Cram Packet - Thompson

Unit Zero - Research Design

  • Basic Vocabulary
    • Hypothesis: A tentative explanation that must be falsifiable which means it has to be tested.
    • Operational Definition: A clear, precise, and quantifiable definition of variables. This allows for replication and collection of reliable data.
    • Qualitative Data: Descriptive data (e.g., eye color).
    • Quantitative Data: Numerical data, ideal and necessary for statistics.
    • Population: Everyone the research could apply to.
    • Sample: The specific people (or person) chosen for the study.

Research Designs

  • Correlation:
    • Identifies the relationship between two variables.
    • Advantage: Useful when experiments are unethical.
    • Disadvantage: Correlation does not equal causation.
      • Directionality Problem: It's unclear which variable influences the other (e.g., depression and low self-esteem).
      • 3rd Variable Problem: A different variable is responsible for the relationship (e.g., ice cream sales and murder rates might both be influenced by heat).
    • Types of Correlation:
      • Positive Correlation: Variables increase or decrease together.
      • Negative Correlation: As one variable increases, the other decreases.
      • The stronger the number, the stronger the relationship, regardless of the positive or negative sign. Cannot be < or > than 1.
      • Stronger relationships show tighter clusters on a graph.
  • Experiments:
    • Purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause/effect relationships.
    • Advantage: Only type that establishes cause and effect.
    • Disadvantage: Can be unethical, too artificial.
    • Independent Variable: Purposely altered by the researcher to look for effect.
      • Experimental Group: Receives the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple experimental groups.
      • Control Group: Placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1 control group.
    • Dependent Variable: Measured variable that is dependent on the independent variable.
    • Vocabulary Unique to Experiments:
      • Placebo Effect: Any observed effect on behavior caused by the placebo itself (shows effectiveness of experimental treatment). Usually fixed with blinded studies.
        • Double-Blind: Experiment where neither the participant nor the experimenter knows condition assignments (e.g., drug studies).
        • Single-Blind: Only the participant is blind, used if the experimenter cannot be blind (e.g., gender, age).
      • Confound: An error/flaw accidentally introduced into the study; also called a confounding variable.
      • Random Assignment: Assigns participants to control or experimental groups at random; increases the chance of equal representation among groups, allowing for cause/effect conclusions.
  • Other Study Types:
    • Naturalistic Observation:
      • Observe people in their natural settings.
      • Advantage: Real-world validity.
      • Disadvantage: No cause and effect.
    • Case Study:
      • Studies one person (usually) in great detail.
      • Advantage: Collect lots of info.
      • Disadvantage: No cause/effect.
    • Meta-Analysis:
      • Combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes.

Statistics

  • Descriptive Stats: Show shape of the data.
    • Measures of Central Tendency:
      • Mean: Average (use in normal distribution).
      • Median: Middle number (use in skewed distribution).
      • Mode: Occurs most often.
      • Bimodal: Has two modes, usually indicates good and bad scores.
  • Skews: Created by outliers. * Negative Skew: Mean is to the left (negative side); mode is to the right. * Positive Skew: Mean is to the right.
    • Measure of Variation:
      • Range: Distance between smallest and biggest number.
      • Standard Deviation: Average amount the scores are spread from the mean (bigger number = more spread).
  • Inferential Statistics: Establishes significance (meaningfulness).
    • Statistical Significance: Results not due to chance; experimental manipulation caused the difference in means.
      • p < 0.05 is statistically significant; smaller is better.
    • Effect Size: Data has practical significance; bigger is better.

Ethical Guidelines (IRB Approval Needed For People)

  • Confidentiality: Names kept secret.
  • Informed Consent: Participants must agree to be part of the study.
  • Informed Assent: Minors AND their parents must agree.
  • Debriefing: Participants must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception).
  • Deception: Must be warranted.
  • No Harm: Mental/physical.

Additional Vocabulary

  • Surveys: Usually turned into correlation studies; subject to self-report bias.
    • Self-Report Bias: Errors in collecting survey data.
      • Social Desirability: People lie to look good.
      • Wording Effects: How you frame the question can impact the answers.
  • Random Sample (Selection): Method for choosing participants; everyone has a chance to take part; increases generalizability.
    • Do not mix random sample and random assignment: Sample = Generalize, Assignment = Cause/Effect.
  • Representative Sample: Sample mimics the general population (ethnic, gender, age).
  • Convenience Sample: Select participants on availability, less representative and less generalizability.
    • Sampling Bias: Sample isn't representative due to convenience sampling.
  • Cultural Norms: Behaviors of a particular group can influence research results.
  • Experimenter Bias/Participant Bias: Experimenter/participant expectations influence the outcome.
  • Cognitive Bias: Bias in thinking/judgment.
    • Confirmation Bias: Find information that supports our preexisting beliefs.
    • Hindsight Bias: "I knew it all along."
    • Overconfidence: Overestimate our knowledge/abilities.
    • Hawthorne Effect: People change behavior when watched.
  • Research needs peer review and adequate sample sizes.
  • Functional Fixedness: Can only see one (common) use for an item; cannot think outside of the box.
  • Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continue something because you're already invested, even when stopping would be more beneficial.
  • Gambler's Fallacy: Believe something is more likely to happen because it's "due" – the dice have no memory.
  • Divergent Thinking: Ability to think about many different things at once (creative), hindered by functional fixedness.
  • Convergent Thinking: Limits creativity, one answer.
  • Executive Functioning: Generating, organizing, planning, carrying out goal-directed behaviors.

Memory

Encoding: Getting Info Into Memory

  • Automatic Encoding: Requires no effort (e.g., what did you have for breakfast?).

  • Effortful Encoding: Requires work (e.g., school).

  • Levels (Depth) of Processing: The more emphasis on meaning, the deeper the processing, and the better remembered.

    • Structural Encoding (Shallow): Emphasis on physical structure.
    • Phonemic Encoding (Intermediate): Emphasis on what words sound like.
    • Semantic Encoding (Deep): Emphasis on meaning of the words.

  • Elaborative Rehearsal: Strategies to enhance encoding.

    • Imagery: Attaching images to information makes it easier to remember.
    • Dual Encoding: Using multiple methods of processing to remember (photo + words).
    • Chunking: Breaking information into smaller units to aid in memory (like a phone number).
    • Mnemonics: Shortcuts to help us remember information easier.
      • Acronyms: Using letters to remember something (PEMDAS).
      • Method of Loci: Using locations to remember a list of items in order.

  • Context-Dependent Memory: You best remember information where you learned the info (e.g., scuba divers testing).

  • State-Dependent Memory: The physical state you were in when learning should be the way you should be when testing (study high, test high).

  • Mood-Congruent Memory: Remember happy events when happy, sad when sad.

  • Forgetting Curve: Recall decreases rapidly at first, then reaches a plateau after which little more is forgotten

  • Distributed Practice (Spacing Effect): Review a little every night (resets forgetting curve).

  • Massed Practice: Cramming.

  • Testing Effect: Quizzing over material periodically.

Storage: Retaining Info Over Time

  • Multi-Store Model: Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory model.
  • Sensory Memory: Stores all incoming stimuli that you receive (first you have to pay attention).
    • Iconic Memory: Visual memory, lasts 0.3 seconds.
    • Echoic Memory: Auditory memory, lasts 2-3 seconds.
  • Short-Term Memory: Information passes from sensory memory to STM, lasts 30 seconds, and can remember 7 \pm 2 items.
    • Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating the information restarts the clock.
  • Long-Term Memory: Lasts a lifetime.
    • Explicit Memory: Requires conscious effort.
      • Episodic: Events.
      • Semantic: Facts.
    • Implicit Memory: Automatic, no effort needed.
      • Classical Conditioning.
      • Priming: Information seen earlier "primes" you to remember something later on.
      • Procedural: Skills (muscle memory).
  • Working Memory Model: Splits STM into visual-spatial memory (from iconic memory) and phonological loop (from echoic memory). A "central executive" puts it together before passing it to LTM.
  • Other Odd Types of Memory
    • Prospective Memory: Remembering you need to do something (pick up milk).
    • Autobiographical Memory: Memory for your personal history - combination of episodic and semantic.
      • Superior Autobiographical - rare condition - ppl have extra detailed memories
  • Memory Organization
    • Hierarchies: Memory is stored according to clusters of related information.
    • Categorically: Stored in categories.
    • Semantic Networks: Webs of semi-related information.
      • Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: Can't remember the name of something because you're stuck elsewhere in your semantic network.
    • Schemas: Frameworks that organize information.
      • Assimilation: Incorporate new info into existing schema. (Cat is a dog because 4 legs).
      • Accommodation: Adjust existing schemas to incorporate new information (Cat and dogs = different).
  • Memory Storage
    • Acetylcholine neurons in the hippocampus for episodic and semantic.
    • Memories before age 3 are unreliable (infantile amnesia) - hippocampus still forming.
    • Cerebellum for implicit/procedural memories.
    • Amygdala for emotional memories.
    • Frontal lobe for encoding and retrieval.
  • Long-Term Potentiation: Neural basis of memory - connections are strengthened over time with repeated stimulation (more firing of neurons).
  • Memory Consolidation: Memories are strengthened and made more stable with time.

Retrieval: Taking Info Out Of Storage

  • Serial Position Effect: Tendency to remember the beginning (primacy effect) and the end (recency effect) of the list best.
    • Primacy happens because the info got moved to long-term memory.
    • Recency because it's still in your short term

Sensation & Perception

Visual System

  • Color Deficiency: Damage to, or missing cones or ganglion cells.
    • Red/green is most common.
    • Dichromatism: Missing 1 cone.
    • Monochromatism: Only have rods.

Auditory System

  • Properties of Sound:
    • Wavelength: Distance between peaks – pitch. Long waves = low pitch. Narrow waves = high pitch.
    • Amplitude: Height of wave – loudness. Short waves = soft. Tall waves = loud.
  • Theories of Hearing: All occur in the cochlea.
    • Place Theory: Location where hair cells bend determines sound (high pitches).
    • Frequency Theory: Rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low pitches).
    • Volley Theory: Groups of neurons fire APs out of sync.
  • Other Hearing Stuff:
    • Sound localization: Which ear gets the waves first tells location of sound.
    • Conduction Deafness: Damage to bones of ear and ear drum cause hearing loss.
    • Sensorineural: Damage to cochlea, hairs in cochlea, or nerve - usually due to old age and loud noise.

Other Senses

  • Vestibular: Sense of balance (semicircular canals in the inner ear).
  • Kinesthetic: Sense of body position & movement without looking.
  • Pain: Gate-control theory: We have a "gate" to control how much pain is experienced. Pain is both mental and physical.
    • "Hot": Activation of warm and cold receptors.
  • Taste (Gustation): 6 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory), oleogustus (fatty/oily).
    • Tongue, mouth, and brain process taste.
    • Density of taste receptors makes people super tasters, medium tasters, or nontasters.
    • Sensory interaction creates taste - without smell, taste isn't as strong or is absent.
  • Smell (Olfaction): Only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus.
    • Pheromones produce chemical signals within a species for attraction

Cognition Pillar

Perception

  • Top-Down Processing: Whole idea (prior expectations) → smaller parts (painting w/ faces).
  • Bottom-Up Processing: Smaller Parts (sensory info) → Whole idea (dog of bunch of dots).
  • Schemas: Preexisting mental concept of how something should look (like a restaurant).
  • Perceptual Set: Tendency to see something as part of a group - speeds up signal processing.
  • Gestalt Psychology: Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
    • Gestalt Principles:
      • Figure/Ground: Organize information into figures (objects) that stand apart from surrounds (background).
      • Closure: Mentally fill in gaps.
      • Proximity: Group things together that appear near each other.
      • Similarity: Group things together based off of looks.
  • Constancies: Recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input (size, shape, brightness).
  • Apparent Movement: Objects can appear moving when they aren't (flip books, blinking lights).
  • Selective Attention: Focus on one thing and block out other things.
    • Inattentional Blindness: Failure to notice something added because you're so focused on another task (gorilla video).
    • Change Blindness: Fail to notice a change in the scene (curtain changes color).
    • Cocktail Party Effect: Notice your name across the room when it's spoken, when you weren't previously paying attention.
  • Binocular Depth Cues: (How both eyes make up a 3D image).
    • Retinal Disparity: Image is cast slightly differently on each retina; location of image helps us determine depth.
    • Convergence: Eyes strain more (looking inward) as objects draw nearer.
  • Monocular Depth Cues: (How we form a 3D image from a 2D image).
    • Interposition: Overlapping images appear closer.
    • Relative Size: 2 objects that are usually similar in size, the smaller one is further away.
    • Linear Perspective: Parallel lines converge with distance (think railroad tracks).
    • Relative Clarity: Hazy objects appear further away.
    • Texture Gradient: Coarser objects = closer.

Thinking & Problem Solving

  • Concepts: Mental categories used to group objects, events, characteristics.
    • Prototypes: all instances of a concept are compared to an ideal example
  • Algorithms: Step-by-step strategies that guarantee a solution (formula).
  • Heuristics: Short cut strategy.
    * Representative Heuristic: Make judgment based on your experience (like a stereotype) - assume someone must be a librarian because they're quiet.
    * Availability Heuristic: Make a judgment based on the first thing that pops in your head (assume planes are dangerous because crash in the news).
  • Metacognition: Thinking about (reflecting upon) the way you think.
  • Mental Set: Keep using one strategy to solve a problem; cannot think outside the box.

The Brain

  • Association areas: Receive input from multiple areas/lobes to integrate info
  • Left hemisphere only-damage to these results in aphasia (damaged speech)
    • Broca's Area: Inability to produce speech (Broca - Broken speech)
    • Wernicke's Area: can't comprehend speech (Wernicke's what?)
  • Corpus Callosum: Bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres; sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures - leads to "split-brain patients".

Split-Brain Experiments:

  • Image shown to R eye processed in L hemi - patient can say what they saw; image shown to L eye processed in R hemi, can't say what was seen
  • Brain Plasticity: Brain changes via damage and through experience

Endocrine System: Sends hormones throughout the body

  • Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus, releases growth hormones

Brain Research:

  • EEG: Shows broad brain activity- not specific - electrical output
  • fMRI: Show brain activity in specific regions; measures oxygen.
  • Lesion: Destruction of brain tissue

Diseases & Disorders To Know

  • Multiple Sclerosis: destruction of myelin sheath, disrupts APs, causes impaired mobility, paralysis, pain
  • Myasthenia Gravis: acetylcholine blocked, disrupts APs, causes poor motor control and paralysis
  • Blindsight: Caused by lesions to primary visual cortex, ppl can "see" ie catch a ball etc despite being blind - evidence for association areas
  • Prosopagnosia: Face blindness - damage to occipital and/or temporal lobe
  • Broca's Aphasia: Damage to Broca's area - stuttered speech
  • Wernicke's Aphasia: Damage to Wernicke's-jumbled speech
  • Phantom Limb Pain: Pain from a limb that no longer is there (amputated) - caused by brain plasticity
  • Epilepsy: Seizures - too much / little Glutamate/GABA
  • Alzheimer's: Destruction of acetylcholine in hippocampus, memory loss

States of Consciousness

  • Consciousness: Awareness of cognitive processes (asleep or awake?)
  • Circadian Rhythms: 24-hour biological clock of body temperature & sleep
    • Disrupting it makes your internal clock get out of sync (jet lag and shift work do this)
      NREM (non REM) stages
    • NREM 1: Light sleep, has hypnagogic sensations (falling feeling)
    • NREM 2: Bursts of sleep spindles
    • NREM 3: Delta waves: Deep sleep
    • Rapid Eye Movement (REM):dreaming, cognitive processing
    • Entire cycle takes 90 minutes, REM occurs in between each cycle.REM lasts longer throughout the night, deep sleep decreases
    • REM is "paradoxical" because your HR and brain is active - but your body is relaxed REM Rebound: after sleep disruptions and/or lack of REM sleep you'll have more / more intense REM sleep
  • Dream Theories:
    • Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random bursts of energy - stimulating lodged memories in limbic system & brain stem. Dreams start random then develop meaning. Its Neural theory.
    • Consolidation Dream Theory: Brain is combining and processing memories for storage
  • Why Is Sleep Necessary?
    • Consolidation-storage of memories
    • Restoration-helps regenerate the immune system and restore energy
  • Sleep Disorders
    * Insomnia: Inability to fall / stay asleep (due to stress/anxiety)
    * Somnambulism (Sleep Walking): Happens during stage 3 - NOT during REM
    * Narcolepsy: Fall into REM out of nowhere- treated w/ stimulants
    * Sleep Apnea: Stop breathing while asleep (due to obesity usually)
    * REM Behavior Disorder: Malfunction of mechanism that paralyzes you during REM

Biological Basis

  • NT=neurotransmitter, AP=action potential, NS=nervous system
  • Heredity VS Environment
    * Evolutionary psycs-study how natural selection influences behavior
    * Heredity (nature)=how genes influence your behavior
    * Environment (nurture)=how outside situations influence your behavior (school)
  • Nature VS. Nurture: answer is Both
    * Twin/Adoption Studies:
    *Genetics: identical twin will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease
    *Environment: identical twins raised in different environments show differences
  • Nervous System
    * Central NS: Brain and spinal cord
    * Peripheral NS: Rest of the NS relays to Central NS
    *Somatic NS: Voluntary movement, has sensory and motor neurons
    *Autonomic NS: Involuntary organs (heart, lungs, etc) - contains the:
    *Sympathetic NS: fight/flight (generally activates - exception digestion)
    *Parasympathetic NS: rest/digest (generally inhibits - exception digestion)
  • Neuron and Neural Firing
    * Neuron: Basic cell of the NS
    *Dendrites: Receive incoming NTs
    *Axon: AP travels down this
    *Myelin Sheath: speeds up AP down axon, protects axon
    *Synapse: gap between neurons
    * Sensory neurons-receive sense signals from environment-send signal to brain
    * Motor neurons-signals to move-send signals from brain
    * Interneurons-cells in spinal cord/brain responsible for reflex arc
    *Reflex arcs are important stimuli that skip the brain and route through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on a hot flame)
    * Glia-support cells- give nutrients and clean up around neurons Neurons Fire with an Action Potential:
    *Ions move across the membrane to send an electrical charge down the axon.
    *Resting Potential: neuron maintains a -70mv charge when not doing anything. (-70mv))
    *Depolarization: charge of neuron briefly switches from neg to pos-triggers the AP
    *Threshold of Depolarization: stimulus strength must reach this point to start the AP
    *All or Nothing Principle: stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold but does not increase the intensity or speed of the response (flush the toilet)
    *Refractory Period: neuron must reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets)
  • Neurotransmitters: chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons. Classified as excitatory (increase APs in other neurons) or inhibitory (decrease APs)
    * GABA: Major inhibitory NT
    * Glutamate: Major excitatory NT (glutes excite you!)
    * Dopamine: Reward (short term) & fine movement - in hypothalamus, association w/ addiction
    * Serotonin: Moods (long-term), emotion, sleep-in amygdala, too little associate w/ depression
    * Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory and movement-in hippocampus, associate w/ Alzheimer's
    * Norepinephrine: sympathetic NS-too little associate w/ depression
    * Endorphins: decrease pain
    * Substance P: pain regulation (abnormality increases pain and inflammation)
  • If not in the nervous system, it's a hormone * Oxytocin: love, bonding, childbirth, lactation * Adrenaline: fight/flight * Leptin: Makes you full (Stops hunger) * Ghrelin: Makes you hungry (turns you into a gremlin) * Melatonin: sleep * Agonist: Drug that mimics a NT * Antagonist: Drug that blocks a NT
    • Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron.(antidepressants cause reuptake inhibition (block reuptake)-treatment for depression
  • Psychoactive Drugs
    * Depressants: Decrease NS activity: (alcohol)
    * Stimulants: Increase NS activity (caffeine & cocaine)
    * Hallucinogens: Hallucinations and altered perceptions (Marijuana)
    * Opioids: Relieve pain (endorphin agonists) (heroin)
    * Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects
    * Addiction: Must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms
    * Withdrawal: Symptoms associated with sudden stoppage

The Brain

  • Cerebellum-movement, balance, coordination, procedural memory (walking a tightrope balancing a bell)

  • Brainstem / Medulla-vital organs (HR, BP, breathing)

  • Reticular Activating System: alertness, arousal, sleep, eye movement

  • Cerebral Cortex: outer portion of the brain-higher-order thought processes- includes limbic system, lobes, corpus callosum

    • Limbic System

      • Amygdala: emotions, fear
      • Hippocampus: episodic and semantic memory (if you saw a hippo on campus you'd remember it!)
      • Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors - link to endocrine system, homeostasis
      • Thalamus: relay center for all but smell
      • Pituitary gland: talks with endocrine system and hypothalamus- release hormones

    • Frontal Lobe

      • Occipital Lobe: vision
      • Frontal Lobe: decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality, language, executive function-includes the:
        *Prefrontal cortex: front of frontal lobe-executive function
        *Motor Cortex: back of frontal lobe - map of our motor receptors

    • Parietal Lobe: sensations and touch-controls association areas - includes:
      *Somatosensory Cortex: map of our touch receptors

    • Temporal Lobe: hearing and face recognition, language controls skeletal movement