Fundamentals of Psychology Chapters 1-4

Circadian Rhythms

Biological patterns that occur at regular intervals as a function of time of day

left and right side of brain

Left: logical sided, dealing with language, writing, and analysis Right: emotional side, dealing with spatial perception, patterns, and recognition of faces Controls opposite sides

positive correlation

a relationship between two variables in which both variables either increase or decrease together

Population

everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in

Data

measurable outcomes of research studies

Consciousness

one's subjective experience of the world, resulting from brain activity

Replication

repetition of a research study to confirm the results

Ethical Issues to consider in research of animals

-Does it threaten well being of animals -Is it fair to improve the human condition? Health and wellbeing -Institutional animal care and use committee

Measuring Consciousness

-EEG= electroencephalograph captures electrical signals the brain gives off.

Introspection and Other Methods Led to Structuralism

-Edward Titchner prepared the school of thought known as structuralism- conscious experience can be broken down into its basic underlying component -Limitation- Experience is subjective

Unexpected findings can be valuable

-Many significant findings= result of serendipity -Unexpectedly discovering something important

What is consciousness?

-People can be conscious of their surroundings even when they appear not to be and conscious experiences differ from person to person -Conscious manipulated through natural methods (meditation) or artificial methods (drugs)

Addiction

Drug use that remains compulsive despite its negative consequences

observer bias

systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer's expectations

Culture

the beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment

Stages of Sleep

1, 2, 3, 4, REM Wakefulness Stage 1= Transitional, theta and alpha (before you sleep- alpha) Stage 2: Real sleep= theta waves, sleep spindles and K-complexes Stage 3 and 4= Deep sleep- delta waves. 15 mins to fall asleep= average. 30 to get into deep sleep Cycle- 4,3,2 REM -REM= Rapid eye movement- beta and theta waves

Stages of sleep

1.Drifting off to sleep- theta waves- easily woken up 2. breathing becomes more regular and become less sensitive to external stimuli (really asleep)- theta waves and sleep spindles and k-complexes. 3 and 4) Delta waves- slow wave sleep- very hard to wake up, can still process information to evaluate danger. REM -After 90 mins of sleep -Sleeping body with an active brain -muslces are paralized -related to dreaming 80% of time when petiole are awakened during REM, they report dreaming. -Cycle repeats about 5 times.

experiement

a research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables

Narcolepsy

a sleep disorder in which people experience excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours, sometimes going limp and collapsing

Hypnosis

a social interaction during which a person, responding to suggestions, experiences changes in memory, perception, and/or voluntary action

somatic nervous system

voluntary movements

Sleep Disorders

insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, night terrors, somnambulism (slow wave sleep)

Descriptive Research

research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically

REM sleep

-Beta and theta waves- looks like brain is awake -Dreams happen -Paralyzed -Importance: when babies are born they spend 50% of their sleepp in REM sleep as opposed to 20% in adults

Behavioral Neuroscience

-Influence of genetic factors on behavior -Role of the brain and nervous system in regulating behavior

Variations in Consciousness

-Waking- consciousness is different with different activities -Sleeping -hypnosis -Meditation -Drugs

Structures and Functions

Brain stem Medula- regulates breathing and blood circulation Pons- sleep and arousal Cerebellum- fine motor movements, affected by alcohol consumption Substancia Nigra- responsible for producing dopamine (movement) Parkinson's disease- part of brain is being affected by methanphetamine. Amygdala- (limbic system) emotion regulation; fight or flight. -Hippocampus- learning and memory -Pituitary glands- endocrine regulation -Hypothalamus- Regulate hunger and thirst -Thalamus- Relay center; control of info from senses and figuring out where to send it. -Nucleus Accumbent- Pleasure center of brain. How much pain can someone endure. Linked to addiction. -Corpus Callusa- connects 2 Hemispheres -Cerebellum- coordinates voluntary movements such as posture, balance, coordination, and speech, resulting in smooth and balanced muscular activity.

How is the scientific method used in psychological research?

Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data (measurable outcomes of research studies) -Learn to understand how psychologists study behavior and mental processes -How to effectively evaluate claims to become a more educated consumer of info.

Mind, Brain and behavior

Mind- mental activity; perceptual experiences (sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and touches) -Memories, thoughts and feelings. -Arives from biological processes within the brain. Behavior -Describes the totality of observable human (or animal) actions. Technology allows psychologists to study mental states to address behavior. -Psychologists seek to understand mental activity (normal and abnormal), the biological processes of activity and behavior.

Axon

Signal transfers down anon.

Research

a scientific process that involves the careful collection of data

activation-synthesis theory

A theory of dreaming; this theory proposes that the brain tries to make sense of random brain activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories.

Structuralism

Edward Titchener -Focus: Understanding human consciousness -a method of interpretation and analysis of aspects of human cognition, behavior, culture, and experience that focuses on relationships of contrast between elements in a conceptual system that reflect patterns underlying a superficial diversity.

behavioral neuroscience

Interested in biological bases of behavior (genes, connections between brain and behavior) structures and functions of brain and hormones.

Sleep deprivation consequences

Involuntary sleep hard time concentrating Mood swings More likely to get sick Disruption in endocrine system Don't learn Death

nature and nurture

Nature- (Descartes)- biological processes. Nurture (locke)- experiences/ society. Tabula Rasa It's both nature and nurture that makes you who you are.

Psychological Science

The study, through research, of mind, brain and behavior.

Meditation

a mental procedure that focuses attention on an external object or on a sense of awareness

brain plasticity

the ability of other parts of the brain to take over functions of damaged regions. Declines as hemispheres of the cerebral cortex lateralize. phantom limns the more yo use your brain, you can Improve

Nature/Nurture Debate

the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture

manifest content

the dream the way the dreamer remembers it

Cognitive Psychotherapy

the study of mental functions such as intelligence, thinking, language, memory, and decision making.

cell body (soma)

Information processor of Neuron

latent content

what the dream symbolizes (no evidence to support this theory

terminal endings

where neurotransmitter lives, is stored and released.

Resting potential

-70 mV

Correlational Studies Describe and predict how variables are related

-Correlational studies= examine how variables are naturally related in the real world without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them. -Predict and describe relationship between variables Direction and correlation -Positive/Negative/Zero Thinking critically about correlations -Just because two things are related, doesn't mean one is causing the other. Directionality Problem -Problem with correlational studies: knowing the direction of relationship between variables. Third variable problem= possible that variable c causes A and B Ethical reasons for using correlational designs- Some research questions require correlational designs for ethical reasons: it is unethical to induce trauma, need participants of a certain kind. Making predictions- can enable researchers to make predictions from correlations.

Why don't people sleep?

-Sleep deprivation (6 hours or less of sleep) 1/3 of hs students, 63% of adults -Sleep disorders/problems

obstructive sleep apnea

a disorder in which a person, while asleep, stops breathing because his or her throat closes; the condition results in frequent awakenings during the night

selection bias

in an experiment, unintended differences between the participants in different groups; it could be caused by nonrandom assignment to groups.

autonomatic nervous system

involuntary

Brain lobes

occipital, temporal, parietal, frontal -Occipital- eyes/visual info -Temporal- auditory info -Parietal- sensory info; touch -Frontal- primary motor cortex/ executive decision making. Design making, planning, in charge. Primary somatosensory Cortez and primary motor cotex- less time to travel between two.

dependent variable

the variable that gets measured in a research study

Sleep is an adaptive behavior

-Adaptive for three reasons: Restoration, following circadian rhythms and facilitation of learning. Restoration and sleep deprivation: -Resrative theory- sleep allows the body including the brain to rest and repair itseld -helps the brain to replenish energy stores and strengthen the immune system. -Sleep deprivation negatively affects cognitive performance but does nothing on physical performance. -Sleep deprivation may help alive people withe depression= it leads to increased activation of saratonin receptors. Circadian Rhythms -Sleep has evolved to keep animals quiet and inactive during times of the day when there is greatest danger. Helps keep animals hidden. -Those who are predators sleep longer than prey. Facilitation of learning -Neural connections made during the day are strengthen during sleep -Sleep prepares the brain for the memory needs for the next day.

What types of studies are used in psychological research?

-After defining a hypothesis -Research method types: Descriptive, correlational and experimental= differ in extent to which the researcher has control over the variables in the study -Variable= something in the world that can vary and that the researcher can manipulate (change) and measure (evaluate) or both. -Independent Variable= Variable that gets manipulated -Dependent Variable- Variable that gets measured- Outcome that gets measured after manipulation occurs. Value of dependent variable depends on changes produced in the independent variable. -Operational definition- defining variables. Qualify (describe) and quantify (measure) variables so the variables can be understood subjectively). To know Precisely what variables were used, how they were manipulated, and how they were measured. -Spell out the details of the variables

Sleep

-Brain stem= responsible for sleep -Brain waves associated with sleep -Aptitude: how tall the wave is/how big it is -Frequency: up and down speed -Delta= high waves and slow (deep sleep) -Alpha and theta- Medium frequency- transitional sleep/sleepiness -Beta= high frequency/low aptitude waves.

Neurons (brain cells)

-Communications from brain to other parts -100-200 billion neurons in humans -How neurons are configured= important connections and intertwining =complex for intelligence -to make connections is important for skill making -can be neurogrowth. Dendrites, cell body, axon, myelin sheath, Terminal endings

People dream while sleeping

-Dreams are the products of an altered state of consciousness REM dreams and non Rem dreams -REM dreams= more likely to be bizarre; more intense emotions and sensations and logical -Non-REM Dreams- very dull and usually about mundane activities. -REM does not produce the dream state, it is simply linked with the contents of the dreams. What do dreams mean? -Freud- dreams contain hidden content that represent unconscious conflicts within the mind of the dreamer. -Dealy life experiences influence the contents of dreams

The experimental method controls and explains

-Experiements allow researchers to control the conditions and therefore understand the cause of the phenomenon -Manipulating one variable to measure the effect of the 2nd variable -testing multiple hypotheses Manipulating variables -Independent variable is manipulated -Treatment level and comparisons level -Experimental group- receives treatment -Control group- compared to experimental group. Dont receive treatment. -Dependent variable- whatever behavioral effect is or behavioral effects are measured.Study causal relationships between variables. Establishing Causality -Experiment depends on the control (steps taken by researcher to minimize possibility that anything other than the independent variable could be the cause of differences between experimental and control groups. -Cofound- affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the study's difference experimental conditions. Participants need to be carefully selected and randomly assigned to conditions -Population and sampling- group you want to know about =pop. Subset= sample representing the whole pop, -Convenient sample= biased. -Random assignment= assigning participants to the experimental and control groups. -Selection biased- not random assignment -Generalizing across cultures- culturally sensitive researchersh takes into account the significant role that culture plays in behavior

Science Informs Psychological Treatments

-Humanistic approach- emphasized how people can come to know and accept themselves in order to reach their unique potentials. (Specific questioning and listening during therapy) -No universal treatment or approach fits all psychological disorders. -Advancements in biological and environmental bases of psych disorders leading to effective treatments.

What is sleep?

-Many brain regions are more active during sleep than during wakefulness and it is even possible that some complex thinking such as problem solving occurs in the sleepy brain. -Brain activity and other physiological processes are regulated into patterns known as circadian rhythms (body temp, hormone levels, sleep/wake cycles operate according to circadian rhythms influenced by cycles of light and dark. -multiple brain regions are involved in producing and maintaining cricadian rhythms and sleep. -Info about light is sent to a section of the Hypothalamus section called superchiamatic nucleus. Which sends signals to the pineal gland which recreates melatonin. Bright light surpasses melatonin and darkness triggers it. Genes influence the amount of sleep you need.

Consciousness is a subjective experience

-Moment by moment subjective experience (consciousness) Experiencing the outside world through sense and thinking -Most psychologists reject dualism; the mind and body are inseparable -Neurons in the brain produce contents of consciousness (sight of a face, smell of a rose, etc) -Each sight/smell- there is an associated pattern of brain activity- gives rise to an conscious experience. -Subjective: there is no way to know whether each person's experience of a thing is the same or whether each person is using the same words to describe a different experience. --The labels applied to experience do not necessarily do justice to the experience.

What are the ethics governing psychological Research?

-Researchers cannot always use the experimental method by ethical issues IRBs -Guardians of guidelines -Privacy= confidentiality and anonymity -Relative risks of participation- mental or physical health. Risk/benefit ratio and informed consent -Informed consent- knowledgeable decision to participate, Debriefing after. -Access to data.

The scientific method aids critical thinking

-Scientific evidence obtained through research= best possible evidence for supporting a claim. -Research= careful collection of data- follow the scientific method (research, theories, and hypotheses) -Theory= explanation or model of how a phenomenon works (used to explain and make predictions) -Hypothesis= scientific, testable prediction. Good theories -Should be falsifiable- should be possible to test hypothesis generated by the theory that you could prove the theory incorrect. -Provides a wide variety of testable hypothesis -Freud- interpretation of dreams- not good, not testable. -Simplicity (Occam's razor or the law of parsimony-Suppose there exists two explanations for an occurrence. In this case the one that requires the least speculation is usually correct. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely an explanation) Hypotheses need to be tested -Use scientific method -After observation and theory the scientific method follows 6 steps 1. Form a hypothesis- Design specific tests aimed at theories predictions. Testable research predictions are hypotheses. Theory: Cell phone use impairs driving ability. Hypothesis: Using a cellphone while driving will lead to more accidents. 2. Conduct a literature review -A review of the scientific literature related to your theory (using databases) -Might find out if other scientists have been testing your idea nd may help guide the direction of your research. Narrow hypothesis. 3. Design of a study -Deciding which. research method to use to test hypothesis (surveys, naturalistic observation, actual experiment). 4. Conduct the study -After research method -Appropriate size and sample of participants 5. Analyze the data -Describe it and what the conclusions that can be drawn from it. 6. Report the results -To benefit society, support scientific culture, and permit scientists to buil on their work on forums. (Journals, conferences, etc). The scientific method is cyclical -After results, researchers return to original theory to evaluate implications of data -Replication= repeating a study and getting the same (or similar) results. Increases confidence in findings.

Brain activity gives rise to consciousness

-Scientists can identify objects you are seeing by looking at brain activity by using an FMRI. Based on pattern of brain activity. -Frank Tong and collgues: Different types of sensory info are processed by diff brain areas: The particular type of neural activity determines the particular type of awareness. The Global Workspace model -Posits that consciousness arises as a function of which brain circuits are active. Experiencing your brain's regions output as conscious awareness. Supported by studies of people with brain injuries -Conciousness arises through the brain processes active at any point in time. -No single area of the brain is responsible for general awaress, different areas of the brain deal with different types of information- responsible for conciousness; mechanism that makes people actively aware of info that prioritizes what info they need or want to deal with at any moment. Changes in consciousness following brain injury -Coma allows the brain to rest. They have sleep/wake cycles but do not respond to their surroundings. Larder than a month= persistent vegetative state. -Evidence suggests that the brain can sometimes process info in a coma, but in a persistent vegetative state is not associated with consciousness. Much of the person's brain may be dead. -Minimally conscious state- between the vefirative and full conscious state. May be able to make some memories try to communicate. -Brain death- irreversible loss of brain function. When brain no longer functions, the rest of the body quickly stops functioning.

Unconcious processing Influences behavior

-Sir Francis Galton-mental activity below the level of consciousness can influence behavior. -Freaudian slip- an unconcious thought is suddenly expressed at an inappropriate time or in an appropriate sick context. -Psychologists agree that unconcious processes influence people's thoughts and actions as they go through their daily lives. -Unconcious cues, or submulinal perception can influence cognition. Occurs when stimuli get processed by sensory systems, but because of their short durations or subtle forms do not reach the conscious. -Advertisers accused pf using sibmilinal cues to persuade people to buy products. Evidence= minimal effects on purchasing behavior. It influences how people think but has little or no effect on complex actions. Flashing the word "thirst" may be effective -John Borgh and collegues- wanted to know whether the unconcious activation of beliefs of participants on the elderly would influence the participants behavior- it did. -much of human behavior occurs without awareness or intention.

Why do we sleep?

-Slow wave sleep (3+4)= purpose is rest and relaxation, repairing itself and tissue is repaired and sickness helped. -REM sleep= purpose (activity) where memories are being consolidated to be accessed later. Enhanced learning. When deprived, the body wants more REM sleep

Conscious Awareness involves attention

-The mind is a continuous stream and thoughts float on that stream. There is a limit, however, to how many things the mind can be conscious of at the same time. -Attention involves being able to focus selectively on the same things and avoid focusing on others. Although they are not the same thing, attention and consciousness go hand in hand. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahmenan differentiates between automatic and controlled processes. -Automatic Tasks= (driving, walking, or understanding meanings of words)- without much attention. Paying too much attention can interfere with behaviors (thinking of each step as you walk). -Controlled tasks- difficult/unfamiliar tasks. Processing is slower than automatic processing, but helps people perform in more complex or novel situations. -53' E.C Cherry: Cocktail party, of your focused on one conversation and hear your name mentioned in another (permanent stimulus) it will redirect your attention. To hear it you have to focus your attention on it. -Selective hearing: ex: hearing one side of an earphone and not the other. Selective attention - Donald broadband- filter theory: people have a limited capcating for sensory information. Only allow for the most important materials. -When and how do we ignore irrelevant info: some stimuli demand attention and virtually shit off the ability to attend to anything else. Some stimuli invoke emotions to capture your attention bc they provide important info about potential threats in an environment. -Decisions about what to attend to are made early in the perceptual process. At the same time, however, unattended info is processed at least to some extent. Change blindness -We cannot attend to everything in the vast array of visual info. available, blind to large changes in our environments. -Never processed features in the first place (i.e giving directions and person asking is changed with another person unonotciningly to other) -We can attend to a limited amount of info. Laptops In the classroom- difficult to maintain students' attention. People do not know what they are missing when they're not paying attention. -Handwriting=more processing and better performance in tests rather than those on their laptop.

Dreams

-Visual Images -Not logical -Mundane actions don't occur- Not happening during rem sleep- during different stage. -What do we dream about?- Ourselves, falling, sex, and being chased

Why do we dream?

-Wish fulfillment (psychodynamic) -Cognitive problem solving -Activation synthesis model= dreams are a bi-product of an active brain- random activity just there.

Wilder Penfield

-stimulated brain with electrical probes while patients underwent surgery for epilepsy -created maps of sensory and motor cortices. Which organs get areas on sensory map -Important for functioning

Insomnia

A disorder characterized by an inability to sleep

Conscious

Awareness of internal and external stimuli (personal awareness) (subjective)

Science has four primary goals

Description, prediction, control, explanation -Describe what the phenomenon is, predict when it will occur, and what causes it and why it occurs. -Allows us to understand why people do it and how to develo strategies to reduce behavior.

Descriptive research consists of case studies, observation, and self report methods

Descriptive Research- Observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically -Helps achieve goals of what phenomena and (sometimes) predicting when or with what other phenomena they may occur. -Used to assess many types of behavior and even predict future behavior. -3 types: case studies, observations, and self-report methods and interviews. Case Studies- Intensive examination of an unusual person or organization- observation, recording and description -Individual with special or unique aspect (exceptional memory, rare disease, etc). -Organization might be selected if doing something very well or very poorly -Goal: Describe the events or experiences that lead up to or result from the exceptional aspects. -Limitation: can't tell if something would happen to other people/organizations. -Doesn't generalize entire pop. Observational Studies -Participant/Naturalistic -Coding- data of collected behavior, Systematic assesment of overt behavior. After defining terms, you need to code. Forms of behavior you will observe. Written assessments/predefined categories. -Reactivity- the presence of the observer might alter the behavior being observed -Observer bias- systematic errors in observation that occur bc of an observer's expectations. Effected by cultural norms. -Experimentor expectancy effect- Observer expectations can change behavior being observed. -Best if the person running the study is blind to, or unaware of, the study's hypotheses (to prevent it). Self reports and interviews- more interactive -Self report methods= surveys, questionnaires. -Interviews= more in depth and good for children -Limitation-biases

Methods

Descriptive, correlational, experimental

Developmental

Development across the lifespan, how people change as they grow. Focused on looking at changes over time or interested in one age group. (Child psychologists, etc)

Modern Schools of Thought (Perspectives)

Different from major areas -Biological -Psychodynamic -Behaviorist -Humanistic -Cognitive -Evolutionary Aggression would be social psychology

People can lose themselves in activities

Exercise, religious prayer, and flow, shifts in consciousness -Flow= particular kind of experience that is so engrossing and enjoyable that it is worth doing. -Losing track of time, forgetting aiyt problems. Occurs during playing music, Tetris, sports and doing satisfying jobs. Escaping the self (alcohol, drugs, games, running) Drugs affect conciousness -Stimulant/ depressant/ opiates/ hallucinogens, psychoactive drugs, -Addiction

Gestalt Psychology Emphasized patterns and context learning

Founded by man Wertheimer and expanded by Wolfgang Kohler -Gestalt theroy- the whole of personal experience is not simply the sum of its consituent elements. -The whole is different from the sum of its parts -Perception of objects is subjective and depends on context. -Influenced many areas of psych and vision and human personality understanding.

Philosophy of mind- Free will and determinism

Free will (Descartes)- masters of our own destiny Determinism- (Democritus)- Human behavior is the same way, there are laws that govern human behavior.

Decriptive Research

Goal: describe the quality or quantity of a variable (anything that can change). Statistics (Measures of central tendency)/What's happening in ,middle of distribition: -Mean (average)- add up scores and divide by number of scores -Median- middle score -Mode- most frequent score. Naturalistic observation- watch behavior as it naturally occurs and record it. More accurate and unobtrusive (without being noticed). Participant observation- researcher becomes a member of the group being researched.

Cognitive

Higher order mental processes. (Memory, language, problem solving, decision making).

Sleep disorders

Insomnia-Not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep -Three types: 1. transient Insomnia- less than a week 2. Short term insomnia- 1-3 weeks 3. Chronic insomnia- (10% of pop)- more than 3 weeks. Usually caused by underlying condition or psychological illness. -Causes= stress, worries, computer screens, environment, (Temp, lighting, noise), excitement -Cures: 1.Sleeping Pills- bensodiazapenes (habit forming)- not as good sleep 2. Sleep hygiene- behavioral therapy to address environmental issues in space for sleeping and getting 20 mins of exercise (NOT before bed). Not smoking, no caffeine before bed, not doing to sleep hungry, and not going to sleep with worries. 3. Sleep restriction- Just sleep and strictly define hours of sleep. No screens, not allowed to nap. 4. Relaxation therapy- breathing, medication, muscle relation, techniques to calm the body. Fatal familial Insomnia- Genetic disease that have affected small area in Italy. Strikes in the 50s and is very rare. -Progresses in 4 stages 1. Progressive insomnia- heaving hard time sleeping (panic attacks and phobias) 2. Hallucinations- agitated 3. Total insomnia w/weight loss- aging faster 4. Dementia and sudden death Sleep paralysis -Awake but can't move. Occurs during transitional stages of sleep before deep sleep and after deep sleep Nightmares- bad dreams- REM Night Terrors- During deep sleep (3+4) abrupt awakening from NON-REM sleep Sleepwalking- Early in sleep cycle 1 and 2 stages. you can gentle wale someone up and guide them back to bed REM sleep disorder- no longer paralyzed during REM sleep.

Social

Interactive with people and how people react to situations. Interested in attraction, group dynamics, social influence, personality.

Activation synthesis theory

John Alan Hobson and Robert McCarley- the theory dominated scientific thinking about dreaming -Brain activity occurs during sleep and neural during can activate mechanisms that normally interpret sensory input. Sleeping mind tries to make sense of resulting sensory activity by synthesizing it with stored memories---random neural firing.

Science of the mind

Psychology W. Wundt- Germany -Studied consciousness (self-awareness) -Interested in uncovering basic parts of consciousness -Introspection- the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes. America- G.S Hall -Early schools of thought in psychology -Focused on child development and evolutionary theory.

Psychodynamic

Sigmund Freud -Assumptions: 1) Behavior is result of unconscious struggles. 2) childhood experiences are really important in determining behavior and personality. -Psychoanalytic theory- human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego.

Variable

Something in the world that can vary and that a researcher can manipulate (change), measure (evaluate) or both.

culturally sensitive research

Studies that take into account the role that cultures play in determining thoughts, feelings, and actions.

What is Psychology?

Study of behavior and cognition -Psyche= non physical -Logos- word or reason (to study) -Aspects/spirit Current definition -The study of behavior and cognition.

peripheral nerves

Sympathetic Nervous System (fight or flight) Parasympathetic- calming system

Critical thinking means questioning and evaluating info

Systematically questioning and evaluating info using well supported evidence 1. Question info (what evidence?) 2. Ask for definition of each part of the claim (Evaluation of info) 3. Source of claim; is it well supported? (good sources= peer reviewed journals)

subliminal messages

The processing of information by sensory systems without conscious awareness.

What is altered conciousness?

Three ways of altering consciousness, hypnosis, meditation and immersion in an action Hypnosis -Social interaction during which a person responding to suggestions experiences changes in the memory, perception or voluntary action. -Postsynaptic suggestions can at least subtly influence behaviors. -Hypnosis works permanently on those who score high on standardized tests Theories of hypnosis -Some believe that the person is playing the part (sociocognitive theory of hypnosis) behave as they expect hypnotized people to behave. -Neodissaiation theory of hypnosis- a trance like state in which conscious awareness is separated, or dissociated from other aspects of consciousness. Hypnosis for pain- Meditation produces relazation- Mental procedure that focuses attention on an external object or on a sense of awareness. -Concentrative mediation and mindfulness, trancentntal mediation.

How are data analyzed and evaluated?

Valid, reliable and accurate data -Construct validity- extent to which variables measure what they're summoned to measure. -External validity- degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people -Internal validity- Degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to independent variable and not to cofounds. Reliabilty-

Sleep is an altered state of consciousness

While asleep your conscious experience of the outside world is turned off, but to some extent you remain aware of your surroundings and your brain still processes info. -When people are awake, they produce beta waves in an EEG. When they closee their eyes and relax or focus their attention on something, it produced alpha waves.

Funcitonalism

William James -Purpose of cionciousness why do we have it -Influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution -Why did nature allow for consciousness -How does it work/why do we have it?

split brain

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

operational definition

a definition that qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively

change blindness

a failure to notice large changes in one's environment

Action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon -Soma to neurall ending -Quick -opens up sodium Chanel and makes it positively charged -Polarized- negative inside. Depolarizes the neuron making it more positive Presynaptic- synapse- postsynaptic - -55mV =fire - -75mV inhibitory

Stream of Consciousness

a phrase coined by William James to describe each person's continuous series of ever-changing thoughts

directionality problem

a problem encountered in correlational studies; the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable

Introspection

a systematic examination of subjective mental experiences that requires people to inspect and report on the content of their thoughts

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord -Sensory and motor neurons in spinal cord (internally or externally)

What are the latest developments in psychology?

brain chemistry, neuroscience, human genome Brain Chemistry -Hundreds of substances play critical roles in mental activity and behavior -Chemicals influence memory (why we might remember things better when upset). Neuroscience -MRI's: some localization of function in the brain. Some areas are important for specific feelings, thoughts, and actions, -Many brain regions have to work together to produce behavior and mental activity. Work together and get connected to produce mental activity. Human Genome -Genetic code- to learn how specific genes affect thoughts, actions, feelings, and disorders -Relationships between situations, genes, and behaviors.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants

mylein sheath

layer of fatty tissue that covers many axons and helps speed neural impulses MS- damage to myelin

Dreams

products of an altered state of consciousness in which images and fantasies are confused with reality

Dendrites

receives the chemical signals sent by other neurons (processing neurotransmitters) -When chemical signal is strong= action potential

Critical thinking

systematically questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence.

control group

the participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated

experimental group

the participants in an experiment who receive the treatment

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

REM sleep

the stage of sleep marked by rapid eye movements, dreaming, and paralysis of motor systems

Psychological science teaches critical thinking

-Amiable skepticism- skeptic remains open to new ides but is wary of new scientific findings when good evidence and sound reasoning do not support them. Weighs facts. -Critical Thinking- to systematically question and evaluate info using well supported evidence. -Critical thinking involves looking for holes in evidence, using logic and reasoning to see whether the info makes sense, and considering alternate explanations.

Cognitive Approaches Emphasized Mental Activity

-Animals can learn through observation. Simple laws of behaviorism can't explain why culture influences how people remember a story, etc. -Mental functions are important for understanding behavior -Cognitive psychology= Concerned with mental functions such as intelligence, thinking, language, memory, and decision ,making- way people think influences their behavior. -Cognitive neuroscience- study of neural mechanisms (brain, nerves, and nerve cells) that underline thought, learns, learning, perception, language and memory.

Psychological Science now crosses levels of analysis

-Behavior now explained at several levels of analysis for a more complete picture of mental and behavioral processes Four levels of analysis -Biological- how the physical body contributes to mind and behavior -Individual- individual differences in personality and mental processes that affect how people perceive and know the world -Social- how group connects affect the ways in which people interact and influence each other. -Cultural- explores how people's thoughts, feelings and action are similar or different across cultures.

Mind/Body Problem

A fundamental psychological issue: Are mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the physical brain's subjective experience?

third variable problem

A problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables; as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest.

Gestlat theory

A theory based the idea that the whole of personal experience is different from the sum of its constituent elements.

Evolutionary Theory

A theory presented by the naturalist Charles Darwin; it views the history of a species in terms of the inherited, adaptive value of physical characteristics, of mental activity, and of behavior.

Behaviorist

B.F Skinner/Watson -Simplistic/Negative view of humans; similar to any other animal -Assumption: Behavior is the result of learning; guided by rewards and punishments- increasing rewards -Increasing or decreasing behavior. -Contingencies- If..then in our lives "if I do this, then..."

Abnormal/Clinical Psychology

Defining psychological symptoms and why/when it emerges. Clinical- treatment for problem.

Adaptions

In evolutionary theory, the physical characteristics, skills, or abilities that increase the chances of reproduction or survival and are therefore likely to be passed along to future generations.

Behaviorism Studied Environmental Forces

John B watson- believed that psychology had to stop trying to study mental events, instead focus on observable behavior (behaviorism) -Nature was all. -Animals and humans acquire or learn all behaviors through environmental experience. Need to observe stimuli (triggers) to preduct behavioral responses in those situations. B.F skinner -Mental states were simply another form of behavior, subject to the same behaviorist principles as publicly observable behavior.

Mind/Body answer

Mind arises from brain activity. Does not exist separately. Rejects dualism (descartes)- mind and body separate but intertwined.

Parent fields

Psychology is related to sociology and anthropology Parent disciplines include philosophy (ethics, wisdom, etc) and physiology (functions and systems).

Humanist

Reactions to behaviors (Humanistic and cognitive approaches) Carl Rodgers -We are different from other animals -Assumption #1: Behavior is resulting from individual's unique perceptions of the world. Way they view the world. -Assumption #2- People are inherently good; striving to achieve our best potential.

case study

a descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization

Psychoanalysis

a method developed by Sigmund Freud that attempts to bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed

Theory

a model of interconnected ideas or concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events. Theories are based on empirical evidence

zero correlation

a relationship between two variables in which one variable is not predictably related to the other

correlational studies

a research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them

Hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it is based on

Scientific Method

a systematic and dynamic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena, used to achieve the goals of description, prediction, control, and explanation; it involves an interaction among research, theories, and hypotheses

experimenter expectancy effect

actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectations of the observer

Structuralism

an approach to psychology based on the idea that conscious experience can be broken down into its basic underlying components

Confound

anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study

Reactivity

the phenomenon that occurs when knowledge that one is being observed alters the behavior being observed

unconscious

the place where mental processes operate below the level of conscious awareness

negative correlation

the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases

Social Psycology

the study of how people influence other people's thoughts, feelings, and actions

cognitive neuroscience

the study of the neural mechanisms underlying thought, learning, perception, language, and memory

independent variable

the variable that gets manipulated in a research study.

Experimental research

-Goal: explain behavior -Establish cause and effect between two variables -The experiment has 1. Independent variable (manipulated) 2. Depenedant variable (depends on independent) (measure) 3. Random assignment= randomly assigning conditions within the study. How to decide who gets what. -Random Sample v Random assignment: Radom sample: picking people for a survey. Random assignment: Putting people into a condition (group) in an experiment. -Advantage= Cause and effect is established -Disadvantage= limitations= some questions you can't answer/ May be unethical/impossible to answer.

Evolutionary thinking is increasingly influential

-Human mind has been shaped by evolution. -Behaviors evolved over millions of years. -Mental traits are products of natural selection (memory, perception, and language are adaptations). -Solving adoptive problems- Evolutionary theory is useful for considering behaviors and physical mechanisms are adaptive (whether they affect survival and reproduction) -Our evolutionary Heritage- Knowledge of the challenges our ancestors faced helps us understand out current behavior-Why we like sweet and salty food- ancestors relied on it for survival.

Biases that people encounter

-Ignoring evidence (conformation bias)- Evidence only supporting beliefs. Finding flaws in everything else. -Failing to Judge source credibility- critical thinking requires us to examine the sources of info we receive. -Misunderstanding or not using stats -Seeing relationships that do not exist- correlation does not equal causation- just because two events happened at the same time, does not mean their related. -Using relative comparisons- Info that comes first has a strong influence on how people make relative comparisons. How a question is formed/presented changes how people answer the question -Accepting after-the-fact explanations- hindsight bias= explaining how things happen by interpreting old evidence to make sense of that outcome. -Taking mental shortcuts- heuristics (short cuts) to make decisions. Without too much effort. Ex: Child abductions may be overestimated by some because they heard it on the news. -Failing to see our own inadequacies- People have difficulty recognizing their own weaknesses crediting personal strengths for successes and blaming outside forces for failures. People interpret info to support positive beliefs about themselves.

Experimental psychology began with introspection

-John Stuart mill- only through the methods of science would the process of the mind be understood. -Wilhelm Wundt (1879) established the first psychology laboratory and institute. Realized that psychiological processes, the products of physiological actions in the brain take time to occur. Reaction time- to asses how quickly people can respond to events. -Introspection- examination of subjective mental experiences that requires people to inspect and report on the contents of their thoughts.

culture provides adaptive solutions

-Living in a group gives rise to culture and cultures. Various aspects are transmitted from one generation to the next through learning. Many of culture's rules reflect adaptive solutions worked out by previous generations. -Thinking is different for people who live in different parts of the world. -The culture in which people live shapes many aspects of their daily lives. -Culture shapes beliefs and values such as the extent to which people should emphasize their own interests versus the interests of the group. -Cultural rules are learned as norms -Culture also has material aspects such as technology, etc.

Freud emphasized unconscious conflicts

-Much of himan behavior is determined by mental processes operating below the level of conscious awareness -Unconcious mental forces produce psychological discomfort arising from troubling childhood experiences that the person is blocking from memory -Psychoanalysis- therapist and patient work to bring unconcious into conscious awareness. Free association (Whatever the patient wanted to talk about would be worked out with therapist).

Subfields in psychology focus on different levels of analysis

-Neuroscience/biological psychologists, cognitive, developmental, personality, social, cultural, clinical, counseling, school, industrial and organizational, etc.

Social psychology studies how situations shape behavior

-Peoples heavers are affected by the presence of others. -Children absorb the values of authority figures as a result of unconscious processes. -Everyone is influenced by social situations. Social psychology- focuses on the power of the situation and on the way people are shaped through interacting with others. -Personality psychology- Study of people's characteristic thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and how they cary across social situations, such as why some people are shy and others outgoing.

Correlational Research

-Strong correlations= -1 and +1. (perfect) -Zero correlation= 0 (no relationship between 2 variables). -Goal: Predict behavior. Determine relationships between variables. -Correlation=r -r=+.67 -+=direction number=magnitude or strength. -Just look at decimal, not +/- signs -Direction= positive or negative -Line of best fit= minimizes distances (estimation error) line through the data points. -As ... goes up ... goes down (negative) -As ... goes up ... goes up (positive) - No correlation- average is just calculated. No prediction. Correlation does not imply causation -Cannot establish causal relationships -Variable 2= third variable -third variable= weather -Reverse causality- is one thing causing another or is the other thing causing it?

Functionalism addressed the purpose of behavior

-William James argued that the mind is much more complex than its elements and therefore cannot be broken down. -The stream of consciousness cannot be frozen in time. -Functionalism- the mind came into existence over the course of human evolution- humans adapt to environmental demands. Evolution, adaption, and behavior -Charles Darwin (evolutionary theory)- enhance survival. natural selection/survival of the fittest. Used to understand many aspects of mind and behavior.

Scientific Method

1. Ask a question (formulate a testable hypothesis). Ex: people with more REM sleep are going to report having a better wellbeing. Educated guess/statement. 2. Select a researcherch method and design the study 3. Collect data 4. Analyze the data 5. Report the findings: where do they report and why? Where: Scientific journals (peer review), conferences, etc. Why: Shere ondo with other researchers to propose new questions -One study not enough to see if they can get same results.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach that emphasizes the role of environmental forces in producing observable behavior.

Descriptive Methods

Case studies: clinical patients, brain damaged patients -Study rate phenomena -To better understand these problems. -Limitation= subjective; not for everybody. -Phineas Gage- Rod in head (frontal lobe) changed his personality -HM had brain damage, affecting short term memory. Surveys-Public opinion polls -Pop of interest -Sample of population around 1000-3000 people (around 1,300 people usually)

Cognitive Approach

Chemskey/Simon -Somewhere in the middle. To study memory, decision making to inform understanding of human behavior. -Assumption: Brain is like a computer; information processing approach; what steps preceded that design? something happens, we think about societal norms and thinking/perceptions to make decisions.

Evolutionary

David Buss -Assumption: Behavior is result of evolution through natural selection;

Biological Perspective

Herman Helmholtz and Spey -Behavior can be reduced to chemicals in the body. -Assumption: behavior and mental processes are shaped by biological processes (the brain parts in relations to behavior and hormones)

Physiologists

Hippocrates -do no harm -Introduced individual differences in humans -Looked at humerus- fluids in the body -The body and mind are connected -Seat of thought is the brain. Pavlov -Studied digestion -Classical conditioning; associative learning -Studied reflexive response, automatic responses.

Learning

How organisms learn (how they respond to rewards and punishments and associations).

Personality

How you are, consistently

natural selection

In evolutionary theory, the idea that those who inherit characteristics that help them adapt to their particular environments have a selective advantage over those who do not.

Generalizability

Population: the entire set of individuals a study applies to (generalizes). -Sample: The group of people actually tested in a study. -Random Sample: A group of people selected from a pop whose members all had an equal chance of being chosen. Applicability of the findings from the same to the entire pop of interest to the researcher. -Convenient sample- doesn't generalize enough for entire pop.

Personality Pscyhology

The study of characteristic thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in people and how they vary across social situations

Sample

a subset of the population

naturalistic observation

a type of descriptive study in which the researcher is a passive observer, separated from the situation and making no attempt to change or alter ongoing behavior

Participant observation

a type of descriptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation

Functionalism

an approach to psychology concerned with the adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior

self-report methods

methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in surveys or questionnaires

random assignment

placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable