PSYCH 101 Chapter 1 Levels of analysis rungs ona ladder of analysis lower levels tied mostly to biological influences and higher levels tied mostly to social influences multiply determined produced by many factors ie Human behavior actions reciprocal determinism by Albert Bandura the fact that humans mutually influence each other s behavior na ve realism belief that we see the world precisely as it is can lead us to draw incorrect conclusions about human nature scientific theory explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world must generate novel predictions that researchers can test can t be proved bc a better explanation may come someday confirmation bias tendency to seek out evidence that supports out hypothesis and deny dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them belief perseverance the tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them metaphysical claims assertions about the world that we can t test ex God the soul pseudoscience a set of claims that seems scientific but isn t lacks safeguards against confirmation bias belief perseverance that characterize science ad hoc immunizing hypothesis escape hatch or loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification signs of pseudoscience patternicity tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli terror management theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews life has a broader meaning purpose scientific skepticism approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them critical thinking set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open minded and careful fashion correlation causation fallacy error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another it must cause the other falsifiability can the claim be disproved Can it be proven wrong through evidence replicability when a study s findings are able to be duplicated ideally by independent investigators the more we can replicate findings in new settings cultures races the more confidence we can place in those findings decline effect fact that size of certain psychological findings appears to be shrinking over time extraordinary claims must have extraordinary evidence if a claim contradicts what we already know then the evidence must be persuasive Occam s Razor principle of parsimony parsimony meaning logical simplicity between two explanations take the simplest one introspection method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences started with Wilhem Wundt late 1800 s first psych lab early psychology confused with spiritualism and paranormal channeling spirits extrasensory abilities brought upon psychology of human error and self deception how people could fool themselves so easily without evidence structuralism school of psychology that aimed to identify the basic elements of psychological experience Edward Bradford Titchener used introspection to map out consciousness feelings sensations images functionalism school of thought that aimed o understand the adaptive purpose of psychological characteristics thoughts feelings behaviors natural selection principle that organisms that possess adaptations survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other organisms behaviorism school of psychology that focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking at observable behavior John Watson founder aka black box psychology cognitive psychology thinking is central to understanding behavior cognitive neuroscience relatively new field of psychology that examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking psychoanalysis school of psych founded by Sigmund Freud that focuses on internal psychological processes of which we re unaware evolutionary psychology discipline that applies Darwin s theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior memory emotion personality help organisms survive ex some anxiety is good because it warns of impending danger Basic research research examining how the mind works Applied research examines how we can use basic research to solve real world problems Chapter 3 heart thought to be main hub of body thought by Egyptians long ago neurons nerve cells specialized for communication with one another 85 mil in one brain soma cell body dendrites portion of neuron that receives signals axon portion that sends signals synaptic vesicle spherical sac containing neurotransmitters neurotransmitters chemical messenger specialized for communication from neuron to neuron synapse space b w two connecting neurons through which messages are transmitted chemically synaptic cleft a gap which neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal Chapter 3 Part 2 seizure activity related to corpus callosum medical procedures and surgeries to remove Or fix this Split brain research Hemispheric specialization has to do with parts of brain that control certain functions IMPORTANT REVIEW IN BOOK Animal case studies Rats can study brain behavior relationships without use of humans Lesion studies electrical chemical Stimulation studies electrical chemical Map brain areas with dyes lesion different areas of brain lots of case studies of several species were done to conclude about the link between the hippocampus and memory Human case studies research electroencephalogram EEG measures electrical waves over scalp doesn t give much info about where it s coming from though tells WHEN Functional imaging Positron emission tomography PET These need to be done for 1020 min to show results radioactive Functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI no radioactivity Shows which brain areas are active or less active during certain activities Building Blocks Neurons nerve cells specialized for communication with one another 85 mil in one brain 3 Types sensory motor interneuron soma cell body dendrites portion of neuron that receives signals axon portion that sends signals synaptic vesicle spherical sac containing neurotransmitters neurotransmitters chemical messenger specialized for communication from neuron to neuron can only bind to certain receptors drugs mimic these to bind to neurons diffuse b w synapses synapse space b w two connecting neurons through which messages are transmitted chemically synaptic cleft a gap which neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal Resting