General Psych Notes PDF

Ian Forbes **Introducing the World of Psych** **1/7 What is Psychology:** The scientific study of mental activity and brain behavior, which are based on brain processes - **Mental Activity**: perception of the world (senses) and consumption of information from the outside - **Behavior**:...

Ian Forbes **Introducing the World of Psych** **1/7 What is Psychology:** The scientific study of mental activity and brain behavior, which are based on brain processes - **Mental Activity**: perception of the world (senses) and consumption of information from the outside - **Behavior**: all actions that result from our interpretation of information and senses - **Investigation**: predicting behavior and understanding mental activity - Biological, Neuroscience, personality, social, cultural, clinical, industrial **Importiance of Psych:** comprehension and application allow for understanding of self and others- improvement of life - Applicable Skills: crit thinking, communication, understanding behavior, creativity - Crit Thinking - What am I being asked to believe - What evidence supports the claim - What are the most reasonable conclusions **Research Methods in Psych** - **Scientific Method**: carefully planned steps to analyze a phenomenon, objective and replicable- theory (gain knowledge), hypothesis (possible solution), study (research), outcome (result of research), analysis (what does it mean), Share - **Ethics**: ind. dignity, human welfare, scientific integrity- ensure no harm (IRB) - Privacy, Confidential, Informed Consent, Protection from Harm - **Methods** - **Descriptive:** describe what is occurring - Observational- systematically assessing and coding behavior - Multiple observers reduce bias - Self-Reports- obtaining self-reports from participants - Gathers large amount of data in short period of time - Ind. may not reveal information that casts them poorly (bias) - Case Studies- intensive examination of one person or organization - Addresses rare issues in depth, can it be generalized. - **Correlational**: test the relationship between factors (naturally related) - Correlation does not mean causation (directionality, 3^rd^ Variable) - Positive correlation- variables move in the same direction - Negative correlation- variables move in opposite directions - **Experimental:** Investigates what causes an outcome **Biology In Psychology** **Nervous System:** network of billions of cells in the brain and the body responsible for all aspects of what we feel, think, and do. Obtain sensory information and processing and remembering. Respond through action. **Neurons:** nerve cells, basic elements of the nervous system Symptoms of demyelination (**multiple sclerosis**)- myelin sheath is destroyed - Physical: Vision loss, weakness, clumsiness, slurred speech - Cognitive: Inattention, memory loss, fatigue - Emotional: Mood swings, depression **Neurotransmitters:** chemical substances involved in the transmission of neural impulse - Unique chemical structure and receptor - Excess or deficiency linked to psychological disorders - **Acetylcholine (ACh)**: controls muscle contractions; prevalent in the hippocampus (involved in the formation of new memories); messages related to muscle movement, memory, & cognitive functions - Excess associated with depression, and deficiencies associated with dementia and Alzheimer\'s disease. - **Dopamine (DA**): messages related to pleasure, voluntary movement, attention, & learning - Excess associated with schizophrenia; deficiencies associated with depression and Parkinson's disease - **Parkinson's Disease** - Rigid muscles, Tremors at rest, Difficulty starting movements and speaking, Odd shuffling walk, Changes in thought and emotions - Damage to the substantia nigra (part of the midbrain). Neurons that produce dopamine in the substantia nigra die off. Patients given L-DOPA, a building block of dopamine, have a temporary recovery. - **Norepinephrine** -- accelerates heart rate, affects eating, linked to activity levels, learning and remembering - Excess and deficiencies associated with mood disorders, depression, bipolar disorder - **Serotonin**- involved in emotional arousal and sleep - Deficiencies associated with eating disorders, alcoholism, depression, aggression, insomnia - SSRI (selective serotonin receptor inhibitor) anti-depressant) - **Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)** - may help relax anxiety reactions - **Endorphins** - occur naturally within the brain and bloodstream - Inhibit pain; like morphine in function and effects. May be connected to indifference to pain. - Runner's high **Hemispheres:** left and right halves of the brain; each controls motion and sensation in the opposite side of the body; do not act independently; functions overlap and respond simultaneously **Consciousness:** combination of subjective experience of the eternal world and the persons internal mental activity- result of brain activity - Varies depending on level of awareness and state of awareness - Normal waking state of consciousness v altered states of consciousness - Created by concussion, coma, brain injury, daydreaming, sleeping, watching TV, hypnosis, mediation, flow, usage of drugs or alcohol. - **Inattentional Blindness: people** don\'t notice something in their line of sight because they\'re focused on something else. - **Change Blindness:** fail to notice significant changes in their visual environment, even when the changes are obvious and occur right in front of them **Meditation: deep concentration leading to sense of calmness** - Learned technique used to refocus attention - Fatty acid reduction, lowers blood pressure, lowers risk of diabetes **Sleep:** - **Restorative Theory:** rest and repair - **Circadian Rhythm Theory:** preserve animals/humans from harm - Biological 24-hour process of functions (temp, hormones, blood pressure) - **Consolidation Theory:** circuits are consolidated or strengthened during sleep - **Insomnia:** repeated inability to sleep, countered by cognitive behavior therapy - **Sleep Apnea** stops breathing due to throat closure; resulting in frequent awakenings during the night. - **Narcolepsy:** excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours, sometimes going limp and collapsing. Quiz instructions---1,2,3,5, **Sensation and Perception** **Sensation:** sense organs detection of external physical stimulus and the transmission of information about this stimulus to the brain. **Perception:** processing organization and interpretation of sensory signals in the brain, processes result in an internal neural representant of the physical stimulus.