PSYCH 101: CHAP. ONE
neurons
are among the billions of cells in the human brain that process information resulting in cognitive processes and behaviors
demand characteristic ex:
Mark acts more polite than normal while on a date
________ were the first to demonstrate that the mind is grounded in a material substance namely the brain. Their work jump-started the scientific investigation of mental processes
Paul Broca & Marie Jean Pierre Flourens
the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated is called the:
REFRACTORY period
Helmholtz
developed a method for measuring the speed of nerve impulses
phrenology
developed by Franz Gall, psychological theory that was one of the first attempts to link physiological traits to behavioral traits
the flow of information within a neuron is:
electrical
memory =
electrical and chemical activity
when Frank looks at a picture of his wife, he gets an overwhelming feeling of warmth. This mental process arises from:
electrical and chemical activity in the brain
when a cell is at rest:
enough positively charged sodium ions are kept OUTSIDE of the cell to maintain a slightly NEGATIVE charge inside
AMYGDALA
fear
PROBLEM with perception
features are linked together so that we see united objects rather than disjointed or miscombined ones
Titchener
focused on identifying the basic elements of consciousness
synaptic gap
space between the terminal button of a sending neuron and dendrite of receiving neuron
phrenology
specific mental abilities are localized in specific regions of the brain
occasional mental malfunctions occur when the human mind trades accuracy for:
speed and versatility
our reflexes are governed by the:
spinal cord
Purkinje cells
type of interneuron that carries info from cerebellum to the rest of the brain and spinal cord
nativism
(Plato) holds that certain kinds of knowledge are innate
perception
(at level of brain) the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
terminal buttons
-contain neurotransmitters -form junctions with dendrites of other neurons
ANIMALS
-must be supervised by psychologists who are responsible for ensuring appropriate consideration of the animals comfort, health, and human treatment -make reasonable efforts to minimize illness and pain -
Wilhelm Wundt (Helmholtz research assistant)
-opened first laboratory devoted to psychological studies -focused on analyzing consciousness
Paul Broca
Broca's Area: Mr. Leborgne, unable to speak except for the syllable "tan" -determined that damage to a specific part of the brain impaired a specific mental function
which part of the cerebral cortex deals with abstract thinking, planning, executive control, and judgment--the qualities that make us most human?
FRONTAL lobe
psychologist who established the first laboratory in North America at Johns Hopkins University in 1881
G. Stanley Hall
movie example =
Gestalt phenomenon
believed that "the mind is what the brain does"
Thomas Hobbes
Wundt vs. Titchener
Wundt emphasized how the elements of consciousness were related (introspection); Titchener focused on identifying the basic elements of consciousness themselves
DIFFERENCE threshold
a decrease in volume of stereo, she didn't hear it, asked son to turn it down again
self-selection
a problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he or she will be included in the experimental or control group
bipolar cells
a type of sensory neuron found in the retinas of the eye--have a single axon and single dendrite
which neurotransmitter plays a key role in our ability to produce voluntary movement by signaling our muscles to contract (also helps regulate attention and plays an important role in memory)
acetylcholine
Marie Jean Pierre Flourens
actions and movements of animals with removed parts of the brain---differed from animals with intact brains
inferential statistics
allow researchers to determine if random assignment has failed
INTERNAL validity
an attribute of an experiment that ALLOWS it to establish causal relationships
myelin sheath
an insulating layer of fatty material, covers the axon
structuralism
analysis of basic elements that constitute the mind
empirical approach ex:
arrest records & ER admissions to see if more aggressive on full moon
sometimes mind functions ineffectively:
because it trades accuracy for speed and versatility
which situation would activate the AMYGDALA to the greatest extent
being dumped by your first boyfriend
dualism
belief that mind (or soul) and body are separate entities
Wilhelm Wundt (beliefs)
believed that consciousness had *different parts
William James (beliefs)
believed that consciousness was more of a flowing stream that could not be broken down into parts
View-Master toy 3-D movies
binocular disparity
axon
carries information to other neurons, muscles, or glands
motor neurons
carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement
neuron
cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks
-struck in back of head -difficulty with balance and coordinated mvmts
cerebellum most likely damaged
the flow of information between neurons is:
chemical
neurotransmitters
chemicals that transmit information across the synaptic gap
flock of birds flying ---> perceive as a single moving object
common fate principle (Gestalt)
glial cells
compose myelin sheath, support cells found in the nervous system
axon of sending neuron
conducts action potentials to the terminal button
interneurons
connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons
When Dion was younger and he got in trouble for doing something wrong, his mother would ask him how he felt after getting in trouble--psychological concept:
consciousness
vesicles
contain neurotransmitters and release them into the synaptic gap
cell body (soma)
coordinates the information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive -protein synthesis, energy production, metabolism take place here -contains a nucleus
trauma to the head: -poor decisions on a regular basis -trouble planning ahead
damage to frontal lobe
sequence for information traveling within a single neuron
dendrites -- cell body -- axon
humans adapt after prolonged exposure to a constant stimulus to:
detect potentially important changes in what is going on
pyramidal cells
found in cerebral cortex, have a triangular cell body and a single long dendrite among many smaller dendrites
terms for signal detection
hit: correctly responds yes miss: false alarm correct rejection:
perceptual sensitivity
how effectively the perceptual system represents sensory events
cognitive neuroscience
how perceptions, beliefs, and memories activate different regions in the brain
William James (interest)
intense interest in the characteristics of human nature; how mental processes adapted to the environment
by asking people to pay attention to and record their feelings and perceptions of an event, Wilhelm Wundt used the method of _______ to analyze the basic elements of the mind
introspection
the method of introspection was a problematic approach because:
it was difficult for psychologists to agree on the basic elements of consciousness and the method was too subjective
terminal button
knoblike structure that branches out from the axon; filled with vesicles containing neurotransmitters
philosophical empiricism
knowledge is acquired thru experience
nativism
knowledge is innate or inborn
A and B may not be causally related bc both may be causally dependent on C:
known as third variable problem
Paul Broca worked with a brain damaged patient, "Monsieur Leborgne" who could understand language but could only say the word "tan." When this patient died Broca examined his brain and found that his LANGUAGE problems were caused by damage to the _______ of the brain
left side
risk/benefit analysis
may not be asked to accept large risks or any risk greater than one in their everyday life
freedom from coercion
may not coerce participation thru physical, psychological, or monetary
deception
may only use deception when justified by the study's value and when alternative procedures are not feasible
heritability
measure of the variability of behavioral traits among individuals that can be accounted for by genetic factors
HIPPOCAMPUS
memory
Gustav Fechner's psychophysics
methods that measure the STRENGTH of a stimulus and the observer's SENSITIVITY to that stimulus
just noticeable difference (JND)
minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected
LIBERAL criterion
minimizes the chances of missing a true cancer, leads to many false alarms
distributed representation
multiple brain regions contribute to the perception of objects, such as human faces
protection from harm
must take every precaution to protect participants from physical/psychological harm
who is responsible for ensuring the ethical analysis and reporting of research results:
no one
neurotransmitter correlated with alertness and vigilance for signs of danger:
norepinephrine
conscious experiences:
noticing, feeling, contemplating
confidentiality
obligated to keep private/personal info obtained during a study confidential
with respect to the electrical charge present in a neuron, when a neuron is at rest the inside:
of the cell has a negative charge relative to the outside
philosophical empiricist
only way you can know something is through experience
receptor site
part of the dendrites cell membrane; receives neurotransmitters and initiates new action potentials
selective attention
perceiving only what's currently relevant to you
which structure is the conductor, or "master gland" of the hormone producing system
pituitary gland
damage to hippocampus
problems remembering a conversation that they had an hour ago
perception
process of organization, identification, interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
progressive brain damage that has been linked to repeated concussions
Wilhelm Wundt
psychologist who studied under Hermann von Helmholtz and was interested in the scientific study of CONSCIOUSNESS
dendrites
receive information from other neurons and relay it to the cell body
sensory neurons
receive information from the external world and convey this info to the brain via the spinal cord
dendrite of receiving neuron
receives signals from other neurons across synaptic gap
three steps for information processing:
receiving, coordinating, and transmitting
EXTERNAL validity
refers to whether variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way
thalamus
relays and filters information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex
signal detection theory
response to a stimulus depends both on a person's sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person's decision criterion
the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane is the:
resting potential
Multiple Sclerosis: -patient cannot easily transmit information from neuron to neuron, which leads to difficulties with mvmt
result of deteriorating myelin sheath
structuralism
school of thought that tries to analyze the mind by breaking it down into its basic components
sensory adaptation
sensitivity to prolonged stimulation tends to decline over time as an organism adapts to current conditions
sensation
simple stimulation of a sense organ -stimulation, registration, detection associated with the information processing
studies indicate that students who procrastinate in doing their school work will experience more _______ at the end of the semester compared to nonprocrastinators
stress & health problems
Case Method
studying a SINGLE INDIVIDUAL
introspection
subjective observation of one's own experience
which branch of your nervous system most directly triggers your fear/arousal response:
sympathetic
William James
taught the first course at an American University about psychology -studied mental FUNCTION -argued that consciousness was like a flowing stream, serving to adapt people to their environments -disagreed that consciousness could be broken down into separate elements
William James
taught the first course on the new experimental psychology in an American university
INFERENTIAL statistics
tell researchers what kind of conclusions they can draw from observed differences between experimental and control groups
functionalism
the 1920s major approach to psychology in North America. Involved breaking down consciousness into elemental sensations & feelings
synapse
the junction of region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another
nodes of ranvier
the junctions between segments of myelin sheath
Weber's law
the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity
researchers who study people's private inner emotions are studying:
the mind
absolute threshold
the minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus in 50% of trials -threshold = boundary
functionalism
the purpose of mental processes in enabling people to adapt to their environment
EXAMPLE of a focus of study in the field of PHYSIOLOGY
the study of the hormones that are released when men and women interact
random assignment is important in an experiment bc:
the two groups will be the same on average for all variables
nativist
theory that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
correlation coefficient of two variables is 0:
variables are UNRELATED
debriefing
verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study
transduction
when sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment ----> into encoded neural signals sent to the CNS
omission
when someone lies by failing to include a piece of data
informed consent
written agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all risks that participation may entail
if you find a correlational relationship between two variables:
you know NOTHING about the causal relationship between the two variables