Key Ideas of Psychology

Organisms, Motivations, Behaviors, Cognition, Competence

Stability vs. Change

Are people born with the ability to change who they are or will that stay the same their entire lives.

Rationality vs. Irrationality

Are we bound for success or failure?

Are we inherently good or bad?

Nature vs. Nurture

Are genetics or your environment the reason you are the way you are?

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge must be found through experience and senses.

Phrenology

The study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.

Introspection

The examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes (self-reflection).

Structuralism

Structure is more important than function and divided up the mind in to mental parts.

Functionalism

Function is more important than structure and divided up the mind by function.

Gestalt

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Focuses on the brain as a whole.

Wilhelm Wundt

Created the first psych lab in Germany.

Sigmund Freud

“Everything is a penis.” Austrian Neurologist who founded psychoanalysis. Developed the concept of the unconscious

Ivan Pavlov

Russian psychologist who studied classical conditioning. Did the dog experiments.

William James

First American psychologist, he established functionalism as a school of thought in psych.

John Watson

American psychologist who founded Behaviorism

Neuroscience/Biology

Medical approach to psychology

Evolutionary

Behavior is dictated by a drive to survive and pass along our genes.

Behavior Genetics

Nature vs. Nurture

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic (Freudian)

Freud, the unconscious, trauma.

Behavioral

What we do/observable responses.

Cognitive

How we think and memorize.

Social Psychology

Surrounding environments and cultures and how they influence us.

Humanistic

Self-Actualization (focuses on the good)

Basic Research vs. Applied Research

REsearch for future study or to be applied to solve problems, help people make money, etc.

Hindsight Bias

“I knew that” Phenomenon.

Overconfidence

Thinking you know more than you do.

Confirmation Bias

Searching for data that only confirms your POV and ignoring the rest.

Scientific Method

1. Theory
2. Hypotheses (Testable prediction)
3. Replication (Copy or reproduce)
4. Operational Definitions (Clearly defined variable used to properly replicate an experiment)

Case study

One or a few subjects in great depth (Pro: Easy to conduct on small group, Con: Tough to generalize)

Survey

Little bits of info from many people (Pro: info from many people, Con: surface level info)

Population vs. Sample

A small percentage of the population

Random Sampling

Everyone in the group has an equal chance of being chosen (More accurate in estimating whole population)

False Consensus Effect

We hang around people who agree with us/ share our beliefs, so we overestimate how many people agree with us.

Naturalistic Observation

Stalking

Correlations (Positive, Negative, illusory)

(Pos: as x increases, y increases)

(Neg: as x increases, y decreases)(Inverse)

(ill: No actual correlation

Experimentation

How you establish causation. (Pro: Provides evidence, Con: Prone to human error.

Experimental Condition vs. Control Condition

Exp:Receives the possible “cause” (the “test” group).

Con: Doesn’t get the possible “cause” (baseline group).

Placebo and Double Blind Procedure

Placebo: Blank or empty factor

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Double Blind: The Scientists and participants don’t know who is in which condition.

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No group is biased one way or another.

Independent and Dependent Variables

Independent: The manipulated factor

Dependent: The studied factor

Measures of Central Tendency

Mean: Average

Median: Middle number

Mode: Most common result

Statistical Significance

Difference is enough to mean something

Ethics

Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity

Ethics in Psych

1. Informed consent: Subjects agree to participate
2. Protection from harm of subjects
3. Ability to stop/leave the study
4. Confidentiality

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Action Potential and Refractory Period

AP: Firing of a neuron

RP: Time it takes for a neuron to reset

Reuptake

The process by which neurotransmitter molecules that have been released at a synapse are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron that released them

Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine(ACH): Muscle contraction and general brain activity

Dopamine: Learning, emotion, attention, movement, and pleasure

Endorphins: Natural Opiates

Serotonin

Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems

CNS: Brain and Spinal Cord

PNS: Links the CNS w/ everything else

Somatic/Skeletal Nervous System

Controls voluntary movements

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls “automatic” bodily functions

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems

SNS: Fight or flight

PsNS: Returns us to homeostasis

Sensory, Motor, and Interneurons

S: Receive external stimuli and send to CNS

M: Carry info from CNS to body to carry out actions

I: Processing neuron in the CNS

Neural Networks

Clusters of neurons working together

Endocrine System

Glands and Hormones

Adrenal Gland: Release epinephrine (adrenaline)

Pituitary Gland: “Master Gland” (puberty, hormone release, controlled by thalamus)

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are released in the bloodstream

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Brain wave recording (levels of electrical activity traced)

PET Scan

Radioactive glucose used to create picture

CAT Scan

X-rays of the brain

1\.MRI

2\.fMRI

1. Magnets used to make the clearest picture of the brain
2. Multiple MRI’s strung together to make a video

Brainstem

Base of the spine that controls the left-right crossover with many parts:

Medula: “Primal” involuntary actions (breathing, heart rate)

Pons: Bladder control, coordinates movement, and sleep paralysis

Reticular Formation: Wakefulness (injured causes coma)

Thalamus

Egg-shaped structure at the top of brainstem that acts as a sensory switchboard that receives and sorts incoming and outgoing information (except smell)

Cerebellum

Lower back of the brain (behind brainstem) coordinates voluntary movement and balance

Limbic System

Core system of memory, emotions, and motivation

Amygdala: Almond shaped on the ends of the Hippocampus, it deals with aggression and fear

Hypothalamus: (Below Thalamus) Monitors/controls hormones (is the autonomic nervous system)

Hippocampus: Deals with memory (processes into long-term)

Cerebral Cortex/Cerebrum

The surface level of the Brain that contain billion of neuron and glial cells

Glial Cells

Vital (Glue) cells that help with neural communication

Frontal Lobes/Prefrontal Cortex

Large chunk of association areas, it’s responsible for judging, planning, and decision making (“woah tiger” part of the brain)

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Parietal Lobes

Areas at sides of head concerned with sensory reception and correlation

Occipital Lobes

Rearmost part of brain concerned with vision

Temporal Lobes

Parts of brain under temple concerned with hearing

Motor Cortex

In back of the frontal lobe that stretches ear to ear, it has a section designated to each body part (parts are in the opposite side of the body part they’re designated towards)

Association Areas

Majority of the frontal cortex, it’s not designated for one purpose, it’s the part of the brain that thinks

Language Aspects of the Brain

Aphasia: Impaired use of language

Broca’s Area: (Left frontal lobe) Formation of words

Wernicke’s Area: Comprehension (Written and spoken language)

Angular Gyrus: Processing written words into auditory code (rear left parietal lobe)

Right and Left Hemispheres of the Brain

Left: Deals with right side of body, so deals with the right field of vision (is more active than right side so is easier to study)

Right: Left side of body and left field of vision (Less active, but still crucial)

Corpus Callosum

Band of fibers that connect the two brain hemispheres allowing them to communicate

(Injury to this area can cause epilepsy)

Brain Plasticity and Neurogenesis

BP: The brain has the ability to reorganize/rewire to some extent

Ngen: Brain does, at a very slow rate, produce new brain cells that can help out

Sensation

Detecting stimuli and encoding neural signals (feeling/sensing it)

Transduction

Stimuli/energy must be converted into neural messages so the brain can understand it

Perception

Organizing and processing sensations (how we understand them)

Bottom-up vs. Top-down Processing

BU: Sensory info to the brain and then processed (new sensations)

TD: Preconceived notions in the brain begin processing

Selective Attention

At any one time we focus conscious awareness on select stimuli, generally at the expense of other stimuli

(Cocktail Party Effect)

Absolute Threshold

Minimum stimulation needed for detection about 50% of the time

Signal Detection Theory

Detection depends on the individual as well as the stimulus

Subliminal Messages

Messages that are below the threshold

Difference thresholds (JND)

Minimum difference needed to detect the difference between two stimuli about 50% of the time

Weber’s Law

JND= Proportion of the stimulus (a ratio 1/10 = 10/100)

Sensory Adaptation

Decreasing sensitivity to a constant stimulus

Properties of light waves


1. What are light waves?
2. Wavelength?
3. Amplitude?

1. Pulses of electromagnetic energy/waves
2. Determines the hue (color we experience)
3. Height of the wave (high amplitude = more energy = brighter light/colors)

Accommodation (of the lens)

Changing curvature of focus (lack of accommodation can lead to vision problems)

Parts of the eye

Cornea: Outer covering, protection for the eyeball

Pupil: Opening of the eyeball (the black part)

Iris: Colored muscle in the eye, controls the pupil (how much light enters the eye)

Lens: Focuses light rays onto the retina

Retina: Surface lining of back of the eyeball (light sensitive “screen” where lens focuses light) (receives images upside down)

Optic Nerve: Axons of ganglion cells (one million per)

Blindspot/Optic Disc: Where the optic nerve leaves the eye

Fovea: Area of central focus on the retina (only cones)

Rods and Cones

1. Transduce light energy

Rods: Black and white, outlines of objects (share bipolar cells)

Cones: Color, detail (may have their own bipolar cells)


2. Rods and Cones then activate Bipolar Cells
3. Bipolar cells activate Ganglion Cells

Feature Detection

Some cells in the visual cortex of the brain respond to specific visual features

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

Primary colors are: red, green, and blue

(Colorblind= dichromatic/monochromatic)

(Men are more often colorblind than women)

Opponent Process Theory

Thalamus cells responsible for seeing one of two color (Teeter-Totter of color vision)

Afterimages: See the “opponent” color after looking at a color long enough

Properties of sound waves


1. What are sound waves?
2. Decibels?
3. Amplitude?
4. Frequency/Wavelength?

1. Molecules of air bumping each other (ripples)
2. Measure of sound energy
3. Loudness
4. Pitch (long waves = low frequency)

Outer Ear

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What you can see:

Auditory Canal: Passageway into the ear

Eardrum/Tympanic Membrane: Membrane that vibrates

Middle Ear

Transmits sound from eardrum to inner ear

Pinston/Ossicles: Consists of 3 delicate bones

**H**ammer, **A**nvil, **S**tirrup (I **HAS** a piston)

Inner Ear

Cochlea: Snail shaped tube with fluid that vibrates

Oval Window: Cochlea’s membrane


1. Stirrup vibrates the oval window
2. Oval window vibrates the fluid in the Cochlea

Basilar Membrane: Runs through the middle of the Cochlea

Hair Cells: Line the Basilar Membrane (bend and transduce sound) (The louder the sound = more hairs bend, and bend further)

Auditory Nerve: Carries info from Cochlea into brain

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Place Theory, Frequency Theory, and the Volley Principle

PT: Different pitch= activity at different places along the basilar membrane (Only explains medium to high pitches)

FT: Basilar membrane vibrates with the same speed as a sound wave (Only explains low to medium pitch)

VP: Combines Place and Frequency Theories

Conduction Deafness and Sensorineural/Nerve Deafness

CD: Damage to the outer or middle ear caused by physical damage such as a pebble to the ear (Can be helped via hearing aids which amplify sounds)

SD: Damage to the Cochlea/Hair Cells caused by age and/or prolonged exposure to loud sound (unable to be completely fixed)