psych 100

independent variable

- a factor that is manipulated by the researcher - the causal part of the relationship

two types of selective attention

- goal-directed attention - stimulus-driven capture

three parts of the limbic system

- hippocampus - amygdala - hypothalamus

four major parts of the brain stem

- medulla - pons - thalamus - cerebellum

the four different lobes in the cortex

- parietal lobe - occipital lobe - temporal lobe - frontal lobe

three primary sensory cortices

- visual - auditory - somatosensory

the three steps in processing research

1. begin with an organized set of principles 2. develop a hypothesis 3. use the scientific method to design the study

the methods of research

1. experimental method 2. correlational method 3. archival/survey method 4. case study method

goals of psychology

1. measuring and describing what will happen 2. explaining what will happen 3. predicting what will happen 4. controlling what will happen

How is visual information processed by the brain?

It's processed by the occipital lobe, which projects to the thalamus, which projects to a succession of areas in the cortex

key figures in behavioral perspectives

John Watson, B.F. Skinner

The first woman to receive a PhD in psychology was

Margaret Washburn

key figure in cognitive perspective

Noam Chomsky, Ulrich Neisser

key figure in psychodynamic perspective

Sigmund Freud

Who pioneered the use of electrical stimulation to probe structures deep in the brain?

Walter Hess

The first formal laboratory devoted to experimental psychology was founded by

Wilhelm Wundt

__________ was the first to train graduate students specifically devoted to the emerging field of psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

said that all human mental experience can be understood as a combination of simple elements or events

Wilhelm Wundt Edward Titchener

dealt with functionism and minds with a purpose and a property

William James

A child who receives an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father would be

a boy

experimental group

a group in an experiment that is exposed to a treatment or experiences a manipulation of the independent variable

control group

a group in an experiment that is not exposed to a treatment or does not experience a manipulation of the independent variable

random sampling

a procedure that ensures that every member of a population has an equal likelihood of participating in an experiment

humanistic perspective

a psychological model that emphasizes an individual's phenomenal world and inherent capacity for making rational choices and developing to maximum potential

between subjects design

a research design in which different groups of participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or to control conditions

within-subjects design

a research design that uses each participant as his or her own control

naturalistic observation

a research technique in which unobtrusive observations are made of behaviors that occur in natural environments

Gestalt psychology

a school of psychology that maintains that psychological phenomena can be understood only when viewed as organized, structured wholes, not wen broken down into primitive perceptual elements

self-report measure

a self-behavior that is identified through a participant's own observations and reports

standardization

a set of uniform procedures for treating each participant

fovea

a small region of densely packed cones at the center of the retina

correlation coefficient (r)

a statistic that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables

somatic nervous system (SNS)

a subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that connects the CNS to the skeletal muscles and skin

representative sample

a subset of a population that closely matches the overall characteristics of the population with respect to the distribution of males and females, racial and ethnic groups

sample

a subset of population selected as participants in an experiment

hypothesis

a testable explanation of the relationship between two (or more) events or variables

confounding variable

a variable other than what the experimenter purposely introduced that affects a participants behavior

dependent variable

a variable that the experimenter measures to asses the impact of a variation in a independent variable

Contemporary psychologists tend to employ __________ to study the general forces that apply to all humans as well as the unique aspects of each individual

a variety of methodologies

hippocampus

acquisition of declarative memory

if enough excitatory input reaches the axon,

action potential is initiated

Sanjay is working with a group of 100 adolescent boys in India. He is interested in learning about the career goals of adolescents. When his research is completed, he will be able to generalize his findings to

adolescent boys in India

example of dependent variable (there are usually one or more)

aggressive behavior: # of punches/kicks

double-blind control

an experimental technique in which biased expectations of experimenters are eliminated by keeping both participants and experimental assistants unaware of which participants have received which treatment

theory

an organized set of concepts that explains a phenomenon or set of phenomena

The purpose of random assignment is to

attempt to ensure that the experimental and control groups are similar in important ways at the start of the experiment

location of occipital lobe

back of the head

in psychological terms, someone who studies the ways that organisms adjust to their environment is studying

behavior

psychodynamic perspective

behavior is explained in terms of inherited instincts, biological drive, and attempts to resolve conflicts

A researcher for a federal agency attempts to understand the brain processes underlying behaviors such as sensation, learning, and emotion. She is probably involved in the multidisciplinary field of

behavioral neuroscience

developing positive approaches to educating children is attributed to what perspective?

behaviorist

location of parietal lobe

behind the central sulcus

Sigmund Freud

believes that behavior is explained in terms of inherited instincts, biological drive, and attempts to resolve conflicts, he also focuses on the unconscious minds

location of temporal lobe

below the lateral fissure

human evolution, including cultural development, was made possibly primarily by

bipedalism and encephalization

where the central nervous system is located

brain and spinal cord

stimulus-driven capture

captured attention

soma

cell body, contains the nucleus

two main parts of the nervous system

central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS)

what applied psychologists do

clinicians/counselors/educational psychologists consultants human resources professionals

Perception, memory, language use, problem solving, decision making, and other higher mental processes are the major focus of which psychological perspective?

cognitive

_____________________ focus on basic mental processes such as memory and language

cognitive psychologists

cones deal with

color vision

what the peripheral nervous system does

connects the body's sensory receptors to the CNS and the CNS to muscles and glands

control procedure

consistent procedure for giving instructions, scoring responses, and holding all other variables constant except those being systematically varied

Methods that researchers use to hold constant all variables and conditions other than those related to the hypothesis being tested are referred to as

control procedures

amygdala

controls emotion, aggression, and formation of emotional memory

cerebellum

coordinates bodily movements, controls posture, and maintains equilibrium

The cautionary statement, "Correlation does not imply causation," suggests that

correlations could reflect any one of many cause-and-effect possibilities, or none

operational definition

define what it is to be observed in terms of the specific operation on procedure used to determine its presence

four major parts of the neuron

dendrites, soma, axon, and terminal buttons

binocular depth cues

depth cue that uses information from both eyes

monocular depth cues

depth cue that uses information from only one eye

The common core of most psychological theories is __________, which is the assumption that all events are the result of specific causal factors.

determinism

Rahwanna is a senior in high school who is interested in the changes that occur in the physical, cognitive, and social functioning of individuals across the life span. She also wants to study the influence of genetics and environments on those changes. Rahwanna will probably want to major in

developmental psychology

rods deal with

dim illumination

distal stimulus

distant from the observer

To be a more sophisticated consumer of research, one should recognize how personal biases can __________ one's perceptions of reality

distort

The technique referred to as a __________ eliminates bias by keeping both experimental assistants and participants unaware of which participants are getting which treatment.

double-blind control

terminal buttons

end of the axon, releases output

__________ are called the "keys to paradise."

endorphins

what academic psychologists do

engage in psychological inquiry formulate questions to be researched conduct forms of research

Professor Busby lectures to his students about finding mates, raising healthy children, avoiding predators and parasites, and gathering food, all of which relate to a particular psychological perspective. Which perspective is he discussing?

evolutionary

neurons receive 2 kinds of input

excitatory input, and inhibitory input

If Celine wants to overcome causal ambiguity in her research, which research method should she use?

experimental

natural selection

favorable adaptations to features of the environment allow some members of a species to reproduce more successfully than others (C. Darwin, Origins of Species, 1859)

sociocultural perspective

focuses on cross-cultural differences in the causes and consequences of behavior

biological perspective

focuses on functioning of the genes, the brain, the nervous system, and the endocrine system

psychologists use theories to

formulate research questions

location of the frontal lobe

front of central sulcus

The study of the mechanisms of heredity is called

genetics

The full sequence of genes found on the chromosomes with the associated DNA is called the

genome

the genetic structure that we inherit from our parents is our __________

genotype

psychologists deliberately _______________________ what can be observed when explaining behavior

go beyond

sympathetic nervous system

governs responses to emergency situations

cognitive perspective

human thought and the process of knowing and thinking

Humans have spent 99 percent of their evolutionary history as

hunter-gatherers

Which gland produces hormones that regulate the release of pituitary hormones?

hypothalamus

In what area of the brain is the visual cortex located?

in the back

Ashley decides to explore the various work settings of psychologists, and she wants to start with the largest setting. Which will Ashley find is the most populated setting, in which over a third of American psychologists are involved?

independent practice

To determine the effects of caffeine on students' ability to concentrate, Ebony manipulates the amount of caffeine her research participants consume. In Ebony's study, caffeine is the

independent variable

inhibitory input

information entering a neuron that signals it to not respond

excitatory input

information entering a neuron that signals it to respond and fire

what the central nervous system does

integrates and coordinates all body functions, processes all incoming neural messages, and sends out commands to different parts of the body

case study

intensive observation of a particular individual or small group of individuals

What is the function of the thalamus in visual processing?

it relays information to the cortex

about the fovea

its the area of sharpest vision where color and spatial detail are most accurately detected

What is the basis of cultural evolution?

language

Psychologists assume that behavior and mental processes follow trends that can be discovered and followed through research. What term describes this concept?

lawful patterns of relationships

axon

long extended fiber along which the neural impulse travels

goal of scientific method

maximum objectivity

parasympathetic nervous system

monitors the routine operation of the body's internal functions

what the frontal lobe does

motor control, planning, decision making and goal setting

The insulated cover formed by glial cells, which increases the speed of nerve signal conduction, is called the

myelin sheath

Since 1992, Seyfarth and Cheney have been studying a group of baboons in Botswana in Africa. Which research method have they used?

naturalistic observation

proximal stimulus

near to the observer

__________ are biochemical substances that stimulate other neurons

neurotransmitters

Where is the proximal stimulus to be found?

on the retina

interposition

opaque object blocks out second object

behavioral measure

overt actions or reaction that is observed and recorded, exclusive of self-reported behavior

random assignment

participants have an equal likelihood of being assigned to any condition within an experiment

Gregor Mendel conducted his research on heredity with

peas

top-down processing

perceptual processes in which information from an individual's past experience, knowledge, expectations, motivations, and background influence the way a perceived object is interpreted

the outward appearance and behaviors we exhibit as the result of interacting with our environment is our __________

phenotype

A(n) ______________ occurs when experimental participants change their behavior in the absence of any kind of experimental manipulation.

placebo effect

behavioral perspective

primarily concerned with observable behavior that can be objectively recorded

occipital lobe deals with

primary visual cortex and visual association cortex

pons

provides input to other brain stem structures and cerebellum

three perspectives on psychology

psychodynamic perspective behavioral perspective cognitive perspective

Gustav Fechner coined the term

psychophysics

To be a more sophisticated consumer of research, one should __________ any statement about the effectiveness of a product by finding the comparative basis for the stated effect

question

dendrites

receive stimulation from other neurons

hypothalamus

regulates motivated behavior

thalamus

relays incoming sensory information to the cerebral cortex

Every time Dr. Shankar repeats his research on altruism with similar participants, he gets extremely different outcomes. This suggests a lack of

reliability

The goal of psychological measurement is to generate findings that are

reliable and valid

plasticity

reorganization of brain function based on development ad experience

behavioral data

reports of observations about the behavior of organisms and the conditions under which the behavior occurs

correlational method

research methodology that determines to what extent two variables, traits, or attributes are related

experimental method

research methodology that involves the manipulation of independent variables to determine their effects on the dependent variable

expectancy effects

results that occur when a researcher or observer subtly communicates to the participants the kind of behavior he or she expects, therefore, creating the expected reaction and/or outcome

hemispherical lateralization

right brain v. left brain

Professor Chin requires her students to follow a general set of procedures for gathering and interpreting evidence as a way to limit sources of errors and yield dependable conclusions. Professor Chin is having her students use

scientific method

Maria Jesus uses interviews, questionnaires, and surveys to gather information from her research participants about their attitudes toward immigration policies. What type of measure is she using?

self-report

parietal lobe deals with

sensations like touch, pain, and temperature

what the peripheral system contains

sets of nerve fibers

Mia is reading the discussion section of an article on human behavior and prejudice. This discussion section would represent the __________ step in the research process.

sixth

two parts of peripheral nervous system

somatic and autonomic nervous system

The most highly lateralized of all human functions is __________

speech

where the peripheral nervous system is located

spinal and cranial nerves

attention

state of focused awareness on a subset of the available perceptual information

sensation

stimulation of a sensory receptor

cognitive neuroscience

study how the brain processes stimuli and plans responses

behavioral neuroscience

study how the nervous system reacts to stimuli

goal directed attention

sustained attention

two parts of the autonomic nervous system

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

perceptual constancy

the ability to retain an unchanging percept of an object despite variations in the retinal image

Action potentials are governed by

the all-or-none law

someone who investigates cross-cultural differences among individuals by viewing them as whole persons approaches their studies from

the broadest level of psychological analysis

While the structuralist perspective focuses on __________, while the functionalist approach focuses on __________

the contents of the mind; the purpose of behavior

reliability

the degree to which a test produces similar scores each time it is used; stability or consistency of the scores produced by an instrument

convergence

the degree to which the eyes turn inward to fixate on the object

saturation

the dimension that captures the purity of color sensations

retinal disparity

the discrepancy between corresponding images in the two retinas

observer bias

the distortion of evidence because of the personal motives and expectations of the viewer

the process of determinism

the doctrine that all events-physical, behavioral, and mental-are "determined" by specific causal factors that are potentially knowable

population

the entire set of individuals to which generalizations will be made based on an experimental sample

validity

the extent to which a test measures what it was intended to measure

evolutionary perspective

the focuses on the importance of behavioral and mental adaptiveness, based on the assumption that mental capabilities evolved over millions of years to serve particular purposes

placebo control

the inclusion of an experimental condition in which the treatment is not administered

behavior

the observable actions by which an organism adjusts to its environment

pupil

the opening in the iris through which light passes

functionalism

the perspective on mind and behavior that focuses on the examination of their functions in an organism's interactions with the environment

perception

the processes that organize and interpret information in the sensory stage

psychology

the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes

psychophysics

the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the behavior or mental experiences the stimuli evoke

structuralism

the study of the structure of mind and behavior

introspection

the systematic examination by individuals of their own thoughts and feelings about specific sensory experiences

Young helmholtz's trichromatic theory

there are three types of color receptors: red, green, and blue, and all other colors are variations of these

The primary reason why psychologists study illusions is because

they help us understand how perception really works

relative size

things seem bigger or smaller depending on distance

job of a receptor

to detect a type of physical energy

goal of experimental method

to establish cause/limit confounding variables

goal of correlational method

to establish mathematical relationship, find a basis for prediction

first task in psychology

to make accurate observations about behavior

goal of case study method

to obtain an in-depth analysis of one or a few people

goal of archival/survey method

to use available public or self-report data

Which of the following phenomena best illustrates that perception is an active process?

top-down processing

When did psychology emerge as a discipline in which researchers applied laboratory techniques from other sciences to study fundamental questions from philosophy?

toward the end of the 19th century

transduction

transformation of one form of energy into another

linear perspective

two parallel lines eventually look connected

example of independent variable (there are usually one or more levels)

type of programming: violent v. non-violent

medulla

vital bodily functions

example of a hypothesis

watching violent programs leads to move aggressive behaviors in young males (6-10 years)

Misha Pavel used computer graphics to study how

we process visual information

placebo effect

when experimental participants change their behavior in the absence of any kind of experimental manipulation

phi phenomenon

when two stationary spots of light in different positions in the visual field are turned on and off alternately at a rate of about for to five times per second

How do we limit observer bias?

with standardization and operational definition

Which psychologist would be most likely to believe that individuals have a natural tendency toward psychological growth and health?

Carl Rogers

Which approach to psychology focuses on the way in which the mind understands experiences as organized wholes rather than as the sums of simple parts?

Gestalt psychology

quoted "psychology has a long history but a short past"

H. Ebbinghaus, 1908