Chapter 1
This German psychologist, often called the "father of experimental psychology," founded the first psychology lab and used introspection to study the structure of the mind.
William Wundt
What are the five parts of the Scientific Method?
1. Observing some Phenomenon
2. Formulating Hypotheses and Predictions
3. Testing through empirical research
4. Drawing Conclusions
5. Evaluating the Theory
What are SSRIs, and what do they do? (bonus: give examples!)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibition. Helps to increase serotonin levels in the brain.
Examples: Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, etc (all antidepressants)
What is top-down and bottom-up processing?
Bottom-up: initiated by sensory input. Outside worlds influence on perception. Learning it for the first time.
(Ex: A kid has never seen a furry animal before and is told that it is a cat. So therefore that furry animal is a cat).
Top-down: initiated by cognitive processing. Prior mental perceptions and experiences are what manage things to come in.
(Ex: Kids think every furry animal is a cat because they saw a furry animal once that they were told was a cat).
Explain William James' Functionalism and Stream of Consciousness
William James was more concerned about the purposes or functions in the mind.
Functionalism: James’s approach to mental processes emphasizes the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual’s adaptation to the environment. It helps to understand the WHAT and the human interactions with the outside world.
Stream of consciousness: The name that James gave to describe the mind as flexible and fluid with a constant change in response to a continuous flow of information from the world.
Explain the difference between Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent Variable: A manipulated experimental factor, the variable that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are.
Dependent Variable: The outcome; the variable that may change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable. Dependent on the Independent variable
What are the roles of the Amygdala and the Hippocampus within the Limbic System?
Limbic system: Network under the cerebral cortex, important in memory and emotion. The amygdala and hippocampus are a part of the limbic system. The amygdala and hippocampus have to do with Memory and Emotion
Amygdala: discriminates against objects that aren't necessary for survival. (food, mates, rivals). Fight or Flight
Hippocampus: Formation and recall of memories.
What are the two theories of Color Vision?
The Trichromatic theory: By Young and Helmholtz, states that color perception is produced by three types. of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping ranges of wavelengths. (Green, Blue, Red). Color-blindness (One or more cone types is inoperative) 2.
Opponent-process theory: States that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and limited by blue. Acts like a seesaw.
Explain what the Sociocultural Approach and the Cognitive Approach are.
The sociocultural approach is: People do what they do because they are part of an environment that has a set of rules that must be followed.
The cognitive approach is: The mind is seen like a computer in this approach, and the focus is on how the mind processes information, stores it, and reacts to it.
Explain Correlational and Experimental Research
Correlational Research: Examines the relationship between variables with the purpose of determining whether and how two variables change together (co-relation.
Experiment Research: is a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable. Goal to determine causation.
Explain the Process of Action Potential
Neurons are made of dendrites, Cell bodies, axons, and myelin sheath.
Action Potential is the brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon. Starts at resting potential which is the state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse (-70m)
Depolarization: Less and less negativity causes positive ions to come in
All-or-none principle: the fact that when the action potential takes place, there is no small, medium, or large electrical impulse. The individual neuron either fires or doesn’t.
Repolarization: More and more negativity causes negative ions to come in until it go back to resting potential
What is Signal Detection Theory, and What are the outcomes?
It is an approach to perception that focuses on decision-making about stimuli under conditions of uncertainty. Some of these conditions could be fatigue, expectations, and urgency of the moment.
Example: Air Force and missile defense. Your job is to detect who is on the airway or not. You see one coming = hit, don't pay attention = Miss, Nothing in the airway = correct rejection, You think you saw something = false alarm. These are all perceptions!
Outcomes:
1. Hit
2. Miss
3. Correct Rejection
4. False Alarm