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130 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Eight Psychological Perspectives |
Neural, Genetic, Evolutionary, Learning, Cognitive, Social, Cultural, Developmental |
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Basic Research |
Pure science aimed at expanding scientific knowledge base |
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Applied Research
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Scientific study aimed at solving practical problem
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Professions within Psychology |
Psychiatry: Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders Clinical Psychology: Branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders Counseling Psychology: Branch of psychology that assists people with problems in day-to-day living |
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Theory |
Idea or conceptual model that is designed to explain existing facts and make predictions about new facts that might be discovered |
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Hypothesis |
Testable prediction that shows the bias the researcher starts with |
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Importance of replication in experimental design |
Repeat w/ different participants in different situations to see if findings extend to people with different circumstances |
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Different Research Methods |
Case Studies Surveys Naturalistic Observation Correlation Studies Experimentation |
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Case Studies |
one person studied in hopes of revealing universal principles |
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Surveys |
ascertain self reported attitudes/behaviors ...assumes individuals tell the truth ...issues with biased samples |
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Naturalistic Observation |
watching/recording behavior of organism in natural environment |
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Correlation studies |
Measure how much two factors vary together ...how well one they predict each other ...find a correlation coefficient between -1 and 1 |
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Experimentation |
Researchers manipulate independent variables to observe effect on dependent variable ...establishes cause/effect relationship |
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Biological Psychologists |
Study link between biological activity and psychological events |
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Franz Gall |
Founder of phrenology Claimed bumps in skull indicated different mental abilities/characteristics |
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Phrenology |
Brain is the organ of the mind Brain areas have specific functions |
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4 Parts of Neurons |
Cell Body Dendrites (receivers) Axon Axon Terminals (transmitters) |
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How neurons communicate |
When chemical gets to end of an axon, it triggers a neurotransmitter, which carries the chemical across the synaptic cleft and binds it to the receptors on another neuron's dendrites |
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Synaptic Cleft |
Space between neurons |
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Synapse |
Junction between two neurons |
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Myelin Sheath |
Insulation around axons that helps propagate action potential and speed up communication |
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Multiple Sclerosis |
When myelin sheath disintegrates and slows down communication to muscles, which leads to total loss of muscle control |
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Reuptake |
If excess neurotransmitters in synapse, taken back into presynaptic axon terminal which stops neurotransmitter's activity |
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Five neurotransmitters |
Acetylcholine Dopamine Serotonin Norepinephrine Endorphins |
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Acetylcholine |
Neurotransmitter related to learning/memory and muscle contractions |
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Dopamine |
Neurotransmitter related to emotion and movement |
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Serotonin |
Neurotransmitter related to mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal |
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Norepinephrine |
Neurotransmitter related to alertness/arousal |
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Endorphins |
Natural opiates released due to pain/strenuous activity (runners' high) |
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How neuropsychologists study the brain |
Clinical Observation Manipulate Brain Recording Brain Activity Brain Imaging Techniques |
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Clinical Observation of the brain |
look at effects of injury/disease on the brain |
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Manipulation of the brain |
Destroy tissue or stimulate parts of brain to see what happens |
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Recording Brain Activity |
Use EEG to amplify reading electrical waves due to brain activity |
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Brain Imaging Techniques |
PET Scan: observe glucose consumption in brain MRI: use strong magnetic fields to attract electrical activity to trace pathways of the brain fMRI: MRI used to observe the brain in action |
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Brain Stem |
Innermost region of the brain responsible for automatic survival functions Consists of: Thalamus, Pons, Medulla, Spinal Cord, Reticular Formation, Cerebellum |
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Thalamus |
Top of the brain stem that is a sensory switchboard between the brain stem and cortex |
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Pons |
Controls movement Directs signals from cortex to cerebellum |
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Medulla |
Base of brain stem responsible for breathing and heart rate |
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Spinal Cord |
Connects brain to rest of the body, forms central nervous system |
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Reticular formation |
Cluster of neurons projecting up into cerebral cortex, connected to alterness/arousal |
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Cerebellum |
Rear of the brainstem, coordinates movement/balance |
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Limbic system |
Between brain stem and cerebral hemisphere Involved in controlling appetitive/motive behaviors/emotions such as fear and anger Includes: hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala |
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Hypothalamus |
Directs activites like eating/drinking/regulating body temperature Linked to emotions If damaged, left without basic drive states |
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Hippocampus |
Involved in formation of new memories |
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Amygdala |
Influences fear/aggresion If damaged, one can become aggressive and fearless |
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Cerebral Cortex |
Newest part of the brain that enables capacity for reason Control and information processing center Bumps and grooves increase surface area and allow it to fit in our skull Has folds that separate brain into four parts |
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Glial cells |
Support and nourish neurons More glial cells means more complex brain |
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Frontal Lobe |
Speaking, muscle movement, planning, judgement, impulse control Last part of brain to fully mature If damaged --> Phinneaus Gage |
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Parietal Lobe |
Behind frontal lobe Handles sensory input for touch/body position If damaged, can't feel touch |
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Occipital lobe |
Back of the head used for visual processing If damaged, can lose eye sight even if eyes are ok |
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Temporal lobe |
Located at side of head above the ears Auditory areas Important for object/facial recognition |
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Prefrontal cortex |
Important for attention, working memory, decision making, appropriate social behavior, and personality |
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Phineas Gage |
Pole went through his frontal cortex First person to show link between frontal lobe and personality Went from being soft-spoken to irritable |
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Corpus Callosum |
Massive bundle of axons that connect left and right hemispheres of brain |
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Philip Bogel and Joseph Bogen |
Cut corpus callosum in Epilepsy patients Two hemispheres couldn't communicate, acted like two separate brains |
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Left hemisphere of brain |
Specializes in language and spoken response |
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Right hemisphere of brain |
Specializes in non-verbal, visuospatial analysis Facial recognition and drawing shapes |
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Left Handedness |
Humans process language on left side of brain, so should express it on the right side |
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Neural Plasticity |
Cortical remapping can occur through altering connections between existing neurons or neurogenesis (birth of new cells) |
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PTSD |
Neural pathways are rewired to be more sensitive to cues that connect with particular harmful situations soldiers endured |
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Sensation |
Translation of stimuli into neurosignals that requires to interpretation |
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Perception |
Process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory information Enables us to recognize meaningful objects/events Results in our conscious experience of the world |
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Bottom up processing |
Perception that is based on physical properties of the stimulus |
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Top down processing |
Our knowledge, expectations, and experiences influence what is heard/tasted/smelled Context affects perception |
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Prosopagnosia |
Inability to recognize faces |
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Absolute threshold |
Minimum intensity of a stimulation that must occur before you detect stimulus 50% of time |
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Signal detection theory |
Personal experience defines each persons' threshold |
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Weber's Law |
There is a smallest noticeable difference between two stimuli Ex: if holding 400 pounds, won't be able to detect a change less than 10 pounds |
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Sensory Adaptation |
Diminishing sensitivity to unchanging stimulus Lets us focus on important changes We perceive the world not as it is, but as it is useful |
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Subliminal Stimulation |
Insert brief message into society that can't be picked up in an effort to influence behavior |
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Priming Effect |
Image is shown so briefly that you don't process it but are left with a feeling |
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Selective Attention |
At any moment, our awareness focuses on limited aspect of what we experience |
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Inattentional Blindness |
Failure to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere |
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Change Blindness |
Failure to notice difference between what was there and what is there now |
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Pop-out phenomenon |
Some stimuli are so important that they pop out at us |
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Perceptual Illusions |
Based on size and distance and light and shadow |
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Gestalt Psychology |
Human like to organize pieces of information into meaningful wholes |
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Figure/Ground Distinction |
Different cultures give different importance to background |
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Figure/Ground Grouping |
Proximity: physically close Similarity: look alike Continuity: follow along a smooth curve Closure: fill in gaps |
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Depth Perception |
Ability to see 2D images in 3D |
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Motion Perception |
As things get smaller, they move away, as they enlarge, they approach |
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Perceptual Constancy |
Enables us to perceive an object as unchanging despite changing stimulus |
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Shape Constancy |
Door doesn't change shape when closed |
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Light Constancy |
Constant lightness despite lighting |
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Perceptual Interpretation (Perception Set) |
Our experiences/assumptions/expectations give us mental disposition that greatly influences what we perceive |
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Schemas |
How we organize and interpret unfamiliar information |
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Contextual Effects |
Same stimulus can evoke different perceptions in different contexts |
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Observational Learning |
Watching other people and learning behaviors from their experiences |
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Associative Learning |
Classical Conditioning and Operative Conditioning |
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Classical Conditioning (Pavlov) |
Organism comes to associate stimuli |
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Unconditioned Response |
Unlearned response (dog salivating at food) |
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Unconditioned Stimulus |
Naturally causes unconditioned response (food causes dog to salivate) |
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Conditioned Stimulus |
New stimulus that after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus is a conditioned stimulus that triggers a conditioned response (bell causes dog to salivate) |
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Conditioned Response |
Learned response (dog salivates in response to bell) |
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Five stages of classical conditioning |
Acquisition: associative process Extinction: diminishing of conditioned response Spontaneous recovery: weaker conditioned response after pause Generalization: tendency for similar stimuli to elicit same response Discrimination: ability to distinguish between controlled stimulus and irrelevant stimuli |
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Effect of drugs |
Direct effect Compensatory reaction (drug tolerance) |
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Operant Conditioning |
organisms associate own actions with consequences |
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Edward Lee Thorndike and Thorndike's Law of Effect |
Rewarded behavior is likely to occur |
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B.F. Skinner and Skinner Box |
Shaping: procedure in which reinforcers gradually guide an animal's actions toward desired behavior |
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Extinction in Operant Conditioning |
Conditioned response declines in rate and eventually disappears if reinforcer is no longer used |
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Spontaneous recovery |
??? |
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Positive Reinforcement |
Stimulus that when presented strengthens a response |
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Negative Reinforcement |
Withdrawal of negative stimulus that strengthens a response |
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Punishment |
Undesirable consequence or withdrawal of a desirable one that decreases frequency of a behavior |
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Partial Reinforcement |
Fixed-ratio: reinforce behavior after set number of responses Variable-ratio: reinforce behavior after unpredictable number of responses Fixed-interval: reinforce behavior after fixed time period Variable-interval: reinforce behavior after varying time intervals |
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Learned Helplessness and Seligman's Experiments |
Acquired sense that one has lost control over one's environment which leads to giving up Battered Woman Syndrome |
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Memory |
Information in person's mind and capacity to store/retrieve it |
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Flashbulb Memory |
Remember things due to unique/emotional experience (9/11) |
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Memory Process |
Acquisition: encoding information Retention: Period of time between event and retrieval Retrieval: recalling information |
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Automatic Processing |
Unconscious encoding of information (time, space, frequency) |
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Effortful Processing |
Encoding requires attention/conscious effort |
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Elaboration |
Connecting what is learned to already known concepts in brain |
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Chunking |
Grouping adjacent items increases memory efficiency |
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Hierarchical Organization |
Cluster related items in categories, cluster related categories to form higher order categories |
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Visualization |
Encoding pictures of visual scenes into long term memory |
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Next in line effect |
Tend to focus on our own performance and pay less attention to those before and after us who speak |
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Spacing Effect |
Rehearsal over time is better than cramming |
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Clive Wearing |
No short term memory, feels like he is "always waking up" |
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Working Memory |
Short term memory |
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Three stages of memory in eyewitness testimonies |
Acquisition: eyewitness chooses what they pay attention to Retention: people are less accurate as more time passes, and post-event info changes/introduces new memory Retrieval: time the person is asked to recall info |
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Event Factors in Acquisition Stage |
Exposure Time: more time we have to look at something, the better we'll remember it Frequency: more opportunities to see something, the better we remember it Detail Salience: more accurate with pop-out details Type of Fact: much less accurate with certain kinds of facts (time, speed, distance)...we overestimate speed and time, and underestimate distance Violence of Event: less accurate in violent/stressful situations |
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Yerkes-Dodson Law |
Stress helps focus/attention to a certain point, and then it narrows our attention (which is unhelpful) |
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Witness Factors in Acquisition Stage |
Stress (Yerkes-Dodson Law) Expectations: what we see is what we expect to see Perceptual Activity: what witness was doing while event occurs |
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Elizabeth Loftus' Work |
Investigated whether how information is received subsequent to crime may cause predictable changes in witness' recollection Questioned accuracy of techniques used to resurface memories |
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Retention Stage in Eye Witness Testimonies |
Memory Enhancement: mentioning of (accurate/false) details makes them likely to be remembered Compromise Memories: meshing of what witness saw and what witness heard later Introducing of Non-Existent Objects: mentioning non-existent object increases likelihood that witness thinks they saw it (Loftus Study) Timing of Post-Event Info: misleading info has more effect if delayed Changing Subjective Recollections: post event information can influence witness' feelings Non-verbal Influences: post-event info can be tone/gestures/posture Police/lawyers: multiple questionings gives witnesses info Witness' Intervening Thoughts: wants to help Labeling: labeling affects memory Guessing: fill gaps and then mistake guesses for memory Freezing effect: vivid details stick out (even if not accurate...Hamburger Murderer) |
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Retrieval Stage in Eye Witness Testimony |
Environment: better at recalling info in place where memory was encoded Type of retrieval: narrative vs controlled questioning Questioning: leading questions affect answers Questioner: interrogators w/ authority are persuasive Confidence: confidence does not indicate accuracy |
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Narrative vs Controlled Questoning |
Narrative reports: more accurate but incomplete Questioning: less accurate more more complete Better to ask for witness' account then question |
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Jury Criteria for Eye Witness Reliability |
Opportunity for witness to have seen offender Witness' degree of attention Accuracy of prior description of defender Level of witness' certainty/confidence Length of time between ID and crime |
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Safeguards for Defendants Against Eye Witness |
Right to counsel during lineup Judge can throw out ID if they feel it's faulty Defense can cross-examine witness to expose inaccuracies Defense can bring in experts |
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Relative Judgement |
Eyewitness identifies someone in a lineup who looks most like culprit...this is bad Should tell witness that culprit might not be present All fillers in lineup should meet description |
