Psychology midterm one - lectures 2 - 13

Chapter one (1) learning goals

- To explore the early roots of psychology in philosophy and physiology
- Generally spoke in is believed in modern day that it is the scientific study of the
mind and behavior
- It is scientific as we can measure mental processes through the
measurement of behavior in choices and reaction
- The name stems from psyche(soul) and ology (the study of)
- Psychology in philosophy
- Dualism vs materialism
- Dualism : the body acts like a physical container for the
non-physical (ie: spiritual) mind and they are linked via the pineal
gland
- Rene descartes
- Materialism: believed in the key phrase there is no ghost in the
machine
- Hobbes
- Realism vs idealism
- Realism: is that our perception is exactly how the world truly is
and is photographic, this does ot account for illusions or false
memories
- Locke
- Idealism: our perception is a rough sketch or painting of the real
world and it is up to the brain to fill in the extra gaps( would
account for illusions and gestalt principles)
- Kant
- Nativism vs empiricism
- Nativism: that most if not all knowledge is innate or we are born
with all the knowledge we will ever know. NATURE
- plato
- Empiricism: the belief that the mind is a blank slate on which our
experiences write on. NURTURE the way you are raised is
indicative of your experience via learning
- Aristotle
- Nature vs nurture: the name given by francis galton to the
argument between nativism and empiricism. Any credible
psychologist will say that it is not one or the other but instead a
mix of both
- Psychology in physiology
- Reaction time lab that studied human reaction time to see length of nerve
impulse and got a generally accurate reading of 27 m/s with variance
given height
 - Hermann von helmholtz

- Some classic ‘hot potatoes’ including the mind-body problem, and nature vs nurture
- Mind-body problem
- Main ‘schools of thought’ in emergence of modern psychology: structuralism vs
functionalism, behaviorism
- Structuralism: Analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind and
attempted to create the periodic table of the mind and utilized introspection(this
would be bad since we can not always accurately self-report)
- Wilhelm wundt
- Functionalism: influenced by darwinism attempts to answer why we function the
way we do. Why do I feel disgust at the sight of blood
- William james
- Behaviorism: found introspection unreliable and should restrict to the objective
observable behavior
- Watson, pavlov, skinner
- Gestalt: a perception based theory such that the whole is greater than the sum of
the parts and is often revealed by visual illusions such that humans seek
continuity

Chapter two (2) learning goals

- To consider how the scientific method (theory, hypothesis) is applied to psychology
- Steps to the scientific method
- Identify a problem
- Generate theory and Hypothesis
- Operational hypothesis: define what you're interested in and
create a way to measure and test in concrete objective terms
- Design a study
- Collect data
- Anaylze data with hypothesis
- Report findings
- Replication and open source
- Application of the scientific method in psychology
- Theory: an attempt to explain a natural phenomena it does not
necessarily need testable predictions but a good theory would have
- Hypothesis: a SPECIFIC and testable prediction made by a theory
- rule of parsimony: is the simplest theory that explains all the evidence is
the best one (ie; occam’s razor)
- Psychometrics: good reliable measurements to use in experiments
- Power: sensitivity to detect small changes (9.58s vs 9.75s)
- Reliability: tendency to produce the same result consistently
- Validity: extend that the measure and the property are
conceptually related such that it is measuring what you think it
measuring
 - Common research designs
- Case study, a single case ie; M. Leborgne
- Correlation study, uses questionnaires
- Naturalistic observations, without interfering and watching at a
distance
- To consider some of the challenges in studying human behavior (demand characteristics
- and observer bias)
- Demand characteristics
- Participants guess the hypothesis and behave how they THINK they
should
- To avoid use hidden measures and deceptions(although you
MUST reveal at the end during the debrief)
- Observer bias
- occurs when a researcher's expectations, opinions, or prejudices
influence what they perceive or record in a study. It usually affects studies
when observers are aware of the research aims or hypotheses
- To avoid use double blind design so observers don't know what
the hypothesis is either
- Confirmation Bias:
- Humans are biased towards information that confirms their existing
beliefs. They ignore evidence that might disconfirm their beliefs
-
- Research designs inc correlational design and the components of a true experiment
- Research design principles
- Correlational design
- Components of a true experiment
- Manipulation of distinct groups: subjects, independent and dependent
variables and control group
- Sampling must be done with random assignment and avoiding self
selections to controlling for important subject variables (ie; confounds)
and recognize that fro convenience sample they are WEIRD (western
educated industrialized rich and democratic)
- To understand key ways of testing displaying and interpreting data from human
experiments
- Use descriptive statistics to summarize and organize the sampled data and
inferential statistics to interpret whether the differences in the sampled data are
meaningful
- Testing data with descriptive stats
- Displaying data with histograms
- Interpreting data do with inferential
- To explore the main ethical principles in psychological research
- The Nuremburg Code (1947) (HIMB)
- Informed consent
- Human research based on animal work
 - Benefits > risks
- Minimise discomfort & avoid injury
- Animal work 3R
- Reduction: Reduce the number of animals used in experiments as much
as possible
- Refinement: Improve the way that animals are cared for and always been
keen to reduce pain and suffering
- Replacement: Replace experiments on animals with alternative
techniques.
- Challenges of applying the scientific method to human behaviour
- Different kinds of research design, esp. correlations vs experiments (manipulation,
dependent and independent variables, random sampling)
- Descriptive statistics help us describe the sampled data, and key instruments include
measures of central tendency and dispersion
- Inferential statistics help us determine whether our effects are meaningful i.e. unlikely to
have to arisen by chance
- Your rights as a participant in research, and the advances in human research ethics
changed over the last century
- Application of these principles to animal research
- The replication crisis in psychology and ‘open science’ practices

Chapter three (3) learning goals

- Topographical representation (the homunculus). Plasticity.
- Parts of the homunculus
- Plasticity
- Hemispheric specialization and studies of ‘split brain’ patients
- Split brain hemispheres
- Neurotypical brain hemispheres
- Genes and environment. Methods for untangling Nature vs Nurture: the twin
concordance design.
- Twin design
- Genes vs environment
- Added complexity: epigenetics as how the environment shapes gene expression.
- Epigenetics
- Insights and caveats from investigation of brain injury. The ‘double dissociation’
- Single dissociation
- Double dissociation
- Neuroimaging methods (functional and structural) and other key techniques (EEG, TMS)
- EEG
- TMS
- FMRI
- MRI
Chapter two
To consider how the scientific method (theory, hypothesis) is applied to psychology

- Steps to the scientific method

- Identify a problem
- Generate theory and Hypothesis
- Operational hypothesis: define what you're interested in and
create a way to measure and test in concrete objective terms
- Design a study
- Collect data
- Analyze data with hypothesis
- Report findings
- Replication and open source
- Application of the scientific method in psychology
- Theory: an attempt to explain a natural phenomena it does not
necessarily need testable predictions but a good theory would have
- Hypothesis: a SPECIFIC and testable prediction made by a theory
- rule of parsimony: is the simplest theory that explains all the evidence is
the best one (ie; occam’s razor)
- Psychometrics: good reliable measurements to use in experiments
- Power: sensitivity to detect small changes (9.58s vs 9.75s)
- Reliability: tendency to produce the same result consistently
- Validity: extend that the measure and the property are
conceptually related such that it is measuring what you think it
measuring
- Common research designs
- Case study, a single case ie; M. Leborgne
- Correlation study, uses questionnaires
- Naturalistic observations, without interfering and watching at a
distance

To consider some of the challenges in studying human behaviour (demand

characteristics, observer bias)

- Demand characteristics
- Participants guess the hypothesis and behave how they THINK they
should
- To avoid use hidden measures and deceptions(although you
MUST reveal at the end during the debrief)
- Observer bias
- occurs when a researcher's expectations, opinions, or prejudices
influence what they perceive or record in a study. It usually affects studies
when observers are aware of the research aims or hypotheses
 - To avoid use double blind design so observers don't know what
the hypothesis is either
- Confirmation Bias:
- Humans are biased towards information that confirms their existing
beliefs. They ignore evidence that might disconfirm their beliefs

Research designs, inc. correlational design and the components of a true experiment
- Research design principles
- Correlational design
- Components of a true experiment
- Manipulation of distinct groups: subjects, independent and dependent
variables and control group
- Sampling must be done with random assignment and avoiding self
selections to controlling for important subject variables (ie; confounds)
and recognize that fro convenience sample they are WEIRD (western
educated industrialized rich and democratic)

To understand key ways of testing displaying and interpreting data from human
experiments
- Use descriptive statistics to summarize and organize the sampled data and
inferential statistics to interpret whether the differences in the sampled data are
meaningful
- Testing data with descriptive stats
- Displaying data with histograms
- Interpreting data do with inferential

To explore the main ethical principles in psychological research

- The Nuremburg Code (1947) (HIMB)
- Informed consent
- Human research based on animal work
- Benefits > risks
- Minimise discomfort & avoid injury
- Animal work 3R
- Reduction: Reduce the number of animals used in experiments as much
as possible
- Refinement: Improve the way that animals are cared for and always been
keen to reduce pain and suffering
- Replacement: Replace experiments on animals with alternative
techniques.
Chapter three

Explain the neuron basic units

Dendrites - extend out of the cell body and

receive information from other neurons and
relay it to this neuron’s body

Cell body - AKA soma coordinates the

information processing task and keeps the
cell alive that houses the nucleus, DNA
chromosomes

Axon - the single long appendage that

carries information to other neurons muscles
or glands

Axon terminal - ends of the axon that

reach out and attempt to connect with other
neurons

Synapse - the presynapse from the ends of the terminal branches of the axon and the
postsynapse from the dendrites, in between the synapse is a microscopic gap called the
synaptic cleft where neurotransmitters diffuse to transmit information

Myelin sheath - an insulating layer of fatty material that is composed of glial cells

Schwann cells - the specific name of the myelin in the peripheral nervous system

Oligodendrocytes - the specific name of the myelin in the central nervous system
(importantly the brain)

Astrocytes - a type of glial cells in the central nervous system that supports the neural
function and maintains the homeostasis of the axon.

Microglia - a type of glial cells in the central nervous system that support the immune
cells that respond to and clear away pathogens or damaged cells.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - a progressive damage to myelin which results in motor

fatigue and numbness but can vary. Happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks the
CNS myelin sheath and degrades the myelin leading to less effective transmission of signals
across axons.
Nodes of ranvier - a small area of the axon that is not insulated with myelin sheath and allows
for the electrical pulse to jump down the axon on these non-myelinated regions. This is called
saltatory conduction by depolarizing in the region

Electrical transmission along the axon -> action potential

The stages of polarization loops from ; depolarization,

repolarization, refractory period to resting state when
a stimulus excites the axon.

The potential operates on an all or nothing principle

such that if it doesn’t surpass the threshold then the
potential will not fire.

Depolarization - where in the NA+ ion channels open and let a flux IN of the axon

Repolarization - after the potential fires the flux of K+ ions OUT of the axon

Refractory period - when the charge dips below the resting state in hyper polarization since
the channels stay open and will go back up to the resting state since the NA/K pump allows the
membrane potential to go from hyper polarized to resting charge.

Chemical transmission across the synapse (psychopharmacology)

1. The action potential

travels down the axon
2. Stimulates the
release of neurotransmitters
from vesicles
a. The
neurotransmitter are
released into the synaptic
cleft where they will diffuse
across the cleft and bind to
receptors on the dendrite
b. Reuptake
and the neurotransmitter is
 taken back into the presynaptic node
c. The neurotransmitter gets broken down by enzymes in the cleft and are
deactivated and never received on the post
d. Diffuse and float away never reaching the post
e. The neurotransmitters are successful in crossing the cleft and bind to the
autoreceptors on the post and stop the release of any more neurotransmitters

Postsynaptic effect - when the neurotransmitter bind to appropriate receptor on the dendrite,
results in change of membrane potential, the inputs are graded and a summation process
around the cell body will determine if the cell send an action potential ;
Excitatory postsynaptic potential (epsp) - increasing the likelihood of action potential
occurring
Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (ipsp) - decreases the likelihood of an action
potential occurring.

Agonists - bind to the receptor sites and enhance and stimulate the functions in our bodies by
interacting with specific receptors and increase the effect of a hormone . antagonists do the
opposite

Main neurotransmitters

Glutamate - a primary excitatory nt associated with learning and memory (increasing action
potential likelihood)

Acetylcholine - associated with memory and attention, (muscle movements, learning, sleeping,
dreaming)

Endorphins - associated with pain relief and euphoria such that opioid drugs like heroin and
fentanyl can induce

Dopamine - a reward and movement nt from the midbrain that is implicated in parkinson's
disease, addiction and schizophrenia (substantia nigra & ventral tegmental area)

GABA - a primary inhibitory nt (decreasing action potential likelihood)

Serotonin - a mood nt found in the raphe nucleus in the midbrain

Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) - an arousal nt in the Locus coeruleus in the midbrain

Stimulants - excite the overall neural activity in the brain and speeds up the bodily functions
such as caffeine nicotine and amphetamines (adderall), cocaine

Sedatives (depressants) - reduce the overall brain activity and slows the bodily functions such
as alcohol barbiturates and opiates like morphine.
The basic functions of both divisions of the nervous system

Peripheral: somatic nervous system

In charge of the voluntary control of bodily movements via skeletal muscles and is composed of;
- Sensory neurons (inputs)
- Pressure, Temperature, pain, proprioception, interoception
- Motor neurons (outputs) to skeletal muscles
- Acetylcholine for movement botulinum toxin inhibits and black widow venom is with
excess

Automatic peripheral system - a subpart of the peripheral system that accounts for
the automatic and involuntary mands and controls internal organs and glands that we are not
aware of that we are constantly working.
Sympathetic - the fight or flight fragment that prepares the body for action and
increases activity like heart rate constricts pupils inhibits digestion releasing adrenaline a stress
response
Parasympathetic - the rest and digest that relaxes the system undoing the
stress that was excited by the sympathetic system

Somatic peripheral system - communicates information in and out of CNS and controls
the skeletal muscles with the sensory neurons and motor neurons via ACh.
Central Nervous system

Composed on the spinal cord and the brain where each segment has a function and the brain I
know that

Endocrine system - glands in the body release hormones into the bloodstream with digestion,
reproduction and stress and work hand in hand with the PNS. In the brain the main gland
holding it together is the pituitary gland. The simulation of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
that signals to the other glands

The organization of the brain into hind, mid and fore brain and the subparts, lobes and
cortex

Hindbrain, coordinates info comin in handout of the spinal cord and controls the basic function
of life.
Pons - relays info from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain
Medulla - coordinates the heart rate, circulation and respiration
Cerebellum - controls fine motor skills
Reticular formation - regulates sleep, wakefulness and arousal

Midbrain, important for orientation and movement

Tegmentum - involved in movement and arousal
Tectum - orients into the environment

Forebrain, the highest level of the brain and is critical for complex cognitive emotional sensory
and motor functions. The forebrain is divided into two parts : the cerebral cortex and the
underlying subcortical structures. The cerebral cortex the outermost layer of the brain is divided
into two hemispheres connected with the corpus callosum

Subcortical structures

Basal ganglia - a set of structures that directs intentional movements reward

processing
Thalamus - receives and transmits info from the senses to the cerebral cortex
Hippocampus - critical for creating and integrating NEW memories
Amygdala - plays a role in emotional processes and fear
Hypothalamus - regulates body temperature hunger thirst and sexual behaviour
Pituitary gland - releases hormones that direct the other glands in the endocrine

Corpus callosum - the connection of the hemispheres that allows them to work together
contralateral control such that the right hemisphere controls the left and the left hemisphere
controls the right
 Cerebral cortex - the outermost layer of the brain that takes over a large part of
complex functions broken into the outer grey matter with neurons and inner white matter of fat

Gyri - the raised bumpy ridges on the

cerebral cortex to increase the surface area

sulcus - the groves that forms between

gyri and separate the regions

Lateral sulcus / lateral fissure - the largest

most notable sulci in the cortex

Sensory cortex - an example of one modality

as it is only according to one thing senses and
found in the parietal lobe

Association cortex - span across modality

Frontal lobe - specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory and
judgment
Broca’s area - for language production

Parietal lobe - processing information about touch

motor cortex, closer to the eyes behind the frontal lobe (homunculus) for output
(somata)sensory cortex, infront on the occipital lobe for feeling input
Wernicke’s area, LEFT side for language comprehension

Occipital lobe - process visual information

sensory receptors send information to the thalamus which goes to the occipital lobe any
damage to the area can leave a person with blindness as there is no processing of the
information being sent there.

Temporal lobe - responsible for hearing and language

Has both a primary auditory cortex for taking in auditory input with a secondary cortex that
process the information

Brain plasticity
Experience - structural changes with practice and enterprise, when people lose a limb the can
have phantom limb from other regions over taking an area that is no longer in use
Split brain - utilizes that since comprehension and all this to do with language are left localized
that in left brain patient you can create an effect where in the say the saw what was on the right
but find what they saw with their left.

The big five, extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to

experience. A part of heritability that is measure with the heritability estimate (h^2) to see what
portion of the variability in the phenotype is attributable to genetics
- This is specific to that of a population at a given time and CAN and WILL change this is
from the population and there for is still not deterministic

Brain injury

Stroke, rupture of blood vessels in the brain ex; broca’s patient

Brain tumor, typically removed surgically
Head trauma, Phineas gage leaving an open injury
Neurosurgical treatment for epilepsy, split brain procedure and penfield’s

Single dissociation is if we only had examples of broca’s patient where we cannot say for certain
it is localized then by finding an wernicke aphasia patient you create a double dissociation which
does the opposite allows joints to be stronger than casual

Technique name Strengths weakness

Human lesions To establish needed or casual Inexact lesions/ recovery

role of brain region plasticity

PET (positron emission Task related brain activity Radioactive and expensive
tomography) with low temporal resolution

fMRI (functional magnetic Non-invasive with a good No metal in body and

resonance imaging) temporal and spatial claustrophobic
resolution

EEG Best temporal resolution and Very low spatial resolution

(electroencephalography) cheap

TMS (transcranial magnetic Manipulates brain activity to Low spatial resolution and
stimulation) show role of brain area restricted to cortical surface
Name index

Empiricism
Aristotle - (~ 350 BCE) the mind is a blank slate and the experience of your life and
environment write on it. This shows that people are dependent on experience via learning
through philosophical empiricism

Nativism
Plato - (~ 350 BCE) at least certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn. Such that
all the knowledge we will ever know we will be born with in favor of genetics

Nature vs Nurture
Francis Galton - (1869) called the debate between plato and aristotle the nature vs
nurture argument which many modern psychologists agree both play a role and not only one

Add Headings (Format > Paragraph styles) and they will appear in your table of contents.
Dualism
Rene Descartes - (1596 - 1650) The body is a physical container for the non-physical
mind; these two will interact via the pineal gland in the brain which he had initially thought was
much larger.

Theory of evolution
Charles Darwin - (1859) the theory that humans over time evolved from primates

Localization
Paul Broca - (1824 - 1880) did a case study on M. Leborgne who had a stroke and
could only say Tan as a result and was accordingly despite testing finding his comprehension
was still intact and showed that comprehension and production of speech are therefore
localized differently. This was confirmed when finding the lesion in his brain was restricted to the
left frontal lobe as in now the broca's area

Experimental psychology
Wilhelm Wundt - (1879) opened the first psychology lab in germany in the interest of
studying it like a true science and considered matters of; the consciousness, structuralism and
introspection
consciousness - a person subjective experience of the world and the mind
Structuralism - the analysis of the basic components of what can be used to constitute
the mind
Introspection - the subjection reporting of one’s own experiences and is used in
structuralism but is not a reliable source.
 Hermann Von Helmholtz - (1821-1894) wilhelm’s student and was interested in the
study of human reaction time which was used to estimate the length of a nerve impulse which
he made to be accurate despite crude methods to be ~27m/s

Functionalism
William James - (1890) introduced the key school of psychology that is functionalism
that uses darwinism as a stepping stone and aims to answer why we have innate functions as
humans, why do I feel this emotion is necessary? Is it evolutionary? Why do I express it with my
face the way that I do? All these are functionalist questions

Gestalt
Perception based theory (1900) the whole is greater than sum of the parts often as a
result of illusions is in support of the painting idealism theory and attempts to consider both
functionalism and structuralism. “The experience is more than the raw materials”

Behaviourism
In contrast to the use of introspection in structuralism since it is subjective and instead aimed to
objectively observe behavior (this can also be unreliable as we are able to lie!) general rule of
thumb is that behaviorism and nurture concepts are agreeable with each other

Ivan Pavlov - (1849–1936) a behaviorist that headed the classical conditioning with the
dogs and bell experiment this was more ethical then the following little albert experiment
response learning

John B. Watson - (1924) a known nurture intended psychologist that believed that given
any individual he could train them to be anything. Lead the little albert study that was unethical
using rats and the association with loud noise inspired by the pavlov design response learning

BF Skinner - (1904 - 1990) a behaviorist leading the Skinner box experiment with rats
which was a leading in operant conditioning and reinforcement . finding that behavior likely to do
with reinforcement or less likely with punishment and concluded that then the implications of
free will in an illusion (lol wtf)

Materialism
Thomas Hobbes - (1588 - 1679) introduced philosophical materialism that rejected the
idea of dualism. He headed the idea of this school

Realism
John Locke - He headed the idea of realism believing that human
perception is photographic such that it will exactly capture what we see as it is.

Idealism
 Immanuel Kant - headed the idea of idealism believing that human
perception is like a sketch or painting such that it is a generalized idea of what the world is
around us and the brain will fill in the gap

Phrenology
Franz Josef Gall - (1758 - 1828) headed the idea of phrenology such that bumps on the
head align with personality traits etc and was the first push to localization of function

Brain Organization
Pierre Flourens - (1774 - 1867) experimental brain lesions that affect the brain
differently based on location and leans into localization

Karl Lashley - (1929) ‘mass’ action such that a larger lesion = larger impairment and it
does NOT matter on location

Chapter three
Hodgkin & huxley (1939) - discovered the resting potential in the (giant) axon of the giant squid!
Which is 100x larger and therefore easier to study and manipulate.

Loewi (1921) - fluid released from the heart of one frog slowed down heart of a second frog ->
must be chemical and later found to be acetylcholine a common neurotransmitter