EXAM 1 (60 items, 30 points)Classes 1-5 and Chapter 1 (pages 1-31)Topic: PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCEQuestions: 20 The Mind-Body problem: Socrates and Plato said that mind is separate from body and that knowledge is preexisting, and that there is a soul that survives death. But the data-driven Aristotle came along and said otherwise w.r.t. both issues. Then Descartes came along and said he agrees with Socrates and Plato—there are innate ideas floating around in the form of soul, and mind is separate from body. He thought the fluid in animals’ brain cavities contained “animal spirits” which flowed out in to the nerves and provoked muscle. to move. He thought memories that we havethrough experience opened pores in the brain in to which these same “animal spirits” flowed. He somewhat hit on the idea of the nervous systemin so doing. Francis Bacon: One of the founders of modern science, fascinated by the failings of the human mind. Good quotes to remember from him: “The human understanding, from its peculiar nature, easily supposes a greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds." “All superstition is much the same whether it be that of astrology, dreams, omen, retributive judgments, or the like, in all of which the deluded believers observe events which are fulfilled, but neglect and pass over their failure, though it be much more common.” Women in psychology: Mary Calkins (student of William James) and Margaret Floy Washburn (student of Edward Titchener, the “introspection” guy) Different psychological perspectives and examples (e.g., How would a neuroscientist think? An evolutionary psychologist? A social psychologist? Etc.) The difference between psychologists (scientist or practitioner?) and psychiatrists What is the “hindsight bias”? What is the “overconfidence bias”? What are the different ways of “knowing”? TAPES What is the “Barnum effect” or “My aunt Fanny” effect? How is a science different from a pseudoscience? What a “double blind” procedure is and how it helps reduce experimenter bias and demand characteristics. What is “critical thinking”? Understand the definitions of related concepts like “theory”, “hypothesis”, “replication”, “operationalization”, and “generalization”. How psychological science describes phenomena: by using case studies (what they are, good things about them, bad things about them), observation (details such as “ecological validity”), and surveys (details such as “representativeness” and “double-barreled items”). How it predictsphenomena: by using correlations (positive, negative, strength, problems).How it explains (cause-and-effect) phenomena: experimentation (What is an IV? What is a DV? What is random sampling? Random assignment? Measurement of variables: types of scales (NOIR) and measures of central tendency. Know the difference between a correlational study and an experimental study. What are illusory correlations? Do we perceive order in random events? Animal research (why we study animals, ethical issues)Class 6 and Chapter 3 (pages 75-85, 90-93)Topic: NATURE OR NURTURE?Questions: 10 What is nature and what is nurture? What is behavior genetics? Example of genotypes, phenotypes, traits. What is heritability? What is a gene-environment interaction? There are many examples of how scientists have debated the nature-nurture question of various phenomena, both in the lecture and scattered all over this chapter of the text book. Give them a read.Class 7 and Chapter 4 (pages 104-114, 117-123, 129-132, 134-135) Topic: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Questions: 10 Piaget’s idea of schemas—assimilation and accomodation Piaget’s stages: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Flowers! What is object permanence? Theory of Mind? Conservation? Egocentrism? What phases are they connected to? What Harry Harlow’s monkeys showed us about body contact. What is imprinting? Types of child-rearing Attachment Erikson’s stages of identity formation Intimacy (text) and love (lecture) Kohlberg’s idea of morality Major issues in development Omit language development—I did not explain it to you well enough Class 8-9 and Chapter 2 (pages 38-62) Topic: NEUROSCIENCE Questions: 20 What is phrenology? Physiology of a nerve cell (neuron)- Dendrites receive messages and send them to the cell body- The axon is what takes the message from the cell body to the terminal fibers which synapse on to other dendrites or cell bodies- A myelin sheath, a layer of fatty tissue that speeds transmission, interrupted by the Nodes of Ranvier, covers some axons (it is affected in multiple sclerosis) The concept of a threshold and the all-or-none response:- A threshold is the minimum level of stimulation needed to trigger a neuron to fire- All-or-none refers to the fact that either a neuron fires or it does not;the strength of an impulse thus has everything to do with how manyneurons fire as opposed to how hard they fire. That is because theyall fire at the same threshold or strength; i.e., at a depolarized level compared to the resting potential of -70mV. Synapse: junction between the axon tip of sending neuron and dendrites or cell body of receiving neuron. The gap is called the synaptic cleft and at firstthe vescicles fuse with the pre-synapticmembrane and then burst to release the neurotransmitters they carry. All this iskicked off by the arrival of the action potential. The neurotransmitters then bind to post-synaptic receptors. Electrical atoms have now passed from one neuron to the other. To prevent the synapse from being active for too long, mechanisms like reuptake of the neurotransmitter (by the terminal fiber)kick in, and the resting potential is restored. The action of some neurotransmitters:- Acetylcholine enables muscular action, learning and memory. In Alzhemier’s disease, what happens is that Ach-producing neurons deteriorate. What Botox does is block ACh release, which results in a superficial facial paralysis accompanying the wrinkle reduction.- Serotonin affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. It may be deficient in those with clinical depression, which is the reason that SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil seem to work. - Endorphins (endogenous morphine) are natural opiates released in response to pain
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