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PROLOGUEREVIEW

Structuralism

Wundt, TitchenerLeipzing, Germany

Elements of thought

Functionalism

William James

What is the purpose of behavior/thought

Opposed structuralism.

APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY

• Psychoanalytic - Freud

• Behaviorism - Skinner/Watson

• Humanistic - Maslow/Rogers

• Cognitive - Rotter

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsNeuroscience How the body and

brain enables emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics

How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsPsychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How we learn observable responses?

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsCognitive How we encode,

process, store and retrieve information?

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving?

Social-cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Psychologist

What she does

BiologicalExplore the links between brain and mind.

DevelopmentalStudy changing abilities from womb to tomb.

CognitiveStudy how we perceive, think, and solve problems.

Personality Investigate our persistent traits.

SocialExplore how we view and affect one another.

Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Psychologist What she does

ClinicalStudies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

CounselingHelps people cope with academic, vocational, and marital challenges.

EducationalStudies and helps individuals in school and educational settings

Industrial/Organizational

Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace.

A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.).

Psychiatrists (M.D.) able to prescribe drugs

Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry

iClicker Questions for

Prologue: The Story of Psychology

Psychology, 8th Edition

by David G. Myers Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University

Which philosopher agreed with Socrates and Plato’s assertion that the mind is able to survive

the death of the body?

A. Francis Bacon

B. Aristotle

C. John Locke

D. René Descartes

Who was denied the Ph.D. degree from Harvard because

she was a woman?

A. Mary Whiton Calkins

B. William James

C. Margaret Floy Washburn

D. Edward Bradford Titchener

Psychology is currently defined as:

A. the study of individual experience.

B. the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

C. the study of mental life.

D. the scientific study of observable behavior.

Which of the following is NOT one of psychology’s three main levels of

analysis?

A. developmental

B. social-cultural

C. biological

D. psychological

Dr. Garcia asks participants in her study to describe their experience as they smell an orange. Dr. Garcia’s

method most closely resembles that of the early:

A. structuralists.

B. pragmatists.

C. Freudians.

D. functionalists.

John B. Watson was most likely to say:

A. “A person needs unconditional love and acceptance in order to reach her true potential.”

B. “A person’s behavior reflects unconscious conflicts and emotions that result from early childhood experiences.”

C. “Emotional responses reflect biological processes such as hormones and brain chemistry.

D. “Science must be rooted in observation of behavior, rather than introspective processes.”

Dr. Lee’s research explores how children’s intellectual development is

affected by environmental and genetic factors. His research

reflects the modern __________ perspective.

A. behavioral

B. behavioral genetics

C. evolutionary

D. neuroscience

Dr. Frye conducts research investigations on memory, with the

intent of contributing to what is known about human memory

processes. Dr. Frye conducts:

A. professional service.

B. applied research.

C. basic research.

D. psychiatry.

Thinking Critically with Psychological

Science

Chapter 1

Survey Random Sampling

If each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion into a sample, it is called a

random sample (unbiased). If the survey

sample is biased, its results are not valid.

The fastest way to know about the marble color ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller jar and count them.

CorrelationWhen one trait or behavior accompanies

another, we say the two correlate.

Correlation coefficient

Indicates directionof relationship

(positive or negative)

Indicates strengthof relationship(0.00 to 1.00)

r = 0.37+

Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure of the relationship between two

variables.

No relationship (0.00)Perfect negativecorrelation (-1.00)

The Scatterplot on the left shows a negative correlation, while the one on the right shows no

relationship between the two variables.

Scatterplots

ScatterplotThe Scatterplot below shows the relationship

between height and temperament in people. There is a moderate positive correlation of +0.63.

or

Correlation and Causation

CORRELATION

• CORRELATION DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION!!!!

• EXPLAIN

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists. Parents conceive children after

adoption.

Confirming evidence

Disconfirming evidence

Do not

adopt

Disconfirming evidence

Confirming evidence

Adopt

Do not conceiveConceive

Michael N

ewm

an Jr./ Photo Edit

Experiments (1) manipulate factors that interest us, while other factors are kept

under (2) control.

Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate cause and effect relationships.

Exploring Cause & Effect

An Independent Variable is a factor manipulated by the experimenter. It is the focus of the study.

When examining the effects of breast feeding upon intelligence, breast feeding is the independent

variable.

Independent Variable

A Dependent Variable is a factor that may change in response to an

independent variable. For example, in our study on the effect

of breast feeding upon intelligence, intelligence is the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

Patients and experimenter’s assistants should remain unaware of which

patients had the real treatment and which patients had the placebo

treatment.

Evaluating Therapies

Double-blind Procedure

Assigning participants to experimental (Breast-fed) and

control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-

existing differences between the two groups.

Evaluating TherapiesRandom Assignment

Experimentation.

ComparisonBelow is a comparison of different

research methods.

Measures of Central Tendency

Mode: The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.

Mean: The arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores that were added together.

Median: The middle score in a rank-ordered distribution.

Measures of Central Tendency

A Skewed Distribution What is the difference between a positive and

a negative skew?

Measures of VariationRange: The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation: A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean.

Making Inferences

Representative samples are better than biased samples.

Less variable observations are more reliable than more variable ones.

More cases are better than fewer cases.

When is an Observed Difference Reliable?

Making Inferences

When sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large,

we say the difference has statistical significance.

For psychologists this difference is measured through alpha level set at 5 percent (.05).

When is a Difference Significant?

ETHICS OF EXPERIMENTATION (APA)

• obtain the informed consent of potential participants

• protect them from harm and discomfort• treat information about individual

participants confidentially• fully explain the research afterward

(debrief)

iClicker Questions for

Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Psychology, 8th Edition

by David G. Myers Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University

1. Naturalistic observations are conducted in order to:

A. describe behavior.

B. explain behavior.

C. predict behavior.

D. control behavior.

2. Which of the following represents the average score in

a distribution?

A. the mode

B. the mean

C. the median

D. the standard deviation

3. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the

strongest relationship between variables?

A. positive .05

B. negative .25

C. positive .75

D. negative .95

4. Dr. Garcia asks participants in her study to describe their

experience as they smell an orange. Dr. Garcia’s method most closely

resembles that of the early:4.A. structuralists.

B. pragmatists.

C. Freudians.

D. functionalists.

Critical Thinking Questions

5. After watching their favorite team lose a game, Emma and her friends commented to each other about how they had always known the loss was inevitable. Psychologists call this:

A. overconfidence.B. the false consensus effect.C. the hindsight bias.D. an illusory correlation.

6. Dr. Anderson conducts an experiment to see whether exposure to helpful models

leads to helping behavior in young children. Of the forty girls and boys in his study, half

are exposed to helpful models while the other half watch the same models not engaged in helping behavior. In this

experiment, the dependent variable is:A. the gender of the children.B. helpful or non-helpful models.C. the age of the children.D. helping behavior.

7. Which of the following is the best way to generate a random

sample of students for a research study?

A. mail out a questionnaire that students could voluntarily complete and return

B. stand by the door of the library and ask people who pass by to answer your questions

C. offer extra credit for students in a particular classroom who choose to participate

D. use a table of random numbers to pick participants from a student listing

8. After conducting an experiment, Dr. Fitzpatrick concluded that there

was a statistically significant difference between the scores of

the experimental and control groups. In other words,

A. the difference is highly meaningful and important to scientists.

B. the results are replicable.

C. the scores differed by five points or more.

D. it is unlikely that the difference occurred by chance.

9. A significant disadvantage of the correlational approach is

that it:

A. does not provide evidence of cause and effect.

B. cannot be used to examine relationships between variables that exist naturally.

C. does not aid in the process of prediction.

D. does not provide information about how two variables are related.

Neuroscience and Behavior

Chapter 2

Neural Communication

The body’s information system is built from billions of interconnected cells called neurons.

Neuron A nerve cell, or a neuron, consists of

many different parts.

Action PotentialA neural impulse. A

brief electrical charge that travels down an

axon and is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of

channels in the axon’s membrane.

Depolarization & Hyperpolarization

Depolarization: Depolarization occurs when positive ions enter the neuron,

making it more prone to firing an action potential. Hyperpolarization occurs when negative ions enter the neuron, making it

less prone to firing an action potential.

Threshold

Threshold: Each neuron receives depolarizing and hyperpolarizing currents from many neurons. When the depolarizing

current (positive ions) minus the hyperpolarizing current (negative ions)

exceed minimum intensity (threshold) the neuron fires an action potential.

Refractory Period & Pumps

Refractory Period: After a neuron fires an action potential it pauses for a short

period to recharge itself to fire again.

Sodium-Potassium Pumps: Sodium-potassium pumps pump positive ions out

from the inside of the neuron, making them ready for another action potential.

Action Potential Properties

All-or-None Response: When the depolarizing current exceeds the

threshold, a neuron will fire. If the depolarizing current fails to exceed the

threshold, a neuron will not fire.

Intensity of an action potential remains the same throughout the length of the

axon.

Synapse

Synapse [SIN-aps] a junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the

receiving neuron. This tiny gap is called the synaptic gap or cleft.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters (chemicals) released

from the sending neuron travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on

the receiving neuron, thereby influencing

it to generate an action potential.

Dopamine Pathways

Dopamine pathways are involved with diseases such as schizophrenia and Parkinson’s

disease.

From Mapping the Mind, Rita Carter, © 1989 University of California Press

Neurotransmitters

Lock & Key MechanismNeurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the

receiving neuron in a key-lock mechanism.

Agonists

Antagonists

Nervous System

CentralNervousSystem(CNS)

PeripheralNervousSystem(PNS)

Kinds of Glial Cells

Astrocytes provide nutrition to neurons.

Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells insulate neurons as

myelin.

Astrocytes

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Sympathetic NS “Arouses”

(fight-or-flight)

Parasympathetic NS “Calms”

(rest and digest)

Central Nervous SystemThe Spinal Cord and Reflexes

Simple Reflex

The Endocrine System

The Endocrine System is the body’s “slow”

chemical communication

system. Communication is

carried out by hormones

synthesized by a set of glands.

Pituitary GlandIs called the “master gland.” The anterior

pituitary lobe releases hormones that regulate other glands. The posterior lobe

regulates water and salt balance.

OTHER GLANDS

• THYROID - ?

• ADRENAL GLANDS -?

• GONANDS - ?

The Brain

Techniques to Study the Brain

A brain lesion experimentally

destroys brain tissue to study animal

behaviors after such destruction.

Hubel (1990)

Clinical ObservationClinical observations have shed light on a

number of brain disorders. Alterations in brain morphology due to neurological and

psychiatric diseases are now being catalogued.

Tom

Landers/ B

oston Globe

Electroencephalogram (EEG)An amplified recording of the electrical waves

sweeping across the brain’s surface, measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

AJ P

hoto/ Photo R

esearchers, Inc.

PET Scan

PET (positron emission tomography)

Scan is a visual display of brain

activity that detects a radioactive form of glucose while the

brain performs a given task.

Courtesy of N

ational Brookhaven N

ational Laboratories

MRI Scan

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-

generated images that distinguish among

different types of brain tissue.

Both photos from Daniel Weinberger, M.D., CBDB, NIMH

James Salzano/ Salzano Photo Lucy Reading/ Lucy Illustrations

BRAIN STRUCTURES

• Thalamus

• Cerebellum

• Brainstem– Medulla– Reticular formation

BRAIN STRUCTURES

LIMBIC SYSTEM

Hippocampus

Amygdala

Hypothalamus

reward system

BRAIN STRUCTURES

• CEREBRAL CORTEX

– Glial cells

– Lobes divided by fissures and folds

– Wrinkled surface

Structure of the CortexEach brain hemisphere

is divided into four lobes that are separated by

prominent fissures. These lobes are the

frontal lobe (forehead), parietal lobe (top to rear head), occipital lobe (back head) and temporal lobe (side of

head).

More intelligent animals have increased “uncommitted” or association areas of the

cortex.

Association Areas

LanguageAphasia is an impairment of language,

usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impaired speaking)

or to Wernicke’s area (impaired understanding).

LANGUAGE

• The third language area, the angular gyrus receives visual information from the visual area and recodes into auditory form

• Damage to different language areas will result in differing forms of aphasia.

• Main Point: The mind’s subsystems are localized in particular brain regions (specialization), yet the brain acts as a unified whole (integration).

The brain is sculpted by our genes but also by our experiences.

Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to modify itself after some type of injury or

illness.

The Brain’s Plasticity

Split Brain Patients - Sperry and Gazzaniga experiments

With the corpus callosum severed, objects (apple) presented in the right visual field can be named. Objects

(pencil) in the left visual field cannot.

Non-Split Brains

People with intact brains also show left-right hemispheric differences in

mental abilities.

A number of brain scan studies show normal individuals engage their right brain when completing a perceptual

task and their left brain when carrying out a linguistic task.

iClicker Questions for

Chapter 2: Neuroscience and Behavior

Psychology, 8th Edition

by David G. Myers Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University

1. The peripheral nervous system consists of:

A. association areas.

B. the spinal cord.

C. the reticular formation.

D. sensory and motor neurons.

2. After suffering an accidental brain injury, Kira has difficulty

walking in a smooth and coordinated manner. It is most probable that she has suffered

damage to her: A. amygdala.

B. angular gyrus.

C. cerebellum.

D. corpus callosum.

3. Which region of the brain appears to have the oldest

evolutionary history?

A. frontal lobes

B. limbic system

C. brainstem

D. corpus callosum

4. Due to an automobile accident, Jenny suffered damage to her cerebral cortex in Broca's area.

Jenny is most likely to experience:

A. auditory hallucinations.

B. aphasia.

C. memory loss.

D. paralysis of her left limbs.

5. In which of the following parts of the brain would a lesion most likely

result in aphasia?

A. corpus callosum

B. amygdala

C. hypothalamus

D. Wernicke's area

6. Following massive damage to his frontal lobes, Phineas Gage was

most strikingly debilitated by:

A. irritability.

B. memory loss.

C. auditory hallucinations.

D. a reward deficiency syndrome.

7. A visit to a phrenologist would have resulted in an analysis of

the person’s:

A. heart beats.

B. skull bumps.

C. neurotransmitter function.

D. endocrine system.

8. What disease is related to degeneration of the neuron’s

myelin sheath?

A. Parkinson’s disease

B. multiple sclerosis

C. Alzheimer’s disease

D. schizophrenia

9. Jack accidentally touches a hot stove. Such a strong stimulus:

A. increases the intensity of a neuron’s action potential.

B. affects the speed that a neuron fires.C. triggers more neurons to fire.D. does not affect how often a neuron fires.

10. Antidepressants such as Prozac target which neurotransmitter?

A. serotonin

B. glutamate

C. GABA

D. acetylcholine

11. Which technique is most useful for seeing which regions of the brain are most active while a person reads

a poem?

A. EEG

B. fMRI

C. EKG

D. PET

Critical Thinking Questions

12. A new superhero emerges on the scene. This superhero is able to stay awake and vigilant

for extended amounts of time. He helps the intelligence community by being able to stay in

surveillance for extended amounts of time without losing concentration and can always be

paying attention to what is happening. A study of this superhero’s brain might show that the

____________ is more advanced and developed than a non-superhero’s.

A. frontal lobeB. amygdalaC. reticular formationD. occipital lobe

13. You are a neurologist in a large hospital. The wife of a construction worker visits you and describes that her husband

has experienced a serious injury to his frontal lobe. She is perplexed by his

behavior. Which of the following would you tell her is “normal behavior” for a person

with frontal lobe damage?A. not much decline in memory or intelligence

B. poor judgment

C. irritability and other personality changes

D. ALL of these are commonly seen in frontal lobe damage

14. Which of the following activities is NOT primarily a

function of the left hemisphere?

A. listening to a piano concerto

B. reading your psychology book

C. reading junk mail

D. listening to a poetry reading

15. As Allison reaches for a box in her garage, out jumps a big spider. Her heart

immediately begins to race as she withdraws her hand, but soon she realizes that the spider is harmless, and she begins to calm down. Which part of her nervous system is responsible for brining her back

to a normal state of arousal?A. sympathetic nervous systemB. somatic nervous systemC. parasympathetic nervous systemD. skeletal nervous system

16. If Dr. Barnes wanted to cause a cat to take on an attack posture,

which of the cat’s brain structures should he electrically stimulate?

A. amygdala

B. hypothalamus

C. hippocampus

D. cerebellum

17. A split-brain patient’s right hemisphere is presented with a key. How is he most likely to

respond?A. say the word “key”B. select a key from a group of objects presented to

his left handC. select a key from a group of objects presented to

his right handD. he will not be able to say “key” or to pick out a

key from a group of objects with either hand