PY101 Exam 1

the scientific study of behavior

what is psychology?

behavior

measurable & observable actions

mental processes

internal subjective experiences we conclude from behavior

empirical evidence

evidence gained through experimental testing

egypt

the roots of psychology start in ancient ______

heart

the _____ was considered the center of intelligence/feeling in ancient egypt & was preserved in the body

aristotle

argues that human behavior is subject to rules and laws

hippocrates

combined biology and psychology

dualism

the idea that mind and body are separate yet intertwined

Wilhelm Wundt

"Father of Psychology"

Wilhem Wundt

established first psychology lab

Margaret Floy Washburn

first woman to receive a PhD in psychology

Margaret Floy Washburn

second female president of the APA

conscious experiences of the world

focus of structuralism

conscious experiences can be broken down into basic elements

what does the school of thought of structuralism say

introspection has limits

what is the weakness of structuralism

william james

psychologist associated with functionalism

purpose and fucntion of behaviors and mental processes

what is the focus of functionalism

charles darwin's theory of evolution

what influenced the school of thought of functionalism

william james

admitted the first woman into a seminar at harvard

mary whiton calkins

first woman to be admitted into a seminar at Harvard

mary whiton calkins

first female president of the APA

all men stopped coming to class

what happened when mary whiton calkins was admitted intoo a seminar at harvard

sigmund freud

psychologist associated with the psychoanalytic theory

unconscious ideas and impulses

focus of psychoanalytic theory

psychoanalytic theory

behavior is a result of unconscious experiences

freud

developed a practice of psychoanalysis

max wertheimer

psychologist associatted with gestalt psychology

gestalt

school of thought that was prominent in europe in the 1920's

perception and its influence on problem solving

what is the focus of gestalt psychology

gestalt psychology

the whole of an experience is different than the sum of its parts

structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalytic, gestalt psychology, behaviorism, humanistic psychology, cognitive psychology

what are the schools of thought

john watson and BF skinner

psychologists associated with behaviorism

observable behaviors and their relation to observable stimuli

what is the focus of behaviorism

skinner box

showed how positive reinforcement worked byplacing a hungry rat in a box with a lever, and every time the rat accidentally knocked the lever, afood pellet fell out

behavior is observable, all behavior is a result of learning, predictable behavior occurs after learning, psychology should be the study of when learning occurs

what are the basics of behabiorism

the ability to choose activities that bring happiness and fulfillment

focus of humanistic psychology

humanistic psychology

emphasizes the basic goodness of people

george miller and ulric neisser

psychologists associated with cognitive perspective psychology

mental processes

what is the focus of cognitive psychology

cognitive

which school of thought dominated psychological research by 1970s

mary whiton calkins

who discovered the recency effect

evolutionary, social, cognitive, clinical, developmental

main subfields of psychology

research

a systematic way of finding answers

clark and clark

study in 1947 where black and white children were both given dolls and both children preferred to play with white

segregation results in psychological damage to black children

what was the conclusion of clark & clark

plessy v ferguson

what court case did clark & clark help to overturn

describe a psychological phemomenon, predict when the phenomenon will occur, determine the cause of the phenomenon, explain the phenomenon

what are the four goals of psychological research

scientific method

systematic procedure of exploring phenomena

consult/formulate a theory, develop a testable hypothesis, test the hypothesis, analyze the data, report the findings

steps of the scientific method

theory

explanation of how some mental process/behavior occurs

free of bias, explains behavior, can be proven wrong

characteristics of a good theory

cannot explain behavior, cannot be proven wrong

characteristics of a bad theory

hyopothesis

specific, testable prediction about a theory

experimental method

determines the cause of an outcome

correlational method

tests the relationship between variables

descriptive method

describes what is occuring

observational studies, case studies, self reports

examples of the experimental method

correlational

method of testing a hypothesis that is often used when variables cannot be manipulated

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

variable measured

experimental group

group that receives treatment

control group

group that does not receive treatment

to make sure you're measuring fact

why are control groups important

qualitative and quantitative

2 general types of data

qualitative data

data that cannot be counted

quantitative data

data in the form of numbers

present at a conference, publish the study, collect a new study

ways to report your findings

evolutionary psychology

explores how traits are selected to aid adaptation in an environment

biological psychology

studies how biological systems give rise to mental activity

cognitive psychology

investigates attention/perception/memory/problem solving

developmental psychology

researches how people change from infancy through old age

health psychology

examines how psychological factors affect health and well-being

personality psychology

analyzes enduring characteristics that people display over time and across circumstances

social psychology

explores how people are affected by others

cultural psychology

studies how people are influenced by the societal rules that dictate behavior in their cultures

clinical psychology

considers the factors that cause psychological disorders and the best methods to treat them

educational psychology

investigates the effectiveness of techniques in teaching and learning

industrial/organizatonal psychology

examines issues pertaining to industry and the workplace

changes in the brain can have a powerful impact on experiences

why is it important to study the brain?

phineas gage

had an iron pole through his brain and survived

the nervous system

a network of cells in the brain and body

receives and processes sensory input, responds to sensory input

what does the nervous system do

CNS and PNS

2 primary divisions of the nervous system

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

nerves outside of brain and spinal cord

neurons

building blocks of nervous system

dendrites

neuronal structures that receive signals

cell body

neuronal structure that integrates signals

axon

neuronal structure that transmits signals

myelin sheath

neuronal structure that insulates the axon and provides faster transmission

terminal buttons

neuronal structures that release chemical signals

transmission phase, reception phase, integration phase

3 phases of neuronal transmission

neuron fires an action potential, causes the release of neurotransmitters

neuronal transmission phase 1: transmission phase

neurons release neurotransmitters from terminal buttons on presynaptic neurons, bind to receptors on postsynaptic neurons

neuronal transmission phase 2: reception phase

postsynaptic neuron responds to incoming signals

neuronal transmission phase 3: integration phase

excitatory, inhibitory

2 types of signals released during integration phase

acetylcholine

neurotransmitter that has motor control over muscles, attention, memory, learning, and sleeping

norepinephrine

neurotransmitter that controls arousal and alertness

serotonin

neurotransmitter that controls emotional state, impules control, and dreaming

dopamine

neurotransmitter in control of reward and motivation and motor control over voluntary movement

GABA

neurotransmitter in control of inhibition of action potentials, anxiety reduction, and intoxication through alcohol

glutamate

neurotransmitter that controls learning and memory and the enhancement of action potentials

endorphins

neurotransmitter that controls pain reduction and reward

phrenology

a now abandoned study of the shape of skull as indicative of the strengths of different faculties

franz gall

psychologist associated with phrenology

electroencephalograph

medical instrument that records electric currents generated by the brain

functional magnetic resonance imaging

a form of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain that registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain

transcranial magnetic stimulation

form of assessing brain functions that disrupts activity in the brain using magnets

forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain

3 major divisions of the brain

forebrain

division of the brain that controls motivation, emotion, and complex thought

midbrain

division of the brain that controls movement

hindbrain

division of the brain that controls survival functions and movement

body to brain and brain to body communication

what does the spinal cord control

spinal cord

carries sensory info to the brain and carries motor signals to the body

hindbrain

controls most basic functions of survival

medulla

regulates heartbeat, breathing, swallowing, urination, orgasm

pons

regulates sleep, arousal, coordinating movements

cerbellum

regulates motor function and porcedural memory

midbrain

controls reflexive movement of eyes and body

substantial nigra

area in midbrain, controls voluntary movements and production of dopamine

subcortical structures

structures critical for psychological functions

thalamus

sensory gateway of brain

hypothalamus

regulates body and motivated behaviors

hipppocampus

focuses on formation of memories

amygdala

processes emotional info

limbic system

what do the 4 subcortical structures make up

cerebral cortex

wrinkly outer layer of brain

corpus collossum

connects the 2 halves of the cerebral cortex

occipital lobe

lobe of the brain that processes visual info, houses the primary visual cortex

parietal lobe

lobe of the brain that processes sensory and motor info

primary somatosensory cortex

located in parietal lobe, receives touch info

temporal lobe

lobe of the brain that processes hearing and object recognition

primary auditory cortex

located in the temporal lobe, processes auditory info

fusiform gyrus

processes facial recognition, located in temporal lobe

frontal lobe

lobe of the brain that processes complex thought, planning, and movement

primary motor cortex

located in frontal lobe, regulates production of movements, cortical area devoted to finely tuned areas, sends messages from CNS to PNS

prefrontal cortex

part of frontal lobe, 30% of human brain, controls rational thought, social norms, sense of self, empathy, attention, decision making

comparative neuroanatomy

all vertebrates have a cerebral cortex, cerebellum, brainstem, and 2 brain hemispheres

somatic nervous system

first division of the PNS, transmits signals to/from CNS, controls all voluntary movements

autonomic nervous system

second division of PNS, regulates internal functions

sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system

2 subdivisions of the ANS

sympathetic nervous system

prepares body for action

parasympathetic nervous system

returns the body to resting state

endocrine system

communication system that relies on hormones to influence behavior and mental activity