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PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
Psychology Notes:
*Edward Titchner
*William James
Behaviorism
Gestalt Psychology
Psychoanalysis
*Sigmund Freud
-Exploring the unconscious mind
>ID
>Ego
>Super ego
Humanistic Psychology
Critical thinking
*An ability to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, synthesize, and
reflect.
*6 Steps:
1. Observe
6. Build theories
*Creating a Hypothesis
*The Control Group: those exposed to all the same conditions but NOT
the Independent variable.
Naturalistic Observation
-Limitations:
>Observer effect
>Observer bias
Correlation Coefficients
-If the amount is closer to zero, the association between the two
measures is weak or nonexistent.
Clinical Method
*Case Studies
-Limitations
Survey Method
-Limitations
Chapter 2
-Forebrain
-Midbrain (connector)
-Hindbrain
>Controls vital life functions (breathing, heart rate,
swallowing, etc.)
Endocrine System
Human Development
*Heredity (“nature”): What you inherit from your parents (eye color and
hair color)
*Environment (“nurture”): What you obtain from the world around you
Babies (“Neonates”)
Baby Facts
*By 9 months, babies can tell the difference between different animals
(bird vs. dog).
*By I year, babies can see as well as their parents.
>Secure attachment
>Insecure attachment
*Parenting styles
-Authoritarian (rigid rules, demands, strict obedience)
affection)
Cognitive Development
*Preconventional Level
-Moral thinking guided by consequences of actions: Punishment,
rewards, or mutual benefit.
>Avoiding punishment
>Self-interest
*Conventional Level
>Avoiding disapproval
*Post-conventional Level
*Anger
-“Why me?”
*Bargaining
-Making a deal with God- “Just let me live a little while longer.”
*Depression
*Acceptance
Psychophysics
*Psychophysics can be defined as, the Vitreous
study of humour-
how physical stimuli
are translated into
Aqueous psychological experience.
everything else
Sensation humour-
protects
*Sensation is the process by which our senses gather information and
send itCornea-Light
to the brain.
pass through eye
-Room temp, brightness of the lights, someone talking, a distant
train, or the smell of perfume.
Absolute Threshold
Difference Threshold
*The visual system works on sensing and perceiving light waves. Light
waves vary in their length and amplitude.
-Wave length (also referred to as frequency, since the longer a
wave, the less often/quickly it occurs) – affects color perception
(ex: red=approx 700, yellow=approx 600).
3 Visual Problems
*Astigmatism
-Defects in the cornea, lens, or eye that cause some areas of
vision to be out of focus.
*We can see many colors, but only have 3 types of cones that receive
information about color. We have cones that pick up light waves for
red, green, and blue.
-After images
-Monocular Cues: those cues that can be seen using only one
eye. They include size, texture, overlapping, shading, height, and
clarity.
-Binocular Cues: those depth cues in which both eyes are needed
to perceive. There are two important binocular cues,
convergence and retinal disparity.
*Monocular cues:
-Objects that are closer to the bottom of our visual field are seen
as closer to us due to our perception of the horizon, where higher
(height) means farther away, therefore, cleaner or crisper
images tend to be perceived as closer (clarity).
*Binocular cues:
-Since our eyes see two images that are then sent to our brains
for interpretation, the distance between these two images, or
their retinal disparity, provides another cue regarding the
distance of the object.
Perceptual Learning
*Changes in perception that can be attributed to prior experience; a
result of changes in how the brain processes sensory information.
-Muller-Layer Illusion
-Walking consciousness
*NREM Stage 1:
*NREM Stage 2:
*NREM Stage 3:
*NREM Stage 4:
*Dreaming
*Addiction:
Chapter 6
*Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that can be
attributed to experience
*“Unconditioned” simply means that the stimulus and the response are
naturally connected. They just came that way, hard wired
*Summary:
Operant conditioning-
Reinforcement/Punishment
*Anything that increases a behavior- makes it occur more frequently,
makes it stronger, or makes it more likely to occur- is termed a
reinforce.
BF SKINNER
Reinforcement Punishment
Positive Positive Positive punishment
Reinforcement
Negative Negative Negative Punishment
Reinforcement
Partial Reinforcement and Stimulus Control
Chapter 7:Memory
Memory Systems
-Iconic Memory: an exact copy of what you see (less than 1 sec)
-A working of sorts
-Declarative memory
Measuring Memory
Forgetting
Chapter 8: Intelligence
Intelligence- the global capacity to act purposefully, to think
rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment.
-Reasoning
-Problem-solving
-Knowledge
-Memory
G-actor
Intelligence Test
*Mean (Average)
Intelligence Test
*Weschler Scales
-Verbal IQ
-Performance IQ
-Full-scale IQ
-Verbal comprehension
-Perceptual organization
-Working memory
-Processing standard
Thinking
*Syntax- are the rules used when forming words into sentences
*Problem Solving
Creative Thinking
*Orientation
*Preparation
*Incubation
*Illumination
*Verification
Chapter 9: Motivation
*A model of motivation
*Primary Motives- Based on biological needs for food, water, air, etc.
to ensure survival of the individual.
-As the brain receives signals (via the hypothalamus) that the
body needs nourishment.
*Thirst- 2 types
Stress
Frustation
-Can it be changed?
Suicide
-More than half of all suicide victims are over 45 y/o (White males
65+ are particularly at risk)
*Causes: there isn’t one major cause for suicide, but there are factors.
*An estimated 2/3 of all suicide attempts are made by people who do
not really want to die
*Psychoanalysis (Freud)
>Free association
>Dream analysis
>Analysis of transference
Insight Therapies
*Humanistic Therapies:
-Existential Therapy
-Gestalt Therapy
Behavioral Therapy
Psychotherapy
Chapter 12 Psychopathology
Personality Disorders
*Defined by maladaptive personality patterns
Schizophrenia
Mood Disorders
*Major disturbance in emotion
>Bipolar I and II
Others Disorders
*Child Disorders
*Somatoform Disorders
>Exhibitionism >Fetishism>Pedophilia>Arousal
Disorders>Sexual Pain Disorders
*Eating Disorders
*Sleeping Disorders
*Factitious Disorders
*Adjustment Disorders