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All Rights Reserved :: http://www.RapidLearningCenter.com AP Psychology - Master Cheat Sheet O1: Introduction to AP Psychology - Psychology is the science that deals with mental processes and behavior. - AP Psychology is an introductory college psychology course to introduce the systematic and scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans & animals. - The focus is on emotional and behavioral characteristics of the individual through all stages of life, the characteristics of groups and the characteristics of various activities. - Therefore, Psychologists experiment with, observe, test, and treat behavior. - A neuroscience perspective • Focus on how the body and brain enable emotions, memories and sensory experiences. - An evolutionary perspective • Looks at how the natural selection of traits promotes the perception of one’s genes. - A behaviour genetics perspective • Focus on how much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences. - A psychodynamic perspective • Focus on how behaviour springs from unconscious drives and conflicts. - A behavioral perspective • Focus on how we learn observable responses. - A cognitive perspective • Focus on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. - A social-cultural perspective • Focus on how behaviour and thinking vary across situations and cultures. 02: History and Approaches Current Views: Great Debates in Psychology: - Stability verses Change • Do our individual traits persist as we age or can people change? - Rationality verses Irrationality • In some ways we are smart but in others we err. - Nature verses Nurture • What are the relative contributions of biology and experience? 03: Research Methods in Psychology Basics of Scientific Attitude: • Curiosity is a passion to explore and understand without misleading or being misled. • What do you mean? What do you know? • Skepticism in the arena of competing ideas, skeptical testing can reveal which ones best match the facts. • Humility we may have to reject our own ideas. • Critical Thinking: skepticism with humility • Examines assumptions; Discerns hidden values; Evaluates evidence; Assesses conclusions • Doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions 04: The Nervous System, Neuroanatomy & Neurotransmitters  Central Principle: Everything psychological is simultaneously biological; We are bio-psycho-social systems. Central Nervous System  Brain and Spinal Cord  Neurons cluster into work groups called neural networks. Peripheral Nervous System  Visceral and Somatic Division Clincial Observation  Oldest research tool in psychology.  Observe the effects of brain diseases and injuries. Brain Manipulation  Scientists can electrically, chemically, or magnetically stimulate various parts of the brain and note the effects. Electrical Recordings  Electroencephalogram: an amplified tracing of electrical waves.  Present stimulus repeatedly and filter out unrelated activity. Neuroimaging Techniques  Computed Tomography takes x-rays that reveal brain damage.  Positive Emission Tomography shows each brain area’s consumption of glucose.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging exploits the spin of atoms and shows the brain’s soft tissues.  Functional MRI shows brain activity through increased blood flow to the active areas. Method Possible Problems Descriptive Correlational Experimental Possibly involving an atypical sample or biased observations. Does not specify cause and effect. Sometimes not feasible to manipulate one variable while holding others constant May not generalize to other contexts. Method How It Is Conducted Descriptive Correlational Experimental Using case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations; No manipulation. Computes statistical association No manipulation. Manipulation of one or more factors Random Assignment. Method Purpose Descriptive Correlational Experimental Observe and record behavior. Detect naturally occurring relationships. Explore cause and effect. Assess how a variable predicts another. Psychology is less a set of findings: more a way of asking and answering questions. Attempts to sift opinions and evaluate ideas with careful observation and rigorous analysis. Attempts to describe and explain human nature. Welcomes hunches and plausible-sounding theories: and puts them to the test. Birth of Psychology Ancient Greece Unchanged Buddha, Confucius, Hebrew Scriptures Exponential Development Descartes, & Bacon Unchanged Locke Ancient Times B.C. A.D. 500 300 300 400 800 1200 1500 1600 1700 1800 Now Augustine Rapid Learning Inc. All Rights Reserved :: http://www.RapidLearningCenter.com TRH CRH GHRH GnRH TSH ACTH GH FSH LH Thyroid Gland Adrenal Cortex Liver Gonads Thyroid Hormone Cortisol IGFs Androgens Estrogen Progesterone Many Tissues Germ Cells Of Gonads The Photoreceptors Horizontal Cell Bipolar Cell Amacrine Cell Ganglion Cells 05: The Endocrine System & Influence on Behavior Hypothalamus regulates homeostasis through the release of chemicals. - Hypothalamic neurons respond to sensory signals in three distinct ways. 1. Humoral response:  By either stimulating or inhibiting the release of pituitary hormones into the bloodstream. - 2. Visceromotor response:  By adjusting the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic outputs of the ANS. - 3. Somatic motor response:  Iinciting an appropriate somatic motor behavioral response. Pituitary Gland is two fused glands.  Different embryological origins.  Anterior lobe is true endocrine gland.  Posterior lobe is an extension of neural tissue. - Posterior Pituitary  Extension of the neural tissue of the brain.  Secretes neurohormones made in hypothalamus. - Anterior Pituitary  True gland  Under the influence of the hypothalamus Thyroid Gland  C cells secrete calcitonin  Follicular cells secrete thyroid hormones T3 & T4  Effects metabolism  Essential for normal growth and development in children 06: Sensation & Perception Basic Principles: - The detection of a weak signal (stimulus) depends on both signal’s strength & on psychological state. - Subliminal Stimulation:  We unconsciously perceive stimuli below our threshold.  We can be psychologically affected by subliminal stimulus Vision 