Psychology Outline Chapter 1 1) There are Seven Themes of Psychological Science a) Psychology is an empirical science i) Scientists use the

scientific method b) Nature and nurture are inextricably entwined i) Culture beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment and that are transmitted through learning from one generation to the next ii) Nature/Nurture debate arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture iii) Agree now that nature/nurture influence each other and believe mental disorders are both inheritable and from nurture ex- PTSD/Schizo/Bipolar c) The brain and mind are inseparable i) Mind/Body Problem a fundamental psychological issue that considers whether mind and body are separate and distinct or whether the mind is simply the subjective experience of the physical brain ii) Descartes dualism theory said that mind and body are separate yet intertwined iii) He concluded that the rational mind was divine and separate from body. iv) His view is rejected today and scientists believe that the mind is what the brain does d) A new biological revolution is energizing research i) Three processes have set stage for biological revolution: ii) Brain Chemistry chemicals and neurotransmitters in brain are studied iii) The Human Genome scientists mapped basic genetic code for human body, learning how situational contexts affect gene expressing iv) Watching the Working Brain neuroscience, brain activation connected to specific mental tasks, localization of function is known, brain imaging e) The mind is adaptive i) Evolutionary Theory theory that emphasizes the inherited, adaptive value of behavior and mental activity throughout history of a species ii) Adaptions the physical characteristics, skills, or abilities that incresase the chances of reproduction or survival iii) Darwin s Origin of Species talked about natural selection (selective advantage of those inherited with adaptive characteristics) iv) Adaptive behavior against those who discourage group behavior, visual cliff v) Need to be aware of our minds in the stone age (preference for fatty and sweet foods) vi) Nisbett discovers that people from Asian countries have a different viewpoint than westernized (Asians view things more holistically while West is more analytical) f) Psychological science crosses levels of analysis i) Biological (neuroanatamy, neuotransmitters, genetics), Individual (personality, gender), social (groups, relationships), and Cultural

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ii) Different cultures and groups vs. individuals prefer different music g) We are unaware of the many influences on how we think, feel, and act i) Tests with lists of positive words and negative words before meeting a person showed biased feeling towards them ii) Concept of kindness was primed with words or can be done with smell, touch (cold vs. hot coffee) Wilhelm Wundt conducted experiments to find reaction time to study processes, he also wanted to measure conscious experiences Introspection systematic examination of subjective mental experiences that requires people to inspect and report on the content of their thoughts Titchener (student of Wundt) came up with Structuralism conscious experience can be broken down into its basic underlying components or elements Functionalism Addresses the Purpose of Behavior a) William James (prof at Harvard) had first session where he openly welcomed questions b) James argued the failure of structuralism was because mind was more complex than its elements, it was always change and not frozen in time c) Stream of Consciousness one s continuous series of ever-changing thoughts d) Functionalism an approach to psychology concerned with the adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior e) If a behavior serves a purpose, that purpose ought to be reflected in daily human life Gesalt Psychology Emphasizes Patterns and Context in Learning a) Opposition to structuralism, the Gesalt school, founded by Max Wetheimer b) Found that the perception of objects is subjective and dependent on context Women Made Pioneering Contributions to Psychology a) Mary Whiton Calkins studied under William James and was an exceptional student, was the first woman to set up a psych lab, publish more than 100 articals, become president of the American psychological association b) Women make up 70 percent of psych majors today Freud Emphasized the Power of the Unconscious a) Unconsciousness mental processes that operate below level of conscious awareness b) Freud believed unconscious thoughts that were probably sexual and in conflict produced psychological discomfort and disorders c) Psychoanalysis method developed by Freud that tries to bring contents of unconscious into concscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed d) He analyzed the symbols in dreams and used free association (letting person talk endlessly about a topic) to find unconscious conflicts Most Behavior Can be Modified by Reward and Punishment a) Watson scorns methods that couldn t be observed directly (introspection and free association) b) Behaviorism developed by Watson, psychological approach that emphasizes role of environmental forces in producing behavior

c) Behaviorists believed that nurture was all, believed animals learned things through environmental stimuli( triggers) d) Welcomed by others who wanted concrete evidence and respect for their field 10)Cognition Affects Behavior a) Cognitive Psychology study of how people think, learn and remember b) Cognitive Neuroscience study of neural mechanisms that underlie thought, learning, and memory c) Beavhiorists couldn t explain learning through observing and cultural influences on thought 11)Social situations Shape Behavior a) Social Psychology study of group dynamics in relation to psychological processes b) Nazi germany, stricter parents mean more prone to following orders, understanding social situation and how it affects behavior 12)Psychological Therapy is Based on Science a) Rogers and Maslow emphasize accepting of oneself as psychological treatment b) Rise in behaviorism leads to increase in therapies designed to modify behavior, cognitive revolution lead to treatments focusing on thought processes, mental disorders focus on drugs 13)Psychological Knowledge is Used in Many Professions a) Used in research on human health, advertisers, politicans use psychological tactics 14)People are Intuitive Psychological Scientists a) People are natural psychologists about other human behavior although we cannot know certain things such as how music affects newborns 15)Psychological Science Requires Critical Thinking a) Amiable skepticism is a hallmark of a good scientist b) Critical Thinking = systematic way of evaluating information to reach reasonable conclusions c) Critical thinking involves questioning, looking for holes in evidence, alternative explanations d) Mozart effect examined critically, found music affects mood but not intelligence 16)Psychology is Relevant to Every Person s Life a) It is not common sense, relevant as world globalizes Chapter 2 Research Methodology 1) Scientific Method Depends on Theories, Hypotheses, and Research a) Scientific method systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena to answer questions about what happens, when it happens, what causes it, and why b) Theory model of interconnected ideas and concepts that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events

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c) Hypothesis specific prediction of what should be observed in the world if a theory is correct d) Research systematic and careful collection of data e) Data objective observations or measurements f) Replication repetition of an experiment to confirm the results Theories Should Generate Hypothesis a) A good theory produces a variety of testable hypothesis Unexpected Findings Can Be Valuable a) Serenpidity discovers that cats responds not to dots but lines and edges Types of Studies in Psychological Research a) Three main types of Designs: Descriptive, Correlational, and experimental b) Differ in level of control of variables and extent to which researchers can make conclusions c) Variable anything that can be measured and that can vary d) Operational Definitions way scientists define variables in precise ways such as in quantity ex- scale of 1 to 10, or inferred behavior Descriptive Studies Involve Observing and Classifying Behavior a) Descriptive Studies- observational studies involving observing and noting behavior to analyze objectively (taking notes on what people do, duration of phone calls, etc.) b) 2 basic types of descriptive studies: naturalistic and partcipant c) Naturalistic observation observer remains separated from and makes no attempt to change situation d) Participant observation researcher is involved in the situation (social psychologists join doomsday cult to see how they react) i) Problems arise when participants lose objectivity or subjects know they re being watched e) Descriptive studies are valuable in early stages of research f) Longitudinal Studies involve observing and classifying developmental changes that occur in the same people over time, either with no intervention or with some intervention i) Advantages : provide information about the effects of age on same people ii) Disadvantages: expensive, take a long time, lose participants easily g) Cross-sectional studies comparing different groups of people at the same time i) Faster and less expensive, but include possibility of unidentified variable such as difference in education when studying young vs. old people h) Observer Bias systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer s expectations Ex different cultures rate women/men emotional responses different i) Experimenter Expectancy Effect actual change in behavior of people or animals observed due to observer bias Ex - students were told they had smart or dumb mice j) To protect against these effects, it s best if person running experiment is blind of study s hypothesis

6) Correlational Designs Examine How Variables are Related a) Correlational study examines how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them Ex are work hours related to desire in women to have fun i) Drawbacks of Correlational Study: Ethical problems related to directly connecting experimental subjects Ex cannot induce trauma to study how trauma affects learning in soldiers ii) Directionality problem when a relationship is found b/w two variables, they cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable iii) Third Variable Problem When experimenter can t directly manipulate independent variable and therefore can t be sure that another unmeasured variable is the actual cause of differences in dependent variable (1) Ex some women have higher energies and work longer hours and want to play after 7) An Experiment Involves Manipulating Conditions a) Experiment study that tests casual hypothesis by measuring and manipulating variables b) Control (Comparison ) Group the participants in a study that receive no intervention or an intervention different from one being studied c) Experimental ( treatment) groups participants in study that receive intervention d) Independent Variable condition manipulated by experimenter e) Dependent variable measure that is affected by manipulation of the independent variable f) Establishing Casuality i) Confound anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study ii) Ex women who work more hours have more money to spend on fun activities therefore time may not be the reason they want to have more fun 8) Random Assignment Is Used to Establish Equivalent Groups a) Population everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in b) Sample subset of a population c) Random sampling is the best way to make the group represent the population, most of the time a convenience sample is chosen ( used when the experimenter wants to test a casual hypothesis) d) Selection Bias when participants in different groups in an experiment differ systematically e) Random Assignment procedure for placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in which each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable i) Balances out unknown factors f) Meta Analysis a study of studies that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion

i) Has the concept of replication built into it, multiple evidence is always better than a single one ii) Large samples are more accurate and representative 9) What are the Data Collection Methods of Psychological Science? a) Fundamental principle of research is that the question the researcher asks will dictate the appropriate method for collecting data b) Language/translation difficulties exist in cross cultural studies c) Culturally sensitive research studies that take into account the ways culture affects thoughts, feelings, and actions i) Cross Cultural studies compare people of different cultures (1) Advantages examines the effect of culture on some variable of interest, making psych more applicable (2) Disadvantages some situations and specific words do not convey same meaning when translated 10)Observing is an Unobtrusive Strategy a) Observational techniques a research method of careful assessment and coding of overt behavior ex noting gestures during conversation (1) Questions asked by observers: should the experiment be in a lab or in nature (2) How should the data be collected ( written, tally) b) Reactivity when the knowledge that one is being observed affects the behavior of observed 11)Case Studies Examine Individual Lives and Organizations a) Case study involves intensive examination of one person or a few individuals that are somehow unusual i) Advantages: can provide extensive data about 1 or a few indivudals or organizations ii) Disadvantages: can be very subjective , not possible to generalize b) Ex Virginia tech does not mean all lonely/violent kids will go on mad rampage 12)Asking Takes a more Active Approach a) Self- report methods method of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as surveys i) Advantages: Can gather Data from a large number of people, easy to administer, cheap, fast way ii) Disadvantages: people can introduce bias b) Experience Sampling researchers take several samples of participants experiences over time c) Self- Report Bias i) Better than average effect, different cultures respond differently depending on cultural self-esteem 13)Response Performance Measures Information Processing a) Response Performance a research method in which researchers quantify perceptual or cognitive processes in response to a specific stimulus i) Measurement of reaction time, response accuracy, Stimulus judgements

(1) Advantages: easy way to measure cognition and perception, less affected by observer bias or subject reactivity (2) Disadvantages: can be costly and time consuming, less applicable in real world 14)Body/Brain Activity can be Measured Directly a) Polygraph/ Lie detectors, Electroencephalogram (EEG) measures electrical activity of brain (inaccurate b/c too much brain function) b) Brain imaging range of techniques that make brain structures and brian activity visible. (2 common included below) (a) Advantages: map brain in ways to show activity of different tasks (b) DisAdvan: directionality problem, we do not know whether a particular brain region is necessary for a task although it may be activated c) Positron emission tomography (PET) method of brain imaging that assesses metabolic activity by using a radioactive substance injected into the bloodstream (1) Looks at where brain activity is used by identifying glucose d) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) produces high resolution image of the brain i) Useful for determing location of brain damage e) Functional Magnetic resonance Imaging (fMRI) uses brain s blood flow to map mental activity f) Transcranial Magnatic Stimulation (TMS) use of strong magnets to interrupt normal brain activity 15)Research with Animals Provides Important Data a) Transgenic mice lead to possible cures for diseases since animals act similarly to humans 16)Ethical Issues to Consider a) Institutional review boards groups of eople responsible for reviewing proposed research b) Privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity are important issues when conducting research c) Risk/benefit ratio, deception is used sometimes 17)How are Data Analyzed and Evaluated? a) Systematic error is more problematic than random error, data collected should be reliable and pertain to hypothesis Chapter 3 Biological Foundations 1) What is the Genetic Basis of Psychological Science? a) Biology and the environment influence each other (nature and nurture are connected) b) Human Genome project mapping out all the genes in a body, found that humans don t necessarily have that many more genes than a fly but we re complex because the expression of them varies c) Gregor Mendel and pea plants was first evidence of heredity d) Existence of dominant and recessive genes means not all are expressed

e) Polygenic characteristic influenced by many genes (skin color) 2) Genes Affect Behavior a) Behavioral Genetics is the study of how genes and the environment act to influence psychological activity b) Twin studies and adoption studies are used to determine behavioral and inherited traits c) Monozygotic Twins twin siblings who result from one zygote splitting in two and therefore share the same genes (identical twins) d) Dizygotic twins twin siblings who result from two separately fertilized eggs (fraternal twins) e) Growing up in the same home has little influence on personality f) Identical twins raised together or not were likely to be similar g) Jim twins , separated twins exhibited similar mannerisms, separated twins actually might ve been more similar because parents didn t try to encourage individuality h) Heritability -Estimates of heritability are concerned only with the extent that people differ in terms of their genetic makeup within the group 3) Social and Environmental Contexts Influence Genetic Expression a) Finding that children abused and with low levels of MAO were more likely to have aggressive behavior b) Experiments from mice and knock outs has found that knocking out one gene greatly changed behavior, so no single gene is responsible for social interaction but rather a complex number 4) How does the Nervous System Operate? a) Neurons are Specialized for Communication i) Neurons differ because they are excitable cells and are used for communication (1) They do three things: reception, integrate signals (conduction), and transmission b) Sensory Neurons i) Detect information from physical world and pass information to brain, sometimes called afferent neurons because they carry info to brain ii) Somatosensory are neurons that provide information from muscles c) Motor Neurons i) Direct muscles to contract or relax, which produces movement, sometimes called efferent neurons because they transmit info from brain to muscle d) Interneurons i) Communicate within local or short distance circuits, usually in a specific brain region e) Neurons communicate in neural networks, not randomly f) Neuron structure includes: i) Dendrites branchlike extension of neuron that detects info from other neurons ii) Cell body where information is collected and processed iii) Axon long narrow outgrowth in which information is transmitted to other neurons

iv) Terminal buttons small nodules at ends of axons that relase chemical signals from the neuron to synapse v) Synpapse or synaptic cleft site for chemical communication between neurons with extracelul ar fluid vi) Myelin sheath fatty material insulates the axon and allows for rapid movement of electrical pulses along axon vii) Nodes of Ranvier small gaps of exposed axon between myelin sheath where action potentials are transmitted g) Resting Membrane Potential electrical charge of a neuron when it is not active i) Inside and outside differ electrically in neutron in this stage ii) Charge inside neuron is slightly more negative iii) Sodium and potassium ions pass through membrane at ion channels located in nodes of Ranvier iv) Imbalance of more potassium in neuron than sodium through channels causes polarization necessary for action potentials 5) Action Potentials cause Neural Communication a) Action potential neural impulse that passes along the axon and causes relase of chemicals from terminal buttons b) Excitatory and Inhibitory signals i) Excitatory signals depolarize cell membrane, making it more likely that neuron will fire ii) Inhibitory signals hyperpolarize the cell and decrease likelihood that neuron will fire iii) Action potential is generated if excitatory input is more than neuron s threshold iv) Influx of sodium into the neuron makes it more positive then potassium channels open and allow K ions inside to rush out and slowly the cell returns to normal charge but action potential has been activated c) Action potentials spread along the axon

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