Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Psych 1,2,9
Psych chapters 1,2,9
136
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
09/27/2009

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
what is psychology the science of
Definition
behavior (observable actions of person) & mind (individual's sensations, perceptions, memories, thoughts, dreams, motives)...
Term
what are the three types of BIOLOGICAL causal explanations used in psych?
Definition
neural, genetic, evolutionary
Term
what are five other types of causal explanation (not biological)
Definition
learning, cognitive, social, cultural, developmental
Term
Who opened the first university-based psychology laboratory? (also what year)
Definition
Wilhelm Wundt, in Germany in 1879
Term
What are the 3 fundamental ideas of psych?
Definition
1. behavior and mental experiences have physical causes (so they can be scientifically analyzed) 2. A person's environment shapes how they think feel and behave 3.The body's machinery is a product of evolution by natural selection
Term
define dualism
Definition
each human being consists of two distinct but intimately conjoined entities, a material body and an immaterial soul
Term
what did descartes initial research show?
Definition
body is intricate complex machine that generates its own heat and does not need a "soul" to move
Term
how did Descartes define thought?
Definition
conscious deliberation and judgement
Term
what did Descartes say about the (nonphysical) soul?
Definition
acts on body at a particular physical location (pineal body) between two brain hemispheres
Term
why does Descartes theory as a philosophy falter?
Definition
does not explain how a non-material entity can affect a material entity or how the body can follow natural law and be moved by a soul that does not.
Term
what did Hobbes argue in Leviathan and what is the philosophy known as today?
Definition
Hobbes argued the spirit (soul) is meaningless and nothing exists but matter and energy. NOW KNOWN AS MATERIALISM!
Term
What school of thought did Hobbes help inspire?
Definition
Empiricism
Term
what did Francois Mergendie demonstrate in 1822
Definition
demonstrated two separate nerve pathways: one carrying messages to central nervous system from skin’s sensory receptors and one for carrying messages out to move muscles. Scientists found brain areas could enhance or inhibit automatic withdrawal responses.
Term
What did reflexology say?
Definition
All human behaviors occur through reflexes. I.M. Sechenov said that all human actions are initiated by stimuli in the environment
Term
what is localization of function in the brain?
Definition
the idea that specific parts of the brain serve specific functions in the production of mental experience and behavior.
Term
what did Pierre Flourens do to animals?
Definition
damaged their brains to show damage in different parts produces different effects
Term
what did Paul Broca show?
Definition
People who suffer injury to a very specific part of brain's left hemisphere lost ability to speak but do not lose other mental abilities.
Term
define Empiricism
Definition
(carried out by John Locke, David Hartley, James Mill, John Stuart Mill) the idea that human knowledge and thought derive ultimately from sensory experience. THEY ARGUED THAT THOUGHTS ARE NOT PRODUCTS OF FREE WILL BUT REFLEXIONS OF ONES EXPERIENCES IN PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Term
define law of association by contiguity
Definition
if a person experiences two stimuli at same time or one right after the other, those two events will be associated in person's mind
Term
define mental chemistry
Definition
complex ideas and thoughts are formed from combinations of elementary ideas much as chemical compounds are formed from combinations of chemical elements
Term
define NATIVISM
Definition
the view that some knowledge and rules of operation are NATIVE to the human mind (they are inborn and do not have to be acquired from experience)
Term
who lead nativist philosophy?
Definition
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Immanuel Kant
Term
do psychologists strive to explain mental experiences and behavior?
Definition
YES!
Term
what is learning level? what is cognitive level? what is developmental level?
Definition
individuals prior experiences with the environment as cause. the individuals knowledge or beliefs as cause, the person's age as cause
Term
what do behavioral neuroscientists study?
Definition
how nervous system produces specific type of experience or behavior
Term
what do cognitive psychologists study?
Definition
relate any behavioral action or mental experience to the items of mental info that underlie that action or experience
Term
what do cultural psychologists do?
Definition
refer to the unique history, economy, and religious or philosophical traditions of a culture to explain the values norms and habits of its people
Term
what are the things that may lead to mental disorders?
Definition
differences in: the nervous system, genes, learning experiences, beliefs or expectations gained from learning, social pressures
Term
what is clinical psychology?
Definition
the specialty is concerned with helping people who have mental disorders or less serious psych problems
Term
are people fascinated by extraodinary claims and often act as though they want to believe them?
Definition
YES!
Term
what were the quantitative and qualitative strategies Pfungst used to disprove the horse "clever hans" ?
Definition
quantitative: percentage answers gotten right with/without blinders. qualitative: looking for signals given by handlers
Term
what is the problem of observer expectancy effects?
Definition
observers (researchers) unintentionally communicate their expectations about how subject SHOULD behave (sways answer of subject)
Term
what are the three types of research strategies? elaborate:
Definition
1. research design (three basic types: experiments, correlational studies, descriptive studies)
2. The setting in which study is conducted (field and laboratory)
3. The data-collection method (self report and observation)
Term
what is the difference between WITHIN-SUBJECT EXPERIEMENTS and BETWEEN-GROUP EXPERIMENTS?
Definition
within-subject experiment: the different conditions of the IV are applied to each subject
between-groups: the different conditions are applied across the different groups of subjects
Term
what is random assignment?
Definition
random assignment is used in between-group studies to prevent the possibility that groups differ at the outset of experiment in some SYSTEMATIC WAY THAT COULD BIAS THE RESULTS
Term
define correlational study
Definition
a study in which the researcher does not manipulate any variable but observes or measures two or more variables to find relationships between them (parents style of ruling vs. children's behavior)
Term
can cause and effect be determined from a correlational study?
Definition
HELL NO!
Term
define descriptive study
Definition
describing the behavior of an individual or set of individuals without systematically investigating realtionships between variables (courtship behavior of ducks to show movements involved!) (JANE GOODALL AS WELL)
Term
define naturalistic observation
Definition
researcher avoids interfering with subject's behavior
Term
descriptive vs. inferential stats
Definition
descriptive: are used to summarize sets of data
inferential: help researchers decide how confident they can be in judging that the results observed are not due to chance.
Term
when both variables are measured numerically, the strength and direction of the relationship can be assessed by a statistic called the...
Definition
CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
Term
what do inferential stats do?
Definition
inferential statistical methods, applied to either an experiment or a correlational study, are procedures for calculating the probability that the observed results could derive from chance alone
Term
what is p ?
Definition
level of significance
Term
when are results STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT?
Definition
if the value of p is less than 5 percent! (.05). To say this means that the probability is small the results would be caused by chance alone.
Term
when are results STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT?
Definition
if the value of p is less than 5 percent! (.05). To say this means that the probability is small the results would be caused by chance alone.
Term
what are the three components of a test of statistical significance?
Definition
1. the size of the observed effect (larger dif between mean scores between 2 different groups)
2. the number of individual subjects or observations (if the # of subjects or observations is huge, then even very small effects will be statistically significant)
3. the variability of the data within each group
Term
differentiate between positive and negative correlation:
Definition
Positive correlation: increase increase
Negative correlation: increase in one variable coincides with a tendency for the other variable to decrease
Term
define Bias
Definition
nonrandom effects caused by some factor or factors extraneous to the research hypothesis
Term
what is the best way to prevent observer-expectancy effects?
Definition
The best way to prevent observer-expctancy effects is to keep the observer blind—that is, uniformed—about those aspects of the study’s design that could lead to expectations about the outcome.
Term
what are subject-expectancy effects?
Definition
Subject-expectancy effects- people who take a drug may subsequently behave or feel a certain way simply because they believe the drug causes such a behavior or feeling.
Term
what is a double-blind experiment?
Definition
Double-blind experiment: an experiment in which both the observer and the subjects are kept blind. (observers are not told who got placebo and who did not get placebo)
Term
define memory
Definition
the change within an individual brought on by learning that can influence the individual's future behavior. ALSO: all of the information in a person's mind and the mind's capacity to store and retrieve that information
Term
define consciousness
Definition
(for practical purposes consciousness is) the experiencing of one's own mental events in such a manner that one can report on them to others
Term
In general do cognitive models attempt to explain how mental tasks are accomplished at the neural level?
Definition
HELL NO (however, in recent years, cognitive psychologists have attempted to match up the compartments of their hypothetical models with physical locations in the brain)
Term
what does the modal model of the mind portray three types of? and what are these three types?
Definition
MEMORY STORES! sensory memory, short term (working) memory, long-term memory
Term
what are the control processes of the mind?
Definition
attention, rehearsal, encoding, retrieval
Term
how long does some trace of sensory input stay in your information processing system?
Definition
less than one second for sights, and up to several seconds for sounds. CALLED SENSORY MEMORY
Term
Is a separate sensory-memory store believed to exist for each sensory system?
Definition
YES! (but only vision and hearing have been studied extensively)
Term
what two competing needs does our attention meet?
Definition
1.focus mental resources on task at hand and not be distracted by other stuff
2. monitor stimuli that are irrelevant to the task at hand and to shift attention immediately to anything that signals some danger or benefit that outweighs the task.
Term
what is preattentive processing?
Definition
analysis occurs at an unconscious level
Term
what is auditory sensory memory called?
Definition
ECHOIC MEMORY! the brief memory trace for a specific sound is called the ECHO
Term
what is visual sensory memory called?
Definition
ICONIC MEMORY and the breif memory trace for a specific visual stimulus is called the ICON
Term
according to some psychologists can the capacity to attend to several items at once be increased with practice?
Definition
YES!
Term
define priming
Definition
the activation, by sensory input, of information that is already stored in long-term memory
Term
Stroop interference effect
Definition
a color is written in a different color than it represents and it takes readers longer to read the color of the word than the color the word represents because people have the inability to prevent themselves from reading the word
Term
what three general conclusions have emerged from studies of brain mechanisms of preattentive processing and attention?
Definition
1. stimuli that are not attended to nevertheless activate sensory and perceptual areas of the brain
2. Attention magnifies the activity that stimuli produce in sensory and perceptual areas of the brain
3. Neural mechanisms in anterior (forward) portions of the cortex are responsible for shifts in attention
Term
what are three things involved in a choice decision reaction time?
Definition
1. sense and detect stimulus
2. decide whether + or - sign
3. respond (by pressing A or Z key)
Term
decision latency
Definition
shown in doing a simple vs choice reaction time = the time it takes for you to make a decision
Term
define functionalism
Definition
William James wrote book called "Principles of Psychology" what is the FUNCTION and how does it serve the REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF SPECIES!?
Term
what are functionalists the fathers of?
Definition
evolutionary psychology!
Term
who were the behaviorists and what is the Law of effect?
Definition
John Watson and B.F. Skinner around 1913 said we should measure psychology by observable events. Law of effect=behaviors that are followed by positive consequences tend to repeated.
Term
why did psychoanalysts and behaviorists say about language?
Definition
psychoanalysts said words were really important but behaviorists said language isn't observable, they would call it "verbal behavior"
Term
what would behavioral psychologists do to "Tony" a person who experiences dissociative identity disorder?
Definition
Use shocks and rewards to only exhibit the original Tony
Term
what was HM's problem? what COULD he do?
Definition
had epilepsy and the treatment used to cure him removed part of brain responsible for epileptic seizures. Part of hippocampus missing because of procedure. he had NO SHORT OR LONG TERM MEMORY....however he did have procedural memory (he could shave, change a tire, and type! )
Term
what are the four measures of central tendency?
Definition
purpose, mean, median, mode
Term
6 steps of standard deviation:
Definition
Understanding standard deviation
-On average how much does each score differ from the mean
1. find mean of a set of scores
2. subtract each score in the set from the mean
3. square each difference (gets rid of negatives)
4. Add all the squared differences (analogous to computing mean)
5. divide by 1 less than total number of scores
6.Take the square root of the result
Term
is only having the mean in an experiment useful?
Definition
HELL NO! THE MEAN ALONE IS MEANINGLESS, WHITHOUT THE STD I DON’T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE MEAN HAPPENS TO BE.
Term
What was the Milgrim experiment?
Definition
THE SHOCK EXPERIMENT where 60% of participants gave lethal shocks to the actors answering the questions!
Term
is compensation contingent upon completion?
Definition
NO!
Term
what do neurons do?
Definition
Neurons AID COMMUNICATION until you execute a behavior.
Neuron uses chemo-electric communication, both chemical aspects and electrical aspects
Term
what is myelin sheath and what does it do?
Definition
a layer of fat (found mostly in motor neurons). Main goal is to speed communication
Term
describe the resting state of a neuron
Definition
more sodium outside, more K+ inside, INSIDE MORE NEGATIVE! protein molecules negative charge
Term
what is general resting potential?
Definition
-50 to -80 millivolts
Term
what happens during action potential?
Definition
neuron stimulated
-channels (gates) in membrane open
-POSITIVE SODIUM IONS RUSH IN
-LARGE POSITIVE INCREASE IN THAT PORTION OF THE AXON
Term
what is it called when cell slowly becomes more positive?
Definition
DEPOLARIZATION!
Term
what are the broken points between myelin sheath called?
Definition
NODES OF RANVIER!
Term
salutatory conduction
Definition
Rather than having to generate action potential, it essentially “jumps” sort of passively goes down and is regenerated
Term
what is electroencephalogram
Definition
EEG--one of first attempts to visualize brain function. Measures electrical activity in large groups of neurons.
Term
explain synapse
Definition
Synaptic gap (space where no physical interaction)
Presynaptic neuron
-action potential reaches the terminal buttons
-vesicles stored in terminal buttons contain neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters released into synaptic gap.
Term
what happens between pre and post synaptic neurons?
Definition
*Action potential reaches terminal buttons
-Release of neurotransmitter by presynaptic neuron
-Binds to post synaptic neuron
-Causes action potential in post synaptic neuron
Term
what is parkinson's disease? how can it be fixed?
Definition
temors in legs that evolve into failure to initiate activity. (substantianigra) Use LDOPA which iis a chemical precursor to dopamine and body synthesizes dopamine.
Term
what is prozac (exactly) what does it do?
Definition
Prozac is a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor SSRI. It is a treatment for depression
Term
what are the limitations of lesion studies? Also what are limitations of looking at one person's damage due to stroke?
Definition
you don't know how well findings in mice will be synonymous with humans. We don't know how representative that is of whole population (we dont know the extent of the damage as well, there could be damage to other parts)
Term
Is the human brain a SYSTEM?
Definition
FUCK YES!
Term
What portion of brain is most recently evolved, differentiates among species?
Definition
Forebrain
Term
what is the cerebral cortex connected by at its two hemispheres?
Definition
HUGE MASSIVE BAND OF NEURONS called corpus callosum (responsible for communicating between right and left hemispheres)
Term
Frontal lobe...prefrontal lobe
Definition
most of motor functions (in front of frontal lobe)
Term
Occipatal lobe
Definition
vision (back of brain)
Term
Temporal lobe
Definition
hearing (toward bottom of brain)
Term
Parietal lobe
Definition
touch (sensory)
Term
Brocas asphaysia vs. Wernickes patients
Definition
Brocas patients could not produce speech BUT they had NO PROBLEMS WITH COMPREHENSION. Wernicke was the opposite, they could talk a lot (nonsense) but they couldn't comprehend
Term
which hemisphere is language dominant in most people?
Definition
LEFT HEMISPHERE!
Term
Define transduction
Definition
change in form of energy. receptors (specialized neurons) convert energy from outside world to energy of nervous system
Term
what is adequate stimulus?
Definition
form of energy that will MOST READILY bring about a response in a sensory system (adequate stimulus for vision are photons we see as light) for touch it is pressure
Term
is color a property of light?
Definition
HELL NO Physical properties give rise to perceptual features--how do those get translated into perceptual responses of individual (its in your perceptual response to that stimulus)
Term
how do we perceive color?
Definition
differences in WAVELENGTH
Term
how do we perceive brightness?
Definition
differences in AMPLITUDE
Term
what does the pupil do?
Definition
protective mechanism that regulates amount of light
Term
what does Lens do?
Definition
Squishy convex shaped structure allows you to focus on things very far away and also very close
Term
Optic disk
Definition
point at which optic nerve leaves the eye is your blindspot
Term
define retina
Definition
thin tissue that contains neurons called photoreceptors (rods and cones: THEY HAVE PHOTOCHEMICALS that respond to light)
Term
cones (7 million each retina)
Definition
photochemicals in cones respond best to high amplitude light waves. They also respond to color. no good in dark
Term
rods
Definition
respond best to dim illumination
do not respond to color
Term
List steps from retina to perception (there are three)
Definition
Optic nerve, occipital lobe, feature detectors in brain (highly specific, only respond to certain things like vertical lines, horizontal lines, 90 degree angle orientation)
Term
what is the adequate stimulus for vision?
Definition
light
Term
what happens after light enters eye?
Definition
1. enters eye focused on retina
2. neurons with photochemicals (in retina) FIRE ACTION POTENTIAL WHEN EXPOSED TO LIGHT
3. action potential to occipital lobe via optic nerve
Term
how do coclear implants work?
Definition
electrodes implanted in cochlear NEXT TO auditory nerve. microphone on belt receives sound and transmits to electrodes. electrodes DIRECTLY STIMULATE AUDITORY NERVE. complete bypassing of peripheral auditory system.
Term
do people with cochlears have difficulty perceiving music?
Definition
yes! :(
Term
once you have a cochlear implant can you go back if you don't like it and get a hearing aid?
Definition
HELL NO! It's permanent because it destroys all your hair cells
Term
what frequencies are important to speech?
Definition
20 - 3,000 HERTZ
Term
what is the adequate stimulus for smell and taste?
Definition
specific chemical compound
Term
what are transducers for smell?
Definition
receptors in nasal passage (respond only to a specific shape of chemical compounds)
Term
what are transducers in taste?
Definition
transducers are taste buds on tongue.
Term
why do tasting after effects occur?
Definition
fatiguing of specific taste buds
Term
what smells are females better at identifying?
Definition
juicy fruit gum, coconut, prune juice
Term
(important) difference between sensation and perception
Definition
receptors transduce info: sensation
brain interprets that information:perception
Term
(important) difference between sensation and perception
Definition
receptors transduce info: sensation
brain interprets that information:perception
Term
what is prosopagnosia?
Definition
Inability to recognize familiar faces (can identify facial features, cannot recognize individual people)
Term
Define Binocular disparity
Definition
you have two eyes and they are separated in your head and they have different views of the world. THE INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION GIVES YOU DEPTH
Term
(important) can we perceive depth even with one eye?
Definition
YES! (based on experience in real world). Also, size of retinal image (in real world, smaller images on retina mean object is farther away)
Term
what is the ames room?
Definition
trapazoidal room, assumption that room is rectangular so people appear to be different sizes because standing on slanted ground--you look through a peep-hole to view them
Term
who were Gestalt psychologists?
Definition
OPPOSITE OF STRUCTURALISTS! School lasted from 1920-1950. want to understand how things operate by looking at the whole (they think you will NEVER understand how things work because we don't base our perception on individual components)
Term
what is the perceptual grouping-principle of closure?
Definition
Complete stimuli to form objects (no clear cues to figure vs. ground) Dalmation picture example
Term
what can context make us see?
Definition
context can make us see things that are not really in the stimulus. (maybe the most powerful effect o
Term
how do we test depth perception in infants?
Definition
visual cliff example
Term
there are a few examples from 9/25/09 not covered in flashcards (cochlear implants, blind example, inverted glasses example)
Definition
read 9/25 lecture notes!!!
Supporting users have an ad free experience!