PSYC 10A TEST 1

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Plato vs. Aristotle
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Terms in this set (75)
Plato vs. Aristotle
Plato: nativism
-some knowledge innate or inborn
-"hardwired"
-nature

Aristotle: empiricism
-all knowledge through experience
-"tabula rasa" (blank slate)
-nurture
René Descartes
mind-body problem
...Dualism!

Body: directly observable, obeys natural laws, controls reflexive behaviors

Soul: observable only through interaction with body, source of free will and thought, uniquely human
John Locke
mind-body problem
...Empiricism!

-rejected notion that soul is divorced from body
-all knowledge and thought derived from sensory experience
-believed in model of the mind as a blank slate--we are the product of our sensory experience
-no "ghost in the machine"
Gall - phrenology
phrenology
-specific mental abilities and characteristics (e.g. memory, happiness) are localized in specific regions of the brain
-now defunct theory
-asserted that bumps and indentations in brain could determine whether someone was friendly, cautious, etc.
Flourens & Broca
specific regions do specific things
-brain damage
-mind grounded in material substance
Wundt - structuralism
-moved psych from philosophy to science
-made 1st psychology laboratory (1879)
-studied consciousness (subjective experience of world and mind)
-structuralism: breaking down elements of thought
-used introspection
Introspection
person's descriptions of sensations they experience in response to some stimulus and try to break down into "basic elements"
Titchener
-Wundt's student
-1st psych lab in USA
Structuralism vs. Functionalism
William James: Functionalism
-agreed with Wundt about focus on experience
-focused on "why"? what is experience for?
-enables people to adapt to environment
-influenced by Darwin

*Structuralism: what a house is made up of
Functionalism: house, hut, tent serve the same purpose even though made of different things
Wertheimer - Gestalt Psychology
-Max Wertheimer
-the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
-can't break experience into elements
Freud - Psychoanalysis-focused on unconscious mind -structuralists' focus on the subjective experience of world and mind is not enoughMaslow - Humanistic Psychology-behavior is determined by person's capacity to choose how to think and act (unique perceptions) and people are good. Give people affection and security, they will give affection and be secure in feelings and behavior.Watson - Behaviorism-study only behavior -like empiricists, reject notion that there is anything unknowable about the "mind" -look for "causes" of behavior in environment -understanding behavior requires no reference to unobservable events -no fundamental differences between human and animal behaviorB.F. Skinner-reinforcement -most vocal advocate of behaviorism -more rewards, fewer punishmentsCognitive Psychology-use behavior to reveal mind -can infer existence of memory from behaviorTheories and Hypotheses-Theories tell you why a relationship exists. They are explanations. Statements about the way things work. -Hypotheses are predictions about what should happen if the theory is true. "educated" guessesSchachter ExperimentFearful group = high affiliation nonfearful group = low affiliationNaturalistic ObservationAdvantages: -artificial lab may not be as good as the "real world" -high external validity (findings generalize to other settings) Disadvantages: -low internal validity -ability to draw cause-and-effect inferences from a studyCase StudiesAdvantages: -existence proofs -rare or unusual phenomenon - hard to duplicate in lab -can lead to experimental studies Disadvantages: -lack of generalizability to population -alternative explanationsSelf-report methods and surveysAdvantages: -easy to administer -person my have access to information Disadvantages: -but do we always have enough insight? -wording matters -response bias (people unhappy will respond more than people content)Correlational Studies-often relationships are observed in the world around us -can be related to many factors -Third-variable problem: maybe something else accounts for the relationship -correlation doesn't equal causationExperimental StudiesWhy do experiments? -Can infer causality -must watch for: randomization of samples, representativeness of samples, internal & external validity Problems -knowledge of being studied could affect performance/behavor -demand characteristics (guess about hypothesis and behave accordingly) -experimenter expectancy: experimenter unintentionally influences behavior, Clever Hans, double-blind studiesEthics of Experiments-must guard welfare of participants -risk-benefit ratio -now we have IRB's and greater governance from media and publicTuskegee Study-very unethical treatment of black americans with syphillisThe Brain: Major Subdivisionshindbrain, midbrain, forebrainHindbrain-medulla: breathing, heart rate -pons: regulation of sleep-wake cycle -cerebellum: balance and muscle coordination reticular formation: alert response to PNSForebrainThalamus: relay center, regulate higher centers Hypothalamus: drives (4 F's: feeding, fleeing, fighting, f*cking) Limbic System amygdala: almond shaped, emotion hippocampus: seahorse-like, memory Cerebral Cortex -largest division of the human brain -mediates most complex functions -initiates voluntary movement, interprets sensory input -cognitive processes (learning, speaking, and problem-solving)Midbrainvision relay point, pain registrationOccipital Lobe-input from optic nerve -contains primary visual cortex -outputs to parietal and temporal lobesTemporal LobeContains primary auditory cortex! -inputs are auditory and visual patterns -speech recognition, face recognition, word recognition, memory formationParietal Lobe-inputs from multiple senses -contains primary somatosensory cortex -borders visual and auditory cortex -outputs to frontal lobe -hand-eye coordination -eye movements -attentionFrontal Lobe-contains primary motor cortex -no direct sensory input -important planning and sequencing areas -Broca's area for speechPhineas GageMetal rod straight through brain (frontal lobe mostly)--and lived!! -changes in personality: lack of reasoning, profane, impatient of anything that restricted him, obstinate yet capricious, devising and abandoning plans shortly after -damage to specific region of prefrontal cortex -domains affected: theory of mind, inhibition of stimulus-bound reflexes, working memory, attention allocation and the anterior cingulate -planning and coordinating goal-oriented behavior, social domain and emotionsNeurons-specialized cells -basic building blocks of nervous system -start with 100 billion -lose ~10k a day! -neurogenesis: the ability to create new neuronsAction PotentialNeuron's happy state = polarized 1. Neuron is polarized ( + outside, - inside) 2. positive molecules outside are attracted to the negative molecules inside 3. Some positive molecules eventually come in through leaky channels that exist within the membrane 4. The influx of positive molecules depolarized the cell 5. Gates open, letting in even more positive molecules, causing more gates to open 6. Neuron becomes less negative than before 7. Membrane is depolarized to a threshold--> Action potential fires (all or nothing) 8. This repeats continually down the length of the axonAction Potential 2-Na+ ions flow into cell -raises membrane potential to -40 mV -produces action potential (spike) -1 msec long -Other channels open, allowing K+ to flow out of cell --> membrane potential is restored to -70 mVSalatory ConductionAction potential jumps from node to node along the axon -- toward the axon terminalsAction Potential @ the terminal:-vesicles open into the synapse -vesicles release neurotransmitters -neurotransmitters bind to dendrites of post-synaptic neuron -post-synaptic neurons fires or doesn't fireNeurotransmitters-more than 40 known types (know ones in textbook) -broken down by other chemicals or terminal buttons "reuptake" themNeurotransmitters (Types)Acetylcholine (ACh): -involved in a number of functions, including voluntary motor control Dopamine -regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, emotional arousal Glutamate -major excitatory neurotransmitter in brain GABA -primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain (stops neuron firing) Norepinepherine -involved in states of vigilance or awareness of dangers Serotonin -involved in sleep/wakefulness, eating, and agression Endorphins -chemicals that act within pain pathways and emotion centers of brainAgonistsA drug that enhances the activity of a neurotransmitterAntagonistsA drug that impedes the activity of a neurotransmitterReuptake inhibitorsDrugs that enhance the effect of a neurotransmitter by blocking reuptakeRefractory PeriodThe down time in an action potential until the membrane is polarized again, when the gates close, and positive ions are pumped back out.Hemispheres-Corpus Callosum: the major pathway between the two hemispheres of the brain -language on left -math, music on rightCommissureA collection of nerve fibers that pass over the midline in the central nervous system (ex. corpus callosum) -commissurectomy = cutting corpus callosumSplit Brain studies-hemispheres can't exchange data, but sensory inputs and motor outputs are still crossed -ex) picture to right brain: can't name object, but left hand can identify by touch picture to left brain: can name the object, left hand cannot identify by touchMethods (brain organization)-patients/lesion studies -structural images: CT, MRI -electrical activity: EEG, ERP -functional images: fMRI, PETNS SubdivisionsTop-downTo move from expectation to the stimulus -conceptually-driven -driven by beliefs and expectationsBottom-upTo move from the stimulus to the "perception" -create a whole from parts -stimulus-drivenSensationThe detection of physical energy by sense organs; stimulation of sense organPerceptionBrain's interpretation of raw sensory inputsDetection-Measuring the strength of a stimulus and the observer's sensitivity to it -JND (just noticeable difference): a minimal change that can be detectedSignal Detection TheoryDetecting a stimulus relies on a person's sensitivity to a stimulus and a person's response criterion.Perceptual OrganizationPerceive unified whole rather than a bunch of parts (Gestalt psychology!) -laws of Prägnanz - laws of organizationLaw of proximity-elements closest together will be perceived as belonging togetherContinuity/continuation-perceive straight and curved lines as continuous flowing patterns (left). The principle of continuity predicts the preference of continuous figuresClosure-supply missing information to close a figure and separate it from its backgroundSimilarity-elements that look similar will be perceived as part of the same formConstruction from retinal image-perceptual constancy-sensations change, but perceptions remain the same -shape and size constancy -illusions=shape constancyRetinal/Binocular DisparityMonocular Cues -see depth with only one eye: distant objects produce a smaller retinal image than nearby objects of the same size. This phenomenon is the basis for many illusions Linear Perspective -lines converge toward a single point of the horizon Relative Size -images larger on the retina are interpreted as closer (smaller images on retina seen as farther away)TransductionThe ability to convert physical stimulus energy into electrical changes in the receptor cells Ex) Odorant molecules make their way into the nose -Olfactory epithelium - contains olfactory receptor neurons. Odorant molecules bind; with enough binding, action potential to olfactory nerve -Receptor neurons send axons from epithelium into the olfactory bulb Ex) Taste buds contain several taste receptor cells - microvilli - that react with tastant molecules in foodAuditionEardrum -sound waves funneled to here and vibrate eardrum Ossicles -pick up vibrations, amplify, and send along by vibrating membrane at the surface of the fluid-filled cochlea -semicircular canals: cochlea (fluid-filled tube, organ of auditory transduction) Wavelike movements stimulate hair cells -hair cells: specialized auditory receptor neurons -then release neurotransmitter molecules, initiating neural signal in auditory nerve that travels to brainNeural CodingThe stimulus input must be processed and coded for intensity and qualitative aspects -place code: where is being displaced on the membrane? -temporal code: if whole membrane is displaced, need to use the pattered timing of firingSensory systems interact across time and locationWhat you sense now in any given place depends upon what you sensed a minute ago and what is happening around you.Duplex Theory of VisionRods - can operate under low light but not so sensitive to color Cones - require brighter light, but highly sensitive to color **trichromatic color representationAdaptationRepeated stimulation of a particular receptor leads to reduced respondingSensory Memory-a "buffer" for sensory information -briefly holds it before passing (some of) it along -iconic memory-vision -echoic memory-auditory -sperling experimentSperling Experiment-most people could remember about 4 or 5 from whole display -with partial-report method, could remember any row -iconic memory: large capacity, fades quickly -echoic memory: 5-10 secondsShort-term memory (STM)The memory store for information we're currently thinking about, attending to, or processing actively -some info passed to LTM, some lost -capacity of STM: Miller's magic number of 7 +/- 2 --> can increase capacity with: 1) chunking (expand size) and 2) rehearsal (expand time)Working Memory (WM)Refers to the maintenance of STM (central executive functions)Long-term Memory (LTM)-includes things that happens recently, such as something from 1 minute ago that you stopped focusing on -how do things get into LTM? --> think about meaning of info, semantic judgement, self-relevance, visual imagery, organizationTaxonomy of MemoryAmnesia-Long-term memory impairment -spared implicit memory (often) -Types 1. Retrograde: cannot remember old memories (this is rare) 2. Anterograde: cannot form new memories (more common)