PSYCH101 Exam 1

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic cultures

Freud, unconscious sexual or aggressive desires affect behavior and thoughts
depression= childhood trauma

environment determines behavior; no mental processes
depression= learned helplessness

focus on thinking, how knowledge us structures, stored and used; mental processes
depression= pessimistic thinking style

focus on interactions of brain and nervous system with body and mind, and the role of heredity
depression= chemical imbalance in brain

assumes some cognitive strategies and goals are built into the brain through natural selection
depression= bargaining strategy to get needed help

cultural values, political system, and historical & social context affect behavior and thoughts.
depression= stress, poverty, no friends, abuse

Empirical evidence, Precise definition (theory and hypothesis), and falsifiability

Case study, naturalistic observation, surveys

Correlation:
1) Positive, negative, or zero correlation
2) strength (correlation coefficient)
3) correlation DOESN'T equal causation

Cause and effect relationship
1: dependent variable
2: independent variable
(potential problems: confounding variables, experimenter expectancy)

Measured (the outcome)

Manipulated (what you're testing)

behavioral modification, biofeedback

Insist on validity, Insist on reliability, Be wary of claims (be skeptical), Tolerate uncertainty

Cell membrane, dendrites, cell body, axon, terminal buttons

place where axon meets membrane of next neuron

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

site on dendrite or cell body where neurotransmitter attaches

Occipital lobes: vision
Temporal lobes: visual memory and hearing
Parietal lobes: spatial location, touch

hunger/thirst, body temperature, aggression, motivation, sexual behavior

Relay center for senses

Memory

emotions

Initial contact between organism and environment

Conscious experience of environment

Stimulus shapes perception

Background knowledge and expectations to interpret what we see

changing of one form of physical energy into a neural impulse

Relative size, Occlusion, Relative height, Texture gradient, Linear perspective

Allows you to measure how far away something is by how big/small it looks (ex. a plane in the sky looks smaller than a plane up close)

parallel lines appear to converge with distance

things appear more packed together the farther away they are (ex. grass)

Objects that partially block other parts of the scene are perceived to be closer to an observer than the blocked objects.

we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away

retinal disparity, eyes are separated by 6 cm

line where all objects' images fall on corresponding points of the retinas of both eyes

Images closer than the horoptor move to the sides of the retina (temporal)

Images farther than the horoptor move inward on the retina (nasal)

Continuity, closure, similarity, proximity, figure, common fate (moving in the same direction)

Sense specific chemicals, involved in memory and emotions, around 350 types of olfactory receptors

Papillae, Taste buds

Senses that produce the perception of touch and pain

when perception is distorted

a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience

elicits automatic response without prior learning

reflexive response

repeatedly paired with unconditioned stimulus

occurs in response to conditioned stimulus alone

avoidance learning, extinction, spontaneous recovery

Conditioned stimulus paired with unpleasant stimulus,; avoid conditioned stimulus (ex. pavlov's dogs, little albert)

Conditioned stimulus occurs repeatedly without unconditioned stimulus, conditioned response gradually disappears

sudden reappearance of conditioned response after extinction (without further conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairings)

phobias, taste aversion

behavior becomes associated with its consequences

reinforcer: increases behavior in future
punisher: decreases behavior in future
positive: stimulus presented
negative: stimulus removed

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

the removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

inherently reinforcing (ex. food, water, pain relief)

stimuli that one must learn to like (ex. money, praise, gifts, good grades)

aquisition of information stored for later use

learning with no behavioral signs

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

learning by observing others
(requires: attention, retention, reproduction, motivation)