Understanding Problem Behavior: A Psychological Perspective - Prof. A. Long, Exams of Psychology

Download Understanding Problem Behavior: A Psychological Perspective - Prof. A. Long and more Exams Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Fall 2013, PSYC 2000: Sec. 001 & 003—Exam 1 Study Outline Chapter 1: What are the 4 goals of psychology? Be able to label examples of each goal in action. Description -Describe what is happening, First step in scientific inquiry Explanation -After gathering information of what is happening you wants to explain why it is happening Prediction -When we understand what is happening we can predict future behavior Control-How can we modify Example Description- what is happening, what is it they are doing, where are they doing it, and under what circumstances are they doing it? Explanation: why is it happening? Based on the psychologists observations why might sam be displaying problem behavior? Contemporary psychology is described as the study of behavior and mental processes in Psychology three main levels of analysis Biological influences Psychological explanation Social-culture explanation What are mental processes? Perceptions, thoughts, feelings What are behaviors? Range of actions ad mannerisms made by organisms What are the main differences between functionalism and structuralism? Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt- father of psychology. Mind consist of basic elements: Thoughts Emotions Experiences Basic element can be analyzed via objective introspection How to symmetrically provide information about their experiences Edward Titchener- coined the term structuralism Student of Wundt-Believed can introspect about physical sensations and thoughts One different between him and Wundt, is that he would question Functionalism- was coined by William James Streams of thought versus elements of the mind Focus on adaptation, living, working, and playing functioning in the real world Influenced by natural selection Why can’t something within behavior and thought be passed along as well What is objective introspection? The process of examine and measure ones owns thoughts and mental activities What are the basic ideas concerning Gestalt psychology as outlined in your textbook? Gestalt psychology: Max Wertheimer-He came up with the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its part. Gestalt- an organized whole Law of pragnanz- people seek out patterns/ wholes in available sensory information. They try to perceive as their world in terms of good forms Figure-ground in gestalt psychology-Division of the perceptual field into background and the objects that appear to stand out against it Five gestalt laws of perception: Symmetry- tendency to look for patterns Proximity- objects close together belong together Closure- an object partially defined will be seen as a whole Continuity- preference for uninterrupted figures Similarity- objects that are alike will be viewed as a group Two highly influential early approaches to psychology were psychoanalysis and psychodynamic? Psychoanalysis: Sigmund freud-Neurologist in late 18th century Psychoanalysis- A therapy developed for fear and anxiety in which professional helps a person gain insight into his/her behavior Found people repressed memories from Early childhood- important for development. Three levels of the mind Conscious level- thoughts and perceptions Preconscious level- memories and stored knowledge Unconscious level – level of the mind in which thoughts feelings memories and other information are kept that are not easily or voluntary brought into consciousness Behaviorism- developed as a reaction to psychoanalysis; learned behavior Ivan Pavlov- Pavlov’s dog: showed an involuntary reaction could be caused to occur in response to an unrelated stimulus Therapeutic approach aimed at empowerment of the individual through self- understanding and self-improvement Cognitive perspective- Focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language, and learning. Based on the work of Gestalt psychologists, piaget, and Chomsky Cognitive neuroscience- studies the physical workings of the brain and nervous system when engaged in memory, thinking, and other cognitive processes Sociocultural perspective-Focus on the relationship/w social behavior and culture. Provides important contributions related to group dynamics, culture, class,race,ethnic/ national identity. Helps illuminate the different influences of environment and heredity on development and behavior. Ecological systems theory ( read text)- interactions between five different systems of and individual and their proximal and distal environments Biopsychology perspective- Focus on the biological bases of behavior and mental processes. Attributed behavior to biological events such as genetic influences, hormones, and activity of the nervous system. Although recognizes that behavior many have multiple causes, point clearly to biological factors as one of those causes Evolutionary perspective-Focus on biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all humans share. Influenced by Darwins theory of natural selection Covers- How does attraction help attract a mateWhy everyone is assumed to like music and things that are sweet Name the female psychologist who was an early pioneer of behavior therapy and whose work is still very influential today. Mary Ainsworth Mary Ainsworth was a psychologist best known for her research on attachment theory and the development of the "strange situation" assessment. Her work played an important role in our understanding of child development and has influenced other fields including education. What is the process of counterconditioning that she is responsible for? Why do psychologists use the scientific method? Scientific method- a system for reducing bias and error in the measurement of data. Studies behavior and mental processes. To accomplish the goals of description, explanation, prediction, and control Five steps Perceiving the question- description Forming a hypothesis- description and explanation Testing the hypothesis- Explanation Drawing conclusions- prediction What is judgmental overconfidence? What is hindsight bias? Be able to recognize examples of each. Judgmental Overconfidence- tendency to think we know more than we do What is a theory? What does a good theory do? (A good theory…) Theory- general explanation of a set observations or facts What is a hypothesis? Hypothesis-tentative explanation of phenomenon baser on observations What is research? What is the purpose of conducting research experiments? Basic research - Aims to answers questions about nature of behavior and cognition and develop theories Applied research- Aims to resolve practical problems develops new innovation/technologies What methods of research are used to provide descriptive data Case stydues, surveys, and naturalistic or laboratory observation all describe behaviors Describing behavior What methods of research are used to find or examine relationships? Corrational What is a correlation coefficient? How do you interpret it (i.e., direction & strength)? Experiment What is the only method of research that will allow researchers to determine the cause of a mental process or behavior? The only method that explains why a phenomenon occurs. Are experiments What is the difference between random sampling and random assignment? What is the Rain Assignment- process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group Random Sampling- is an experimental technique for assigning subjects to different treatments In an experiment, why is it important to have a control group, in addition to an Experimental group? Be able to identify independent and dependent variables. Dependent Variable- represents the output or the effect Independent Variable- manipulates the variable Chapter 13: What is personality? Personality- The unique and relatively stable ways in which people think feel and behave What does it relate to character and temperament? Temperament- behavioral characteristics that are fairly well established at birth such as easy difficult and to slow and warm-up. Character- value judgments of a person’s moral and ethical behavior. How do contemporary psychologists measure personality? What types of assessment measures do they use? What are the limitations of each of these types of measures? Three desirable qualities you want all assessment measures to have. What are the 4 main perspectives of personality? Psycodynamic- unconscious mind in development Humanist- conscious life experience Trait- personally behaviorist humanist Behavior- effect on behavior in the environment What are their main ideas? How do they compare to one another in their understanding of personality? What two personality perspectives have the weakest empirical support? What two of the strongest? Psychodynamic: 3 parts of the mind Unconscious Preconscious Conscious The three parts of personality id- part of personality present at birth and completely unconscious that all basic biological drives: hunger, thirst, etc Pleasure Ego Reality principle Superego Conscience Psychosexual- Oral Stage (ID), Anal Stage, Phallic Stage, Listening Stage, Genital Stage Chapter 2: Neuron- basic cell that makes up the nervous system and that receives and sends message within that system What is the neuron’s structure? What is the function of each structure? A nerve cell or a neuron consists of many different parts Soma, Dendrites, Axon, Mylin sheath (Protects & Allows neurons to communicate faster) And allows neurons not to interfere with adjacent cells. How does the neuron communicate messages within the cell and between cells? Resting potential of the neuron-Resting potential is the stable, negatice charge of an inactive neuron. At there is an excess of negative ions inside the neuron compared to the outside The axon is selectively permeable; that is, it blocks positive ions when resting -Action potential, A brief wave of electrical charge that travels down an axon generated by the movement of positively chatged ions in and out of channels in the axons membrane Threshold-Each neuron reives depolarizing and hyperpolarizing currents from many neurons, When the depolarizing current (positive ions) minus the hyperpolarizing current (negative ions) exceed minimum intensity (threshold) the neuron fires an action potential Action potential properties- The action potential abides by an all-or-none principle: when depolarizing current exceeds the threshold a neuron will fire, and below that threshold it will not. Intensity of an action potential remains the same, throughout the length of the axon. Refractory period and pumps Refractory period-After a neuron has fired an action potential it pauses for a short period to recharge itself to fire again Sodium-potassium pumps-Sodium-potassium pumps. Pumps positive ions out from the inside of the neurons, making them ready for the next action potential Synapse-Synapse a junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. This tiny gap is called the synaptic gap or cleft Neurontransmitters-Neurotransmitters released from the sending neuron travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing it to generate an action potential. Neurotransmitters can turn cells on or influence the cell to create an action potential. Neurotransmitters can also turn cells of or inhibit a cell All-or-none principle- is the principle that the strength by which a nerve or muscle fiber responds to a stimulus is independent of the strength of the stimulus. If the stimulus exceeds the threshold potential, the nerve or muscle fiber will give a complete response; otherwise, there is no response. Sodium-potassium pump- sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell. Refractory period- refers to the period of time during which the response to a second stimulus is significantly slowed because a first stimulus is still being processed Neurotransmitters- chemical found in the synaptic vesicles that when released has an effect on the next cell Synapse- microscope fluid filled space between the synaptic knob of one cell and the dendrites or surface of the next cell Receptor sites-3 dimensional proteins on the surface of the dendrites or certain of the muscles and glands which are shaped to fit only certain neurotransmitters Reuptake- is the reabsorption of a neurotransmitter by a neurotransmitter transporter of a pre-synaptic neuron after it has performed its function of transmitting a neural impulse. Agonist- chemical substance that mimic or enhance the affect of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next cell increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell. Antagonist-chemical substances that block or reduce a cell’s response to the action of others chemicals or neurotransmitters The two major systems of the nervous system are the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Nervous system- Consists of all the nerve cells. It is the bodys speedy, electrochemical communication system Central nervous system (CNS): INFormation travels to and from the brain by way of spinal cord. To produce bodily pain or pleasure, the sensory information must reach the brain. The brain and neural networks. Neurons cluster intro work groups called neural networks. These networks are complex and modify with growth and experience. The reflex arc: three types of neurons Sensory (afferent) neurons carry incoming information from the sense receptor to the CNS Motor (efferent) carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands Interneurons- connect these two neurons Example: A sensory neuron would send a pain message up the spinal cord. Interneurons in the center area of the spinal cord would reive the pain message and send out a response along the motor neurons Brain and spinal chord Nervous system Centeral nervous system Brain Forebrain Cerebrum Limbic system Thalamus Hypothalamus Pituitary glands Midbrain Reticular formation (extends to midbrain) Hindbrain Medulla Pons Cerebellum Spinal cord Peripheral nervous system Somastic nervous system Sensory nervews Motor nerves Autonomic nervous system Sympathetic division Para-sympathetic division Hindbrain-Cerebellum- the little brain attached to the rear of the rainstem. Brainstem- the oldest part of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells and enters the skull Cerebellum- The little brain attached to the rear of the brainstem. It helps coordinate all involuntary, rapid, fine motor movement, as well as voluntary movements that have to happen in rapid succession. Also tells brain what to expect from our own movements Brain stem- Medulla. Base of brainstem, controls involuntary actions: heartbeat an breathing