Psychology Notes

Two Branches
Research: Biological, Developmental, Social, Clinical, Cultural, and Quantitive
Applied: Therapists, Human factoring, Industrial/organizational
Epigenetic: Heritable changes in gene activity not caused by a change in DNA sequence.
Psychology is a scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Behavior (Walking) = Observable
Mental processes (Thinking) = unobservable
History
Early Schools of thought
Structuralism
Functionalism
Psychology= Study of mental life
Freudian psychology
How do unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences
affect behavior.
Behaviorism
Psychology= scientific study of behavior
Observable behaviors
Dont bother w/ black box (mind)
Behaviors result of consequences
Cognitive Revolution
Saw limitations of behaviorism
Psychology=study of behavioral and mental processes
Behavioral and Mental processes
1.
Describe
2.
Explain
3.
Predict
4.
Control
Use controlled methods when observing behavior and mental processes
Rubin et al [and others] (1970s) study
Had parents describe their newborns
Descriptions depended on sex
Daughters
Smaller, Delicate, Awkward
Objective (controlled) methods
size weight
No difference between boys and girls

Psychology Notes
Parents used subjective measure (just eyes)
Stereotypes/expectations affected observation
1st Goal of Psychology = To describe behavior and mental processes
2nd Goal of Psychology = to explain why behavioral and mental processes occur
Rubin Study
Why do some suffer from addiction and depression
rd
3 Goal of Psychology = To predict what behavioral and mental processes will occur in the
future
a. Psychologists- predictions based on past events
b. Dont claim to make predictions for any ONE person (based on average)
th
4 Goal of Psychology = To control and change behavioral and mental processes
Why do people suffer from depression?
Genes?
Upbringing
Bio psychosocial approach
Biological influences
Psychological influences
Social/cultural influences
Love- what chemical changes in brain occur when in love

Examines how consequences affect our B+M Processes

Love- How do we learn to show attraction in a socially appropriate way?

Sociocultural Perspective: Examines relationship between culture and B+M Processes

Are there cultural differences in courting rituals?

Psychodynamic Perspective: Examines how our unconscious and early childhood

experiences affect our B+M processes.

Freud:

Consciousthinking about now

Preconscious- Memories we can pull up

Unconscious- Drive to do things
Love: How does the relationship with our mothers in infancy affect who we choose as a

romantic partner in adulthood

Neuroscience- What chemical changes in the brain

Behaviorist

Sociocultural- are some cultures more susceptible to addiction

Psychodynamic- can a neglecting parent lead to addiction

Critical thinking- Identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making

Enables us to: think for ourselves, responsibility to make decisions

1)Investigate problems
Ask questions, question traditional/popular beliefs
Be skeptical
Ask Questions

Psychology Notes
Who Conducted this study
Was there an agenda for personal gain
Skeptical- Not sure whether true or not, need proof
Cynicism- Disbelieve everything
2)
3)
4)

Examine definition of terms

Be cautions in drawing conclusions from evidence
Consider alternative interpretations of research findings
-Placebo
-Alterior
Do not oversimplify
Be suspicious of single factor explanations
Do not over generalize
Avoid making belief changes based on the finding of one study

5)
6)
7)

Psychology is a science because of the methods we use to gather knowledge

Empirical Approach: Knowledge gained through direct observation and measurement
All zeeps have 16 toes
All men are zeeps
All men have 16 toes
Controlled Empiricism
Perception is biased
Rubin Study
Traffic light example
Use controlled methods to control for bias
Objective measures
Rubin Study
Careful recording rubrics
Record every event
Clear recording rubric
How do Psychologists gather information
Surveys/interviews: ascertain self-reported attitudes/behaviors of particular group
Observation:
Naturalistic, watch behavior in natural setting
Lab: Watch behavior in lab setting
Case studies
In-depth examination of one person/small group
Which Method is Best
Depends on Question
All methods have pros and cons
Limitations?
Resource intensive
May not generalize to population
Strengths?

Psychology Notes
Generates research questions
How do people show romantic attraction?

Common Questions in Psychology

1)Are two things related?

2)Does one thing cause the other?

Are two things related

Correlation: measure of extent to which two factors vary together naturally
Are age and happiness correlated?
Is TV watching associated with unhealthy development
Types of Correlation
Positive: As one variable increases, so does the other
As hours spent watching TV increases, # of aggressive acts increase
Negative: As on variable increases, the other decreases
As temperature rises, # of clothing articles worn decreases
No correlation
Strength of Correlation
If know about one variable, can make better prediction about the other
As ice cream consumption increases, crime rates increase
Limitation of Correlation
Cant draw causal conclusion
Why
1) Bidirectionally Issue
2) Third Variable Issue
Even if a causal relationship exists, we are not sure what is causing what
Third Variable Issue
Relationship between two variables could be driven completely by another variable
Dangers of Drawing Causal Conclusions from Correlations
Vaccines - autism diagnosis
Experimental Method allows for causal conclusions

Control: Isolate the variable of interest

Manipulate
variable of interest

Keep all other variables constant

Psychology Notes

Biological Psychology examines links between

Biological Activities
Psychological events
Every psychological event is simultaneously biological

Nervous system
Complex combination of cells
Allows us to:
Gain info about whats going on inside/outside our bodies & respond appropriately

Somatic Nervous System: Carries sensory & motor (voluntary, muscle movement) info to &
from central nervous system

Psychology Notes

Autonomic Nervous System: Controls bodily functions NOT consciously directed

(Automatic Processes): Breathing, Heartbeat, Digestive processes
Sympathetic
Expend energy
Flight-or-fight system
Parasympathetic
Replenish energy
Rest-and-digest system
Neurons

Process, store, transmit information

Generally, born with over 100 billion neurons
Neurons vary in:

Location
(most found in brain0

Size (Fraction of inch to several feet)

Function
Sensory neurons: sensory info TO CNS
Motor neurons: info from CNS to Body tissues
Neuron:

Single nerve cell with:

Dendrites- Rootlike structures attached to cell body
Receive impulses (messages)
Cell body- contains nucleus of cell
Control center of cell
Axonlong thin part of the neuron

Transmits info to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Axons end in small bulb shaped structures
Axon terminal buttons store neurotransmitters
Axons
and
myelin

Some axons wrapped with myelin (fatty, waxy substance)

Purpose of myelin?
Allows messages to be conducted more efficiently
Myelination happens throughout first 25 years of life
Allows for greater muscle control, judgement, & self-control
Synapse

Generally,
neighboring neurons DONT touch one another

Tiny fluid-filled gap between neurons

When do neurons transmit messages?
When:
Stimulated by sensory signal
Triggered by chemical signals from neighboring neurons
Electrochemical Process

Transmission involves electricity & chemicals

Psychology Notes
Electrical (neural impulse) travels down axon
Causes neuron to fire
Release of chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) from axon terminal buttons
into synapse
Neurotransmitter crosses synapse & binds to receptor sites on dendrites of receiving
neuron
Neurotransmitters leads to neural impulse in receiving neuron, causing neuron to fire
Neurotransmitters: an Introduction
Neurotransmitters affect:
Behaviors & Mental processes
Identified 100+ neurotransmitters (NTS)
Involved in different processes
Serotonin
Affects
Mood
Hunger
Sleep
Arousal (alertness)
Associated with depression
Many antidepressants (ssri) target serotonin
SSRIs
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
SSRIs bind to sites on sending neuron that would reabsorb neurotransmitter
Blocks reuptake
Serotonin in synapse long enough for receiving neuron to make use of it
MDMA (Ecstasy)
Recreational drug
Targets serotonin
Blocks reuptake of serotonin
Long-term use
Can damage serotonin-producing neurons
Decreased serotonin output
Increased risk of permanently depressed mood
Research
investigating ways to increase serotonin without drugs

Regular aerobic exercise

Exposure to light
Dopamine
Dopamine influences movements, learning, attention, and emotion
Dopamine influences learning & attention
Reduced dopamine in part of brain related to attention, impulse control
ADD
Ritalin
Inhibits reuptake of dopamine

Psychology Notes
Dopamine associated with emotion
People with schizophrenia
More receptor sites for dopamine in brain area involved with
emotional responding
May overuse available dopamine leading to hallucination &
delusions
Most drugs that treat schizophrenia block dopamine receptors
Cerebellum:
Involved with Balance
Coordination
Voluntary movement
Thalamus
Serves as the brains sensory switchboard
Transfers sensory info to & from higher & lower brain regions
Limbic System
1. Hippocampus New memory formation
2. Amygdala Involved w/ emotion especially perception & expression of rage and fear
3. Hypothalamus controls autonomic nervous system,
regulates motivated behavior
Hunger
Sex drive
Cerebrum
Higher brain structure
Consists of two hemisphere
Left & right
Contralateral
Hemispheres connected by
Corpus callosum
Collection of axon fibers
Cerebral cortex
Surface of cerebrum
Bodys ultimate control & information process
Hemispheres of cerebrum
1) Occipital Lobe
Sight
2)Temporal lobe
Hearing
3)
Parietal Lobe
Somatosensory cortex
4) Frontal Lobe
Motor cortex

Psychology Notes
Parietal Lobe & Somatosensory Cortex
Somatosensory cortex receives info from
1) skin senses
2) information from movement of body parts
Makes you aware body part is moving
Map of body
Phantom limb
Frontal Lobe & Motor Cortex
Motor cortex controls:
Voluntary movements of bodys muscles
Association Areas
More to cerebral cortex than sensory input & muscular output
Association areas
Parts of cerebral cortex involved w/ higher mental functions learning remembering,
thinking and speaking
Found in all four lobes
Association areas in frontal lobe associated with:
Judgment (including moral judgment
Planning
Impulse control
Decision making
Frontal lobe & free will
Developmental Psychology
Branch of Psychology that studies
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Change throughout lifespan
Why study development ?
What is Cognition?
All mental activities associated w/:

Thinking

Knowing
Remembering
Communicating
Cognitive development:

Examines how mental activities change throughout lifespan

Jean Piaget: Theory of Cognitive Development

Traced growth in cognitive capacities in:
Infants
Children

Psychology Notes
Adolescence
Intelligence

Basic life function

Helps organism adapt to its environment
Adapt?
Adjust to demands of environment
Intellectual activity undertaken for one reason
Produce balanced relationship between
Ones thought processes/wants/needs
Their environment
Piaget viewed children as little scientists

Organize
isolated behaviors and thoughts into higher order system

Develop sophisticated schemes FOOD NO FOOD

Schemes:
Pattern of action
Mental structures
Both used to interpret and organize experience
Two processes underlie all intellectual growth
1) assimilation
Interpreting ones new experiences in terms of ones existing schemes
Bird, Marie Calendars
2) Accommodation
Adapting ones current schemes to incorporate new information
Whale
Try assimilation
Fails
Disequilibrium:
Cognitive Conflict- feel uncomfortable
Accommodation
Equilibration:
Thoughts consistent w/ evidence from external world
Feel better
Scheme: All gay people bad

Assimilation: All gay people you meet are bad

Find out:

Very
lovable son is gay

Experience disequilibrium

Motivated to achieve equilibration

Options?

Assimilate:
Change opinion of son

Deny sons orientation

Accommodate scheme
Not all gay people are bad
Piagets 4 stages of Cognitive Development

Psychology Notes
Sensorimotor (birth- 2)
Pre-operational (2-6)
Concrete operational (7-11)
Formal operational (11+ years)
Stages
Universal
Cannot be skipped
Can vary in terms of rate

Sensorimotor stage
Take in info through senses and motor movement
Here and now
Throughout stage, babies begin to mentally represent world
Preoperational Stage
Symbolic capacity: use images, words, gestures to stand for objects and experiences\
No longer trapped in here and now
One-dimensional thinking
Can only focus on one aspect of situation at time
Consequences of one-dimensional thinking
1) egocentric
Unable to view situation from anothers perspective
Lack understanding of law of conservation
Law of conservation: if appearance of object changes, but nothing added or
subtracted, object retains its basic properties
Concrete operational stage
Perform mental actions on concrete objects and events
Concrete: can be examined by senses
Capable of 2-D thought
Lack abstract reasoning
Abstract: Cannot be examined directly by senses
Cant perform mental actions on ideas very well
Ex: Incapable of complex hypothetical thinking
Formal Operational Stage
Develop abstract reasoningCan perform mental actions on concrete objects/events as
well as on ideas
Hypothetical thinking (if-then)
Learning: relatively permanent change in behavior/mental processes due to experience
Classical Conditioning:
Simple form of learning
Make association between two or more things
From association learn to anticipate events
Father of Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
Discovered principle of classical conditioning by accident

Psychology Notes

Failed research attempt- didnt give up!

Asked new research question:
Could he get dogs to salivate reflexively when he wished and to any stimulus he
chose?
Designed a study
Pre learning stage (reflexive behavior)
Learning stage (making association through pairing)
Ringing of bell-------meat powder---------salivate
Post learning stage (anticipation)
Pavlovs bell
Pavlov demonstrated empirically that dogs could be taught to:
Salivate when he wished and to any stimulus he chose
Operant conditioning: A Definition
Simple form of learning
Learning based on consequences
Likelihood of (voluntary-type) behavior
Increased if followed by a reinforcer
Decreased if followed by a punisher
Reinforcers increase likelihood that behavior will occur again
Two types of reinforcers
1) Positive
Increase likelihood of behavior when applied, or given
Cleaning- Sticker
Working- pay check
2) Negative
Increase likelihood of behavior when something unpleasant is removed
Ground until room cleaned
Headache/ aspirin
Punishers: Decrease likeliness of a behavior
GET THESE NOTES--------Two Types of Encoding
1) Automatic
Implicit: Type of memories encoded through automatic processing
2) Effortful
Type of memories encoded through effortful processing
Explicit
Effortful encoding strategies
Mnemonics
Effortful memory enhancing
Chunking: Take individual units of info, group them into larger, meaningful units
Hierarchies:
Memory Processing (Dual Track)
Implicit Memories:

Psychology Notes
Automatic
Without conscious recall
Processed in cerebellum/ basal ganglia
Space, time, frequency, well-learned info, procedural info, classically conditioned
info
Explicit:
Effortful
Conscious recall
Processed in hippocampus/cortex
Facts general knowledge
Distributed
Practice:

Retain info better when encoding distributed over time

Ex: Spend 4 hours studying for exam
Different results
Spend 1 hr studying M-Th
Spend 4 hrs. studying Thursday night
Self-test
Flash cards
Checking for understanding questions at end of chapter
Encode verbal info at different levels
1)Shallow processing: encode on very basic level
Physical appearance of word
How many vowels in word
2) Deep processing: encode semantically (meaning of word)
More deeply processed info is better remembered
TIP: Personally meaningful (related to our experiences) info encoded most
deeply
Retrieval: Getting Info Out
Long-term memory organized like web
Memories stored by web of associations
When encode info into memory, associate it w/ other bits of info in our
surroundings
Bits of info serve as retrieval cues, which prime our memories
More retrieval cues the better
Memory Construction
Tend to remember gist of event rather than details
Fills in gaps w/ prior knowledge, expectations, schemas
Construct
& reconstruct memory each time we recall it.

False Memories
Misinformation Effect:
Tendency to include misinformation in memory of event after exposure to
questions or suggestions that misrepresent event.

Psychology Notes
Social Psychology- Scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to
people
Social Perception
Subfield of social psychology
Examines ways in which people form and modify impressions of others
Attribution
Belief concerning why a person/people behaved in a certain way
Two Types:
1)Dispositional: Ascribe a persons behavior to internal factors
2) Situational: Ascribe a persons behavior to a situation they are in
Fundamental
attribution error: Tendency for observers, when analyzing anothers behavior,

to underestimate impact of situation and to overestimate impact of personal disposition.

Actor-Observer Effect: Tendency to attribute other peoples behavior to dispositional
factors but our own to situational factors.
Speeding/pulled over example
The
Self-Serving Bias: Tendency to attribute our successes to something dispositional but

our failures to something situational.

Social Influence
Compliance
Obedience
Power of the situation
What
is evil: Exercise of power to intentionally harm people

Psychologically
Physically
Abu Ghraib
Interrogation hold for prisoners of war in Iraq
Discovered: American soldiers were abusing prisoners
Administration did not want to be blamed
Blamed it on soldiers
Zimbardos
Hypothesis

American soldiers are good, usually

May be there was bad barrel (situation created by those in power)
Zimbardo became expert witness for one of the guards
Ted Talk Discussion Questions
What is meant by the lucifer effect: the ability of good people to turn into perpetrators
of evil
How do psychologists understand such transformation in character
Dispositional: Bad apple
Situational: Barrel
Systemic: Barrel Makers
Milgram

1960

Psychology Notes
RQ: Would average american hurt stranger simply because authority figure told them to do
so?
Obedience
Methodology
Advertised in newspaper
Participant always teacher
Teacher teaches learner word pairs
Would shock learners for mistakes (15-450volts)
Not one participant stopped before 350 volts
About 65% of participants went all the way to 450
H

Stanford Prison Experiment (1970)

* Stanford Student
* Randomly assigned to be Prisoner or Guard
* Realistic Arrest (humiliating)
* Prisoners Put in Isolation, Uniforms, Given Numbers (Dehumanizing)
* Guards - Symbols of Power, Eye Glasses, Uniforms (Anonymity)
* Had to end study after 6 days

What are 7 Social Processes that grease the slippery slope to evil?

* Mindlessly taking first small step

*
* Foot in door Technique
* Dehumanizing others
*
* Prisoners, Numbers, Uniforms
* De-individuation of self (anonymity)
*
* Guard Uniforms; Sunglasses
* Diffusion of Personality responsibility
* Blind Obedience to Authority
* Uncritical Conformity to group norms
* Passive tolerance to evil through inaction/indifference

* System Guilty
*
* Stanford Prison Study Cautionary Tale

Psychology Notes
* Power without oversight, prescription for abuse
* The Govt knew that, Let it happen
* Need Paradigm Shift: medical model to public health model
*
* Medical Model?
*
* focuses on individual
* Public health Model
*
* Recognizes situational and systemic vectors of disease
* Foster Hostile Imagination
*
* Creates Perpetrators of evil
* Foster imagination of heroism
*
* Creates heroes out of ordinary people
* Create Passive bystanders
*
* Evil of Inaction
* Psychology of heroism
*
* Learn to be deviant
*
* go against conformity of group
* Act when others arent acting
*
Heroes: ordinary people whose social actions are socially extraordinary
*
Attitudes- Feelings often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in
particular way to objects, people, and events
Ex:
If I believe someone is mean
Feel dislike for them
Respond to then in unfriendly manner
Attitudes not great predictors of behaviors
Safe Sex example
Can hold conflicting attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance

When two attitudes in conflict

When behavior not in line with thoughts/beliefs
We experience discomfort: to ease discomfort sometimes easier to change thoughts and

feelings to be in line with behavior

Two types of attitudes

1) Explicit: Consciously aware of holding this attitude

Psychology Notes
Can consciously decide to report or not
2)Implicit: NOT consciously aware of holding this attitude
Cannot consciously decide to report or not
Nonverbal cues
IAT (Implicit Association Test)
Explicit and Implicit attitudes can conflict
Attitude towards school:
Explicit attitude towards school positive while implicit view negative
How can this be?
Explicit and implicit attitudes formed/modified differently
Two Routes to Attitude Formation
1) Central Route

Evidence/info
Straightforward
2) Peripheral Route

Associations with positive/negative cues

Not as straightforward
Drugs

Explicitly taught in school

Implicitly taught in media
What If We hold Implicit Attitudes That We Dont Want?
Implicit attitudes are malleable

1) Seek experiences that oppose implicit preference

Ex: Interact with people/read literature that provide experiences that can counter your
preference
2) Remain alert to existence of undesired preferences
Ex: Question your motives for treating someone in a certain way
3) Act in ways that can compensate for known unconscious preferences and beliefs.
Ex. Smile at people who are elderly if you know you have implicit preference for the
young
Psychological Disorders
Historical view: Psychological Disorders Slide

Sign of possession by evil spirit

To determine if individuals possessed, tests conducted.
Water Float Test
Psychological Disorders:

Patterns of thoughts, feelings, or actions that are:

Deviant
Distressful

Psychology Notes
Dysfunctional
Biopsychosocial Approach to Understanding Psych Disorders

Biological influences
Psychological influences
Sociocultural influences
Criteria of Mental Disorder:

1) Unusual/atypical
2) Suggest faulty perception or interpretation of reality:
Hallucination, Perception in absence of sensory stimulation, confused with reality
Delusions: False, persistent beliefs unsupported in sensory or objective evidence
Two types of delusions
1) Delusions of Grandeur
Person believes more important or grander, than really is in reality.
2) Delusions of Persecution Person believes he/she is being sought by mafia, CIA, etc.
3) Suggest severe personal distress
Panic Attack
4) Self-defeating
Behavior/mental process affects persons ability to function in important domains
(occupational, social) of their lives
Ex: OCD example
5) Dangerous to self and/or others
Suicide Attempts
Cutting
6) Socially unacceptable
Toe nail clippings
Once behaviors/mental processes deemed psychological disorder, must use:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders to diagnose
DSM lists SYMPTOMS associated with each psychological disorder
Major Category: Anxiety Disorder
Phobia: Fear
Social Phobia: Fear of humiliation in social situations
PTSD
Always preceded by traumatic event
OCD
Obsession:
Unwanted repetitive thoughts
Unwanted repetitive action
Potential Treatment:
Medication

Psychology Notes
Antidepressants
Anti-anxiety meds
Beta Blockers
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
OCD Exposure Therapy

No known society