Introduction to Psychology: Key Concepts and Biological Foundations

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology

Early Influences

Father of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt (1879, Germany)

Student of Wundt: Edward Titchener, Structuralism

Father of American Psychology: William James, Functionalism

7 Major Perspectives in Modern Psychology

  • Psychoanalytic: Unconscious processes, unresolved conflicts, past experiences (Sigmund Freud)
  • Behavioral: Objective, observable, environmental influences on overt behavior (John B. Watson, 1913)
  • Humanistic: Free will, self-actualization, growth-seeking, naturally positive
  • Cognitive: Mental processes used in thinking, knowing, remembering, communicating
  • Biological: Genetic and biological processes in the brain and other parts of the nervous system
  • Evolutionary: Natural selection, adaptation, reproduction (Charles Darwin)
  • Sociocultural: Social interaction and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes

Psychology’s 4 Main Goals

Description: Tells what occurred

Explanation: Tells why a behavior or mental process occurred

Prediction

Change

Types of Research

Basic Research: Primarily conducted to advance core scientific knowledge; most often used in universities and labs

Applied Research: Conducted to solve practical, real-world problems; most often used outside the lab

Ethical Considerations

Informed Consent: Participants are aware of the nature of the study and what to expect

Debriefing: Procedure conducted at the end of the study; participants are informed of the study’s design and purpose, and questions are clarified and answered.

Psychology’s Research Methods

3 Major Research Methods:

  1. Descriptive Research: Observes and records behavior and mental processes without manipulating variables (survey, interview, case study, archival research)
  2. Correlational Research: Examines possible relations between variables; designed to meet the goal of prediction
  3. Experimental Research: Involves the manipulation or control of variables to determine cause and effect; designed to meet the goal of explanation

Ethnocentrism: Belief that one’s culture is typical of all cultures; viewing one’s own ethnic group or culture as central and “correct”

Participant Bias: Problem that occurs when a research participant’s behavior or expectations inadvertently influence the outcome of the research.

Chapter 2: Neuroscience and Biological Foundations

Glial Cell: Cells that provide structural, nutritional, and other functions for neurons; also called glia or neuroglia

Structure of a Neuron

Dendrites: Branching fibers of a neuron that receive information (signals) from other neurons and convey impulses toward the cell body.

Cell Body: Part of the neuron that contains the cell nucleus and other structures that help the neuron carry out its functions; also known as the soma.

Axon: Long, tubelike structure that conveys impulses away from a neuron’s cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands

Myelin Sheath: White, fatty coating surrounding the axons of some neurons

Action Potential: Neural impulse, or brief electrical charge, that carries information along the axon of a neuron

Terminal Buttons

Neurotransmitters

  • Acetylcholine: Learning, attention, sleeping, memory, muscle contraction
  • Dopamine: Movement, emotion, learning, attention
  • Endorphins: Pain perception, positive emotions
  • Epinephrine: Emotional arousal, memory
  • GABA: Learning, anxiety regulation, major role in inhibitory messages
  • Glutamate: Learning, movement, memory, major role in excitatory messages
  • Norepinephrine: Attention, arousal, learning, memory, dreaming, emotion, stress
  • Serotonin: Dreaming, impulse control, appetite, sensory perception, arousal, temperature regulation, pain suppression

Endocrine System: Network of glands located throughout the body that manufacture and secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Nervous System Organization

Central Nervous System (CNS): Consists of the brain and spinal cord; primarily responsible for processing and organizing information

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Composed of the nerves connecting the CNS to the rest of the body; divided into two subdivisions:

  1. Somatic Nervous System: Connects the CNS to sensory receptors and controls skeletal muscles
  2. Autonomic Nervous System: Controls the body’s involuntary motor responses by connecting the CNS to smooth muscles, glands, and cardiac muscle; divided into two subdivisions:
    • Sympathetic Nervous System: Responsible for arousing the body and mobilizing its energy during times of stress; also called the “fight-flight-freeze” system
    • Parasympathetic Nervous System: Responsible for calming the body and conserving energy

Forebrain

Collection of upper-level brain structures including the cerebral cortex, limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus. Responsible for more advanced and complex functions than the hindbrain.

Limbic System: Interconnected group of forebrain structures involved with emotions, drives, and memory; its two most important structures are the hippocampus and amygdala

Amygdala: Part of the limbic system linked to the production and regulation of emotions, especially aggression and fear

Hippocampus: Seahorse-shaped part of the limbic system involved in forming and retrieving memories

Thalamus: Forebrain structure at the top of the brainstem that relays sensory messages to and from the cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus: Small forebrain structure beneath the thalamus that helps govern the endocrine system, motives or drives, and is linked to emotions and the reward system

Midbrain

Collection of structures in the middle of the brain responsible for coordinating movement patterns, sleep, and arousal.

Reticular Formation: Set of neurons that helps screen incoming information and helps control arousal

Brainstem: Area of the brain that includes much of the midbrain, pons, and medulla; responsible for automatic survival functions, such as respiration and heartbeat

Hindbrain

Consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum. Responsible for functions that are fundamental to survival and automatic.

Medulla: Hindbrain structure responsible for vital automatic functions, such as respiration and heartbeat

Pons: Hindbrain structure involved in respiration, movement, waking, sleep, and dreaming

Cerebellum: Hindbrain structure responsible for coordinating fine muscle movement, balance, and some perception and cognition

The Cerebral Cortex

Cerebral Cortex: Thin surface layer on the cerebral hemispheres that regulates most complex behavior, including sensations, motor control, and higher mental processes (damage to this area can result in issues such as dementia and suicidal ideation)

Lobes of the Brain

Frontal Lobes: Govern motor control, speech production, and higher cognitive processes, such as executive functions, intelligence, and personality

Temporal Lobes: Involved in audition (hearing), language comprehension, memory, and some emotional control

Occipital Lobes: Primarily responsible for vision and visual perception

Parietal Lobes: Bodily sensations are received and interpreted

Chapter 3: Stress, Coping, and Health Psychology

Stress: The interpretation of specific events, called stressors, as threatening or challenging; the physical and psychological reactions to stressors are known as the stress response

Stressor: A trigger or stimulus that induces stress

Sources of Stress

  • Life changes
  • Conflict
  • Job stress
  • Cataclysmic events
  • Hassles
  • Frustration
  • Acute/chronic stress

Conflict: Forced choice between two or more incompatible alternatives

Hassles: Small problems of daily living that may accumulate and become major sources of stress

Frustration: Negative emotional state resulting from a blocked goal

Acute Stress: Short-term state of arousal in response to a perceived threat or challenge that has a definite endpoint

Chronic Stress: Continuous state of arousal in which demands are perceived as greater than the inner and outer resources available for dealing with them

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Selye’s three-stage (alarm, resistance, exhaustion) reaction to chronic stress; a pattern of nonspecific, adaptational responses to a continuing stressor

SAM System: Body’s initial, rapid-acting stress response, involving the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medulla; also called the sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) system

HPA Axis: Body’s delayed stress response, involving the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal cortex; also called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis

Homeostasis: Body’s tendency to maintain equilibrium, or a steady state of internal balance

Relationship Between Stress and the Immune System: When we’re under stress, our immune systems are less able to regulate the normal inflammation system, which makes us more susceptible to diseases, such as bursitis, colitis, Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease, and even the common cold.