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Psychology Fall Final Study Guide

CHAPTER 1
Theory General framework or idea about the nature of something
Approaches of Psychology:
1. Bio-psychology Behaviorism is guided by physical and chemical reaction
2. Behavior Behaviorism is due to what we learn and association we make
3. Psychoanalysis Behavior is due to unconscious impulses; sex and aggression
4. Humanistic Behavior is due to the fact that we are basically good and can do
almost anything; we control our destiny
5. Cognitive Behavior is due to our thinking brain; this brain can talk us in or
out of behavior
6. Socio-Cultural Our behavior is due to the influence of society and culture
Eclecticism The process of making your own system by borrowing from two
or more other systems
Stereotypes set beliefs generalized about a certain group, can be racial,
religious, political, ages, gender, lead to discrimination
Fathers of Psychology:
Wilhelm Wundt father of psychology, study of the emotions, 1st laboratory for
studying humans, introspection-process of looking into yourself
and describing what is there
Sigmund Freud Austrian physician, theory of personality, what goes wrong/how to
fix it-popularity during 1950-60’s
William James founders American Psychology-first textbook on psych., how
humans function and adapt to their environment
John Watson how learning impacts human emotion, associated with
behaviorism

CHAPTER 2
APA Ethics 1. Subject must have right to decline participation, can withdraw at
anytime 2.openness and honest must disclose all info-if not
immediately afterward 3. Info must remain confidential, unless
agreed to by subject 4. Experimenter must Asses all risks-both
mentally and physically
Experiment
Variables factors that change in an experiment
Survey a method of research that involves asking subjects questions about
their feelings, opinions, or behavior patterns
Hypothesis a statement of the results that the experimenter expects
Placebo medicine with no real ingredients/works by the power of
suggestion
Settings of experiments Field Study-research that takes place outside the laboratory; Lab
study-in a lab, formal or informal; Naturalistic study-natural
environment, typically don’t know they are watching
Double blind a study during which neither participants nor researchers know to
which group any subject belongs
Milgram Experiment People are told to shock another person behind a wall
Standford Experiment Prison setting - “guards” and “prisoners” slipped into roles
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CHAPTER 3
Structures of the brain Hemisphere-two, each half controls the opposite side of the body;
Fissure-a depression marking off an area of the cerebral cortex; Corpus
Callosum-a large bundle of nerve fibers that transfer information from
one half of the cerebral cortex to the other
Lobes of the brain Lobes-the major divisions of the corpus callosum; 1.Frontal-motor strip
(band running down the side of the frontal lobe, controls bodily
movement), prefrontal area, and frontal association area; 2.Parietal-
sensory strip (controls sensations), damage-lack of sensation;
3.Occipital-back of the brain, visual info, some hearing and speech;
4.Temporal-auditory +memory
Glands ■ Glands-units of the body that contain the hormones; 1.Pituitary
gland-the master gland that activates other glands and controls
the growth hormone; 2.Thyroid gland- controls and regulates the
speed of bodily processes-metabolism; 3.Adrenal-cause
excitement in order to prepare the body for an emergency or for
some important activity
Brain disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease-disease where brain cells (neurons) are destroyed
abnormalities and older onset typically, warning signs include memory loss, problems
reasoning, and thinking. 5 million suffer yearly; progressive and fatal
disease, onset is older population, no cure
ALS Lou Gennings Disease- disease affecting nerve cells of the brain
and spinal cord, progressive break down of motor cells, progressive
disease, warnings include twitching, weakening of muscles, cramping
muscles affecting 30,000 people yearly
Autism-abnormality in brain function, anything under spectrum of
autism, disorder of social interaction, non-verbal communication, and
repetitious behaviors, 4 million suffer yearly, and can be treated with
therapy, diet, and interaction
Parkinson’s Disease-loss of dopamine producing brain cells, warnings
include tremors, shaking, progressive and no cure but treatable with
meds, 1 million suffer
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CHAPTER 4
Sensation-receiving info from the environment
Absolute Threshold-the level of sensory stimulation necessary for sensation to occur
Adaptation-the gradual loss of attention to unneeded or unwanted sensory information
Perception-the process of assembling and organizing sensory information to make it meaningful
Vision-candle flame 30 miles-clear sky, hearing-watching tick at 20ft at quiet conditions, touch-bees wing
falling on cheek, smell-drop perfume in 3 room dwelling, taste-1 tsp sugar in 2 gallons of water
Color-white light hits various objects in the environment, bounces off at different wavelengths, hits
receptors in eyes
Cornea-the clear outer covering of the eye, behind which is a fluid
Iris-a colored circular muscle that opens and closes forming larger and smaller circles to control the
amount of light getting into that eye
Lens-the part of the eye that focuses an imagine on the retina
Pupil- opening of the eye
Retina-the back of the eye, which contains millions of receptors for light
Blind Spot-the portion of the retina through which the optic nerve exits and where there are no receptors
for light waves
Rod-visual receptor most sensitive to the violet-purple wavelengths; very sensitive for night vision;
“sees” only black and white
Cone-a visual receptor that responds during daylight; sees color
Color Blindness-inability to perceive certain colors, such as red and green
Afterimage-image that remains after stimulation of the retina has ended. Cones not used fire to bring the
visual system back in balance.
Audition-sense of hearing
Pitch-how high or low a sound is
Timbre-the complexity of a sound
Intensity- how loud a sound is
Decibels-a measure of how loud a sound is (its intensity)
Eardrum-a piece of skin stretched over the entrance to the ear, vibrate to sound
Cochlea- a snail-shaped part of the ear, filled with fluid and small hairs that vibrate to incoming sound
Hair cells-receptor cells for hearing found in the cochlea
Cilia-hair like extensions on cells
Auditory nerve-bundle of nerves carrying sound to the brain
Olfaction- the sense of smell, olfactory bulbs-units that receive odor molecules and communicate their
nature to the brain
Touch- in skin, 3 types of cutaneous receptors=pressure, temperature, and pain
Taste-operates by chemical communication, taste buds=salt, sweet, sour, and bitter
Pheromones-odor chemicals that communicate a message
Gestalt-organized shape or form
Cue Proximity- group things together that are near one another
Cue Closure- we fill in details that are missing to gain closure
Illusion-to perceive something inaccurate
Muller-Lyer Illusion-1 line in a picture with 2 equal lengths seem longer
ESP-extra sensory perception, without the aid of the normal senses
Schizophrenia-noted as mental disorder in DSM, disorder and disruption in perception, hallucinations: see
hear and smell things that are not there, voices are the most common, effects 1 percent population, false
beliefs, delusions of paranoia or grandeur, disorganized thoughts, catatonic state, effect men and women
equally, starts between 16-30 often college age, generally does not occur after 45, run in families, genetic
connection, causes-differences in brain scans, issues with neurotransmitters-dopamine increases, and fluid
filled ventricles larger in Schizophrenics, treatment-anti-psychotic medicine-many side effects, therapy
and behavioral therapy, management skills to deal with life, ex. Jani case
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CHAPTER 5
Abraham Maslow Psychology that created hierarchy of needs (a system that ranks human needs
one above the other, with the most basic needs for physical survival at the
bottom of the pyramid
Hierarchy of Needs:
 Psychological needs-needs at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy hunger and thirst
 Safety needs- needs at the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy; shelter, nest egg of money
 Belongingness needs-needs at the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy, friendship, closeness with
another
• Self-esteem needs- needs at the fourth level, liking and respecting yourself, feeling
important and useful
♦ Self-actualization needs-top of Maslow’s hierarchy, establishing meaningful goals and
a purpose in life
Harry Harlow study comfort of contact-attachment shows need for attachment with monkeys-
without-death, development, problems, attachment disorders
Physiological • Need for affliction-need to belong to and identify with groups
Motivation-3A’s • Need for approval-to have other people think highly of oneself
• Need for achievement-psychological need for personal accomplishment
Intrinsic motivation motivation that comes from within the individual
Extrinsic motivation motivation that comes from outside the individual

CHAPTER 6
Construct concept that requires belief in something that cannot be seen or touched but that
seems to exist
Levels of • Consciousness- the organism’s awareness of, or possibility of knowing,
consciousness what is happening inside or outside itself
• Subconscious-consciousness just below our present awareness
• Unconscious-thoughts or desires about which we have no direct
knowledge
Dreams- analyze dreams as clues to inner thoughts, dreams symbolic, most dreams (70percent) are
ordinary and not hard to understand
Bizarre Dream-at the core, may seem reasonable, remainder may be bizarre themed and setting, 50 percent
color, and other black and white
Reasons for dreams 1. Replenish- brain chemicals used up during day-replenish chemicals,
brain gets reorganized
2. Work Out Problems-dreams are designed to help with unsolved
problems, we sleep longer when we are depressed or unorganized
3. Random Stimulation Brain-flush out unneeded info, random stimulation
may produce random dreams or images
REM - rapid eye Eyes are moving in all direction in their sockets, quick pair assignment, period of
movement REM from time you fall asleep up to 90 minutes, dreaming during REM, deepest
sleep, hardest time to wake up a person, paralyzed body-no sleepwalking, most
essential part of sleep
REM-Nightmares, most people have no more than one a week and the cause is
missed REM time, overuse alcohol can cause problems
NREM - non rapid eye Brain idle, operations still going on, vague partial images and stones,
movement sleepwalking, talking in sleep, less essential part of sleep
NREM-Night Terror, horrible vivid dream (images)-quick, common young
children, caught unaware during NREM sleep
Insomnia lack of sleep, more of a complaint, need to get to the problem, 10 percent suffer,
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body is out of balance, and most people cannot go longer than 18hrs without
some sleep
CHAPTER 7
Classic conditioning Pavlov Method= associations made between natural stimuli and learned
stimuli; unconditioned stimuli-response, eventually conditioned to salivate
at the sight of the experimenter alone, that is the conditioned response
BF Skinner main theorist of operant conditioning-his thesis-how we turn out in life is
the result of all the operations in our life, rewarded=repeat, reinforcement
strengthens response, and it increases tendency to repeat
Operant conditioning resulting from an individuals action and consequences, the
Conditioning action performed creates a consequence
Mary Cover Jones friend of Watson, Peter and the Rabbit, when the rabbit moved closer,
gave the child food he loved, repeat and repeat, question: can you use
reverse procedure to a cure a fear?
Bandura +Social We learn behavior from one another, and by observations
Learning