Term
| What are psychology’ s pre-scientific roots? |
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Definition
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Term
| Who was Wilhelm Wundt and what did he do for the field of psychology? |
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Definition
-father of modern day Psychology
-performed the first experimental study in 1879.
- trained William James who expanded Psychology in America |
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Term
| How is “psychology” defined today? |
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Definition
| the science of behavior and mental processes |
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Term
What are the major psychological perspectives? Give examples of each. Who are the
historical figures associated with these perspectives? |
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Definition
- Psychoanalytic Perspective
-Sigmund Freud
- Focus on the unconscious
-Behavioral Perspective
- B.F. Skinner
- John Watson
-observable behavior
- Cognitive Perspective
- Noam Chomsky; language can be generated
without experience
- focus on mental processes
- Social-cultural Perspective
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Term
Explain the difference between psychology and psychiatry. What are educational
qualifications of each discipline? |
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Definition
Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who provide medine/drugs as well as psychological therapy.
Psychiatry - requires medical degree
- can prescribe medication |
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Term
| Describe the scientific method. How do psychologists get from theories to conclusions? |
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Definition
- systematic way of conducting research
1. Establish a research question
2. Develop Theory
3. Develop hypothesis
4. Design the research
Psychologists get from theories to conclusions by performing research over and over until they reach a valid conclusion. |
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Term
| What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis? |
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Definition
theory - organizes observations
- predicts behaviors
hypothesis - testable
-prediction about a specific set of variables
- developed based of theory |
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Term
What is an operational definition? For example, you should be able to give examples of
operational definitions for “religious devotion”, “athletic ability” and “violence.” Why do
psychologists use operational definitions? |
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Definition
- precise and specific
- allows for replication by others
- religious devotion - how many times do you go to church
- athletic ability - how many sports have you played
-violence - crime rate in cities
- psychologists use this to measure their variable |
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Term
What are the different methods of studying psychology? What are the benefits and
limitations of each? |
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Definition
case study - they show us what can happen and suggest
directions for further study
- can lead to mistaken judgments and false
conclusions
correlations- helps us figure how closely two things vary
together and how well one predicts the
other
- leaves most of the variation among
individuals unpredicted
experiments - we can't infer causation
- not always feasable |
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Term
What are the properties of a correlation? Describe the difference between a correlation of
+.45 and -.55. Which is stronger? |
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Definition
| The properties of correlation are direction and strength. |
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Term
How would you describe the direction of the relationships between the following
variables (that is, do you think they would be positive or negative, and why): Anxiety and social support? IQ and GPA? Time spent practicing golf and one’s golf score? Time spent practicing bowling and one’s bowling score? Exposure to television violence and violent behavior? |
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Definition
- Anxiety and social support - negative; the more social support you have the lest anxiety you will experience.
- IQ and GPA - positive; the higher your IQ the higher your GPA
- Time spent practicing golf and ones golf score - positive; the more you practice the better your score
- television violence and violent behavior - positive; the more television violence the more violent behavior |
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Term
| If 2 variables have a correlation of 0, what does this mean? |
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Definition
| It means they have no relationship |
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Term
| what is an independant/dependant variable? |
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Definition
independant - variable that is manipulated
dependant - variable being measured
ex) in - drug
dep - outcome of peoples depression levels |
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Term
| what is control/ experimental conditions? |
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Definition
experimental - drug
control - placebo |
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Term
| what is random assignment? |
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Definition
assigning participants by chance
important because it allows us to assume all variables are equal |
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Term
Which method allows the researcher to conclude a cause-effect relationship between
variables? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the parts of a neuron? What are the functions of each? |
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Definition
cell body - energy source; life support
axon - sends information
dendrite - recieves information
myelin sheath - speeds up transmission |
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Term
| Which part of the neuron “talks”? Which “listens”? |
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Definition
axon talks
dendrite listens |
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Term
| What is an axon? Dendrite? Myelin sheath? Synapse? |
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Definition
axon - passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
dendrite - recieves messages from other cells
myelin sheath - covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
synapse - the meeting point between neurons |
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Term
| What is meant by the neuron’s “action potential?” |
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Definition
| action potential is a brief electrical charge that travels down its axon |
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Term
| How does a neuron “fire?” Can it fire faster at times and slower at other times? What determines the intensity that we feel? |
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Definition
| There has to be enough electrical impulse or signal. It either fires or it doesn't. The intensity is determined by the number of neurons firing. |
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Term
| Describe the process by which neurons communicate with one another. |
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Definition
| Axon carries information down the action potential. Dendrite recieves information. Myelin Sheath speeds up the information. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals released when information is recieved into the synapse, what is left over is taken back by the reuptake. Then the process starts over. |
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Term
What are neurotransmitters, and how do they work? What are the different
neurotransmitters discussed in class, and how does each influence our behavior? |
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Definition
neurotransmitters are chemical messangers.
Dopamine - involved in movement and emotion
Serotonin - influences mood, sleep, and hunger
GABA - calms people down
Endorphins - natural opiate (runners high) |
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Term
| What are the divisions of the nervous system? What are the functions of each? |
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Definition
Peripheral Nervous System - somatic (connects central
system to voluntary muscles
- autonomic - nonvoluntary
muscles
Central Nervous System |
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Term
| What is the pituitary gland, and what does it do? |
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Definition
| The pituitary gland is a pea sized structure located in the core of the brain where it is controlled by an adjacent brain area, the hypothalamus. It releases hormones that influence growth. |
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Term
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Definition
medulla - the base of the brainstem, controls hearteat and breathing
thalamus - sensory switchboard
reticular formation - controls arousal
cerebellum - nonverbal learning, balance |
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Term
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Definition
amygdala - emotion
hypothalamus - hunger, thirst, body temp
cerebral cortex - ultimate control center
frontal lobes - speaking, muscle movement, judgment
parietal lobes - touch and body position
occipital lobes - vision
temporal lobes - auditory |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| the two hemispheres in the cerebral cortex do what? |
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Definition
| enable percieving, thinking, and speaking |
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Term
| what happens when Broca's area is damaged? |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens when Wernicke's area is damaged? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| brains ability to modify itself to reorganize in response to damage |
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Term
| how are chromosomes, genes, and DNA are related? |
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Definition
Chromosomes contain DNA
Genes = segments of DNA |
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Term
| how many chromosomes from egg and sperm |
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Definition
two pairs of chromosomes
23 from dad
23 from mom |
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Term
| identical twins vs. fraternal twins? (eggs?) |
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Definition
identical twins - single fertilized egg
fraternal twins - develop from 2 eggs |
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Term
| why are adoption and twin studies useful to behavioral genetics? |
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Definition
| because it is the most powerful way to seperate nature and nurture |
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