Midterm review cards Flashcards
(177 cards)
1
Q
Psychology:
A
the scientific study of behaviour, thought, experience, and how they can be
affected by physical, mental, environmental factors
2
Q
Scientific method:
A
using theories to make hypotheses
- A way of learning about the world thru collecting observations, making theories
to explain them, and using theories to make predictions
3
Q
Pseudoscience:
A
idea that is presented as science but does not use principles of scientific
thinking or procedure
4
Q
Hypothesis
A
must be testable, is either supported or rejected, cannot be proven
must be falsifiable
5
Q
Biopsychosocial model
A
means of explaining behaviours as a product of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors
6
Q
what are examples of biological influences on our behaviour?
A
involves - brain structures and chemicals, hormones and external substances such as drugs
7
Q
Psychological influences on our behaviour
A
involve our memories, emotions and personalities and how these factors shape the way we think about and respond to different people and situations
8
Q
sociocultural factors that influence behaviour
A
include family peers, ethnicity and culture
9
Q
Scientific literacy
A
understanding, analyzing, and applying scientific information
10
Q
Principle of parsimony
A
the simplest of all competing explanations of a phenomenon should be the one we accept
11
Q
Empiricism
A
a philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience
knowledge about the world is based on careful observation
ex. learning spanish by living in spain
12
Q
Determinism
A
belief that all events are governed by lawful cause-and-effect
relationships
opposite of free-will
- Free will vs. Determinism: behaviour has internal (e.g. genes) and external (e.g.
cultural) influences
Ex. becoming violent adult due to growing up in violent household
13
Q
Hippocrates
A
came up w world’s first personality classification (blood, yellow bile, black
bile, phlegm); Galen of Pergamon later expanded these humours into temperaments
- ancient Greeks believed that fluids flowed through body and influenced health and personality
14
Q
Galen of Pergamon
A
later expanded Hippocrates humours into temperaments
- sanguine, choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic
15
Q
Galens four temperments and what they mean
A
Sanguine (blood) - tendency to be impulsive, pleasure seeking and charismatic
Choleric (yellow bile) - tendency to be ambitious, energetic and a bit aggressive
Melancholic (black bile) - a tendency to be independent, perfectionistic and a bit introverted
Phlegmatic (phlegm) - a tendency to be quiet, relaxed and content with life
16
Q
Why did Psych only become scientific in late 1800s
A
Zeitgeist: general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history
(didn’t want psych to turn scientific bc that would mean people lacked souls)
- Materialism (belief that living beings are made only of physical matter) vs.
Dualism (humans are also made of things that are not material – mind/soul)
17
Q
Gustav Fechner
A
invented psychophysics: study of relationship between physical world
and mental representation of that world
also the proportion thing: for a person to perceive a noticeable difference in a stimulus, the change in intensity must be proportional to the original intensity of the stimulus
18
Q
Clinical psychology:
A
the field of psychology that concentrates on diagnosis + treatment
of psychological disorders
19
Q
Localization of brain function
A
(certain parts of brain responsible for certain abilities +
personality): phrenology (bumps on people’s head mean specific things) was a big thing
20
Q
Franz Mesmer:
A
discovered hypnosis by using magnets, Freud later used w his patients to
gain access to suppressed memories + emotions, helped him develop psychoanalysis
21
Q
phrenology
A
(gall and spurzheim)
brain consisted of 27 different organs corresponding to mental traits and dispositions through accidents and injuries
- studying injuries in the brain and how it affected behaviour
22
Q
SIgmund Freud
A
First formal psychiatrist
- worked with adults
psychoanalysis - unconcious mid contained forgotten memories from childhood influencing behaviour in adults
used hypnosis to reach these areas of the brain
23
Q
Sir Francis Galton:
A
invented eugenics, pioneer of nature vs. nurture, but he believed
more in nature + superior genetics
24
Q
Wilhelm Wundt:
A
made psychology an independent science; made first laboratory to
study human behaviour in 1879, studied introspection, “looking within”
- Wundt’s student Edward Titchener invented structuralism
- participant is presented with a simple stimulus, like a metronome ticking, and then asked to carefully describe their immediate sensations, feelings, and thoughts experienced upon hearing the sound, essentially “looking inward” at their own conscious experience in that moment.
- journaling
25
structuralism:
invented by Edward Titchener, student of wilhelm wundt
believed that mental
experiences were made of a certain number of sensations/elements
26
William James
thought to be the father of psychology
wrote first psychology textbook (pub. 1890), led to functionalism: to fully understand behaviour, have to see purpose/its function in evolution
ex. loud parent shouts - child or spouse bursts into tears - function to stop parent
27
Behaviourism:
North America first half of 1900s, studied only observable behaviour
(promoted heavily by John B. Watson who believed he could engineer personality)
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functionalism
study of the purpos and function of behaviour on concious decision - ex. child or spouse crying stops yelling - invented by william james
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John B. Watson
conditioning child to fear stuffed animal
lead behaviouralist movement
30
B.F. Skinner
principles of reward and punishment could be applied to all organisms not just humans (radical behaviouralism)
31
Kurt Lewin
founder of modern psych
behaviour is function of individual and
environment
32
Gestalt psychology
psychologists need to focus on whole perception + experience, rather than it's parts
33
cognitive psychology
focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, language
34
humanistic psychology
focuses on each person’s freedom to act + that ppl are diff from
animals (Carl Rogers + Abraham Maslow)
35
Hebb's Law
memory is occuring at cellular level (cells that fire together wire together)
36
Wilder Penfield
mapped out sensory and motor movements of the brain through surgical procedures that helped patients with epilepsy
37
Donald Hebb
Canadian neuroscientist - how cells in brain change over learning - developped Hebb's Law
38
Female psychologists
Anna Freud
Karen Horney
Sandra Bem
Shelly Taylor - sex differences in response to stress - fight or flight, tend and befriend
39
Characteristics of quality research
- Based on measurements that are objective, valid, reliable
- Can be generalized
- Uses techniques that reduce bias
- Is made public
- Can be replicated
40
Objective measurments
the measure of an entity or behaviour that, within margin of
error, is consistent across instruments + observers
41
Operational definitions:
statements that describe the procedures + specific measures
used to record observations
42
Validity
the degree to which a procedure actually measures what it claims to measure
43
Generalizability
the degree to which one set of results can be applied to other
situations, individuals + events
44
Hawthorne effect:
behaviour that changes as a result of being observed
45
5 characteristics of poor research:
- Produces untestable hypotheses
- Relies on anecdotes + personal experiences
- Includes biased selection of data
- Makes appeals to authority not facts
- Makes appeals to common sense
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Correlational research
measures degree of association bt 2 or more variables
- Positive: 2 variables change values in same direction
- Negative: as value of one variable increases, value of other variable decreases
- Coefficient 0: no relationship btw 2 variables
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Random assignment
dividing samples into 2 or more groups participants are equally
likely to be placed in any condition of experiment
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Quasi-experimental
2 or more groups selected based on predetermined characteristics
(e.g. study comparing men and women)
49
ERB
All institutions have to have a research ethics board (ERB) committee of researchers
+ officials that protect human research participants
50
Monozygotic twins
identical twins, come from a single egg (almost 100% genetic similarity)
51
DIzigotic twins
fraternal twins, 2 separate eggs (50% genetic similarity)
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Longitudinal studies
studies that follow same individuals for many years (often decades)
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Neurotoxin/toxic
attacks cells of the nervous system
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Glutamate:
the most common excitatory neurotransmitter in the brains of vertebrates
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GABA
prevents neurons from firing action potentials
the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter of the nervous system
56
Acetylcholine
voluntary muscle movement
one of the most widespread neurotransmitters within the body, found at the
junctions between nerve cells + skeletal muscles v imp. for voluntary movements
57
Dopamine:
a monoamine neurotransmitter that takes care of mood, voluntary movements,
rewarding experiences
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Norepinephrine:
a monoamine that regulates stress responses, incl. arousal, attention, heart
rate
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Epinephrine (adrenaline):
a hormone + neurotransmitter created in the adrenal gland on the
kidneys
works w noradrenaline
60
Serotonin
monoamine that regulates mood, sleep, aggression + appetite
61
agonists
drugs that enhance or mimic effects of a neurotransmitter’s action
Ex. nicotine is an acetylcholine agonist
there are direct and indirect agonists
direct physically binds to the receptor whereas indirect just facilitates the effect without physically binding
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Antagonists:
inhibit neurotransmitters by blocking receptors or preventing synthesis of a
neurotransmitter
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Hypothalamus:
brain structure that regulates basic bio needs and motivational systems
releases chemicals called release factors that stimulate the pituitary gland
64
Pituitary gland
the master gland of the endocrine system that produces hormones + sends
commands abt hormone prod to the other glands of the endocrine system
65
adrenal glands
a pair of endocrine glands located next to the kidneys that release stress
hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine
66
endorphin
a hormone produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus that functions to reduce pain and induce feelings of pleasure
67
Three regions of the brain
hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain
68
Hindbrain
Basic life-sustaining processes
Brainstem - medulla (basic functions - breathing salivating, sneesing) + pons (wakefulness, dreaming, swallowing)
reticular formation: from medulla upwards to midbrain: attention and alertness
Cerebellum - base of brain - coordination
69
Midbrain
Visual + auditory attention
- Superior + inferior colliculi: responsible for auditory attention
- Substantia nigra area in midbrain that has connections to forebrain, network
that has dopamine cells (Parkinson’s disease loss of dopamine cells here)
70
Forebrain
Emotion, memory, thinking, reasoning
Limbic system
hypocampus
basal ganglia
hypothalamus and thalamus
71
Basal ganglia
group of 3 structures that do planned movements, skill learning,
integrated sensory + movement info w brain’s reward system
- Form networks that promote + inhibit movement
- Ppl who practice sports a lot have modified their basal ganglia
- Huntington’s disease + Tourette’s ganglia
- Pleasure + reward (nucleus accumbens)
72
Limbic system
resp. for emotion + memory
contains:
- Amygdala: memory for emotional events, fear responses, recog. +
intrerpr. emotional stimuli
- Hypothalamus
- -Thalamus
- - Hippocambus
73
hippocampus
learning + memory, esp. forming new memories
74
hypothalamus
reg. body temp, aggression + sex drive along w endocrine
system
75
thalamus
set of nuclei that relay sensory info to diff regions of brain
76
Four lobes of brain
occibital, parietal, temporal and frontal
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occipital
Located at rear of brain
- Receives visual info from thalamus, sent along 2 visual pathways one projects
to temporal lobes, object recogn, one projects to parietal lobes, vision
78
parietal
Responsible for touch + body awareness
- Front edge – somatosensory cortex (densely packed nerve cells that register
touch)
- Math, visuospatial + attention tasks
- Right parietal lobe damage: neglect – patient does not attend to anything in left
half of visual field
79
temporal lobes
Located at sides of brain near ears, used for hearing, language, object + face
recognition
- Top of: auditory cortex (essential for hearing) damage = cortical deafness
- Near back: Wernicke’s area, understanding language
- Hippocampus = middle portion
80
Frontal lobes
Responsible for planning, regulating impulses + emotions, language production,
voluntary movements
- Guide + reflect on own thought processes
- Rear = neurons that form primary motor cortex (control of voluntary
movement)
- Front 2/3 = prefrontal cortex: decision-making + controlling our attention
81
corpus callosum
Midline bt cerebral hemispheres:
collection of neural fibres connecting them
- Allows right + left hemispheres to communicate w each other
82
Hemispheric specialization
each side does v diff tasks
- Right: visual + spatial skills, visual recognition, music processing
- Left: language + math
83
neuroplasticity
brain’s capacity to change + rewire itself based on individual exp.
84
Medulla
part of hindbrain
(basic functions – breathing, salivating, sneezing)
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pons
part of hindbrain
(wakefulness, dreaming, swallowing)
86
fMRI:
measures brain activity by detecting influx of oxygen-rich blood into
neural areas that were just active (similar to PET scans but easier to use)
87
Electroencephalogram (EEG):
measures patterns of brain activity with use of electrodes
attached to scalp
tells when ppl w epilepsy are having seizures
88
PET
Positron emission tomography (PET): low level of radioactive isotope injected into
blood, movement to regions of brain being used is measured
89
sensation
detecting external events with sense organs + turning those stimuli into
neural signals
90
Perception
Raw sensory info is relayed to brain, where perception occurs
- Perception: attending to, organizing + interpreting stimuli that we sense
91
transduction
when specialized receptors transform physical energy of outside world into neural
impulses
92
Doctrine of specific nerve energies:
different senses are separated in the brain
(1826, Johannes
Muller)
infants have overlapping sensation
93
sensory adaptation
reduction of activity in sensory receptors w repeated exposure to a stimulus
94
William Gustav Fecher
one of the first perception researchers and how their intensity relate to psychological experience
- psychophysics
95
absolute threshhold
min. amount of energy or quantity of a stimulus required for it to be detected at least 50% of the time it is presented
96
Difference threshold:
smallest diff bt stimuli that can be detected at least 50% of time
ex. adding sugar until can taste a difference in sweetness
97
Weber's Law
just noticeable diff bt 2 stimuli changes as a proportion of those stimuli
ex. adding a small teaspoon to small cup of coffee more noticeable than adding small teaspoon to a large coffee (proportion)
98
Signal detection theory
whether a stimulus is perceived depends on the sensory exp. AND the
judgement made by the subject
99
Priming
prev. exposure to a stimulus can influence person’s later responses, either to stimulus
or one that is related to it
100
Gestalt psychology
“the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (something has little
meaning on its own, but has a diff meaning when combined)
101
Gestalt's principles
figure and ground
proximity
continuity
closure
102
proximity principle
perceive things close to eachother as a group/similar
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continuity principle
we tend to think of things as continuous
104
closure principle
tendency to fill gaps to complete a whole object
105
Bottom-up processing:
when we perceive individual bits of sensory info (e.g. sounds) + use them to make a more complex perception
106
top-down processing
when our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or by prior
knowledge
107
divided attention
when we are paying attention to more than one stimulus at a time
108
selective attention
focusing on one particular event/task
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perceptual set
a filter that influences what aspects of a scene we pay attention to
110
Function of eye
to gather light + change it into action potential
111
wavelength
distance between peaks on a wave
112
amplitude
height of a wave
low amp = dim colours
high amp = bright colours
113
hue
colour of the spectrum,
114
intensity
brightness,
115
saturation
colourfulness
116
sclera
the white, outer surface of the eye
117
cornea
the clear layer that covers front portion of the eye + contrib. to the eye’s ability to
focus
118
pupil
where light enters - black part
regulates the amount of light that enters by changing its size; dilates (expands) to allow
more light to enter + constricts (shrinks) to allow less light in eye
119
iris
a round muscle that adjusts the size of the pupil + gives eyes their colour
120
lens
clear structure that focuses light onto back of the eye
121
accommodation
when lens changes its shape to ensure light entering the eye is refracted in a
way that it is focused when it reaches back of the eye
122
retina
lines the inner surface of the back of the eye + has specialized receptors that absorb
light + send signals related to properties of light to the brain
123
photoreceptors
specialized receptors in the retina
where light is transformed into a neural signal the brain would understand
124
optic nerve
dense bundle of fibre that connect to the brain
125
two types of photoreceptors
cones and rods
126
cones
photoreceptor that helps see COLOUR. concentrated in the fovea/centre of the retina
1:1 cone to ganglia receptor
127
rod
photoreceptor
occupy peripheral regions of the retina; highly sensitive under low
light levels
BLACK, WHITE and grey
128
fovea
central region of the retina (where cones are clustered)
129
dark adaptation
= process by which rods + cones become increasingly sensitive to light under low
levels of illumination
130
Trichromatic theory
colour vision is determined by 3 diff cone types that are
sensitive to short, medium + long wavelengths of light (Young-Helmholtz)
131
opponent-process theory
we perceive colours in terms of opposing pairs
132
optic chiasm
point where optic nerves cross at midline of brain
133
Feature detection cells:
cells in visual cortex that respond selectively to simple + specific aspects of a stimulus (e.g., angles
+ edges)
134
what are the two streams of vision
Ventral and dorsal
135
ventral stream
extends from visual cortex to lower part of temporal lobe;
136
dorsal stream
extends from visual cortex to parietal lobe
137
Perceptual constancy
ability to perceive objects as having constant shape, size + colour despite
changes in perspective
138
Binocular depth:
distance cues based on differing perspectives of both eyes
the ability to perceive the distance or depth of an object using information from both eyes, specifically relying on the slight difference in the images received by each eye, known as "retinal disparity,"
139
Convergence:
when eye muscles contract so both eyes focus on a single object
140
retinal disparity
aka binocular disparity - difference in relative position of an object as seen by both eyes; provides info
to brain abt depth
141
stereoscopic vision
what we have which allows up to process overlapping visual fields
142
monocular cues
depth cues that we can perceive w only one eye
143
Myopia
Nearsightedness (can see objects in close proximity) - Eyeball is slightly elongated
144
Hyperopia
Farsightedness (can we distant objects) - Eyeball is compressed
145
Pitch
perceptual experience of sound wave frequencies
146
Outter ear
pinna
auditory canal
eardrum
147
Pinna
- outer ear
- flexible outer flap of the ear
- channels sound in waves, allowing you to determine source/location of a sound
148
auditory canal
pinna to eardrum cannal
149
eardrum
vibrates - is attatched to ossicles
150
Middle ear
ossicles
151
ossicles
3 tiny moveable bones - malleus, incus and stapes (hammer, anvil and stirryp)
- attatch to cochlea
152
Inner ear
cochlea
153
cochlea
fluid filled membrane in inner ear that is coildd in a snake like shape and contains the structures that convert sound into neural impulses
154
sound localization
process of identifying where sound comes from - inferior collicus
155
sound shadow
your ear opposite to direction of sound is on this side
156
place theory of hearing
how we perceive pitch is based on the location along the basilar membrane that sounds stimulates
157
frequency theory
perception of pitch is related to frequency at which the basilar membrane vibrates/ossicles press into cochlea
70Hz = 70 times/second
158
volley principle
groups of neurons fire in an alternating fashion
159
primary auditory cortex
major perceptual centre of the brain involved in perceiving what we hear
160
secondary auditory cortex
region of the brain theat helps interpret complex sounds like music and speech
161
Vestibular system
sensory system in the ear that provides information about spacial orientation of the head as well as head motion
consists of the:
1) vestibular sacs
2) semicircular canals
162
vestibular sacs
structures of vestibular system that influence our ability to detect when head is no longer upright position - made up of the utricle and saccule
163
semicircular canals
3 fluid filled canals in the inner ear that respond when the head moves in different directions - there's a thing called ampulla at the base of each canal
164
Somatosensory cortex
in prain in parietal loves - neural region associated with sense of touch
165
haptics -
active, exploratory aspect of touch sensation and perception
166
kinesthesis
coordinating movement - sense of your podily motion and position, receptors transmit info about movement and position of muscles to your brain
167
Nociception
activity of nerve pathways that respond to uncomfortable stimulation
nociceptors are receptors that initiate pain messages
168
nociceptors
nociceptors are receptors that initiate pain messages
169
gate control theory
explains experience of pain as an interaction between nerves that transmit pain messages and those that inhibit these messages
- why rubbing toe after stubbing it may alieviate pain
170
Taste
gustatory system - functions in the sensation and perception of taste
- salt, sweet, bitter, sour, umami
171
papillae
visible small taste bumps on which there are taste bud cells
- over surface of tongue
172
smell
olfactory system
173
olfactory system
involved in smell - detection of airborne particles with specialized receptors located in the nose
174
olfactory epithelium
thin layer of cells lined by sensory receptors called cilia
175
olfactory bulb
serves as brain's central region for processing smells
176
multimodal integration
ability to combine sensation from different modalities such as vision and hearing, into a single integrated perception
177
cortical deafness
auditory cortex (essential for hearing) damage
( in temporal lobes)
