UNIT 1 :
Persepectives
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BIG DEBATE
Nature vs. Nurture
Descriptive Research Methods
3 M's
median
mode
mean
average
medium score (ordered from lowest to highest)
most frequent number
Case Study
psychodynamic
Evolutionary
cognitive
behavioral
humanistic
biological
Naturalistic Observation :
Survery
Correlation
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Advantage: Allows researchers to study behavior under conditions that are less artificial than in experiments.
Disadvantage: Researchers have a problem making their observations non-invasive.
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Good for investigating certain phenomena such as psychological disorders.
Problem with case studies is that they are highly subjective and time consuming
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Great for gathering information about difficult to observe data.
Disadvantage: relying on self-reported data and have to be careful on wording
Correlational vs Experimental vs Descriptive Research
-Advantage: Permits conclusions about cause and effect relationships between variables.
Disadvantages: Experiments are often artificial (jury & guilty v. not guilty status) Experimental method can’t be used to explore some research questions. (pregnant woman malnutrition & birth defects) Manipulation of variables are difficult or impossible sometimes (values v. urban & rural areas)
Unit 2
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When two variables increase at the same time they are positively correlated.
When one variable increases while the other decreases it’s negative correlation.
Correlation does not mean causation (it shows what not why)
past/unconscious childhood conflicts
looks at how we processes store and interpret information
observable behavior that can be measured
reaching humans fullest potential- Rogers theory(positive regard)
ties between behavior and biology, base level knowledge
(hence size // pinky)
sociocultural(palm)
to undersand others we must understand the culture they are from// differences are good
traits and behavior evolve over time
Positive and negative correlation
In depth analysis of individuals or groups to reveal underlying behavioral principles.
Observe and record behavior in natural occurring settings without trying to manipulate or control the situation
A technique for ascertaining the self reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people
When two variables increase at the same time they are positively correlated.
When one variable increases while the other decreases it’s a negative correlation.
Correlation does not mean causation (it shows what not why)
Correlation Coefficient: A number between -1.0 and +1.0 expressing the degree of relationship between two variables
Scatterplots!!!
observing and recording behavior
Hindsight Bias: "I knew it all along Phenomenon"// After learning the outcome of an event many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome -----------------------------------Confirmation Bias: refers for our tendency to look for confirming evidence and ignore the contrary evidence
Operational Definitions: Exact procedures used in establishing experimental conditions and measurement of results
Scientific Method
Statistics
Skewed Graphs:
Range: difference between the highest and lowest mode of distribution
statistical significance: meaningful difference
When sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large
p score: (<.05 to < 0.001)
NUERON
“fire” -- send an impulse down their length -- or they don’t “fire”
Neurons perform three basic tasks: (1) Receive information, (2) Carry the information, (3) Pass the information on to the next neuron
Dendrites: Receive messages from other cells
Soma (Body cell): cell body that maintains the health of the neuron
Axon: passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, and glands
Myelin Sealth: covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses ”
Terminal Branches of Axon: from junctions with other cells
Action Potential: A neural impulse. A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s membrane.
Refractory Period: The “recharging phase” when a neuron, after firing, cannot generate another action potential
Resting Potential: The state of a neuron when it is at rest and capable of generating an action potential
Agonist vs. Antagonists
The agonist molecule excites. It is similar enough in structure to the neurotransmitter molecule that it mimics and its affects on the retrieving neuron.
Ex. Morphine for instance mimics the action of endorphins by stimulating receptors in brain areas involved in mood and pain sensations.
Antagonist blocks neurotransmitter. This antagonist molecule inhibits, It has a structure similar enough to the neurotransmitter to occupy its receptor site and block its action, but not similar enough to stimulate the receptor.
Ex. Curare poisoning paralyzes its victims by blocking ACh receptors involved in muscle movement.
Types of Neurons:
Sensory Neurons
(Afferent Neurons)
Motor Neurons
(Efferent Neurons)
Inter Neurons
Carry incoming information from the senses receptors to the central nervous system
Take information from the CNS to muscles and glands.
Internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Interneuron: Internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Divisions of the Nervous System
Central
Peripheral
The Brain
Spinal Cord
Autonomic
provides our reflexes
Somatic
: controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles// involuntary muscle functions
: control self-regulated action of internal organs and glands// important in fight or flight response
Sympathetic
Parasympathetic
(arousing) prepares body to respond to stress
(calming) //calms body after an emergency
The ENDOCRINE System
the body’s “slow” chemical communication system. Communication is carried out by hormones synthesized by a set of glands.
Brian Imaging
UNIT 3
EEG: Changes in electrical brain current
CAT: x-ray images of the brain
MRI: changes in electrical brain current
PET: changes in electrical brain current
fMRI: blood flow oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin ratio
Selective attention:
• Perceptions about objects change from moment to moment.
• Different forms of Necker cube become available to our perception, however, one can pay attention only to one aspect of the object.
Top Down vs. Bottom Up Processing
Analysis of the stimulus begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
We process this way when we have no prior knowledge
We process this way when we have prior knowledge
Thresholds
Absolute Threshold
Subliminal Threshold
Difference Threshold
Minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time (JSD- just noticeable difference)
When stimuli are below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness. (Detect it less than 50% of the time)
Signal Detection Theory:
Predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background noise (other stimulation). SDT assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and detection depends on: Person’s experience, Expectations, Motivation, Level of fatigue
Sensory Adaptation:
Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. Sometime referred to as habituation. Put a band aid on your arm and after awhile you don’t sense it.
Transduction:
In sensation, transformation of stimulus energy into neural impulses. RETINA
Parts of the Eye
Cornea: Transparent tissue where light enters the eye.
Iris: Muscle that expands and contracts to change the size of opening (pupil) for light.
Lens: Focuses the light rays on the retina.
Retina: Contains sensory receptors that process visual information and send it to the brain.
Feature Detection
Nerve cells in the visual cortex respond to specific features, like edges, angle, and movement.
Feature detectors allow us to see the lines, motion, curves of this power point slide
Shape detection:
Specific combinations of temporal lobe activity occur as people look at shoes, faces, chairs and houses.
Visual Cliff
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals. Binocular Cues. Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Outer Ear
Middle Ear
Inner Ear
Pinna: Collects sounds. Shaped like a funnel
Auditory (Ear) canal: The auditory canal is a tube that connects the pinna and the tympanic membrane (eardrum); funnels sound toward eardrum
Chamber between eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (“ossicles”-hammer, anvil, stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
Inner Ear: Innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. Cochlea: Coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear that transduces sound vibrations to auditory signals.
other senses
sense: receptors// transduction
Smell(olfaction): nose//ol factory receptors (epithelium)
Taste(gustation): tongue// taste buds
Touch(pain): skin//nociceptors
Vestibular Sense and Kinesthetic: inner ear+joints// semi circular canal
Perpetual Set: a temporary readiness to perceive certain objects or events rather than others. Ex. a person driving a car has a perceptual set to identify anything in the car or on the road that might affect his or her safety.
Figure Ground: the tendency of the visual system to simplify a scene into the main object that we are looking
UNIT 4
Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Obervational Learning
Acqusition: initial stage in classical conditioning when association between interval and us take place
Extinction: will eventually go away (decrease response)
Started with... Ivan Pavlov
Social Learning// Learning by watching/ observing others
Spontaneous Recovery: response reappears (weak)
Dog expects food at the sound of a bell
Learning by linking two or more stimulus and anticipate events/// Involuntary, automatic response
Stimulus Discrimination: Learned ability to distinguish between cs and other stimulus that does not signal a UCS
Generalization: tendacy to respond to cs -the more similar to stimuli, the stronger the response
Before Conditioning: Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
Naturally occurring: Conditioned Response(UCR)
During conditioning: irrelevant stimulus(CS) triggers response (CR-learned response)
Ex. Car Accident & Fear of Cars:
Conditioned stimulus:Car
(Un)conditioned response response: Fear
Unconditioned Stimulus: accident
Associative Learning: associating/ linking two events since they occur together or at a similar time
Ex. tunder & lightning
Behavior strengthened by reinforcers// voluntary response that operates on environment producing rewarding or punishng stimuli
Reinforcement/ Punishment:
Primary & Secondary Reinforcers
Fixed Ratio: predicted number
Variable Ratio: Unpredicted number
Fixed Interval: reinforces a response only after a specified time
Variable Interval: reinforces a response at unpredictable time interval
Punishment: Any consequence that decreases the future liklihood of a behavior
Reinforcement: Any consequence that increases the future liklihood of a behavior
Positive Vs Negative Reinforcement:
Positive: Appetitive- Anything that increases the likelihood of a behavior by following it with a desirable event/state. Added+ after a repsonse or behavior // will strengthen the behavior after subject receives something they want
Negative: Aversive- Anything that increases the future liklihood of a behavior by following it with the removal of an undesirable event/ state. //will strengthen behavior after something the subject doesnt like is removed.
Primary Reinforcer- Innately reinforcing stimulus (biologically need- food water)
Secondary (conditioned) reinforcer: learned reinforcer, retained through its association with primary reinforcer (money)
Immediate Reinforcer: reinforcer that occurs closely to a behavior in time
Delayed Reinforcers: reinforcers delayed in time for certain behavior
Mirror Neurons
Modeling Requirements
Antisocial vs Prosocial Behavior
Skinners Effect: Law of effect that states that behavior followed by favorable consequences become more likely and behavior followed by undesireable consequences become less likely
brains of animals and humans that activate during observational learning/ when performing certain actions// may enable imitation, language learning + empathy
Bandura suggests for requirements effective modeling- Attention, Retention, Ability to reproduce the behavior, Motivation
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation:
Shaping: reinforcing behavior to achieve desired behavior
modeling violence: wowing media violence does lead to increased expression of aggression Ex. children model wrestling-- relation between violent tv games and increase of aggression
motivation from within (personal satisfaction)
motivation from the outside (reward driven behavior)
Anti: negative, destructive unhelpful behavior
Pro: positive, constructive helpful behavior
**both can be modeled effectively
Learned helplessness: Belief of incapable to accomplish task produced by frequent expose to negative events perceived as unavoidable
Latent Learning: learing that occurs but isn't evident unit an incident shows it
UNIT 5
Retrieval
Encoding
Storage
Forgetting: can occur at any memory stage; we filter, alter, or lose much information during these stages.
The processing of information into the memory system. Getting information in
Effortful
Automatic
Shallow vs Deep
Ways we encode:
Requires attention and conscious effort
Such processing leads to durable and accessible memories.
Leads to LONG TERM POTENTIATION
(a process involving persistent strengthening of synapses that leads to a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between neurons.)
SEMANTIC: Encoding by meaning
VISUAL: Encoding by images (mnemonics) ACOUSTIC: Encoding by sound
Shallow – Encoding based on the structure or appearance of a word
Deep– Encoding based on the meaning of the words
Unconscious encoding of incidental information //Enormous amount of information is processed effortlessly (parallel processing) by us (Space, Time, Frequency.)
Spacing Effect: testing effect = enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information
Serial Positioning Effect: tendency to recall best, the last and first items in a list.
The retention of encoded material overtime. Retaining Information
The process of getting information out of memory storage Getting info out
Working Memory (Short Term)
Sensory Memory
• Iconic (Visual) • Echoic(Auditory) --stored for longer periods • Haptic(Touch)
Long term memory
Retrospective Memory
Prospective Memory
Duration of sensory memory differs for different
senses. Large capacity for information
• New information is transferred from sensory memory
• Old information is retrieved from long-term memory
• Short duration (20 seconds)
• Limited capacity for information; 7±2
• Information that has been encoded in short-term memory is stored
• Unlimited capacity for information
• Duration: potentially permanent
Flashbulb Memory
An unique and highly emotional moment can give rise to clear, strong, and persistent memory. Though this memory is not free from errors.
The ability to remember to do something in the future-- ¨Remembering to remember
the memory of people, words, and events encountered or experienced in the past.
Explicit memories vs Implicit memories
-Explicit Memory refers to facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare. (explain) --hippocampus
-Implicit memory involves learning an action, and the individual does not know or declare what she knows. (impossible to explain)-- cerebellum
Measures of Memory:
Recognition: the person has to identify an item amongst others e.g., a multiple-choice test requires recognition.
Recall: the person must retrieve information using effort, e.g., a fill-in-the blank test requires recall.
Relearning: the individual shows how much time (or effort) is saved when learning material a second time.
Retrieval Cues: Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations are like anchors that help retrieve memory.
Priming: To retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations, you first need to activate one of the strands that lead to it. Priming effect occurs when people respond faster or better to an item if a similar item preceded it. involuntary/ unconsious
Context: Memories are affected by the cues associated with a context
Self-dependent: (Mood) Tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood. Emotions, or moods serve as retrieval cues.
Interference: Learning some info. may disrupt retrieval of other info.
Proactive: When an OLD memory interferes with remembering NEW information
Retroactive: When a NEW memory interferes with remembering OLD information
Motivated Forgetting: People unknowingly revise their memories
Repression: Defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Freud believed this was at the heart of all defense mechanisms
Misinformation Effect: Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. Leads to memory construction.
Source Amnesia=attributing an event to the wrong source we have experienced, heard, read, or imagined (misattribution)
Retrograde Amnesia: “retro”-we can’t get to the old stuff (both interference and amnesia)
Anterograde amnesia: condition in which a person is unable to create new memories after an amnesia-inducing event.
transduction occurs in the COCHLEA