Intro to Psych Final Study Guide & Schedule PDF

Intro: Psychology: scientific study of mental activity and behavior, which depends on processing in the brain Psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic theory: explains personality in terms of unconscious psychological processes and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personali...

Intro: Psychology: scientific study of mental activity and behavior, which depends on processing in the brain Psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic theory: explains personality in terms of unconscious psychological processes and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality Behaviorism: the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning and conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment Gestalt: a thought that believes all objects and scenes can be observed in their simplest forms Humanistic: supporting that belief that humans, as individuals, are unique beings and should be recognized and treated as such Cognitive psych: seeks to understand how the mind thinks, learns, and processes information Critical thinking: - Checking source of claim and being aware of biases - Evaluating evidence, real and scientific vs. fake and anecdotal - Taking multiple perspectives OPERATIONAL DEFINITION is a precise description of how a variable will be measured whereas a HYPOTHESIS is a testable statement that describes your expected association between two or more variables of interest  - Ex: meditation helps improve mood Independent variable: factor being manipulated and assumed to have impact on behaviour - Meditation Dependent variable: behaviour being measured - Mood Experimental group: group being given special treatment - Group partaking in mediation Control group: no special treatment - Group not doing meditation Random assignment: how you place participants into groups Random sampling: how you select participants from the population to participate POPULATION is entire group that you want to experiment about whereas a SAMPLE is a specific group that is within the population Correlation: - Positive= variable A and B change in same direction - Negative= A and B change in opposite directions - Zero= A and B are unrelated CORRELATIONAL STUDY examines relationship between two or more variables without manipulating while a EXPERIMENT manipulates said variables Directionality issue: violent video games (X) causes aggression (Y) or visa versa Third variable issue: aggressive personality (Z) causes X and Y Survey: asking participants a series of questions to learn more about a phenomenon Observational studies: involve systematically assessing and coding observable behavior across specific time intervals Case studies: intensive examination of just one person or a few atypical people Neuroscience and biological foundations Neuron: - Dendrites: receive information from other neurons or the environment - Soma: (cell body) produces proteins that other parts of the neuron need to function - Axon: transmit info between neurons and away from muscles and glands - Myelin sheath: allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly along nerve cells - Terminal buds: sending signals on to other neurons - Synapse: transmit nerve impulses between two neurons or a neuron and muscle cell Action potential: a neuron sends info down an axon, away from the cell body Central nervous systems (CNS): consists of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord - Function: then, CNS organizes and evaluates the information transmitted by the PNS and directs PNS to perform specific behaviors Peripheral nervous systems (PNS): consists of the nerve cells outside of the brain and spinal cord - Function: first, registers sensory signals and transmits the information to the CNS Somatic nervous systems: part of the peripheral nervous system that transmits signals to and from the central nervous system through nerves Autonomic nervous systems: it automatically regulated the body’s internal environment, subdivision of the peripheral nervous system - Sympathetic nervous systems: prepares body for action - Parasympathetic nervous systems: returns the body to a resting state Endocrine system: a communication network that influences many aspects of your body - Hormones travel through the bloodstream until they reach their target tissues, then hormonal messages trigger bodily activity that affects your mental activity and behavior. Neuroplasticity: brain's ability to change and adapt due to experience Corpus callosum: connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain so they can communicate Frontal lobe: front of head - Complex thought, planning, movement Motor cortex: back edge of frontal lobe - Motor acts Parietal lobe: between frontal and occipital - Touch Somatosensory cortex: beginning of parietal lobe - Touch Occipital lobe: back portion of the head - Vision Primary visual cortex: big area of occipital lobe - Processor of visual information (colors, forms, motions) Temporal lobe: sides of head, “temples” - Hearing, memory Primary auditory cortex: top of temporal lobe - Hearing Thalamus: sensory information Hypothalamus: regulation of body functions (sleep, temperature) and motivation (hunger, thirst, sex) Amygdala: association of emotions with experiences Hippocampus: formation of new memories Pons: sleep, arousal, left-right body movement coordination Medulla: breathing, heart rate, other survival mechanisms Substantia nigra: initiation of voluntary motor activity Cerebellum: motor learning, coordination, balance Sensation and perception: Sensation: the sense organs’ detection of physical stimuli from the world around you Perception: processing, organization, and interpretation of sensory information in the brain Transduction: sensory receptors change stimulus input into neural signals that the brain can understand BOTTOM UP PROCESSING is the processing of information that is based on the properties of the stimulus in the world while TOP DOWN PROCESSING is the processing of the information that is based on your knowledge, personal experiences and expectations Absolute threshold: the minimum amount of physical stimuli required before you detect the sensory input - Ex: how loudly must someone in the next room whisper for you to hear them? Sensory adaptation: the tendency for our sensory systems to become less sensitive to processing a constant level of input - Ex: adapting to smell of food in restaurant Difference threshold: smallest difference that you can notice between two pieces of sensory input - Ex: change in volume required for you to detect a difference Kinesthetic sense: internal sense related to touch Vestibular sense: internal sensory system that lets you maintain your balance while allowing you to perform activities MONOCULAR DEPTH CUES are based on input from one eye alone while BINOCULAR DEPTH CUES are based on input from both eyes together Learning: Operant conditioning: a learning process in which an action’s consequences determine how likely an action is to be performed in the future Classical conditioning: a type of learned response in which a neutral object comes to elicit a response when it is associated with a stimulus that already produces a response - Unconditioned stimulus (US): instinctively prompts a response and does not require any prior learning, stimulus that is not learned - Ex: food - Unconditioned response (UR): reaction that is elicited instinctively, like some simple reflexes, response that is not learned - Ex: salivation - Neutral stimulus: anything you can see or hear, but must not be associated with the UR - Conditioned stimulus (CS): something that prompts a reaction only after learning has occurred, stimulus that is learned - Ex: mcdonald golden arches - Conditioned response (CR): reaction that is elicited only after learning has occurred, response that is learned - Ex: salivation at the sight of mcdonalds golden arches Stimulus generalization: occurs when the stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to the CS produce the CR - Ex: two plant species might look similar, but one might be poisonous Stimulus discrimination: learns to differentiate between two similar stimuli if one is consistently associated with the US and the other is not - Ex: used stimulus discrimination to learn the ringtone or phone music that belongs to each of your parents Extinction: conditioned response is weakened when the conditioned stimulus no longer predicts the arrival of the unconditioned stimulus Spontaneous recovery: if conditioned stimulus is presented with the unconditioned stimulus then it will establish the conditioned response, but the response will get weaker and weaker over time is the CS-US pairing do not continue Shaping: reinforcing behaviors that are increasingly similar to the desired behavior - Ex: praising a dog to learn a new trick Operant conditioning: a learning process in which an actions consequences determine how likely an action is to be performed in the future Positive reinforcement: the addition of a stimulus that increases the probability that a behavior will be repeated - Ex: feeding a rat after it presses a lever will increase the probability that the rat will press the lever again Negative reinforcement: increases behavior by removing stimulus  - Ex: rat presses a lever to turn off a painful electric shock, the rat will be more likely to press the lever again in the future Primary reinforcers: those necessary for survival that satisfy our basic needs - Ex: food, water, physical safety, social support Secondary reinforcers: events or object that serve as reinforcers but do not satisfy basic human needs - Ex: raise at work, compliment on shirt, receiving an A on your essay Positive punishment: occurs when the addition of a stimulus decreases the probability of a behavior being repeated - Ex: teenager gets speeding ticket, then she will be less likely to speed again Negative punishment: decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated - Ex: teenager loses driving privileges for speeding, should prevent him from speeding in the future Observational learning: occurs when an individual either acquires or changes a behavior after viewing at least one performance of that behavior Memory: Capacity Duration Sensory: Huge visual 1 sec, auditory 3-4 sec Short term memory: 7 items, plus or minus 2 under 20 sec Long term: unlimited unlimited  - According to George Miller’s memory span, how many items can we hold in our short- term memory at one time? - 7 items plus or minus 2 Chunking: reorganize information by chunks Semantic memory: our knowledge of facts in independent of personal experience - Ex: knowing what Jell-o is, we might not remember where or when we learned a fact, but we know it Episodic: our personal experiences and includes information about the time and place each experience occurred - Ex: memories of where you were and what you did on your 16th bday Procedural: learning motor skills and behavioral habits and knowing how to do things - Ex: play the piano or ride a bike MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL is repeating information again and again whilst ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL is making information relatable and personally meaningful Method of loci: imagined physical locations to aid in memory Context- dependent memory: ability to recall information easily when the context is the same during both learning and retrieval Anterograde amnesia: difficult to formulate new memories, while previous memories remain intact Retrograde amnesia: when you cannot recall memories from your past Blocking: temporarily unable to remember something Misattribution: misidentification of the origin of memory Suggestibility: cognitive bias, refers to the creation of new, false memories based on information given by others Therapy: BIOLOGICAL THERAPY is based on the notion that psychological disorders result from abnormalities in bodily processes (breathing, digestion) while PSYCHOTHERAPY is aimed at changing thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Psychoanalysis: psychological disorders are caused by prior traumatic experiences that created unconscious conflicts Psychodynamic therapy: aims to help clients examine their unconscious needs, motives, and defenses Humanistic therapy: helps people learn to understand themselves and their goals Roger’s client- centered therapy: encourages people to fulfill their potential for personal growth through greater self-understanding Systematic desensitization: exposed to increasingly anxiety-producing situation while learning to relax - Ex: slowly exposed to a dog if that is their fear Exposure and response prevention: helps people with OCD learn to manage their fears and anxieties - Ex: someone who is afraid of germs from a doorknob will have to touch a doorknob and not clean their hands after Operant procedure: rewards and punishments to modify behavior - Ex: after performing a dance for your family, your receive applause from them Cognitive behavioural therapy: helps people manage mental and emotional health issues by changing the way they think and behave Group therapy: treating people in groups - Benefits: social skills and cost Psychological disorders: DSM-5 (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders): disorders are described in terms of observable symptoms, and an individual must meet specific criteria to receive a particular diagnosis Diathesis-stress model: offers an explanation for the mechanism that leads to a psychological disorder Biopsychosocial model: understanding the difference between the traditional medical model and the approach taken by healthy psychologists Generalized anxiety disorder: nearly constant anxiety not associated with a specific object or situation - Symptoms: worry, distractibility, fatigue, irritability, sleep problems, headaches, restlessness Panic disorder: characterized by sudden attacks of overwhelming terror and worry about having additional panic attacks - Symptoms: sweating, racing heart, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet Specific phobias: fear of a specific object or situation that is exaggerated and disproportionate to the threat - Symptoms: extreme fear or something in specific, heights, closed spaces, spiders Obsessive-compulsive disorder: involves frequent intrusive thoughts that create anxiety and compulsive actions that temporarily reduce the anxiety - Symptoms: obsession and compulsion Obsession: recurrent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts or urges or mental images that increase anxiety - Ex: worry of one's own aggression or accidents  Compulsion: particular acts that the person feels driven to perform over and over again to reduce anxiety - Ex: cleaning your refrigerator over and over, having to brush your teeth while counting to exactly 44 Major depressive episode: type of mood disorder that features persistent and pervasive feelings of sadness - Ex: did not enjoy seeing friends, thinking you are never going to get better Learned helplessness: occurs when people come to see themselves as unable to have any effect on events in their lives Bipolar disorder: episodes of greatly elevated mood that is characterized by abnormally increase energy level and physical activity, diminished need for sleep, racing thoughts Schizophrenia: extreme alterations in thought, in perceptions, and in consciousness - Positive symptoms: excesses, not positive in the sense of being good but in the sense of adding unusual experiences or behaviours - Negative symptoms: deficits in functioning, apathy, lack of emotion, slowed speech, and slowed movement HALLUCINATIONS are false sensory experiences in the absence of any genuine external input (ex. May believe they hear something that does not exist in reality) while a DELUSION is a false belief that reflects breaks from reality (ex. Believing you, as a 12 year old girl, are much more powerful than a 30 year old bodybuilder) Borderline disorder: disturbances in identity, in moods, and in impulse control - Symptoms: lack strong sense of self, impulsivity, emotional instability, may have experienced previous trauma Antisocial personality disorder: behave in socially undesirable ways, such as breaking the law and being deceitful and irresponsible - Symptoms: charming, rational, lack insight, be insincere, shameless, unsocial, and incapable of love Autism spectrum disorder: deficits in social interaction, by impaired communication, and by restricted, repetitive behaviour and interest - Symptoms: no eye contact, unaware of others, impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication, repetitive behaviours and interests Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder: hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive behavior that causes social or academic impairment - Symptoms: fidgeting, trouble with social cues, interrupting, no focus Social psychology: Fundamental attribution error: when explaining other people’s behaviour, you probably tend to overemphasize personality traits and underestimate situations Personal attributions: when we infer that an event or a person's behaviour is due to personal factors such as, traits, abilities, or feelings - Ex: missing work because you are lazy Situational (external) attribution: when we infer that a behavior or event is caused by some factor relative to the situation - Ex: blaming things on the weather, traffic, etc Conformity: the act of altering your behaviors or opinions to match those of others or to what is expected of you - Ex: wearing a uniform to school or following current fashion trends Compliance: your friend asks you to do them a favor, if you do what they request it is compliance Obedience: when people follow orders given by an authority - Ex: hitler demanding for his troops to kill the jews, his troops are practicing obedience Stanley Milgram’s obedience research: teacher and learner “shock” experiment - Some types of people, such as those who are concerned about how others view them, are more likely to be obedient - Some salutations produced less obedience Cognitive dissonance: occurs when there is a contradiction between two attitudes or between an attitude and a behaviour, lack of agreement Bystander intervention effect: people are less likely to help someone in need when there are more people present Stereotypes: generalizations about people, events, and objects Prejudice: involves negative feelings, opinions, and beliefs associated with a stereotype about people in a particular group Discrimination: inappropriate and unjustified treatment of people based on the groups they belong to Self-fulfilling prophecy: when a belief influences actions in a way that makes the belief come true Lifespan development: Domains of human development: nature and nurture influence growth - Physical: changed involve shifts in hormone levels, growth of the body, and changes in the brain - Socio-emotional: changes in how we understand ourselves, interact with others, and experience and regulate ourselves - Cognitive: changes relate to how we think, reason, and communicate Teratogens: substances that can harm prenatal development Prenatal development: process of the formation of an embryo, through the development of a fetus, to birth Attachment: an enduring emotional connection that can motivate care, protection, and social support  - Secure attachment: infant is happy to play alone and is friendly to stranger as long as caregiver is present - Caregiver leaves: infant is distressed, whines, cries - Caregiver returns: infant reaches out to be picked up - Ambivalent attachment: infant learns that their caregiver is not available and inconsistent to soothe them - Caregiver leaves: cry a great deal - Caregiver returns: seeks and rejects caring contact - Avoidant attachment: friendly and happy throughout - Caregiver leaves: does not cry or get upset - Caregiver returns: may avoid and ignore 4 stages of cognitive development proposed by Piaget: - Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years - Acquire information primarily through their senses and motor exploration - Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years - Begin to think symbolically and fictionally - Concrete operational stage: 7 to 12 years - Do not have sophisticated abstract thinking - Formal operational stage: 12 years to adulthood - Can reason in sophisticated, abstract ways Object permanence: the understanding that an object continues to exist even when it is hidden from view - Ex: searching for an object that was hidden under a blanket Principle of conversation: even if the appearance of a substance changes in one dimension the properties of the substance remain unchanged - Ex: if you pour water from a short, wide glass into a tall, narrow glass, the amount of water does not change Egocentrism: thought processes tend to revolve around their own perspectives - Ex: 2 year olds may play hide and seek by placing boxes over their heads, thinking no one can see them Abstract thinking: reason hypothetically - Ex: using fingers to count instead of doing the math in their head Amygdala's role in adolescent behavior: responsible for immediate reaction including fear and aggressive behavior that develops early Prefrontal cortex role in adolescent behavior: responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing and making good decisions that is one of the last parts to mature Erikson’s eight psychosocial crises: - Infancy: trust v mistrust - Toddler: autonomy v shame and doubt - Preschool: initiative v guilt - Childhood: industry v inferiority - Adolescence: identity v role confusion - Young adulthood: intimacy v isolation - Middle adulthood: generativity v stagnation  - Old age: integrity v despair Personality: Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic: personality is based on unconscious wishes that create conflict between the id, ego and superego Biological: personality and traits is influenced by genetics and physiological processes Social- cognitive: personality is based on how a person thinks Humanistic: personality is based on the tendency to fulfill potential through personal growth Trait: personality can be described by the individuals characteristics Freud's psychodynamic theory: unconscious forces, such as wishes desires and hidden memories, determine behavior and influence personality Three structures of personality: - Id: most basic level, completely submerged in the unconscious, pushes you to seek pleasure and avoid pain - Superego: acts as a brake on the id, in the unconscious, internalization of parental and societal standards of behavior - Ego: mediates between the id and the superego, rational thought and problem solving, tries to satisfy the wishes of the id while being responsive to the rules of the superego Defense mechanisms: unconscious mental strategies that the mind uses to protect itself from distress Self- actualization: concept regarding the process by which an individual reaches their full potential Locus of control: describes generalized expectations that people can or cannot control the rewards and punishments that they receive - Internal: believe that you influence outcomes - External: outcomes result from forces beyond their control Unconditional positive regard: helps children develop personalities based on their true selves Self-schema: integrated set of memories, beliefs, and generalizations about yourself Social-cognitive theory: emphasizes the dynamic interaction between people, their behavior, and their environments Reciprocal determinism: explains how environment, multiple person factors, and how your behavior affects your current environment, affect the others to determine how personality is expressed through behavior “Big Five” theory of personality: identifies five basic personality traits - OCEAN - Openness to experience - Conscientiousness  - Extraversion - Agreeableness - Neuroticism Self-report personality tests: asks a person to answer questions about their personality traits, behaviors, etc - Ex: minnesota multiphasic personality inventory, consisted of true/false statements Projective personality tests: presents an ambiguous stimulus or prompt and allows the person to respond freely - Ex: inkblot test