Prologue experimentation Empiricism The view that science should ONLY rely on observation and Father of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt established the very first psychological laboratory in Germany 3 Debates of psychology Nature VS Nurture Free Will VS Determinism The Mind VS Body o Nature VS Nurture Is our behavior due to our genes nature or to our environments Nurture o Free Will VS Determinism To what extent are our behaviors freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control o The Mind VS Body Are our behaviors due to the action of our brain nervous system or are they also due to our soul Chapter 1 Research Methods Hindsight bias When we think I knew it all along The tendency to believe after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it o Overconfidence The tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions Steps to the Scientific Method o Observation looking at the world around you and critically thinking about why things are the way they are o Develop a theory An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events o Develop a Hypotheses A testable prediction that allows us to either accept or revise the theory o Experiment Research experiments studies should test a theory and examine a specific hypothesis Random Sampling A sample that fairly represents a population because each person has an equal chance of being included in the study Problem if not used Biased Results Correlation When one trait or behavior accompanies another we say the two correlate stronger o R correlation coefficient Closer to 0 weaker closer to 1 Third Variable Problem When a third variable causes both A and B causes us to think that A and B are casually related to each other Positive Correlation As one variable increases so does the other OR as one decreases so does the other Negative Correlation as one variable increases the other decreases Dependent Variable Outcome response a factor that MAY CHANGE in Independent Variable a factor that is manipulated by the experimenter x response to an independent variable Random Assignment Assigning participants to experimental conditions by random assignment minimizes pre existing differences between the two groups Validity extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure Reliability Consistency of measurement Chapter 2 Frontal Lobe higher executive processing such as speaking making plans and judgments also include perception Parietal Lobe receives sensory input for touch and body position Functions Occipital receives visual information Temporal Receives auditory information Cerebral Cortex Body s ultimate control and information processing center Enables us to be more adaptive by increasing our capacity to learn and think Motor Cortex it sends signals to muscles and is responsible for body movement Somatosensory Cortex pressure temperature and pain Receiving info Homunculus shows what a mans body would look like if each part grew in proportion to the area of the cortex of the brain concerned with its sensory or motor perception Association Areas associate various sensory inputs with stored memories a very important part of thinking Found in all four lobes Limbic System The emotional center of the brain that also plays roles in smell motivation and memory Associated with emotions such as fear aggression and drives for food and sex Includes the hippocampus amygdala and the hypothalamus o Amygdala two almond shaped neural clusters linked to the emotions o Hippocampus Sea Horse Memory function particularly spatial of fear and anger memory o Hypothalamus directs several maintenance activities like FIGHT FLIGHT FEEDING and FORNICATION Nervous System Consists of all the nerve cells It is the body s speedy electrochemical communication system Central Nervous System The brain and spinal cord Peripheral Nervous System Links to CNS with the body s sense receptors muscles and glands Somatic Nervous System Controls the body s skeletal muscles Autonomic Nervous System Controls the glands and muscles of our internal organs Sympathetic Nervous System Arouses the body Makes you alert and ready for action Parasympathetic Nervous System calms the body conserving its energy Decreasing your heartbeat and lowering your blood sugar to other individuals Chapter 6 Dendrites receive messages from other cells Soma Cell body the cell s life support center Axon passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons muscles or Myelin Sheath covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural Terminal Button branches at the end of the axon form junctions with glands impulses other cells Action Potential A neural impulse A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon and is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of the channels in the axons membrane Depolarization occurs when POSITIVE IONS ENTER THE NURON making it MORE PRONE to firing an action potential Hyperpolarization Occurs when THE INSIDE OF THE NEURON IS VERY NEGATIVE making it LESS PRONE to firing an action potential Agonists excites Antagonists inhibits Depression depressed individuals have lower levels of serotonin compared Bottom up Analysis that starts with sensory receptors and then works up to higher levels of processing Top Down information processing guided by higher level mental processes such as constructing perception from our experience and expectations Wavelengths the distance from the peak of one wave to the peak of the next blue has shorter wavelengths and red has longer wavelengths o Color Hue the dimension of color determined by the length of the wavelength of light Intensity Amount of energy in a wavelength that is determined by the peak amplitude Great amplitude contains bright colors Small amplitude contains dull colors Parts of the Eye Retina Sclera Cornea Pupil Iris Lens Accommodation o Retina is the light sensitive inner surface of the eye It contains sensory receptors that pricess visual information and sends it to the brain Contains Rods and Cones and the Fovea Rods Black and white and are necessary for peripheral vision and when there isn t that much light They are not found on the fovea and several rods share a single bipolar cell Cones Detect fine detail and we use them for color perception Each cone is connected to its very own bipolar cell Fovea the retina s area of central focus o Sclera white outer part of the eye that helps maintain the shape of the eye and to
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