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Pysch 100 > Midterm 1 > Flashcards

Midterm 1 Flashcards

1
Q

How is psychology defined?

A

Psychology is considered:
- a scientific study
- associated with behavior and mental processes
(human nature)

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2
Q

What is the Head versus Heart debate?
Who are the major historical figures associated with this debate?
Which side of the debate do they belong and why?

A

-The debate was about which organ played a bigger role
in making decisions: the heart or the brain
- Early Egyptians: believed the heart was more important
than the brain
- Plato: Tripartite theory of reasoning ( 3 organs played a
role: rational thinking was attributed to the brain,
emotional thinking was attributed to the heart (courage)
other emotions where attributed to the gut (lust, greed,
etc.)
- Aristotle: Followed the Cardiac Hypothesis of reasoning
(heart was centered, blood is hotter at the heart, you
can feel the heart beat, and the brain cooled down
blood)
-Hippocrates: believed in the humoral theory ( black bile
(melancholic type), yellow bile (choleric type), blood
(sanguine type), phlegm (phlegmatic type)). Also
convinced that the brain was the major control center
- Claude Galen: Brain was the central organ of cognition,
believed in the ventricular theory (thought that the
ventricles is where thinking took place, and assigned
functions to different ventricles)

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3
Q

What is the Localization versus Holism debate?
Who were the major historical figures associated with this debate?
Which side of the debate do they belong and why?

A
  • The debate was whether or not the brain works as one,
    using more with difficult tasks, or if certain sections do
    certain parts.
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4
Q

How did Rene Descartes think the body and mind interacted?

A
  • Followed a dualism approach
  • The body is an automation with tiny tubes or balloons
    running into muscles
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5
Q

Who is Wilhelm Wundt?

A
  • established first psych lab in Germany (1879)
    -Questioned if you can measure mental processing
    |-> Ran experiment: metal ball dropping and hitting a
    plate, then patient would hear the noice and press
    a button, the delay measured the sound-wave ->
    brain -> signal to press the button
  • Process of introspection: think about the object/sound in
    front of you. Look at their emotions, thoughts, and
    experiences
    -Teacher to Tichnore
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6
Q

What is structuralism and what are the criticism of using objective introspection to gather information?

A

-Structuralism: is advanced interception, structuralism is
the idea that the consciousness can be broken down
into basic elements
- Criticisms include: indefinite answers, experiences
change per exposer, types of questions change the
experience

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7
Q

Who is the father of psychology?

A

Wilhelm Wundt

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8
Q

What is functionalism and who is attributed with establishing this paradigm?

A

-Functionalism: focuses on the adaptive purpose or intent
of cognition and behavior
-Criticisms include: unable to explain social change,
downplays role of individuals

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9
Q

Who established the psychodynamic approach and what did it focus on? Id, Ego, Superego, Criticisms, Levels of consciousness, Defense mechanisms

A
  • Sigmund Freud established the psychodynamic approach
  • This approach focused on the unconscious influences
  • Id - born with it, strong drive, if you have an impulse to do something you do it
  • Ego - developed towards toddler age, rational
    component, regulates Id
  • Superego - developed as you get older, your ideal set,
    moral compass
  • Criticisms: over-sexualized everything, hard to subjectify
    and lack of counter evidence (fallibility)
  • Conscious - Contact with outside world
  • Preconscious - Material just beneath the surface of
    awareness
  • Unconscious - difficult to retrieve this material, well
    below the surface of awareness
  • Defense Mechanisms: Ego’s protective method to deal
    with unacceptable impulses and anxiety. These include:
    Denial (protecting by refusing to perceive it),
    Displacement (redirection of an impulse away from the
    person who prompts it and onto someone else), and
    Projection (projecting one’s unacceptable thought or
    impulses onto other)
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10
Q

What is the focus of behaviorism and how did this shape the face of psychology?

A

-Behaviorism- modifying behavior through rewards and

punishment

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11
Q

Can you explain each of the five modern psychology perspectives discussed in class?

A

-Biological perspective: looked through a biological lens
-Humanistic perspective: belief in existence of free will
and we are essentially “good” and searching for self-
actualization
- Social-Cultural: Investigate the relationship between
group dynamics and the influences of the cult
-Cognitive: studying mental processes such as: memory,
intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning
-Developmental- Investigating various changes that can
occur at certain points across the lifespan

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12
Q

How do some of the contemporary paradigms relate to earlier ones of the field?

A

They encompass parts from all theories

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13
Q

What are the steps of the scientific method?

A
  • Question -> Background research -> Hypothesis ->

Experiment -> Data Analysis -> Replicate

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14
Q

What is the difference between a theory and hypothesis? How do these two concepts relate to one another when it comes to research ideas?

A
  • Theory - an organized set of principles that describes.
    predicts. and explains some phenomenon
  • Hypothesis - A specific testable prediction, often
    derived from a theory
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15
Q

What is the difference between the population being studied and the study sample? Are there certain concerns about how the sample should be selected?

A
  • Population - the overall group of people
  • Sample - random and representative subset of the
    population
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16
Q

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using an observational approach to gather data in the study?

A
  • Observation studies: study of participants in their
    natural environment
  • Issues: mustn’t disturb either the
    environment or participants
  • Operational Definitions: the precise manner in which he
    characteristics are defined and measured
  • Issues: People act differently
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17
Q

Can you explain what is meant by a participant observation?

A
  • Participant Observational Design: The researcher
    directly places themselves amongst the participants in
    the study
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18
Q

What are the pros and cons of surveys?

A
  • Pros: Cheap, easily can act on a mass scale
  • Cons: Ppl are not honest, responsive, how the
    questions are phrased
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19
Q

When might you use a case study to gather data?

A
  • Case study: a lengthy detailed investigation of an
    individual of small group of ppl, usually focus on rare or
    extreme cases that cannot be replicated
  • Issues: takes a large amount of time and money,
    application of the information
20
Q

How can you tell if a correlation is strong? Weak?

A
  • A strong correlation is when the variables are related in
    the same direction
  • A weak correlation is when the relationship is scrambled
21
Q

What does the negative or positive value of the correlation coefficient tell you about the relationship of the variables?

A
  • The sign shows you what direction the relationship

moves in

22
Q

Why do we say that a correlation doesn’t infer causation between the variable?

A
  • Correlation does not infer causations because there can
    be a relationship between the two variables, but not
    they do not necessarily have to cause one another
23
Q

How does an experimental design hold an advantage over correlations?

A 
- Within experimental designs the investigator carefully 
  manipulates variable(s) to observe their effect on 
  another variable to uncover causation
24
Q

Can you give hypothetical examples of experimental designs? Make sure to explain the experimental/control group and the independent/dependent variables.

A
  • Independent variable - manipulated variable
  • Dependent variable - measured outcome
  • Experimental group - receive the manipulation
  • Control group - comparison group
25
Q

What is the nocebo effect? How does it differ from the placebo effect?

A
  • Nocebo effect - a negative attitude or expectation that
    leads to harm and/or other undesirable outcomes (Ex.
    Sugar pill causes stomach pain)
  • Placebo effect - any effect on behavior caused by
    administration of a placebo, which the participant
    assumes to be the active agent
26
Q

What are some concerns (both from the participant and experimenter’s perspectives) with experimental designs? What can be done to help reduce these concerns?

A
  • Experimental bias: when the research expectation
    significantly influence the outcome of the study
  • A fix to this is running a double blind experiment
27
Q

What are the main components and function of the central nervous system?

A
  • Brain

- Spinal Cord

28
Q

What are the functions of the main subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system?

A
  • Autonomic NS - controls unconscious body function (
    HR, BP), splits into Sympathetic NS (Fight or Flight), and
    Parasympathetic NS (Rest or Digest)
  • Somatic NS - voluntary movement of muscle and
    reflexes
29
Q

What are the main features of the prototypical neuron?

A
  • Soma - Cell body
  • Dendrites - receive messages from other cells
  • Axon - passes messages away from the soma to other
    neurons, muscles or glands
  • Terminal Buttons - form junctions with other cells
  • Myelin sheath - covers the axon of neurons and helps
    speed neural impulses
30
Q

What was the War of Soups and Sparks?

A
  • Are neurons electrical or chemical

- Between Luigi Galvani and Otto Loewi

31
Q

Who are Luigi Galvani and Otto Loewi?

A
  • Luigi Galvari - thought he discovered “animal electricity
    after seeing frog legs hung on brass hooks on an iron
    railing
  • Otto Loewi - Conducted an experiment with frog’s hearts
    to demonstrate a chemical interaction between nerves ,
    discovered Ach
32
Q

Review the precess of producing an action potential in a neuron?

A
  • Intraneural Communication (electrical)
  • Resting Potential - state of the inactive neuron
  • Depolarization - electrical charge towards the threshold
    point to create an action potential (Na+ Channels Open)
  • Refractory Period - Point where new action potential
    cannot be generated
33
Q

Why do we say producing an action potential is “all or none”?

A
  • You have an action potential or you don’t, you cannot

have half of one.

34
Q

What is a refractory period in a process of producing an action potential?

A
  • When the neuron cannot fire
35
Q

What is interneuronal communication?

A
  • Chemical Communication
  • Neurotransmitter - a chemical messenger that traverses
    the synapse b/w neurons, and bind to the post synaptic
    receptor on receiving neuron
36
Q

How is an excitatory neurotransmitter different than inhibitory neurotransmitter?

A
  • Excitatory neurotransmitter - causes receiving neuron to
    fire a action potential
  • Inhibitory Neurotransmitter - causes reviving neuron to
    stop firing action potentials
37
Q

What is the difference bewteen an agonist and antagonist?

A
  • Agonist - mimic/enhance neurotransmitter effect on
    receptor site (increases # of neurotransmitter in synaptic
    cleft)
  • Antagonist - block/reduce cell’s response to other
    neurotransmitters (decreases # of neurotransmitter in
    synaptic cleft)
  • Increases/Decreases the likely hood of neurotransmitter
    binding to the post-synaptic receptor
38
Q

What are some of the related functions of GABA, Acetylcholine. Dopamine, and Serotonin?

A
  • GABA - (inhibits serotonin) calming neurotransmitter, has
    to do with restorative sleep, too little leads to insomnia
  • Acetylcholine - helps with memory (CNS), muscle
    contraction (Peripheral NS), too little leads to Alzheimer’s
  • Dopamine - Pleasure neurotransmitter, leads to
    schizophrenia (too much) or parkinson’s disease (too
    little)
  • Serotonin - mood neurotransmitter, has to do with
    dreaming and hallucinations, can lead to depression
39
Q

What might happen if we’d experience damage to the hypothalamus?

A
  • Hypothalamus - Plays a crucial role for modulating and
    regulating a large # of behaviors from eating to sleeping
    (homeostasis)
  • Damage leads to loss of homeostasis
40
Q

How is synesthesia thought to be related to the thalamus?

A
  • Synesthesia - the production of sense impression
    relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation
    of another sense or part of the body (colors associated
    with numbers)
  • Thalamus is the relay station for sensory information
41
Q

What type of brain regions are associated with the limbic system?

A
  • Loosely defined group of structures involved with
    emotion. motivation, and memory
  • Hippocampus, Amygdala
42
Q

What are the main functions of the hippocampus and amygdala?

A
  • Hippocampus - (memory) important for processing and
    creating new memories from experiences, contains 10
    years of memories
  • Damage to hippocampus can lead to memory loss, and
    inability to form new memories
  • Amygdala - (emotions) processes of basic negative
    emotions such as fear, aggression, and rage
  • Seizure activity in the amygdala will lead to rage action
    or lost of fear response
43
Q

Explain the main roles of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?

A
  • Temporal - Important for processing, sounds. including
    language as well as recognizing visual information and
    accessing new memories
  • Seizures in the T lobe lead to auditory hallucinations
  • Occipital Lobe - important for processing and integrating
    components of visual information from color and
    contrast to line orientation and shadow (you see a book
    with O Lobe, and to know its a book is the T Lobe)
  • Seizures here lead you to not orient what u see
  • Parietal Lobe - important for maintaing aspect of our
    attentional system (contains somatosensory cortex)
  • Damage here leads to Unilateral Neglect
44
Q

How is the Capgras delusion thought to be associated with the brain?

A
  • The amygdala appears to play a role in emotional
    tagging of memories
  • Forgets mom and what reality they live in
  • Nerves b/w Amygdala and Hippocampus are cut
  • Auditory receptor ares connected to the amygdala
45
Q

How is unilateral neglect thought to be associated with he brain?

A
  • loss of attention to one side of space and opposite side
    of brain
  • caused by stroke, due to the damage of one of the main
    arteries
  • Diagnosed by drawings

Pysch 100 (4 decks)

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