Psychology Exam

What psychologists do

1.Conduct Research: Pure and applied 2.Practice Psychology 3.Teach

Scientific Method

1.Formulate a research question 2. State the hypothesis 3.Test the hypothesis 4. Draw conclusions based in findings: Apply critical thinking (do not confuse correlation with cause and effect, consider the selection factor in correlations)

They believe the benefits of research outweigh its harm They believe the individuals might have been willing to participate if they had understood the benefits of the research Participants are debriefed later

According to APA ethical standards, when can psychologists use deception?

Controls muscle contractions (Affected by curare and botulism; Cause paralysis) Prevalent in hippocampus Decrease in brain impairs memory formation

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Dopamine

Affects the ability to perceive pleasure, voluntary movement, and learning and memory Deficiencies are linked to Parkinson's Disease

Transmit messages from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain Known as sensory neurons

Afferent Neurons

Theory

Allows one to: Propose reasons for relationships among events, Derive explanations, Make predictions Psychological types of these combine statements about behavior, mental processes, and biological processes

Connected with aggression, fear, vigilance, emotions, learning, and memory

Amygdala

cell body, axon, and dendrites (maturation of an individual lengthens axons and proliferates the dendrites and terminals)

Anatomy of Neurons

Aristotle, Democritus, and Socrates

Ancient Contributors to Psychology

There is no alternative Benefits of research justify the harm

Animals may be only harmed when?

Experimenting with the brain

Assessing damage from disease and accidents Intentionally damaging parts of the brain in animals Using electrical probes to stimulate parts of the brain

Regulates the glands and muscles of internal organs Sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions have largely opposing effects (Effects can be averaged out to some degree when simulated simultaneously)

Autonomic Nervous System

Placebos are administered to participants

Blind Study

Computerized axial tomography (CAT or CT scan) Positron emission tomography (PET scan) Magnetic esonance imaging (MRI) Functional MRI (fMRI)

Brain imaging techniques

Cerebrum surface Wrinkled or convoluted with ridges and valleys (fissures) Connected with cognitive abilities, bodily activities, sensations, and perceptions

Cerebral cortex

Cerebral cortex Corpus callosum

Cerebrum

Parietal lobe

Contains somatosensory cortex

Connects the two hemispheres of the cerebrum Created by fissures

Corpus Callosum

Expresses strength and direction of the relationship of variables

Correlation Coefficient

Temporal lobe

Deals with hearing and auditory functions

Experimental Method

Demonstrates cause and effect through scientific method with the help of: Independent and dependent variables, Experimental and control groups

Polarizes

Difference in electrical charge does what to a neuron for firing (Conduction of neural impulse along neuron)

Participants and observers are unaware of who is taking a drug and who is taking a placebo

Double-Blind Study

Transmit messages from brain or spinal cord to muscles or glands Known as motor neurons

Efferent Neurons

Review proposed studies according to ethical guidelines before granting approval Weigh the potential benefits of research against the potential harm

Ethics Review Committee and Ethical Standards

All-or-None Principle

Every time a neuron fires, it transmits an impulse of the same strength

1.Clinical 2.Counseling: School, educational, and developmental 3.Personality 4.Social 5.Environmental 6.Industrial: Organizational, Human Factors, Consumer 7.Health 8.Forensic 9.Sports

Fields of Psychology

Socialcultural Perspective

Focuses on the influence of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes Ethnicity-Members of an ethnic group share the same cultural heritage, race, language, or history Gender-Culturally defined concepts of masculinity and femininity; Involves cultural expectations and social roles

Correlation

Follows observation Suggests, but does not prove, cause and effect

Thalamus Hypothalamus Limbic System

Forebrain

Behaviorism

Founded by John Broadus Watson Focus is on learning observable behaviors (behaviors observable by specialized instruments) B.F. Skinner believed that learned behavior is behavior that is reinforced ( where a stimulus is follows a response and increases the frequency of the response)

Gesalt Psychology

Founded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler Focuses on perception and its influence in thinking and problem solving [Focuses on perception and its influence on thinking and problem solving, Learning is active and purposeful (accomplished by insight and not mechanical repetition)]

Psychoanalysis

Founded by Sigmund Freud Theory of Personality: Proposes that people's lives are influenced by unconscious ideas Method of Psychotherapy: Helps patients gain insight, seeks socially acceptable ways to express wishes and gratify needs

Structuralism

Founded by Wilhelm Wundt Breaks conscious experiences into objective sensations, subjective feelings, and mental images Belief:Mind functions by combing objective and subjective elements of experience

Functionalism

Founded by William James Focused on behavior in addition to consciousness or the mind Used direct observations to supplement introspection Influenced by Darwin's Theory of Evolution: Adaptive behavior patterns are learned and maintained

Case Study Observation

Gather information from individuals or small groups Clinical Studies Sometimes used to investigate rarities

Remove dead neurons and waste products Nourish and insulate neurons Form myelin and play a role in neural transmission of messages Increase with the development of the nervous system

Glial Cells

Consists of non-myelinated neurons

Gray Matter

Psychology as a Laboratory Science

Gustav Theodor Fechner: Published Elements of Psychophysics (1860) Wilhelm Wundt: Established the first psychological laboratory (1879)

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

Helps record the natural electrical activity of the brain Detects brainwaves that pass between the electrodes

Medulla Pons Cerebellum

Hindbrain

Humanistic-Existential Perspective

Humanism-Stresses on human capacity for self-fulfillment, roles of consciousness, self-awareness, and decision making Existentialism-Stresses on free choice and holds people responsible for choices made Based on works of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Regulates body temperature, concentration of fluid, storage of nutrients, motivation, and emotion Involved in thirst, hunger, sexual behavior, caring for offspring, and aggression

Hypothalamus

Informed Consent

Individuals need to provide what before participation?

Endorphins

Inhibit pain and increase sense of competence Enhance the functioning of the immune system Connected to the pleasurable runner's high Similar to the narcotic morphine

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Inhibitory neurotransmitter that may help calm anxiety reactions Deficiency is linked to depression

Serotonin

Involved in emotional arousal and sleep Deficiencies are linked to eating disorders, alcoholism, depression, and insomnia

Spinal Reflex

Involves only a sensory neuron and a motor neuron in most instances Neural impulse is transmitted by interneurons from the sensory neuron through the spinal cord to the motor neuron in some reflexes

Behaviorist Learning View

Learning occurs through learning histories, situations, and rewards and not through conscious choice

Amygdala

Limbic System

Occipital lobe

Lobe that deals with vision

Magnetic Esonance Imaging (MRI)

Looks at brain structure

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan

Looks at glucose levels in areas of brain which assesses neural activity

Cognitive Perspective

Looks at mental processes to understand human nature Studies those things that are referred to as the mind

Functional MRI

Looks at metabolic function and the use of oxygen and blood flow. Increased blood flow associated with neural activity

Reticular formation

Lower part within the hindbrain Sends messages to the cerebral cortex when stimulated Makes one alert to sensory information

Fat that insulates the axon from electrically charged atoms, or ions Minimizes leakage of the electrical current

Myelin

Psychodynamic Perspective

Neoanalysts- Contemporary psychologists who follow theories derived from Freud; Famous psychologists include Karen Horney and Erik Erikson Focuses more on conscious choice and self-direction than unconscious processes

Electrochemical messages that travel within neurons (which contain negatively or positively charged ions)

Neural Impulse

Chemical substances Present in the synaptic vesicles of axon terminals Have unique chemical structures and fit into specific receptor sits [loose neurotransmitters are either broken down or reabsorbed by the axon terminal (reuptake)]

Neurotransmitter Characteristics

Excitatory neurotransmitter that increases heart rate: Involved in general arousal, learning and memory, and eating Excesses and deficiencies are linked to mood disorders and impairment in memory formation

Norepinephrine

Naturalistic Observation

Observe subjects in their natural habitat Unobtrusive measure

Depolarization

Occurs when area on the resting neuron is stimulated

Refractory period

Period of recovery between firings

Complete group of interest

Population

Resting Potential

Potential across the neural membrane when a neuron does not respond to other neurons

Be skeptical Insist on evidence Examine definitions of terms Examine the assumptions or premises of arguments Be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence Consider alternative interpretations of research evidence Do not oversimplify Do not overgeneralize Apply critical thinking to all areas of life

Principles of Critical Thinking

Volunteer Bias-Bias represented by studying people who volunteer to participate

Problem in generalizing from research

Acting Potential

Provides the basis of the conduction of a neural impulse along an axon

Each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Random Sample

Segment of population (Representative forms of these allow generalization of findings)

Sample

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes Goal:To describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes

Biological Perspective

Seeks relationships between: Brains, hormones, heredity, and evolution; Behavior and mental processes Charles Darwin: Most adaptive organisms manages to mature and reproduce

Messages received from the brain and spinal cord control purposeful body movements

Somatic nervous system

Neurons

Specialized cells of the nervous system that receive and pass messages Vary according to function and location

Subgroups are represented proportionally

Stratified Sample

Threshold

Strength of the incoming messages required by a neuron to fire

Relay station for sensory stimulation

Thalamus

Axon terminal from the transmitting neuron, dendrite, or the body of a receiving neuron Fluid-filled gap (synaptic cleft) between the axon and the dendrite

The synapse consists of:

Social-Cognitive Learning View

Theorists suggest that: People modify and create their environment, cognition plays a key role, people engage in intentional learning through observation

Spinal Cord

Transmits messages from sensory receptors to the brain and from the brain to muscles and glands

True

True or False: A brain cell can send out hundreds of messages each second-and manage to catch some rest in between

True

True or False: A single cell can stretch all the way from your spine to your toe

True

True or False: Even though she had worked to complete all the degree requirements, the first female president of the American Psychological Association turned down the doctoral degree that was offered to her

True

True or False: Fear can give you indigestion

True

True or False: In many experiments, neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving the real treatment and who is not.

True

True or False: Messages travel in the brain by means of electricity

True

True or False: More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle wrote a book on psychology with similar to the ones you're reading about now.

True

True or False: The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates suggested a research method that is still used in Psychology.

False

True or False: The human brain is larger than that of any other animal

True

True or False: You could survey millions of voters and still not accurately predict the outcome of the election

Survey Observation

Used to collect information that cannot be observed directly or studied experimentally

Excitatory (Causes other neurons to fire) and Inhibitory (Prevents other neurons from firing) Functions

What determines whether a neuron will fire

They are kept confidential

What happens to records of research participants and clients?

Excess or deficiency of neurotransmitters

What is linked to psychological disorders?

Thinking and language

What is the cerebrum responsible for?

When research cannot be carried out with humans

When are animals in research?

neurostransmitters

When neurons fire, what are released?

consists of myelinated axons

White Matter