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Ch. o Psychology and its goals (description, explanation, prediction and changing behavior.) o Early and Modern perspectives o Scientific method Steps Descriptive methods and finding relationships (correlations, true experiments; know their limitations and what they are.) o Ethics (informed consent, debriefing, deception) Ch. 2 o Neurons, neural impulses, neural transmission o Divisions and major functions of nervous system o Major structures and functions of the brain Hindbrain Subcortical Cortex: lobes, hemispheres (know what the four lobes and are their functions.) Occipital: vision Temporal: vision Parietal: body sensation Frontal cortex—thought, decision making Ch. 3 Steps, thresholds, habituation/adaptation How we sense light, how light is transduced o Structures involved o What are the different characteristics between rods and cones? Perception o Color (trichromatic theory) o Constancy, objects and shape, motion o Depth (binocular, monocular) Expectancies
CHAPTER 1 NOTES
Early perspectives
Structuralism- early perspective in psychology associated with
Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener, in which the focus of study is
the structure or basic elements of the mind.
Functionalism- early perspective in psych associated with William
James, in which the focus of study is how the mind allows people to
adapt, live, work and play.
Gestalt Psych- early perspective focusing on perception and
sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures.
Psychoanalysis- the theory and therapy based on the work of Freud.
Behaviorism- the science of behavior that focuses on observable
behavior only.
Psychoanalysis Psychodynamic Psychoanalysis Based off of Freud’s theory
Modern Perspectives
Psychodynamic perspective- modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person’s behavior other than sexual motivations. Cognitive perspective: modern perspective that focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning. Sociocultural perspective- perspective that focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture. Biopsychological perspective- perspective that attributes human and animal behavior to biological events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous system. Evolutionary perspective- perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share.
Structuralism- William Wundt, Edward Titchener Functionalism- William James Gestalt- Max Wertheimer Psychoanalysis- Sigmund Freud
a. Choose a variable b. Develop a theory i. Idea that attempts to explain observation ii. Seeks to explain why something happened iii. Can be used to predict
- Try to explain
a. Formulate a hypothesis i. Educated guess derived from a theory ii. Prediction that can be tested iii. If supported, can lend credibility to theory
- Test hypothesis
a. Establish an operational definition i. Objective description of variable ii. How will variable be measured and what does it mean? b. Collect and analyze data i. Number crunching: statistics ii. What does the data mean?
- Drawing conclusions
i. Was the hypothesis about the behavior supported? ii. If not, why might this be?
- Report results
a. Evaluate conclusion i. Publications and review
ii. Ongoing research process iii. Replication
Psych research:
- Descriptive research a. Finding out about some variable b. Descriptive: Describing some phenomenon, w/o answering questions of how and why. a. Descriptive methods: i. Naturalistic observation: Watching people or animals behave within their natural environment; people watching at the park or mall. ii. Laboratory observation—Viewing behavior within a lab setting; studying the reactions of babies looking at a mirror image of themselves. iii. Case studies- one individual is studied in great detail. iv. Surveys- researchers asking a series of questions about the topic they are studying. They can either be conducted in person through the form of an interview or on the phone, Internet or through a questionnaire. 2. Observation (natural) a. Be clear in our operational definition of the behaviors we are describing.
i. Positive: move in the same direction. If the value of one variable increases/decreases, the other will mirror. ii. Negative = the variables will move in opposite directions. c. Correlation =/= Causation d. Third Variable Problem i. Some other variable accounts for relationship between 2 variables. ii. Also known as confound variables.
b. True Experiments
i. Determining whether causal relationship exists between variables. c. Experiment i. Manipulation of some variable(s) while holding others constant.
APA ETHICS GUIDELINES
Informed Consent- The participant must be told what exactly will happen to them. They also have the ability to withdraw at any point. Confidentiality- Any information collected is confidential. Debriefing- You tell them what was trying to be found/accomplished. Let them know how they helped with your study or how far along they came in therapy. Deception- You do not fully inform your participants but the results must outweigh the benefits.
C h a p t e r 2 N o t e s
Neuron Basic cell that makes up the nerv sys. sends & receives messages in that system. 10% of brain = neurons. Dendrite Branchlike structures that receives
messages from other neurons. Soma The cell body; responsible for maintaining life of cell. Axons Tubelike structure that carries the neural messages to other cells.
Neuron-the basic cell that makes up the nervous system and that receives and sends messages within that system. We have around 100 billion neurons in our brain and that is only 10%. o Dendrite - branch-like structure that receives messages from other neurons. o Soma -the cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell. o Axon -A tube-like structure that carries the neural message to other cells. Glial cells - cells that provide support for the neurons to grow on & around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, clean up waste products and dead neurons, influence information processing, and during pre-natal developing, influence the new generation of neurons. Myelin - fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coats the axons of neurons to insulate, protect & speed up neural impulse. Nerves- bundles of axons coated in myelin that travels together through the body. Diffusion- process of molecules moving from areas of high concentration to those of low concentration. Resting potential - the state of the neuron when not firing a neural pulse. Action potential - the release of the neural impulse consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon.
o Neurons and Nerves: Building the Network
Neural impulse: electrical message that is transmitter down axon of neuron.
Communication within a neuron.
o Requires energy that is provided by characteristics inside and outside the neuron at rest.
o Inside the cell is a semi-liquid solution filled with ions, or charged particles.
o The relative charge of ions inside a cell is mostly negative.
o The relative charge outside a cell is mostly positive (mostly due to the cell membrane being semipermeable and diffusion.)
o Cells have tiny protein openings or channels, through which materials can pass through.
o Anions- Are always inside
o Sodium: positive
o Chloride: negative
o Potassium: positive (inside)
o Negatively charged proteins: negative
o Ions move in and out through specific channels.
o Potassium and chlorine pass readily.
o Little movement of sodium
Channels closed at rest
More sodium outside at rest
o Negatively charged proteins don’t move at all; trapped inside.
Responsible for negative charge
The Action Potential
o When a neuron receives a strong enough signal from another neuron, the electrical changes in the membrane cause sodium channels to open.
Inside of neuron becomes positive
Reversal in charge occurs down length of axon.
Returns to resting potential quickly— ready to fire again.
There is a threshold needed for the “all-or- none” law.
o Action potentials are equal in intensity and speed.
Fire at full strength or not at all.
o Refractor Period
A period during which further stimulation cannot cause another action potential.
Neurotransmitters
o Neurons must be turned on and off.
Ending Neurotransmitters
o Diffusion
The simplest. It just floats away; also the least common way.
o Reuptake
A vacuum cleaner; the body reabsorbs the neurotransmitter.
o Enzymes degrade
The body degrades them so that they will not bind.
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: THE “CPU”—PG. 56
- The Brain
i) The core of the nervous system.
ii) Without the spinal cord, the brain would be useless.
b) Hindbrain-
i) Medulla- Life-sustaining functions; if you have damage here, you do not survive. Can induce vomiting, coughing, sneezing, etc. Looks just like our spinal cord; is actually an extension of it.
ii) Pons- “bridge”’ sleep, dreaming, wakefulness.
iii) Reticular formation- attention to changing information (if we turn off buzzing lights); wakefulness and alertness.
iv) Cerebellum: movement, balance, coordination; sobriety tests are cerebellum tests.
c) Subcortical- under cortex
i) Limbic System- emotions, motivation, memory and learning.
ii) Thalamus- sensory relay station (with an exception to the nose)
iii) Hypothalamus- basic drives (sex, hunger, thirst, sleep, menstrual cycle, sleep/wake cycle.)
iv) Hippocampus- long-term memory (think “Izzie” on “Grey’s Anatomy” when she had her brain surgery.) Tends to break down during Alzheimer’s.
v) Amygdala- (almond shape) fear and other emotions (phobias)
vi) Cingulate cortex- (found in the cortex) emotion and cognition (thinking
behavior).
d) Cortex- (forebrain)
i) Occipital Lobes: vision
(a) Contains primary visual cortex
e) Parietal Lobe: body sensations
i) Contains somatosensory (body sensation) cortex- Touch, temperature, sensations
iv. The PNS can be divided into two major systems: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
v. Serves to bring info into CNS and carry signals out of CNS.
(b) The Somatic Nervous System
(i) The SNS is made up of the sensory pathway which comprises all the nerves carrying messages from the senses to the central to the motor pathway.
(ii) The motor pathway is all of the nerves carrying messages from the CNS to the voluntary or skeletal muscles of the body.
(iii) Involuntary muscles = heart, stomach, intestines, glands = adrenal glands and pancreas. These are all controlled by clumps or neurons located on or near the spinal column.
(iv) The large groups of neurons near the spinal column make up the ANS.
(v) Sensory nerves: afferent (approaching or bringing to senses)
(vi) Motor nerves: efferent (efferent = being physically efficient)
(c) The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)---Pg. 60
i. Controls organs, glands, and involuntary muscle (heart) (autonomic = automatic; your heartbeat is automatic.
ii. Sympathetic nerves
iii. Parasympathetic nerves
(ii) The Sympathetic Division
a. Located primarily along the middle of the spinal column (from the top of the ribcage to the waist area.)
i. Sympathy = dealing with emotions; “fight-or-flight”; stressful events.
ii. The sympathetic division’s job is to get the body ready to deal with the stress (stress response).
iii. “Gas Pedal”
iv. Sympathetic =/= being sympathetic.
b. The adrenal glands will be stimulated to release certain stress-related chemicals into the bloodstream.
c. Digestion & excretion may slow to a halt.
d. People who die under extreme circumstances may empty their bowels and bladders.
c. This division is responsible for most of the ordinary, day- to-day functions (regular heartbeat, normal breathing & digestion.)
2. Distant Connections: The Endocrine Glands
i. Endocrine glands— have no ducts & secrete their chemicals directly into the blood stream.
ii. The molecules of the hormones fit into receptor sites on those organs to fulfill their functions.
iii. Hormones affect behavior & emotions by stimulating muscles, or other glands.
b. The Pituitary Gland
i. Is located in the brain, below the hypothalamus.
ii. The hypothalamus controls the glandular system by influencing the pituitary.
iii. The pituitary gland is the master gland (the one that influences or control all the other glands.
iv. The Pit controls the production of milk for nursing infants & the onset of labor as well as the levels of salt & water in the body.
v. The Pit also secretes growth hormone, which controls & regulates the increase in size from childhood to adulthood.
vi. There are hormones that promote secondary sex characteristics & general reproductive behavior.
c. The Pineal Gland
i. Located in near the back of the brain, directly above the brain stem.
ii. It secretes melatonin, which tracks day lengths (& seasons.)
iii. It influences seasonal behaviors such as breeding & molting.
iv. Melatonin levels are more influential in regulating the sleep-week cycle.
d. The Thyroid Gland
i. Located inside the neck & secretes hormones that regulate growth & metabolism.
ii. Thyroxin - regulates metabolism.
iii. The thyroid plays a crucial part in body & brain development.
