Introducing psychology
Trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell
Ivan Pavlov
What is the primary role of neurotransmitters in neural communication?
Transmit signals across the synapse from one neuron to another.
Construction of perceptions based on our experience and expectations
Top-down processing
The association between two previously unrelated stimuli causing a reaction:
Classical Conditioning
What is the primary purpose of experimental research?
To determine cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating variables and observing their effects.
Theory that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts
Psychoanalysis
How do agonists and antagonists influence neurotransmitter activity
Agonists: mimic neurotransmitters to activate receptors, Agonists: block receptors
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another:
Perceptual set
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus
Habituation
What is the main limitation of correlational studies?
Correlation does not imply causation.
An organized whole
Gestalt
REM sleep vs. NREM sleep
Vivid dreaming and high brain activity vs slower brain waves and deep physical restoration.
A type of learning in which behavior is determined by anticipation of what follows it:
Operant conditioning
Learning that occurs but is not apparent until the demonstration of what was learned is incentivized
Latent learning
How does survey research differ from naturalistic observation in terms of data collection?
Survey: Self-reported (questionnaires/interviews), vs Naturalistic: Observing behaviors in their natural environments.
Study of behavior without reference to mental processes
Behaviorism
Effects of hallucinogens
Distort perceptions and evoke sensory experiences without external stimuli (affect serotonin)
Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Law of effect
If a behavior is reinforced after a set amount of time what kind of partial reinforcement schedule does it follow
Fixed interval
What is a key strength and a key weakness of using case studies as a research method?
In depth data on a single subject, but may not generalize.
An early school of thought that used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind
Structuralism
Freud’s theory of dreams
Reveal unconscious desires and conflicts.
A reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
Variable-ratio
A disease that occurs when one’s amygdala is damaged resulting in the person no longer feeling fear
Urbach-Wiethe
Why are operational definitions crucial in behavior research?
They allow researchers to define variables in measurable terms.