Marina Florack
AP Psychology Mid-term Study Guide
Intro to Psychology
Psychology: study of behavior and mental processes Dualist: believe that the body and soul were separate Monists: believe that the body and soul were one William Wundt: 1879, 1st recognized psychological experiment
o Time lapse b/t hearing ball hit platform and pressing telegraph key Structuralism
o Introspection: used to analyze the mind’s structural elements Functionalism: consciousness developed as necessity of survival; how the mind
functions to help us adapt and surviveo Based on Darwin’s Natural Selection (evolution of mental processes through
natural selection) Modern Psychology
o Neuroscience: body and brain’s influence on mental processes and behavioro Evolutionary: evolution influences genetic development…o Behavioral Genetics: genes and environment influence individual differenceso Psychodynamic: behavior springs from unconscious drives, conflicts
Psychological Research
Hindsight bias: “I knew it all along” Intuition: “Trust the Force within” Overconfidence: Tend to be more confident than correct Critical Thinking: Examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, and evaluates evidence Research Strategies
o Theory: an explanations using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations
o Hypothesis: a testable prediction, often implied by a theoryo Operational Definitions: A description of the specific procedure used to
determine the presence of a variable (a smile indicates happiness) Correlational Methods
o Cause and effect relationship, not causation
o Case Studies: observation technique, one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
Con: anecdotal caseso Survey: self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, questioning a
representative, random sample of people Con: wording can impact the effectiveness of the survey
o Samples: the larger the sample size the more likely to represent the whole Random assignment- representative sampling which is equally available
to participants (ex. Computer generated list of every 5th person)o Naturalistic Observation: observe subjects in their natural habitats w/o
interacting w/ them Con: control is sacrificed
o Experimenter Effects: Observer effect: changes in behavior due to awareness of a person or
animal being observed Observer Bias: observer sees what they expect to see or record only
selected details Anthropomorphic Fallacy: attributing human thoughts, feelings, or
motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: prediction that leads people to act in ways to
make the prediction come true False Consensus Effect: tendency to overestimate other’s agreement with
us Experiment vs. Correlational Study
o Experiment: manipulates a factor to determine its effecto Correlational Studies: uncover naturally occurring relationships
Experiments:o Experimental Group: group that receives treatmento Control Group: group that does not receive the treatment (placebo)o Independent Variable: the factor manipulated (the cause)o Dependant Variable: behavior or mental process that is measured in response to
the experiment (the effect)o Confounding Variables: any difference b/t the experimental group and control
which affect the outcome (time, place, frequency, etc.)o Controls:
Placebos Double-blind procedure Random assigning
Experiments aim to MANIPULATE an independent variable, MEASURE a dependent variable, and CONTROL all other variables.
Good Research is… o Valid: measures what the researcher set out to measure and is accurateo Replication: measures reliability (ability to produce same results repeated times)
Statistics and Research Central Tendencies: a single score which represents a whole set of scores
o Mean: Average (most easily distorted by extreme scores)
o Median: Middle value Most representative
o Mode Most frequently occurring score
o Range Measure of variability Difference b/t the highest and lowest scores
o Standard Deviation Measure of variability How much values differ from the average score Bell curve
Neuroscience, Genetics and Behavior “Modern psychology views each individual as a biopsychosocial system.” Biological
states, and psychological states both affect, and the impact of your environment, biological predispositions, and nurturing
“Everything psychological is simultaneously biological.” Our thought processes, emotions, behavior have a partial biological influence
Neuron (nerve cell): basic unit info. Processing, building block of the brain (and nervous system)
o Think, feel, move and breathe Dendrite: receives messages
Axon: sends messages Myelin Sheath: protects axon, speeds up transmission
o Wears out: Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis Cell body: stores proteins to nourish transmission Action Potential: neural impulse
o Stimulated when neuron receives signal of heat, pressure or lighto Generated by movement of positively charged atoms in and out of the axon’s
membrane Threshold: all or nothing response in the action potential Reuptake: extra neurotransmitters are sent back to the receptor site Ions
o Neurons generate energy from themo Resting potential
Fluid inside axon is negatively charged Fluid outside axon is positively charged
o Axon’s surface is selectively permeable Synapse: gap b/t the axon tip of sending neuron and dendrite or cell body of receiving
neurono Gap is called the synaptic gap
Neurtotransmitters: chemical messengers which cross synaptic gap b/t neuronso Receptor sites: “lock and key”o Acetylcholine: muscle action, learning and memory
Alzheimer’so Dopamine: perceptual awareness, muscle control
Schizophrenia Parkinson’s disease
o Serotonin: sleep, eating, mood Depression Prozac raises serotonin lvls
o Norepinephrine: mood Bipolar disorder, mania, depression
o Endorphins: pain control and pleasure “runners high” Natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters
Drugs:o Agonists: excite, mimic neurotransmitter signalo Antagonists: block, inhibit neurotransmitter signal
Nervous System:o Body’s electrochemical communication systemo Central Nervous System (CNS): brain and spinal cordo Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): sensory and motor neurons connect the CNS
to the rest of the body
o Afferent Neurons: sensory, incoming info from sense receptorso Efferent Neurons: motor, outgoing info from CNS to muscles and glandso Interneurons: CNS neurons that internally communicate, process afferent and
efferent neurons (most complex) Reflexes: don’t require the brain’s involvement
o Spinal reflex: autonomic, brain isn’t involvedo Pain reflex: simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus
Endocrine Systemo Produces hormoneso Growth, mood, metabolism, reproductiono Slower than CNSo Pituitary Gland: growth, and release of hormoneso Adrenal Glands: heart rate, blood sugar, blood pressure
“Old Brain”o Brainstem: automatic survival functionso Medulla: heartbeat and breathingo Reticular Formation: arousal and sleepo Pons: coordinate movemento Thalamus: sensory switchboardo Cerebellum: coordinate voluntary movement and balance
Limbic System
o Emotions: fear and aggression, food and sexo Hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus
Hemisphereso Right: spatial creativeo Left: language and logic
Cerebral Cortex: ultimate control and info. processing centero Glial Cells: support, nourish and protect neuronso Lobes:
Frontal: speaking and muscle movement, judgment and logic Parietal: sensory cortex, touch Occipital: visual info. opposite visual field Temporal: hearing, auditory areas
o Motor Cortex: voluntary movemento Sensory Cortex: registers and processes body sensationso Broca’s Area: making speecho Wernicke’s Area: language comprehension and expression
Aphasia: language impairmento Corpus Callosum: carries messages b/t hemisphereso Split Brain:
See what is in left hemisphere field of vision (right) verbalize Point to word in the right hemisphere field of vision (left)
Human Behavior Chromosomes are composed of DNA
o DNA are composed of Geneso Gene Complexes: many genes acting in concerto Genes: influence physical make-up, intelligence, aggressiveness, happinesso Fraternal (dizygotic)o Identical (monozygotic)o Nurture Influences:
Values, manners, faith/religion, political views, and social viewso Temperament remains consistent through lifeo Evolutionary Psychology: natural selection shapes our behavior, and thinking
(over time)o Pruning: neural connections, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”o Influence Parents vs. Peers
Parents: education, discipline, responsibility, orderliness, charitableness, dealing with authority
Peers: cooperation, popularity, styles of interactionDevelopmental Psychology
Zygote: fertilized egg Teratogens: toxic substances which can harm baby during prenatal development FAS: mental retardation, poor motor coordination, impaired attention, hyperactivity Newborn Reflexes:
o Rooting: open mouth when touched on cheeko Grasping: grasp anything when put in hando Sucking: rhythmic sucking when mouth is touchedo Moro: if startled baby will making hugging motion
Piaget’s COGNITIVE Developmento Schema: concepts which are developed over timeo Stages
o Sensorimotor: Assimilation: apply same concept to all things generally similar Accommodation: adapting schemas to incorporate new info.
o Preoperational: Theory of mind: understand another’s perspective, infer other’s feelings,
understand joke of tricks played on another
o Criticisms Stages more continuous Ages INACCURATE
Harlow’s Monkeyso Disproved attachment theory, nourishment is not the only way an infant
develops an attachmento Secure attachment and insecure attachment
Parenting Styles:o Authoritarian: impose rules and expect obedience, stricto Permissive: few demands, little punishmento Authoritative: demanding and responsive, provide explanations, open
discussions, and exceptions Kohlberg’s MORAL Development
o Postconventional Level (self-defined morality) Morality of abstract principles; to affirm agreed-upon rights and personal
ethical principleso Conventional Level (Early adolescence)
Morality of law and social rules; to gain approval or avoid disapprovalo Preconventional Level (Up to age 9)
Morality of self-interest; to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewardso Criticisms:
Carol Gilligan: he only studied boys, women and men have different types of morality
Erikson’s PsychoSOCIAL Development
Sensation and Perception Schema: first impression Sensation: what we sense and send to the brain
o Bottom-up Processing Perception: what the brain does with the sensory info.
o Top-Up Processing Prosopagnosia: “face blindness”
o Complete sensation but incomplete perception Absolute Threshold: min. stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time Difference Threshold: min. difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of
the time (JND- just noticeable difference)o Subliminal: stimulus below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness-
subconsciouso Weber’s Law: two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, AKA
different threshold is a ratio Sensory Adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation Vision:
o Transduction: conversion of one form of energy to anothero Accommodation: lens changes to help focus objects on the retinao Optic Nerve: rope-like axons fro ganglion cells, carries info from eye to the braino Blind spoto Fovea: central point in the retina, where the cones cluster
Parallel Processing: simultaneous processing of several aspects of visual stimulus (different parts of cortex integrate all info at once to form perception)
Tri-chromatic Theory: red, green, blue
Opponent Process Theory: opposing retinal processes enable color vision (“ON” & “OFF”)
Auditiono Frequency: number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given timeo Pitch: High freq.= high pitch/ low=lowo Wave to Sound
Outer Ear: Channels sounds wave through auditory canal to eardrum Middle Ear: Vibrations pass through piston (hammer, anvil, stirrup) piston
concentrates vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window Eardrum: basilar membrane converts wave to vibrations
Inner Ear Cochlea: converts vibrations into neural activity (vibration =
ripples in basilar membrane fluid) Bending hair cells = auditory neural impulse
o Discerning Pitch Place Theory: specific places along basilar membrane match a tone with a
particular pitch Frequency Theory: rate of sound wave = rate of neural impulses to the
braino Conduction Hearing Loss: caused by damage to the mechanical system that
conducts sound wave to the cochleao Nerve Hearing Loss: damage to the cochlea’s receptor cells or to the auditory
nerveo Tinnitus: damage to auditory ear (ring in ears)o Cochlear Implants: stimulates sites on auditory nerve for those w/ nerve
deafness Touch
o Pressure: only sensation identifiable w/ skin receptorso Pain: “no brain, no pain”
Gate-Control Theory: Small nerve fibers open gate, large nerve fibers close gate
Tasteo Taste Sensations
Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, Umami (meaty)o Sensory Interaction: one sense may influence another
Synaesthesia: joining of senses, one sense stimulates anothero Place theory outdate for tongue: Taste is comprehensive all over tongue
Smello Olfaction
Chemical sense Body Position and Movement (Sensorimotor Coordination)
o Kinesthesis: sensing position and movement of individual body partso Vestibular Sense: sense of balance
Inner ear: semicircular canals, vestibular sacs = fluid = hair-like receptors = impulse to cerebellum
States of Consciousness Stage 1
o Few minutes, only experience it onceo Theta waveso “hallucinations”
Stage 2o More theta waveso Sleep spindles, short bursts of rapid brain waves
Stages 3 and 4o 3: intro. To deep sleepo Slow wave sleepo Delta waveso Restoring body’s growth hormones o Genital arousal
REM!!!o Paradoxical sleepo Very active braino Dreams usually occur in REMo Essentially paralyzedo Rapid heart rate and breathing
Sleep Disorderso Insomnia: persistent problems falling asleepo Narcolepsy: Sleeplessness and may fall asleep at unpredictable or inappropriate
times, directly into REMo Sleep Apnea: stops breathing while sleepingo Night Terrors: wake up screaming and have no idea whyo Somnambulism: sleep walking (stage 4)
Dreamso Manifest Content: storyline
o Latent Content: underlying meaningo Activation-Synthesis Theory: cerebral cortex is trying to interpret random
electrical activity we have while sleepingo Info.-Processing Theory: dreams are a way to deal with the stresses of everyday
life Hypnosis
o Social interaction between one person who suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, and thoughts will spontaneously occur
o Posthypnotic suggestiono Posyhypnotic amnesiao Role Theory vs. State Theory
Role: not altered state of consciousness Social phenomenon
State: is altered state of consciousness Dramatic health benefits Works best on pain
o Dissociation Theory: We voluntarily divide our consciousness up Drugs:
o If a drug is used often enough a TOLERANCE is createdo Neuroadaptation: brain adapts chemistry to offset drug’s effect
Learning Pavlov: classical conditioning Stimuli
o US: unlearned (food)o UR: (salivation)o NS: bell paired with the food to form associationo CS: (bell)o Acquisition: learning, respond to CS w/o USo Extinction: to unlearn behavior, present CS w/o USo Spontaneous Recovery: reappearance of CR upon presentation of CS
Renewal effect: reappearance of CR after extinction when returning to environment where acquisition took place
o Generalization: stimulus similar to CS elicits a CRo Discrimination: distinguish b/t various stimuli
Watson: aversive conditioningo Second/higher order conditioning: CS elicits a CR, the CS can be used to
condition a response to a new stimulus (Bell paired w/ light)
Skinner: operant conditioning Consequenceso Reinforcement: consequence that increase likelihood of behavior
Positive R = adds something pleasant Negative R = removes something unpleasant
o Punishment: consequence that decreases likelihood of behavior Positive Punishment = adds something negative Negative Punishment (omission training) = removes something pleasant
o Shaping: reinforcing the stepso Chaining: reinforcing a number of separate behaviors for a more complex activityo Primary reinforcers: natural reinforcerso Secondary reinforcers: learned to valueo Reinforcement Schedules: pattern of reinforcing behavior
Fixed Ration = reinforcement after set number of responses Variable Ratio = reinforcement after varied number of responses Fixed Interval = fixed amount of time set before reward for behavior Variable Interval = varied amount of time before reward
o Observational Learning: Imitation
Prosocial behavior: role modeling Antisocial behavior: bobo doll experiment
o Latent learning (“hidden”) Learning that isn’t directly observable
Rats and varied rewardso Insight Learning: “aha”o Abstract Learning: higher order thinking (inferring relationships, complex
problem solving)
Memory Three Stage Processing Model
o Sensory Memory (working memory)o Short-Term Memoryo Long-Term Memory
Sensory Memory: immediate initial recording of sensory info. in memory systemo Iconic (split second photograph)o Echoic (split second sound(s))
Encodingo Automatic and Effortful
Memories do NOT reside in a single specific spot of our brain