Psychology Chapter 1, 2, and 3

Humans

Are built for personal growth, to seek their fullest potential, to become all they are capable of being.

Medulla & Pons

Associated with the control of heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and reflexes such as vomiting, sneezing, and coughing.

Left Hemisphere Contributions

Does more verbal tasks such as reading and writing.

Industrial/Organizational Psychologist

Employed in industry to help improve morale, train recruits, or help managers establish effective lines of communication with their employees.

Wilhelm Hunt

Established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 and is the founder and father of modern psychology.

Random Sampling

Everyone in the target population has an equal likelihood of being selected for the survey.

Where does the word Psychology comes from?

Greek psyche (translate to "soul" or "breath") and logos are the study or investigation of something.

Neurons

Individual cells that receive, transmit, and integrate information.

Axon

Long tail-like part of a neuron that serves as the cell's transmitter.

Nature vs Nuture

One can not happen with the other.

Cognitive

Refers to the process of knowing or perceiving.

Humanistic Psychology

1950's negative reaction lead to this. Movement in psychology that focuses on people's unique capacities for choice, responsibility, and growth.

Dendrites

Fibers that extend outward from a neuron and receive information from other neurons.

Much of our behavior is determined by....

How we think.

Empiricism

Idea that knowledge comes directly from experience.

Reactivity

Individuals behavior is changed by the process being observed.

Substantia Nigra

Midbrain contains a group of neurons release the neurotransmitter dopamine from their terminal buttons.

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mind.

Cognitive Revolution

Shift away form strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s characterized by renewed intrest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental problems.

Soma

The cell body of a neuron.

Sigmund Fraud

Was a neurologist who thinks that his patients that had physical problems where psychological in origin.

School Psychologists

Work with students in primary and secondary schools to help them perform well academically and socially.

Naturalistic Observation

A descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring behavior as opposed to behavior produced in the laboratory.

Humanistic Psychologists

All individuals have a considerable amount of untapped potential that should be nurtured by an empathetic therapist.

Debriefing

At the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved.

Motor Neurons

Carry the messages and commands away from the CNS to the muscle and glands that produce responses.

Interneurons

Cells that transfer information form one neuron to another; interneurons make no direct contact with the outside world and convey information from one internal processing site to another.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that relay information from one neuron to the next.

Personality Psychologists

Concerned with the internal factos that lead people to act consistently across situations and also with how people differ.

Parietal Lobe

Contains the somatosensory cortex, through which we experience the sensations of touch, temperature, and pain.

Mind

Contents and process of subjective experience through sensation, thoughts, and emotions.

Left hemispheres

Controls the sensory and motor functions for the right side of the body.

Right hemispheres

Controls these functions for the left side of the body.

Survey

Descriptive research technique designed to gather limited amounts of information from many people, usually by administering some kind of question.

Case Study

Descriptive research technique in which the effect is focused on a single case, usually an individual.

Clinical Psychologists

Diagnose and treats psychological problems such as: depression, anxiety, phobias, or schizophrenia- or give advice like how to raise your children or get along with your boss. Also treat with psychological disorders.

Right Hemisphere Contributions

Examples such as fitting together pieces of the puzzle to emotional expressions.

Applied Psychologists

Extend the principles of scientific psychology to practical, everyday problem in the real world.

Occipital Lobe

Far back of the brain where most visual processing occurs.

Cognitive Psychologists

Focus on higher mental processes such as memory, learning, and reasoning.

Psychoanalysis

Freud believe that the mind and its contents must be analyzed extensively before effective treatments can begin.

John Watson

He rejected the study of the mind in favor of the study of observable behavior.

Eclectic Approach

Idea that it's useful to select information from several sources rather than to rely entirely on a single perspective or school of thought.

Nativism

Idea that some knowledge is innate, or present at birth.

Hippocampus

Important for the formation of memories, particularly our memory for specific personal events.

Sensory Neurons

Initial contact with the environment and are responsible for carrying the message inward toward the spinal cord and brain.

Social Psychologists

Interested in how people think about, influence, and relate to each other.

Experimental Research

Investigator actively manipulates the environment to observe its effect on behavior. By "environment," psychologists can mean just about anything.

Cerebellum

Involved in the preparation, selection, and coordination of complex motor movements such as hitting a golfball, playing the piano, or learning how to use and manipulate tools.

When was Psychology established in?

It was not established until the mid 1800's and it was conducted mainly by philosophers and physiologist. Even though Sigmund Freud and Ivan Pavlov was trained in it, the field was not known until now.

Frontal Lobes

Largest lobes in the cortex and play a role in many functions, including planning and decision making, certain kinds of memory, and personality.

Two hemispheres

Left and right hemispheres

Temporal Lobe

Lie on either side of the cortex, are involved in processing auditory information received from the left and right ears.

Amygdala

Linked to a number of motivational and emotional behaviors, including fear, agression, and defensive actions.

Thalamus

Main processing center for sensory input prior to its being sent to the upper regions for the cortex.

Psychiatrists

Medical doctors that treat mental disorders but are licensed to prescribe medication.

Descriptive Research

Methods that underlie the direct observation and description of behavior. Watch and record the behavior of themselves and others.

Counseling Psychologists

More likely to deal with adjustment (marriage and family problems). Requires a Ph.D. from a graduate problem specializing in this or and Ed.D.

Hypothalamus

Motivation particularly the regulation of eating, drinking, body temperature, and sexual behavior.

Reticular Formation

Network of neurons and nerves linked to the control of general arousal, sleep, and consciousness.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter that has been linked to sleep, dreaming, and general arousal and may also be involved in some psychological disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

Gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA)

Neurotransmitter that may play a role in the regulation of anxiety; it generally produces inhibitory effects.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter that often leads to inhibitory effects; decreased levels have been linked to Parkinson disease, and increased levels have been linked to schizophrenia.

Acetylcholine

Neurotransmitter that plays multiple roles in the central and peripheral nervous systems, including the excitation of muscle contractions.

Behavior

Observable actions such as moving about, talking, gesturing, and so on; behavior can also refer to the activities of cells and to thoughts and feelings.

"Insight Therapy"

Patient or client must understand exactly how memories and other mental processes lead to problem behaviors. Freud use this for the analysis of dreams.

Human Factor Psychologist

Play a key role in the design and engineering of new products.

Cultural Factors....

Play a role in how we think and interact with each other and even in how we see the world.

Informed Consent

Principle that before consenting to participate in research, people should be fully informed about any significant factors that could affect their willingness to participate.

Confidentiality

Principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research or therapy should not be revealed without the individual permission.

Evolutionary Psychology

Recent movement that seeks to identify exactly how our behaviors and thought processes have been molded by evolutionary pressures. They believe that we're born with mental software that guides our thinking and behavior.

Depression and Schizophrenia

Related to imbalances among the chemical messengers in the brain.

Behaviorism

School of psychology proposing that the only proper subject matter of psychology is observable behavior rather than immediate conscious experience.

Corpus Callosum

Serve as communication bridge between the two hemispheres and the collection of nerve fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and allows information to pass from one side to another.

Superior Colliculus & Inferior Colliculus

Serve as important relay stations for visual and auditory information and help coordinate reactions to sensory events in te environment.

Culture

Share values, customs, and beliefs of a group or community. Also based ethnicity race, or socioeconomic class but also on political religious, or other factors. Found in all aspects of behavior and mind.

Developmental Psychologists

Study how behavior and internal mental processes change over the course of the life span.

Lateralized

The hemispheres on each side is responsible for performing unique and independent functions.

Synapse

The small gap between the terminal buttons of a neuron and the dendrite or cell body of another neuron.

Psychology is NOT:

The study of the mind.

Terminal Buttons

Tiny swellings at the end of the axon that contain chemicals important to neural transmission.

Research Psychologists

Try to discover the basic principles of behavior and mind.