Mid-Year Review
Mid-Year Review
Psychological Perspectives
Wave One: Introspection Structuralism (Wilhelm Wundt): mind operates by combining
subjective emotion and objective sensations Functionalism
Wave Two: Gestalt – view person’s total experience and did not separate behavior from thought (Max Wertheimer) – little impact on current theories
Wave Three: Psychoanalysis – examination of unconscious mind (Freud); repression, defense mechanisms
Wave Four: Behaviorism – scientific approach using observable outcomes. John watson, Ivan Pavlov, Skinner
Wave Five: Multiple Perspectives – eclectic
Psychological Perspectives:Multiple Perspectives
Humanist: Maslow, Carl Rogers – stress individual choice and free will
PsychoanalyticBiopsychology (neuroscience) – explain psychology as strictly
biological processes (genes, neurotransmitters, structure, etc.)
Evolutionary (Darwinian) – psychology in terms of natural selection
BehavioralCognitive – Jean Piaget, Erikson, etc. – examine thoughts and
behaviors in terms of interpreting, processing and remembering information
Social-cultural (sociocultural) – examine based on cultural influences
Research Methods:Study Designs
Case study – single or small group observed; highly detailed
Correlational – examine relationships between variables
Naturalistic – observe without interaction with participants
Cross sectional – snapshot in time (correlation)Longitudinal – repeated measures of group of
peopleExperimental – assign participants to control or
experimental groups (causation)
Experimental Design
Random sampling – selection process of randomly choosing people from a target population to make your group under study
Random assignment/Randomization – randomly assigning participants to control or experimental groups. People have equal chance of being put into each group
Types of Bias
Confounding – some third variable influences a relationship between two other variables (may make relationship eventhough not there or mask a relationship)
Experimenter biasResponse bias (social desirability)Hawthorne effect – people perform differently
or better when known under observationPlacebo Effect
Overcoming Bias
Blind or Double blindPlaceboCounter balancing
Statistics
Measure of Central Tendency (middle) Mean, Median, Mode
Measures of Spread Range, Variance, Standard deviation (average distance
from the mean) SD: 68%, 95%, 99%
Z-score: way to compare scores between different distributions 1 Z score = 1 Standard deviation Compare different distributions by comparing z score for
values comparing Example: Mean 1 = 90, SD 1 = 2; Mean 2 = 80, SD 2 = 7
Statistics Continued
Correlation coefficient – measure of relationship (-1 to 1)
Scatter plot – graphical representation of relationship between 2 variables
Positively skewed – mostly low, some high (outliers)
Negatively skewed – mostly high, some low (outliers)
Inferential Statistics
P – value: 0.05 standard to compare your calculated p-value. If your value is less than 0.05 the relationship is statistically significant
T-test – compare distributions using means; compare continuous data
Chi-square – compare categorical data
Ethics
IRB – institutional review boardAnimal Research
Clear scientific purpose Best chosen for question (can use cells not animal?) Cared for and housed in humane way Acquired animals legally Experiment must ensure least amount of suffering
Human Research No coercion Informed consent Confidentiality Risk (Cost – benefit analysis) Debriefing
Neuroscience (Biopsychological): Biological Basis for Behavior
Neuroanatomy/Structure of the NeuronDendrites – information in
Interact with sense receptors Interact with neurotransmitters (receptors)
Cell body/Soma – contains nucleus, synthesizes proteins/neurotransmitters
Axon – carries action potential Myelin Sheath – fatty substance that insulates part of the axon
and increases the speed/velocity of the action potentialTerminal buds – information out (release
neurotransmitters)Synapse – gap between dentrites and terminal bud of
two neurons
Communication in and between neurons
Action potential Threshold Depolarization – Sodium channels open Repolarization – Potassium channels open Refractory period – sodium-potassium pump re-establishes the
resting membrane potentialAll or none potential
All action potentials look exactly the same Stimulus strength differentiated by number and frequency of
action potentialsNeurotransmitters
Chemicals that diffuse across the synapse and interact with specific receptors on dendrites
Review specific neurotransmitters
Other information
Afferent/sensory neuronInterneuronEfferent/Motor neuronReflexes
Central Peripheral
BrainSpinal Cord
Somatic - voluntaryAutonomic
Parasympathetic (decrease most body systems, increases digestion)
Sympathetic (increases heart rate, breathing and decreases digestion)
Nervous System
Techniques to Study the Brain
Lesions – damage or removal of brain tissueEEG – record brain wave activityCAT – x ray; structure not functionPET – radioactive glucose; function MRI – structure not functionfMRI – structure and function
Brain Structure
Hindbrain Sits on top of spine Medulla – control breathing, blood pressure, heart rate Pons – involved in facial expression Cerebellum – balance and coordination
Midbrain Reticular formation – controls body arousal and ability to focus Damaged fall into deep coma
Forebrain Thalamus – relay information from senses to different parts of brain Hypothalamus – controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, sexual
arousal and endocrine systemCerebral Cortex
Recent development in brain tissue Cognition
Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
Hemispheres: specialization of function (split-brain patients)
Lobes Frontal
Prefrontal – thought, inhibition (Phineas Gage) Broca’s area – controls speech
Temporal Wernicke’s area – interprets written and spoken speech Hearing
Parietal Somatosensory cortex (motor and sensory cortex)
Occipital vision
Other
Brain Plasticity – ability to create new pathways/neural connections
Neural networks – highly branching connections between many neurons; increased processing power
Endocrine system
HypothalamusPituitaryAdrenal Testes/Ovaries
Learning
Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov John Garcia and Robert Koelling – Taste Aversion UCS, UCR, CS, CR
Operant Conditioning Edward Thorndike (law of effect) Skinner: reinforcement vs. punishment Primary reinforcers: food, water, rest Secondary reinforcers: learn has value (money, power,
etc.) Token economy
Negative reinforcement v. negative punishment
Negative reinforcement – remove a negative stimulus to increase a behavior
Negative punishment – negative stimulus given to reduce a behavior
Reinforcement schedules
Fixed ratio – reinforced after set number of behaviors
Fixed interval – reinforced after preset timeVariable ratio – reinforced after variable
number of behavior doneVariable interval reinforced after varied
timesVariable schedules more resistant to
extinctionRatio schedules promote higher response
Contingency Models of Classical Conditioning
Contiguity – more times two things are paired the greater the learning that takes place (Pavlov)
Contingency – cognition plays a role in learning (Robert Rescorla)
Observational Learning
Albert BanduraBobo Doll
Other types of learning
Latent (Edward Toleman) – rats learn a maze without reinforcement
Insight (Wolfgang Kohler) – realize answer/solution to a problem (Ah ha moment)
Cognition:Memory
3 Box Model
Sensory Memory
Iconic memoryEchoic memorySelective attention – encode what we pay
attention to
Short Term Memory
George Miller and Magic Number of 7Improve:Chunking: grouping info into chunks to
remember moreMnemonic device: ROYGBIVRehearse
Long Term Memory
Episodic: specific eventsSemantic: general knowledge of the world, stored
facts, meaningsProcedural: skills and how to perform themExplicit/declarative: conscious memories/facts or
eventsImplicit/nondeclarative: unintentional memories,
do not realize you have these memoriesEidetic: photographic memoryLong term potentiation: strengthen connections
between each other
Levels of Processing
Deep: recall betterShallow
Retrieval
Recognition: matching current event or fact with one already in memory (multiple choice questions)
Recall: retrieve from external cuesPrimacy Effect (Hermann Ebbinghaus): recall things
at beginning of listRecency Effect: recall things at end of listSerial Position Effect: combination of primacy and
recency effectTip of Tongue Phenomenon explained by semantic
network theoryFlashbulb memory: encoded because of importance
to person
Retrieval Continued
Mood-congruent: greater to recall an item when mood matches the mood when event happened
State-dependent: recall events better if in the same state of consciousness
Constructive Memory
Reconstructed memories may be false.May remember wrong: add or delete details
Forgetting
Retroactive Interference: learning new info interferes with recalling old info
Proactive Interference: Older info interferes with recalling new info
Anterograde Amnesia: cannot encode new memories
Cognition:Language
Phonemes: smallest units of sound Morphemes: smallest unit of sound with
meaningSyntax: grammar of language
Language Acquisition
BabblingHolophrastic/ One word stageTelegraphic/ Two word stageOvergeneralization/Overregularization:
misapplication of grammar rulesNoam Chomsky: Language acquisition device
(innate ability to learn language)Benjamin Whorf: Linguistic relativity
hypothesis – language might control or limit our thinking
Thinking and Creativity
ConceptsPrototype: most typical example of a concept
Problem Solving
Algorithm: rule that guarantees the right solution
Heuristics: rule of thumb Availability: judge situation based on previous similar
situation, may lead to wrong conclusion Representativeness: judging a situation based on how
similar the aspects are to prototypes the person holdsBelief Bias: illogical conclusions to confirm pre-
existing beliefBelief Perseverance: tendency to maintain a
belief even after evidence presented that contradicts the belief
Impediments to Problem Solving
Rigidity Example: functional fixidness
Confirmation bias: look for evidence to confirm belief and ignore other evidence
Framing: how the problem is presented
Creativity
Wolfang Kohler: Insight learningConvergent thinking: One answerDivergent thinking: many potential answers
Developmental Psychology
Nature (Genetics) v. Nurture (Environment)Prenatal Development: Teratogens
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Drugs, Alcohol
Motor/Sensory Development
Reflexes1. Rooting: touch cheek turn head to feed2. Sucking3. Grasping4. Moro: splay arms and legs if “dropped”5. Babinski:toes spread when foot touched
Parenting
Konrad Lorenz: Imprinting (innate in some organisms)Harry Harlow: Monkeys raised with cloth and wire
mothers. Spend time with one that comforts not feeds. Importance of sense of safety
AinsworthSecure attachment: confident explore when parent
around, cry when leave and come to parents when return
Avoidant attachment: resist being held, explore with parent around, do not go to parents for comfort
Anxious/Ambivalent attachment: ambivalent to parents
Parenting Styles
Diana BaumrindAuthoritarian: strict rules and punishmentAuthoritative: consistent standards,
reasonablePermissive: no clear rules or enforcement of
rulesUninvolved
Stage Theories
Jean PiagetEriksonFreudVygotsky
Jean PiagetCognitive Development
Sensorimotor: explore world with senses Object permanence (8 months)
Preoperational: (2 – 7 years) Egocentric: Lack theory of mind: all think and feel like me
Concrete operational Conservation of mass, volume and number
Formal operational Abstract thinking Logical reasoning
Criticism of Piaget
Information processing model – continuous and not in discrete stages
Vygotsky and Zone of proximal development
Erikson and all his stages
Trust v. mistrustAutonomy v. shame and doubtInitiative v. guiltIndustry v. inferiorityIdentify v. role confusionIntimacy v. isolationGenerativity v. stagnationIntegrity v. despair
Kohlberg and Morality
Pre-conventional: make decisions to avoid punishment; decisions limited to own interest
Conventional: look at moral choice through the eyes of others, what is right and wrong
Postconventional: rights and values of an individual life (any individual)
Criticism of Kohlberg
Carol GilliganGender impacts how view situation so males
not more moral than females
Freud Stages of Development
Oral: pleasure through mouth Oral fixation
Anal: conflict around anus (toilet training) Anal fixation
Phallic Oedipus complex: boy secretly in love with mother Electra complex: girl secretly in love with father
LatencyGenital: focus of pleasure through genitals
Gender Development
Biopsychological: neurological differences leads to gender
Social-cognitive: own thoughts and social interactions guide development of gender Gender schemas Gender roles