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chapter 1
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior.
It is not anything you can talk about
1900's study of mind
1920 John B Watson- father of behaviorism-like science
Change study
Change method
Study only things you can observe --behavior not thinking
Make and test hypothesis
Introspection- to look with in, psychologist and philosophers method of study, I.E teaching methods, FEAR-dunce cap, ruler, humiliation
1960 people asked questions , can study mind indirectly, moved slightly away from Watson theory
Psychologists:
SOCIAL: people in groups, strong influence, social norm, standards
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EXPERIMETAL: large, theoretical, ask scientific questions to answer others. |
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BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL: physiological, fastest growing, ask questions about the brain.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: studies humans from birth-death, brain development.
CLINICAL&COUNSELING: majority of psychologists do this
Clinical: most severe mental illnesses also common problems
Counseling: study every, common problems
PSYCHIATRIST: MD may use drugs or give medicine--training how do we fix
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: PhD or PsyD cannot give drugs--what happens
PSYCHOANALYSISTS: psychotherapists who use Freud's theory Methods
Nature of human personality: (psychoanalysis)
Psychoanalytic: Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, behavior is done within deep unconsciousness, basic nature is base and cant be changed only covered up and made socially acceptable, all are born bad, driven by sex and aggression.
Behaviorism: B.F. Skinner is best example of behaviorism, believes we are born neutral, neither good or bad, life's rewards and punishments determine our nature. We seek rewards and avoid pain.
Humanistic : Carl Rogers (the 3rd force) believes humans are born good and are free rational beings with the potential for personal growth, life forces you into directions to force bad decisions, if confronted will all aspects of situation, humans by nature will make the right decision, you are still held accountable for your behaviors.
METHODS USED IN PSYCHOLOGY (5 methods of investigating)
- which methods is best?
o Depends on what the question is
o We use the best methods for the topic
- It is the experimental design which allows psychologists to determine causality (it is not statistics)
Case History: used in clinical studies where N=1 and generates ideas and studies rare events. You read case histories and form hypothesis.
- advantage
o lots of in depth information
o unique or uncommon events (people)
o deep understanding
- disadvantage
o may not be able to generalize to other cases
o may not be able to determine causality
Naturalistic Observation: observe people and animals in their natural environment. Samples vary and good source as long as no interaction. NO controls.
- DEF: observing humans/ animals in their own environment
- advantage
o real, true behavior
- disadvantage
o lack of control
Survey: describe what people think about issues or describes characteristics of a population (many subjects)
- questionnaire or interview
- advantage
o easy, quick, cheap
o sometimes accurate
- disadvantage
o obtain a representative
- population vs. sample
o honesty, interpretation, lack of in depth information
Correlational: shows relationships between variables, little controls, large number of subjects. Does not show cause and effect, but how they change together. Correlational coefficient -R- shows amount of predictability between variables.
Experimental: used to show cause and effect (ONLY WAY). Control is very important. Independent and dependent variables present, sample size varies
**The independent control you control and the dependent you measure.
- advantage
o can determine causality ex. A causes B
- disadvantage
o artificial
o not all topics can be studied via experiment
- independent variable
- dependent variable
- IV-->DV
key components of an experiment:
o isolation of an independent variable
o random assignments of subjects
- experimental group (exposed to IV)
- control group (not exposed to IV)
Operational definition: precise definition of a variable. I.E how much pot or how he measured creativity.
Example: smoking and lung cancer-
Ind. Variable- cigs
Dep. Variable- health
Placebo- means I shall please in Greek, usually a sugar pill given to control groups to study, subjects would not know. prevention
Bias- in psychological research, biases come in because we all expect something to happen. We look for something unintentionally. It started with horse clever hans.
Demand characteristics- experimental situations that suggest how a subject should behave, subtle clues (clever hans) peoples reaction before he hit the number- "awwee"
Single blind study: only participants are unaware of either real or placebo.
Double blind study: neither participants or conductor has any idea which group has placebo.
CHAPTER 2
NOTES 9/4/09
-The neuron: basic unit of the nervous system that is used to send messages to or from the brain. The neuron communicates from periphial (limbs) to central.
-Stimulator, brain decides response.
-Physical energy to neural energy.
-the size of neurons varies:
Central=tiny billions
Peripheral=largest cells, not many
-the psylatic nerve is the largest nerve
-the human egg is the largest cell in the human body
-the nerve is referenced in 2 ways:
A nerve- a single cell
Nerve that is a pathway for single cells running together like the optic nerve
-the basic parts of a Neuron:
-Dendrites- system of branches-receive messages from other neurons, 1st do transduction of central and nervous (rods and cones) convey electrical signals toward the soma, are shorter than axons, and are usually multiple and branching.
-soma-cell body
-axon- a major nerve fiber convey electrical signals away from the soma. The length of axon that determines the size of neurons
-myelin- the fatty (cholesterol) tissue that insulates the axon.
myelinated axons conduct neuronal signals faster than do unmyelinated axons.
-synapse- the small space between neurons, synaptic is slower than neuro transmissions, sodium, potassium and chloride are necessary to function (electrolytes)
-All psychoactive processes are--- controlled (painkillers, depressants)
-all psychoactive drugs alter---- synpase
-alcohol---- is the only psychoactive drug that works ALL cells.
-__brain_____is made up of white or mylinated matter and gray matter
-when an axon is at rest it is not sending messages to the brain. Negative charges are on inside and positive on outside = at rest axon voltage is not 0.
-when axon is active the sodium rushes in and mixes + and -'s, now there is more +'s on inside and more -'s on outside.
-vesicles are containers in the axon that hold neurotransmitters.
-synaptic cleft
-Neurotransmitter (key) sodium rushes in starting "ive been stimulated" message.
*DOPAMINE-inhibits, helps control voluntary movement
*SERATONIN-inhibits, regulates mood, sleep, attention and learning
*ENDORPHINS-natural opiates, stimulate the firing of neurons
-the receptor site is the (lock)
-*message down is chemical
-*message across is electrical
HOW THE BRAIN WORKS
The brain functions by complex neuronal, or nerve cell, circuits. Communication between neurons is both electrical and chemical and always travels from the dendrites of a neuron, through its soma, and out its axon to the dendrites of another neuron.
Dendrites of one neuron receive signals from the axons of other neurons through chemicals known as neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters set off electrical charges in the dendrites, which then carry the signals electrochemically to the soma. The soma integrates the information, which is then transmitted electrochemically down the axon to its tip.
At the tip of the axon, small, bubblelike structures called vesicles release neurotransmitters that carry the signal across the synapse, or gap, between two neurons. There are many types of neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. Neurotransmitters can be excitatory (that is, they excite an electrochemical response in the dendrite receptors) or inhibitory (they block the response of the dendrite receptors).
One neuron may communicate with thousands of other neurons, and many thousands of neurons are involved with even the simplest behavior. It is believed that these connections and their efficiency can be modified, or altered, by experience.
Scientists have used two primary approaches to studying how the brain works. One approach is to study brain function after parts of the brain have been damaged. Functions that disappear or that are no longer normal after injury to specific regions of the brain can often be associated with the damaged areas. The second approach is to study the response of the brain to direct stimulation or to stimulation of various sense organs.
Neurons are grouped by function into collections of cells called nuclei. These nuclei are connected to form sensory, motor, and other systems. Scientists can study the function of somatosensory (pain and touch), motor, olfactory, visual, auditory, language, and other systems by measuring the physiological (physical and chemical) changes that occur in the brain when these senses are activated. For example, electroencephalography (EEG) measures the electrical activity of specific groups of neurons through electrodes attached to the surface of the skull. Electrodes inserted directly into the brain can give readings of individual neurons. Changes in blood flow, glucose (sugar), or oxygen consumption in groups of active cells can also be mapped.
Although the brain appears symmetrical, how it functions is not. Each hemisphere is specialized and dominates the other in certain functions. Research has shown that hemispheric dominance is related to whether a person is predominantly right-handed or left-handed (see Handedness). In most right-handed people, the left hemisphere processes arithmetic, language, and speech. The right hemisphere interprets music, complex imagery, and spatial relationships and recognizes and expresses emotion. In left-handed people, the pattern of brain organization is more variable.
Hemispheric specialization has traditionally been studied in people who have sustained damage to the connections between the two hemispheres, as may occur with stroke, an interruption of blood flow to an area of the brain that causes the death of nerve cells in that area. The division of functions between the two hemispheres has also been studied in people who have had to have the connection between the two hemispheres surgically cut in order to control severe epilepsy, a neurological disease characterized by convulsions and loss of consciousness.
NOTES 9-9-09
Chapter 2
**Otto Loewi’s is the first to experiment is the first to prove that neurotransmitters send the message across the synapse. (done in 2 stages)
----FIRST, he took out of a live frog, a live beating heart (interesting b/c you can take out living organs and keep them alive) while heart was beating, he poured distilled water over the heart and ran electricity over the heart, the heart beat slowed down. He then collected the water and chemical produced at synapse
----SECOND, he takes a new frogs heart without nerve connected to it, still beating, he takes water plus chemical stuff and pours it over the heart, yes, experiment worked and when poured water and stuff over the heart beat slowed down. he had to use distilled water to make sure that wasn’t what was making the decrease in heartbeat. CONTROL- had to pour straight water over the heart, concluded that it was stuff in water that changed synapse. Named experiment “stuff in water”
-Endorphins, the keys to paradise. Pushing your body to the max, (pushing through the wall) releases endorphins and then generates euphoria all over the body.
NOTES 9.11.09
The brain: at any given point of time 20% of body's blood in brain because of oxygen need.
It is the only other organ that does not regenerate other than the heart.
You have 3 minutes to live if blood stops flow to brain.
Hindbrain-the lowest level of the brain consisting of the medulla, cerebellum, and pons
Midbrain-a region which many nerve fiber systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower portions of the brain
Forebrain- the highest level of the brain, key structures in the forebrain are the limbic system, thalamus, basal ganglia, hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex
Cerebellum: rounded structure involved in motor movements, back bottom
Cerebral cortex: greek for bark, extensive wrinkled outer layer that governs the higher brain functions such as thinking, learning and consciousness.
Thalamus: all incoming sensory input, relays information between higher and lower brain centers.
Corpus Callosum:
Ventricles: holes in brain
Reticular Formation: diffuse collection of neurons involved in stereotyped patterns such as walking
Hypothalamus- governs eating, drinking and sex and plays a role in emotion and distress
Pituitary gland- governs endocrine system
Hippocampus- involved in memory
Pons- govern sleep and arousal
Medulla- governs breathing and reflexes
Limbic system- memory and emotion, includes the hippocampus and amygdala
CEREBRAL CORTEX-
2 halves called hemispheres
Each hemisphere divided into 4 regions:
frontal lobe-(control of voluntary muscles, intelligence, personality)
parietal lobe-(registering spatial location, attention and motor control)
temporal lobe- (hearing, language, processing and memory)
occipital lobe- (visual)
When sensed from right, sense goes to left hemisphere. Across the corpus callosum to the right, this applies to everything besides vision and hearing.
Hypothalamus, responsible for biological motivation
the four F's - fighting, Fleeting, feeding, fornication
NOTES 9.14.09
SPEECH CENTERS:
Broca's: speech center is in Front left side of brain, is the inability to make speech, Broca's aphasia is the most common for of stroke victim. Cannot understand complex sentences after stroke. Thought is not affected only speech production. Discovered in patient that could never speak from birth, was missing a chunk of frontal lobe under examination.
Wernicke's: other speech center, found that there are patients that had perfect Broca's but had ----aphasia is people talk up a storm but make no sense. Basically language problems not production problems, they think what they say is what is supposed to be said.
Advantage of having 2 hemispheres is that when one doesn’t produce the other will.
Likely are trauma related including stroke, but can also be caused by birth defect like Broca's patient.
****TEST****
Wed. 9.16.09
Wait outside until all tests are set up and passed out.
Bring a pencil, know A number, no scan-tron, need correct answers :O), phone off
Will be 40 multiple choice, 3/4 short answers usually can be answered in 1 word- 2-3 sentences. Pick one and OMIT on paper.
Mainly key term, some are applied and some are direct i.E independent variable. Know how to pick it out and what the def is.
No hormones on test, no transmitter substances, transmitter substances listed in class might* be on test. Basic parts of brain only mentioned in class.
VOCABULARY:
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Science in psychology is the use of systemic methods to observe, describe, explain and predict behavior
Behavior is everything we do that can be observed
Mental processes are thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experience privately and cannot be observed.
Natural selection is an evolutionary process that favors organism's traits or characteristics that are best adapted to reproduce and survive.
Structuralism is an early school of psychology that attempted to discover basic elements or structures of the human mind
Functionalism is an early school of psychology that emphasized the interaction between the mind and the outside environment.
Behavioral approach emphasizes the scientific study of behavior and asserts that behavior is shaped by the environment.
Social cognitive theory stresses that behavior is determined not only by environmental conditions but also by how thoughts modify the impact of environment on
behavior.
Psychodynamic approach emphasizes the unconscious aspects of the mind, conflict between biological instincts and society's demands, and early family experiences.
Cognitive approach focuses on the mental processes involved in knowing; how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think and solve problems.
Behavioral neuroscience approach views understanding the brain and nervous system as central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion.
Evolutionary psychology approach emphasizes the importance of functional purpose and adaptation in explaining why behaviors are formed, are modified, and survive.
Sociocultural approach emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior.
The humanistic movement is an emphasis on a person's capacity for personal growth, freedom, to choose any destiny, and positive qualities.
Positive psychology movement places a strong emphasis on the experiences that people value subjectively such as happiness, positive individual traits such as the capacity for love and positive group and civic values such as responsibility.
Theory is a broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempt to explain and predict observations.
Hypothesis is an idea that is a testable prediction often arrived at logically from a theory.
Sample is the subset of the population that the investigator has chosen for study
Case study is an in depth look at a single individual.
Correlational research is research with the goal of describing the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. 1 is the strongest these two factors always occur together and 0 meaning they never occur together. CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION
Correlation shows relationship between two variables
- direction (positive or negative)
- magnitude - ranges from -1.00 to +1.00 (a correlation of 0 has no relations)
- correlation does not necessarily equal causation
Correlation Example =
- owning a pet--responsibility as an adult
- check: assess adults for “responsibility” end for history of pet control. Sure enough, those that owned a pet as a child are more responsibility adults
- problem?
o no random assignment of subjects to experimental conditions. Why does a child own a pet or not? How are children put into the experimental conditions? It is not a random process
o Same with divorce, child abuse, long term relationships, depression, and many other interesting variables
- example: similarity - attraction?
Attraction - similarity?
self esteem - high academic achievement
Experimental group is a group in a research study whose experience is manipulated.
Control group a comparison group that is treated in every way like the experimental group except for the manipulated factor.
Agonist a drug that mimics or enhances a neurotransmitters effects
Antagonist a drug that blocks a neurotransmitters effects
An EEG is a widely used tool in sleep research, it records the electrical activity of the brain. Electrodes placed on the scalp detect brain wave activity.
CT scan produces a 3D image obtained from x-rays from the head that are assembled into a composite image by a computer. Provides valuable information about the location and extent of damage involving stoke, language disorder, and loss of memory
PET scan measures the amount of glucose in various areas of the brain then sends information to the computer for analysis.
Brain is separated into 3 parts
Forebrain
Midbrain
Hindbrain
-Kinefelter's XXY (look up)
Is retarded
-The super male is XYY, the criminal personality, most incarcerated men have this addition. 1/200 live male births. Tall usually 6'4" or over, can reproduce, built like a swimmer, IS NOT MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN GENERAL POPULATION. Slightly below avg. I.Q. 90-95, acne, no abnormal spawn have Been produced. 2 reasons will find them and send to jail,
-slightly below avg.
-tall so easily spotted
-Autosomes, chromosome pairs 1-22,
down's syndrome or trisomy 21, 95% of all down's kids
Other 5% translocation downs, genetic, when chromosomes split, they attach themselves with other chromosomes
-Nearly all trisomy 21 kids develop Alzheimer's.
-Is not inherited, most likely occurs after fertilization on the maternal side, slight imbalance in hormones of mother after certain age.
-daddys age correlates to mamma's age
CHAPTER 3
Prenatal development (the many changes that transforms a fertilized egg into a newborn baby) occurs in 3 stages.
Zygote stage- the first 2 weeks of prenatal dev. From conception until the zygote implants itself into the wall of the uterus.
Embryonic stage-the second stage of prenatal dev. That lasts from the 3rd week through the 8th week of the pregnancy.
Fetal stage-the last and longest stage in the prenatal development that extends from the 9th week of conception until birth.
Teratogen- (means monster maker in Greek)any disease drug or other noxious agent that causes abnormal prenatal development.
Fetal alcohol syndrome- physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by consuming large quantities of alcohol
- Human development involves the physical, cognitive, and social changes that take place in a person from conception to death.
- Prenatal development consists of 3 stages- zygote, embryonic stage, fetal.
- Possible rick factors during the fetal stage include parental age, maternal nutrition, and teratogens.
- As the brain grows, some neurons are strengthened through repeated stimulation , while others weaken and die.
- Infants are born with a number of reflexes
- Basic motor skills soon develop from the head downward to the trunk and legs.
- Prior to birth, the fetus is capable of hearing sounds and being sensitive to touch.
- Newborns can taste and smell but they do not see as clearly as normal sighted people.
Social development
Attachment-the strong emotional bond a young child forms with a primary care giver.
Separation anxiety- the fear and distress that infants display when separated from their primary caregiver.
Stranger anxiety- the fear and distress that infants display when approached by an unfamiliar person.
Longitudinal study- research in which the same people are restudied and retested over time.
Self concept- the theory that a person constructs about themselves through social interaction.
Self awareness- a psychological state where you take yourself as an object of attention.
Self esteem- a person's evaluation of him or her self- concept
Social roles- clusters of socially defined expectations that people in given situations are supposed to fulfill such as the daughter, son, student or employee.
Gender identity-the knowledge that one is a male or a female and the internalization of this fact into one's self-concept.
Erikson's stages of psychosocial development:
|
Stage |
Basic Conflict |
Important Events |
Outcome |
|
Infancy (birth to 18 months) |
Trust vs. Mistrust |
Feeding |
Children develop a sense of trust when caregivers provide reliabilty, care, and affection. A lack of this will lead to mistrust. |
|
Early Childhood (2 to 3 years) |
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt |
Toilet Training |
Children need to develop a sense of personal control over physical skills and a sense of independence. Success leads to feelings of autonomy, failure results in feelings of shame and doubt. |
|
Preschool (3 to 5 years) |
Initiative vs. Guilt |
Exploration |
Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment. Success in this stage leads to a sense of purpose. Children who try to exert too much power experience disapproval, resulting in a sense of guilt. |
|
School Age (6 to 11 years) |
Industry vs. Inferiority |
School |
Children need to cope with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence, while failure results in feelings of inferiority. |
|
Adolescence (12 to 18 years) |
Identity vs. Role Confusion |
Social Relationships |
Teens needs to develop a sense of self and personal identity. Success leads to an ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role confusion and a weak sense of self. |
|
Yound Adulthood (19 to 40 years) |
Intimacy vs. Isolation |
Relationships |
Young adults need to form intimate, loving relationships with other people. Success leads to strong relationships, while failure results in loneliness and isolation. |
|
Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) |
Generativity vs. Stagnation |
Work and Parenthood |
Adults need to create or nurture things that will outlast them, often by having children or creating a positive change that benefits other people. Success leads to feelings of usefulness and accomplishment, while failure results in shallow involvement in the world. |
|
Maturity(65 to death) |
Ego Integrity vs. Despair |
Reflection on Life |
Older adults need to look back on life and feel a sense of fulfillment. Success at this stage leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair. |
PIAGET's stages of cognitive development
|
Stage |
Characterized by |
|
Sensori-motor (Birth-2 yrs) |
Differentiates self from objects Recognizes self as agent of action and begins to act intentionally: e.g. pulls a string to set mobile in motion or shakes a rattle to make a noise Achieves object permanence: realizes that things continue to exist even when no longer present to the sense (pace Bishop Berkeley) |
|
Pre-operational (2-7 years) |
Learns to use language and to represent objects by images and words Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others Classifies objects by a single feature: e.g. groups together all the red blocks regardless of shape or all the square blocks regardless of color |
|
Concrete operational (7-11 years) |
Can think logically about objects and events Achieves conservation of number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9) Classifies objects according to several features and can order them in series along a single dimension such as size. |
|
Formal operational (11 years and up) |
Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses systematically Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological problems |
VYGOTSKY'S Theory of cognitive development
*Private speech- overt language that is not directed to others but is rather self- directed.
*Internalization- a process of cognition in which people absorb knowledge from their social surroundings.
*Zone of proximal development(ZPD)- the cognitive range between what a child can do on their own and what the child can do with the help of an adult or a more skilled child.
Metacognition-an awareness and understanding of one's own cognitive process. one reason older children employ more sophisticated memory strategies than younger children.
Adaptation-What it says: adapting to the world through assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation -The process by which a person takes material into their mind from the environment, which may mean changing the evidence of their senses to make it fit.
Accommodation -The difference made to one's mind or concepts by the process of assimilation. Note that assimilation and accommodation go together: you can't have one without the other.
Classification-The ability to group objects together on the basis of common features.
Class Inclusion-The understanding, more advanced than simple classification, that some classes or sets of objects are also sub-sets of a larger class. (E.g. there is a class of objects called dogs. There is also a class called animals. But all dogs are also animals, so the class of animals includes that of dogs)
Conservation-The realization that objects or sets of objects stay the same even when they are changed about or made to look different.
Decentration-The ability to move away from one system of classification to another one as appropriate.
Egocentrism-The belief that you are the centre of the universe and everything revolves around you: the corresponding inability to see the world as someone else does and adapt to it. Not moral "selfishness", just an early stage of psychological development.
Operation-The process of working something out in your head. Young children (in the sensorimotor and pre-operational stages) have to act, and try things out in the real world, to work things out (like count on fingers): older children and adults can do more in their heads.
Schema (or scheme)-The representation in the mind of a set of perceptions, ideas, and/or actions, which go together.
Stage -A period in a child's development in which he or she is capable of understanding some things but not others
Object permanence- the realization that an object continues to exist even though you cannot see it or touch it.
Theory of mind- a theory of other peoples mental states, their beliefs, tastes, mental states, feelings, and desires that allow them to predict how these people will behave in specific situations.
**according to Piaget, children move through the following four cognitive stages: sensori-motor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
**vygotsky believed that by instructing children within their zone of proximal development and encouraging internalization of knowledge, mental development could be pushed beyond the cognitive limits proposed by Piaget.
**the information processing approach examines age related changes in the way information is processed , stored, and actively manipulated.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
|
Level One: Pre-conventional Morality (punishment & reward) |
Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation; avoid punishment |
|
|
Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation; behave nicely in exchange for future favors |
|
Level Two: Conventional Morality (social norms) |
Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation; live up to others expectations. |
|
|
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation; follow rules and maintain social order. |
|
Level Three: Post-Conventional Morality (moral codes) |
Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation; adhere to a social contract when it is valid. |
|
|
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation; base personal moral system on universal ethical principals. |
Movement through the Stages
Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning is a stage theory. In other words, everyone goes through the stages sequentially without skipping any stage. However, movement through these stages are not natural, that is people do not automatically move from one stage to the next as they mature. In stage development, movement is effected when cognitive dissonance occurs ... that is when a person notices inadequacies in his or her present way of coping with a given moral dilemma.
But according to stage theory, people cannot understand moral reasoning more than one stage ahead of their own. For example, a person in Stage 1 can understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing beyond that. Therefore, we should present moral arguments that are only one stage ahead of a person's present level of reasoning to stimulate movement to higher stages.
ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence- the transition between childhood and adulthood.
Puberty- the growth period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
Primary sex characteristics- the body organs that make sexual reproduction possible.
Secondary sex characteristics- the non-reproductive physical features that distinguish the two sexes from one another.
Menarche-the first menstrual period.
Imaginary audience- adolescents belief that their thoughts, feelings, and behavior are constantly being focused on by other people.
Personal fable- the tendency for adolescents to believe that their experiences and feelings are unique.
Ethnic identity- a persons sense of identification with a particular group.
**adolescence is a fairly recent social construction marking a gradual transition into adulthood.
**adolescence is a time of significant physical changes, including growth spurts and the maturation of primary and secondary sex characteristics.
**adolescence is characterized by more complex thinking, heightened self-focus, and for some teenagers, a heightened sense of self-consciousness and social anxiety.
**minority adolescents who successfully complete ethnic identity development tend to have higher self-esteem and more stable self-concepts than those who do not develop and ethnic identity.
ADULTHOOD
Aging- the progressive deterioration of the body that culminates in death.
Alzheimer's- a progressive and irreversible brain disorder that strikes older people causing memory loss and other symptoms.
Wisdom- expert knowledge and judgment about important, difficult, and uncertain questions associated with the meaning and conduct of life.
**male to male friendships are not as intimate as female to female friendships, except among gay men. Cross-sex friendships gravitate toward the intimacy mean
**women are more likely than men to experience conflict in their family and career roles.
**if adults engage in intellectually stimulating activities, they may show little evidence of intellectual decline through their 70's.
**a stage model of dying does not adequately describe most people's end of life experiences.
chapter 4
Sensation and perception
- Sensation is the process that detects stimuli from our bodies and environment
- Perception is the process that organizes sensations into meaningful objects and events
- Psychophysics is the study of how physical stimuli are translated into psychological experiences.
- Transduction is the process by which our sensory organs convert a stimulus's physical properties into neural impulses.
- Absolute threshold is the lowest intensity of a given stimulus that a person can detect half the time.
- Signal detection theory is the theory that explains how detection of a stimulus is influenced by observers expectations
- Difference threshold is the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected half the time also called just noticeable difference or JND
- Weber's law is the principle that a weak or small stimulus does not require much change before a person notices that the stimulus has changed, but a strong or large simultaneous requires a proportionately greater change before the change is noticed. Example- gas in car, when full you barely notice change but when 1/4 empty you notice every movement.
- Sensory adaptation is the tendency for our sensory receptors to have decreasing responsiveness to stimuli that continue without change.
- Stimuli must be transduced into neural impulses to be understood by the brain
- According to signal-detection theory the detection of a stimulus is influenced by both stimulus intensity and the observer's decision making strategy.
- Wavelength is the distance between 2 peaks of adjacent waves
PARTS OF THE EYE
- Cornea is a clear membrane covering the front of the eyeball that aids in visual acuity by bending light that falls on its surface.
- Pupil is the hole in the center of the iris that regulates how much light enters the eye
- Iris is the ring of muscles that range in color from light blue to dark brown
- Lens is a clear elastic disc shaped structure that refocuses the light.
- Retina is a light sensitive surface at the back of the eye
- Rods are the receptor neurons in the eye located at the edges of the retina that are sensitive to the brightness of light
- Cones are the receptor neurons in the eye located in the center of the retina that mediate color vision
- Fovea is the retina's area of central focus
- Optic nerve is the bundle of nerve cells that carries information from the retina to the brain.
- Blind spot is the area on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye and where there are no receptor cells
- Feature detectors are the cells in the visual cortex that respond to a highly specific feature of a visual stimulus such as a straight edge, angle, movement of a spot or brightness. (cat)
- Trichromatic theory is the theory of color perception that proposes that there are three types of color receptors in the retina that produce the primary color sensations of red, blue, and green.
- Color blindness is a deficiency in the ability to distinguish among colors
- Afterimage is a visual image that persists after a stimulus has been removed.
- Opponent- process theory is a theory proposing that color perception depends on receptors that make opposing responses to three pairs of colors.
- Color constancy- perceiving objects as having consistent color under different conditions of illumination.
HEARING
- Audition- the sense of hearing
- Sound waves are the pressure changes in a medium (air, water, solids) that are caused by the vibration of molecules.
- Cochlea is the coiled, fluid filled tube in the inner ear that contains hair-like auditory receptors.
- Eardrum- a thin flexible membrane at the end of the auditory canal that vibrates in sequence with the sound waves.
- Sound localization is the ability to locate objects in space solely on the basis of the sounds they make.
- Place theory is a theory that pitch is determined by which place along the cochlea's basilar membrane is most activated.
- Frequency theory is a theory in which pitch is determined by the frequency with which the basilar membrane vibrates.
- Volley theory- a theory that pitch is determined when neurons work in groups and alternate firing, thus achieving combined frequency corresponding to the frequency of the sound wave.
- Frequency refers to the number of sounds waves that pass a given point in 1 second and corresponds to the experience of pitch.
- Amplitude is the height of a sound wave and corresponds to the experience of loudness.
- Complexity is the extent to which a sound is composed of different frequencies and corresponds to the experience of timbre (the quality of a speech sound that comes from its tone rather than its pitch or volume).
- Place theory best explains high frequency sounds.
- Frequency theory best explains low frequency sounds.
- Volley theory best explains intermediate sounds.
- Conduction hearing loss involves abnormalities with the mechanical system that carries sound waves to the cochlea.
- Sensorineural hearing loss or nerve deafness involves a defect in the neural mechanisms that create nerve impulses in the inner ear and send them to the auditory cortex.
PERCEPTION
Gestalt psychology- an approach to psychology that studies how the mind actively organizes stimuli into coherent wholes.
Gestalt- an organized and coherent whole
Form perception- the process by which sensations are organized into meaningful shapes and patterns.
Figure-ground relationship- the gestalt principle that when people focus on an object in their perceptual field they automatically distinguish it from its surroundings.
Laws of grouping- simple gestalt principles describing how people tend to group discreet stimuli together into a meaningful whole.
- Similarity- group together stimlui that are similar.
- Proximity- group together stimuli that are close together.
- Continuity- we perceive the contours of straight or curving lines as continuous, flowing patterns.
- Connectedness- we perceive objects that are uniform and linked as a single unit.
- Closure- we close the gaps in a figure and perceive it as a whole.
- Common fate- we perceive objects moving together in the same direction ( sharing a common fate) as belonging to a single group.
Depth perception- the ability to perceive objects in 3D
Binocular cues- depth cues that require information from both eyes.
Monocular cues- depth cues that require information from only one eye.
- Interposition- one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive the partially obscured object as more distant.
- Familiar size- perceive objects as near or distant based on its retinal view, smaller= farther, larger= closer
- Relative size- if two objects are similar in size perceive the larger object as closer
- Height in field of view- distance from horizon line-- we perceive objects as farther away or closer depending on the height of the H-line and the objects placement.
- Texture gradients- change in texture from to fine indicate increasing distance.
- Atmospheric blur- hazy objects are farther away.
- Linear perspective- when we see converging of what we assume are parallel lines indicates increasing distance.
- Light and shadow- objects that reflect more light are perceived as closer also shadow and light are used to give us a sense of 3D and object orientation- i.E ball, shadow on bottom and side facing away from light source.
- Motion parallax- when we move our head sideways objects as different distances appear to move in different directions at different speeds. This led to the founding of the gestalt theory. Parallax means a change in position, so motion parallax is a change in position of an object caused by motion I.E you are on a train next moving alongside a white fence, the fence moves rapidly the other direction you are headed with mountains in the distance move very slowly.
Perceptual constancy- the tendency to perceive objects as relatively stable despite continually changing sensory information.
Size constancy the form of perceptual constancy in which there is a tendency to perceive objects as stable in size despite changes in the size of their retinal images when they are viewed from different distances. Why people in the distance don’t look like midgets growing as the walk closer to you.
Shape constancy- the form of perceptual constancy in which there is a tendency to perceive an object as the same shape no matter how it is viewed.. Still look at a book as the same shape no matter which way you turn it.
Perceptual sets- expectations that create a tendency to interpret sensory information in a particular way.
Perceptual illusion- a misperception of physical reality due to the misapplication of perceptual principles. (induced movement- car next to you starts backing up while you are parked, you assume you are moving)
Induced movement- the illusory movement of a stationary object caused by the movement of another nearby object. (car)
Stroboscopic movement- the illusion on movement produced by a rapid pattern of stimulation on different parts of the retina (flip book with running man) series of pictures when quickened make fluid movement..
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