Mind-Body Problem
The body can be studied scientifically, the mind/soul is spiritual/divine and can't be studied
Nature vs Nurture
name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior
Functionalism
A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes were shaped by evolution. Mind can't be broken down, it flows. Idea of "Stream of conciousness
Structuralism
an early school of psychology that used introspection, mental reaction time, to explore the elemental structure of the human mind. "Mental periodic table
Gestalt Psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts. Focus on perception
Behaviorism
the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only (stimulus and response), mental process is irrelevant
Cognative Revolution
Can study the mind and its processes
Goals of Psychological Science
Describe, predict, control, explain behavior
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Good evidence for a claim
Is peer-reviewed, isolates cause and effect, rules out potential alternative explanations, can show what would have happened
Independent Variable
Gets changed, what you want to see cause a change
Dependent Variable
The outcome, what you're looking for an effect in
Special Features of Experiments
Random assignment condition, comparison group, control variables, blind to condition
Within-groups design
Every participant does every condition, random assignment to order
Experimental Research
Isolates cause and effect by manipulating 1 or more variables. Weaknesses include ethical constraints.
Descriptive Research
Observes and drescribes behaviors through methods such as case studies and surveys. Weaknesses include trust issues, lack of control of variables, no causal inference.
Correlational Research
Describe and predict how variables are related in the real world. Weaknesses include the inability to specify cause and effect.
Correlation Coefficient (r)
Numerical value of the strength of a relationship between two variables. Ranges from -1 to 1.
Correlation does not equal...
causation
Directionality problem
Researchers find a relationship between two variables but cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable
Third variable problem
A problem that occurs when the researcher cannot directly manipulate variables; as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable is not the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest.
If the p-value of a test is less than ____ the result is considered to be statistically significant
.05
Neuron
Sends electrical messages throughout the brain and body
Dendrites
Branch out of neuron, collect info from the neurons they interface with
Cell body
The main structure of the neuron, gathers info
Axon
Transmits electrical signals to other neurons
Myelin Sheath
Fatty tissue that covers the axon of and helps speed electrical impulses
Terminal buttons
End of axon, translates the electrical signal into a chemical signal (neurotransmitters) that is dumped into the synapse
Synapse
the empty space between the terminal button of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron
How a neuron fires
Depolarizes, fires, repoolarizes
Neurons are polarized slightly negative at ___ microvolts
-70
Myelination
the process by which axons become coated with myelin
Neuronal communicatoin is...
Unidirectional, all or none, consistent in magnitude
Neuronal communication varies in...
Rate of firing, number of neurons firing, location of neurons firing
Parkingson's Disease
Caused by a loss of dopamine. Causes progressive degradation in motor control
Schizophrenia
Caused by overproduction of dopamine. A severe psychological disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished, inappropriate emotional expression.
Depression
Caused by a lack of serotonin. Causes prolonged sensation of saddness and hopelessness.
SSRIs
A type of antidepressant that blocks the reuptake of serotonin.
Reuptake
A neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron
Agonist Drugs
Increase the effects of neurotransmitters by blocking reuptake or by mimicing the NT
Antagonist Drugs
Inhibit NT action by binding to receptors without activating them.
Electroencephalogram
A cap placed on the head that can measure electrical activity in the brain through event related potentials.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
A method of brain imaging that assesses metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance injected into the bloodstream
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Magnetic waves produce images of the brain using bloodflow
Sulcus
A groove or valley in the brain
Gyrus
The raised portion of the brain
Brain Stem
Attached to the spine. Responsible for basic bodily survival functions.
Cerebellum
A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills, posture, movement, coordination
Cerebral cortex
The largest part of the brain. Responsible for thought, planning, high order thought
Corpus Callosum
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
4 Lobes of the brain (FPOT)
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
Frontal lobe
Responsible for thought, planning, and high order movement
Parietal lobe
Responsible for touch and spatial relations
Occipital lobe
Responsible for vision
Temporal lobe
Responsible for hearing and memory
Brain plasticity
the ability of other parts of the brain to take over functions of damaged regions, particularly in young children
Transduction
The process of converting outside stimuli, such as light, into neural activity
Perception
The process of organizing, interpreting, and making sense of a sensation
Mechanisms of sensation
vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste
Pupil
Controls the amount of light entering the eye
Iris
Colored part that controls the pupil
Cornea
Outer covering of the eye that helps focus light, imobile
Lense
Behind pupil, focuses light, can move
Retina
Captures and transmits light
Fovea
Dense concentration of photoreceptors at the center of the eye, where you can best see
Optic nerve
Transmits info to brain
Action potential
A nerve impulse
Rod
Most numerous photoreceptor. Can't see color, works best in dim light
Cone
Responsible for color vision, densest in fovea. Works best in bright light
Ventral pathway
Recognizes form and identity. The Perception stream
Dorsal pathway
Recognizes spatial configuration, movement, and actions. The Action stream
Prosopagnosia
inability to recognize faces. Damage to perception (ventral) stream
Topographagnosia
Difficulty recognizing landmarks. Damage to perception (ventral) stream
Akinetopsia
Inability to see objects in motion. Damage to action (dorsal) stream
Hemispatial neglect
Unable to make sense of the world on one side of space. Damage to action (dorsal) stream.
Binocular depth cues
Each eye recieves a slightly different image which allows the brain to estimate distance
Monocular depth cues
cues of depth perception that are available to each eye alone such as relative size
Trichromatic theory
theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green
Opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
The brain sees a face as...
A whole, not a sum of parts
bottom-up processing
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information
top-down processing
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Gestalt Principles of Perception
The brain groups things into meaningful groups. Figure ground, what stands out to us is the figure, everything else is the background
Hearing process
Auditory canal -> ear drum -> bones of mid ear -> chochlea -> auditory nerve -> thalamus -> auditory cortex
Auditory canal
the area that sound waves pass through to reach the eardrum. The hole thing when you look at your ear
Ear drum
a tightly stretched membrane at the end of the ear canal that vibrates when hit by sound waves
bones of the middle ear
Vibrated by the eardrum
Chochlea
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses through liquid
Auditory nerve
the nerve that carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the perception of sound
Taste process
Chemical dissoved by saliva on tongue, transmitted by taste buds to thalamus
Smell process
Chemicals bind to receptors via mucous which is sent to the olfactory, does not go through thalamus
Thalamus
the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex
Touch receptors
Pressure, tempreture, pain
Infants are born with these reflexes
Rooting and sucking
Infants show...
Habituation
Infants have...
All five senses
Infants are studied by
Pereferential sucking, looking or habituation
Sensory motor stage
Birth - 2 years. Build senses and motor skills. Gain object permanence
Pre-operational stage
2 - 7 years. Building a representation of the world and others. Gain the ability to think symbolically and recognize conservation and other's perspective
Concrete operational stage
7 - 12 years. Gain ability to think logically when relating to physical objects
Formal operational stage
12+ years, gain ability to think logically about abstract things, metacognition, deductive reasoning
Problems with Cognative Theory of Development
Small sample size, understates social contribution, kids thinking is inconsistant