Download Review and Study Guide for Evaluation #1

Review and Study Guide for Evaluation #1 – General Psychology – Dr. Green – Fall 2011
Modules 1-4, 8 - 13
Module 1- 2, Introduction, History & Statistics
Wundt and psychology’s first graduate students studied the “atoms of the mind” by conducting experiments at Leipzig,
Germany, in 1879. This work is considered the birth of psychology as we know it today.
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Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
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Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and
flourish
Psychology originated in many disciplines and countries. It was, until the 1920s, defined as the science of mental life.
We define psychology today as the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and
feelings).
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.) studies, assesses, and treats troubled people with psychotherapy.
Psychiatrists on the other hand are medical professionals (M.D.) who use treatments like drugs and psychotherapy to
treat psychologically diseased patients.
Constructing Theories
A theory is an explanation that integrates principles and organizes and predicts behavior or events.
A hypothesis is a testable prediction, often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the
theory.
The Scientific Method
Psychologists report their research with precise operational definitions of procedures and concepts.
Empiricism
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knowledge comes from experience via the senses
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science investigates through observation and experiment
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Show me
Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon.
After learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome.
Overconfidence
Sometimes we think we know more than we actually know.
The scientific attitude is composed of curiosity (passion for exploration), skepticism (doubting and questioning) and
humility (ability to accept responsibility when wrong).
The Scientific Method
Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and
simplify observations.
Survey
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technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people
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usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people
Random Sampling
If each member of a population – the whole group you want to study – 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.
Case Study
observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principals
Naturalistic Observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the
situation
Basics of Statistics
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Mode - the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
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Median - the middle score in a distribution


half the scores are above it and half are below it
Mean - the arithmetic average of a distribution
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obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores
Correlation
When one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate.
An illusory correlation occurs is the perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists.
Experimentation
Researchers can isolate cause and effect with an experiment.
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.
Double-blind Procedure
In evaluating drug therapies, patients and experimenter’s assistants should remain unaware of which patients
had the real treatment and which patients had the placebo treatment.
An independent variable is a factor manipulated by the experimenter.
A dependent variable is a factor that may change in response to an independent variable.
Module 3 – Neural Systems
Phrenology
In 1800, Franz Gall suggested that bumps of the skull represented mental abilities. His theory, though incorrect,
nevertheless proposed that different mental abilities were modular.
Neuron
 a nerve cell
 the basic building block of the nervous system
 Approx. 100 billion neurons (1011)
 Approx. 300-400 trillion synapses (1014)
Nervous System
 the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system
 consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
Central Nervous System (CNS)
 the brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
 the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body
Nerves
 neural “cables” containing many axons
 part of the peripheral nervous system
 connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Sensory Neurons
 neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system
Motor Neurons
 carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands
Interneurons
 CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Threshold: Each neuron receives excitatory and inhibitory signals from many neurons. When the excitatory signals minus
the inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity (threshold) the neuron fires an action potential.
Action Potential - All-or-None Response: A strong stimulus can trigger more neurons to fire, and to fire more often, but it
does not affect the action potentials strength or speed.
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.
Endorphins [en - DOR-fins]: “morphine within”— natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to
pleasure.
Drugs and other chemicals affect brain chemistry at synapses: Agonist molecules bind to a neurotransmitter’s receptor
and mimics its effects. Antagonists bind to receptors and block a neurotransmitter’s functioning.
Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic Nervous System: The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles.
Autonomic Nervous System: Part of the PNS that controls the glands and other muscles.
 Autonomic Nervous System - the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles
of the internal organs (such as the heart)
 Sympathetic Nervous System - division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body,
mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
 Parasympathetic Nervous System - division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body,
conserving its energy
Hormones are chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream,
and affect other tissues.
Module 4 – Brain
The brainstem, including the pons and medulla, is an extension of the spinal cord.
The thalamus is attached to the top of the brainstem.
The reticular formation passes through both structures. - nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in
controlling arousal.
The Medulla [muh-DUL-uh] is the base of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.
Cerebellum [sehr-uh-BELL-um]
 the “little brain” attached to the rear of the brainstem
 it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance
The Limbic System is a neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the
cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
The Amygdala [ah-MIG-dah-la] consists of two lima bean-sized neural clusters linked to the emotions of fear and anger.
The Hypothalamus lies below (hypo) the thalamus. It directs several maintenance activities like eating, drinking, body
temperature, and control of emotions. It helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.
The cerebral [seh - REE-bruhl] cortex is the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral
hemispheres. The body’s ultimate control and information processing center.
Frontal Lobes - involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments
Parietal Lobes - include the sensory cortex
Occipital Lobes - include the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field
Temporal Lobes - include the auditory areas
The Motor Cortex is the area at the rear of the frontal lobes that control voluntary movements. The Sensory Cortex
(parietal cortex) receives information from skin surface and sense organs.
Aphasia: impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area.
Broca’s area: controls language expression; an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, directs muscle
movements involved in speech.
Wernicke’s area: controls language reception; usually in the left temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension
and expression.
Brain Rules
1. Exercise boosts brain power
2. The human brain evolved, too.
3. Every brain is wired differently.
4. We don’t pay attention to boring things.
5. Repeat to remember.
6. Remember to repeat.
7. Sleep well, think well.
8. Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.
9. Stimulate more of the senses.
10. Vision trumps all other senses.
11. Male and female brains are different.
12. We are powerful and natural explorers.
Plasticity
the brain’s capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in
children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development
New skill acquisition is key to plasticity.
Module 8 - Behavior Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology
Chromosomes are threadlike structures that contain DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a complex molecule containing
genetic information.
Genes are the biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes. They are segments of DNA capable of
synthesizing a protein.
A number of studies compared identical twins reared separately from birth, or close thereafter, and found numerous
similarities.
Parenting does have an effect on biologically related and unrelated children.
Temperament refers to a person’s stable emotional reactivity and intensity. Identical twins express similar
temperaments, suggesting heredity predisposes temperament.
Does natural selection explain our human tendencies?
Module 9 - Environmental Influences on Behavior
Early postnatal experiences affect brain development. Rosenzweig et al. (1984) showed that rats raised in enriched
environments developed thicker cortices than those in an impoverished environment.
Brain development does not end with childhood. Throughout our lives, brain tissue continues to grow and change.
Parents do matter, influencing the success of individuals and showing up in political attitudes, religious beliefs, and
personal manners.
Children, like adults, attempt to fit into a group by conforming. Peers are influential in such areas as learning to
cooperate with others, gaining popularity, and developing interactions.
Culture: the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted
from one generation to the next.
Some cultures give priority to an individual’s goals over those of the larger group, supporting individualism, but if the
group’s goal are instead more important, that society supports collectivism.
Gender and Aggression - The nature of this aggression difference is physical rather than relational.
In most societies, men are socially dominant and are perceived as such. Gender differences in decision making and the
election of more men into positions of power, support this inequality.
Young and old, women are more interdependent than men, spending more time with friends and less time alone.
In psychology, a role is a cluster of prescribed actions.
Our culture shapes our gender roles — expectations of how men and women are supposed to behave.
Society assigns each of us to a gender, and the result is our, gender identity, a sense of being male or female.
To an extent we are also gender typed, showing more masculine or feminine traits.
Social learning theory assumes that children learn gender-linked behaviors through observation and imitation.
Cognition also matters, children form gender schemas, a lens through which they see the world.
Module 10 - Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn
Developmental psychology considers three pervasive issues:
Issue
Details
Nature/Nurture
How do genetic inheritance (our nature) and
experience (the nurture we receive)
influence our behavior?
Continuity/Stages
Is development a gradual, continuous
process or a sequence of separate stages?
Stability/Change
Do our early personality traits persist
through life, or do we become different
persons as we age.
Three Stage Theories
At each prenatal stage genetic and environmental factors affect development.
Although the placenta screens out potential threats, some teratogens, chemicals or viruses that can harm the
developing fetus, can slip by.
For example, fetal alcohol syndrom (FAS), can be caused by a mother’s drinking during pregnancy. FAS is marked by a
small, misproportioned head and lifelong brain abnormalities.
In addition to this, we are born preferring sights and sounds that facilitate social responsiveness.
Infants turn their heads in the direction of human voices and gaze longer at face-like images.
Module 11 - Infancy and Childhood
The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to
occur in sequence— standing before walking, babbling before talking—this is called maturation.
First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this
sequence.
The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3½ years (Bauer, 2002). A 5-year-old has a sense of self and an increased
long-term memory, thus organization of memory is different from 3-4 years.
Although they may not consciously remember, babies are capable of learning.
Cognitive Development
Cognition refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and
communicating.
Piaget felt that the driving force behind our intellectual progression is an unceasing struggle to make sense of our
experiences and that to do this maturing brains build schemas.
Schemas are a concepts or frameworks that
organize and interpret information.
To use our schemas Piaget proposed that we assimilate new experiences, or interpret them according to our schemas
and then adjust or accommodate our schemas accordingly.
In the sensorimotor stage, babies take in the world by looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping. Children
younger than 6 months of age do not grasp object permanence, i.e., objects that are out of sight are also out of mind.
Piaget suggested that from 2 years old to about 6-7 years old, children are in the preoperational stage—too young to
perform mental operations. For example, in this stage do not understand the concept of conservation, the principle that
quantity remains the same despite changes in shape.
Piaget concluded that preschool children are egocentric. They cannot perceive things from another’s point of view.
Animism (confusion between physical and psychological events)
Preschoolers, although still egocentric, develop the ability to understand another’s mental state when they begin
forming a theory of mind.
As theory of mind develops, they seek to understand and interpret the actions and feelings of other people.
In the concrete operational stage, given concrete materials, 6- to 7-year-olds grasp conservation problems and mentally
pour liquids back and forth into glasses of different shapes conserving their quantities.
Around age 12, our reasoning ability expands from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. We can now use symbols and
imagined realities to systematically reason. Piaget called this formal operational thinking.
Autism and “Mind-Blindness”
Diagnoses of autism, a disorder marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others’
states of mind, are increasing.
People with autism are said to have an impaired theory of mind, having difficulty reading inferring others’ thoughts and
feelings.
Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s stage theory has been influential globally, validating a number of ideas regarding growth and development in
many cultures and societies. However, today’s researchers believe the following:
1. Development is a continuous process.
2. Children express their mental abilities and operations at an earlier age.
3. Formal logic is a smaller part of cognition.
Stranger anxiety is the fear of strangers that develops at around 8 months. This is the age at which infants form
schemas for familiar faces and cannot assimilate a new face.
Origins of Attachment
Harlow (1971) showed that infants bond with surrogate mothers because of bodily contact and not because of
nourishment.
No social behavior is more striking than the intense and mutual infant – parent bond called attachment.
In many animals, attachments based on familiarity likewise form during a critical period—an optimal period when
certain events must take place to facilitate proper development. In some animals (goslings), imprinting is the cause of
attachment.
Separation anxiety peaks at 13 months of age, regardless of whether the children are home or sent to day care.
Erik Erikson said that securely attached children approach life with a sense of basic trust—a sense that the world is
predictable and reliable.
Parenting Styles
Practice
Description
Authoritarian
Parents impose rules and expect obedience.
Permissive
Parents submit to children’s demands.
Authoritative
Parents are demanding but responsive to their children.
Module 12 - Adolescence
Adolescence is the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence..
Adolescence begins with puberty (sexual maturation). Puberty occurs earlier in females (11 years) than males (13
years).
Teens’ frontal lobes continue to develop and the growth of myelin speeds neurotransmission and improves
communication with other regions of the brain.
This lags the emotional limbic system, which along with the hormonal surge, helps explain the impulsiveness, risky
behaviors, and emotional storms of adolescence.
Adolescents’ ability to reason gives them a new level of social awareness, leading them to think about:
1. Their own thinking.
2. What others are thinking.
3. What others are thinking about them.
4. How ideals can be reached.
Kohlberg (1981, 1984) sought to describe the development of moral reasoning
3 Basic Levels of Moral Thinking
1. Preconventional Morality: Before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.
2. Conventional Morality: By early adolescence, social rules and laws are upheld for their own sake.
3. Postconventional Morality: Affirms people’s agreed-upon rights or follows personally perceived ethical
principles.
Forming an Identity
In Western cultures, many adolescents try out different selves before settling into an identity, a consistent and
comfortable sense of sense of who one is. Having such an identity leads to forming close relationships.
Social identity, the “we” aspect of our self-concept, often forms around our distinctiveness.
Emerging adulthood spans from the late-teens to the mid-twenties. During this time, young adults may live with their
parents and attend college or work. On average, emerging adults marry in their mid-twenties.
Module 13 - Adulthood
Psychologists once viewed adulthood as one long plateau, but now feel that development continues through our adult
lives.
Though stages are difficult to define in adulthood, based on our similarities in development we use three terms, early,
middle, and late adulthood.
Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory abilities and cardiac output begin to decline after the mid-twenties.
After age 70, hearing, distance perception, and the sense of smell diminish, as do muscle strength, reaction time, and
stamina. After 80, neural processes slow down, especially for complex tasks.
As we age, we remember some things well. These include recent past events and events that happened a decade or two
back. However, recalling names becomes increasingly difficult.
Recognition memory does not decline with age, and material that is meaningful is recalled better than meaningless
material.
It is believed today that fluid intelligence (ability to reason speedily) declines with age, but crystallized intelligence
(accumulated knowledge and skills) does not. We gain vocabulary and knowledge but lose recall memory and process
more slowly.
Psychologists doubt that adults pass through an orderly sequence of age-bound stages. Mid-life crises at 40 are less
likely to occur than crises triggered by major events (divorce, new marriage).
Life events trigger life stage transitions at varying ages. The social clock – the culturally preferred timing of social events
– varies from era to era and culture to culture.
Well-Being Across the Life Span
Well-being and people’s feelings of satisfaction are stable across the life span.
Death and Dying
The “normal” range of reactions or grief stages after the death of a loved one varies widely. Grief is more severe if death
occurs unexpectedly. People who view their lives with a sense of integrity (in Erikson’s terms) see life as meaningful and
worthwhile.
Kubler-Ross (1966) - we do not all go through predictable stages, such as denial, anger, etc.
• Given similar losses grieving is different for different people.