Chapter 1  

What is Gestalt theory?

∙ Behaviorism- focus on our behavior. John B. Watson. Says the mind  proves nothing only behavior proves psychiatric science. Emphasizes  the role of environmental forces in producing observable behavior.

∙ Psychoanalysis- A method adapted by Sigmund Frued that attempts  to bring the contents of unconscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed.

∙ Introspection- William wundt. an analysis of a subject’s mental  experience. The content of one’s thoughts  

∙ Structuralism-. Edward Titchener. an approach to psychology based  on the idea that conscious experience can be broken down into its  basic underlying components  

∙ Functionalism- William James. an approach to psychology concerned  with the adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior

∙ Evolutionary theory- Charles Darwin theory on reasons why specie  change over time  

∙ Adaptation- changes passes along  

What are the types of psychologist?

∙ Natural selection- “survival of the fittest”  

∙ Gestalt theory- Max Wetheimer. “The whole is different from the sum  of its parts”

Types of psychologist

∙ Cognitive psych- George miller. Focuses on mental functions such as  intelligence, thinking, and language, memory, and decision making.  ∙ Social psych- Kurt lewin. Other people influence others thoughts,  feelings, and actions  We also discuss several other topics like  Why did scientists start looking for clues to past earthquakes along the coast?

∙ Personality psych- a study of characteristic thoughts, emotions and  behavior  

∙ Neurological psych- study mental activity and behavior  ∙ Developmental psych- study how people change  

∙ Cultural psych- study how people are influenced by society  ∙ Clinical psych- study what causes psychiatric behavior and how to  treat them  

∙ Counseling psych- seek to improve people daily lives  ∙ School psych- work on educational settings

∙ Industrial and organizational psych- concerned with behavior in  workforce

What are the Steps to a theory?

level

Focus

What is studied

Biological

Brain systems,  

neurochemistry,  

genetics

Brain

Individual

Perception, cognition,  behavior

Personality

Social

Social cognition

Groups, relationships

Cultural

Thoughts, actions, and behavior – in different  societies and cultural  groups

Norms, beliefs, values,  and symbols

Chapter 2  

∙ Four primary goals of science: description, prediction, control, and  explanation  Don't forget about the age old question of unr webcampus

∙ Critical thinking- systematically questioning and evaluating  information using well supported evidence

∙ Variable- something that can vary

∙ research- the scientific process of carefully collecting data  ∙ scientific method- a systematic and dynamic procedure of observing  and measuring phenomena to answer research questions.

∙ Theory- explanation or model of how a phenomenon works  

Steps to a theory  

1. Form a hypothesis (educated guess) must be falsifiable and  simple  

2. Conduct a literature review  

3. Design a study  

4. Conduct a study  

5. Analyze data  

6. Report results  

∙ Replication- repeating a study and getting the same or similar results  Descriptive research – observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically

∙ Case study- looking at a unique situation and studying the details  ∙ Self reports – surveys or questionnaires to gather data from large  groups  

∙ Naturalistic observation- sit back and watch experiment ∙ Participant observation- get involved experiment  

∙ Correlation study- examine how variables are naturally related in the real world on a scatterplot. (positive- one variable increases and so

does the other. Negative- one variable decreases and so does the  other. Zero – no correlation at all) can also have a Third variable  problem, when another unmeasured variable is responsible for  the correlation  

We also discuss several other topics like credit card worksheet

Concerns with research  

∙ Reactivity- phenomenon that occurs when knowledge that one is being observes alters behavior  

∙ Hawthorne effect- change in behavior that occur when  people know others are watching  If you want to learn more check out Line – what are they and how are they different?

∙ Observer bias- errors in observation because of observers expectations  

∙ Experimenter expecting effect- actual change in the  behavior of people being observed due to the expectation  of observer  

Experiments  

∙ Experiment- research method that test casual hypothesis by  manipulating and measuring variables  

∙ Independent variable- what’s manipulated  

∙ Dependent variable – whatever behavioral effect that is being  measured  

∙ Control group- people who are apart of experiment that get no  treatment  

∙ Experimental group- those who get treatment in experiment ∙ Population- group researcher wants to know about  

∙ Sample- subject or group actually studied ( random or  

convenient  If you want to learn more check out What is the hammurabi code?
Don't forget about the age old question of jim vogl uf

∙ Random assignment “true experiment”- when participants are  randomly assigned to control group and experimental group  ∙ Selection bias “quasi experiment”- not random  

∙ Confound- variable factor that was unintended but can influence  experiment

 A good experiment must be  

1. Reliable – stability and consistency of a measure over time  2. Valid- internal- a studies results are due to a IV rather than a confound. Construct- variable measure what they are supposed to measure.  External- can be generalized to others  

3. Accurate – correct  

4. Ethical – privacy of experiments can be shared with others. Cannot risk health of participants. Must have informed consent. No one else can  access data

∙ Descriptive statistics- statistics that summarize the data  collected in a study  

∙ Mean- average  

∙ Median- middle  

∙ Mode- the most frequent  

∙ Range – from smallest to largest  

∙ Standard deviation- how far away each value is from the mean  

Chapter 3  

Dementia- a decline in a mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. (includes problems with memory, communication, language, focus,  reason, judgement, and visual perception.  

∙ Alzheimer’s- type of dementia characterized by plague (deposits of  protein fragment in spaces outside of cells) and tangles ( buildup of  protein inside cells)  

Nervous system  

∙ Nervous system- “ who we are’  

∙ “The neuron doctrine” Santigo Ramon Y Cajal

∙ Glia- cells that provide structure, support, and protection, plus help  regulate chemicals , aid communication and repair damaged cells  ∙ Neurons- basic units of the nervous system that receive, integrate,  and transmit info to the nervous system ( communicate with other  nerve cells though chemical signals)

∙ Sensory neurons/ afferent detect info from physical world and pass  that info along to the brain

∙ Motor neurons-/ efferent direct muscles to contract or relax ..  producing movement  

∙ Interneurons- communicate with local or short distance circuits  ( integrate activity within a single area )

∙ Neurotransmitters- chemical communication between neurons.  Drugs can change neurotransmitters. Agonist drugs- do the same  thing as transmitters. Antagonist- blocks the transmitter  Neuron structure  

∙ Dendrites – short branch like appendages that detect chemical  signals from neighboring neurons  

∙ Cell body- aka soma collects and integrates info receives from the  dendrites  

∙ Axon- a long narrow outgrowth of a neuron where info in  transmitted to the next neuron. (vary in length =, can be as long as  from spinal cord to big toe)

∙ Synapse- the site where chemical communication occurs between  neurons  

∙ Terminal buttons- at the end of the axon small nodules that  release chemical signals to synapse

∙ Membrane- fatty barrier that does not dissolve in water  ∙ Resting membrane potential – the electric charge of a  neuron when it is not active (negative charge)

∙ Polarized- when a neuron has more negative ions on the  outside.  

∙ Depolarized- zero ions on the outside (excitatory) causes  action potential

Brain parts  

∙ Brain stem – an extension of the spinal cord that is crucial for  heartrate, breathing, swallowing, vomiting, urination, and orgasm  ∙ Broca’s area- a small portion of the left frontal region of the brain  crucial for the production of language  

∙ Cerebellum-(motor function) – a large are in the back of the brain that is essential for coordinating movement and balance  

Cerebral cortex- outer layer of brain tissue  

∙ Frontal lobe – thoughts, planning. Movement  

∙ Parietal lobe- touch, spatial relationships

∙ Occipital lobe- vision  

∙ Temporal lobe- hearing and memory

Inside the brain  

∙ Basal ganglia- deals with movement and reward  

∙ Hypothalamus- regulates body function  

∙ Amygdala- responds to emotion (mostly fear)

∙ Hippocampus- deals with memory

∙ Thalamus-sensory gateway  

∙ The corpus callosum- a fibrous structure that holds two  hemispheres together  

∙ Left brain hemisphere – better with language, controls right  vision  

∙ Right hemi- better with special relationships, controls left vision  ∙ Female brain – greater use of language brain region  

∙ Male brain – greater use of spatial relationship brain region  Endocrine system  

∙ Hormones- chemical substances released from endocrine that travel  through bloodstream  

∙ Gonads- main endocrine glands involved with sexual behavior. For  males it is the testes, for females it is the ovaries.

∙ Pituitary gland – based in the hypothalamus that sends hormones  signals to other endocrine glands controlling hormone release  

Chapter 4  

Consciousness –one’s subjective experience of the  world resulting from brain activity  

∙ Limit to how many things the mind can be conscious of

∙ Automatic processing- mastered task that can be performed  automatically without trying (walking, driving, talking)

∙ Controlled processing- slower performance of complex activities  ∙ Selective attention-  

∙ Change blindness- a failure to notice large changes in one’s  environment

∙ Fruedian slip-when an unconscious thought is suddenly expressed  ∙ Subliminal perception-when two stimuli get processed by by  sensory systems but do not reach consciousness. (subliminal messages are often added to commercials. We see but don’t process)  ∙ Persistent vegetative state (of consciousness)- state of  consciousness after a brain injury leaving one with little awareness  (coma)

∙ Minimally conscious state- place in between vegetative and fully  awake. (very little deliberate movement)

∙ Brain dead- no brain activity  

Brain areas of awareness  

∙ Different areas of the brain deal with different types of information  ∙ Prefrontal cortex: “I understand plans”

∙ Frontal motor cortex: ” I’m all about movement “

∙ Parietal lobe: ”I’m aware of space”

∙ Temporal Lobe: “I hear things”

∙ Occipital lobe: “I see things”

∙ Left hemisphere- determines outcomes. It attempts to explain  behavior produced by the right hemisphere  

∙

Sleep

∙ Sleep is important or overall health and wellbeing  

∙ the brain is very active when sleep  

∙ sleep facilitates learning. REM sleep promotes the development of  brain circuits for learning  

∙ Circadian rhythm- brain activity and other psychological processes  regulated into patterns. (body temp, sleep cycle, sleep cycles) ∙ Circadian Rhythm theory- theory that proposes that sleep has  evolved to keep animals quiet and inactive during times of the day  when there is great danger (night time)

∙ Producing circadian rhythms

1. Suprachiasmatic nucleus- receives info about light detected by  eyes

2. Then send signals to the pineal gland that secretes

3. Melatonin- a hormone that travels through the bloodstream and  effects various receptors of the body including the brain

Brain activity during sleep

1. Alert/awake – Beta waves  

2. Just before sleep- alpha waves  

3. Stage 1 – theta waves. Easily aroused light sleep

4. Stage 2 – K complex. Sleep not easily woken with sleep spindles  5. Stage 3 and 4 slow wave sleep- delta waves. Hard to wake and  disoriented when awoken.  

6. REM- beta waves. Brain is active and starts to dream. After bout 90 minutes the brain reverses to stage one with beta waves. Eyes dart back in forth. Muscles are paralyzed

Sleep disorders  

Insomnia- people’s mental health and ability to function are compromised  by their inability to sleep

∙ sleep disorders- insomnia, narcolepsy, parasomnia, sleep apnea,  restless leg  

∙ sleep disorders go hand In hand with psychological disorders  

∙ idiopathic  

∙ transient – distraction such as a breakup, loud noise that effect sleep ∙ iatrogenic- doctor cause sleep due to bad use of medication  ∙ psychological disorders- schitz  

∙ narcolepsy- sleeping during the day / aridic sleep

∙ REM behavior disorder- disorder where the normal parts of REM sleep  don’t happen. People often act out of their dreams while sleep. ∙ Somnambulism- AKA sleepwalking  

∙ Obstructive sleep apnea – a disorder In which a person while sleep  stops breathing because his or her throat closes.

∙ should take 15-20 minutes to fall asleep  

∙ According to the restorative theory sleep allows the body and brain to  restore and rest itself (tissue repair)

∙ Sleep deprivation can cause mood swings, trouble comprehending  simple task, poor immune system , and microsleeps (falling asleep  during the day for seconds or minutes)

Dreams – products of an altered sate of consciousness in which  images and fantasies are confused as reality  

∙ Everyone dreams  

∙ Usually don’t remember  

∙ REM dreams bizarre and intense dreams with hallucinations  ∙ Non REM dreams very dull basic dreams  

∙ Manifest content – what the person remembers in the dream ∙ Latent content – what the dream symbolizes  

∙ Activation-synthesis theory- a theory of dreaming that says the  brain tries to make sense of random brain activity that occurs  during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories  

Hypnosis – a social interaction during which a person, responding  to suggestions experiences change in memory, perception, and or voluntary  action  

∙ Posthypnotic suggestion- lack of memory after hypnosis session  ∙ Only happens if voluntary  

∙ Hypnotic analgesia – a form of pain reduction  

∙ Meditation- a mental procedure that focuses attention on external  object or on a sense of awareness (concentrative meditation focuses

on one thing such as breathing. Mindless meditation- free flow of  thoughts no reaction)

∙ Religious ecstasy- after religious ceremony person is unaware of  external world (often chant or dance)

∙ Flow- a particular experience that is so enjoyable and engrossing that  the person may have no conscious awareness while doing it  

∙ Escaping – offering a distraction to escape another state of mind  Drugs affecting consciousness  ∙ Addiction- drug use that remains compulsive despite its negative  consequences  

Type

Psychological  

effect

Examples

Neurotransmitter  system

Stimulant 

Increases  

behavioral and  mental activity

Cocaine, nicotine,  caffeine

Dopamine

depressant

Decreases  

behavioral and  mental activity

Anti-anxiety drug, alcohol

GABA

Opiates/narcotics

Reduces pain

Morphine, heroin

Endorphins

Hallucinogens/  

pyschedelics

Alters thoughts or perceptions

LSD, shrooms

Serotonin

Combination

Mixed effect

Weed, MDMA

all

∙ Insula- part of the brain responsible for craving  

∙ Addiction?- a central factor to addiction is Dopamine activity in the  limbic system.

∙ Only 5-10% of people who try drugs become addicted