AP Review Chapter 1, 2, & 3

Chapter 1: Terms Structuralism Functionalism Behaviorism Evolutionary Nature v.

Nurture Gestalt Psychology Psychoanalysis Humanist Cognition Biological Sociocultural Behavorial Genetics

Ethnocentrism Dualism Rene Descartes John Locke

Empiricism Thomas Hobbes

7 major fields Developmental – human development (mostly children) Social – attitudes, prejudice, conformity, attraction Experimental – sensation, perception, learning,

conditioning, motivation, emotion Physiological – genetics, brain, nervous system,

endocrine system Cognitive – mental processes, memory, reasoning,

language, problem solving Personality – what shapes our personality Psychometrics – measurement of behavior, capacities

through test, designing test, look for new data

Focus of professional practice Clinical – Evaluation, diagnosis, treatment of

disorders Counseling – Overlaps clinical, work usually

with people suffering moderate severity Educational & School – improve curriculum

design, achievement testing, work in schools aiding students

Industrial & Organizational – HR department, improve staff moral, productivity

Structuralism Smallest possible elements of the mind Understand all the parts =

understanding structure of the mind Examples:

Patient shown picture, listen to sounds and record thoughts (Sensation, feelings, images)

People: Edward Titchener (student of Wundt)

Functionalism Influenced by Darwin (Natural Selection)

How people adapt to the world around them (Survival/reproduction advantage)

“Stream of consciousness” Looks at function/ purpose of

consciousness rather than structure (leads to behaviorism)

People: William James

Behavioral (Stimulus – Response Psychology

Study observable behavior, mind and mental events unimportant (why?) Can not study consciousness Scientific Method rests on verifiability

People: Ivan Pavlov (Classical Conditioning – dog), John Watson (Classical Conditioning – Little Albert), B.F. Skinner (Operant Conditioning – Skinner Box)

Evolutionary Nature vs. Nurture Nature (genetic) vs. Nurture

(Environment/Experience) Watson argued environment played large

role Could specialize any child in any

profession

Gestalt Psychology Concerned with perception of conscious experience. How we experience the world rather than how we

felt The whole of an experience can be more than the

sum of its parts Law of Closure – group items together see whole (3/4

circle – we fill in the gap) Law of Pragnanz – organize, reduce to simplest form Law of Proximity – Objects near each other we group Law of Similiarty – group items that are similar

together Law of Continuity – Lines seen following smooth path

Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Unconscious – thoughts below surface of

awareness Explains personality, motivation, mental

disorders through unconscious You are not the master of your own mind Repressed thoughts

People: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler

Humanist Humans are unique and free in will

(different from animals) Optimistic about human nature People: Abraham Maslow (Self-

Actualization – reach full potential), Carl Rogers (Unconditional Positive Regard – positive self concept in attaining self actualization)

Cognitive Thinking or conscious experience Combines Structuralist (look at

subcomponents of thought) and functionalist (understand purpose of thought)

People: Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky

Biological Looks at interaction of anatomy and

physiology (Nervous system) and behavior

Example: look at what part of the brain is at work during a task

Sociocultural Environment person lives in has great

influence on how we behave. Cultural values vary from society to

society

Behavorial Genetics Certain behaviors happen due to

genetically-based psychological characteristics

Looks at Biological/ environmental effects on trait

Example: What extent does risk taking behavior in teens have to do with genetics

Ethnocentrism Ones own ethnicity superior to others

Fear of cultural comparisons may have lead to ethnocentrism so many psychologist focused on middle class whites

Dualism Divides the world and all things in it into

two parts: Body Spirit

Questions the Greeks pondered

Rene Descartes “I Think Therefore I am”

Mind controls the body Physical world is not under divine influence

rather followed by a set of observable laws/rules The world and all creatures are like machines

behavior is predictable Humans exception = mind (not observable, not

subject to natural laws) Reflex – not controlled by the mind rather an

unconscious reaction to environmental event

John Lock Empiricism – acquisition of truth through

observations and experiences Humans born knowing nothing (“blank

slate”), nothing is innate it is all learned Nurture over nature in development

Thomas Hobbes Materialism – only

things that exist are matter and energy

What we experience as consciousness is simply by-product of machinery of the brain

Subfields in Psychology Applied Psychology – everyday practical

problems Clinical Psychology – Diagnosis

treatment

Methods of Research

Scientific Method Experiment Independent

Variable Dependent

Variable Extraneous

Variable Confounding of

Variables

Mean/Median/Mode Standard Deviation Correlational coefficient Sampling Bias Placebo effect Experimenter Bias Double blind Single blind

Experiment An investigation seeking to understand

relations of cause and effect The experimenter changes a variable

(cause) and measures how it, in turn changes another variable (effect).

Experimental group – group receiving or reacting to the IV

Control group – does not receive the IV but the rest of the experiment should be the same

Experiment Population – group of interest to be studied Representative Sample – too large of a

population to study Representativeness – degree to which a sample

reflects the diverse characteristics of the population being studied

Random Sampling – ensures maximum representativeness

Random assigned – when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group/condition in a study

Scientific Method IV – Manipulated variable (change) DV – what’s measured Extraneous Variable – Something not

apart of the experiment that effects the results

Confounding of Variables - anything that could cause change in B, that is not A Object of experiment is to prove A causes

B

Placebo In some double-blind experiments, the

control group is given a placebo, a seemingly therapeutic object or procedure that causes the control group to believe they are in the experimental group but actually contains none of the tested material. I.e.; Sugar pill

Sampling Bias When a sample is not representative of

the population from which it is drawn from Example: Dewy defeats Truman election

results Polls tend to focus on middle/upper

class white college students

The Biased &The Blind Experimenter Bias

Another confounding variable Not a conscious act Looks for the good results in study not the bad

Double-Blind Procedure - neither the participants or the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment

Single-Blind - an experiment in which the person collecting data knows whether the subject is in the control group or the experimental group, but subjects do not

Placebo Effects Resembles a drug, but no effect Why is it used? Expectations can

influence feelings, reactions, behavior and going into something positive can have a beneficial effect

Mean/Median/Mode Mean – average score Median – middle score Mode – most frequent

Standard Deviation An index of the amount of a variability

in a set of data When the variability is larger so to will

the the standard deviation Typical distribution is:

1 standard deviation is 68% 2 standard deviation is 95% 3 standard deviation is 98%

Distribution Skew

Correlation Coefficient A number that measures the strength of

a relationship Range from -1 to +1 Relationship gets weaker the closer to

zero Which is a stronger correlation?

-.13 or +.38 -.72 or +.59 -.91 or +.04

Important! Correlation does NOT prove causation, it

simply shows strength of the relationship among variables i.e.; poor school performance may be

correlated with lack of sleep. However, we do not know if lack of sleep

Confounding (3rd) Variable If an unknown factor is playing a role

Case Studies Intensive psychological studies of a

single individual The intense research of one can be

broadly applied to similar cases Like correlational studies, case studies do

not lead to causation

Cross Sectional Cross Sectional

utilizes different groups of people who differ in the variable of interest, but share other characteristics such as socioeconomic status, educational background, and ethnicity.

Often used about developmental psychologist

Cross Sectional For example, researchers studying

developmental psychology might select groups of people who are remarkably similar in most areas, but differ only in age. By doing this, any differences between groups can presumably be attributed to age differences rather than to other variables.

Longitudinal used to discover relationships between

variables that are not related to various background variables. This observational research technique involves studying the same group of individuals over an extended period of time. Can last decades The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) is a

long-term study of a random sample of 10,317 men and women who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957

Statistical Significance The probability that the observed

findings are due to chance is very low. “Very low” is usually defined as less

than .05

P Value statistical significance is often

represented like this: p < 0.05

A p-value of less than .05 indicates if the particular results are due merely to chance, the probability of obtaining these results would be less than 5%. 

Z - Score In statistics, a z-score is a standardized

score that indicates how many standard deviations a data point is from the mean.

Biological Bases of Behavior

The Neuron Dendrites – receive message Soma – cell body Axon – carries the electrical message Myelin Sheath – protects the axon, and

speed up the message Node of Ranvier – gap between myelin

sheath – helps speed up message Synapse – chemical message takes

place

The Neuron Action Potential (nerve impulse) – firing

of neuron Allows electrical charged ions of

potassium/sodium to enter cells All or nothing Absolute Refractory Period – minimal

length of time to fire again Resting Potential – 70 millivolts

The Neuron Post Synaptic Potential

Excitatory PSP – Ups likelihood of firing Inhibitory PSP – Hampers likelihood of

firing Reuptake – after neurotransmitter is

released had has conducted the impulse to the next cell(s), it is either broken down by enzymes or absorbed back into firing cell for reuptake

Key Neurotransmitters Acetylcholine – memory, muscle contraction,

particularly in the heart Serotonin – arousal, sleep, pain sensitivity, and

mood and hunger regulation (OCD/Depression) Dopamine – movement, attention, and reward;

dopamine imbalances may play a role in (low levels) Parkinson’s disease and in (high levels) schizophrenia

GABA – inhibitory neurotransmitter Norepinephrine – affects alertness; lack of

depression Endorphins – body’s natural painkillers

Nervous System Peripheral – all nerves outside brain and

spinal cord Somatic – connect voluntary muscles to

sensory receptors Autonomic – Connect the heart, blood

vessels, smooth muscles, and glands Sympathetic - mobilizes resources for

emergencies Fight or Flight

Parasympathetic – Conserves body resources

Roger Sperry – Split Brain Research Sperry received the prize for his

discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres

corpus callosum

Endocrine System Pituitary gland (master gland) – releases

hormones which control release of other glands

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) – released in stressful situations Adrenal glands – fight-or-flight Epinephrine (adrenaline) and Norepinephrine

(noradrenaline) Thyroid produces thyroxin regulate

metabolism