PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Recognition Memory, Cerebellum, Retrograde Amnesia
27 Jun 2018
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1. Psychology 100
Table of Contents
Introduction & History
What is Psychology & What do Psychologists Do?
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, thought & expression
oNote that it brain is left out
Psychologists either carry out or read & apply research about behavior & mental processes
Philosophical Roots of Psychology
Rationalism - pursuit of truth through reason and logic
oThought & experience were real things
oIs there such a thing as free will?
oIs perception the same thing as reality?
oWhat is perceived is not always there
Empiricism - philosophical view that all knowledge are obtained through observable facts & experiences
oMind is out of equation since it cannot be experienced, only behavior can be felt
oApplied to questions about perception, thinking, and behaviour
Psychophysics - measure relationships between change in magnitude of stimulus to our sensation of the changes in stimulus
magnitude
oPhysical and sensory magnitudes not equivalent
Structuralism - breaking complex phenomena down to their smallest components and then study these components; like
how matter is broken down into atoms
Functionalism - examine behaviours, traits, and perceptions by asking, “What are they for?”
oInfluenced by Charles Darwin and evolutionary though
Foundations I: Research Methods & Statistics
The Scientific Method
Science does three things:
oSeeks explanations for observed phenomena that rely solely on natural causes
oProgresses through creation and testing of models of nature that explain the observations as simply as possible
oMakes testable predictions about natural phenomena; if predictions don't agree with observations, model must be
revised or abandoned
Theory - an idea, or a conceptual model that is designed to explain existing facts & make predictions about new facts that
might be discovered
Hypothesis - testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured
oShould be able to be disproved
Objectivity - if it is based on observable phenomena & is uninfluenced by emotions or personal points of view
Empirical world describes things that are experienced by most individuals in a similar manner
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Steps in the Scientific Method
1. Formulate hypothesis
2. Design a study
3. Collect the data
4. Analyze data & obtain results
5. Draw conclusions, develop new hypothesis, share findings
Experimental Design
Operational Definition - describes the operation that makes the concept observable and therefore measureable
oOperational definition must be set up to measure variables
Collecting Data
1. Naturalistic Observation - collecting data in natural surroundings
2. Case Study - examining individual participants
3. Survey - standardized set of questions
4. Correlation Study -statistics that describe relationships between 2 variables
5. Experiments
Psychological Experiments & Ethics of Psychological Research
Subject Expectancy Effect - condition where experimental participant believes they know what the experiment is looking
for or have an expectation of what should happen
oCan affect person's behavior throughout experiment
oDouble Blind - mean of controlling for demand characteristics
Verification Reviews - use random assignments; ensures results are valid
Random Selection - ensures validity so the participants do not all have the same tendencies, skewing results
Statistics
Data - measurements or simple facts
Information - data that has been organized and made useful
Normal Distribution - distribution of data following a bell-shaped probability function
Measures of Central Tendency - mean, median, & mode should be near identical in normal distribution
Testing variability can be done in 2 ways:
1. Range
2. Standard Deviation - extent to which each score differs from the mean
Inferential Statistics
Used to determine what the data means
Let researchers determine how likely the result could have occurred due to chance
In general, results that have a high degree of variability or a weak correlation are more likely to have been caused by pure
chance
Correlation Studies
Correlation coefficients range from r = +1.00 to -1.00
o+1.00 means perfect positive correlation e.g. foot length & shoe size
o-1.00 means perfect negative correlation e.g. car and time required to reach destination
Correlation does NOT equal causation
oWe can't know the direction of cause and effect
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Multiple Regression - a sequence of calculations that corrects for their influence on the dependant variable
Foundations II: Genetics & Evolution
Intro to Genetics
Behavior arises from 2 possible origins:
1. Nativism - born with it via genes
2. Empiricism - gained through experience from the environment
Leads to question of nature vs. nurture
2 factors interact at every level
Behavior Genetics - relationship between behavior & genetics
Sexual Reproduction
23 pairs of chromosomes
o22 are autosomes
o23rd are x & y chromosomes
Males have xy pair; females have xx pair
Egg can only have an x chromosome
Sperm can have either x or y chromosome
Monozygotic & Dizygotic Twins
Identical twins are monozygotic
oDevelop from one egg
Fraternal twins are dizygotic
oDevelop from 2 eggs
Concordance - degree of similarity between twins
Genes & Alleles
Genes - regions of chromosome that encode proteins
Locus - point where gene is located on chromosome (called alleles)
Polygenic Base - result of more than one gene's actions
oCreates multiple gene traits
Epigenetics - study of heritable changes that occur without a change in the DNA sequence (mutation)
oStress, diet, behavior, etc. can activate chemical switches that regulate gene expression
Heritability & Variability
Heritability - amount of variability in a given trait in a given population at a given time due to genetic factors
oStatistic that ranges from 0-1
oRepresents the degree to which the variability in a trait in any given gene population is a result of genetic differences
among individuals in that population
Evolution by natural selection produces adaptations: features of organisms that have particular reproductive and survival
functions
Misconceptions About Evolution
Naturalistic Fallacy - belief that characteristics produced by evolution are either natural and good or unnatural and morally
bad
Genetic Deterministic Fallacy - belief that genes determine behavior independently of environmental influences
Both of the things above are false
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, thought & expression: note that it brain is left out. Psychologists either carry out or read & apply research about behavior & mental processes. Rationalism - pursuit of truth through reason and logic: thought & experience were real things o. Is perception the same thing as reality? o: what is perceived is not always there. Empiricism - philosophical view that all knowledge are obtained through observable facts & experiences: mind is out of equation since it cannot be experienced, only behavior can be felt, applied to questions about perception, thinking, and behaviour. Psychophysics - measure relationships between change in magnitude of stimulus to our sensation of the changes in stimulus magnitude o. Structuralism - breaking complex phenomena down to their smallest components and then study these components; like how matter is broken down into atoms. Functionalism - examine behaviours, traits, and perceptions by asking, what are they for? o.
