Psychology Chapters 1-4
Parietal Lobe
Somatosensory (touch) Parallels the motor cortex
correlation design
Tests relationships between variables Two or more variables are examined Correlation coefficients range from -1 to 1 (indicates a perfect correlation, 0 indicates no correlation)
behavior learning
The belief that for psychology to be true science, we should be more focused on studying behavior and not abstract thoughts or ideas
cerebrum cortex
The cerebral cortex is responsible for many higher-order brain functions such as sensation, perception, memory, association, thought, and voluntary physical activity.
Psychoanalsis
(Sigmund Freund): Theorized that our unconscious mind was a way to get an insight about the problems we were facing as well as why we face the problems the way that we do. Our childhood experiences influence our adult life
Norepinephrine
Affects CNS activity; plays role in increasing alertness, attention
Amplitude
Height of a wave, perceived as loudness (decibles)
experimental design
Includes both independent and dependent variables and random assignment of participants to both control and experimental groups or condition
Epinehrine
Increases ANS activity; fight-or-flight response
behavioral measures
Information is taken through observing participants actual behaviors Can happen in a naturalistic setting (children at a park) or a controlled setting (laboratory)
Qualitative Research
Interview/Open-Ended All about the words/phrases = Data
Amyglada
emotional significance of stimuli especially fear
behavioral neuroscience
an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes
Forensic Psychology
What place does psychology have in the study and practice of law? What does it mean to be an expert witness? How can psychology influence criminal justice proceedings? Getting into people's minds to admit to a crime
physiological measures
Where we examine physical/bodily responses to assess change in psychological states Cortisol can be measured to look at a stress level Heart rate can be measured to look at attraction Brain activity can be used to look at the formation of memories
Psychology as a science
Wilhelm Wundt created a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in the late 1800s psychophysics
Hippocampus
a neural center located in the limbic system; selection for lasting memory and learning
gestalt psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts
counseling psychology
help people w/ everyday problems
peripheral nervous system
home to the rest of our cells outside of the brain and spinal cord
self-report measures
information taken from our own thoughts, feelings, and actions Typically collected from survey questionnaires (using numeric scales) and open-ended interviews (participants speak freely/are recorded)
hypothalumus
involved in major drives: sex, thirst, tired pituitary hormones: sexually maturity
cerebrum
is divided into two large hemispheres and is the uppermost portion of the brain
Empiricism
is the philosophical belief that all knowledge comes from our experiences
Neuropeptides
mall strings of amino acids that carry information among neurons
temporal lobe
memory, emotion Auditory cortex (hearing)
Glutamate
most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain; involved in learning and memory; may be involved in schizophrenia
corpus callosum
connecting both hemispheres and facilitates communication between both logical and creative tasks.
Transduction
conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.
automatic nervous system
nerve cells of the PNS that serve involuntary systems of the body
somatic nervous system
nerve cells of the PNS that serve the skeletal muscles and sense sensory information back to the PNS (voluntary, thinking, and perceiving)
Limbic System
neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
sensory neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
case study
one person is observed over a long period of time (Harley & Joker)
Interneurons
only communicate with other neurons helps curb inhibition of pulses from one neuron to the next
Frequency
perceived as a pitch (hertz, HZ)
Acetylcholine
slows ANS activity; eating, drinking, memory, sleeping, and dreaming, learning, neuromuscular junction
HIT
stimulus present, participant says yes
Miss
stimulus present, participants says no
double-blind studies
studies in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group
Medulla
the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat, breathing, arousal, survival reflexes
Thalamus
the brain's sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem. (every sense except smell)
purity
the complexity of the wave-perceived as timbre, the quality or "color" of a sound
Humanist school of thought (John Locke):
the mind is a blank state and we write our own story-empiricism (free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization)
single blind studies
the participants do not know which group they are assigned to
nature through nurture
the positons that the environment constantly interacts with biology to shape who we are and what we do
naturalistic observation
the researcher observes subjects in their natural environment but from afar (Jane & Gorillas)
social psychology
the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another How do we form groups? Why are we more likely to help others who look like us than others who do not look like us? What does it mean to be altruistic/pro-social? How do our biases affect our ability to get along w/ others?
Cognitive Psychology
the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning
personality psychology
the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting Can our personalities change over time? What can our personality tells us about predicting our behaviors and how we interact w/ others?
absolute threshold
the weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect half the time
behavioral school of thought
told you all about who a person is based on biology/genetics
motor neurons
transmits information through the body to initiate movement
continuity
we see point/lines in such a way that they follow a continuous path
similarity
we tend to group like objects together into the same category
proximity
we tend to group objects together that are near another
Social desirability bias:
when we try to answer in a way that will provide the experiments with answers we think that want to hear.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
when your body "powers down" and goes into a normal resting state Slows heart rate, decreased blood pressure, less air through the lungs
sympatheic nervous system
when your body gears up for a "fight or flight response" Dilated pupils, increased heart rate, shutdowns digestive functioning, increases air to the lungs
frontal lobe
planning, impulse control, abstract thinking Primary motor cortex
Dopamine
plays an important role in arousal, mood (especially positive); oversupply correlates with schizophrenia; voluntary muscle control
Phineas Cage
railroad worker who survived a severe brain injury that changed his personality and behavior played a huge role in understanding localization of brain function
Pons
A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain "bridge"
Meta-analysis
A method of cross-referencing published findings across many sources of a particular body of literature to develop new hypotheses and ask new questions
sensation
A physical process involving the stimulation of our sense organs of the outer world The sense organs transform information from its physical form (light or sound waves or chemicals) into a nerve impulse and transmit it to the brain. Objective
perception
A psychological process involving the act of organizing and interpreting sensory experience Sensation is taking things as they are, and perception enables us to attach meaning to what things are Subjective
Representative Sample
A representative sample is a sample in which the relevant characteristics of the sample members are generally the same as the characteristics of the population. This type of sample is important because only a representative sample can be used to make trustworthy inferences about the population.
theory
A set of related assumptions from which scientists can make testable predictions Thoughts that allow you to create a hypothesis
Midbrain
A small part of the brain on top of brainstem. Responsible for Parkinson's disease and upper reticular formation
descriptive study
A study where we can define a problem/question about the population but there are no variables, controls, or manipulation involved
basal ganglia
Collection of structures that surrounds the thalamus Voluntary motor control Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease affect the functioning
Cerebellum
Controls balance and coordination
limits
Correlation can never equal Causation!!! Sample sizes Biases Placebo Effect Expensive/Amount of Time Any outside source
Neuropsychological-behavioral generic
Foundation for Thought and behavior is biological and genetic forces
longitudinal study
How do human behaviors change over time? Longitudinal studies importantly vary by length of study duration (months to even several decades) How do children's early math abilities predict their potential to pursue STEM careers? Usually involve observational, correlational, and quasi-experimental techniques
industrial-organizational psychology
How do we put psychology to work? How can psychology help w/ employee productivity? Preventing burnout (making employee's happy) How can companies use psychology to strategize for increased customer satisfaction? Motivate people to do surveys to get data and improve customer service Industry vs Organizational: why do performance evaluations matter vs how do management styles help or harm employees?
clinical psychology
How do we treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders? How do we find ways to promote psychological health? usually work in hospitals/mental health
sports psychology
How does psychology affect athlete performance? Athletes who feel supportive=do better How do we promote and optimize exercise for everyday living? How do we increase participation in sports? How can sports be a healthy outlet for stress?
adaptive mechanisms
Human thought and behavior have been shaped by evolutionary forces- natural and sexual selection
Hind brain
Located at the lower part of the brain. Consists of the medulla, pons, cerebellum
scientific method
Observe Predict Test Interpret Communicate Replicate
Psychoanalytic Psychodynamic Approach:
Our behavior is shaped by our early childhood as well as our unconscious mind and motives
Humanist-Positive Psychology
People deserve to be treated with kindness and are overall trying to do good in the world and find happiness
different field of human behavior
Political science psychology, sociology, economics, and anthropology.
False Alarm
Stimulus is not present and observer responds "Yes"
Quantitative Research
Surveys/Questionnaires All about the numbers/averages = Data
Forebrain
The largest and most complicated region of the brain, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, and cerebrum.
Epigenetics
The study of changes in the way genes are expressed-that are activated or deactivated without changing the sequence of DNA How your behaviors and environments can cause changes to how your genes work?
developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; slows CNS function; correlates with anxiety and intoxication
Cingulate gyrus
attention and cognitive control
cross-cultural psychology
branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior and mental processes How do our cultural backgrounds affect how we experience the world around us? Why are things considered normal in some cultures but completely alien in other cultures? What does it mean to be individualistic versus communal?
The Gesalts Laws
describe how the human eye perceives visual elements.
nurture
environment, upbringing, social influences
nature
genetically based traits
correct rejection
if the signal is not presented and the participant does not detect it
aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).
central nervous system
our bodies control center Brain and the Spinal Cord
control group
participants are handled the same as the experimental group but DO NOT receive the treatment
experimental group
participants receive the actual treatment
ocipital lobe
primary visual cortex
Serotonin
role in mood, sleep, eating, temperature regulation; undersupply correlates with anxiety and depression