AP Psychology - Chapters 5-18

Chapter 5: History and Approaches

  • Roots of Psychology:
    • Philosophy and physiology/biology in ancient Greece.
    • Hippocrates: Mind/soul resided in the brain but wasn't physical (mind-body dualism).
    • Plato: Dualism; knowledge is innate.
    • Aristotle: Monism; knowledge from observation and experience (tabula rasa).
    • Nature-nurture controversy: Extent to which behavior is inborn vs. learned.
  • Schools of Psychology:
    • Emerged as a separate discipline in the late 1800s.
    • Darwin: Natural selection applies to humans.
    • Weber, Fechner, Helmholtz: Showed the relationship between physical events and sensation/perception.
  • Structuralism:
    • Wilhelm Wundt: Founded scientific psychology (1879), introspection, replication.
    • G. Stanley Hall: Introspection, founded APA.
    • Edward Titchener: Analyzed consciousness into basic elements.
    • Margaret Floy Washburn: First woman to complete Ph.D. in psychology.
  • Functionalism:
    • William James: Focused on the function of behavior.
    • James Cattell, John Dewey: Studied mental testing, child development.
    • Focused on application and function in adapting to the environment.
    • Mary Whiton Calkins: First woman president of the APA.
  • Principal Approaches to Psychology:
    • Behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, evolutionary, cognitive, and sociocultural.
  • Behavioral Approach:
    • Focuses on observable behavior and environment.
    • Ivan Pavlov: Classical conditioning (stimulus-response).
    • John B. Watson: Psychology should be the science of behavior.
    • B. F. Skinner: Operant conditioning (rats and pigeons), behavior is determined by consequences.
  • Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach:
    • Sigmund Freud: Unconscious internal conflicts, motives, and defense mechanisms.
    • Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney: Variations of psychoanalysis.
  • Humanistic Approach:
    • Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers: Free will, potential for personal growth, naturally positive and growth-seeking.
  • Biological Approach:
    • Physiological bases of behavior, mind is what the brain does.
  • Evolutionary Approach:
    • Explains behavior patterns as adaptations for reproductive success.
  • Cognitive Approach:
    • Importance of receiving, storing, and processing information.
    • Jean Piaget: Cognitive development in children.
  • Sociocultural Approach:
    • Examines cultural differences to understand behavior.
    • Eclectic: Using techniques from various approaches.
  • Domains of Psychology:
    • Clinical, counseling, developmental, educational, engineering, forensic, health, I/O, neuropsychology, personality, psychometrics, rehabilitation, school, social, sports.

Chapter 6: Research Methods

  • Experimental Method:
    • Controlled experiment to test hypotheses.
    • Variables: Factors that can have different values.
    • Independent variable (IV): Manipulated by researcher (cause).
    • Dependent variable (DV): Measured behavior that may change due to IV (effect).
    • Population: The entire applicable group.
    • Sample: Subgroup of the population.
    • Random selection: Every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
    • Experimental group: Participants receiving treatment.
    • Control group: Comparison group not receiving treatment.
    • Between-subjects design: Participants in experimental and control groups are different individuals.
    • Random assignment: Minimizing preexisting differences between groups.
    • Confounding variables: Differences other than IV, limiting confidence in conclusions.
    • Operational definition: Specific procedure for measuring a variable.
    • Experimenter bias/expectancy effect: Researcher's expectations influence results.
    • Demand characteristics: Subjects discover study purpose, can change behavior.
    • Single-blind procedure: Participants unaware of treatment group.
    • Double-blind procedure: Participants and experimenters unaware of groups.
    • Placebo: Imitation treatment lacking active ingredient.
    • Placebo effect: Subjects change behavior due to belief in treatment.
    • Within-subjects design: Participants serve as their own controls.
    • Counterbalancing: Assigning treatment order to avoid order effects.
  • Quasi-Experimental Research:
    • Similar to experiments, but no random assignment.
    • Cannot establish cause and effect directly.
  • Correlational Research:
    • Examines relationship between variables without cause-and-effect.
    • Determines the extent to which one variable predicts the other.
  • Naturalistic Observation:
    • Observing naturally occurring behavior in the field.
    • Descriptive information about typical behavior.
  • Survey Method:
    • Questionnaires or interviews from a large number of people.
    • Random sampling to represent a larger population.
    • Accuracy is an issue due to distortions or recall errors.
    • Retrospective/ex post facto studies: Look at effect and seek cause.
  • Test Method:
    • Measure traits/attributes at a particular time.
    • Reliability: Consistency/repeatability.
    • Validity: Measures what it's supposed to.
  • Case Study:
    • In-depth examination of a single person or group.
    • Useful for understanding complex or rare phenomena.
  • Elementary Statistics:
    • Qualitative data changed to numerical.
    • Quantitative already numerical.
    • Scales: Nominal (name something) Ordinal (ranked), Interval (meaningful difference), Ratio (meaningful ration/real zero point).
    • Statistics: Science of analyzing numerical data.
  • Descriptive Statistics:
    • Frequency distribution: Arrangement of scores.
    • Histogram: Bar graph of distribution.
    • Frequency polygon: Line graph of distribution.
  • Measures of Central Tendency:
    • Mode: Most frequent score.
    • Median: Middle score when ordered.
    • Mean: Arithmetic average.
    • Symmetrical distribution: Mean, mode, median same.
    • Normal distribution: Symmetric, bell-shaped curve.
    • Skewed distribution: Positively or negatively skewed based on tail direction.
  • Measures of Variability:
    • Range: Largest minus smallest score.
    • Variance and Standard Deviation (SD): Degree to which scores differ around the mean; SD = Square Root of the variance.
  • Correlation:
    • Determined by different types of scores, such as standard score (z score)
    • Percentile score indicates percentile score is the percentage of scores at or below a score. It varies from 1-99.
    • Correlation coefficient (r): Statistical measure of relatedness, -1 to +1.
      *Graphic Representation of Correlation: Slope of line for relationship shown in scatterplot: 1. 0 (no relationship) up to +1.0 (positive correlation) or down to -1.0 (negative correlation).
  • Inferential Statistics:
    • Evaluate whether sample represents the population. Use of rules to test correlations for sample and see if it’s “luck” or genuine correlation.
    • Statistical significance (p): Likelihood that difference is real, not chance. (p < .05) (p < .01).
    • Meta-analysis: Statistically combines results of individual studies.
  • Ethical Guidelines:
    • Minimize harm.
    • Confidentiality.
    • Informed consent.
    • Debriefing.
    • IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval.
    • Humane treatment of animals.

Chapter 7: Biological Bases of Behavior

  • Techniques to Learn About Structure and Function:

    • Brain damage (e.g., Phineas Gage, Broca, Wernicke).
    • Lesions (surgical removal or destruction of select brain tissue).
    • Split brains (Sperry, Gazzaniga: hemispheric function).
      *Direct electrical stimulation during surgery.
      *Scanning techniques: CAT/CT, MRI, EEG, PET, fMRI.

  • Nervous System Organization:

    • Central Nervous System (CNS): Brain and spinal cord.
    • Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Outside CNS.
      • Somatic: Voluntary muscle.
      • Autonomic: Involuntary muscle.
        • Sympathetic: Arousing.
        • Parasympathetic: Calming.

  • The Brain:

    • Protected by meninges and skull.
    • Triune Brain (Evolutionary model): Reptilian brain (brainstem), Old mammalian brain (limbic system) and New mammalian brain (neocortex- cerebral cortex).
    • Gyri, Sulci and fissures

  • Localization and Lateralization of the Brain’s Function

    • Contralaterality – control of one side of the body by the other side of your brain
    • Association areas

  • Brain Structure and Function (Examples):

    • Medulla: Heart and breathing.
    • Pons: Arousal, bridge between hemispheres.
    • Cerebellum: Coordinates movement.
    • Basal Ganglia (or basal nuclei): Initiate movements, balance, eye movements posture etc.
    • Thalamus: Sensory relay station.
    • Hypothalamus: Body temperature, hunger, thirst, some emotions, etc.
    • Amygdala: Aggression and fear.
    • Hippocampus: New memories.
    • Cerebral Cortex: Higher order processing, sensory information, movement directed.

  • Occipital lobes

  • Parietal lobes

  • Frontal lobes

  • Temporal lobes

  • Neuron Structure and Function:

    • Neurons: Receive, process, transmit information.
    • Cell Body: Synthesis of Neutrotransmitters
    • Dendrites: receive stimuli
    • Axon: Passes neuronal stimuli on/away from cell membrane
      • Neurogenesis, growth of new neurons, takes place throughout lifetime.
    • Terminal Bud: Secretes and conducts neurontransmitters
    • Types of neurotransmitters
      • Acetylcholine (ACh)
      • Dopamine
      • Glutamate
      • Serotonin
      • Opioid peptide
      • GABA
    • Neuron impulse, chemical energy is changed to electro chemical energy
      *Excitatory Synapes are neurotransmitters, where neurons on the other side generate an action potential and inhibitory synapses reducing prevents impulses
    • The Reflex Action the simplest form of neural behavior conducted through the: sensory receptor , Afferent neuron, interneuron

  • Endocrine System Structure and Function:

    • Glands that secrete hormones.
    • Pineal gland, produces melatonin helps regulated circadian rhythm
    • Hypothalamus, produces hormones, that initiate or inhibits pituitary
    • Pituitary hormones releases stimulate other hormones
    • Thyroid Gland, releases hormones that regulate maintain metabolic activities
    • Parathyroides released parathyroid hormone helps to calcium ion levels related to behavior
    • Adrenal Glands, release steroids hormones when stressed (Epinephrine/Norepinephrine)
    • Pancreas releasing hormone to regulate blood sugar levels

  • Evolution and Behavior:

    • Help perpetuate our genes, more likely to help kind, thus promote reproduction

  • Genetics and Behavior:

    • Nature/Nurture Debate .\Heredity predetermines , Twin and adoption studies play important roles.
    • Genetic transmissions of hereditary is achieved by: egg/sperm, embryonic development
    • The gene determines the trait.
      • 46 chromosomes body cells except eggs/sperm carry 23 pairs
      • 44 chromosomes and XX (female) XY ( Male Chromosomes. Y chromosome in a Y = male child always)
    • Morphegenie = chemicals that cause birth defects (teratogens)
    • Genotypes are the genes, but phenotype are the traits

  • Genetic disorders

    • Down Syndrome: the chromosome -2 has 3, (rather that one)
    • Klinefelter syndrome XYY, evident in puberty secondary sex in male fail, Breast Develops
    • Sex link trait reessive genes are on X chromosome, , with 0 correlating in Y chromosomes

Chapter 8: Sensation and Perception

  • Thresholds:
    • Absolute threshold: Weakest stimulus detected at least half the time.
    • Signal detection theory: No absolute threshold due to fatigue, attention, etc.
      • Hit
        *Miss
        *False Alarm
        *Correct Rejection