SCIENTIFIC METHOD Theory what we are testing Testing the hypothesis Prediction What we expect to observe if the theory is correct All about DE PENDENT variable Empiricism Knowledge comes from EXPERIENCE Variables o Independent what is being manipulated by the experimenter and causes something else to happen o Dependent what we are measuring What the subject does o Confounding Extraneous something else that can affect the variable Can be controlled by randomization and equal distribution Control important as to measure results Standard Experimental Research Correlational Research o Much more powerful evidence that allows you to draw conclusions o Cannot draw causal conclusions from this Positive Correlation both variables increase Negative Correlation one variable increases while the other de o PROBLEMS 3rd variable that could be the cause Must know what is creases causing what Example People are social animals o People try and seek out company to lessen anxiety Said the experiment was about learning and punishment which was an electric shock Divides people into two groups Independent variable level of anxiety Causal factor anxiety Dependent variable subjects choice to be alone or with others 2 rooms for subjects to wait in one with people and one without Test 60 high anxiety chose to wait with others 32 chose to wait alone o Problem people may chose to be alone for other reasons Extraneous factors BIOPSYCHOLOGY Neuron o Axons o Axon Tips Terminal buttons release neurotransmitters o Dendrites receive information o Myelin Sheath insulation and speeds up message down the axon o Neurotransmitters carry the message across a synapse Examples serotonin and dopamine How it fires o Neuron receives information from neurotransmitters which carry the message from terminal buttons to dendrites When the neuron fires it is called the action potential which prevents another message to pass through the membrane as it travels down the axon and then gets re leased again across the synapse Refractory period when a neuron cannot fire Excitatory period when firing is less likely post synapse Inhibitory period increases impulses o All or None neurons fire in the same way either all together or none at all o Graded manner short lived depolarizations that reflect the strength of an impulse Brain Imaging o Function EEG fMRI PET o Structure CAT MRI Split Brain o Corpus Callosum connects left and right brain If severed right brain affected then language is not really effective so anything received through the left visual field will not be able to be articulated since it is sent to the right side A person can reach for an object with their left hand but cannot say what it is o Communication is inhibited o Lateralization Lefties right hemispheric dominance Communication Righties left hemispheric dominance SENSATION AND PERCEPTION Sensation actual relationship between things Perception taking things from the environment that you focus on Thresholds o Absolute lowest level of energy that is detectable by a human 30 miles for a candle flame o JND launch point for psychology because we can finally measure something How much of a change has to occur before you can identify a difference Weight 1 30 Tones 1 10 Brightness 1 60 Visual System o Retina absorbs light and processes information o Fovea made of all cones in center of the retina o Optic Disk on the retina lacking visual receptors and so creating a blind spot Takes impulses to the brain o Rods and Cones Light receptors in the retina Rods black and white Low visual acuity 120 million Cones bright and color High visual acuity 7 million Receptive fields edges of the retina that are collections of rods and cones o Color Perception Trichromatic Theory sensitive to specific colors red blue green Opponent Process Theory set of cones that respond to different color wavelengths accounts for mechanisms that receive and process info from cones Dual Process Theory both this and the opponent process theory occur simultaneously Transduction stimulus is converted into nerve impulses LEARNING The behaviorist approach to learning Classical conditioning o Pavlov Brilliant scientist Outside of the lab he was clueless o Pavlov s dog Pavlov comes up with a technique that was so refined that it was the only lab in the world where the research was ongoing be cause Pavlov himself was the only one who could do it He inserted an extremely fine glass tube in the saliva gland in the dog When you put food in the dogs mouth then the dog will then make saliva o The dogs who had been through the procedure before they would be gin salivating before they ate the food UCS was the food CS was the bell UCR was the salivation Terminology o the stimulus produces the response o they always come in a pair o difference between the two conditioned means learned unconditioned the animal does not have to learn it s born producing this response when presented with the o if you blow a puff of air in your eye you will blink unconditioned stimulus and response UCS the organism makes the response to the stimulus without stimulus any prior o dogs will salivate when you put food in it s mouth conditioned stimulus and response CS CR have to be learned Pavlov the dog learns to respond to the bell The response the animal produces is called the condi tioned response o Examples Phobia Intense fear or reaction to a particular object or situation Can be seen as a type of mental illness Classical condition o Repeated the paired with this thing that produces fear E g little girl driving to grandma s house Bridge conditioned stimulus Classical conditioning o Acquisition The neutral stimulus Timing relationship involved between the conditioned and un conditioned stimulus Simultaneous conditioning o CS UCS begin and end together Short delayed conditioning o CS begins and goes on by itself for awhile then while the CS continues the UCS is introduced o Most effective way to implement classical condi tioning Trace conditioning o CS starts stops UCS starts The conditioned stimulus no longer produces the conditioned re o Extinction sponse o Spontaneous recovery On a scale of 1 10 to measure salivation Before extinction was a salivation of 10 o Stimulus discrimination E g feeding your animal The animal quickly learns when it s going to be fed the animals will learn the sounds in the kitchen will associate with them being fed The sound of the cupboard opening is a unconditioned o Stimulus generalization stimulus Generalize the
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