Download mid term review guide- 2015 (1)

Midterm Review Material 2015
Research Methods
Independent variable
manipulated variable. (Ex.-the pill if you’re testing a pill to see if it relieves hyperactivity or
depression.)
Dependent variable-
(measured variable) change in this is dependent on change in independent variable. This is the
outcome and is often a score or number
Operationalized definition-
explaining how you will measure a variable. (Ex. - abusive husband will be defined as a husband
that physically hits his wife at least 2 times per year.)
Representative Sample-
goal of sampling, select a sample representative of a larger population. (Example- a representative
sample at Butler would have roughly 12% African-Americans).
Random selection-
Ex-.Picking out of a hat OR Computer generated sample of 100 Butler students for survey. (Only
use one of these examples). This increases likelihood of sample being representative
Stratified Sample –
allows researchers to ensure that a sample is directly representative of the population on some
criteria. For example: Representative by race. If a population of 1000 has 500 white, 300 black,
200 latino then one would choose 50 white, 30 black, and 20 latino individuals for a sample of 100
total participants.
Experimental condition-
test group that recieves the treatment (IV)
Control Condition-
the comparison group that does not receive the treatement (IV)
EXPERIMENT
Experimental method-
this is the preferred method because it expresses a cause and effect relationship. You can do this
by manipulating a variable. The disadvantage is that sometimes you cannot generalize what
happens in a controlled laboratory environment to the real world.
Random assignment-
participants are randomly assigned to either the control (group not receiving the
treatment) or experimental group. (group receiving treatment)
Double-blind procedure-
neither the subjects nor researchers are aware of control/experiment (or those receiving
placebo). This eliminates experimenter or subject bias. A single blind controls foe subject
bias (he/she does not know about the experiment)
CORRELATION
Correlation-
Correlation does not mean
causationCase study-
expresses a relationship between 2 variables. Correlations may be positive or negative,
strong or weak. A Positive correlation is when both variables increase or both variables
decrease at the same time. (Hint: when multiplying integers in math a negative times a
negative equals a positive.) Negative correlation is when one variable increases, the
other variable decreases. Sometimes a survey is used
there are usually several different causes of something.
Positive: in-depth detailed study of individual or small groups. Criticism is that findings
cannot be generalized to larger population.
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STATISTICS
Standard Deviation
and variance -
Correlational Coefficient-
Statistical Significance
and P Value –
relates to the average distance of any score in a distribution from the mean. EX. If the
mean on a standardized test is 78 and 1 SD (1z) = 7. Then 68% of test takers score
between 71 and an 85. Then 2SD (2z) = 14. Then 95% of test takers score between 64
and 92. Then 3SD (3z) = 21, Then 99.9% of test takers score between 57 and 99.
a number given showing the strength of the correlation. This ranges from
positive 1 to negative 1. The farther away from 0 (either pos. or neg.) the
stronger the correlation.
Inferential statistics tests yield a p-value. If a p-value is equal to or less than .05
then the test is statistically significant. A p-value will never be 0 because we can
never be 100% certain the results are not due to chance.
All research must first be proposed to the Institutional Review Board and meet the following APA Ethical Guidelines
Animal Research- Clear, scientific purpose
- Humane treatment
- Acquire subjects legally
- Use procedures’ employing least amount of suffering feasible
Human Research- Informed consent (explain research and receive a signature)
- No coercion (cannot force to do)
- Debriefing (explain to subject the purpose (even if deceived a little) and
results.
- No mental/physical risk/harm
Social Psychology
Mere exposure effect –
the more you see something or someone familiarity occurs, which breeds acceptance.
EX.- buying advertised namebrands, ad jingles often use popular songs, jingles. EX. once
politicians win one term in office they are much more likely to win again
Cognitive Dissonance Theory:
if behaviors and attitudes/beliefs do not match then tension arises. Attitudes or behaviors
must become consistent to relieve tension. EX. You think speeding is wrong and yet, you
speed. You either stop speeding or say speeding is ok.
Attribution Theory:
tendency to give causal explanation of behavior to persons’ situation (external) or
disposition (biological trait).
Ex. Johnny is a bad kid. Situation attribution – Johnny feeds off of other bad kids in the
class. Disposition attribution – Johnny is bad in all situations
Self-fulfilling prophecy-
ones beliefs/expectations about others leads one to act in ways that induce the others to
appear to confirm the belief. (EX. - teacher is told specific students are on the verge of
significant academic growth. By the end of the year these students IQ’s grew more than
the others. This was attributed to how the teacher treated them and was called the
Pygmalion in the classroom experiment.
Fundamental Attribution error:
tendency to overestimate impact of personal disposition
In-group bias–
preference for members of own group (most similar to you in gender, race, class, age,
proximity (EX- belief that Butler students are better than Providence students (even
though this is a fact).
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Bystander effect:
tendency for bystanders to be less likely to give aid the larger the amount of bystanders
that are present. This is known as a diffusion of responsibility- EX. Kitty Genovese
raped in NY.. Pluralistic Ignorance is the tendency for people to look to others to decide
what is right in a situation. Also people will judge the seriousness of situation before
intervening. Ex. 6th graders in park wearing headbands looking “gangsta” were likely to
be stopped by adults.
Social facilitation:
tendency to perform better (on easier tasks) with an audience
Social Impairment:
tendency to perform worse (on difficult tasks) with an audience
Conformity-
changing one’s attitudes/behaviors to match a group norm.
Asch’s study of Conformity –Q.
Which line matches the standard line? Group pressure caused participants to change
opinions (even when answer is obvious) about a third of the time. Conformity did not
increase after 3 members were in group.
Milgram’s study of Obedience:
Subjects were deceived into thinking that they were shocking someone. Participants
continued shocking other participants while they were screaming to Stop! Obedience
increased when: 1) authority close at hand 2) authority by prestigious institution 3) victim
depersonalized (in another room) 4) no role models for defiance. This experiment has
been criticized on ethical grounds. 70% went to XXX. It showed how ordinary people
can be influenced by authority figures to do immoral things.
Social loafing:
individual tendency for effort to decrease when working in groups
Group polarization-
enhancement of group’s attitudes more toward the extreme through discussion in a group
.EX. after spending 3 hours on a hate group chat line one feels even more hatred toward
that group.
Deindividuation –
loss of self-restraint in-group situations where one becomes anonymous. “If you could be
invisible for 24 hours what would you do.
Group Think-
mode of thinking when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a
realistic appraisal of alternatives. EX- Pres. Kennedy’s advisors decided to invade Cuba
or the decision to launch the spaceship challenger or Iraq invasion.
Scapegoat theory-
when the blame of problems is placed all on one certain group to cause dislike towards
that group.
Biological Basis of Behavior (Neuroscience)
Action potential
electrical message firing
Threshold-
neurons are pushed past this to begin the firing. (Toilet flushing)
Neuron firing-
“all or nothing” either fires or doesn’t (like a toilet flushing) positive ions rush in
negative ions leave (like the water in a dirty toilet)
Refractory period –
brief time when a neuron must recharge and cannot fire (toilet)
Reuptake –
The re-absorption of neurotransmitters from the sending neuron
Neurotransmitter_______
a.) Acetylcholine (Ach)
b.) Dopamine
c.) Serotonin
d.) Endorphins (substance p)
e.) Norepenephrine
Function
motor movement
motor movement
mood
pain
mood
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Problem associated with it
Alzheimer’s (lack of Ach)
Parkinson’s and Schizophrenia (excess)
Depression
Addictions
Depression
Afferent/Efferent neurons-
acronym is SAME. Sensory Afferent / Motor Efferent. Sensory neurons (Afferent) go
from body to brain such as when you sense pain from hitting your knee. Motor neurons
go from brain to body such as when your brain and tells you to raise your hand to catch a
ball.
CNS (Central Nervous System) -
brain and spinal cord
PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) –
all other nerves in your body
Autonomic –
controls automatic functions of the body – such as heart, lungs
Sympathetic Nervous System-
arouses body systems, decreases digestion, dilates pupil
Parasympathetic Nervous System-
calms body systems, increases digestion, contracts pupil etc.
(Mnemonic: once your parachute opens you calm, the paramedics
come to calm you down)
Somatic –
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
Medulla-
controls voluntary muscle movements
heartbeat, breathing
Pons-
controls facial expressions.
Cerebellum-
balance, motor movement (Mnemonic: Sara on a balance beam)
Thalamus-
contains sensory (senses) cortex (except smell)
Hypothalamus –
Amygdala-
body temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst
emotions (Mnemonic: Picture a friend named Amy that is very emotional)
Hippocampus-
formation of new memories (Mnemonic: If you saw a hippo on campus you wouldn’t
forget it)
Reticular Formation –
responsible for body arousal (Mnemonic: tic toc an alarm clock wakes you up)
HEMISPHERES
Contra lateral controlHemispheric Specialization-
Split brain patientsCorpus collosum-
AREAS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
Broca’s Area-
the left hemisphere controls the motor movement of the right hand.
outdated theory suggesting that each hemisphere controls all specific functions. It’s
factual however that the left is where most language takes place. Right is spatial. (map
reading etc.)
can write a word they see in the right visual field but cannot say it because the left
hemisphere controls language
connects the 2 hemispheres and transmits messages to each other. People who get
epileptic seizures have this surgically cut and become split brain patients.
speech production (broken CD player does not make sound)
Wernicke’s Area-
language comprehension.
Frontal Lobe-
thought, planning
Parietal Lobe-
sensory cortex, sense of touch.
Occipital Lobe-
vision. (Optometrist and Optical illusion starts with an O)
Temporal Lobe-
auditory, sound.
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Motor Cortex –
sends signals to the muscles, controlling voluntary movement. Located at the back of the
frontal lobe
Sensory Cortex –
receives incoming touch sensations from the body. Located at the front of the parietal
lobe.
Crystallized intelligence-
the intelligence that comes from prior experience.
Fluid intelligence-
abstract and independent intelligence, based off of what you think would work to solve a
problem, not something you have seen or tried before.
Developmental Psychology
RESEARCH METHODS
Cross-sectional –
studies participants of different ages.
Longitudinal –
studies same participants over long period of time.
Maturation-
biological influence on development. Cannot be learned (Ex.-walking, rope climbing)
Infant motor development usually in same sequence.
REFLEXES
Habituation –
decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus. Eventually a baby will become disinterested
with the ball.
Theory of Mind –
the belief that others think, feel and perceive – develops in the preoperational stage
 Ex. Autistic individuals lack theory of mind (also lack verbal communication skills)
PARENTING
Attachment Theories (bond between child and parent)
~Harlow’s monkeys.
Baby monkeys preferred wire mother with fur over wire mother with bottle. This proved
that babies do not form attachment to mothers just because of nourishment but rather
contact comfort. Also showed monkeys becoming stressed/frightened when placed in
new situation
~Mary Ainsworth
studied how human babies reacted when placed in strange situations away from mother.
This suggested whether they had formed secure or insecure attachments which effected
then throughout their life. Secure babies explore environment, stressed when mom leaves
and come to parents upon return
STAGE THEORISTS
Continuity v. discontinuity Q. Do we develop in stages or continuously?
ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL STAGE THEORY (in chronological order) - experiences with others are important. Humans hope to
end each stage closer to the first concept.
o
Trust v. mistrust-
(Birth to 1) - establishes a sense of basic trust in world
o
Autonomy v. shame/doubt
(favorite word is “No”- shows independence, toilet training)
o
Initiative v. guilt
(favorite word is Q. Why?)
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o
Industry (or competence)
v. inferiority
(elementary years) - may develop inferiority complex if not successful at elementary
tasks.
o
Identity v. role confusion
(adolescence= teens) test out different roles
o
Intimacy v. isolation
(20’s-30’s)
o
Generativity v. stagnation
(middle age)- psychological need to give to the next generation
o
Integrity v. despair.
(Late adulthood) – look back and decide if a.)We are satisfied with accomplishments b.)
life was meaningful
PIAGET”S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
SchemaAssimilationAccommodationo
o
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
o
Concrete operational
o
Formal operational
aka schemata- conceptual framework (interpretation) of the world based on experiences,
stereotypes etc.
attempting to incorporate new information into existing schema. (Ex. Boy say doggy for
all 4 legged animals)
changing our schema to fit new information. (EX- Some 4 legged animals are horses,
some are cows)
(0-2) Object Permanence. Child learns that if a ball leaves the room it still exists.
(2-7) egocentrism (child is center of the universe), language development, Artificialism
(belief that humans make everything), establishes a theory of mind
(7-11) conservation-child learns that volume of liquid remains the same even when the
shape of glass changes. (Tall glass, short fat glass) Another example is cutting a sandwich
in half seems like more. Logical thinking also develops.
(11-adult) ability to think abstractly, hypothetically and morally reason
Criticism of Piaget’s
cognitive development -
Piaget underestimated children (Children begin stages earlier than expected and
pass through stages faster than expected.), Development may be more
continuous than occur in discrete stages.
KOHLBERG”S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT- gave people of varying ages the Heinz Dilemma (Q. Should he steal drug
to save wife?)
o Preconventionalmorality based on rewards and punishment.
o Conventionalmorality based on social acceptance, approval. Ex. obeying laws.
o Postconventionalmorality based on ethical principles (Ex- breaking a law that you think is unjust
(civil disobedience)
Criticism of Kohlberg
from Carol Gilligan -
Boys/Girls come to moral conclusions differently.
Fluid Intelligence
our speed at which we solve abstract problems and reason. This decreases as we age.
Crystallized Intelligence
our accumulated knowledge of facts/. This stays the same as we age.
Sensation-
activation of our senses (eyes, ears, smell, taste, touch)
ENERGY SENSES (hearing, feeling, seeing)
THEORIES OF COLOR VISION
Trichromatic theory-
3 types of cones in retina blue, red, green = primary colors of light.
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Opponent- Process theory-
red/green, yellow/blue, black/white pairs Explains color blindness (usually a red/green
deficiency) and afterimages. (Stare at black, green, yellow flag)
HEARING
Order in which sound waves
travel through the ear –
ear canal, eardrum, hammer, anvil, stirrup (middle ear), cochlea
Cochlea-
structure shaped like a snail’s shell filled with fluid, this is where transduction occurs.
CHEMICAL SENSES
Vestibular Sense
Kinesthetic Sense-
tells us about how our body is positioned. Tubes from semicircular canals in the ear fill
with liquid as body moves. (Explains Roller coaster nausea, dizziness.)
where our body parts are (touching one’s nose with fingers)- athletes
Perception -
process of understanding/interpreting our sensations
THRESHOLDS
Absolute thresholdSubliminal Threshold-
smallest amount of stimulus we can detect 50% of the time (EX. See a candle flame 30
miles away).
stimulation below threshold. Does NOT change unwanted behavior
Difference threshold- (JND- Just Noticeable difference)
smallest amount of change in a stimulus that is detectable (EX
. Detecting the difference in weight between 2 and 3 donuts but not
4 and 5 donuts.
Signal Detection Theory –
when we have stimuli happening at the same time we tend to detect the one that is most
important to us (EX. - mother hears baby crying in another room while she is having a
conversation with someone)
Perceptual set (expectancy set) –
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. (Ex. Believing in the Loch
Ness Monster makes you expect to see it in the picture. Ex. Being told that a munchkin
hung himself on the set of the Wizard of Oz causes one to see this.)
Relative motion (motion parallax)-
when viewing something close by it may appear to be moving when in reality you are
moving.
our ability to maintain a constant perception of an object despite changes in angle, light,
distance, etc.
Constancy –
.
DEPTH CUES
Visual cliffMonocular cues
a. Linear perspectiveb. Relative sizec. Relative Height –
d. Relative Clarityc. Interpositiond. Texture gradient-
experiment by Eleanor Gibson used to measure when an infant develops depth
perception. (Using glass table)
require only one eye for depth (EX- artists use these in paintings to show depth)
railroad tracks being drawn as in the distance
larger = closer
higher in field of vision = distant
more clarity = closer
objects blocking must be closer
see details = closer
Binocular Cues
Retinal DisparityConvergence-
looking at 3 dimensional objects requires both eyes for depth
each eye sees slightly different view of object
as object gets closer to face, moves eyes towards one another
Circadian RhythmSleep Cycle – 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, REM
States of Consciousness
24-25 hour biological/thought progress patterns.
90 minutes long.

Hallucinations right before falling asleep, Alpha waves present (during awake hours
and stages 1 and 2)
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
(Stage 1) Light sleep, alpha waves
(Stage 2) EEG machine detects sleep spindles- random bursts of brain activity
(Stages 3, 4) deep sleep or slow wave sleep. Shortens as night progresses, delta
waves.
REM sleep (most dreams), also called paradoxical sleep because muscles are
relaxed but brain, heartbeat still active. REM sleeps lengthens as sleep progresses.
REM or dream sleep occurs after returning to stage
Theories of DreamsFreud
says they are meaningful. They may be used to uncover repressed memories/conflicts in
the unconscious mind.
Manifest contentliteral content of dream. (Freud)
Latent contentunderlying meaning of dream (Freud). Our ego protects us by presenting these repressed
desires in symbols.
Activation-synthesis theory –
biological explanation of dreams (random bursts of neurons in which the brain processes
and makes up a Story
Information-Processing Theory- in between previous 2 theories. The function of dreams is to process and give meaning to
the days events/stresses. This is why we have REM rebound and why babies have longer
REM sleep
Theories explaining Hypnosis:
a. Role Theoryb.Dissociation Theory-
Learning
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
It is not a separate state of consciousness but rather the person is merely fulfilling his
role/job as subject.
a divided consciousness. Hilgard proved this with his hidden observer. Experiment had
patients saying they felt no pain with arm in ice water but they were lifting there finger
indicating that they did feel pain.
(Behaviorism- observable responses to environmental stimuli)
(Pavlov, Watson) learning through associations. EX- the story of the women who was
raped and she now gets anxieties when she is alone with men. Stimulus (being alone with
men) Involuntary Response (experiencing anxiety)
UCSUCRCSCR-
original stimulus eliciting a response (food)
natural response (salivation)
conditioned or learned stimulus (bell)
conditioned response (salivation). Associating food with bell elicits salivation.
AcquisitionDelayed conditioning-
acquired new associated behavior. (first learning to flinch to word can)
the bell (CS) rings and while ringing the food is presented. This is the most effective
order for conditioning.
losing behavior, no longer pairing food and bell. (no longer flinching to can)
after a conditioned response is extinguished; it will reappear quickly upon presence of
conditioned stimulus. This is NOT relearning.
tendency to respond to similar CS’s (Ex. Dog salivating to doorbell).
ability to see difference between similar stimuli (Dog not salivating)
ExtinguishSpontaneous recoveryGeneralizationDiscriminationOPERANT CONDITIONING –
learning to associate behaviors (stimulus) with their consequences (Skinner, Thorndike)
Reinforcersbehavior is more likely to happen.
Positive (hint: think of
adding not good) –reinforcer
Adds something positive. EX. Good grades = money
Negative (hint: think of
subtracting not bad) reinforcer- takes away something negative. Ex. Good grades = no chores
PunisherNegative punishmentPositive punishment-
decreases the likelihood of behavior occurring. Best when given soon after behavior.
subtracting something pleasant EX. Bad grades = no car for the week
add something negative (EX. Bad grades = Spanking.)
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Observational Learning-
Bandura, Bo-Bo dolls Children imitate behavior of adults beating and kicking doll. Also
called Social Learning Theory and modeling insight.
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