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Basic Study/Research
- Performed to understand the
- fundamental principles of a phenomenon
- Born out of curiosity, just
- to understand
- No other reason for the study
- besides just wanting to know
- Is Nicotine addictive?
- Sex life of mosquitos example
- "Dumb" research
- that later turned into a cure for malaria
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Applied Study/Research
Has immediate application with a practical solution
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Clinical Study/Research
- Focus on effectiveness
- (treatments, medications)
- To help someone or get them well
- Can we block tobacco addiction with a drug that has been shown to block nicotine receptors in the brain?
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Psychologist
- No Medical Training
- Intense academic training
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Psychiatrist
Has medical degree and specializes in diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
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Psychology
Scientific study of behavior and mental processes
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4 Goals of Psychology
- Description: describe the behavior “ what is going on?”
- Explanation or understanding: why is it happening?
- Theory: general explanation of a set of observations or facts
- Prediction: will it happen again?
- Control: over other variables that may affect the behavior/ prevent biases
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Faith vs. Empiricism
- Faith comes first which can then be backed by experience
- Empiricism starts with experience (fact)
- What we discover today, can change tomorrow because it's based on experiment and hypothesis
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Scientific Method
- A system for reducing bias and error in the measurement of data.
- Perceiving the Question
- Form Hypothesis
- Test Hypothesis
- Draw Conclusions
- Report Results
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Independent Variable
Variable that is manipulated in any experiment
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Dependent Variable
Thing being measured.
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Sample Bias
The group of people used for a study
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Response Bias
When the person doesn't answer truthfully
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Randomization
Process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control group randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group.
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Double-blind Study
- When neither the researcher or the participator knows who is the control group or
- who has the placebo
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Control Group
Subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment.
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Experimental Group
Group that receives the treatment.
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Single-blind Study
Participants of the experiment are "blind" to the treatment they receive.
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Structuralism
Wundt – objective introspection: process of objectively examining and measuring one's thoughts and mental activities (how people adapt to their surroundings)
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Functionalism
James - How the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play
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Behavioralism
Watson – you become what you learn and train for
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Evolutionary Perspective
- Focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share.
- Survival
- Children
- Difference between men and women (men want to have more kids, women want to settle down with someone
- who will stay)
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Gestalt Psychology
- Focuses on perception and sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures
- Looking at the big picture (whole)
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Humanistic Perspective
- We can reach our own potential (free will) we make ourselves who we are
- Maslow and Rogers
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Cognitive Perspective
Memory,thought process, how the brain works
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Psychoanalysis
Freud - Subconscious, focus on sexual
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Psychodynamic
Same as psychoanalysis with less focus on sexual
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Socialcultural Persepective
- Study of groups, social roles, and rules of social actions and relationships
- Study of cultural norms, values, and expectations
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Biopsychological Perspective
- Effect of biological causes on behavior.
- Hormones, heredity, brain chemicals, tumors, and diseases.
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Correlation
A measure of the relationship between two variables
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Correlation vs. Causation
Correlation is not necessarily Causation
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Case Study
Study of one individual in great detail.
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Different Methods of Research
- Naturalistic Observation
- Laboratory Observation
- Case Study
- Survey
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Discoveries from Animal Research
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Animal Research: Why or Why not?
Does discovery outweigh the consequences?
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Dendrite
Branchlike structures that receive messages from other neurons.
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Soma
Cell body of the neuron
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Axon
Tubelike structure that carries the neural message to other cells.
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Myelin
- Coating of axon that insulates, protects and speeds up the neural impulse.
- Made of fatty substances by glial cells
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Glial cells
- Make up 90% of brain
- Holds neurons in place
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Axon Hillock
- Changes the chemical response
- received at the cell body into a voltage that is sent down the axon (like
- translator)
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Neurotransmitter
Inside a synaptic vesicle and then released unto the synaptic cleft (synapse)
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Types of Neurotransmitters
- Excitatory ex. Adrenaline, seratonin
- Inhibitory- ex GABA (drowsy relaxed etc)
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Antagonist
Chemical substance that blocks or reduces the effects of a neurotransmitter
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Agonist
Chemical substance that mimics or enhances the effects of a neurotransmitter
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Action Potential
- The Release of the nerual impulse consisting of a reversal of the eletrical charge within the axon.
- Threshold exceeded- axon hillock
- Flow of ions through channels in membrane (NA+ rushes in and CL- rushes out)
- All or none law - it either happens or it doesn’t. kinda like eating a cookie (you either eat five cookies or you don't eat any cookies) Must pass threshold (-55) to fire
- This leads to refractory period (around -90) later returns -70
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Resting Potential
- Nothing is happening (resting)
- A neuron is in resting potential when there are more positively (NA+ sodium) charged ions outside than inside (CL- chloride on inside)
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How does a neuron fire?
- Resting potential. Nothing is happening (resting). A neuron is in resting potential when there are more positively (NA+ sodium) charged ions outside than inside (CL- chloride on inside)
- Action potential (firing). Threshold exceeded- axon hillock. Flow of ions through channels in membrane (NA+ rushes in and CL- rushes out). All or none law· it either happens or it doesn’t. kinda like eating a cookie (you either eat five cookies or you don't eat any cookies)· Must pass threshold (-55) to fire. This leads to refractory period (around -90) later returns -70
- Returning to resting potential. Sodium Pump pushes all NA+ out of the neuron and K+ stays in. Refractory period that overshoots the normal resting potential occurs first (-90)
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Occipital Lobe
- Vision center
- Located at back of skull
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Frontal Lobe
- Center of decision making
- Planning
- Bring memories in to make decisions
- Reasoning
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Parietal Lobe
- Function
- Attention
- Daydreaming/ execution of plans (Einstein had a large parietal cortex)
- Spatial location (drawing a to scale map for example)
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Temporal Lobe
- Located behind temples
- Sense of hearing and meaningful speech
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Central Nervous System
Everything inside the spinal column and the skull
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Peripheral Nervous System
- All the nerves outside the spinal column and the skull
- Contains Autonomic and Somatic Nervous System
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Somatic Nervous System
Nerves that carry information from the senses to the CNS and from the CNS to the voluntary muscles of the body.
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Autonomic Nervous System
- Controls all involuntary muscles, organs, and glands.
- Two Parts: Sympathetic Division and Parasympathetic Division
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Sympathetic Nervous System
- Fight-or-flight system
- Responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arrousal
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Parasympathetic Nervous System
- Restores the body to normal function after arousal
- Responsible for day-to-day functioning of the organs and glands
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Medulla/Pons
- Location: bottom of the brain at top of spinal column
- controls life-sustaining functions such as heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing
- Here is where nerves cross over to opposite sides of the brain
- Contains Reticular Formation
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Reticular Formation
- Responsible for waking up the brain
- Allows for ignoring constant unchanging information
- Keeps you alert
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Cerebellum
- Controls all involuntary, rapid, fine motor movement
- Connected to coordination and balance
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Thalamus
Crossroads for all information in the brain
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Hypothalamus
- Homeostasis
- Hormone release
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Hippocampus
- Forming long-term memories (not stored here!)
- Sad case of HM
- Surgically had part of brain removed for treating epilepsy
- Couldn't make new memories
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Amygdala
- Inner feelings--emotions - rage; placid, calm response
- Fear, anxiety, aggression and violence
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Cerebral Cortex
Responsible for higher thought process and interpretation of sensory input
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Basal Ganglia
- Overlearned behaviors; but more than habit formations
- Automatic behaviors - ex:walking, chewing gum, etc.
- Parkinson's Disease
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Pleasure Center
- Dopamine passes into pleasure center
- Natural reinforcers (eating, kissing, etc) can become addicting when:
- They are highly stimulating version of what our ancestors found irresistible
- Is available in limitless supply
- Comes in varieties (novelty effect)
- We binge and the effect on the pleasure center is rapid and "sledgehammer-like," hitting the brain in large amounts at once
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Reuptake
Process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles
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Reflex Arc
The connection of the afferent neurons to the interneurons to the efferent neurons, resulting in a reflex action
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Acetylcholine
Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in memory and control muscle contractions
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Serotonin
Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in mood, sleep, and appetite
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GABA (gamma-aminabutyric acid)
Major inhibitory neurotransmitter; involved in sleep and inhibits movement
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Glutamate
Major Excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in learning, memory formation, and nervous system development
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Norepinephrine
Mainly excitatory; involved in arousal and mood
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Dopamine
Excitatory or inhibitory; involved in control of movement and sensations of pleasure
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Endorphins
Inhibitory neural regulators; involved in pain relief
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Computed Tomography (CT)
Series of X-ray slices combined together using a computer
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain
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Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A recording of the electrical activity of large groups of cortical neurons just below the skull, most often using scalp electrodes
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Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Brain-imaging method in which a radioactive sugar is injected into a person and a computer compiles a color-coded image of the activity of the brain
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Sensation
- Activation of receptors in various sense organs
- When chemical receptor is stimulated
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Perception
When brain processes sensation
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Illusions
- Our past experiences influence what we see and think
- Relationship between sensation and perception is disorientated by the sense (in this case the eye)
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Homunculus
Parts of the body that have more sensory neurons
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Cornea
- Protects the eye
- Bends light waves so the image can be focused
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Iris
Muscles that control the size of the pupil
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Pupil
Iris opening that changes size depending on the amount of light in the environment
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Lens
Changes shape to bring objects into focus
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Retina
Located at back of the eye and contains photoreceptor cells
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Fovea
- Central area of retina
- Has greatest density of photoreceptors
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Optic Nerve
Sends visual information to the brain
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Blind Spot
- Where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
- Contains no photoreceptor cells (rods or cones)
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Vitreous Humor
Jelly-like liquid that nourishes and gives shape to the eye.
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Rods
- Visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina
- Responsible for non-color sensitivity to low levels of light
- Responsible for peripheral vision
- No rods in center of retina
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Cones
- Visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina
- Responsible for color vision and sharpness of vision
- Very center of retina made entirely of cones
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Dark Adaptation
The recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimuli in darkness after exposure to bright lights.
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Light Adaptation
The recovery of the eye's sensitivity to visual stimuli in light after exposure to darkness
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Afterimages
Images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed
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Trichromatic Theory
Theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green
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Opponent-process Theory
Theory of color vision that proposes visual neurons (or groups of neurons) are stimulated by light of one color and inhibited by light of another color
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Monochrome Color Blindness
- Eyes contain no cones or cones that don't function
- See everything in shades of gray
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Dichromatic Vision/Color Blindness
- Eye contains one type of cone that doesn't function properly.
- Can't see specific color set: red-green, blue-yellow
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Binocular Disparity
The difference in the images between the two eyes, which is greater for objects that are close and smaller for distant objects
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Top-down Processing
The use of pre-existing knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole
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Bottom-up Processing
The analysis of the smaller features to build up to a complete perception
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Absolute Threshold
Least energy for correct stimulus detection 50% of the time (a bees wing falling on your face is the threshold for touch)
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Just-Noticeable Difference (JND)
The smallest difference detectable 50% of the time(ex. Hearing and sight tests)
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Habituation
- Brain stops attending to constant, unchanging informative (cognitive)
- Example: A fan, drippy faucet
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Sensory Adaption
- Sensory receptors less response to constant stimuli (biological)
- Example: Your wallet, smell of house or perfume, dark theater
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Perpetual Expectancy
The tendency to perceive things a certain way because previous experiences or expectations influence those perceptions
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