Thinking Critically With Psychological Science 03 13 2014 Need for Psychological Science common things people say The grandmother test facts that are based on intuition rather than logic such as o Ex Eating soup when you are sick or holding your nose when you have the o They are all opinions and things that people have said to work but there is not hiccups logic behind it Potential problems relying on the intuition and common sense o Hindsight Bias o Overconfidence o Perception of patterns in random events Hindsight Bias the tendancy to believe after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it o We should be predicting rather thean explaining o Sometimes intuition is wrong Overconfidence We think we know more then we do o Danger when studying for an exam under this assumption When shown that they aren t accurate participants explain away the results The Scientific Attitude Perceiving order in random events o 3 main components 1 Curiosity Willingness to go against the norm 2 Skepticism 3 Humility awareness of vulnerability to error and openness to new perspectives Let the data information guide you The rat is always right Critical Thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions o Examine assumptions o Discern hidden values o Evaluate evidence o Assess conclusions Asking and Answering Psychological Questions The Scientific Method o Theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events o Hypothesis testable predictions Allow us to show support for revise or reject a theory Be careful of conformation bias o Operational definitions a statement of the procedures used to define research variables o Replicate and expand The scientific Method o Use your theory and observations to define the question o For a hypothesis o Test the hypothesis use appropriate experimental controls o Draw a conclusion about the hypothesis Observing and Describing Behavior o Case Study an in depth study of one individual conducted in hopes of revealing universal principles o Survey method of obtaining self report data from a particular group Population all the cases in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn Random Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion o Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation Overt observation Covert observation Participant observer Non participant observer Direction o Correlation measure of the extent to which two factors vary together Positive when one variable increases so does the other Negative when one variable increases the other decreases Strength the closer the absolute value of the correlation is to 1 the stronger the relationship Illusory correlation the perception of a relationship where none exsits o Experimentation inverstigator manipulates one of more factos Independent variable to observe the effects on some behavior or mental process dependent variable Must hold constant control other factors that you aren t interested in Biology of Mind It s all about the Brain 03 13 2014 Biological psychology concerned with links between biology and behavior o Sleep and dreams o Biological causes of psychological disorders o Drives sex thirst hunger Biopsychosocial Model o Biology o Individual psychology o Social influences Neural Communication Neurons o Dendrites receives messages from other cells o Cell body support center soma o Axon passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons muscles glands o Neural impulse action potentials electrical signal traveling down the neuron o Myelin sheath covers the axon of some neurons and helps spread neural impulse o Terminal branches of axon form junctions with other cells Types of Neurons Sensory neurons input neurons touch sight hearing smell sight meaning your body responds from the five sense and sends the signal to the CNS Motor neurons output neurons connected to muscles bones glands signal are sent from the CNS to the outputs in order to voluntary move the muscles or bones Interneurons signals between other neurons Action potential electrical charge travels down axon Transduction transforming energy from one form to another Neuron stimulation causes a brief change in electrical charge If strong enough then it produces depolatrixation and action potential Meanwhile there is a sodium potassium pump which transports sodium ions out of the cell As an action potential continues the 1st section is recharged How neurons communicate o Neutrotransmitters chemicals that relay info from one neuron to the next o 1 Electrical impulses action potentials travel down a neurons axon until reaching a tiny junction known as the synapse o 2 When an action potential releases an axon terminal it stimulates the release of neurotransmitter molecules These molecules cross the synaptic gap and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron This allows electrically charged atoms to enter the receiving neuron and excite or inhibit a new action potential o 3 The sending neuron normallt reabsorbs excess neurotransmitter molecules a process called reuptake o refractory period neuron incapable of firing This period of time occurs right after it just fired reuptake process could could take 100 150 milliseconds to reload Influence Nervous System o Endorphins linked to pain control and pleasure o Effects of drugs and other chemicals Nerves bundles of axons that form cables and connect the CNS with muscles glans and sense organs Central nervous system o Spinal chord connects PNS to the brain o Reflexes automatic responses to stimuli o No brain involvement Endocrine system o slow chemical communication system o glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream which then effect other tissues adrenal glands o epinephrine adrenaline o norepinephrine noradrenaline o increases heart rate Blood pressure and blood sugar o fight and flight response pituitary gland o controlled by hypothalamus o influences growth and release of other hormones The Brain Older brain structures o Brainstem oldest and innermost brain region crossover point o Includes Medulla Pons Reticular Formation Thalamus Cerebellum nonverbal learning and memory time judgment emotion regulation sound and texture discrimination voluntary movement Cerebral cortex o Cerebrum 2 large hemispheres that make up 85 of brain s weight o