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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.1 Who is Wilhelm Wundt? Why is he important to current day psychology? |
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| William Wundt is often regarded as the father of psychology. He separated psychology from philosophy and physiology, making it an independent discipline. He sought to analyze the workings of the mind in a more structured way, with the emphasis being on objective measurement and control. Many outstanding scholars who studied under Wundt established the research laboratories across Germany and America that formed the basis for psychology. In the US, Wundt's science grew by leaps and bounds. Between 1883 and 1893, 23 new psychological research laboratories were established in North American colleges and universities, many of these started by Wundt's students, or by his students' students. |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.2 Name three significant individuals in the early development of psychology as a scientific discipline and describe their major contributions to the field. |
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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis – an intensive form of psychotherapy that fosters personal development and liberation from unsatisfying or painful patterns of living – which grew out of his personal experience and work in treating mental disorders. He believed in the “unconscious mind”, or the part of a person’s mind which he is not aware of or can control and influences behavior. He contributed to our understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development and abnormal psychology.
John B. Watson (1878-1958). Watson founded the school of thought called “behaviorism”, which became dominant in psychology in the early 1900s. Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Watson's behaviorism rejected the studying of consciousness. He believed that psychology should not be considered the science of the "mind", but should focus on the "behavior" of the individual, not their consciousness.
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990). Seen as one of the most influential American psychologists, Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning. He believed that behavior is determined by its consequences, either reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur again. |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.3 Select two of the following "schools" of psychology: structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, humanism and briefly describe the major ideas with each of the two "schools". Also include the name(s) of the individual(s) associated with each "school". |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.4 Briefly discuss the two areas of interest in psychology today that developed when psychology returned to its roots in the 1950's and 1960's. |
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| Since the 50s and 60s psychologists have had a renewed interest in cognition and physiology, representing a return to psychology’s 19th century roots. Cognition is the functioning of your brain that determines the psychological reaction of our perception, learning, and how we reason. It is basically the inner workings of the brain that we can't feel or touch, but only study and record. Physiology is the actual physical aspects of the brain and body that can have effects on behavior. This aspect of psychology is the part you can physically see, examine, and study. This also includes the actual functions that are a result of our physical make-up. |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.5 Briefly summarize the basic tenets of evolutionary psychology. |
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| Evolutionary psychologists believe that the patterns of behavior seen in a species are products of evolution, just as anatomical characteristics are. Evolutionary psychology believes that natural selection encourages an organisms’ reproductive success. |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.6 How is psychology defined today? |
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| Psychology is defined today as both a “science” and a “profession”. Science studies the behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes. Profession applies the accumulated knowledge of the science to practical problems. |
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Chapter 1 - The Evolution of Psychology
1.7 Briefly describe the main purpose or focus of research psychology and discuss one specific area of specialization in research psychology. Also, briefly describe the main purpose or focus of applied psychology and discuss one specific area of specialization in applied psychology. |
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Research psychology is a category of research opportunities within psychology. Almost all branches of psychology conduct research in areas of interest specific to it. Social psychologists might attempt to understand the formation of attitudes or social processes, while a clinical psychologist investigates the effectiveness of a particular.
The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in real life situations. The four established professional specialties are 1) clinical 2) counseling 3) school and, 4) industrial/organizational.
Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness and disability. Activities include client interviews, testing, and group or individual psychotherapy. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.1 What are the three goals of scientific enterprise in psychology? (pg. 36) |
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| The three goals of scientific enterprise in psychology are (1) measurement and description, (2) understanding and prediction, and (3) application and control. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.2 Briefly describe the steps involved in scientific psychological research. (pg. 36-39) |
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• Step 1: Formulating a Testable Hypothesis
• Step 2: Select the Research Method and Design the Study
• Step 3: Collect the Data
• Step 4: Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions
• Step 5: Report the Findings |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.3 Describe why scientific research methods are important to psychologists. (pg. 42) |
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The two major advantages or reasons why, scientific research methods are important to psychologists are:
1. Clarity and Precision
Commonsense beliefs about human behavior can be vague and ambiguous, and depending on the problem, have differing meanings. The scientific approach requires that exact specification about what they mean when hypothesizing. Such clarity and precision serves to enhance communication of important ideas.
2. Relative Intolerance for Errors
Good old-fashioned commonsense usually does not involve much effort to verify what is skeptical, 2) subjecting their ideas to empirical tests, 3) view one another's findings critically and when conflicted conduct additional research, and 4) require objective data and thorough documentation. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.4 Explain the difference between an independent and a dependent variable as used in the experimental method. (pg. 41-43) |
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The variable that is manipulated or varied by the experimenter is termed the independent variable. The variable that is affected by, or is dependent on, the manipulation is termed the dependent variable.
“An independent variable is a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable.”
“The dependent variable is the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable.” |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.
. Briefly discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of the experimental research method. (pg. 43-44) |
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| The major advantage is that it permits researchers to make cause-effect conclusions, while the major disadvantages are that (a) precise experimental control may make the situation so artificial that it does not apply to the real world, and (b) ethical or practical considerations may prevent one from manipulating independent variables of interest. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.6 Explain the difference between a correlational and an experimental research study. Be sure to explain what type of conclusions can be drawn from each. |
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The major difference between the experimental method and descriptive research is that with descriptive/correlational research the experimenter cannot manipulate/control variables. For this reason, the descriptive methods do not permit one to demonstrate cause-effect relationships between variables.
An advantage of the descriptive/correlational methods is that they allow researchers to study phenomena that they could not study with experimental methods. Thus, the descriptive/correlational methods broaden the scope of phenomena studied. A major disadvantage of these techniques is that one generally cannot make cause-effect conclusions from the resulting data. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.7 Briefly describe the three descriptive/correlational research methods. (pg. 46-49) |
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| Naturalistic observation involves study of human beings or animals in their natural environments conducted without direct intervention from the observer. A case study is an in-depth and generally highly subjective or impressionistic report on a single individual that may be based on interviews, psychological testing, etc. The third descriptive procedure is the survey technique. Surveys use questionnaires, or interviews, to find out about specific aspects of human attitudes or opinions. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.8 Explain why a "correlation does not prove causation". |
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| When things are correlated it means one thing predicts the other, but it does not necessarily mean it causes the other. An example would be retirement and gray hair. If you were unfamiliar with the phrase “correlation does not prove causation”, then you might think retirement causes gray hair, but rather it means if you have reached retirement age, you probably are older, and thus have gray hair. Correlated, not caused. |
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Chapter 2 - The Research Enterprise in Psychology
2.9 Describe some of the reasons for using animals in research. (pg. 57-58) |
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Some reasons why scientists use animals in research include, (a) scientists may want to know more about the behavior of a specific type of animal, or (b) they may want to identify general laws of behavior that applies to both humans and animals, and (c) when it would be unacceptable to expose humans to certain treatments scientists may use animals in their place.
Though many people are against animals being used in research, especially in painful or hurtful ways, others defend the practice by citing the tremendous advances treatment of physical and mental disorders, which came as a result of animal research. |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.1 List and describe the primary functions of the main parts of a neuron.
The neuron has three basic parts, the dendrites, the cell body (or soma), and the axon. The primary function of a neuron is to receive information from one neuron and pass it on to the next. The receiving part is the job of the branch-like parts called dendrites. They then pass the message along to the nucleus of the cell, called the cell body, soma. From there the message is sent down the axon to be passed along to other neurons. Very good, but please also include the terminal buttons in this description. pages 69-70 |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.2 What happens when a neuron is stimulated? Describe the changes that occur as a neuron goes from originally not receiving any information to receiving enough information to cause the neuron to transmit information.
That depends on whether the neuron stimulating the 2nd neuron is excitatory or inhibitory. If excitatory, then it will change the permeability for Na and Na will enter, and depolarization will occur, and another action potential. If the first neuron is inhibitory, then the permeability to chloride ions will increase, chloride will enter the second cell, it this cell then becomes hyperpolarized, and will NOT fire. Very good start here Daniel, but please also include what happens in the cell when an action potential occurs, how it proceeds, and what it results in. pages 71-73 |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.3 Describe the function of neurotransmitters in the nervous system, and name and briefly discuss one neurotransmitter and how that neurotransmitter influences behavior. |
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The function of neurotransmitters in the nervous system is to transmit a signal between neurons. Signals pass through neurons in the form of change in electrical potential. Between neurons are synapses. In order for a signal to pass across the synapse, the presynaptic neuron releases chemicals called neurotransmitters that diffuse across the synapse. When they reach the postsynaptic neuron on the other side of the synapse they trigger the influx of ions into the neuron which sets up a new electrical potential and makes the neuron fire.
Norepinephrine acts as a neurotransmitter and a hormone. In the peripheral nervous system, it is part of the fight-or-flight response. In the brain, it acts as a neurotransmitter regulating blood pressure and calmness. |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.4 Briefly describe or summarize the organization of the nervous system. Include the main functions of each part or division of the nervous system.
The nervous system is contains two major divisions:
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of nerve cells that lie outside the brain case or spinal vertebrae. Sensory receptors detect changes in the external environment (visual, auditory, olfactory, etc.) and communicate them to the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS, in turn, communicates desired behavior such as muscle movement to the PNS.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The central nervous system integrates information arriving from the PNS, processes this information to generate behavior, which it communicates back to the PNS. The CNS is divided into two sections: the spinal cord, which connects directly with the PNS, and the brain, which contains the higher brain functions. The brain communicates its behavior to the PNS by way of the spinal cord. The brain itself consists of three major divisions: cerebral hemispheres, cerebellar hemispheres, and the brain stem.
Good general start here Daniel, but your answer here is missing much of the required information. Please include the functions of each part or division in the nervous system. …These include the following missing parts and functions: somatic nervous system, autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic division, and parasympathetic division. pages 78-80 |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.5 List the four main structures of the forebrain and briefly describe the functions of each structure. |
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The forebrain is considered as the highest region of the brain because it essentially differentiates humans from the rest in the animal kingdom. This region is also involved in processing complex information. The forebrain is composed of the limbic system, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the basal ganglia, and the cerebral cortex.
The limbic system is made up of the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions. The hippocampus is involved in memory. Overall, the limbic system is involved in memories and emotions by determining which neuronal connections should be strengthened and which should be rewired.
The thalamus sits on top of the brain stem. It sorts and relays incoming information to the different parts of the forebrain.
The hypothalamus is located just below the thalamus. It monitors pleasurable activities such as eating, drinking and sex. It influences the endocrine system, particularly the pituitary gland, in secreting hormones in response to different emotions, stress and rewarding feelings.
The basal ganglia is a cluster of neurons sandwiched between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex. It works with the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum for coordinating voluntary movements, particularly in forming habitual behaviors.
The cerebral cortex is the most recently developed (or evolved) part of the brain. It is the largest part of the human brain, making up to 80% of the brain's volume. High-level processing takes place in this part of the brain. |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.6 List the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and describe the functions or abilities associated with each lobe.
The frontal lobe is primarily associated with personality and conscious thought. The temporal lobe is associated with the sense of sound. The occipital lobe is associated with site sight. The parietal lobe is largely unknown, but is thought to deal with spacial awareness and navigation.* …Please be prepared to more briefly summarize the material below to be included in your answer to this question if it is a part of your exam.
*The frontal lobe: contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, long-term memory, planning, and drive. The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions. The frontal lobes also play an important part in retaining longer term memories which are not task-based. These are often memories associated with emotions derived from input from the brain's limbic system. The frontal lobe modifies those emotions to generally fit socially acceptable norms. Psychological tests that measure frontal lobe function include finger tapping, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and measures of verbal and figural fluency.
The temporal lobe: The temporal lobe is involved in auditory perception and is home to the primary auditory cortex. It is also important for the processing of semantics in both speech and vision. The temporal lobe contains the hippocampus and plays a key role in the formation of long-term memory.
The occipital lobe: is the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. This is very important; it contains the primary visual cortex.
The parietal lobe: is a lobe in the brain. It is positioned above (superior to) the occipital lobe and behind (posterior to) the frontal lobe. The parietal lobe integrates sensory information from different modalities, particularly determining spatial sense and navigation. For example, it comprises somatosensory cortex and the dorsal stream of the visual system. This enables regions of the parietal cortex to map objects perceived visually into body coordinate positions. The parietal lobe plays important roles in integrating sensory information from various parts of the body, knowledge of numbers and their relations, and in the manipulation of objects. Portions of the parietal lobe are involved with visuospatial processing. Although multisensory in nature, the posterior parietal cortex is often referred to by vision scientists as the dorsal stream of vision (as opposed to the ventral stream in the temporal lobe). This dorsal stream has been called both the 'where' stream (as in spatial vision) and the 'how' stream (as in vision for action. |
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Chapter 3 – The Biological Basis of Behavior
3.7 What is the "master gland" of the endocrine system and why is it called that? |
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| While many glands comprise the endocrine system, including 1) hypothalamus, 2) pituitary gland, 3) thyroid, 4) parathyroid, 5) adrenal glands, 6) pineal body, 7) reproductive glands (which include the ovaries and testes), and 8) pancreas. The master gland is the pituitary. It is called the master gland because in controls all the others. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.1 Describe how hue, brightness, and saturation correspond to the physical properties of a light stimulus. |
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| The perceived color of light is determined by three dimensions 1) hue, 2) saturation, and 3) brightness. Hue is what we usually refer to as color. We recognize a change in hue as color change. The physical dimension of hue is wavelength. Brightness is another psychological dimension that refers to the intensity of the stimulus. The more intense the light, the brighter that object appears. For example, an object's color appears brighter in a well-lit room than in a dark one. Saturation is related to the physical dimension of spectral purity. It tells us the amount of hue that we see in an object. In other words, it refers to how complex the light wave is. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.2 Compare and contrast rods and cones. |
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| The rods and cones (strictly speaking, those portions that are outside of the outer limiting "membrane" of the retina) are the actual sites of transduction of light energy into neuronal signals. Rod cells are sensitive to dim light, while cone cells enable you to see colors. The mechanism by which light energy is converted to neuronal signals is exactly the same in both rods and cones; the differences between the two types of receptor are in the visual pigments involved. Rods respond to very low levels of light at all wavelengths of the visible spectrum by generating a signal. Consequently they are of greatest importance under conditions in which lighting is dim and discriminating colors is not a primary requirement. Cones are wavelength specific to a degree, and are therefore responsible for color vision. Cones are also much less sensitive than rods, and require higher levels of light to generate signals. Thus they work best in daytime conditions. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.3 Briefly explain what happens when you undergo dark adaptation by explaining why, when you enter a dark room after being in a very bright light, you cannot see very much of anything for approximately 10 minutes and are unable to see things clearly for 30 minutes. |
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| Dark adaptation occurs as a result of changes that happen at the cellular level in the retina. When a person is in a dark room, the rods and cones undergo a chemical change that allows the eyes to become more sensitive to light than if they were in a well-lit room. This occurs very slowly. The cone cells can fully dark adapt in a matter of minutes. However, they do not function as well in the dark as the rods do. Under normal circumstances, it takes 30 to 45 minutes for the rods to fully dark-adapt. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.4 Explain the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing. |
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Bottom-up processing is sensory analysis that begins at the entry level, with information flowing from the sensory receptors to the brain. Top-down processing is analysis that begins with the brain and flows down, filtering information through our experience and expectations to produce perceptions.
Bottom-up processes are driven by sensory information from the physical world. Top-down processes actively seek and extract sensory information and are driven by our knowledge, beliefs, expectations, and goals. Almost every act of perception involves both bottom-up and top-down processing |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.5 What are the binocular depth clues and monocular depth cues and how do they allow us to perceive depth? |
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| Binocular cues are depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes, while monocular cues are depth cues available to either eye alone. Basically binocular cues are things that help us to perceive depth and we have to use both eyes to perceive them. Monocular cues are the same thing, but you can use only one eye or the other and still see the same effect. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.6 Explain why a particular note played on two different instruments sounds different? |
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| The fundamental frequency of a particular note is fixed, regardless what instrument produces the tone, and this fundamental frequency determines the name of the note. For example, the note C4, or "middle C," is produced by any instrument that produces vibrations of 261.63 Hz. What makes a violin sound different from, say, a flute or a trumpet are the harmonics produced by the instrument. Harmonics are the subtle frequencies produced by the instrument that are multiples above the fundamental frequency. Different instruments create different harmonics that contribute to their unique timbre, which allows you to distinguish the instruments apart. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.7 Briefly describe the processes and pathways involved in the perception of pressure on the skin. |
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| Our sense of touch is controlled by a huge network of nerve endings and touch receptors in the skin known as the somatosensory system. This system is responsible for all the sensations we feel - cold, hot, smooth, rough, pressure, tickle, itch, pain, vibrations, and more. Within the somatosensory system, there are four main types of receptors: mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, pain receptors, and proprioceptors. |
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Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception
4.8 Briefly describe the gate-control theory of pain perception and the recent research findings related to it. |
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| The Gate-Control Theory of pain perception was developed by Melzack and Wall's who indicated that the spinal cord contains a type of neurological "gate" which opens and closes to either allow or block pain signals to travel to the brain. Endorphins and a descending neural pathway are responsible for pain suppression by the CNS, while recent research findings indicate that glial cells contribute to the modulation of chronic pain. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.1 Briefly summarize what is known about our biological clocks and their relationship to sleep. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.2 Briefly discuss the methods available to assist people in realigning their circadian rhythms. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.3 Describe the typical sleep pattern. What type of EEG pattern is seen at each stage? |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.4 What is REM rebound and when does it occur? |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.5 Describe the changes in sleep patterns that occur as one ages. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.6 Summarize what is known about how culture influences sleep patterns. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.7 Many suggestions have been made for the evolutionary function of sleep. Briefly describe two of them. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.8 Pick two sleep disorders and briefly discuss the symptoms for each disorder. |
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Chapter 5 – Variations in Consciousness
5.9 What are dreams and what is known about the significance of their content? |
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