Psychology Final Exam :)

Basal Ganglia

Involved with movement, controlling movement, and planning - considered gating function (what movement is appropriate to make) - damage impairs learning of movements and habits/creates tremors (ex. involved with turrets (physical ticks) and Parkinson's (tremors)) -Nucleus accumbens: Important for experiencing rewards and motivating behavior Some features included in the limbic system which is important for controlling appetite behaviors (eating drinking) and behavior

What does the peripheral nervous system do>

It contains the autonomic and somatic systems 1. somatic nervous system: Transmits sensory information to CNS via nerves - Specializes receptors in skin, muscles, and joints send sensory information to the spinal cord which relays information to the rbain - CNS sends signals through somatic nervous system to initiate movement - allows us to feel changes we can control 2. autonomic nervous system - regulates the body's internal environment by stimulating glands (ex. sweat glands) and maintaining internal organs (ex. heart) - nerves in ANS carry somatosensory signals from glands and internal organs to the CNS (ex. provides information about how hot or full we are) 3. sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions: - sympathetic: Prepares body for action: increases heart rate, digestive system, pupils dilate, etc. - parasympathetic: Returns the body to resting state

What does the forebrain look like?

It is super wrinkled outer surface that looks kind of like a raisin - wrinkled beau that is where complex thinking and information processing take place ** fun act humans are more wrinkled than other people - structured in layers: within the layers are the neurons (information processing takes place in the different layers os the more surface area you have the more area you have for information processing-- wrinkling increase surface area)

Left brain does?

Language - easiest to learn language when you are little

Dedrites

"tree like: branches that extend from the soma - receive chemical signals from other neurons

Double blind study

*gold standard - neither the experimenter nor the experimentee knows who got the placebo so no one is treated differently

Brain rewires itself throughout life

- Change in strength of connections underlies learning -- when 2 neurons fire simultaneously, synaptic connection strengthens... when they don't there is a weakening ---Makes them more likely to fire together in the future ---Explains 2 phenomena ----"Burning in" of experience: Recurrence of firing is increased which leads the mind to recall an event ---- Ingraining of habits (repeating makes someone repeat behavior automatically) - Neurogenesis: Production of new neurons (only occurs in certain regions) -- Occurs in hippocampus (with new memories, which are then transferred to cortex) -- Social structure/environment affects neurogenesis (dominant people more likely to have neurogenesis) - Experience changes the brain --Ex. Phantom leg syndrome is example of cortical reorganization --Neurogenesis may underlie neural plasticity - Brain can recover from injury Children are better at this

Correlational Research

- Examine how variables are naturally related int her real world - Describes/predicts relationships between 2 variables (cannot determine causal relationship) - Positive relationship: Variables move in the same direction - Negative relationship: Variables move in opposite directions - zero correlation: neither variable is predictably related to the other - THERE IS AN ETHICAL ASPECT OF CORRELATIONAL STUDY: We need this because something we cannot do experiments like we cannot just go around and give people schizophrenia - we are able to make predication off of this (we can see if there is a correlation between 2 things) **directionality problem: researchers find a relationship between 2 variables but they cannot determine which variable caused which **third variable problem: Instead of A causing B, there might be a third variable C that causes both A and B - reason it is impossible to state one variable causes another Ex. Smoking is not the only cause to cancer because genetics take part also. Therefore, it could be variable C

Experimental research

- Experimental group gets variable - Control group gets placebo - allows us to see a pre and post (pre and baseline) - A lot of the time we would like to take equal people and give some something and others nothing, but a lot cannot get past the institutional review boards (Ex. I cannot just give someone schizophrenia) *need random assignment between 2 groups so there is as little biasing as possible (no biased generalizations); however, there still might be bias because life aint perfect

Role of occipital lobe

- Hearing (primary auditory cortex), memory, and object/face perception - at intersection of temporal and occipital love is FUSIFORM AREA (Much more active when looking at faces) - hippocampus and amygdala is located here

Frontal lobes

- Rational part of the brain - involves with the controlled movement of body parts - brock's area: Speaking/language ( if this is hurt you can comprehend what other people are saying but you cannot produce language yourself-- no speaking) - Connection exists between frontal lobes and limbic system - connections between emotions and reasons - limbic system and frontal lobe fight for dominance (ex. I was nervous for the exam (limbic system is winning but then I talk myself out of it (frontal loves dominant)

What are the types of neurons

- Sensory neurons - motor neurons

Scientific Method

- Systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena; used to achieve goals of prediction, description, control, explanation - involves interaction between research, theories, and hypothesis

Function of the brain stem?

- coordination of reflexes (ex. moving hand away from something hot) - carry sensory information to the brain and carry motor signals from the brain to the body parts to initiate actions

Forebrain (AKA Cortex) includes?

- limbic system: hippocampus, thalamus, amygdala, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, basal ganglia,

Pituitary gland

- located right below the hypothalamus - also involved with the endocrine system (ex. released hormones that create the menstrual system) - endocrine system is under control of the central nervous system: Brain interprets external and internal stimuli and sends signals to endocrine system, endocrine system releases various effects on the body and behavior - Endocrine system is primarily controlled by the hypothalamus via signals to the pituitary gland (located at the base of the hypothalamus) --- Neural activation causes the hypothalamus to secrete one of its many releasing factors ---Particular releasing factor causes pituitary to release hormone specific to that factor, hormone then travels through the bloodstream to different endocrine sites, when it reaches these sites it causes the release of other hormones which impact body's response and behavior ****Pituitary Gland: MASTER GLAND By releasing hormones into the bloodstream it controls all glands and governs major processes

Midbrain

- serves regulatory functions - reticular formation

How do the CNS and PNS function together?

- they function interdependently PNS sends information to the CNS which organizes and evaluates the information, then directs PNS to perform behavior or make bodily adjustments

Wenicke's area in temporal lobe

- understanding language - includes reading, sign language, etc. - damage means you can look at the word cat and say cat but you cannot understand what it is -- sometimes you can still speak sometimes you cannot - characterized by people saying jumbled language because they can speak but cannot comprehend

Role of parietal lobe

1. Spatial coordination (Ex. being able to catch a tennis ball someone throws at you, you move arm to where you predict arm will be 2. Somatosensory strip: touch

Nervous system includes?

1. central a. brain b. spinal cord ** both contain lots of neurons 2. peripheral a. autonomic nervous system - parasympathetic nervous system - sympathetic nervous system b. somatic nervous system

Steps in conducting research

1. create theory 2. create hypothesis 3. search literature 4. design study 5. Conduct study 6. Analyze results

3 types of research?

1. descriptive 2. correlational 3. experimental

Hindbrain

1. extension of the spinal cord 2. relatively conserved throughout species (in lots of animals) because it controls so many functions including heartbeat 3. MEDUALLA - Controls life functions: Breathing, heart rate, etc. - You CANNOT live without this (can live without cortex, midbrain, etc.) -- brain dead means the medulla is the only part of the body that is working 4. PONS - regulates sleep and wakefulness - facial expression - eye movement - evolutionary (you need it for survival) 5. CEREBELLUM (AKA "Little brain") - connected to the back of the brainstem - in charge of balance and coordinated movement (motor memory and motor leaning; "trained" by the rest of the nervous system and operates independently.unconsciously-- ex. riding a bike)

What types of neural tissue are in the spinal cord (there are 2 types)

1. gray matter (dominate by neuron's body cells) 2. white matter: consists mostly of axons and fatty myelin sheaths that surround them

What are the 3 areas of the brain?

1. hindbrain (AKA reptilian brain) 2. midbrain 3. forebrain

Descriptive research

1. involves observing behavior to DESCRIBE behavior objectively and systematically. Helps researchers describe what phenomena are and predict when they will occur - Ex. observe what people eat in the cafeteria 2. There are 3 types of descriptive studies -- Case studies: Intense explanation of an unusual person or organization (observation, recording, and description); goal=describe events or experiences that lead up or result in exceptional aspect; disadvantage= only one person or organization is studied therefore it can't really be generalized -- Observational studies: 1. Participant observation: researcher involve in situation 2. naturalistic observation: researcher is a passive observer, separated from situation and making no effort change ongoing behavior -- Self-report methods/interviews 1. self-report: Surveys and questionnaires (can be used to gather data from large number of people in little time for little cost; can't be mailed out 2. interviews: Used when survey/questionnaire won't work (Ex. with children); gains more in-depth perspective on respondent's attitudes, opinions, and experiences; answers sometimes inspire avenues that are unexpected; people introduce bias into their answers (people don't want to put themselves in bad light so researchers must consider which questions will produce socially desirable responding or faking good)

What does all research involve?

1. variable: Something in the world that can vary and the researcher can manipulate (change), measure (evaluate), or both; involves independent (manipulated) and dependent variables (measured) 2. operational definition

amygdala

AKA Almond - most important for emotions -- plays a huge role in responding to fear -- plays a huge role in evaluating facial expressions and their emotional significance *increases memory during times of emotional arousal (important unlearning about biologically relevant stimuli-- those important for survival) Ex. If you have a tumor on amygdala, you might get depression or anxiety

Hypothalamus

AKA Mastery gland/mastery regulatory structure - function: Controls the hormonal/endocrine system which regulates the bodies organs Ex. Regulating hormonal activity: You come home from school and see something that scares you, so your stress response kicks in because adrenal glands produce adrenaline BECAUSE hypothalamus put something in blood that signals it should be released (regulates body rhythms, blood pressure, body temperature, etc.) Important for motivated behaviors like hunger and thirst

Hippocampus

AKA seahorse - function: memory (creates new interconnections within cerebral cortex with each new experience) - important for navigating our environments (helps us remember things like streets) -- fun fact: taxi drivers tend to have a bigger hippocampus

Fusiform area

At intersection of temporal and occipital lobe - much more active when looking at faces

hawthorne effect

Change in behavior that occurs when people know others are observing them

Hormones

Chemical substances released into bloodstream by ductless endocrine glands - once hormones are release they travel through he bloodstream until they hit their target tissue where they bind to receptor sits and influence tissue - can take seconds to hours to show effect - Hormones effect sexual behavior: Gonads (main endocrine glands involved in sexual behavior-- testes in males and ovaries in men * androgens such as testoersterones are more prevalent in men while estrogens like estradiol is more popular in females * sexual hormones influence the production of secondary sex characteristics like boobs

Who recovers best from brain injury?

Children

meta-analysis

Combines findings from multiple studies to arrive at one conclusion - study of studies that have already been conducted - combines so much data that it is more accurate

Interneurons

Communicate within local or short distance circuits - integrate neural activity within a certain area rather than transmitting information to other brain structures or body organs

Endocrine system does what?

Communication network that influences thoughts, behaviors, and actions through hormones - works with nervous system to regulate activity - Ex. Nervous system tells brain there is information about a threat, then brain communicates with endocrine system to prepare the organism to deal with said threats

Operational definition

Concrete physical steps the researcher will take In order to identify the variable, redefining a variable in terms of physical steps Ex. If studying cell phone use, how will you quantify cell phone use (talking, texting, reading, etc.), how will you quantify and qualify driving performance to determine if it has been impacted (record number of accidents, closeness of cars up ahead, etc.) * qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) variables so they can be understood objectively - lets other researchers know what variables were used, how they were manipulated, how they were measured, so others can use the same methods

Experimental experiment

Controls and explains - ONLY method that allows us to determine a CAUSE - Gives people max control - Manipulating variable -- independent variable is manipulated (ex, in experiment on driving while texting) -- independent variables have many levels ("treatment level"= experimental group, "comparison level"= control group) -Establishing causality Researchers take steps to ensure the independent variable is the only difference between control and experimental group Confound: Anything that affects a dependent variable that may unintentionally vary between study's experimental conditions Ex. Time of the day, sensitivity of measuring instruments, etc. The less confounds, the more confident a researcher can be in causation

Accuracy

Degree to which something is error free - random/unsystematic error: Error only impact some results - Ex. result of momentary lapse by experimenter (solution: redo readings) - systematic error/bias: error impacts all results by shifting it too high or too low - Ex. The machine is broken (solution: add or subtract the amount needed)

Science has 4 goals

Does Peter Come Early? - Description: what is the phenomena - Prediction: When does phenomena occur - Control: What causes something to occur - Explanation: Why does something occur

How do the sensory and motor neurons work together

Ex. When you want to take notes your brain sends signals via motor neurons to fingers to move in a particular way. receptors in the skin and muscles send back information via sensory neurons to determine how much pressure you need - our reflexes, automatic motor responses often occur before we even think about ti (work with sensory neurons)

Single blind

Experimentee does not know who got the placebo but the scientist knows - sometimes scientist will treat them differently as a result

Theory

Explanation based on observation; explanation or model of how a phenomena works and makes predictions about the future - consists of interconnected ideas or concept and explains prior observations and predictions about the future ex. infants develop in emotional stages

construct validity

Extent to which the variables measure what they are supposed to measure - Ex. if a psych teacher gave me a chemistry exam there would be no construct validity

Thalamus

Function: Sensory relay system (gateway to the cortex) - if you hear something it goes in your ears through your thalamus then into he next area which is the temporal lobe of the brain ** SMELL IS THE ONE EXCEPTION - directs the sensory information to the "proper" side of the brain (ex. left visual field goes to the right side of brain ) - shuts down the gateway when you sleeping so you can rest ***When you are at a cocktail party and you hear someone say your name in a different conversation and you all of a sudden go "wait what" you are showing that you were listening the whole time, your thalamus just did not think it was important enough

External validity

Generalized ability - different people, settings, situations **Externally valid if: - participants represent intended population well - variables were manipulated and measured in similar ways to how it would occur in the real world

Phineas Gage

He worked on railroads where they would lay track by putting dynamite in the rock and clearing it that way. He pushed dynamite wrong and it blew a metal rod into his head. DESTROYED HIS FRONTAL LOBE. He became super impulsive, irritable, and bad at planning

What results from damage to parietal lobe

Hemineglect: People notice nothing on the neglected side - ex. I damage the right side of my brain and now I notice nothing on the left side of anything (do not eat on the left side of the plate, etc.)

Internal validity

How heavily controlled is the study - degree to which effects are independent variables and not confounds - more controlled and designed well - All participants are similar as possible and there must be a control group ** downside is that these results may be irrelevant in the real world (ex. I develop a drug for people with schizophrenia o I find someone who only has that disorder, but the issue is that most people with that disorder in the real world have schizophrenia along with a shit ton of other disorders, so they won't respond to the drug the same way)

Phrenology

If you use particular part of the brain more this part will grow - therefore they thought if you could feel a bump on someone's head you could feel personality - spread idea that brain functions are localized ** strong evidence came form Paul Broca who studied guy who could understand language but not produce it (could only sat word)-- saw damage on the left side of the guy's brain-- the brook's area

What does the spinal cord turn into?

In the back of the skull, the spinal cord thickens and becomes more complex as it transforms into the brain stem (extension of the spinal cord)

Differences in brains of men and women

Males have bigger brains than women and we use different areas for problem solving Females use more language related areas to solve problems Corpus callosum is bigger in women Both in the womb and afterwards hormonal differences between sexes influence brain development

What do maps of the motor cortex and somatosensory Cortex allow us to do

Maps of the motor cortex and somatosensory cortex allow us to create map of the body as if the size of body parts correlate to how much brain tissue your motor cortex devotes

Descriptive statistics

Mathematical statistics that provide a summary - central tendency: single value describing typical response (mean, median, mode) - Variability: how widely dispersed is the data (ex. SD, range)

Brain imaging

Measures changes in speed, rate, or flow of blood to different regions of the brain 1. PET scan (positron emissions topography) - After injections of harmless radioactive substance into bloodstream, individuals can find the most active parts of the brain 2. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) - Powerful magnetic field used to disrupt brain's magnetic forces - provides high quality images of the brain - useful in providing information about the structure of the brain (used to locate things like tumors) - NO DANGER INVOLVED IN THIS 3. Functional magnetic resonance imagining (FMRIs) - Using brain's blood flow to map the working brain (measures blood flow indirectly by looking at oxygen levels) - participant performs a function that is identical to the one they just performed but differs slightly which reflects particular mental function of interst 4. Transcranial Magnetic stimulation (TMS) - limitation of brain imagines the findings are only correlational (we do not know for a fact the certain areas of the brain are needed to create certain function) - TMS uses powerful but fast magnetic field to disrupt the brain activity momentarily in a particular brain region - has some limitations can only be used for short period of time to examine areas close to the scalp - more powerful when works with brain imagine

Acon

Messages are passed along here to get to the terminal endings - once information is integrated, electrical impulses are transmitted here

Electrophysiology

Method that measures electrical activity in the brain 1. electrocephalmograph (EEG): Measure's brains electrical activity - recordings are limited because they are "too noisy" and imprecise to isolate specific response to particular stimuli - when people are awake they have different sources of sensory activity (causing neurons in brain to be active) -- short, frequent irregular brain signals= waves -- when people are really paying attention to something or close their eyes and rest, brain activity slows and become more regular (ALPHA WAVES) 2. evidence related potential: scientists measure individual's response to stimuli through many trials. they then observe patterns

Somatosensory homunculus

More cortical area devoted to body's more sensitive areas (ex. fingers and face

Is there such thing as a perfect study?

Nahhh - there is no such thing as a study that will have one interpretation - important to find a method with the fewest potential interpretations

Neural networks

Neurons cominciate selectively with other neurons in these network which are linked and all of these networks form the nervous system

Is the brain tissue devoted to each part of brain consistent?

No it is not consistent - Based on degree of movement in that body and its particular function - NOT based on size of the body part - based on how sensitive that part of the body is to touch - When people undergo brain surgery, doctors look at the somatosensory cortex and touch certain parts of the body; then they can see where you feel it so they can map this out

Observational research

Observe what happens in the real world - finds relationships between things (causation is NOT found - Issues: Self-reporting leads to errors because people say certain things to sound SOCIALLY DESIRABLE, but this is the one way to get a lot of information at one time Ex. survey how many hours of sleep per night and what is your GPA?

Why is scientific method cyclical?

Once over scientists return to original theory and evaluate the implications of the data (did it prove my point or nah) - then you replicate the study (regardless of whether you got the results you wanted or not) * no study is answered in one experiment * it would be ideal if the replicated experiment is conducted by a different psychologists - once we find something out we want to know more so we continue modifying so we can find new answers

Why are unexpected findings valuable?

Only researchers who are willing to recognize importance of unexpected findings will benefit - they suggest new theories; however, to be valuable unexpected things must be replicated and elaborated

Soma (body)

Part of the neuron that includes the nucleus -information received by dendrites are collected and integrated here

Inferential statistics

Permit generalizations 0 determine if the effects found int eh sample exist in the general population

Experience fine-tune neural connections in brain damage

Plasticity has critical periods: Particular experience must occur for development to proceed naturally Certain connections are created by chemical messengers but more detailed connections created through experience Ex. If your eyes are sewed shut at birth you cannot develop visual cortex properly Ex. Some rats were brought up with bare necessities while others were brought up in luxury with socialization and all of that jazz and the luxury ones had bigger brains at the end

brain stem

Posterior part of the brain that houses the basic programs of survival

Hypothesis

Prediction based on theory - MUST BE TESTABLE (You must be able to prove it or disprove it) - Must be falsifiable (if you state this in a way that cannot be proven wrong it is not a hypothesis) - Must be stated In an operational definition - Ex. Created about specific behaviors that are exhibited at each state of development

Sampling

Process by which I choose people from a population to be in my sample - sample CANNOT be biased (we want the findings to generalize beyond individuals in the experiment to the intended population) Needs to be: 1. chosen through random sampling (everyone has an equal chance of being chosen) 2. Needs to be a large sample (limited by resource constraints like money, time, and space) 3. needs to be representative of the population 4. Needs to involve RANDOM ASSIGNMENT (everyone has an equal chance of being assigned to the control group or the experimental group) ** all of this protects against bias as much as possible

Neurogenesis

Production of new neurons (only occurs in certain regions) - Occurs in hippocampus (with new memories, which are then transferred to cortex) - Social structure/environment affects neurogenesis (dominant people more likely to have neurogenesis)

Plasticity of brain

Property of brain allows it to change after injury or experiences (decreases with age)

Role of frontal lobe

RATIONAL PORTION OF THE BRAIN: Responsible for executive functions like making judgements, reasoning, decisions, and emotional control prefrontal cortex: - makes up 30% of the brain, and its large size is what makes humans unique - responsible for directing and maintaining attention, keeping ideas in mind while distractions are present, developing and acting on plans, important for social reasons (helps you feel guilty, see how others are feelings, etc.) Primary motor cortex (back portion of frontal lobe): - responsible for movement of different parts of the body - includes neurons that project directly onto spinal cords to move body's muscles - opposite sides from brains: Left side of brain responsible for right side of body (if I raise my left hand, my right motor cortex is responsible for it)

Psychophysiological assessment

Shows how bodily systems (ex. heart rate) are influenced by mental states

Reliability

Stability/consistency of measure over time - Datta collected over time will not vary Ex. using a stopwatch is not reliable because people start and stop it about a millisecond away from each other

Critical studies

Studies that directly contrast theories to see which theory better explains the data (ex. there are a shit ton of theories about why driving and texting is so dangerous)

Psychology

Study through research of mind, brain and behavior - we try to understand people and predict their behavior from that - psychological thinking allows us to be critical thinkers

Can the peripheral or central nervous heal?

The peripheral nervous system can heal while the central nervous system cannot

Why do researchers search literature?

They want to see if it has already been studied (if studied once or twice they will do it again, if it has been intensely studied they will use the conclusions to create new ideas to test)

Tradeoff between internal and external validity?

We cannot have external and internal validity - the more real-world/messy a study is, the more flaws there will be ** for this reason, when we are conducting experiments we will start with high internal validity and then move towards external validity

Study of people who have damaged certain parts of the brain?

We know what parts of the brain do because we observe people who have damage to certain parts of the brain (started during the civil war) - People were shot in the head, so they had changes in behavior and doctors would study that

Validity

What is meaningfulness of results; does the data answer the research question

When are women most sexual

When they have a lot of testosterone in their body and hen they are ovulating

Phantom leg syndrome

You can experience pain in parts of the body that you no longer have - Ex. leg cramp is present even though you do not have a leg

observer bias

bias that scientists suffer from when conducting observational research - cultural norms create bias

Neurons

cells within the nervous system (in the brain) a. powered by electrical impulses and communicate with other nerve cells through chemical signals b. during reception neuron takes in chemicals from neighboring neurons, during integration incoming signals are assessed, during transmission they pass their own signals to another receiving neurons

Sensory neurons

detect information from the physical world and pass information on to the brain, usually through the spinal cord - Ex. somatosensory neurons are sensory neurons that provide information from the skin and muscles

Parietal lobe

devoted to touch - located in strip in back of head - labor is divided between the cerebral hemisphere (left hemisphere receives touch information from the right side of the body and right hemisphere receives touch information from left side of the body) - front part of the parietal lobe: somatosensory strip, which receives sensory information from different parts of the body - Ex. you touch my hand and my somatosensory cortex will register this - primary somatosensory cortex: groups nearby sensations - somatosensory homunculus: more cortical area devoted to body's more sensitive areas (ex. fingers and face)

Motor neurons

direct muscles to contract or relax (produce movement)

Cerebrum (cerebral cortex)

each cerebral hemisphere has 4 lobes of the brain 1. frontal 2. parietal 3. temporal 4. occipital Corpus callosum connects the hemispheres (massive bridge of axons, connecting hemispheres and letting information flow)

Nucleus accumbens

important for experiencing rewards and motivating behavior Some features included in the limbic system which is important for controlling appetite behaviors (eating drinking) and behavior

What does the brain stem include

medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, nerves that control basic functions like heart rate, breathing, and swallowing, reticular formation (network of neuron impacting the general alertness and terminating different sections of sleep); functions performed for the head are similar to what the spinal cord does for the rest of the body (ex. gaging)

Experimenter expectancy effect

observer expectations change behavior of person being observed Ex. Teachers were given 2 separate groups and were told one was gifted one was not. Then they were teaching children and they felt gifted children had learned more. This could be because the teacher changed how she treated each group because of her knowlege Combating experimenter expectancy effect: Blind: Person running study should be unaware of hypothesis Double blind is gold standard

What does the nervous system overall do?

receive, integrate, and transmit information (complex system of neurons send and receive the signals that are basis for psychological functions)

statistically significant results

results are likely to occur int he real world if there was no different between groups (significant effect if the obtained results would occur by change less than 5% of the time)

Broca's Area

small portion of the left frontal region crucial for language production

Research

tests the hypothesis-- test yields data that supports or refutes your ideas

Is the brain divided by labor?

yes