Psychology Overview and Key Figures

Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking involves applying skills to information to understand and evaluate it.

Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior.

Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis studies the unconscious mind.
• The unconscious mind contains feelings and urges we are unaware of.
• Accessing the unconscious is crucial to resolving psychological issues.
• Accessing the unconscious can be done through dream analysis, examining first words, and analyzing slips of the tongue.

Psychologists

• William James was the first American psychologist.
• John Watson focused on observable behavior and its control.
• Sigmund Freud emphasized the unconscious mind and its role in personality.
• James saw personality as a dynamic process.
• Watson saw personality as a product of learned behaviors.
• Freud saw personality as shaped by unconscious desires and conflicts.

Humanism

• Humanism focuses on the innate potential for good in all humans.
• Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are key figures.
• Humanistic psychology rejected reductionist experimentation, believing it missed the "whole" human being.

Feminist Psychology

• Naomi Weisstein criticized psychology for cultural biases in its portrayal of women.
• Francis Cecil Sumner was the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology.
• Sumner established a psychology program at Howard University, educating a new generation of African American psychologists.
• Early psychologists from diverse backgrounds challenged intelligence testing and promoted innovative educational methods.

Scientific Theory

• A scientific theory is a broad explanation for natural world phenomena supported by evidence over time.

Double-Blind Studies

• In double-blind studies, researchers and participants are unaware of group assignments.
• This controls for experimenter and participant expectations.

Hypothesis

• A hypothesis is a testable prediction based on an idea.
• It is often worded in an if-then statement.
• It bridges the gap between ideas and the real world.

The Empirical Approach

• The empirical approach uses observation and experience to gain knowledge.

Attrition

• Attrition occurs when participants drop out of a study over time.

Naturalistic Observation

• Naturalistic observation involves observing behavior in its natural setting.
• Jane Goodall studied chimpanzee behavior in Africa.
• Critics argued that Goodall's emotional attachment to chimpanzees compromised the objectivity of the study.

Longitudinal Research

• Longitudinal research involves gathering data repeatedly over an extended period.
• It is often used to study diseases and risk factors.

Cohort Effects

• A cohort is a group sharing a common experience or characteristic.
• Examples include people born in a specific time period, growing up in the same region, starting college in the same year, or experiencing the same disaster.
• Cohort effect is an influence of shared experiences on a group of people.

Interrater Reliability

• Interrater Reliability refers to the possibility of researcher expectations influencing study results.

Experimental Design

• Experimental design aims to isolate the effects of an independent variable on a dependent variable.
• An independent variable is manipulated by the researcher.
• A dependent variable is measured to see the effects of the independent variable.
• A confounding variable is an unanticipated outside factor influencing both variables of interest, potentially causing a false impression of a causal relationship.

Correlation

• Correlation refers to the relationship between two or more variables.
• When variables are correlated, changes in one variable correspond to changes in another.
• Scatterplots visually represent the strength and direction of correlations.
• A stronger correlation means data points are closer to a straight line.
• Correlational research can identify relationships but cannot establish cause and effect.

Genetics

• Evolution by natural selection states that organisms best suited to their environment survive and reproduce.

Chromosomes and DNA

• Chromosomes are long strings of genetic material called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
• Egg and sperm each contain 23 chromosomes.
• DNA is a helix-shaped molecule made up of nucleotide base pairs.
• Genes within DNA sequences control traits like eye color and hair color.

Polygenetic Traits

• Polygenetic traits are influenced by multiple genes.

Range of Reaction

• The range of reaction theory states that our genes set limits, and our environment interacts with them to determine where we fall within those limits.

Genotype and Phenotype

• Genotype is an individual's genetic makeup.
• Phenotype is an individual's observable characteristics.

Dominant and Recessive Genes

• A dominant gene expresses its trait even when paired with a different variant.
• A recessive gene only expresses its trait when paired with another copy of the same recessive gene.

Neuron Structure

• Terminal buttons contain synaptic vesicles.
• Synaptic vesicles store neurotransmitters.
• The myelin sheath coats axons, acting as an insulator and increasing signal speed.
• The synapse is the junction between neurons allowing communication.
• The axon is the main extension of the soma.
• Dendrites receive signals from other neurons.

Action Potential

• An action potential is an electrical signal traveling down a neuron's axon.
• Membrane potential is the difference in charge across the neuronal membrane.
• Hyperpolarization makes the membrane potential more negative.

Neurotransmitter Removal

• Neurotransmitters are removed from the synapse to stop signaling.

Drug Action

• Drugs interfere with how neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters.
• The substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area contain dopamine-producing cells crucial for movement.

Important Neurotransmitters

• Acetylcholine (ACh) is involved in muscle action, memory, and learning.
• Dopamine (DA) is involved in mood, sleep, and learning.
• Endorphins are natural pain relievers.
• Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in brain function and sleep.
• Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter involved in memory and learning.
• Norepinephrine (NE) is involved in heart function, digestion, and alertness.
• Serotonin (5-HT) is involved in mood, sleep, and appetite.

Brain Structures

• Gyri are ridges on the brain's surface.
• Sulci are grooves on the brain's surface.
• The brain has two hemispheres, left and right.
• Each hemisphere has four lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
• Lateralization allows the brain to efficiently process different types of information.

Cerebral Cortex

• The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain, responsible for higher-level cognitive functions.