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Psychology

Year 1

QuestionAnswer
What is our working definition of psychology? The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes
What behaviours and mental processes do psychologists study? -Mental health -Mental illness -Intelligence -Decision making -Parenting
What are the benefits of studying behaviour and mental processes scientifically? -Avoid confirmation bias -Avoid claims that do not generalize to a broader group or set of conditions
What kinds of variation do psychologists study? -Between People: to what extent are people similar and different -One person’s behaviour in various situations: i.e. around family, around friends, around coworkers/bosses -Variation of a person over time: childhood to adulthood and on
What are the key features of true experiments? -Two or more groups are being compared -Participants are randomly assigned to groups (this fact makes it a true experiment) -The groups are different to the independent variable
What are the main types of non-experimental methods? Quasi-experiments Case studies Correlation studies
Key Features of Quasi-Experiments? -Comparing Two or more groups -Cannot randomly assign people.
Key Features of Case Studies? Purpose: close examination of a small number of people to learn more about rare phenomena
Key Features of Correlational Studies? Two or more variables No groups are being compared
Correlation studies examine... ...the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
What does a correlation coefficient tell us? -The sign tells you about the direction -The number tells you about the strength of the relationship, larger numbers mean a stronger relationship.
A correlation coefficient is zero when... ...there is no relationship between the variables
Guess the Research Method! We are comparing random groups True Experiment
We are comparing groups that are NOT random Quasi-Experiment
We are not comparing groups and they are NOT random Correlation
We are experimenting with one person or a VERY SMALL group Case Study
Define what psychological scientists mean by ‘sensation’ Process by which information in the physical world is detected by sensory organs.
Define what psychological scientists mean by ‘perception’. Process by which the sensory information is interpreted in the brain: Sensation begins with a process called transduction
What are some examples of human transducers? All of your sensory organs
What do transducers do? Sense organs are energy translators
What is the challenge during sensation? Sensory organs can transduce the “avalanche of sensations” available in the environment, but the brain cannot process all of this information
What are two solutions to the challenge? Restrict incoming information through selection and selective attention
What is the challenge with respect to attention? Attention is limited
Name four factors that increase the chances we will pay attention to a stimulus: Information that: -Is physically salient (e.g., bright, loud, sharp) -Is appealing or interesting -Has meaning or importance (e.g., cocktail party effect) -Allows us to meet goals
Describe Yarbus' Study. G1: determine the ages of the people in the picture. G2: be able to describe the clothing of the people in the picture G3: remember the location of people and objects in the picture
What were the results of that study? Eye tracking shows that people look toward aspects of the painting that will provide the information needed to meet their goal.
What was the take home message from that study? -Goals impacted what we attend to, and therefore what we perceive -We miss some stimuli because we focus attention on the other things -**Sensory information is NOT always sent to the brain for processing
Describe Simons and Chabris. We were asked to count how many times the white team passed the basketball while the black team was also passing another basketball and a gorilla walked by.
What were the results of the study? About half the participants missed the gorilla in the video
What was the take home message from that study? Attention can be narrowed to include only things that are relevant to our goals.
Name the two types of ‘blindness’ that can result from selective attention when we pursue our goals. -Inattentional blindness -Change Blindness
Inattentional blindness: Fail to see elements of a scene you are watching (objects; actions)
Inattentional blindness happens for two reasons: -Attention is focused on a goal -What you saw was unexpected
Change Blindness: Fail to see gradual change to elements of a scene you are watching
Explain what is meant by multimodal integration. The brain doesn't deal with information coming from one sense at a time; it combines information from all senses.
What are some everyday examples in which multimodal integration plays a role? -Sports -Playing music -Eating and Drinking -Speech
Name and describe two conditions that illustrate this type of human diversity in multimodal perception. -Synesthesia -Autism
Describe one way in which transducers contribute to similarities in perception. Human transducers work in the same way for most people, yielding a similar perceptual experience.
Describe how experience contributes to similarities in perception. We often use similar ‘perceptual rules’ to interpret stimuli and consequently have similar perceptual experiences
Name two examples of experience-based perceptual ‘rules of thumb’ that contribute to similarities in perception. Shape Constancy Brightness constancy
Shape Constancy: we understand that the shape is constant even if we are visually exposed to something different (ie., an apple is round even behind another fruit)
Brightness constancy: Our perception is being changed because of the light
Describe five ways in which transducers contribute to differences in perception. -Number/type of sensory receptors -Physical location -Genetics -Age-related change -Exposure to environments and experiences (e.g., abuse, surgery, loud noise) that damage transducers
Describe what psychological scientists mean by the term ‘bottom-up processes’, and provide some examples. Trying to make sense or come to conclusions about something (system 2)
Describe what psychological scientists mean by the term ‘top-down processes’, and provide some examples. -Lots of experience, looking and recognizing and knowing effortlessly (system 1)
What are the four characteristics of memory? -Vary in terms of time -Vary in terms of how automatic it is to retrieve them -Vary in terms of ‘episodic-ness’ -Vary in terms of format
What are the two elements that make up the modal model of memory? -Memory systems: Types of memory -Memory processes: Move information between memory systems
What are the characteristics of sensory memory? -Large capacity -Very brief duration -Not conscious
What are the characteristics of working memory/short term memory? -Like a mental workbench, where we can manipulate information currently in our minds -Interacts with SM and LTM -Very small capacity -Brief duration -Conscious
How did prior researchers conceptualize WM/STM? Previously considered a “storage place” with limited capacity
What tasks were used to establish its capacity? “Simple” span tasks test
What is the current view of WM/STM? It’s not just a space, it’s also a dynamic process
What tasks are used to establish its capacity? Complex span tasks test WM processing
Explain what we know about variation in the capacity (or processing power) of people’s WM/STM. -People differ in terms of their working memory ability -Research suggests that WM is relatively fixed; training does not improve it
What are the characteristics of long term memory (LTM)? -Very large capacity -Very long duration (permanent?) -Not conscious
Two types of LTM implicit and explicit
What are the characteristics of Implicit memory? Difficult to verbalize
Provide three examples of implicit memory -Procedural knowledge -Learned associations -Priming
What is Priming? Activating specific information in memory increases the likelihood that related information will also be activated
What are the characteristics of Explicit memory? Easy to verbalize
What are the two types of Explicit memory? -Semantic Memory -Episodic Memory
Semantic Memory: Memory for facts and concepts
Episodic Memory: Memories connected to a specific time and/or place
2 main points of Long-Term Memory: -Your memories are stored in a network. Made up of nodes and links between the nodes. -Some memories are stored in the network as pictures or sounds.
Selective attention: Moving information from sensory memory to working memory.
Describe the process of selective attention: The processes that allow an individual to select and focus on particular input for further processing while simultaneously suppressing irrelevant or distracting information.
Maintenance rehearsal: keeping information in working memory.
Describe the process of maintenance rehearsal: A conscious effortful process. For example, I give you a phone number and you repeat the number over and over again until you can put it in your phone.
Encoding Moving information from working memory to long-term memory.
What are the two processes that help improve encoding? -Emotion -Deep processing
How does emotion help to improve encoding? Emotions make it more likely that experiences will be encoded in LTM
How does deep processing help to improve encoding? Help us to integrate new material in WM with information previously stored in the LTM network
What are the two strategies that encourage deep processing? -Mental images -Elaborative rehearsal
Mental images Concept maps
Elaborative rehearsal Focuses on meaning and connects new ideas to those already in your memory network
Retrieval moving information from Long-Term Memory to Working Memory
Describe the process of retrieval: Retrieval capacity is limited; most of what we know isn’t instantly available all the time.
What are the three key points that were made about memory? -Retrieval is not like rewinding a movie -Speed and success of retrieval depends on distances between nodes in the network -Retrieval is like a construction process
Define what psychological scientists mean by ‘learning’. Relatively permanent changes in behaviour and knowledge
What are the two types of associative learning? -Classical Conditioning -Operant Conditioning
How does classical conditioning (CC) work? When a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a behaviour.
On which type of relationship is traditional CC focused? Focus is on a naturally-occurring stimulus-response relationship
How does operant conditioning (OC) work? Focus is on the relationship between voluntary behaviours and their consequences
Positive Reinforcement? Something good is provided to increase likelihood that behaviour will happen again
Positive Punishment? Something bad is provided to decrease likelihood that behaviour will happen again
Negative Reinforcement? Something bad is removed to increase likelihood that behaviour will happen again
Negative Punishment? Something good is removed to decrease likelihood that behaviour will happen again
What was the focus of early research on cognitive learning? Early research focused on schema development
What are two points made from Piaget's Research? Assimilation and Accommodation
Assimilation: Adapting existing concepts and schemas when confronted with new information
Accommodation: New concepts and schemas created to manage new information
Outline two reasons why children’s cognitive learning can be slow. -Lots of trial-and-error (Steven and dog example) -Children’s thinking hampered by limitations and misconceptions
Three limitations to children's thinking: -Object permanence -Conservation -Egocentrism
Object Permanence: Understanding that objects continues to exist even when they are not in sight
Conservation: Failure to understand that properties of matter stay the same even when shape or appearance change
Egocentrism: Inability to see the world from another person’s point of view
How does prior knowledge stored in LTM facilitate new cognitive learning? Prior knowledge facilitates new cognitive learning by improving the ability to: -Understand new information -Remember new information
How well do we assess ourselves? Decisions often depend on beliefs about our own knowledge, skills, personality and values
What is metacognition? The ability to evaluate your thought processes, understanding, skill level and performance
What are the three factors that contribute to the optimistic bias? -Difficulties defining competence -Poor/incomplete feedback from others -Information deficits
Definition of the DK Effect: People who are incompetent don’t recognize they’re incompetent and are likely to feel confident that they are competent
What is the best way to study for an exam? Self-test
Nervous System: Network of neurons that communicate with electrical and chemical signals
Types of Neurons -Sensory Neurons -Motor Neurons -Interneurons
Sensory Neurons Carry sensory information to brain and spinal cord
Motor Neurons Carry instructions from brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
Interneurons -Connector neurons -Information processing role
Two major divisions of the Nervous System -Central Nervous System -Peripheral Nervous System
Central Nervous System -Brain and spinal cord -Receives sensory info, makes decisions, and commands muscles and organs to take action -Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System -Everything in nervous system except brain and spinal cord -Informs CNS and transmits its decision
Somatic Nervous System Conveys sensory info to CNS through sensory neurons
Autonomic Nervous System Controls involuntary bodily functions through organs and glands
Branches of Autonomic Nervous System -Sympathetic Branch -Parasympathetic branch
Sympathetic Branch Fight or flight response
Parasympathetic Branch -Reduces arousal -Rest and digest
Endocrine System Network of glands that release hormones into bloodstream
How do Neurons Communicate Conduction and Synaptic Transmission
Conduction electrical signals
Synaptic Transmission chemical signals
Resting Potential: Voltage Neuron in inactive state
Resting Potential: Ions Negative charge inside, positive charge outside the axon
Ion Channels Gates in axon membrane
Action Potential Sodium ion channels open when threshold of excitation met
Propagation of Action Potential Action potential propagated down axon to axon terminal
Refractory Period Negative after-potential
Neurotransmitters Bind to receptor sites
Neural Networks Networks of interconnected neurons
Brain Structure: Measure with CT scan or MRI
Brain Function: Measure with fMRI, PET scans
Major Divisions of the Brain: -Hindbrain (lowest part) -Midbrain (Middle part) -Forebrain
Parts of the Hindbrain: -Medulla -Pons -Reticular Formation -Cerebellum
Medulla Vital life functions
Pons Bridge between hindbrain and rest of brain
Reticular Formation Arousal levels
Cerebellum Fine motor skills; procedural memory
Parts of the Midbrain: -Tectum -Tegmentum -Brain Stem
Tectum Orientation
Tegmentum Regulating arousal, mood, and motivation
Brain Stem Midbrain plus pons and medulla in the hindbrain
Parts of the Forebrain Subcortex and Cerebral Cortex
Parts of the Subcortex -Limbic System -Thalamus -Basal Ganglia
Limbic System: Emotions, motivation, memory
Thalamus: Relays sensory information to cerebral cortex
Basal Ganglia Directs intentional movement
Parts of the Limbic System: -Hypothalamus -Hippocampus -Amygdala
Hypothalamus: Regulates bodily functions and motives
Hippocampus: Creates long-term memories
Amygdala Automatic emotional reactions hard to consciously control
Forebrain: Cerebral Cortex Primarily responsible for language, reasoning, planning, inhibiting impulses
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex: Occipital lobe: vision Temporal lobe: hearing Parietal lobes: touch
Frontal Lobe: -Prefrontal Cortex -Primary Motor Area
Prefrontal Cortex Reasoning, planning, self-regulation
Primary motor area Controls voluntary muscle movement
Genes Segments of DNA
Chromosomes Threads of DNA on rod-like structures in nucleus
Cell Nucleus 23 pairs of chromosomes
DNA Molecular structure with chain of organic bases that code genetic information
Organic bases Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C)
What do genes do? Code for production of proteins
What are the two types of Alleles? Homozygous or heterozygous
Created by: oconsoli1010
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