AP Psych Fall Flashcards
(45 cards)
0
Q
independent variable
A
treatment, varies independently from other factors
1
Q
practicing psychology
A
- 28% research/teaching
- 48% clinical/therapeutic: only psychiatrists can prescribe; psychologists have Ph.D or Psy. D (hands-on) versus therapists or counselors with M.A, M.S.W, or M.S
- 6% industrial/organizational
- 4% educational (K-12, Secondary, Special Ed.)
- 14% others (sports, forensics, etc.)
2
Q
dependent variable
A
claim, varies depending on what takes place
3
Q
correlation
A
- shows relationships, strength indicated by a scale of coefficients -1.0 … 0 …. 1.0 ( +/- 0.7 = strong; 0 = no relation)
- positive: two events go in the same direction
- negative: two events go in different directions
CANNOT SHOW CAUSALITY
4
Q
ethics
A
- participants must be informed of the nature of the research
- informed consent must be documented
- confidentiality is crucial
- if participation is a requirement in an academic setting, alternative activities must be offered
- deception cannot be used so that it would affect participants’ willingness to cooperate
- usage of animals must be humane and free of stress/pain/privation when alternatives are available
5
Q
principles of the scientific method
A
- question
- hypothesis
- prediction
- experiment
- analysis
6
Q
sampling method
A
- random selection for representative sample
- ideally double-blind aka both administrators and subjects don’t know if the treatment given is real or placebo
7
Q
experimental group
A
receives treatment
8
Q
control group
A
receives placebo, acts as baseline
9
Q
neuron parts
A
- soma: nucleus, body of the cell
- dendrites: receive input
- axon: carries information
- myelin sheath: insulates axon
- terminal button: release chemicals to cells
10
Q
brainstem
A
- central core, oldest part of the brain
- begins where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull (medulla), crossover point where nerves connect with the body’s opposite sides
- responsibility: automatic survival functions (heartbeat, breathing)
- contains reticular formation, which is in charge of arousal
- contains pons, which coordinate movement
11
Q
limbic system
A
- located at the border between older brain structures and the hemispheres
- links to emotions and basic motives
- amyglanda: neural clusters that influence aggression and pain
- hypothalamus: controls pituitary gland (“master gland”) which influence growth and affect the release of other hormones and monitors blood chemistry, hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sexual behavior
- hippocampus: linked with memory
12
Q
cerebral cortex
A
- thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells covering the hemispheres
- controls and processes information from 20 to 23 billion nerve cells and 300 trillion synaptic connections
- glial cells: “worker bees” to neurons’ “queen bees,” in charge of supporting, nourishing, and protecting; capable of limited memory and information transmission
- functions:
+ motor (processes action)
+ sensory (processes touch and sensations)
+ association (links sensory input with stored memories) - cerebral lobes:
+ frontal (behind forehead; controls planning, personality, judgment)
+ parietal (on top, to the rear of head; integrates sensory information, especially temperature, taste and touch)
+ occipital (back of head; sense of sight)
+ temporal (above ears; sense of smell and sound)
13
Q
central nervous system (CNS)
A
- includes brain and spinal cord
- major players: nerves aka bundles of axons and dendrites, receive communications from neurons, capable of growing
14
Q
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
A
- divides into two nervous systems:
automatic: involuntary processes (heartbeat, digestion, breathing); splits into sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) nervous systems
somatic: voluntary processes (fine motor skills)
15
Q
synapse
A
meeting point between neurons
16
Q
neurotransmission
A
process in which chemical signals are sent from the terminal button of one neuron to the dendrites of another to relay a message
17
Q
neurotransmitters
A
chemical messengers
+ endorphin: numbs and brings good feeling (runner’s high)
+ norepinephrine: alertness, arousal
+ dopamine: happiness, movement, attention, and emotion
+ serotonin: mood, hunger, sleep, arousal
18
Q
twin studies
A
identical twins share the same genetic materials and research has shown correlations that suggest they are more vulnerable to hereditary addiction and psychological illnesses
nature vs. nurture
19
Q
stages of sleep
A
- cycle: 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM (V-shaped, about 90 minutes long)
- stages:
+ 1: alpha waves, awake but relaxed, i.e. short doze-off
+ 2: theta waves, beginning of sleep, harder to wake, i.e power nap
+ 3 & 4: delta waves, deepest sleep
+ REM (rapid eye movement): beta waves, paradoxical sleep, body is turned of but brain is awake
20
Q
circadian rhymth
A
- internal clock monitored by light, temperature, and food consumption
- 24-hour cycle (for humans) controlled by SCN
21
Q
sleep disorders
A
- disorder = condition that affects one’s ability to function in society
- insomnia: trouble falling and staying asleep; affects 3.5 million Americans; reasons can be psychological (stress), physiological (medication) or external (change of environment, noise, temperature); linked to depression
- apnea: stop breathing momentarily during sleep (up to 10 seconds); affects 10 to 12 million Americans; most common in overweight middle-aged men
- narcolepsy: attack of sleepiness; may drop to REM immediately, causing hallucinations or loss of muscle tone (cataplexy); caused by CNS defect or deficiency of hypercretin; triggered by strong emotions; no cure but stimulants and avoidance of emotional settings
- (arguable) night terrors: episodes of fright that can make a person sit up and scream but not remember; happens in stage 3 or 4; most common in children
22
Q
reasons for REM sleep
A
- reboot/reset of electrical activities in the brain
- integration of long-term memory, storage and consolidation of new material
- promotion of maturation
- dream (process information, manifest primal urges, extension of waking life, activation-synthesis aka interpretation of random neural impulses)
23
Q
tolerance
A
diminishing effect with regular use of same drug dosage (neuro-adaptation) -> more is required to have the original effect
24
withdrawal
distress opposite of drugs' benefits when one stops using drugs
25
dependence
compulsive use or need; change in nervous system
- physical: physiological need for drugs, signified by extreme bodily discomfort during withdrawal
- psychological: psychological need for drugs to alleviate depression or stress
26
depressants
calm neural activity
- alcohol: disinhibits judgment, slows neural processing, disrupts memory, reduces self-awareness and -control; equal chance of good and bad activities when intoxicated; tremens during withdrawal
- barbiturates: tranquilizers; mimic the effects of alcohol; sometimes prescribed to induce sleep and reduce anxiety; impairs memory and judgment and can lead to death in large doses
- opiates: painkillers and narcotics (i.e. codeine, heroin); derive from opium/poppy plant; act like endorphins
27
stimulants
excite neural activity, arouse; crash (fatigue, headaches, depression, mood swings) after high
- meth: heightens energy and euphoria up to 8 hours; triggers release of dopamine; highly addictive in crystal form
- caffeine: sharpens neural activity and attention; may impair sleep or induce headaches, irritability, and fatigue
- nicotine: calms anxiety; highly addictive (tobacco is on par with heroin & cocaine); addiction typically starts at adolescence and sticks
- cocaine: euphoria, increases alertness and self-confidence (low dose), anxiety, hallucinations, formication, paranoia (high dose); blocks dopamine reuptake; enters bloodstream via snorting or injection
- ectasy: releases stored serotonin, triggers dopamine release, blocks reabsorption, prolongs good feelings; hybrid of stimulant and mild hallucinogen
28
hallucinogens
distorts perception, evokes sensory images ("psychedelics")
- LSD/acid: most potent psychoactive compound; similar to serotonin, therefore blocks actions; induces body/spirit disassociation sensation like near-death experiences; can be used for alcoholism recovery
- marijuana: derives from hemp; active ingredient: THC; disinhibits and may create high; lingers in the body for about a month; risk: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, disruption of memory formation; can be used medically for severe neuropathic pain, nausea, or loss of apetite
29
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classical conditioning
(Pavlov)
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- type of learning that links 2 or more stimuli and anticipated events; deals with respondent behavior (actions that are automatic responses to stimuli); takes at least 6 trials
- US: unconditioned stimulus; UR: unconditioned reaction; CS: conditioned stimulus; CR: conditioned reaction (i.e. Pavlov's dog)
- higher order condition: CS paired with CS (i.e. blue book)
- acquisition: initial stage to link neural stimulus with unconditioned stimulus
- extinction: diminished response that occur when CS stops signaling US (only suppressed, not eliminated)
- spontaneous recovery: reappearance of weakened CR
30
operant conditioning
| Skinner
- creates association between behavior and consequence; deals with operant behavior (actions that operate on environment to obtain reward or avoid punishment)
- shaping: using reinforcers to gradually guide something to desired behavior
- discriminative stimulus: stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcers
- systematic desensitization: creates a hierarchy and trains someone to get into a relaxed state
31
generalization
tendency to respond to similar stimuli
32
discrimination
learned ability to distinguish between CS and similar stimuli
33
reinforcement
using reinforcers aka anything the strengthen the behavior that it follows to increase repetition of behavior
- primary: innate need (food, water, shelter, sex, warmth)
- secondary: learned, associated need (money, praise, fame, etc.)
- positive: present a pleasurable stimulus as reward
- negative: remove an unpleasant stimulus as reward
- motivation:
+ intrinsic: internal, doing something for its own sake
+ extrinsic: external, doing something in order to get something else
34
schedules of reinforcement
- continuous: reinforcing the desired response every time
- partial/intermittent: reinforcing only part of the time; slower acquisition but greater resistance to extinction
+ fixed-ratio: after a specific amount of responses
+ variable-ratio: after an unpredictable amount of responses (most effective)
+ fixed-interval: after a specified interval of time has elapsed
+ variable-interval: reinforces after an unpredictable interval of time has elapsed
35
punishment
using punisher aka any consequence that discourages a behavior to decrease its frequency
behavior is usually only suppressed, not forgotten; teaches discrimination and fear; may increase aggression
36
observational learning
| Bandura
- learning by observing and imitating others
- modeling: process of observing and imitating
- steps:
+ attention: observation
+ memory: encoding
+ imitation: motor memory
+ motivation: reinforcement
- pro-social behavior: positive, helpful, and constructive behavior
- desensitization: becoming indifferent after prolonged exposure
37
thresholds
- absolute: minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular light,, sound, texture, pressure, taste, or odor 50% of the time
- difference ("just noticeable") minimum difference that can be detected between any 2 stimuli 50% of the time
- subliminal: below someone's absolute threshold for conscious awareness
38
top-down processing
analysis guided by previous learned experiences and expectations
39
bottom-up processing
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to meaning integration
40
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging in shape, size, brightness, or color even if retinal images change
41
perceptual set
mental predisposition to perceive something
42
gestalt
a whole that the brain try to organize and interpret information into
- figure-ground: organization of the visual field into object ("figures") that pop out from the surroundings ("ground")
- grouping: organization of stimuli into coherent groups
+ proximity: nearby
+ similarity: similar to one another
+ continuity: smoothness, flow
+ connectedness: linked, uniform
+ closure: fill in gaps
43
ESP
| extrasensory perception
perception of communication outside of normal sensory capability, i.e clairvoyance, telekinesis, telepathy
44
visual cliff
lab device to test babies' depth perception
| fear of heights is learned
