Psych Final

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psychology’s relationship to philosophy

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psychology is the child of the disciplines of philosophy and physiology

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empiricism as epistemology in science

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psychology is empirical, which is the premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation

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objective reality

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-the view that there is a reality, or ontological realm of objects and facts, that exists independent of the mind. Stronger versions of this claim hold that there is only one correct description of this reality. If it is true that reality is mind-independent, then reality might include objects that are unknown to consciousness and thus might include objects not the subject of intentionality.

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structuralism

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structuralism was based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related.

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functionalism

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Functionalism was based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.

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Wundt

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Wundt started the idea to treat psychology as its own independent study, rather then a section of philosophy and physiology. He advocated the scientific approach. Established psychology’s first laboratory and journal. He is known as the founder of psychology.

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James

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James was an advocate for the idea of functionalism and his landmark book Principles of Psychology is a standard reading for psychologists and is perhaps the most influential text in the history of psychology. He believed psychology is deeply embedded in a network of cultural and intellectual influences. He was interested in Darwin’s theory of natural selection and therefore noted consciousness as an important characteristic of humans and investigated the function of consciousness as a whole. He worked on the idea of habits in learning and worked on the idea of self for personality.

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Freud’s

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Freud focused his work on people with mental disorders and the procedure of psychoanalysis. He discovered the unconscious, which contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior. He developed the psychoanalytic theory, which attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior. He proposed that people’s behavior is greatly influenced by how people cope with their sexual urges.

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Skinner

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Skinner supported Watson’s strict focus on observable behavior and believed that environmental factors mold behavior. He said that organisms tend to repeat practices that lead to positive outcomes and do not repeat actions that lead to negative or neutral outcomes. Argued that free will is an illusion and people are controlled by their environmental factors. He supported the idea of behaviorism.

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Behavioral perspective

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Watson, Pavlov, Skinner) a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior. [Nurture not nature]

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PSYCHOANALYTIC perspective

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(Freud, Jung, Adler) a theory that attempts to explain the personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior. [Unconscious conflict: want/should do]

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HUMANISTIC- perspective

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(Rogers, Maslow) a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth.

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BIOLOGICAL- perspective

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(Olds. Sperry, Hubel, Wiesel) a theory that an organism’s functioning can be explained in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that underlie behavior.

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EVOLUTIONARY perspective

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Buss, Daly, Wilson, Cosmides, Tooby) Behavior patterns have evolved to solve adaptive problems; natural selection favors behaviors that enhance reproductive success.

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COGNITIVE- perspective

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mental processes involved in acquired knowledge

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goals of psychological research-

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Measurement & description: Science’s commitment to observation requires that an investigator figure out a way to measure the phenomenon under study.
Understanding & Prediction: A higher-level goal of science is understanding. Scientists believe that they understand events when they can explain the reasons for the occurrence of the events. To evaluate their understanding, scientists make and test predictions called hypotheses.
Application & Control: Ultimately, Many scientists hope that the information they gather will be of some practical value in helping to solve everyday problems. Once people understand a phenomenon, they can exert more control over it. Today, the profession of psychology attempts to apply research findings to practical problems in schools, businesses, factories, and mental hospitals.

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rationalism

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nature is lawful and understandable

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determinism

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behavior is determined

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empiricism

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nature is experienceable; tools: observation, experimentation

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ndependent variable

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is a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable. Experimenter controls or manipulates.

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dependent variable

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s the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable.

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operational definitions

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describe the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable.

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Naturalistic Observation:

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Feature: Observation of human or animal behavior in the environment in which it typically occurs; ex: Jane Goodall; Strengths: Gives descriptive data about behavior uncontaminated by outside influences; Weaknesses: Observer bias, self-consciousness

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Surveys

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Features: standard set of questions asked to many people Strengths: Gathers a lot of data quickly and cheaply Weaknesses: Sampling errors, badly phrased questions, and response biases

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Case Studies:

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Features: Intensive examination of the behavior and mental processes of a specific situation, ex: Phineas Gage Strengths: Descriptive analysis of new, complex, or rare phenomenon Weaknesses: May not have representative picture of phenomena (because these are rare cases, so there aren’t many to look at)

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Correlation Studies:

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Features: Examine the relationships between research variables Strengths: Can test predictions, evaluate theories, and suggest hypotheses Weaknesses: Can’t control events to isolate cause and effect. Can't demonstrate that two variables are causally related. (ex: cold climates and a faster pace of life)

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experiment

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can test causation-the relationship between the cause and effect of an experiment, causality

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steps of the scientific method-

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1. Generate Research Ideas
2. Create Hypothesis
3. Search the literature
4. Define variables, design
5. Collect and analyze data
6. Draw Inferences/conclusions
7. Present findings

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inferential statistics

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Interpreting data and drawing conclusions; testing the hypothesis

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random assignment-

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the constitution of groups in a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition.

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double-blind design-

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A research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups.

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sensory

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rom outside to inside

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motor

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from inside to outside

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interneuron

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between other neurons

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pre- synaptic neuron-

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has already received information

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post synaptic neruon-

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has not received information yet, but will from a pre-synaptic neuron

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how a neuron fires

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when a neuron fires it is sending information to another neuron by sending an electrical charge along the axon and through the synaptic cleft

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how neurotransmitters work

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Neurotransmitters: Key; Receptors: Lock

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central (nervous system)

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Brain and spinal cord: Directs simple movements (ex: reflexes)
Spinal cord signals brain, which signals muscles

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Peripheral (nervous system)

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: made up of all those nerves that lie outside the brain and spinal cord

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Somatic NS:

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Voluntary movements

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Autonomic NS:

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Involuntary movements. Controls activities normally outside conscious control, (Ex: breathing, perspiration)

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Sympathetic Division:

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Puts in Fight or Flight mode

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Parasympathetic Division:

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Responsible for lowering blood pressure, heart rate; Relax and Renew

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frontal lobes

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movement

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Parietal lobe

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somatosensory (pain, touch)

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Temporal lobe

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auditory

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occipital lobe

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vision

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left hemisphere

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verbal processing; ex: reading

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Right

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nonverbal Nonverbal; ex: musical, visual, spatial

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Perception

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Process by which sensations are given meaning

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-active

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Active Processes, influenced by
-current state
-previous experience
-expectations

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Adaptive Processes

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Binocular Vision
Sensory adaptation: A gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged stimulation

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neural networks

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consist of interconnected neurons that frequently fire together or sequentially to perform certain functions.

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transduction sites for each sense

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Eye- retina; Ear- Cochlea; Muscle and joints- stretch receptors

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nature of energy: light -

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light is measured by wavelengths in meters, but only a small portion is visible to humans, which is measured in nanometers
site of transduction: photoreceptors - retina?

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cornea

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transparent "window" at the front of the eye where light enters.

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lens

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Located behind the cornea; focuses the light rays falling on the retina.

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iris

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Colored ring of muscle surrounding the pupil

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pupil

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Black center of the eye; permits light to pass into the rear chamber of the eye

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retina

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Neural tissue lining the inside back surface of the eye; it absorbs light, processes images, and sends visual info to the brain. A piece of the CNS

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optic disk

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a hole in the retina where the optic nerve fibers exit the eye (blind spot)

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cones

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specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daylight and color vision

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rods

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key role in night and peripheral vision

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fovea

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a tiny spot in the center of the retina that contains only cones; visual acuity is greatest at this spot

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from receptor to ganglion cell

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receptors in retina triggered by light to fire neural signals that pass into the intricate network of cells in the retina, which in turn send impulses along the optic nerve, which is a collection of axons from ganglion cells that connect the eye with the brain.

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receptive field

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the receptive field of a visual cell is the retinal area that, when stimulated, affects the firing of that cell.

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visual pathways in the brain

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optic nerves are formed by the ganglion cells, which travel to the optic chiasm and then the optic nerve fibers diverge along two pathways. The main pathway projects into the thalamus, the brain’s major relay station, then to the LGN and distributed to areas in the occipital lobe that make up the primary visual cortex. The second visual pathway leaving the optic chiasm branches off to an area in the midbrain called the superior colliculus before traveling through the thalamus and on to the occipital lobe.

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kinesthetic

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(learning by doing)

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vestibular

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balance

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perception

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The selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory input

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feature analysis

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the process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form. ex. you start with the components of a form, such as lines, edges ad corner, and you build them into perceptions of squares, triangles, ect. part of bottom up processing

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top-down

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top-down processing- a progression from the whole to the elements. There is evidence that perceptions form of form frequently involve this type of processing.(taking what we know to identify w/o breaking down, with memories, etc)

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bottom up processing

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bottom up processing- a progression from individual elements to the whole. feature analysis assumes that form processing involves this type of processing.(ex: putting together parts of flower = flower)

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Gestalt principles
figure and ground

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Dividing visual displays into figure and ground is a fundamental way in which people organize visual perceptions.The figure is the thing being looked at, and the ground is the background against which is stands. Other things being equal, and object is more likely to be viewed as a figure when it is smaller in size, higher in contrast, or greater in symmetry, and especially when it is lower in one’s frame of view. (the eye differentiates an object from its background surrounding area)

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Proximity
gestalt

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things that are near one another seem to belong together in a group.

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Closure

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People often group elements to create a sense of closure or completeness. Thus, you may complete figure that actually have gaps in them.

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Similarity

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People tend to group stimuli that are similar.

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Simplicity

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people tend to group elements that combine to form a good figure. Some theorists maintain that the classification of a figure as a “good” figure depends on its simplicity.

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Continuity

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when the eye is compelled to move from one object to another. People’s tendency to follow in whatever direction they’ve been led.

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depth & motion perception
monocular

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Clues about the distance based on each eye image

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binocular

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provide depth information when viewing a scene with both eyes.