Chapters 1-5 Flashcards
(237 cards)
1
Q
Psychology
A
The scientific study of behaviour and the factors that influence it
2
Q
Functionalism
A
Focus on the function and significance of behaviour. How does behaviour help us adapt?
Primarily biological
3
Q
Pyschodyanmic
A
Focus on the unconscious experience. Look for unresolved conflict. Important of personality.
4
Q
Behaviourism
A
Opposite to psychodynamic. Impossible to measure the mind, focus on what we can see - behaviour.
Primarily environmental.
Eg) Tabula rasa - john locke
5
Q
Gestalt Tradition
A
Cognitive - how people think and remember
Environmental and biological.
6
Q
Humanistic Tradition
A
Against psychodynamic and behavioural. Focus on values, choices, free will, potential/personal growth.
Environmental and biological
Eg) Carl Rogers
7
Q
Rene Descartes
A
Philosopher and mathematician.
Dualist - mind and body separate
Studied the reflex arc
8
Q
Gustav Fechner
A
Physicist and mathematician.
Father of psychophysics
Believed sensations can be measured.
9
Q
Wilhelm Wundt
A
Founder of modern psychology
First psych lab in leipzig
Structuralist
10
Q
William James
A
Psychologist at Harvard
Published first psych textbook
Helped women in the field
11
Q
Mary Calkins
A
Allowed to go to Harvard but no degree
First women president of APA
12
Q
Sigmund Frued
A
Father of psychoanalysis
Medical doctor that believed physical disorders could have a psychological base
“The Unconsciousness” - still parts that we don’t know about ourselves
13
Q
Carl Jung
A
Studied under Frued
Thought he was far fetched on his sexual thoughts of personality
Responsible for the “Collective Unconsciousness” - there is an unconscious that carries on from time to time
14
Q
Carl Rogers
A
Humanist
The “self” and unconditional positive regard
Calls his patients “clients”
15
Q
Ivan Pavlov
A
Won a nobel prize for salivation
Classical conditioning - associations drive learning
16
Q
BF Skinner
A
Behaviourist
Operant conditioning - association between stimulus and response
Learning controlled by consequences
Behaviour modification through rewards and punishment
17
Q
Jean Piaget
A
Cognitive studies
Children do not think like adults - stages
18
Q
Karl Lashley
A
Biology of learning and memory
Searched for the “engram” - single location of memory but then decided it was throughout the cortex
Used lesioning
19
Q
Wilder Penfield
A
Montreal neurosurgeon
Mapped entire cortex in humans through electrical stimulation
20
Q
Wolfgang Kohler
A
Gestalt psychologist
Believes that learning can occur though insight (don’t have to watch someone, can just figure it out)
21
Q
Kurt Levin
A
Social psychologist who followed gestalt tradition
Behaviour occurs in context
22
Q
Different types of psychology
A
Clinical Social Cognitive Educational Personality School Organizational Experimental Counselling Development
23
Q
Confirmation Bias
A
Once our beliefs are established, we may fail to test them further
24
Q
False Start
A
When one researcher discovers something but then no other researchers can duplicate the findings
25
4 Goals of Psychology
To describe behaviour
To explain/understand behaviour
To predict behaviour
To control/influence behaviour
26
Dualism
The belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws of the body
Proposed by Descartes - he thought the connection b/w mind and body was the pineal gland
Mind is in the brain but it is not material
27
Monosim
The mind and body are one with no separate entities
| Followers: Thomas Hobbes and John Locke
28
Thomas Hobbes
Believed you could study the mind through physical processes
29
John Locke
Believed observation is more valid than reason - AKA empiricism
30
Cognitive Perspective
The nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behaviour
31
Sociocultural Perspective
Humans behaviours are affected by their culture
32
Socialization
The process by which culture is transmitted to new members and internalized
33
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism - emphasis on personal goals
| Collectivism - individual goals are less important than those of the group
34
Biological Perspective
How the brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour
35
Evolutionary Psychology
How evolution shaped modern human behaviour
| Through Darwin's Natural Selection
36
2 Examples of sociobiology
Complex social behaviours passed through evolution
1) moms more invested in reproduction because of offspring
2) Genetic survival is more important than physical - altruism
37
Structuralism vs Functionalism
Structuralism - focused on the basic components of consciousness
Functionalism - focused on the purpose of consciousness
38
Depression
When a feeling of sadness persists and affects daily life. More common in females.
1) Biological - related to biochemical factors
2) Psychological - More common in people who have a negative way to look at things
3) Environmental - environment with less rewards can make people depressed
39
4 Steps of the Scientific Method
1) Identify the problem and formulate hypothesis
2) Design and execute the experiement
3) Determine the "truth"
4) Communicate the results
40
Hypothesis
Tentative statement about the relation between 2 or more events
41
Observational Methods
Collecting information about behaviour without trying to change it
42
Survey Methods
Collecting information about behaviour through surveys and questionnaires
43
Case Study Methods
In depth study of an individual, group or event
Pros: able to study closely
Con: cannot determine causal relationship, may not generalize to other situations
44
Correlational Methods
Determining the degree of relationship between two or more variables
Correlation does NOT mean causation
45
Experimental Methods
Manipulating one or more variables to determine the effect on some behaviour
46
Between groups vs within group
Between groups: each group is assigned a protocol
| Within groups: each group performs each protocol
47
Four ways to measure aggression
1) Self report
2) Verbal attack
3) Physical attack (shocks)
4) "Safe" attack
48
Bystander Effect
The more bystanders, the less likely anyone is do anything because of diffusion of responsibility
49
Theory
A set of formal statements that explain how and why certain events are related to one another. Broader than a hypothesis
50
Characteristics of a good theory
Incorporates existing facts
It is testable
Predictions supported by new research
Law of parsimony
51
Operational Definition
A researcher defines his variables and the context of them so that they cannot be misinterpreted.
52
Overt Behaviour
How any errors a person makes
53
Unobstrusive Measurement
Made so that the humans don't behave differently when they know they are being observed
54
Dorsal vs Ventral Stream of Brain
Dorsal - runs along the upper surfaces of the cortex
| Ventral - runs along the bottom surface
55
Naturalistic Observation
Researcher observes behaviour as it occurs in a natural setting and attempts to avoid influence sit
56
Habituation
The researcher may delay their data collection until participants have habituated to the observers presence.
57
Representative Sampling
Reflects the important characteristics of the population
| Better with larger samples
58
Bi-Directionality Problem
Eg) ice cream causes smiles or smiles cause ice cream
59
Internal Validity
The degree to which an experiment supports clear causal conclusions
60
Confounding Variables
Two variables are intertwined and we cannot determine which one has influenced the dependent variable
61
Placebo Effect
The patient's symptoms will improve solely because they belief the drug will help them
Lowers internal validity
62
Experimenter Expectancy
Lowers the internal validity, minimize with double blind study
63
External Validity
The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized to other populations, settings, conditions - found through multiple experiements
64
ESP
Extrasensory Perception - mental telepathy
65
What groups make up the tri council policy for ethical conduct in Canada?
CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC
66
ERBs
Ethical review boards - at university
67
CPA said that psychologists must do:
1) Protect and promote the welfare of participants
2) Avoid doing harm
3) Not carry out any studies unless probable benefit is greater than risk
4) Provide informed consent
5) Take all reasonable steps to ensure that consent is not given under coercion
6) Ensure privacy and confidentiality
68
3 Types of Neuron Shapes
Bipolar - cell body in middle with axons on either side
Unipolar - only one pole coming off the cell body
Multipolar - cell body has multiple branches coming off it
69
Sensory neurons are (afferent/efferent) and are (dorsal/ventral)
Sensory - afferent and dorsal
70
Resting Membrane Potential
Threshold Potential
Depolarization
RMP: -70mV
Treshold: -55
Depolarization: +30
71
Norepinephrine
Inhib + excit
| Arousal and eatin
72
Acetylcholine
Inhib + excit
| Memory, motor movement
73
Dopamine (DA)
Inhib + excit
| Voluntary movement and arousal
74
Serotonin (5-HT)
Inhib + excit
| Sleep and thermoregulation
75
GABA
Inhibitory
| Motor behaviour
76
Cocaine
Drug
| Stimulates release and prevents reuptake of DA
77
Curare
Drug
| Blocks Ach receptors
78
Black Widow Venom
Stimulates release of Ach - heart explodes
79
Botulism Toxin
Blocks release of Ach
80
Nictotine
Drug
| Duplicates effects of Ach
81
Caffeine
Blocks adenosine receptors - important for sleep
82
Corpus Callosum
Connects the two hemispheres
83
Pineal Gland
Master gland; controls hormonal excretions
84
Angiogram
Shows the vessels - use a dye to enhance
85
CAT Scan
Computerized axial topography
| Xrays from 360 pieced together
86
PET Scan
Positron emission tomography
| Inject brain with glucose and it takes it up in the areas being activated
87
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging
| Expose the brain to a strong magnetic field and reconstruct what it looks like
88
Apraxia
Inability to perform smooth actions
89
Agnosia
Inability to interpret sensory information
90
Aphasia
Problems with speech - Broca's or Wernicke's
91
Characteristics of the left hemisphere
Language, reading, logical thought, happiness
92
Characteristics of the right hemisphere
Nonverbal
| Space, form synthesis, emotion
93
Alcohol (agonist/antagonist)
Agonist of GABA and antagonist of glutamate
94
Caffeine (agonist/antagonist)
Antagonist for adenosine
95
Nicotine (agonist/antagonist)
Agonist for Ach
96
Amphetamines
Agonist of DA and norepinephrine - stimulant
97
Glutamate
Excitatory
| Important for learning and memory
98
GABA
Inhibitory
| Control anxiety and motor control
99
Huntington's Disease
Loss of GABA causes tremors and loss of motor control as well as personality changes
100
Ach
Excitatory at muscular and memory synapses
Undersupply - Alzheimer's
Oversupply - muscle contractions
101
Norepinephrine
Undersupply - depression
| Oversupply - stress and panic disorders
102
Serotonin
Involved in mood
| Linked to depression, sleeping, eating disorders
103
Dopamine
Undersupply - Parkinson's
| Oversupply - Schizophrenia
104
Endorphin
Undersupply - hypersensitive to pain
| Oversupply - insensitivity to pain
105
Somatic NS
Voluntary
106
2 Parts of Autonomic NS
PNS and SNS
107
Brain can be tested via:
1) Neuropsychological tests: verbal and nonverbal behaviour affected by damage
2) Destruction and stimulation
3) Electrical recording (EEG)
4) Brain imaging (CAT, PET, MRI)
108
ERP
Event related potential - changes in an EEG that accompany abnormal events
109
Brain's Gatekeeper
Reticular Formation
Alerts the higher centers that messages are coming and then either blocks them or allows them to go through
Important for consciousness - without it sensory messages do not register in conscious awareness
110
Problems with mirror neurons are thought to cause
Autism spectrum disorders
111
Prefrontal Cortex
Responsible for executive functions: goal setting, judgement, planning, etc
112
Lateralization
Relatively greater localization of a function in one hemisphere or the other
113
Amygdala
Involved in fear and discrimination of objects, emotions (limbic)
114
Medulla
Important in vital body functions and reflexes
115
Hippocampus
Involved in memory
116
Pituitary Gland
Regulates homeostasis and stimulates other endocrine glands
117
Pons
Bridge carries nerve impulses between higher and lower centres; regulates sleep and dreams
118
Cerebellum
```
AKA little brain
Muscular movement (timing) coordination and learning and memory
```
119
Thalamus
Important for sensory processing and relay station (only sense that doenst go through is smell)
120
Hypothalamus
Controls drives: sexual behaviour, aggression, eating, stress
121
What is the gene for intelligence?
Reaction time - AKA genes that code for myelinated axons
122
Critical Period
The time interval in which environmental exposure is critical
123
Can you infer the genotype from the phenotype?
NO
124
List some dominate traits
```
Brown eye color
Dark hair
Dimples
Curly hair
Unattached ear lobes
Farsightedness
```
125
Polygenetics
When multiple genes effect a phenotype
126
Equation for heritability
H^2 = variance due to genes/total variance
| 0 - environment, 1 - genetics
127
Galton
Noticed that relatives of intelligent people were also intelligent
Thought of intelligence as unitary - mental quickness
Developed the correlation coefficient -
h (correlation between twins)
128
Sir Cyril Burt
Worked with twins reared apart
| Reported it was approaching 1 but he made up the data
129
Bouchard
Also performed twin studies and found identical twins, reared apart were 0.72
IQ can be 72% attributed to genetic factors
130
How many genes are there?
25,000
131
PKU
```
Recessive
Chromosome 12
1 in 10,000
Lack of enzyme that converts phenylalanine to tyrosine
Builds up and we get mental retardation
Can be controlled with diet
```
132
Tay Sachs Disease
```
Recessive
Chromosome 15
1 in 3,600
Lack enzyme that breaks down FA
Normal development then blind, deaf, unable to swallow
Fatal by age 4
1 in 30 French Canadians have it
```
133
Huntington's Disease
Dominent
Chromosome 4
1 in 16,000
Onset at 35-45
Initially clumsy and forgetful then deteriorate into brain atrophy and lack of muscle control
Terminal in 10 to 20 years
Because it is dominant, the offspring have 50% chance of getting it
134
List some sex linked disorders
Red-green colour blind
Baldness
Hemophilia
135
Possibilities of sex chromosome disorders
XXX, X, XXy, Xyy (last two are viable)
136
Down Syndrome
Chromosome disorder
Trisomy 21
Marked by: NS abnormality, mild to moderate retardation, shorter life, physical appearance
Due to accumulation of amyloid
It is not hereditary - faulty meiotic division
Based on mothers age (over 40)
137
Adaptation
Changing to meet environmental needs
| Proximal vs distal (evolutionary)
138
Genetic Drift
Allele frequency in a population changes over time due to chance
i.e. Founder effect
139
Correlate Structure
If a certain trait is beneficial, other traits might adapt to make that trait possible
i.e. opposing thumb is positive, so hand size decreased in order for thumb to touch finger
140
Freuds Theory of Aggression
Eros (life force) vs thanatos (death force)
Eventually thanatos over powers and you kill yourself
So you redirect it as aggression
141
Lorenz's Hydraulic Model
Aggressive instincts build up over time until triggered by external stimulus (releasers/sign stimuli)
Your reaction is called a Fixed Action Pattern
142
Allele
Alternate forms of genes
143
Epigenetics
Mechanisms that involve activating or silencing specific genes
i.e. methylation = muting
144
Two types of genetic engineering
Recombinant DNA Procedures: take out a gene and replace with another
Knockout Procedure: gene made nonfunctional
145
Heritability Coefficient
The degree to which variation of a characteristic can be attributed to genetic factors (0-1)
146
Concordance
The likelihood that two people share a particular characteristic
147
Reaction Range
Genetically influenced limits that environmental forces can effect an organism
148
Five Factor Model of Personality
```
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion-intraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
```
149
Domain Specific Adaptations
Adaptations designed to solve a particular problem
150
Evolutionary Personality Theory
Attempts to account for personality traits in terms of evolutionary history
151
Parental Investment
Based on evolutionary theory
| The gender with greater investment in producing offspring will be more selective in choosing a mate
152
Polygyny
Male mates with multiple females
153
Polyandry
Female mates with multiple males
154
Monogamy
Parents stay together, at least until young are self-sufficient
155
Polygynandry
A mating system in which all members of a group mate with all other members
156
Women prefer men who:
Are 3.5 years older
Who have symmetrical faces (signs of health)
Who show interest in helping raise offpsring
157
Men prefer women who:
Are young and full of energy
158
Cooperation
One individual helps another but in doing so gains some advantage
159
Altruism
One individual helps another but in doing so accrues some cost
160
Kin Selection Theory
Organisms are most likely to help others with whom they share the most genes - AKA offspring and genetic relatives
161
Theory of Reciprocal Altrusim
AKA long term cooperation
| One individual helps another but the helps will be reciprocated at some point in the future
162
Why does aggression occur?
Animals are competing for resources
163
2 ways NOT to think about behaviour genetics and evolutionary psychology?
Genetic determinism - genes have invariant and unavoidable effects
Social darwinism - distortion that become the more fit are more successful, that those at the top of the social ladder must be most fit of all
164
Psychophysics
Relation between physical stimulus and psychological response
165
Threshold
Value of a stimulus characteristic that produces a response
166
Absolute threshold
Lower limit
| The lowest intensity that a stimulus can be detected correctly 50% of the time
167
Difference threshold
Amount of change for JND
| The lowest difference between stimuli that can be detected correctly 50% of the time
168
Weber's Law
Size of difference threshold relative to physical intensity of test is constant
169
Equation for weber's law
C = delta I/I
| The smaller the fraction, the greater the sensitivity
170
Fechner's Law
Sensation increases with the logarithm of intensity
171
Steven's Power Law
Similar to Fechners but to the power of intensity
| More predictive across a variety of sensations
172
Subliminal stimulus
Stimulus is received by senses but not perceived consciously
173
How long does a stimuli have to be for a human to perceive it?
200ms
174
4 components of a sensory system
Accessory structures (eyeball)
Transduction
Coding
Interaction (physiological and psychological)
175
The axons of what retina cell form the optic nerve?
The ganglion cells
176
Horizontal cell is between
| Amacrine cell is between
Horizontal between receptor and bipolar
Amacrine between bipolar and ganglion
Both inhibitory and serve to enhance the image
177
Duplex Theory of Vision
More than one receptor to help transduce energy into neural signal
AKA rods and cones
Cones are sensitive to red, green and blue and opponent process occur at the ganglion cells and beyond
178
Rods
Operate at low intensity
Sensitive to brightness
Monochrome
If you want to see a dim object you can't look directly at it because then light focuses on the fovea where there are no rods
179
Cones
Operature at higher intensities
Full colour
Insensitive for brightness
180
How do rods and cones transduce?
Visual photopigments break down in the presence of light and generate an AP
181
Photopigment of rods
rhodopsin (red)
182
Photopigments of cones
Chlorolabe (green)
Cyanolabe (blue
Erythrolabe (red)
183
Dark adaptation
bring a person into a dark room, bleach the retina with a large light and measure how long it takes to become sensitive to light again
If you just want to test the cones then look directly at the light when you bleach
184
Rod-cone break
When rods become more sensitive than the cones during dark adaptation (10 minutes in)
185
Spectral sensitivity
Tests how different cones react to different coloured lights
186
Lateral Inhibition
Maximum response - Occurs when you project light on the "on center" of a ganglion cell
Minimum response - Occurs when you project light on the "off surround" of a ganglion cell
How does this occur?
Horizontal cells
187
Max Wertheimer
One of the fathers of gestalt approach
188
Principles of Grouping
```
Gestalt psychology:
Similarity
Proximity
Closure
Connectedness
Continuity
```
189
Subjective Contour
When you combine the principles of grouping
190
Retinal or binocular desparity
Brain combine an image from each eye to make 2D into 3D
191
Monocular cues for depth perception
1) Relative size
2) Linear perspective
3) Overlap/interposition
4) Texture gradient
5) Clarity
6) Motion parallax
192
Size Constancy
Develop after monocular cues in first couple months
Rescale the size of objects so that they remain constant at any distance
(cars from an airplane look like ants but we know their true size)
193
Feature/constructionist Analysis
Bottom up approach
194
Synaesthesia
Mixing of senses
| Thought to occur because the connections from infancy are never pruned and so there is spilling over of the senses
195
Stages of Sensory Perception
1) stimulus received by receptors
2) transduction
3) feature detectors analyze features
4) features reconstructed into neural representation
5) neural representation is compared with brain info
6) matching and then recognition
196
Sensation
sense organs translate environmental stimuli into nerve impulses
197
Perception
Giving a stimulus meaning or making sense of it
198
Signal Detection Theory
Theory that stimulus detection is not based on a fixed absolute threshold but is influenced by rewards, punishments, expectations and motivations
Range of uncertainty instead of a fixed point on a scale
Everyone sets their own decision criterion (how certain they must be before they say they detect it)
199
Increasing the rewards for hits or the costs for misses does what to sitmulus detection?
Makes it more sensitive
| AKA lower detection threshold
200
Sensory Adaptation
Diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus with passing time because sensory neurons habituate
Good: frees our senses to pick up alternative info
201
What does the lens do in the eye?
Reverses the image from right to left and top to bottom
202
Myopia
Nearsightedness
| Eyeball is too long and the image focuses before the retina
203
Hyperopia
Farsightedness
| The lens can't thicken enough so the image falls behind the retina
204
Aging causes the eyeball to...
shorten
205
Many rods per
Bipolar cell
206
Visual Acuity
Ability to see fine detail
| Greatest when image falls on fovea because each cone has its own bipolar cell
207
3 Theories of Vision
Trichromatic Theory
Opponent Process Theory
Dual Process Theory
208
Trichromatic Theory
Three types of colour receptors in the retina
Combination of activation results in any colour in the visible spectrum
If all three cones are equally activated = white
Problem: doesn't explain why people with red-green colour blindness can perceive yellow
209
Opponent Process Theory
Retina contains 3 sets of colour receptors: red/green, blue/yellow, black/white
The opponent processes that result can produce any colour
210
2 Types of Colour Blindness
Dichromat: colour blind in only one system (red/green or yellow/blue)
Monochromat: sensitive to only white and black
(Normal is trichromat)
211
Feature Detectors
Sensory neurons that respond to particular features of a stimulus (shape, angle, color)
212
Visual Association Cortex
Cortical areas in the occipital, temporal and parietal lobes that analyze visual stimuli and compare it to stored knowledge to determine a meaning
213
2 Characteristics of Sound Waves
Frequency (Hz) - pitch
| Amplitude (decibels) - loudness
214
Cochlea
Coil shaped structure in the inner ear that contains the cilia receptors for sound on it's basilar and tectorial membranes in the organ of corti
215
Coding for loudness
1) Rate of firing
| 2) Specific hair cells
216
Coding for pitch
One below 4000Hz and one above
1) Frequency theory: frequency determines pitch at low frequencies
2) Place theory: which portion of the basilar membrane where the fluid wave peaks
217
Sound Localization
Occurs through differences in time and intensity of sound between the two ears
218
Conduction Deafness
Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechnical system that codncuts sound waves to the cochlea
219
Nerve Deafness
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlear receptors or the auditory nerve
(ie loud music)
220
Tastes
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter
| Enhanced by umami (found in protein)
221
Can each taste bud respond to all the tastes?
No only to one or two
222
Tactile senses
Pressure (touch)
Pain
Hot
Cold
223
Pain receptors are not found in:
brain, hair, nails, non-living parts of teeth, bones
224
Gate Control Theory
Theory that the experience of pain results from opening and closing of gating mechanisms in the NS
ie) rubbing a bruise
225
Kinesthesis
Body sense that provides feedback about position in space and movement of body parts
226
Vestibular Sense
Gives us orientation
| Movement of fluid in the semicircular canals stimulates hair cells and sends signals to the brain
227
Bottom Up Processing
Perceptual processing that begins with the analysis of individual parts of a stimulus and works up to a unified perception
228
Top Down Processing
Perceptual processing in which existing knowledge is applied to make sense of incoming stimulation
229
Attention
Process of selection
| Focusing on certain stimuli and filtering out other stimuli
230
Shadowing
An experimental procedure used in attention research
Person receives two or more messages and is asked to focus on one of them and then cannot remember the other one when asked
Humans are able to shift attention back and forth rapidly between two messages and fill in the gaps
231
Inattentional Blindness
Failure of unattended stimuli to register in consciousness
232
Perceptual Schema
Each person has a schema based on experience and it affects the way we perceive things
233
Perceptual Set
A readiness to perceive stimuli in a particular way
234
Shape Constancy
Allows us to recognize people/objects from different angles
235
Brightness Constancy
The relative brightness of objects remains the same under different conditions of illumination (flashlight in dark vs day time)
236
Stroboscopic Movement
Illusory movement produced when light is briefly flashed in darkness and then a few ms later another light is flashed nearby
237
Illusions
Incorrect perceptions based on constancies that do not apply to the stimuli in question
