General Psychology Midterm Exam 1, Exams of Psychology

Download General Psychology Midterm Exam 1 and more Exams Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! General Psychology Midterm Exam 1 Ch 1 What are the different fields that study human behavior? (hint: there are 7) - - Cognitive Psychology - Developmental Psychology - Behavioral Psychology - Biological Psychology - Personality Psychology - Social Psychology - Cross Cultural Psychology Ch 1 Cognitive Psychology - - Definition: The study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems. - Questions Askes: *How do we think? *How do we make decisions? (Fight or Flight responses) *How do we acquire language? *How do we remember? - If you "train your brain" it becomes easier to remember things. *Ex: learning your phone number: it is best to learn it in chunks because your brain will process it as a song or grouping. - It is easier to learn a language during someone's developmental years (childhood development). *During a human's developmental years (2-7 years), the brain is like a "sponge" in which it absorbs information quicker and more efficiently. *This is why it is harder to learn a foreign language in older ages/years. Ch 1 Developmental Psychology - - Definition: The study of how thought and behavior change and remain stable across the life span. - Questions Asked: *How do our reasoning skills or emotional skills change as we age? *How does parent-infant bonding affect adult relationships? *Does old age bring wisdom? *How we develop in utero? (Includes genes and how that affects a person's behavior or personality) *Is it nature or nurture? *How can we promote healthy aging? (If there are more aging people in the world, how do we take care of them?) Ch 1 Behavioral Psychology - - Definition: The study of how thought and behavior change and remain stable across the lifespan. *Behavioral neuroscience studies the links among brain, mind, and behavior. *One can study the brain functions involved in learning, emotion, social behavior, and mental illness, to name just a few areas. - Questions Asked: *Why is it important to study the neural networks in the brain? *Neurons form connections that help you execute certain actions. *What is neurogenesis? (The development of millions of neurons; The growth of connections that help your body functions) *How does our brain chemistry affect our physical capabilities? - Questions Asked: *How do our cultural backgrounds affect how we experience the world around us? *Can be based on normalities or perspectives. - ex: Cultural Components: You are Cuban and used to greeting everyone at a party but if you bring a friend to the event that is not used to doing that, they may be uncomfortable or uncertain of what to do. *Why are things considered normal in some cultures but completely alien in other cultures? *What does it mean to be individualistic vs. Communal? *How do we find commonality across cultures? Ch 1 How did psychology become a science? - - Psychology had grown away from philosophy and became more of a science in the 1800s. - The most important philosophical question for psychology is the nature of knowledge and how human beings create knowledge. *Does knowledge come from reflection and thinking or from experience? - The English philosopher John Locke established the view that knowledge and thoughts come from experience and observations, a point of view known as empiricism. *Locke argued that the mind begins as a tabula rasa (blank slate) onto which experience writes the contents of the mind. *This view that the mind simply receives what our sensory organs take in from the outside world is very important in psychology and philosophy. - Psychology gained its independence from philosophy when researchers started to examine and test human sensations and perception using scientific methods. - Psychology tests predictions about behavior with systematic observations and gathered data. - The starting point for empiricism is that we know and experience the world through our 5 senses. *Psychophysics is the psychology of physical sensations. *The reasoning was that if the mind consists of what we sense, then understanding the senses will lead to a direct understanding of the mind. - Hermann von Helmhotz: First to calculate the speed of a nerve impulse at about 90 feet per second. - Ernst Weber: Performed some of the first research in perception and laid the groundwork for psychophysics. - Gustav Fechnerz: Realized that one could study the psychological and physical worlds. - Wilhelm Wundt: Set up a psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. *He applied scientific methods of physiology and physics to questions of philosophy. Ch 1 Who is the "father" of psychology? Why? - Wilhem Wundt - He established the 1st psychology laboratory. - Lab was in Leipzeg, Germany in the late 1800s. - The lab studied the 5 senses. Ch 1 What are the different subfields in psychology? (hint: there are 7) - - Clinical Psychology - Health Psychology - Educational Psychology - Industrial/Organizational Psychology (I/O) - Sports Psychology - Community Psychology - Forensic Psychology Ch 1 Clinical Psychology - - Definition: The diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and the promotion of psychological health. - Focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and ways to promote psychological health. - Some of these psychologists also conduct research and teach. *Some work in universities, medical settings, and or private practice. - Counseling psychologists tend to work with less severe psychological disorders than clinical psychologists. - Questions Asked: *How do we treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders? *How do we find ways to promote psychological health? - Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatrist *Clinical = emergency situations *Counseling = overtime, how to get through normal situations, appointments *Clinical: they treat and assess relatively healthy people and assist them with career and vocational interests. Ch 1 Health Psychology - - Definition: The study of the role psychological factors play in regard to health and illness. Forensic Psychology - - Definition: The field that blends psychology, law, and criminal justice. - These psychologist make legal evaluations of a person's mental competency to stand trial, the state of mind of a defendant at the time of a crime, the fitness of a parent to have custody of children, and allegations of child abuse. - Questions Asked: *What place does psychology have in the study and practice of law? *What does it mean to be an expert witness? *How can psychology influence criminal justice proceeding? - It can be hard to bring in children to explain what they have witness or experienced in the court of law. Ch 1 History of Early Influences on Psychology - - The foundations for psychology as a science date back to the ancient Greeks, and the modern science of psychology originated in the 1870s. - Most prehistoric cultures had medicine men or women known as shamans. *Shamans treated the possessed by driving out demons with elaborate rituals. (exorcisms, incantations, prayers) *Some shamans would perform trephination which involved drilling a small hole in a person's skull. *Surgeries were performed for medical reasons such as an attempt to heal a brain injury or psychological reasons to release spirits and demons they believed afflicted the person. *Drilling the holes was an attempt to "let out" the spirit that entered the head and caused the person to die. - The ancient chinese also made connections between a person's bodily organs and emotions. *They believed the heart housed the mind, the liver was the spiritual soul, the lung was the animal soul, the spleen was in charge of ideas and intelligence, and the kidneys controlled will and vitality. - In medieval Europe, people who behaved in unusual ways were thought to be possessed by demons, spirit, and the devil. *People were also accused of being witches. *The accused were prodded with a metal pole and spears; if she felt no pain, she was protected by the devil and therefore a witch. *Float tests also occurred; She was thrown into a lake and if she floated she was a witch and burned at the stake. If she sank, she was innocent. - Asylums were built throughout Europe as a storage house for the mentally ill and for other social castaways. *The conditions in the asylums were inhumane, so the idea of moral treatment thrived. (The idea was to provide a relaxing place where patients would be treated with dignity and care.) - In the 1800s, the idea that psychological disorders were simply one form of illness and should be Ch 1 Nature-Nurture Debate - - Thinkers have argued over what determines our personality and behavior - innate biology or life experience. - The nature-only view is that who we are comes from inborn tendencies and genetically based traits. *This positions argues that inborn and innate qualities are the strongest determinants of thought and behavior. - The nurture-only side states that we are all essentially the same at birth and that we are the product of our experiences. - The pinning of nature vs. Nurture creates a false split, or false dichotomy, that hinders our understanding of the mind and behavior. *What we are born with and what we are exposed to interact to create thought and behavior. - Nature through nurture, whereby the environment interacts continuously with biology to shape who we are and what we do. - Nature: Our genes determine our behavior; our personality and abilities are in our "nature" - Nurture: Our environment upbringing, life, experiences, determine our behavior; we are "nurtured" to behave. Ch 1. What are the different schools of thought in psychology? - - Psychoanalytic-Psychodynamic - Behaviorism-Learning - Humanistic-Positive - Cognitive - Sociocultural/Cross-Cultural - Neuropsychological Behavioral Genetic Ch 1 Psychoanalytic-Psychodynamic - - Sigmund Freud - Psychodynamic: approaches focus on the importance of early childhood experience and relationships with parents as guiding forces that shape personality development. *This view sees the unconscious mind and motives as much more influential than conscious awareness. - Psychoanalysis: uses dream interpretation and uncovering unconscious thoughts, feeling, and impulses are primary method of treating neurosis and mental issues. Ch 1 Ch 2 Scientific Thinking - - It can generate, test, and revive theories. - Has 5 Part - 1. Keep belief and evidence separate *The starting point for scientific thinking is understanding that what we believe is separate from the evidence for or against the belief. *Doubt and skepticism are hallmarks of critical and scientific reasoning. *Doubt is the foundation of science. *Belief in science is tentative until there is evidence to support it. *Scientists remember that belief is not the same as reality. - 2. Being able to generate testable hypotheses *In science it is important to not just separate belief from evidence but put belief into a clear and testable form - aka hypothesis. *The hypothesis should clearly indicate whether the predicted influence is positive or negative and what specific kind of family influence is involved. - 3. Consider both the strengths and weaknesses of evidence *Scientific thinking requires us to ask, "what is the evidence?" And "How do we know?" *In science, evidence from controlled experiments is valued over anecdotal observations. *Results from large representative samples carry more weight than results from small sample sizes. - Try to disprove your own idea (after confirming) *You should always seek to disconfirm or falsify an idea once it has been initially confirmed. *Scientists do this because they know that one way to test the strength of something is to try to tear it down and then see whether it survives that test. *Weak ideas fail: strong ones remain. *Findings are only trustworthy once they have undergone multiple attempts to confirm or disconfirm them by themself or others. *The original findings of a test or experiment happen by change. *It's likely that if it is redone, results won't re-occur. *Redoing experiments or re-testing theories may reveal new discoveries. *Valid results may lead to new exp Ch 2 What is a representative sample and why is it important? - - Definition: A research sample that accurately reflects the population of people one is studying. - We need to know that the information we collect comes from people who represent the group we are interested in. *EX: We are studying STEM majors, you would get a representative of every stem major. - Sampling is the procedure researchers use to obtain participants from a population Ch 2 Twin/Adoption Studies - - Definition: Research into hereditary influence on twins, both identical and fraternal, who were raised apart (adopted) and who were raised together. - One of the most important questions in psychology is how much of our thought, behavior, personality, and mental health stems from built-in biological forces (nature) and how much is from learning and the environment (nurture). - The best way to untangle the effects of genetics and environment is to study twins who are adopted or not and compare them to other siblings who are adopted or not. (aka twin adoption studies) - This research distinguished the effect of nature and nurture. - There are 3 forms of similarity: genetic (nature), environmental (nurture), and trait. - Genetic similarity ranges from 100% (identical twins) to 0% with unrelated people, such as adopted siblings. *In between 100% and 0% are fraternal twins, sibling, and parents and their children. *They share 50% of their genes. - The second technique in the study of heritability, gene-by-environment, allows researcher to assess how genetic differences interact with the environment to produce certain behavior in some people but not in others. - Gene-by-environment studies directly measure genetic variation in parts of the genome itself and examine how such variation interacts with different kinds of environments to produce different behaviors or traits. - How strong are our genetic influences on behavior? - Twin- adoption Studies: compare twins who are adopted or not with other siblings who are adopted or not. - 3 forms of similarity *Genetic *Environmental *Trait - If twins still have the same traits after being raised apart (then their traits are likely genetic) - If adopted siblings raised together have the same traits though they share different genes, then their traits are more likely to Ch 2 - Measures that provide data on bodily responses. - Researchers measure brain activity while people perform certain tasks to determine the speed and general location of cognitive processes in the brain. *They have enhanced our understanding of the brain's structure and function tremendously. - Where we examine physical/bodily responses to assess change in psychological states. *Cortisol can be measured to look at stress level. (Can be taken and measured through a saliva sample) *Heart rate can be measured to look at attraction. (Can be measured through BPM monitors) *Brain activity can be used to look at formation of memories. Ch 2 Popular Research Designs in Psychology - - Research designs serve as the "road maps" for research. - Variables: Anything that could change or vary within or between individuals. *Within: looking at the variables that affect you as a person. *Ex: Studying medication: what was someone's behavior before and after taking the medication. (variable: the med) - Types: *Descriptive Studies *Correlational Design *Experimental Design/Studies *Longitudinal Studies *Meta-Analysis *Big Data Ch 2 Principles of Research Design - - Population vs. Sample *Population: The entire group that you are referencing for your study. *Sample: A small part of the population that you are actually observing. *It is cheaper to take a survey of a sample rather than a population and it is less time consuming. - How do we sample? *Representative sample: gives a good representation of the people we are sampling. *EX: We are studying STEM majors, you would get a representative of every stem major. *Population *Unrepresentative Sample Ch 2 Descriptive Studies - - Definition: Study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and variable of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything - Ideas for studies often start with specific and personal experiences of event. *Experiences can be and often are driving forces behind a person's desire to study them more systematically. - Single events and single cases often lead to new ideas and new lines of research. - In design the researcher makes no prediction and doesn't try to control any variables. *The basic questions in a descriptive design, "what is variable X?" - These studies usually occur during the exploratory phase of research, in which the researcher is looking for meaningful patterns that might lead to predictions later on; they generally don't involve testing hypotheses. - 4 of the most common descriptive studies in psychology: *Case Studies *Naturalistic Observations *Qualitative Research/Interviews *Surveys - Because case studies are based on one-on-one relationships, often lasting years, they offer deep insights that surveys and questionnaires often miss. - Naturalistic observation is more often the design of choice in comparative psychology by researcher who study the behavior of non-humans to determine what is and is not unique about our species. *The advantage of naturalistic observation is that it allows researchers to study actual behavior in the real world rather than in a controlled setting. - Researchers that collect info from using any kind of numeric and quantifiable scale and often has limited response options is referred to as quantitative research. *These are structures and quantitative answers that can be summarized and analyzed for trends and averages. - Sometimes survey research is descriptive and exploratory and other times it may propose and test hypotheses Ch 2 Limitations of Descriptive Studies - - Can't test or verify the research problem statistically. - Research results may reflect certain level of bias due to the absence of statistical tests. - Majority of descriptive studies aren't 'repeatable' due to their absence of observational nature. - Aren't helpful in identifying cause behind the phenomenon. Experimental Design - - Definition: (Experiment) A research design that includes independent and dependent variables and random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions. - Includes both independent and dependent variables and random assignments of participants to both control and experimental groups or conditions. *Independent variable (IV): the variable that can be manipulated or changed. *Ex: having a child watch 2 different video game videos (one innocent and violent) *Dependent variable (DV): the variable that is the measured outcome or response. *Ex: their response to each video. - The DV depends on the IV (type of condition or type of treatment) *"How is Y affected by X?" Ch 2 Experimental Studies - - A true experiment has 2 unique characteristics: *Experimental manipulation of a predicted cause, the independent variable. *Random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions, meaning that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in each group. - The independent variable in an experiment is an attribute the experimenter manipulates under controlled conditions. *The condition the researcher predicts will cause a particular outcome. - The dependent variable is the outcome or response to the experimental manipulation. *Dependent variable = Cause *Independent variable = Effect - Random assignment is achieved by using a random numbers table or some other unbiased technique. *It ensures that on average the groups will be similar with respect to all possible variables when the experiment begins. *If the groups are the same on these qualities (gender, intelligence, motivation, and memory) at the beginning of the study, then any differences between the groups at the end are likely to be the result of the independent variable. *Random assignment guarantees group equivalence on a number of variables and prevents ambiguity over whether effects might be due to other differences between the groups. - An experimental group consists of participants who receive the treatment or whatever is thought to change behavior. - The control group consists of participants who are treated exactly in the same manner as the experimental groups but with one crucial different, they don't receive the treatment. *The control group is given a placebo, a substance or treatment that appears identical to the actual treatment but lacks the active substance. - The power of the experimental design is that it allows us to say that the independent variable (treatment) caused changes in the dependent variable, a Ch 2 Limitations of Experimental Design/Studies - - Results are subjective due to the possibility of human error. - Can create situations that aren't realistic. - Situation is artificial and results may not generalize well to the real world. - Is time consuming. - Participants can be influenced by their current situation. - Human responses can be hard to measure. - Can be hard to avoid experimenter effects. Ch 2 What does it mean to be randomly assigned? - All participants or subjects have the same chance of being assigned any group. - Studies want people to act naturally so being randomly assigned to a group ensures that. - Experimental group: participants receive the actual treatment. - Control group: participants are handled the same as experimental group but do not receive the treatment. *Placebo (sugar - looks like everyday drugs) *If you tell someone something will work, they will believe it will. - Any outside force that could affect the outcome must be controlled for. *Ex: A person's height in an experiment looking at ability to reach a tall shelf. Ch 2 Single Blind Studies - The participants do not know which group they are assigned to. Ch 2 Double Blind Studies - Neither the participants or experimenters know who is in which groups. Ch 2 Experiment Expectancy Effects - Ch 2 Limitations of Observation - - Our senses can be easily tricked (magic tricks). - Same situation (2 different perspectives). *Ex: Black/Blue and Gold/White dress trend. *No one was wrong or right; everyone views things differently. *Ex: Art *Art is subjective. *Multiple people could view the same piece of art but everyone could feel a different way about the art or think the inspiration behind it was different. *In science, its essential to test multiple perspectives because it introduces new data and "covers more ground." - Measurements can help us see things with less subjectivity. Ch 2 Research Ethics in Psychology - - Definition: The rules of governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation - or more simply, standard of right and wrong. - Ethics are the rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation; stated more simply, ethics are standards of right or wrong. *Nearly every study conducted with humans and animals must undergo a rigorous review of its methods by a panel of experts. - Ethics involve rules against scientific misconduct and rules for treatment of human participants and animals. Ch 2 Scientific Misconduct - -Is intentional and therefore the most serious ethical violation. - Scientific fraud or misconduct comes in 3 forms: -Plagiarism: when someone presents someone else's words and ideas as their own (research = scientific currency). *The research that a person does belongs to them and is their success (could get paid fortunes, win awards, etc). - Falsification: changing, altering, or deleting data to "fit" for research opportunities. *Someone may run a test but change the results so that it fits the original experiment topic just so they can get the attention of others and have the "perfect study." - Fabrication: presenting or publishing made up data. Ch 2 Ethical Treatment of Humans - - Informed Consent: from all participants. *Participants would get a verbal description of the study prior to getting started or a written contract explaining everything. - Respect for Persons: Safeguard the dignity and autonomy of individuals and taking precautions. *"Do No Harm" *If someone doesn't want to continue through with a study, they have the right to leave. - Beneficence: Inform participants of costs and benefits of participation. *Tangible benefits: improving health, etc. - Privacy and Confidentiality: Protect the privacy of participants. *It is essential that their name, email, info, etc won't be shared. *Confidentiality will further allow participants to act more natural and comfortably in the study. - Justice: Benefits and costs must be distributed equally among participants. *Make sure that what the study is doing is right and beneficial to human kind. Ch 2 Ethical Treatment of Animals - - Because animal research had led to many treatments for diseases, as well as advanced in understanding basic neuroscientific processes, it is widely considered to be acceptable. - Animal research is acceptable, that is, as long as the general conditions and treatment of the animals is humane. - Animals cannot provide consent - History of animal research/animal testing (why do psychologists like to conduct studies with rats?) *Rats have similar brain structures as humans, which is why it is always chosen as an animal subject. - Importance of having test conditions that are sanitary, safe, and humane. Ch 3 Epigenetics - - Definition: The study of changes in the way genes are turned on or off without a change in the sequence of DNA. -Is the study of changes in the way genes are expressed without changing the sequence of DNA. *Some substances that we eat, drink, or are exposed to result in molecules attaching to certain base pairs of genes. *When this happens, the gene expression process turns on or off. - DNA can be used as a tool to identify genes responsible for the heritability of common psychological disorders and dimensions. Ch 3 DNA, Genes, and Heredity - - Heredity strongly shapes our behavior and experience, although it doesn't operate in a simple, deterministic way. - Your genetic material is composed mainly of DNA and is passed down in the form of chromosomes from both your mom and dad. *A chromosome is a very long thread of DNA wrapped around proteins to hold it all together. *You inherit 23 chromosomes from each parents so that you end up with 23 pairs and a total of 46 individual chromosomes. - The total amount of your unique DNA is called your genome. *Each person's unique and incomparable genome is called his or her genotype. - Our genetic makeup is more complex than we often believe and is another example of the interaction between nature (genes) and nurture (geography and place). - What form a gene takes and how it is expressed in observable characteristics is known as the phenotype. *Genes are segments of DNA that code for protein synthesis and are therefore functional segments of DNA. *The vast majority of DNA (98%) is not genetic because it doesn't code for proteins. - The proteins that are coded from genes in turn make up most chemicals and structures in the body. *Genes have a profound level of control over physical characteristics, such as height or hair color because they direct the synthesis of proteins. *There are genes that code for proteins responsible for making up your brain and providing it with the chemicals it needs to make you feel happy or sad. - Any characteristic that cannot be placed in a small number of categories and ranges from a little to a lot is polygenic. *All psychological and almost all physical traits in humans are polygenic. - Traits that have a 1:1 connection to a gene are known as monogenic traits. *An example of a monogenic trait is lactose tolerance/intolerance. - Some humans have a change or mutation in their genet Ch 3 Neurons - - Definition: The cells that process and transmit info in the nervous systems. - Neurons have a spider like shape. - Soma: the cell body of the neuron. *Soma means body. - Axon: transmits electrical signals and triggers the release of neurotransmitters. *Ex: A tunnel or the trunk of a tree - Dendrites: receive incoming messages *Ex: think of branches on a tree - Synapse: lies between the axon and the neighboring neuron. - Terminal Buttons: The little nob at the end of the axon that contains tiny sacs storing the neurotransmitters. *When an electrical impulse reaches the terminal button, it triggers the release of neurotransmitter molecules across the synaptic cleft - the gap between neurons. Ch 3 What are the kinds of Neurons? - - Sensory Neurons: they receive incoming information. - Motor Neurons: transmits information through the body to initiate movement. - Mirror Neurons: "Monkey see...Monkey do." *Your brain will mirror the movements you see. *Ex: Dance class: you follow, watch, and copy the dance instructor. Ch 3 How Neurons Work - -The action potential is the positively charged impulse that moves one way down an axon. *Ions: chemically charged particles that predominate in bodily fluids. - The resting potential is the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the axon when the neuron is at rest. - Refractory Period: the time between an action potential and the neuron's resting state. Ch 3 How Neurons Fires - - Time 1 (Resting Potential): while the neuron is in the resting state, the fluid outside the axon contains more positive ions than inside of the axon where there are more negatively charged ions. *Ions are flowing in and out - Time 2 (Action Potential): when the neuron is stimulated, an action potential occurs. *Next, sodium channels (NA+) within the axon open up and positively charged sodium ions flow into the axon raising the electrical charge inside the axon to 40mV. - Function: *Plays an important role in arousal *Mood (positive mood) *Oversupply correlates with schizophrenia *Voluntary muscle control Ch 3 Epinephrine - - Definition: Also known as adrenaline, a neurotransmitter that arouses bodily systems (such as increasing heart rate). - Function: *Increases ANS activity *Flight or Fight response Ch 3 Norepinephrine - -Definition: A neurotransmitter that activates the sympathetic response to stress, increasing heart rate, rate of respiration, and blood pressure in support of rapid action. - Function: *Affects CNS activity *Plays role in increasing alertness and attentions Ch 3 Serotonin - - Definition: A neurotransmitter with wide-ranging effects; involved in dreaming and in controlling emotional states, especially anger, anxiety, and depression. - Function: *Plays role in mood *Sleep *Eating *Temperature regulation *Undersupply correlates with anxiety and depression Ch 3 GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric Acid) - - Definition: A major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that tells postsynaptic neurons not to fire; it slows CNS activity and is necessary to regulate and control neural activity. - Function: *The major inhibitory neurotransmitter *Slows CNS *Correlates with anxiety and intoxication Ch 3 Glutamate - - Definition: A major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain that increases the likelihood that a postsynaptic neuron will fire; important in learning, memory, neural processing, and brain development. - Function: *The most common excitatory neurotransmitter *Involved in learning *Memory *May be involved in schizophrenia. Ch 3 Hindbrain - - Medulla: breathing, heart, arousal, survival reflexes. *Also involuntary reflexes: swallowing, coughing, vomiting, sneezing. - Pons: "bridge" *Bridge between lower brain regions and higher midbrain and forebrain activity, thereby playing an important role in regulating many of the same automatic functions as the medulla as well as body movement, including facial expression. - Cerebellum: balance, coordination. *Info about body movement and various sensations is relayed from the cortex via the pons to the cerebellum. *The cerebellum, or "little brain", contains more neurons than any other single part of the brain. *80% of all brain neurons are in the cerebellum. *Is responsible for body movement, balance, coordination, and fine motor skills such a typing and piano playing. *Is essential in cognitive activities such as learning and language, and abnormalities in the cerebellum may be linked to cognitive as well as motor abnormalities. - The oldest brain region is the hindbrain, the region directly connected to the spinal ord. - Structure regulate breathing, heart rate, arousal, and other basic functions of survival. Ch 3 Midbrain (the green section in the photo) - - Parkinson's disease *People with Parkinson's disease have problems with midbrain functioning, due to the loss of neurons that use dopamine there, and so they shake uncontrollably. - Upper reticular formation - Top of brain stem - Cingulate Gyrus: attention, cognitive control. *Is a belt-like structure in the middle of the brain. *Portions of the cingulate gyrus, in particular the front, along with the nearby cingulate sulcus form the cingulate cortex, which plays an important role in attention and cognitive control. *When people are first trying to figure out a different problem and preparing to solve it, parts of the cingulate gyrus are activated. - Basa Ch 3 Cerebrum and Cerebral Cortex - - The uppermost portion of the brain. - Is folded into convolutions and divided into 2 large hemispheres. *This outer layer is called the cerebral cortex. *The cortex is only about one-tenth to one-fifth of an inch thick, yet it is in this very thin layer of brain that much of human thought, planning, perception, and consciousness takes place. *It is the site of all brain activity that makes us most human. - The cerebrum is composed of 4 large areas called lobes. *These lobes are bilateral (on both left and right sides of the brain). - The lobes are: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital. Ch 3 Lobes of the Cerebrum - - One important region is the frontal lobe. *It is the primary motor cortex. *It carries out many functions like attention, holding onto info, problem solving, planning, thinking, creativity, and more. *It continues to develop until the early 20s. - The frontmost portion of the parietal lobe is the somatosensory cortex. *It lies directly behind the motor cortex of the frontal lobe, which controls the voluntary movement of the body. *These 2 regions are "twins". *The areas of the motor and somatosensory cortexes that govern specific parts of the body are parallel. - The temporal lobes lie directly below the frontal and parietal lobes and right behind the ears. *These brain components have many different functions but the main one is hearing. *The temporal lobes house the auditory cortex, where sound info arrives from the thalamus for processing. - The occipital lobes occupy the rear of the brain. *The optic nerve travels from the eye to the thalamus and then to the occipital - specifically, to the primary visual cortex. - The human cerebrum is divided into 2 equal hemispheres. *The hemispheres differ in shape, size, and function. *The left hemisphere processes info in a more focused and analytic manner. *The right hemisphere integrates info in a more holistic or broad manner. *Insights and solutions to problems are morE likely to originate in the right hemisphere. *The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. Ch 3 Insula - - Is a small structure located deep inside the cerebrum, in the area that separates the temporal lobe from the parietal lobe. - Is active in the perception of bodily sensations, emotional states, empathy, and addictive behavior. *It communicates with structures of the limbic system and higher brain areas involved in decision- making. - Plays a key role in our awareness of our bodies as our own. *The insula may play a key role in impulsive behavior and may be crucial for understanding and counteracting the compulsions underlying many addictions. Ch 3 Corpus Callosum, Wernicke's and Broca's Area - -The corpus callosum, a thick band of nerve fibers connecting the 2 hemispheres provides a channel for extensive communication between the hemispheres in both logical and creative tasks. - Broca's area is a region responsible for the ability to produce speech. - Wernicke's area is responsible for speech comprehension. - Broca's and Wernicke's regions are involved in language production and comprehension, recent evidence using more modern technologies than lesion studies has started to challenge the simple 1:1 model of these brain areas and language. Ch 3 Phineas Gage - - In September 1848, Phineas Gage accidentally ignited gun powder used to lay a track which shot an iron bar into his head. - It entered his left cheek and exited through his skull. - It was the first ever case that marker personality changes following a frontal lobe injury. - Nose: chemical reactions from gaseous molecules create neural impulses which turns into smell/scent. - Tongue: chemical reactions create neural impulses which turns into taste. - Ear: sound waves create neural impulses which turns into sound. - Touch: skin, pressure, pain, and temperature create neural impulses that turn into sensations or feeling. Ch 4 Process of Perceiving Vision - 1. Light enters the eye at the cornea, a clear, hard covering that protects the lens. 2. It passes through liquid until it reaches a hole called the pupil. 3. Light enters the interior of the eye through the pupil. 4. The iris adjusts the pupil to control the amount of light entering. 5. Light then passes through the lens, which bends the light rays. 6. Through a process called accommodation, muscles around the lens alter its shape to adjust to viewing objects at different distances and to allow the lens to focus light on the retina. 7. Finally, the retina converts light energy into neural energy. Ch 4 Perceiving Color - -Color is not a property of objects - it is a property of us. *Our perception of color depends on our photoreceptors, our brains, and the physical characteristics of the stimulus we look at. - Color perception is partly determined by wavelength, measured in billionths of a meter, or nanometers (nm). - Primates, including humans, have 3 kinds of cones: those that are sensitive to red, to green, or to blue wavelengths of light of light. *Humans are trichromatic (sensitive to 3 colors) - The colors we see are simply combinations of different intensities of these 3 wavelengths. - All mammals other than primates are sensitive to only 2 pigments, dichromatic, which are blue (short) and green (medium) wave lengths. *Birds and fish have cones that are sensitive to 4 different wavelengths of light, making them tetrachromatic. - A few humans, always women, may be tetrachromatic. *Tetrachromatic women see 100 million colors compared to the 1 million colors that most people see, and because they have more cones, their vision is also sharper than most. - We perceive color when the different wavelengths composing white light are selectively interfered with by matter (absorbed, reflected, refracted, scattered, or diffracted) on their way to our eyes, or when a non-white distribution of light has been emitted Ch 4 Theories of Color Vision - - Young and Helmholtz developed a theory of color vision around the idea that people have 3 kinds of cones: red, green, and blue. *Their trichromatic color theory reasoned that all the color we experience must result from a mixing of these 3 colors of light, but mixing light is not like mixing paints. - Trichromatic color explains how photoreceptors process colored light, it cannot explain some aspects of color vision, like afterimages. - Ewald Hering proposed opponent-process theory to explain color vision. *He said that cones are linked together in 3 opposing color pairs: blue/yellow, red/green, and black/white. - The members of the color pairs oppose one another; whereby activation of one member of the pair inhibits activity in the other. - The trichromatic theory better explains color processing at the red, blue, and green cones in the retina. - Opponent process theory better explains how cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus and visual cortex process color info. *The opponent process theory can explain color afterimages, whereas trichromatic theory cannot. Ch 4 How is taste processed in the brain? - - Taste, also known as gustation, is the ability to detect chemicals in food, minerals and dangerous substances such as poisons. *This detection is performed by sensory organs on the tongue called taste buds. - There are five basic tastes that these organs relay to the brain: sweet, bitter, salty, sour and umami. - Receptors for each of our five basic tastes are located in distinct cells and these cells are found in all areas of the tongue. - Using these tastes, the body can distinguish harmful substances, usually bitter, from nutritious ones. - People often mistake the flavor of food for the taste. The flavor of a particular food is actually a combination of the taste and smell as well as the texture and temperature. - These receptors vary the duration and intensity of impulses to relate the color, hue, and brightness of perceived light. - Defects of the photoreceptors can lead to conditions such as color blindness or, in extreme cases, complete blindness. Ch 4 What are the different types of sound? - - Inaudible sounds: sounds that the human ear cannot detect. *The human ear hears frequencies between 20 Hz and 20KHZ. - Infrasonic Sounds: sounds that are below 20 Hz. *Elephants use infrasonic sounds to communicate with herds. - Ultrasonic Sounds: sounds that are above 20 KHZ. *Dogs and bats can hear high frequencies. Ch 4 How is olfaction (sense of smell) operate differently from the other senses? - - The olfactory system is different because information is not relayed via the thalamus, but instead projected directly to the cortical regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex. *It has direct connection to the limbic system. - Olfactory receptor cells are located in a mucous membrane at the top of the nose. - Small hair-like extensions from these receptors serve as the sites for odor molecules dissolved in the mucus to interact with chemical receptors located on these extensions. - Once an odor molecule has bound a given receptor, chemical changes within the cell result in signals being sent to the olfactory bulb: a bulb-like structure at the tip of the frontal lobe where the olfactory nerves begin. - From the olfactory bulb, information is sent to regions of the limbic system and to the primary olfactory cortex, which is located very near the gustatory cortex. Ch 4 Absolute Threshold - - Definition: The lowest intensity level of a stimulus a person can detect half of the time. - Involves perceiving or not perceiving a set stimulus. - A common way to assess absolute thresholds is for a researcher to present stimuli, such as light, of different intensities to a research participant. *The intensity level that a participant can see 50% if the time is that person's absolute threshold for light. *People differ in their absolute threshold, with some people being more sensitive than others. *Example: Introverts are more sensitive to sensory stimulation than extroverts. - Detecting sensations is a matter not only of the intensity of the stimulus but also of the person's decision making process in a particular context. *The 2 kinds of errors, however, are believing a plane is there when it is not ("false alarm") or not perceiving it when it is there ("miss"). - Signal Detection Theory attempts to separate "signal" from "noise" and takes into account both stimulus intensity and the decision-making processes people use in detecting a stimulus. *In signal detection research, low intensity stimulus is presented on some occasions, but not presented on other occasions. *Signal detection experiments present only a single, low-intensity stimulus. - The participant's responses create a profile of hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections. - A "hit" is simply detecting a true signal and a absent, however, we can make either a false alarm or a correct rejection. - A "false alarm" occurs when we believe a signal is there when it is not. - A "correct rejection" occurs when we believe no signal was there and it was not. Ch 4 Sensation - - Definition: A physical process involving the stimulation of our sense organs by features of the outer world. - Sensory receptors detect sensory stimuli. - Process of receiving info via 5 senses, which can then be experienced and interpreted by the brain. - Source is the stimuli obtained from sensory organs. - Results in perception. - A general biological procedure. Ch 4 Perception - - Definition: A psychological process involving the act of organizing and interpreting sensory experience. - Involves the organization, interpretation, and conscious experience of those sensations.