The Science of Psychology Who are Wundt Tichener James and Wertheimer o Wundt attempted to apply scientific principles to the study of the human mind He believed that consciousness could be broken down into thoughts experiences emotions and other basic elements He calledd the process of objectively examining and measuring one s own thoughts objective introspection o Tichener one of Wundt s students who is the founder of structuralism He expanded on Wundt s original ideas experiences could be broken down He applied introspection method to thoughts as well as physical sensations o James founded functionalism Influenced by Darwin s ideas about natural selection focused on how the mind allows people to function in the real world Interested on how behavioral traits could aid in survival Influenced the development of evolutionary psychology Has elements in educational psychology and industrial organizational psychology o Wertheimer founded Gestalt psychology Didn t believe that psychological events could be broken down into smaller elements could only be understood as a whole entire event has influenced field of cognitive psychology and a form of psychological therapy Gestalt therapy What are the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists Are all psychologists therapists Do all therapists have doctoral degrees o Psychologist has a doctorate degree and works with either humans or animals in a variety of setting based on the area of specialization o Psychiatrist medical doctor who specializes in diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders can prescribe medication What does it mean to say something is correlated with something else o A measure of relationship between 2 or more variables Produces a value called the correlation coefficient that represents both direction and strength of relationship Does not prove causation variables can be related but you cannot assume that one is caused by the other What special kind of conclusion can we make based on an experiment that we can t make with other types of research designs What features of experiments allow us to make that type of conclusion Be able to identify dependent and independent variables if I give you an example of an experiment o Independent in control of the experiments o Dependent depends on the participants actions What is the purpose of random assignment and control groups in experimental designs The Biological Perspective Know and be able to differentiate between the divisions of the nervous system What is the difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system Central vs peripheral CNS the brain and spinal cord o Brain interprets and stores information and sends orders to muscles glands and organs o Spinal cord pathway connecting the brain and the PNS PNS transmits information to and from the CNS Made up of all the nerves and neurons that are not contained in the brain spinal cord o Autonomic nervous system automatically regulates glands internal organs and blood vessels pupil dilation digestion and blood pressure o Somatic nervous system carries sensory information and controls movement of the skeletal muscles Sensory system carries messages from senses to CNS Afferent Motor system carries messages from CNS to muscles and glands Efferent Parasympathetic maintains body functions under ordinary condition saves energy Ex increases salvation constricts bronchi allows bladder contraction slows heart rate increases digestive functions of stomach pancreas and intestines constricts pupils and stimulates tear glands Sympathetic prepares the body to react and expend energy in times of stress Ex dilates pupils and inhibits tear glands decreases salvation increases heart rate dilates bronchi decreases digestive function inhibits bladder contraction What is the difference between an agonist and an antagonist If I give you an example you should be able to identify which role a drug is playing o Agonist drug that increase the effects of a neurotransmitter o Antagonist block decrease the effects of a neurotransmitter How are the endocrine system and nervous system similar How are they different o Endocrine glands have no ducts and secrete their chemicals hormones directly into the bloodstream Endocrine communication is slower than synaptic communication because it takes longer for the hormones to travel to the target organ and behaviors and responses the hormones affect might not occur until hours weeks or years later What is the purpose of EEG ERP MRI and fMRI Mapping function o Electroencephalogram EEG Event related potential ERP Involves a small metal disk sponge like electrodes placed on the scalp The electrodes are connected to an amplifier and then to a computer to view information o Can indicate things like stages of sleep seizures and tumors Mapping brain structure o Magnetic resonance imaging MRI Provides much more detail than CT Person is placed in machine that generates a magnetic field Functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI o Computer tracks changes in the oxygen levels of the blood provides information on the brain s function as well What are the main functions of the hippocampus hypothalamus thalamus amygdala and cerebellum o Thalamus round structure in the center of the brain that acts as the brain s sensory switchboard relaying incoming sensory information to the appropriate sensory areas in the cortex except smell o Hypothalamus lies below the thalamus Helps direct several maintenance activities like thirst hunger body temperature sleeping and waking sexual behavior and emotions Controls the pituitary gland o Hippocampus plays a vital role in learning and memory for facts knowledge Acetylcholine o Amygdala 2 almond shaped neural clusters linked to emotion especially fear All above are located in the midbrain o Cerebellum controls and coordinate all involuntary rapid fine motor movement as well as voluntary movements that happen in rapid succession Located in the hindbrain What are the main functions of the frontal parietal temporal and occipital cortex o Cortex outermost covering of the brain consisting of densely packed neurons responsible for higher thought process and interpretation of sensory input o Frontal lobes responsible for higher complex mental processes and descision making Also contains the motor cortex o Parietal lobe contain the somatosensory cortex area of neurons running down the front of the parietal lobes responsible for processing information from the skin and
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