Ch 1:

What is psychology? How is it studied?

The scientific study of behavior and mental process. It is multiply determined by scientific approach.

What is behavior? What is a mental process?

Observable action & Private experiences (not observable)

What does it mean that Psychology is multiply determined?

Using single-variable explanations, common sense and intuition often lead to errors

What are the four scientific attitudes? Be able to recognize examples.

Critical thinking (ask questions), curiosity (why), skepticism (challenge facts and assumptions), and objectivity (see it as it is not as you want).

Who is credited as being the "father" of psychology? What did he do? What did he contribute?

Wilhelm Wundt, established lab in 1879, introspection

What was structuralism? What were the strengths and weaknesses?

Edward Titchener, analyzing the basic elements, or structure, of conscious mental experience. Weakness: can be reductive

What was functionalism? Who were the influences on functionalism? What were the contributions of functionalism to the current field of psychology?

How humans and animals use mental processes to adapt to their environment. William James. Broadened the scope of psychology, allowed study of children, animals, and mentally ill. Applied a more practical use of psychology.

Who are the early notable women in Psychology?

Mary Whiton Calkins and Margaret Floy Washburn

What are each of the modern approaches to psychology? Be able to identify the central characteristics of each (biological, behavioral, humanistic, etc.) Know all relevant terminology and be able to recognize examples.

Biological approach: Neuroscience/Biopsychology, focuses on body, brain, and nervous system.
Behavioral Approach: Behaviorism, John Watson & B.F Skinner, Studies stimuli and responses.
Psychodynamic Approach: Freud's theory, Unconscious aspects, impulse, wishes, desires, and feelings. Rooted in childhood.
Humanistic Approach: Humanistic Psychology, free will, personal growth, find meaning in life. Personal responsibility and choice. Positive Psychology, Human flourishing, meaningful life.
Cognitive Approach: Cognitive Psychology, mental functions of learning, thinking, remembering. Mental process influencing behavior. Cognitive Behaviorism, experiences and environment effect how we behave. Information Processing, brain = computer. Cognitive Neuroscience, studies neural (brain, tissue, nerves) that underlie mental process.
Evolutionary Approach: Evolutionary Psychology, natural selections, evolution of behavior and mind. Adaptation.
Sociocultural Approach: Influence of social and culture environments on behavior.

What are the different subfields of psychology? Be able to recognize examples of each.

Not a clue. Sorry pal but your fucked on this one.

Why do we study psychology from a scientific perspective? What are some common errors in thinking? Be able to recognize examples of each.

Confirmation bias, seek evidence to support self. Belief perseverance, hold onto beliefs even when facts prove it wrong. Hindsight bias, claiming you knew all along. Intuition, "gut" feeling. Overconfidence. Perceiving order in random events, making sense of things that have no sense.

What is a scientific theory? What is a hypothesis?

Explanation of findings. Testable prediction.

What are the steps in the scientific process?

Observe, predict, test hypothesis, draw conclusion, evaluate conclusion, repeat.

What are variables? How are they defined in research? Why is it important to define them?

A characteristic that can vary. Operational Definition. Translates abstract into something measurable.

What does it mean for research to be descriptive?

Qualitative

What is a case study? Be able to recognize examples. What are some advantages and disadvantages?

Single person is studied in depth. Advantages: in-depth study, challenges theories validity, and can form new ideas. Disadvantages: no cause-effect relationship, observer bias, and results may not generalize.

What is naturalistic observation? Be able to recognize examples.

Recording and observing behavior in natural setting. People watching

What are the important components to conducting a survey? Know all related terminology and be able to recognize in examples.

Population: group of people. Sample: part of population. Representative sample: mirrors population of interest. Biased Sample: Doesn't reflect population. Random sample: equal chance selection of population.

What is the correlational method? Be able to determine strength and direction, as well as interpret meaning of a correlation coefficient.

Measure of association – describes how strongly 2 variables are related. Positive Correlation: Same direction. Negative Correlation: Opposite directions. Zero Correlation: No association. Perfect Correlation: One perfectly predicts another.

What is the experimental method? What are the essential characteristics?

Only method the can be used to identify cause-effect relationships. Random assignment & manipulation of the independent variable.

What are independent and dependent variables? Be able to recognize examples.

Independent: Factor manipulated and controlled by experimenter. Dependent: Measure factor that is influenced by Independent variable.

What are experimental and control groups? Be able to recognize examples.

Experimental: Group exposed to manipulation of the independent V. Control: Identical to experimental group and isn't manipulated by IV.

What are some sources of bias in experiments? Be able to recognize examples. How can we control for these biases?

Confounding Variables, Selection bias, Placebo effect: placebo – harmless substance w/ no effect. Experimenter bias.

What are some important ethical considerations when conducting research?

APA: American Psychological Association. Informed consent: inform participants of risks, Freedom from Coercion: Must be volunteers for study, Confidentiality, Debriefing: Participants must be informed of actual nature of study afterwards.

Ch 2:

What are the different types of nerves? Be able to recognize examples.

Afferent: sensory neurons, relay messages from organs and receptors to brain and spinal cord.

Efferent: motor neurons, allows body to move. Conveys signals from central nervous system to glands and muscles.

What is a neuron? What are the parts of a neuron? How do neurons communicate?

Specialized nerve that conducts impulses through the nervous system, handles information processing. Incoming info, cell body, nucleus, axon, outgoing info, myelin sheath, terminal button, & to next neuron. Neurotransmitters.

Axon: carries signal away. Dendrite: carries signal towards.

What are neurotransmitters? What do they do (in general)? How do they travel? What are receptors? How do they work? Be able to recognize the major neurotransmitters and their functions.

Transmits messages between neurons. From cell body, down the axon, across the synapse to the dendrites of the next neuron. Protein molecules on the surfaces of dendrites and cell bodies that receive neurotransmitters.

What are the divisions of the peripheral nervous system and what do they do?

Somatic: Sensory nerves & motor nerves. Sense the environment and helps you move
Autonomic: No conscious control, transmits messages between CNS and the glands, heart, and other muscles. Divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

What are the functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

Symp: Mobilizes body's resources to prepare for action (flight or fight)
Parasymp: Brings heightened body functions back to normal.

What is the difference between the central and peripheral nervous system?

Central (CNS): Composed of brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral (PNS): Connects CNS to rest of body. Composed of Somatic & Autonomic Nervous System.

What is the endocrine system? How does it differ from the nervous system? What are the important glands?

Body communication glands that secrete hormones. Uses bloodstream (slower), and messages last longer.

Adrenal Gland: releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into bloodstream.
Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus; releases growth hormone, oxytocin
Master Gland: Directs other glands

What is the function of the spinal cord?

Extension of the brain. Transmits messages between brain and nerves controlling the body.

What is the function of the brainstem and its components?

Handles functions critical to physical survival. Medulla: controls heartbeat, breathing, BP, swallowing, and coughing. Pons: Relays motor messages between cerebellum and motor cortex.

What is the function of the cerebellum?

Critically important for the body to move smoothly/skilled. Coordination, part of hindbrain

What are the functions of the thalamus and hypothalamus?

Thalamus: relay station for all info in the forebrain. Relays all senses except smell, affect verbal learning (language), regulates sleep cycle.
Hypothalamus: Regulates hunger, thirst, sex drive, and emotions. Controls body temp, biological clock, and helps with motivation (pleasure and displeasure).

Which structures make up the limbic system? What are their functions?

Thalamus: relay station for all info in the forebrain. Relays all senses except smell, affect verbal learning (language), regulates sleep cycle.
Hypothalamus: Regulates hunger, thirst, sex drive, and emotions. Controls body temp, biological clock, and helps with motivation (pleasure and displeasure).
Amygdala: emotional response to unpleasant or punishing stimuli. Learning of fear responses. Damage impairs ability to recognize facial expressions and tones of voice associated with fear or anger.
Hippocampus: Central role in storing new memories, brain's internal representation of space. Helps us learn our way around an environment.

How is the cerebrum divided and what connects the divisions? What is the cerebral cortex?

Cerebrum is the largest structure of the brain and is divided into 2 sections (left and right). They are connected by the corpus callosum.

What is the cerebral cortex? What are the 4 lobes?

Cerebral Cortex: Outer layer of forebrain, responsible for higher brain functions and sensory processing.
Frontal Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Occipital Lobe, and Temporal Lobe.

What are the subsections of the frontal lobe? What functions are associated with each subsection/the lobe in general? What would happen if there was damage? Be able to recognize examples.

Motor Cortex: Controls vocab, Broca's Area: responsible for speech, Prefrontal Cortex: Does executive functions (planning, thinking, impulse, emotional response.)

What are the subsections of the parietal lobe? What functions are associated with each subsection/the lobe in general? What would happen if there was damage? Be able to recognize examples.

Reception and processing of touch. Spatial orientation & sense of direction.
Somatosensory Cortex: Registers touch, pressure, temp, and pain.

Parietal Association Areas: Remembers how objects feel.

What are the subsections of the occipital lobe? What functions are associated with each subsection/the lobe in general? What would happen if there was damage? Be able to recognize examples.

Reception and interpretation of visual information.
Primary Visual Cortex: Registers vision.
Occipital Association Areas: Interpret visual stimuli; holds memories, helps us recognize what we see.

What are the subsections of the temporal lobe? What functions are associated with each subsection/the lobe in general? What would happen if there was damage? Be able to recognize examples.

Receptions and interpretation of auditory stimuli.
Primary Auditory Cortex: Registers hearing
Wernicke's Area: Language are, responsible for understanding spoken words and formulating written and spoken languages

What is lateralization? What functions are lateralized in the brain?

Specialization of left brain to handle specific function. Math & Logic

How can the brain compensate for damage?

Surviving brain regions that can compensate for loss of nerve cells

Ch 3:

What are sensation and perception?

Sensation: Sensory receptors and NS receive and represent stimuli's from the environment.
Perception: Organizing and interpreting sensory info.

What are top-down and bottom-up processing? Be able to recognize examples.

Top-Down: interpretation of incoming stimuli is influenced by existing knowledge. Ex: wheel of fortune
Bottom-Up: Detects individual elements and combine them into one thing. Ex: Putting together a puzzle without looking at the box.

How are we able to distinguish between input through the different senses?

Sensory receptors have specialized neural pathways based on type of energy

What are the different types of stimulus energy?

Photoreception: Detection of light - sight
Mechanoreception: Touch, hearing, equilibrium
Chemoreception: Smell and taste

How is attention relevant to sensation and perception?

Our awareness can become limited and we wont see everything in the room because we are only focusing on one part of the room.

What is inattentional blindness? Why does it occur? Be able to recognize examples?

Failing to see visible objects when attention is elsewhere. When a strongly distinct stimulus suddenly gets our attention.

What is absolute threshold? Difference threshold? Sensory adaptation? Transduction? Be able to recognize examples.

Minimum stimulation needed to notice something. Sensitivity to a stimulus changes with exposure. Sensory systems encode stimulus energy as neural messages.

What is perceptual set? Be able to recognize examples

Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

What is the visible spectrum?

The light that is visible to us

What are the parts of the eye and what does each do? Know the order in which light is processed by the eye.

Cornea: Protects eye and bends light
Pupil: Small adjustable opening
Iris: Colored muscle
Lens: Makes incoming rays into image on eyes back surface
Retina: eyes back surface

What are rods and cones? What do they do?

Receptors in the retina
Rods: See black and white
Cones: Sees fine detail and color

What are feature detectors? What is parallel processing? Be able to recognize examples.

Neurons that respond to specific features of the scenes we are sensing

What are the theories of color vision?

Trichromatic theory: retina has 3 types of color receptors; red, green and blue.
Opponent- process theory
Dual process theory: combines previous 2 theories.

What are the three steps in perceiving?

Select, organize, and interpret our sensations

What are some ways in which we perceive form? Be able to recognize examples.

Heredity, needs, peer group, interests, and expectations all influence our perception.

How do we perceive depth? What are the binocular and monocular cues? Be able to recognize examples.

See objects in 3 dimensions.
Binocular: Two eye cues
Monocular: One eyed cues

What is perceptual adaptation? Be able to recognize examples.

Adapt when our sensations of the world are altered

What are size and shape constancy? Be able to recognize examples.

Size: See a constant size even when distance varies
Shape: See what we expect even when the image changes

How is hearing processed? Know the order in which vibrations are processed by the ear.

Audition. Outer ear send vibration to eardrum. Middle ear transmits that to the cochlea which them ripples tiny hairs that transmit it to the auditory nerve.

What is the olfactory system? How does it work? Be able to recognize examples.

We smell something due to molecules carrying it to the olfactory epithelium.

How is taste processed? What are the taste sensations? Be able to recognize examples.

Gustation: basic sensations; sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.
Taste receptor cells in moth detect different chemical tastes.

What affects our sense/perception of pain?

The brain and our expectations.

What are kinesthetic and vestibular senses? Be able to recognize examples.

Kinesthesis: Senseposition and movement of body parts. Detected by receptors in joints,ligaments, and muscles.
Vestibular: Senses body movement, position, and balance.