1. Describe (what)

2. Explain (why)

3. Predict (when)

4. Change 

American Psych. William James

Cofounder: Sigmund Freud 

1. psychodynamic

2. Behavioral 

3. Humanistic

4. Cognitive

5. Biological 

6. Evolutionary

7. Sociocultural 

Basic: research to advance scientific knowledge (meets the goals of describe, explain, and predict) 

Applied: Research designed to solve practical problems (meets the goal of change) 

1. Question and literature review 

2. Testable hypothesis

3. Research Design 

4. Data collection and analysis 

5. Publication 

6. Theory development 

1. Experimental 

2. Descriptive

3. Correlational 

4. Biological 

Identify cause and effect (manipulation and control of variable)

1. Meets psychological goal explanation 

2. Allows researchers precise control over variables, helps identify cause and effect 

Observe, collect, and record data (naturalistic observation, surveys, case studies) 

1. Meets psychology's goal of description 

2. Minimizes artificiality, easier data collection, and allows description of behavior and mental processes as they occur 

Identify relationships and assess how well one variable predicts another (statistical analyses of relationships between variables) 

1. Meets psychology's goal of prediction

2. Helps clarify relationships between variables, which cannot be examined by other methods, and allows prediction 

Identify contributing biological factors (studies the brain and other parts of the nervous system)

1. Meets one or more of psychology's goals

2. Shares many or all of the advantages of experimental, descriptive, and correlational research 

Dendrites: branching neuron structures that receive neural impulses from other neurons and convey impulses toward the cell body 

Cell body: Cell nucleus (soma)

Axon: Long, tubelike structure that conveys impulses away from the neuron's cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands 

Sends a signal 

(brief traveling electrical charge)

1. Central

2. Peripheral 

(directs mental and basic life processes) 

1. spinal cord (sends info to and from the brain and PNS and controls reflexes)

2. Brain (Directs mental processes and maintains basic life functions)

(carries information to and from the central nervous system) 

1. Somatic (controls voluntary muscles and conveys sensory information to the CNS; also sends motor messages to muscles 

2. Autonomic (Controls involuntary basic life functions, such as heartbeat and response to stress)

(Controls involuntary basic life functions, such as heartbeat and response to stress)

1. Parasympathetic (Calms body to conserve energy and restore status quo)

2. Sympathetic (Arouses body to expend energy and respond to threat) 

1. cerebral cortex

2. Limbic System 

3. Thalamus

4. Hypothalamus 

1. Reticular formation

2. Medula 

3. Pons

4. Cerebellum 

Cerebral Cortex 

(Define and describe the 4 lobes)

(responsible for most complex behaviors and higher mental processes)

1. Frontal Lobes - receive and coordinate messages from other lobes; motor control, speech production, and higher functions 

2. Parietal Lobes - Receive and interpret bodily sensations

3. Occipital Lobes - Vision and visual perception 

4. Temporal Lobes - Hearing, language, comprehension, memory, and some emotional control 

LEFT - Language Functions (speaking, reading, writing, and understanding language)

- Analytical (figures things out step-by-step)

- Controls and senses right side of the body 

- Right visual Field

RIGHT - Nonverbal abilities (music and art, percepttual and spatiomanipulative skills, recognition of faces, patterns and melodies, some language comprehension) 

- Synthetic (figures things our by combining to form wholes)

- controls and sense the left side of the body

-Left visual field 

Regarding our vision, information from the left visual field travels to our right hemisphere, and vice-versa. The messages received by either hemisphere are then quickly sent to the other across the corpus callosum.

 Stimulus that elicits and unconditioned response without previous conditioning 

Unconditioned Response (UCR) 

 Unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning 

Classically conditioned emotional response to a previously neutral stimulus 

(Little Albert's response to a lab rat) 

Continuous (every correct response is reinforced) 

Partial (Some, but not all, correct responses are reinforced) 

1. Fixed Ratio (occurs after a predetermined set of responses; the ratio -number or amount- is fixed)

2. Variable Ratio (occurs unpredictably; the ratio -number or amount- varies) 

3. Fixed Interval (occurs after a predetermined time has elapsed; the interval -time- vaires) 

4. Variable Interval (occurs unpredictably; the interval -time- varies) 

Bandura (best known for his work on observational learning/social learning)

Reciprocal Determinism (Bandura's belief that cognitions, behaviors, and the environment interact to produce personality)