psych final

Psychology contributes to scientific understanding of behavior and mental processes. A psychologists goal is to conduct research to find new things out about behavior. They work to improve the lives of people

Educational psychologists study human learning processes. School psychologists work with children in educational settings. Guidance Counselors work in schools.

Clinical Psychologists sometimes specialize in particular disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors. Counseling Psychologists perform psychotherapy.

studies combined effort of environment and genetics

Studies observable behavior and the environmental events

interested in mental processes that allow organisms to encode, store, and retrieve info

studies role of natural selection in evolution of mental processes

study of relation among brain, body, and behavior

sees behavior as a product of influences such as unconscious drives and conflicts, and personality traits as outcomes of such underlying causes as aggressive or sexual drives

emphasizes an understanding of the healthy person and concerns about human potential, including meaning of life, self-concept, and self-actualizatione

examines role of culture in behavior

only research method capable of showing cause and effect

Subjects selected based on conditions already present

Behavior observed in natural setting

statistical technique

measures attitudes, motives, opinions, and so on

the control group receives a placebo, experimental group receives real thing

double blind is when both the subject and experimenter don’t know the experiment, single blind is when just the subject does not know

a physical or psychological response to an event that challenges homeostasis

Physical stressor- injury, noise, overcrowding, or excessive cold or heat

Psychological stressor- trauma, time pressured tasks, peer pressure, or high standards

Primary appraisal- determine if it is a threat and the magnitude of the threat

Secondary appraisal- evaluating how to cope with the stressor

action taken on the environment

an alteration in brain functioning that prepares for fight or flight

a choice is required (approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, approach-avoidance, double approach-avoidance)

Alarm- initial fight or flight

Resistance- poor concentration, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and reduced stress

Exhaustion- occurs if stress happens for too long. burnout, fatigue, depression, and anxiety

Hard driving, aggressive, and impatient (more prone to heart attacks)

more laid back and easy going

severe teeth grinding

sudden muscle contractions soon after falling asleep

No drinking or smoking during pregnancy, baby should sleep on their backs in a crib with a firm mattress, no toys or excessive things in crib

briefly pass through before going into first stage of sleep, a relaxed and drowsy state marked by alpha waves

lasts 1-7 minutes, lightest stage of sleep, experience drifting thoughts and images, marked by theta waves

first stage of “real sleep”; marked by sleep spindles; muscle tension, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature all gradually decrease

30-45 minutes after drifting to sleep, called slow wave or delta sleep, the deepest stage of sleep, blood flow to brain is reduced, marked by secretion of growth hormones

20% of sleep, brain waves look similar to beta waves, called paradoxical sleep, time when you dream most, lasts about 15-45 minutes and occurs about 5-6 times a night

compromised immune system, puts body on alert, increases production of stress hormones, elevate blood pressure

the ego protects us from realizing threatening or unconscious desires or wishes and transforms them into harmless symbols

people cope with depression or problems by repeating their issues in their dreams

dreaming occurs because brain areas that perform cognitive control while awake are shut down

dreaming serves a biological function by simulating events that are threatening in our waking lives

Prefrontal cortex- reduced activity

Limbic system- increased activity

Visual cortex- increased activity