General Psychology Review 1

7/31/2019 General Psychology Review 1

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Exam 1

General Psychology Review


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Overview of Psychology


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Contemporary Perspectives Neuroscience

Behaviour is due to internal physiological, chemical, andbiological processes

i.e. nervous system, brain activity, genetics, biochemistry

Evolutionary View Behaviour is due to the evolution process/natural

selection

Behaviour tendencies seen in all humans

Needed to survive

Behaviour Genetics Behaviour is due to nature as well as nurture

i.e. Minnesota twin study


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Contemporary Perspectives Behavioural View

Behaviour is due to onlyenvironment

Study of behaviour and effects of learning

Reward/punishment factors

Cognitive View

Behaviour is due to whats going on in our mind- mentalprocesses of information

Interpretation of input yields output

Psychodynamic View (aka psychoanalytical or Freudian)

Behaviour is due to forces within our unconscious personality

i.e. sex drive, anger, childhood experiences, dreaminterpretation, free association

Sociocultural View

Behaviour is due to our social and cultural environment

i.e. parents, economic status, ethnic customs


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Biopsychosocial Approach Behaviour is

due tobiological,psychological,

andsocioculturalfactors

This is themodel usuallyused in analysisof case studies(i.e. in the caseof Andrea Yates)

Examples Biological

Genetic history

Chemical imbalance

Medication

Psychological

Internal conflicts

Low self-esteem

Illogical thinking patterns Sociocultural

Stress

Quality of medical treatment plan

Lack of family support


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Areas of Specialization Psychiatrists

MD

Diagnosis and treatment of psych disorders

Can prescribe medications

Psychologists PhD

No medical degree

Can provide medication only in some states (i.e. NewMexico)

Psychoanalysts Either psychiatrist or psychologist

Special training in Freudian theory


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Areas of Specialization Clinical Psychology

Diagnose and treat

Counseling Psychology Similar to clinical; people with less severe problems

Developmental Psychology Mostly researchers; study change in the way people

think

Experimental Psychology Experiments in various areas on both people and

animals (learning, memory, perception, motivation)

Social (Personality) Psychology How human behaviour is affected by the presence of

other people

Neuropsychology (Biopsych) Biology based


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Areas of Specialization Health Psychology

Human behaviour patterns/stress reactions to physicalhealth; improve/maintain good health

School Psychology

Conduct assessments (i.e. IQ tests/ LD/ IEP) andprovide consultation/counseling

Sports Psychology

Help athletes prepare mentally for a game

Forensic Psychology Profilers; examining criminal evidence

Industrial/Organisational Psychology

Relationships between people and their workenvironments


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Research Methods


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Types of Research Studies

Descriptive Methods

Just describe behaviour or phenomena

Notcause/effect

i.e. case study, survey, observation


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Case Study

Study on an individual or phenomenon in greatdetail

Freuds theories were based on case studies

Advantages Disadvantages

Potential to develop

novel hypothesis

Provides detailed

descriptions of specificand rare cases

Cant test hypothesis

Cant draw cause and

effect relationship

Cant generalize to widerpopulation


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Survey Report behaviours and opinions Can be conducted in person or via a

questionnaire

Have many cases with less in-depth studying


Can get private info

Cover a lot of material

Survey hundreds of

people Inexpensive

Careful of wording of

questions

Social desirability

In order to generalizeresults, need to have a

representative sample of

cases/individuals

*random sampling!


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Naturalistic Observation

Observe individual in everyday environment

Record everything the person is doing without

making changes in their environment


More realistic behaviours

than in a lab

Naturally occurring

behaviour

High external validity

Observer effectsubject knows theyre

being watched

Observer bias

observer has particularopinion about what

he/she will see or expect

to see

Difficulty with rare

behaviours

Extraneous variables


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Experimental Studies

The only studies with an explanation

There must be a manipulation of a variable

Random assignment

Experimental vs. Control group Randomize who is in which group to control for

confounding variables


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Independent and Dependent

Variables

The independent variable is the thing theexperimenter changes in order to observe how italters the dependent variable

The dependent variable dependson the

independent variable Example:

A study in conducted to see ifeating turkey willlessen the amount of time it takes a person to fallasleep. The control group ate no turkey before bedand took, on average, 32 minutes to fall asleep. Theexperimental group ate one serving of turkey beforebed and took, on average, 14 minutes to fall asleep.


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Random Selection vs. Random

Assignment

Randomsampling

Randomassignment

Control group Experimental Group

General Population

Study Sample


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Single-Blind vs. Double-Blind

Experiments

Single-blind design Subjects dont know which group theyre in. Can

help reduce the effects ofplacebo effect

Double-blind design

Experimenters dont know which group subjects are

in either. Can help reduce the effects of

experimenter expectancy effect


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Potential Limitations of Experimental

Design

Placebo Effect Expectations ban influence participants behaviour

Experimenter Expectancy Effect

The experimenters behaviour may cause

respondent to change their behaviours

Hawthorne Effect

When a participants knowledge of being studied

affects their behaviour

Difficult to eliminate completely but can be

minimized


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Design

Observer Bias Subjects know theyre being watched

Observer Effect Observer has particular opinion about what he/she will see or

expect to see

Experimenter Bias They might see things the way they hope to see them

Experimental Setting Needs to be consistent (i.e. light, noise, people)

Experimental Procedures

Needs to be consistent (i.e. time of day, measures) Small Sample Size

Shouldnt happen (except in case studies)

Homogeneous Sample Size Be careful how you generalize results Dont generalize beyond bounds of experiment


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Design

Fatigue Effect Time of day, length of study, etc. can cause this

Practice Effect

If the study is offered a second time, the participant

has already had practice; you shouldnt test the

same person twice

Confounding Variables

Gender, age range, IQ

Sometimes you should get a baseline assessment

in one of the variables


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Correlations


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Neuroscience


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Axon

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers,through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles orglands

Dendrites The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages

and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Myelin Sheath A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many

neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neuralimpulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next

Synapse The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the

dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at thisjunction is called the synaptic gap


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Communication Process of Neurons

Neurons The smallest part of neuroscience; bundles of

neurons are nerves; send and receive messages

The ions that are involved in neuron signaling are

Na+, Cl-, and K+

At rest it is

Mostly negative inside and mostly positive outside

There is an imbalance of ions inside and outside.

Only the potassium is allowed in and out

Its resting potential is -70mV


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Communication Process of Neurons

When a neuron becomes excited:1. Threshold of Excitation

It goes from inhibitory (more negative) to excitatory (morepositive)

Goes from -70mV -55mV when neurons start letting

sodium in

2. Action Potential This is the neural impulse

It holds the message in for now and the impulse will only bereleased at full strength or not at all

3. Refractory Period After an impulse is sent, sodium is closed out and the

neuron begins to fall back to resting potential

Meanwhile, the impulse goes on the next neuron, again tobe either moved along or rejected


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Imaging Techniques EEG

Monitors brainwave activity

CAT Computerized x-rays Brain structure

Detects stroke damage, tumors, injuries, etc. MRI

3D image/slice Very detailed

PET Looks at brain activity

Uses radioactive glucose See what is activated during various tasks

fMRI Monitors energy from hemoglobin molecules

Shows brain structure andbrain activity


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Brain Structure and Functions Medulla

Coughing, sneezing, swallowing, vomiting, breathing Crosses over left/right brain input Damage to this can lead to paralysis

Pons Sleep, dreams, coordinates, emotions, arousal/alertness

Reticular formation Selective attention, arousal/alertness Damage can lead to a coma

Cerebellum Balance, muscle coordinationAlcohol affects it Damage to it can lead to ataxia- slurred speech, severe

tremors, and loss of balance


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Brain Structure and Functions Limbic System

Thalamus and Hypothalamus Relay of sensory information

Damage may result in loss of all or some sensation (exceptsmell)

Regulates body temperature, thirst, hunger, sleeping, waking,sex drive, and emotions

Hippocampus Learning/memory

Converts short-term memories into long-term memories

Spatial memory (i.e. directions) Cortex (the wrinkly part)

Complex thought processes

Planning, problem solving, decision making, multitasking

Left/right hemispheres connected by corpus collosum


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Lobes of the Brain / Areas

Occipital Lobe Processes information from eyes

Parietal Lobe Processes information through taste, touch, temp

Temporal Lobe Processes auditory information

Frontal Lobe Higher mental processes

Planning, personality, memory, decision making, emotions, motorcommands

Brocas Area

Production of speech Damage to area affects ability to speak properly

Wernicke's Area Understanding of language (meaning of words) Damage leads to use of wrong words but the person doesnt think

theyre using the wrong words


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Developmental Psychology


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Prenatal Development Stages

Zygote (0-2 weeks)

Embryo (2-8 weeks)

Fetus (9 weeks-birth)

Teratogens

Environmental agents that cause damage to the embryo/fetus In the first stage, they usually lead to spontaneous miscarriage

In the second stage, they usually lead to major defects

In the third stage, they usually lead to minor defects

Example Alcohol can lead to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (physical and sometime

development disorder)

Newborns

Reflexes (eye blink, rooting, sucking, swimming, Babinski,Moro, Palmer grasp, Tonic neck, Stepping

Habituation (respond to novelty)


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Piagets Theory of Cognitive

Development

Sensorimotor (0-2y) Motor activity for exploration

Sense of taste

Limitations

A not B search error (until 12-18m)

Object permanence (Peek-a-boo effect) at 8-12m


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Development

Preoperational (2-7y) Symbolic function appears Representational schemas Internalize actions Rapid language development

Very inquisitive Pretend Play

Limitations Thinking is rigid Egocentrism

Animism (magical thinking) Lack of Conservation Centration (only focus on one aspect of a situation) Reversibility (cant go back to starting point mentally) Difficulty with Hierarchical Classification (based on

similarities/differences)


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Development

Concrete Operational (7-11y) Logical thought, flexible, organised

Successful at conservation

Can do reversibility

Declining egocentrism

Seriation (6-7y: place objects in order by height or

weight)

Limitations

Cant work with abstract ideas

Difficulty understanding hypothetical situations

Inductive reasoning


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Development

Formal Operational (11- ) Mental actions and operations are performed on

ideas and propositions

Hypothetical deductive reasoning (ability to think

hypothetically and reason from general to specific Inductive reasoning (going from specific to general)

Limitations

Children vs. Adult thinking (many think theres

something after this stage)

Learning is active

Development is more continuous

Also cultural/ social factors


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Exam 1

General Psychology Review

General Psychology Review 1

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