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structuralism ✔✔ task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and
investigate how elements are related
(Edward Titchener)
father of modern psychology ✔✔ Wilhelm Wundt - made a campaign to make psychology an
independent discipline rather than a branch of philosophy or physiology
introspection ✔✔ to examine contents of consciousness: observation of one's mental processes
(self-observation)
midbrain ✔✔ -concerned with integrating sensory processes, vision and hearing
-basal ganglia - collection of nerve fibers that project to other areas of brain; reward function
-reticular formation - muscle reflexes, breathing, pain perception
forebrain ✔✔ -thalamus - all sensory information (except smell) pass to get cerebral cortex
(relay station)
-hypothalamus - regulation of biological needs
-limbic system - between cerebral cortex and deeper subcortical areas (seat of emotion)
-cerebrum - complex thought, outer layer is called cerebral cortex, corpus callous connects two
hemispheres
four lobes ✔✔ occipital lobe - vision, primary visual cortex
parietal lobe - sense of touch, attention
temporal lobe - auditory processing, sounds and language
,frontal lobe - prefrontal lobe thinking abilities
Broca's Area ✔✔ -production of speech
-located in frontal lobe
Wernicke's Area ✔✔ -comprehension of language
-temporal lobe
lateralization ✔✔ left hemisphere controls and communicates with right hand, right hemisphere
controls and communicates with left side
stimuli in right half of visual field are registered by receptors on left side of each eye to send
signals to left hemisphere
endocrine system ✔✔ -glands that secrete chemicals into the bloodstream that help control
bodily functioning
-hormones released by endocrine glands
consciousness ✔✔ -awareness of external events
-awareness of internal sensations
-awareness of self as unique being
-awareness of thoughts
EEG ✔✔ -measures variations of consciousness
-records activity in the cortex
-beta waves: alertness and problem solving
, -alpha waves: relaxation and sleeping
-theta waves: low alertness and medium to light sleep stages
-delta waves: deep sleep
circadian rhythm ✔✔ 24hr biological clock
-regulation of sleep, regulation of hormone (cortisol)
jet lag ✔✔ traveling west is easier than traveling east
-social jet lag
-exposure to light causes suprachiasmatic nucleus (hypothalamus) to send signals to pineal
gland to secrete melatonin
stages of sleep ✔✔ stage 1:
-theta waves prominent (brief stage)
-hypnic jerk
Stage 2:
-bursts of high frequency brain waves (sleep spindles) appear in EEG
Stage 3:
-higher in amplitude, slow in frequency (delta waves prominent)
-slow wave sleep
Stage 4:
-delta waves prominent
-cycle begins going backwards, enters into stage 5
REM sleep ✔✔ Stage 5 of sleep
-rapid eye movement sleep