PSYNTRO NOTES CHAP 1-2 PDF

Assumptions Methods of Knowing ★ Assumptions ★ Tenacity ○ Empiricism ○ Personal experience ○ Science can only study outside of the five senses ○ Empirical evidence ○ Observa...

Assumptions Methods of Knowing ★ Assumptions ★ Tenacity ○ Empiricism ○ Personal experience ○ Science can only study outside of the five senses ○ Empirical evidence ○ Observable = measurable ★ Determinism ★ Authority ○ Cause and effect (has to be describable) ○ Absolute power ○ Must have a reason or factor ○ Cannot be questioned ○ External because a superior said so ★ Regularity ○ Consistent patterns ★ Rationalism ★ Discoverability ○ Reasoning and logic ○ Has to be touchable ○ Step by step ★ Rationalism ○ Creative way to reason ○ Find the connection ○ Has to be observable to link to a cause ★ Scientific Method (most valuable) ○ Pieces all three methods together ○ True as long as there is Assumptions empirical evidence ○ Interpretation has to be step ★ Internal by step ○ Thought process ○ Single evidence is not valid ○ Personality ○ Explains behavior The “something” falls under Internal ★ Latent; Inherent, innate, inborn ○ Born with it  ○ Exists before “behavior” is formed Main Textbook - Chapter 1 ★ Covert ★ Wlhelm Wundt ○ Can’t be described by the five senses ○ Father of Psychology ○ Can’t be fully understood ○ The first to establish a true experimental laboratory in ★ Hypothesized, theorized, covered, assumed, claimed, conceived psychology ○ To form an Idea ○ Looking for the “what if” in science, theories, etc. ★ Objective introspection ○ This assumption revolves around the word “idea” ○ The process of objectively examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and ★ External Manifestations mental activities ○ Behavior itself Journaling, writing, are ways to observe your own thoughts Structuralism ★ Edward Titchener ○ Founder of structuralism ○ Believed that every experience can be broken down into emotions and sensations ○ Structuralism was a dominant force in the early days ○ Believed that objective introspection can be used on thoughts and physical sensations  Functionalism Gestalt Psychology - school of thought ★ William James ★ Gestalt Psychology ○ Founder of functionalism ○ A German word meaning “organized whole” ○ Focused on how minds allow to functions ○ Today it is part of cognitive psychology ★ Traits ★ Focus ○ Studies the behavioral traits that aid in survival ○ Focuses on the whole pattern rather than the ○ Functionalism played a part in the development of small pieces modern perspectives ○ How certain mental activities can help a person function in the environment Dawn of Behaviorism Psychoanalysis ★ Ivan Pavlov ★ Sigmund Freud ○ Found that reflex is a response to a formerly ○ Father of psychoanalysis unrelated stimulus ○ Said that behavior is a product of ○ Classical conditioning happens when something unconscious internal forces in the environment triggers a reaction ○ Emphasizes the importance of childhood ★ John Watson experiences ○ Focus was on observable behavior ○ Believed that all behaviors are learned ★ Common Ground ○ They both believed that behavior was a result of a stimulus-response relationship Modern Perspectives ★ Psychodynamic ○ Focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind on the conscious behavior  Scientific Methodology ○ Emphasis on the development of self, social and interpersonal relationship ★ Five Steps of the Scientific Method ★ Behavioral ○ Perceiving the Question ○ Operant conditioning explains how voluntary Find the goal description and ask the behavior is learned question: what is happening/this? ○ Behavioral responses that have pleasurable After forming a tentative answer we consequences are reinforced move forward to hypothesis ★ Humanistic ○ Forming a Hypothesis ○ Holds the view that people have free will Form an educated guess ★ Cognitive You are trying to determine if the factor ○ Focuses on how people think, remember, store, and is a result or it’s by chance use information ○ Testing the Hypothesis ★ Sociocultural Best way to test a hypothesis is by an ○ Studies how culture can affect a person’s behavior experiment ○ The way they behave is influenced by social norms, ○ Drawing Conclusions fads, and ethnic identity Analyze the data by using a statistical ★ Biopsychological method ○ Human behavior is seen as a direct result of events Drawing conclusions can become a in the body prediction ★ Evolutionary ○ Report your results ○ Focuses on the mental characteristics humans share Will help future researchers know what ○ The mind is a set of information-processing machine not to do Descriptive Methods ★ Naturalistic Observation ○ Looking into the environment of the people to see how they behave ○ Advantage of natural observation allows a more  realistic picture/result of their behavior Correlations ○ Disadvantage of this method is the observer bias ★ Correlation ★ Laboratory Observation ○ A statistical technique that organizes numerical information ○ Advantage of the method is a more controlled ○ Measures the relationship between two or more variables environment ★ Correlation Coefficient ○ Disadvantage of having artificial behavior ○ It represents the direction of the relationship and its strength ★ Case Study ○ The study provides more details ○ Can be used to study rare topics Experiments ○ The method is prone to bias because it is only focusing on one specific topic or individual ★ Experiment ★ Survey ○ Will allow researchers to determine the cause of a ○ Will ask questions about the topic they are behavior studying ★ Selection ○ Not all participants answer the questions ○ Researchers will select a number of people through truthfully random selection ★ Independent Variable ○ A variable that does not get affected by other Goals of Psychology variables ★ Dependent Variable ★ To Describe ○ Is dependent on how they are affected by the ★ To Explain independent variable ★ To Predict ★ To Control  Chapter 2 - Nervous System Components of the Peripheral Nervous System ★ Two regions of the nervous system ★ Somatic Nervous System ○ Central Nervous System ○ Involved with the motor functions of the skeletal muscle ○ Peripheral Nervous System ○ Includes voluntary actions under conscious control but also somatic reflexes that involve skeletal muscle (ex: moving hand away from a hot ★ Central Nervous System stove) ○ Consists of the brain and ★ Autonomic Nervous System spinal cord ○ Regulates certain body processes (ex: breathing, blood pressure/flow, ○ Process the sensory digesting, etc.) information from the ○ It is automatic reflexes Peripheral Nervous System ○ Has two components under the sympathetic system and and act as the command parasympathetic system center ○ Process the motor responses or body mechanisms ★ Peripheral Nervous System Components of the Autonomic Nervous System ○ Consists of nerves and everything else in the body ★ Sympathetic System ○ Provides the sensory ○ Activates the flight or fight response information to the Central ○ It activates when under stress or danger Nervous System ○ ○ Has two components somatic nervous system and ★ Parasympathetic System autonomic nervous system ○ Responsible for the body’s rest and digestion response ○ Heart rate will decrease and digestion will occur  Biological Perspective Regions of the brain ★ Nervous System ★ Hindbrain ○ A Network of cells that carry information around the body ○ Includes the medulla, pons, ★ Neuroscience and cerebellum ○ Branch of life sciences that deal with the structure and functioning of ○ Medula has regulation the brain as well as the nervous system functions such as breathing, ★ Biological Psychology/behavioral neuroscience blood pressure, and heart rate ○ Focuses on the biological bases of psychological processes, behavior, ○ Pons are involved with some of and learning the functions. It coordinates signals with the area to the brain ○ Cerebellum functions is to Neurotransmitters keep balance and muscle coordination ★ Types of neurotransmitters ○ Glutamate ★ Midbrain ○ Dopamine ○ Connection central between the ○ Serotonin brain and the spinal cord ○ GABA ○ It’s functions are that it ○ Acetylcholine transmits information for ★ Synapse vision and hearing ○ The area between the two neurons ○ Involved in the alertness and ★ Axon the sleep/wake cycle ○ A fiber attached to the soma that carries messages out to other cells ★ Forebrain ★ Axon terminals ○ Has the Cerebrum, it is ○ Communicate with the other nerve cells divided into two hemispheres; right and left  ○ Cerebrum regulates our speech, thinking and Cells reasoning, sensing, and emotions ★ Glial cells ○ It is the most developed part ○ Serve as structures for neurons to develop and work of the brain ○ Clean up dead neurons ○ Important immune function in ○ Have two special types, oligodendrocytes and schwann the nervous system ★ Oligodendrocytes ○ Produces myelin for neurons in the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) ★ Schwann Neural Impulse ○ Produces myelin for neurons in the body (peripheral nervous system) ★ Diffusion ○ Myelin from Schwann can repair and reconnect damaged nerves ○ Ions move from areas of high ★ Myelin Sheath concentration to low ○ An important part of the neuron concentration ○ Insulates and protects the neuron ★ Electrostatic Pressure ★ Multiple Sclerosis ○ Relative electrical charges when ○ Myelin sheath is destroyed which can lead to diminished or ions are at rest complete loss of neural functioning ★ Cause of both ○ Because of diffusion and electrostatic pressure, the charge of ions inside the cell is The Synapse negative, while the charge of ions outside the cell is positive ★ Neurons ○ They must have a way to be turned off and on ★ Neurotransmitters at synapses ○ Can turn cells on and off depending where the synapse is affected ★ Excitatory Neurotransmitters  ○ It has excitatory effects (turn on) on the neuron ○ It increases that the neuron will fire an action potential Neurotransmitters ★ Inhibitory Neurotransmitters ○ It as inhibitory effects (turn off) on the neuron ★ Antagonist ○ It decreases that the neuron will fire an action (ex: ○ A chemical substance that stepping on the brake) blocks or reduce the effects of a neurotransmitter ★ Agonist Association Areas ○ A chemical substance that mimics or enhance the effects of ★ Association Areas a neurotransmitter ○ Made up of neurons in the cortex ★ Acetylcholine ○ Connect sensory information with stored ○ Excitatory or inhibitory memories, images, and knowledge ★ Norepinephrine ★ Broca’s Area ○ Mainly excitatory ○ Located in the left frontal lobe ○ Deals with arousal and mood ○ Allow a person to speak smoothly and fluently ★ Neuropeptides ○ Named after a nineteenth-century neurologist Paul ○ A Group of Substances that can Broca serve as neurotransmitters or ★ Wernicke’s Area hormones or influence the ○ Located in the left temporal lobe action of other ○ Named after a physiologist Carl Wernicke neurotransmitters Glands ★ Glands ○ Organs that secrete chemicals ★ Exocrine glands ○ Glands that secrete chemicals directly  onto the body’s tissues through ducts ★ Endocrine glands Cortex ○ Glands that have no ducts and secrete their chemicals directly into the ★ Temporal Lobes bloodstream ○ Contains the primary auditory cortex and auditory association area ○ Helps process visual information ○ The left temporal lobe deals with language processing ○ The medial structures of the temporal lobe, such as the amygdala and hippocampus deal with learning and memory ★ Frontal Lobes ○ Handle higher mental functions (ex: planning, memory storage, complex decision-making) ○ Helps regulate emotions through connections with the limbic system ○ Contains the motor cortex which controls voluntary muscle movement ★ Occipital Lobes ○ Process visual information in the primary visual cortex ★ Parietal Lobes ○ Contains the somatosensory complex that receives sensory information ○ Process information from the skin and internal body receptors related to touch, temperature, and body position