Psyc 101 Ch 1-4

Front 1

philosophy

Back 1

-content of study (mind)
-Descartes

Front 2

physiology

Back 2

-methods to study mind
-Helmholtz

Front 3

Wilhelm Wundt

Back 3

-father of psychology
-founded first psych lab in Europe
-reaction-time studies
-psych is study of "consciousness" --> awareness of immediate experience

Front 4

Edward Titchener

Back 4

-structuralist

Front 5

William James

Back 5

-functionalist
-wrote Principles of Psychology
-flow of consciousness

Front 6

Stanley Hall

Back 6

-1st lab in US
-American Journal of Psychology

Front 7

Sigmund Freud

Back 7

-psychoanalyst

Front 8

John B. Watson

Back 8

-behaviorist
-"give me a dozen healthy infants..."

Front 9

B.F. Skinner

Back 9

-behaviorist
-free will is an illusion

Front 10

research specialties in psychology

Back 10

wants to add to what we know about people IN GENERAL

Front 11

applied specialties in psychology

Back 11

wants to discover more/add to what we know about people, usually for a SPECIFIC PURPOSE

Front 12

abnormal/clinical psyc

Back 12

-research and applied
-understanding factors involved with development, maintenance, and treatment of psychological disorders
-ex: how does depression develop?

Front 13

cognitive psyc

Back 13

-research
-looks at any thoughts/mental process -- memory, reasoning, intellect, language, problem-solving

Front 14

developmental psyc

Back 14

-research
-how humans develop over entire lifespan

Front 15

-personality psyc

Back 15

-research
-how we are different from others and how we behave in consistent ways
-ex: what factors are involved with an aggressive personality?

Front 16

physiological psyc (biological or experimental)

Back 16

-research
-looks at the hardware -- body, nervous system, etc.

Front 17

social psyc

Back 17

-research
-how social forces affect people
-ex: what is involved with falling in love?

Front 18

quantitative psyc

Back 18

-research
-best mathematical ways to analyze data (statistics)

Front 19

education and school psyc

Back 19

-applied
-discovering best ways to teach and learn

Front 20

industrial/organizational psyc

Back 20

-applied
-factors which influence the workforce

Front 21

health psyc/behavioral medicine

Back 21

-applied
-how psychological factors relate to promotion and maintenance of physical health and causation, prevention, and treatment of illness

Front 22

theory

Back 22

possible explanation for a string of related observations

Front 23

psychologists' three sets of goals

Back 23

1. measurement and description
2. understanding and prediction
3. application and control

Front 24

operational definition

Back 24

definition in terms of operations used to measure something (measurable terms)=

Front 25

direct observation

Back 25

observers are trained to watch and record behavior as objectively and precisely as possible; may use instrumentation (stopwatch or video recorder)

Front 26

questionnaire

Back 26

subjects administered a series of written questions to obtain info about attitudes, opinions, specific aspects of behavior

Front 27

interview

Back 27

face-to-face dialogue to obtain info about specific aspects of subject's behavior

Front 28

psychological test

Back 28

subjects are administered a standardized measure to obtain a sample of their behavior; usually assess mental abilities or personality traits

Front 29

physiological recording

Back 29

instrument monitors and records a specific physiological process in a subject (ex: blood pressure, heart rate, brain activity, muscle tension)

Front 30

archival records

Back 30

researcher analyzes existing institutional records like census, economic, medical, legal, educational and business records

Front 31

scientific method

Back 31

1a. Get to know topic (empiricism)
1b. Formulate hypothesis (rationalism)
2. Design the study (rationalism)
3. Collect the data (empiricism)
4. Analyze data; draw conclusions (empiricism and rationalism)
5. Report the findings

Front 32

research methods

Back 32

general strategies for conducting studies

Front 33

experiment

Back 33

research method where investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result

Hint 33

Advantages
-precise control over variables eliminates alternative explanations
-researches can draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships

Disadvantages
-confounding of variables must be avoided
-contrived laboratory situations are artificial; don't apply to real world
-ethical concerns and practical realities prevent experiments on many important questions

Front 34

confounding variables

Back 34

occurs when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their special effects

Front 35

extraneous variables

Back 35

any variables other than the independent v. that may influence results, but has been "controlled for" so they do not make results unclear

Front 36

naturalistic observation

Back 36

-non-experiment
-careful observation of behavior in a natural setting, without direct intervention

Hint 36

Advantages
-minimizes artificiality
-good to use if little is known about the phenomena
-can study animal AND human behavior

Disadvantages
-it is difficult to remain unobtrusive; when observed, people/animals act differently
-researches cannot draw causal conclusions
-observational data are often difficult to quantify for statistical analyses

Front 37

case studies

Back 37

-non-experiment
-in-depth investigation of a single individual using direct interview, direct observation, review of records, interviews of close friends/family

Hint 37

Advantages
-can give more in-depth view of phenomenon
-compelling evidence to support a theory

Disadvantages
-subjectivity makes it easier to see what you want to see
-cannot draw causal conclusions
-small sample size, so the case may be unusual and can't be generalized

Front 38

surveys

Back 38

-non-experiment
-use of questionnaires or interviews to gather info about specific aspects of behavior, attitudes, or beliefs

Hint 38

Advantages
-saves time and money when collecting data
-can gather data on difficult-to-observe behavior
-can gather data from large samples

Disadvantages
-cannot draw causal conclusions
-participants cannot be illiterate, must follow instruction well
-self-reported data is unreliable b/c of social desirability, response sets, poor wording of questions, unrealistic assessment, etc.

Front 39

neurons

Back 39

individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information

Front 40

oligodendrocytes

Back 40

-CNS
-glia cell
-one cell creates several segments of myelin sheath & cover more than one axon

Front 41

Schwann cells

Back 41

-PNS
-glia cell
-one cell can only create one segment of myelin sheath and only cover one axon

Front 42

astrocytes

Back 42

-glia cell
-synchronizes communication between neurons
-nurtures cells
-removes waste products

Front 43

microglia

Back 43

-part of the immune system
-removes waste products and invaders (aka bacteria or viruses)

Front 44

radial glia

Back 44

-spans from inner neural tubule to outside
-guides migration and growth of immature neurons

Front 45

excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)

Back 45

positive voltage shift that increases likelihood a postsynaptic neuron will fire action potential

Front 46

inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)

Back 46

negative voltage shift that decreases likelihood a postsynaptic neuron will fire action potential

Front 47

prefrontal cortex

Back 47

involved in working memory, thinking, and planning

Front 48

sulcus (plural: sulci)

Back 48

a groove in the brain

Front 49

gyri

Back 49

bump/ridge of the brain

Front 50

fissure

Back 50

very deep groove in brain