Psychology as a Science
- Derived from philosophy and physiology
- Freud put forth psychoanalytic theory and focused on dynamics that can occur between
the conscious self (ego), the unconscious self (id), and our sense of right and wrong
(superego)
- Freud was criticized for not taking a scientific approach when evaluating
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- Functionalism: High achievers are likely to be seen as suitable mates, so motivation to
achieve is highly adaptive.
- Behaviorism: Study of outwardly observable behaviors, led by John Watson and BF
Skinner
- Humanistic psychology challenged behaviorists’ focus on external and shift their focus to
subjective experiences, conscious choices, and finding purpose in life
- Evolutionary psychology focused on how and why behavioral tendencies were and are
genetically based and adaptive
Perspectives in Psychology
- Wundt and Freud explored introspective and unconscious aspects of the mind
- Frew conclusions about internal mental processes
- Behaviorists, Watson Skinner, studied observable behaviors.
- Humanists, Rogers and Maslow, emphasis on self and personal choice in reaction to the
strict behaviorist view. How we chose to respond to challenges we face in our lives can
lead to incongruence between our self-image and obstacles we are dealing with in
realizing our potential.
- Evolutionary psychology, positive psychology, sociocultural psychology, offer an
increased awareness of social and cultural factors that have continued to broaden
perspectives in psychology
Scientific methods in Psychology
- Correlational studies help to verify a relationship between variables, not a cause and
effect relationship
- +1 and -1 are same in strength in correlation
- Steps in Scientific method
- Define and describe issues to be studied
- Form a testable hypothesis
- Choose an appropriate research strategy
- Conduct the study to test your hypothesis
- Analyze the data to support or reject your hypothesis
Neuroscience in Psychology
- Endocrine system plays an important role in regulating the needs of the body as the
brain and body interact
How is the Brain Studied
- Lesioning involves damaging the tissue of the brain to see if there are changes to the
brain’s functioning
The Neuron
- Major parts of the neuron are dendrites, cell body, axon, terminal buttons, and vesicles
, that contain neurotransmitters
- ****Hand Analogy***
- Fingers are dendrites
- Palm is cell body
- Arm is axon
- When neuron fires, it is increasing (excitatory) or decreasing (inhibitory) activity in the
brain
- Action potential occurs when polarity is greater than +40
- Neuron fires an electrical impulse down the axon to the terminal buttons, and
neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap
- Brief refractory period after neuron fires to allow neuron to recover
- Neurotransmitter are received by “locking in” to the next neuron’s receptor sites based
on molecular shape
The Nervous System
- Nervous System: Is the means by which all neural communication takes place within
the body. How we sense process, and react to stimuli are all based on the functions of
the nervous system
- Central Nervous System processes signals communciation from the receptors and nerve
pathways of peripheral nervous system
- Peripheral Nervous System includes autonomic and somatic nervous system
- Autonomic Nervous System: Monitors and responds to the changing needs of the
body. Has 2 divisions, the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous
system
- Sympathetic Nervous System: Activates the body to respond to increased
needs
- Parasympathetic Nervous System: Returns the body back to a state of
homeostasis
- Somatic Nervous System: Responsible for voluntary movements such as walking
The Brain
- Hindbrain: Responsible for life-supporting functions like breathing and digestion.
Includes medulla, cerebellum, and pons. Damage to hindbrain can be fatal
- Midbrain: Serves as connector between hindbrain and forebrain and contains reticular
formation (regulating arousal)
- Forebrain: Responsible for higher cognitive functions such as memories of events and
decision making. Consists of cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system,
and others
- Limbic System: Contains amygdala (regulates emotions, fear and aggression)
and hippocampus (memory formation)
- Thalamus: Director of incoming signals. Messages from the senses are directed
to different areas of the brain for processing
- Hypothalamus: Monitors homeostatic levels of the body.
- Brain is divided into 2 hempispheres. Hemispheres are connected by the corpus
callosum
- Left brain: More verbal, analytical, and orderly. Better at writing, reading,
, computations
- Right Brain: More visual and intuitive. More creative and less organized way of
thinking
- Cortex divided regionally into lobes
- Frontal lobe=higher cognitive processes
- Occipital (visual) lobe
- Parietal (touch) lobe
- Temporal (auditory processing) lobes
The Endocrine System
- Endocrine System helps the body meet ever-changing needs by sending hormones
through the bloodstream.
- Influences slower and longer-lasting effects to the body
- Pituitary glands
- Produce growth hormones
- Regulates other glands by sending out hormones that activate other parts of
endocrine system
- Thyroid
- Regulates metabolism by releasing thyroxine
- Adrenal Glands
- Stimulare body to respond to physical needs by releasing adrenaline and cortisol
- Pancreas
- Produces insulin for sugar regulation in blood
- Gonads
- Produce reproductive cells.
- Ovaries=female sex glands, produce estrogen
- Testes=Male sex glands, produce testosterone
- Hypothalamus
- Serves as connection between the nervous and endocrine systems
- Regulates homeostasis and sends signals to the pituitary gland
Sensation and Perception
- Transduction: Process through which the body converts the stimuli into neural
messages that can be processed by the brain
Measuring Sensation and Perception
- Psychophysics: Study of how we detect and process sensations
- Absolute Threshold: Smallest amount of a stimulus a person can detect 50% of the
time
- Weber’s law claims that the just-noticeable difference increases as intensity of a
stimulus increases
Vision
- Vision involves light being converted to neural impulses
- Cones
- Located in the center of the retina and respond to different colors of light
- Need brighter light to become activated
- Rods
- Derived from philosophy and physiology
- Freud put forth psychoanalytic theory and focused on dynamics that can occur between
the conscious self (ego), the unconscious self (id), and our sense of right and wrong
(superego)
- Freud was criticized for not taking a scientific approach when evaluating
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- Functionalism: High achievers are likely to be seen as suitable mates, so motivation to
achieve is highly adaptive.
- Behaviorism: Study of outwardly observable behaviors, led by John Watson and BF
Skinner
- Humanistic psychology challenged behaviorists’ focus on external and shift their focus to
subjective experiences, conscious choices, and finding purpose in life
- Evolutionary psychology focused on how and why behavioral tendencies were and are
genetically based and adaptive
Perspectives in Psychology
- Wundt and Freud explored introspective and unconscious aspects of the mind
- Frew conclusions about internal mental processes
- Behaviorists, Watson Skinner, studied observable behaviors.
- Humanists, Rogers and Maslow, emphasis on self and personal choice in reaction to the
strict behaviorist view. How we chose to respond to challenges we face in our lives can
lead to incongruence between our self-image and obstacles we are dealing with in
realizing our potential.
- Evolutionary psychology, positive psychology, sociocultural psychology, offer an
increased awareness of social and cultural factors that have continued to broaden
perspectives in psychology
Scientific methods in Psychology
- Correlational studies help to verify a relationship between variables, not a cause and
effect relationship
- +1 and -1 are same in strength in correlation
- Steps in Scientific method
- Define and describe issues to be studied
- Form a testable hypothesis
- Choose an appropriate research strategy
- Conduct the study to test your hypothesis
- Analyze the data to support or reject your hypothesis
Neuroscience in Psychology
- Endocrine system plays an important role in regulating the needs of the body as the
brain and body interact
How is the Brain Studied
- Lesioning involves damaging the tissue of the brain to see if there are changes to the
brain’s functioning
The Neuron
- Major parts of the neuron are dendrites, cell body, axon, terminal buttons, and vesicles
, that contain neurotransmitters
- ****Hand Analogy***
- Fingers are dendrites
- Palm is cell body
- Arm is axon
- When neuron fires, it is increasing (excitatory) or decreasing (inhibitory) activity in the
brain
- Action potential occurs when polarity is greater than +40
- Neuron fires an electrical impulse down the axon to the terminal buttons, and
neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap
- Brief refractory period after neuron fires to allow neuron to recover
- Neurotransmitter are received by “locking in” to the next neuron’s receptor sites based
on molecular shape
The Nervous System
- Nervous System: Is the means by which all neural communication takes place within
the body. How we sense process, and react to stimuli are all based on the functions of
the nervous system
- Central Nervous System processes signals communciation from the receptors and nerve
pathways of peripheral nervous system
- Peripheral Nervous System includes autonomic and somatic nervous system
- Autonomic Nervous System: Monitors and responds to the changing needs of the
body. Has 2 divisions, the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous
system
- Sympathetic Nervous System: Activates the body to respond to increased
needs
- Parasympathetic Nervous System: Returns the body back to a state of
homeostasis
- Somatic Nervous System: Responsible for voluntary movements such as walking
The Brain
- Hindbrain: Responsible for life-supporting functions like breathing and digestion.
Includes medulla, cerebellum, and pons. Damage to hindbrain can be fatal
- Midbrain: Serves as connector between hindbrain and forebrain and contains reticular
formation (regulating arousal)
- Forebrain: Responsible for higher cognitive functions such as memories of events and
decision making. Consists of cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system,
and others
- Limbic System: Contains amygdala (regulates emotions, fear and aggression)
and hippocampus (memory formation)
- Thalamus: Director of incoming signals. Messages from the senses are directed
to different areas of the brain for processing
- Hypothalamus: Monitors homeostatic levels of the body.
- Brain is divided into 2 hempispheres. Hemispheres are connected by the corpus
callosum
- Left brain: More verbal, analytical, and orderly. Better at writing, reading,
, computations
- Right Brain: More visual and intuitive. More creative and less organized way of
thinking
- Cortex divided regionally into lobes
- Frontal lobe=higher cognitive processes
- Occipital (visual) lobe
- Parietal (touch) lobe
- Temporal (auditory processing) lobes
The Endocrine System
- Endocrine System helps the body meet ever-changing needs by sending hormones
through the bloodstream.
- Influences slower and longer-lasting effects to the body
- Pituitary glands
- Produce growth hormones
- Regulates other glands by sending out hormones that activate other parts of
endocrine system
- Thyroid
- Regulates metabolism by releasing thyroxine
- Adrenal Glands
- Stimulare body to respond to physical needs by releasing adrenaline and cortisol
- Pancreas
- Produces insulin for sugar regulation in blood
- Gonads
- Produce reproductive cells.
- Ovaries=female sex glands, produce estrogen
- Testes=Male sex glands, produce testosterone
- Hypothalamus
- Serves as connection between the nervous and endocrine systems
- Regulates homeostasis and sends signals to the pituitary gland
Sensation and Perception
- Transduction: Process through which the body converts the stimuli into neural
messages that can be processed by the brain
Measuring Sensation and Perception
- Psychophysics: Study of how we detect and process sensations
- Absolute Threshold: Smallest amount of a stimulus a person can detect 50% of the
time
- Weber’s law claims that the just-noticeable difference increases as intensity of a
stimulus increases
Vision
- Vision involves light being converted to neural impulses
- Cones
- Located in the center of the retina and respond to different colors of light
- Need brighter light to become activated
- Rods
