Psych Final Exam Review

William James

Under the influence of evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, this philosopher-psychologist assumed that thinking developed because it was adaptive. As a behaviorist, he focused on how mental and behavioral processes enable the organism to adapt and survive. In 1890, he published the first psychology textbook.

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in research study. For example, "sleep deprived" may be defined as "x hours less than a person's natural sleep"

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much the scores varied around the mean score.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect.

myelin sheath

a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next. Wraps around the axon and acts as insulation.

agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action

antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action

neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of a nervous system

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

all-or-none-response

a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full strength response) or not firing at all.

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron. Ex: serotonin goes back up into the axon terminal to be used at another time (i.e. it's recycled).

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired.

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction, derived from a theory.

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

population

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.

description

all you can do is describe some phenomenon.

humility

an awareness of our own vulnerability to error and an openness to new perspectives and surprises. **curiosity, skepticism and ________***

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit conscious reasoning.

case studies

an in depth look at 1 person or a small group. Used on someone who is atypical in some way. Pros: rich description of behavior; ideas for future study. Cons: difficult to generalize beyond single case, time consuming.

theory

an organized set of principles that describes, predicts, and explains some phenomenon.

negative correlation

as 1 variable increases, the other variable decreases (and vice versa). The closer it is to 1 or the closer it is to negative one, the stronger the correlation. *You can never state the word cause with a correlation.

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups.

Descartes

believed that some ideas are innate.

psychiatry

branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who can provide medical treatment and psychological therapy.

community psychology

branch that studies how people interact with their social environment and how social institutions affect people.

nerves

bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands and sense organs.

explanation

can now explain the cause

glial cells (glia)

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking and memory.

neurotransmitters

chemical messages that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons.

biological perspective

concerned with the links between biology and behavior.

nature vs. nurture debate

controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience.

clinical & counseling psychology

counseling, diagnosis, cause and treatment of psychological disorders. (Therapy) These psychologists work with people with disorders such as depression, bipolar, etc.

levels of analysis

differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social to cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

functionalism

early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function--how they enable the organism to adapt, survive and flourish.

structuralism

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Freudian psychology

emphasized the ways our unconscious thought processes and our emotional responses to childhood experiences affect our behavior.

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than just re-reading information. AKA retrieval practice effect or test enhanced learning.

cognitive psychologists

experiment with how we perceive, think and problem solve.

social psychologists

explore how we view/affect one another.

biological psychologists

explore the links between brain & mind

illusory correlation

feed an illusion or control--that chance events are subject to our personal control.

Wilhelm Wundt

founded the 1st psychology laboratory in 1879. He promoted the early school of thought; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind (mental processes)

informed consent

giving potential participants enough info about a study to enable them to chose whether or not they want to participate.

Plato

greek philosopher who believed that intelligence was inherited.

humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential. Psychologists drew attention to ways that current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential, and to the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied.

free association

if you're given a word, respond with first thought.

Darwin

in 1859 he explained species variation by proposing the process of evolution, which works through the principle of natural selection.

John Locke

in the 1600s he revived the views of the Greek philosophers. He believed that the mind is a black slate on which experience writes.

historical roots of psychology

include the fields of biology and philosophy.

correlation coefficients

indicate the magnitude and direction of a variable

personality psychologists

investigate persistent traits.

physiological psychology

investigates the biological basis of behavior. Link between brain functioning and overall behavior.

surveys

large scale measure of many people. Pros: very easy to gather a ton of information at a low cost. Cons: people lie and distort their answers. **Response bias: only certain people will respond--can skew the results--might not represent the population **Wording or a question can also impact responses.

endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.

acetylcholine

one of the best understood neurotransmitters, plays a role in learning an memory. People with Alzheimers lack this. Most likely to be found at the junction between motor neurons and muscle fibers.

sample and population

only useful for description. Random sampling: every person has a chance of being selected.

Ivan Pavlov

pioneered the study of learning.

laboratory setting

pro: offers you control--you can control every valuable because it's in a lab. Con: it's not a natural scenario.

field setting

pro: very realistic. Con: can't control what happens to your subjects.

industrial & organized psychology

psych applied to the work place (training, placement, productivity)

Edward Bradford Titchener

psychologist who used introspection to explore the basic elements of the mind. This method proved somewhat unreliable.

basic research

pure science aiming to increase the scientific knowledge base.

the behaviorist alternative

redefined psychology as the study of observable behavior--> completely rejected introspection.

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances. If they get similar results, confidence in the finding's reliability grows.

applied research

scientific study aiming to solve practical problems.

personality psychology

studies the differences between people in such traits as anxiety, sociability, self-esteem, aggressiveness.

developmental psychology

study of growth throughout one's entire lifespan--> nature vs. nurture debate, biological vs. environmental factors, stage theories.

social psychology

study of how people influence one another: first impressions, attraction, how attitudes are formed and maintained, prejudice and persuasion, conformity and obedience.

developmental psychologists

study our changing abilities from birth to death.

the "cognitive revolution"

the 1960s brings a renewed interest in mind, mental activity and consciousness.

nervous system

the body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord.

Sigmund Freud

the controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity's self-understanding. Psychoanalysis= primary methodology.

Mary Whiton Calkins

the first female president of the American Psychological Association who was mentored by William James. She went on to become a distinguished memory researcher.

Aristotle

the greek naturalist and philosopher who developed early theories about learning and memory, motivation and emotion, and perception and personality. He believed that all knowledge originates with sensory experience.

experimental group

the group exposed to treatment

control group

the group not exposed to treatment

localization of function

the idea that various brain regions have particular functions.

cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition including: perception, decision making, language, memory. (The study of mental activity; consciousness)

synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

axon

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands. (A-AWAY)

dependent variable

the outcome that is measured; the variable subject to change when the independent variable is manipulated.

debriefing

the post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions.

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and the mind

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

regression towards the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back towards the average.

independent variable

the variable that is being manipulated--whose effect is being studied.

behaviorism

the view that psychology 1. should be an objective science that 2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with 1 but not 2.

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions.

clinical psychologist

treats people with psychological disorders.

Freudian slip of the time

unconscious desires--often sexual or aggressive.

correlational research

used not only to describe but also to make predictions. Used to investigate the relationships between variables. **Don't jump to conclusions--the researchers don't have control over every variable.

counseling psychologist

work with everyday problems such as family, marriage, etc.

prediction

you can predict the value of a variable

dendrites

(1 of the 2 types of brain fibers) a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

hindsight bias

(AKA I-knew-it-all-along-phenomenon) the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. Our tendency to perceive patterns in random events often lead us to overestimate our intuition.

naturalistic observation

*only useful for description. Behavior observed in the real world (good starting point--suggests new theories) Pros: can be measured objectively. More natural than a lab study. Cons: inner states can only be inferred from your behavior. Observer bias--it's possible that they can distort their interpretation--can be solved by having two observers. Can also be time consuming. **The people being observed shouldn't know they're being observed--we all behave different when we know were being watched.

SQ3R

A study method incorporating 5 steps: survey, question, read, retrieve, review.