Research MethodsCorrelational StudiesRelationship between two or more variablesCausationMakes, causes, determines, etc.Correlation CoefficientMeasure of a relationshipStrong = 0.7-1.0Moderate = 0.3-0.7Weak = 0-0.3Can be positive or negativePositive if both variables follow the same directionNegative if one goes up and one goes downExperimental StudiesIndependent variablesCan be manipulatedDependent variablesCan be measuredCofounding variablesExtraneousExperimental groupBeing experimented onControl groupNeutralPlacebo EffectChanging in behavior produced by a condition in a formal experiment thought to be inert or inactive, such as an inactive pillExperimenter BiasPowerful unintentional influences on dependent variable caused by experimenters’ interacting differently with participants in the experimental and control groupThe BrainNeuronsIndividuals nerve cellsNerves: group of neuronsNeural TransmissionTransmission of messages within a single cellSynaptic TransmissionNeurotransmittersSome excitatory, some inhibitoryProzac, serotoninCerebral CortexFrontal LobeOne rights, one leftInhibition of socially appropriate behaviorBroca’s area (Broca’s aphasia)Parietal LobeSomatosensory areaSense of touchTemporal LobeAuditory areasWernicke’s areaReceptive languageCannot understand what others say, reading/writing impaired, fluent/nonsensical speechOccipitalBack of hearVisual areaPhineas GageNice guy (reasonable, polite, hard working)Rod through skull, irritable, profaneNature and NurtureInfluence of Nature: biology and genesTwin studies:Identical (monozygotic) 100% identical (DNA=nature), (same environment=nurture)Fraternal twins (dizygotic) (50% DNA=nature), (same environment=nurture)Between siblings:50% DNA avg=nature, shared environment but different times=nurtureAdoption Studies: (adopted children/twins)Nature separated from nurtureMore similar to biological or adopted parents?Gender differencesSocial role theoryOpportunities and restrictions in social roles create psychological gender differencesExpectations of performance influence performance“Masculine” people perform better on spatial reasoning tasksBrain theory of genderAdult males have a bigger right hemisphereAdult females have a bigger corpus callosum*not clear of biological causes or behavior/environment play a roleEvolutionary theory of genderNatural selection (Darwin)-propagate species-shaped genesGenes selected by evolutionary pressures (hunting, aggression, child care, parental investment)Can’t be tested/inconsistenciesSexual OrientationOriginsBrain-RelatedHomosexuals more like opposite sex in some waysMore likely to be non-right handedGenetic“gay gene”Identical twins compared to fraternal twins (52% vs 22% concordance)Sex HormonesLevels of sex hormones during prenatal developmentGay males more likely when more than one older male sibling (lower levels of testosterone)Not true of femalesSensation and PerceptionPerceptual organization of visual perceptionPerceptual consistencyThings appear to stay the same but sensations (raw info coming in) changeBrightnessColorSize-based on distanceDepth perceptionBinocular cues-perception from both eyesConvergenceEyes converge in while looking close, and out while looking farRetinal DisparityTwo eyes don’t get the same viewPhantom Limb phenomenonHaving sensations of feeling on limbs that are not actually thereConsciousnessDivided ConsciousnessTwo conscious activities that occur simultaneouslyDriving and talking on a phoneCocktail party phenomenonUnconscious info processingTwo messages, repeat one ignore otherPress key when see “press” on computerReasons for sleepMaintain good healthRestorative role (Hobson)Sleep inhibiting systems-sleep to restSleep promoting systemsProtective role (Webb)LearningClassical ConditioningLearning by associationUnconditioned stimulusStimulus that can elicit a response without any learningUnconditioned responseUnlearned, inborn reaction to an unconditioned stimulusConditioned StimulusStimulus that comes to elicit responses as a result of being paired with an unconditioned stimulusConditioned responseResponse that is similar or identical to the unconditioned response that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulusOperant ConditioningLearning from the consequences of our actionsPositive reinforcementAny consequence of behavior that leads to an increase in the probability of its occurrenceSchedulesVariable ratioFirst response after varying time is reinforcesFixed RatioReinforce given only after specified number of responsesVariable ratioReinforcement after unknown number of responses (slot machines)Fixed intervalFixed time, responses closer to reinforcement (cop doing rounds close to punching out)Negative reinforcement-removal of a negative actReinforcement that occurs when a behavior is followed by the removal of the avoidance of a negative event and that the probability that the behavior will occur in the future increases as a resultEscape vs. avoidanceEscape-causes negative event to stopAvoidance-avoiding negative occurrencePunishmentNegative consequence of behavior which leads to a decrease in the frequency of the behavior that produces itModeling/Learning from othersLearning by watching othersSocial learningMemoryLevels of processingShallowDeepFalse MemoriesEyewitness TestimonyBiased questioningLeading questionsStereotypes and prejudicesInfluence the way you perceive situationsEyewitness characteristicsTired, upset, intoxicatedRepressed memoriesCognition and IntelligenceStrategies in problem solvingTrial-and-errorAlgorithmsTry all possible solutionsTime consuming, done by computersHeuristicsShortcuts, correct answer not guaranteedSearching for analogiesInfo to make judgmentsFraming effects in problem solvingConvergent thinkingLogical, factual and conventionalDivergent thinkingLoosely organized, only partially directed, unconventionalLanguageCharacteristics of LanguageGenerativeInfinite creativitySemanticMeaningfulDeep structure vs. surface structure (how you say something)DisplacementThings that aren’t hereStructuredHow we get languageBehaviorist theoriesLearned through conditioningStatistical learning theoriesSensitive to patterns in language inputNativist TheoriesAcquired (innate disposition)Language acquisition deviceEvidenceStages of language learningAre they similar across languages?Quality of inputPoor/irregularComputer simulationsCan people learn patterns?Comprehension of sentencesPredict upcoming materialMove eyes back if