Psych midterm

Psychology – the scientific study of human & animal behavior 

Theories 

 Psychoanalytical – by Sigmund Freud 

3 Divisions of the Mind: 

• Id – Aspect of a personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex. 

• Ego – Aspect of personality that represents the self, or part of one's personality that is visible to others  

• Superego – Aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience  

5 Psychosexual Stages of Development: 

• Oral –An infant's pleasure is focused on the mouth (0-1) 

• Anal –Children experience pleasure in their bowel and bladder movements (1-3) 

• Phallic –The focus is on the genitals (3-6) 

• Latency- Sexual feelings are dormant (6-puberty) 

• Genital – The focus is on mature sexual interests (puberty-up) 

                                        Defense Mechanisms: 

Denial – Refusing to accept real events because they are unpleasant 

Rationalization – Justifying behaviors by substituting acceptable reasons for less acceptable reason  

Displacement – Transferring inappropriate urges or behaviors onto a more acceptable or less threatening target  

Projection – Attributing unacceptable desires to others  

Reaction Formation – Reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own beliefs  

Repression – ego defense mechanism in which anxiety-related thoughts and memories are kept in the unconscious 

Regression – ego defense mechanism in which a person confronted with anxiety returns to a more immature behavioral state 

Freudian Slip – Saying things we don't intend to say by unintentionally substituting another word for the one we want. 

Behavioral – Therapeutic orientation that employs principles of learning to help clients change undesirable behaviors  

Humanistic – Therapeutic orientation aimed at helping people become more self-aware and accepting of themselves  

• Carl Rogers – An American psychologist who emphasized the potential for good that exists within all people. He used client centered therapy to help clients deal with problems; he believed that therapists needed to display three features to maximize the effectiveness: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy 

• Client centered – non-directive form of humanistic psychotherapy developed by Carl Rogers that emphasizes unconditional positive regard and self-acceptance  

Cognitive – Study of cognitions or thoughts and their relationship to experiences and actions 

Biological – Explores how our biology influences our behavior 

Gestalt - Field of psychology based on the idea that the whole is different from the sum of its parts 

Trait Theory – OCEAN 

Adler Birth Order Theory – Older siblings compensate for once having all the attention by becoming over achievers. The youngest may be spoiled, leaving the middle child with the opportunity to minimize the negative dynamics of the youngest and oldest sibling 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – 

1. Self-actualization-inner fulfilment  

2. Esteem- self-worth, accomplishment, confidence  

3. Social- family, friendship, intimacy, belonging 

4. Security- Safety, employment, assets  

5. Physiological- food, water, shelter, warmth 

Who is the Father of Psych? – Wilhelm Wundt 

Phrenology – Theory that claimed a person's personality, character, and mental abilities could be determined by the shape and bumps of their skull 

Types of Psychologists: 

• Clinical – Area that focuses on the diagnosis and treatmnet of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior  

• Forensic – Deals with questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the justice system.  

From Chapter 2: 

Survey –asking questions from a random sample of the population 

Experimental Method: 

Control group - the group that remains the same, or gets the placebo 

Experimental group – the group that gets the treatment or experiences some change 

Correlational Coefficient – numbers representing the strength of the relationship    

  (-1.00          0         +1.00) 

Positive Correlation – Two variables in the same direction, both becoming either large or smaller  

Negative Correlation – Two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation  

Zero Correlation -  

Independent variable – the suspected cause in an experiment (the cause) 

Dependent variable – the measurable outcome of an experiment (the effect) 

Case Study – observational research study focusing on one or a few people 
Double-Blind - Experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments  

Placebo- A type of non-therapeutic medicine that is meant to test the effectiveness of other medications 

Placebo Effect – People's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experiences in each situation  

Debriefing – When an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion 

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From Chapter 3: 

Medulla – Hindbrain strucutre that controls automated processes like breathing, blood pressures, and heart rate 

Motor Cortex – Strip of cortex involved in planning and coordinating movement  

Phineas Gage – A railroad worker whose head was blasted into by rods. He survided but his personality was changed  

4 lobes of the brain:  

 Frontal – Part of the cerebral cortex involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language; contains motor cortex  

Parietal - Part of the cerebral cortex involved in processing various sensory and perceptual information; contains the primary somatosensory cortex.  

Temporal – Part of the cerebral cortex associated with hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language contains primary auditory cortex  

Occipital – Part of the cerebral; cortex associated with visual processing; contains the primary visual cortex  

Corpus Callosum – Thick band of fibers connecting the brains two hemispheres  

Hippocampus – Structure in the temporal lobe associated with learning and memory  

Hypothalamus – Forebrain structure that regulates sexual motivation and behavior and several homeostatic processes; serves as an interface between the nervous system and the endocrine system  

Reticular Formation – Midbrain structure important in regulating the sleep/wake cycle, arousal, alertness and motor activity  

Pons - Hindbrain structure that connects the brain and spinal cord, involved in regulating brain activity during sleep  

Cerebellum – Hindbrain structure that controls our balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills, and it is thought to be important in processing in some types of memory  

Right Hemisphere functions: Pitch perception, arousal, and negative emotions  

Left Hemisphere functions: Forming associations in memory, selective attention, and positive emotions         

Parkinson's Disease – A progressive nervous system disorder that occurs due to the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain 

Alzheimer's Disease – A type of dementia where plaques in the brain are due to cell death 

The Nervous System: Made up of billions of neurons and controls our thoughts, responses, and movements; divided into CNS and PSN  

      Central Nervous System – Brain and the spinal cord 

      Peripheral Nervous System – Connects the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, organs and senses in the periphery of the body 

Sympathetic – Involved in stress related activities and functions  

Parasympathetic – Associated with routine, day-to-day operations of the body 

Neurotransmitters: Serotonin – Plays a crucial role in regulating mood, emotions, and various bodily functions 

  Dopamine - Plays a key role in motivation, reward, pleasure, and movement 

          Endorphins- Act as the body's natural painkillers and mood boosters; released in response to stress, pain, or pleasure