Psychology science that deals with mental processes and human behavior

o MENTAL PROCESSES thought process which cannot be observed, only inferred o HUMAN BEHAVIOR Instinct Reflex (automatic response mechanism) Response (can be stopped); can be empirically investigated, i.e. observed and measured through the five senses

Goals of Psychology
1. 2. 3. 4. to understand behavior; to explain behavior; to predict behavior; and to a certain degree, control behavior

Approaches to Psychology
1) PSYCHOANALYTIC (Sigmund Freud) past experiences, trauma, and hurtful experiences; sometimes also operates on sex and aggression (taboo); catharsis occurs when pressure builds up and needs to be released as tension; rooted in Freudian theory of the iceberg 2) COGNITIVE (John Piaget) what goes in ones mind 3) HUMANIST-PHENOMENOLOGICAL (Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers) Maslows hierarchy of needs; belief in the potential of the human being; unconditional positive regard 4) BEHAVIORAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL or NEUROBIOLOGICAL chemical reactions; attributed to chemical imbalance in the body 5) BEHAVIORAL-ENVIRONMENTAL (John Watson) driven by the environment; design the environment to better achieve desired behavior 6) EVOLUTIONARY (Charles Darwin) natural selection is the tendency to pursue or choose that which will be good for ones survival; survival of the fittest 7) SOCIO-CULTURAL a value and not a forced choice

The Nervous System

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM brain and spinal cord; contains more than 99% of neurons PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM network of nerves that connects brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body; brings information to and from the brain and spinal cord and to carry out the commands of the CNS to execute muscular and glandular activities SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM sensory nerves: conveys information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about conditions such as pain and temperatures; motor nerves: to tell muscles what to do

AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM to take messages to and from the bodys internal organs, monitoring processes such as breathing, heart rate, digestion o SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM arouses the body o PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM calms the body

NEURON nerve cells that handle information processing function; basic units of the nervous system GLIAL CELLS provide support and nutritional benefit functions GLUONS cells that bind neurons together CELL BODY (SOMA) contains nucleus, which directs manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance DENDRITES receive and orient information toward the cell body; treelike branching AXON neuron that carries information away from the cell body towards other cells MYELIN SHEATH layer of fat cells which encases and insulates most axons; by insulating axons, myelin sheaths speed up transmission of nerve impulses NODES OF RANVIER periodic gap in myelin on the axon of certain neurons that speeds up process of transmitting signals from the CNS to receiving muscle RESTING POTENTIAL: stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron ACTION POTENTIAL: brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon during the transmission of a nerve impulse ALL OR NONE PRINCIPLE: once an electrical impulse reaches a certain level of intensity, it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any of its intensity SYNAPSE tiny junctions between neurons; the gap between two neurons is called synaptic gap; where axon of one neuron meets dendrites or cell body of another; where two neurons communicate electrically (neurons are physically connected) or chemically (terminals of one neuron and the dendrites of another, into which neurotransmitters are released); before the electrical impulse can cross the synaptic gap, it must be converted into a chemical signal NEUROTRANSMITTERS stores in terminal buttons of the axon; carry information across the synaptic gap to the next neuron ACETYLCHOLINE (ACh) stimulates firing of neurons and is involved in the action of muscles, learning, and memory

GAMMA AMINOBURYTIC ACID (GABA) found throughout CNS; important in the brain as it keeps many neurons from firing; controls the preciseness of the signal being carried from one neuron to the next NOREPINEPHRINE inhibits the firing of neurons in the CNS; release is stimulated by stress; also helps to control alertness DOPAMINE mainly inhibits; helps to control voluntary movement; affects sleep, mood, attention, and learning SEROTONIN also inhibits; involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, attention, and learning ENDORPHINS natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of neurons; shield the body from pain and elevate feelings of pleasure

SIMULATION SENSATION PERCEPTION APPERCEPTION Stimulation: to raise levels of physiological or nervous activity in (the body or any biological system) Sensation: receiving stimulus energies from the external environment; detected by specialized receptor cells in the sense organs Perception: organizing and interpreting sensory information to give it meaning Localization: finding things in place Recognition: labeling things; having a nomenclature

Apperception: the mental process by which a person makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to the body of ideas he or she already possesses; how you appreciate LIMEN unit of measurement for simulation and sensation WEBERS LAW (Ernst Weber): two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage rather than a constant amount to be perceived as different; twice as much or greater than the first time around to be felt ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD LEVEL: amount of stimulus energy that people can detect; point at which sensation begins SUBLIMINAL SIMULATION: ability to detect information at levels below the absolute threshold

Development
1. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (John Piaget): how processes involving thought, intelligence, and language change as people mature SCHEMA concept or framework that already exists at a given moment ASSIMILATION incorporating new information into new knowledge ACCOMMODATION adjust schemas to new information GENERALIZATION taking one characteristic of an object to all

2. PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (Erik Erikson): stages that represent developmental task or crisis a person must negotiate 3. MORAL DEVELOPMENT (Lawrence Kohlberg): changes in thoughts, feelings, behaviors regarding the principles and values that guide what people should do 4. PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT (Sigmund Freud): personality is unconscious or beyond awareness; lives filled with tension and conflict; sex and aggression ID (innate desires/drive) pleasure principle: seeks pleasure, avoids pain EGO reality principle: deals with reality, finds alternatives; last to develop SUPEREGO morality principle: determines what is right or wrong, good or bad FIXATION: arrested/stopped at a certain age or stayed too briefly or too long in any one of three stages; has an effect on your adult psyche