interpretation of results is consistent so scores can be compared for future test takers
Norming: giving a test to a large population so data can be collected comparing groups, such as age groups
Reliability: produce similar scores from one test to the next
Validity: how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure
Chapter 8: (4 questions)
Semantic Encoding: encoding of words and their meanings
Visual Encoding: encoding of images
Acoustic Encoding: Encoding of sounds
Recall: being able to access information without cues
Recognition: being able to identify information that you have previously learned after encountering it again
Relearning: learning information that you previously learned
Sensory Memory: storage of brief sensory events
Semantic Memory: knowledge about words, concepts, and language; facts
Explicit Memory: memories of facts and events we can consciously remember and recall
Implicit Memory: memories that are not part of our consciousness
Episodic Memory: information about events we have personally experienced
Encoding Failure: memory is never encoded and stored in our LTM in the first place
Retrograde Amnesia: loss of memory for events that occurred prior to the trauma
Anterograde Amnesia: inability to remember new information after point of trauma
Storage Failure: memory errors
Chunking: grouping information into units
Mnemonics: memory aids that help us organize info for encoding
Rehearsal: continuous repetition of information to be remembered
Elaborating Rehearsal: Transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way
Chapter 9: (4 questions)
Developmental Psychology: Study of patterns of growth and change occurring throughout life
Physical development – growth and changes in the body and brain, senses, motor skills, and health and wellness
Cognitive development – learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity
Psychosocial development – emotions, personality, and social relationships
Continuous development – development occurs gradually (physical growth)
Discontinuous development – development occurs in unique stages (specific ages)
Nature (biology & genetics) V.S. Nurture (environment & culture)
Psychosexual Theory: Freud believed childhood experiences shape our development
Development are discontinuous stages
lack of proper nurturance and parenting during a stage could lead to a child becoming stuck or fixated in that stage
Children’s pleasure-seeking urges are basis of each stage
Psychosocial Theory: Erik Erikson emphasized social nature of development
personality development takes place across the lifespan, not just in childhood
In 8 stages: there is a psychosocial task that we must master to feel a sense of competence
Cognitive Theory: Piaget children’s cognitive growth through different stages adjusted by
Sociocultural Theory of Development: Vygotsky argued human development is rooted in one’s culture and historical influences
Child’s social world forms basis for the formation of language and thought
Individual’s interactions with their environment influences their development
Moral Development Theory: moral compass
Pre-conventional: obedience/punishment; behavior being driven out by avoiding punishment, individual interest: behavior driven out by self interest and rewards
Conventional: interpersonal: behavior driven out by social approval: authority: obeying authority and confirming to social order
Post-conventional: social contract: balance of social order and individual rights: universal affects: by internal moral principles
Attachment = a long-standing connection or bond with others
Secure base = parental presence that gives the child a sense of safety as they explore
their surroundings.
Strange Situation: Caregiver and infant are placed in a room together, with toys. Stranger enters the room and caregiver leaves. Caregiver returns to the room
1. Secure – child uses the parent as a secure base from which to explore
• Child was distressed when mother left, happy to see her when she returned
• Common when caregivers are sensitive and responsive to needs
2. Avoidant – unresponsive to parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if parent leaves
• Reacts similarly to the parent and the stranger
• Common when caregivers are insensitive and inattentive to needs
3. Resistant/Ambivalent – show clingy behavior, but then reject caregivers attempts to interact with them
• Become extremely disturbed or angry with parent, difficult to comfort upon return
• Common when caregiver is inconsistent with how they respond to their child
4. Disorganized – show odd, inconsistent behavior around caregiver
• Common when child has been abused
Permissive- child driven, rarely informing rules, overindulges child to avoid conflict
Authoritative- solves problems with child, clear uses and expectations, open communication
Neglectful- absent, little guidance, indifferent to child’s emotional needs
Authoritarian- parent driven, strict rules and punishment, one way communication with no consideration of child’s social needs
Chapter 15: (5 questions)
Supernatural: possessed by evil spirits
Biological: genetic, chemical imbalances, brain abnormalities, neurotransmitters, hormones
Diathesis-Stress Model: psychological disorders are a combination of biological and psychosocial factors
-people with underlying predisposition for a disorder are more likely than others to develop a disorder
- biological or psychological vulnerability
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders): classic action system used by mental health professionals in the US, categorizes and describes different psychological disorders
ICD (international Classification of Disease): classification and criteria for specific disorders similar yet different to the DSM
Phobias: excessive, distressing, and persistent fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation
Panic Attacks: sudden onset of intense panic and reaches a peak within 10 minutes
Social Anxiety Disorder: extreme or persistent fear or anxiety and avoidance of social situations
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: a continuous state of excessive, uncontrollable worry and apprehension
OCD: urges to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts
Anorexia: intense fear of gaining weight and distorted body image, severe weight loss from starvation or excessive exercise
Bulimia Nervosa: intense fear of weight gain, weight loss through binge eating followed by purging of food
Binge Eating Disorder: eating large quantities of food in a brief period followed by severe negative emotions
PTSD: exposure to experience the details of a traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence
Depressive disorder: depressed mood most of the day nearly everyday for at least a two-week period, and loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities; episodic
Bipolar: mood states that fluctuate between depression and mania
Schizophrenia: psychotic disorder in which the persons thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors are impaired to the point of not being able to function normally in life
Dissociative Disorders: an individual becoming split off, or disassociated from their core sense of self
ADHD: constant pattern of inattention and or hyperactive and impulsive behavior that interferes with normal functioning
Autism Spectrum Disorder: deficits in social interaction, communication, and resistive patterns of behavior or interests
Cluster A Odd or eccentric: paranoid, schizoid disorder
Cluster B Dramatic Emotional Impulsive Erratic: antisocial, narcissistic, borderline personality disorder
Cluster C Nervous or fearfulness: avoidant, dependent personality disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder: unstable interpersonal relationships, self image, mood, and impulsivity
Antisocial: lack of regard for other people's rights or feelings
Conduct Disorder/Oppositional Defiant Disorder: basic rights of others or societal norms violated and pattern of anger
Chapter 16: (5 questions)
Psychotherapy: psychological treatment that uses various methods to help someone overcome personal problems, or to attain personal growth; talk therapy
Biomedical Therapy: medication and/or medical procedure to treat psychological disorders
Insight Therapy: aimed at understanding ones motives, feelings, and behaviors through the unconscious
Actions Therapies: change disordered or inappropriate behavior directly
Psychoanalysis Therapy: talk therapy based on the belief that the uncouncious and childhood conflicts impact behavior
Play therapy: psychoanalytical therapy wherein interaction with toys is used instead of talk, used in child therapy
Behavior Therapy: principles of learning applied to change undesirable behaviors
Cognitive Therapy: awareness of cognitive process helps patients eliminate thought patterns that lead to distress
Cognitive-Behavorial Therapy: work to change cognitive distortions and self defeating behaviors
Humanistic Therapy: increase self awareness and acceptance through focus on conscious thoughts
Insight therapy: aims to uncover repressed feelings and resolve conflicts from unconscious and childhood
Free Association: patient relaxes and then says whatever comes to mind in the moment
Dream Interpretation: therapist analyzes content of dreams and their underlying meaning
Transference: patient transfers positive or negative feelings associated with other relationships onto the therapist
Non-directive play Therapy: child plays freely while therapist observes
Directive play therapy: therapist provides structure/guidance by suggesting topics, asking question, and playing with the child
Aversive conditioning: an unpleasant stimuli is paired with an undesirable behavior
Exposure Therapy: seeks to change the response to a conditioned stimuli’s from anxious responses to calm responses
Client Centered Therapy: emphasizes the client taking control of their own life to identify conflicts and understand feelings
Active listening: therapist acknowledges, restates, and clarifies what the client expresses (reflects or simply repeats what is heard)
Unconditional Positive Regard: therapist does not judge clients and accepts them for who they are
Anti depressant: increase amount of serotonin in brain
Anti Anxiety agents: depress central nervous system activation
Confidentiality: therapist cannot disclose confidential communications to any third party unless permitted by law
Cultural Competence: mental health professionals must understand and address issues of race, culture, and ethnicity and use strategies to effectively address needs of various populations
Electroconclusive Therapy: use of electrical currents in the brain to induce seizures to help alleviate symptoms of severe depression
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: magnetic fields stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve depression symptoms