Introduction to Psychology: Key Concepts and Theories
Psychology: The Science of Behavior and Mental Processes
Goals of Psychology
- Describe
- Predict
- Control
- Explain
Ethics in Psychology
- Protection from Harm
- Confidentiality
- Voluntary Participation
- Deception and Intimidation
- Ethics in Animal Research
Specialties in Psychology
- Clinical
- Educational
- Sports
- Industrial
- Forensic
- Social
Sensation and Perception
Sensation
Feels like: Receptor activation by stimuli in the environment.
Perception
The process of organizing and assigning meaning to information.
Absolute Threshold
Minimum amount of energy required by participants to consciously detect a stimulus 50% of the time.
Difference Threshold
The smallest amount of stimulation that should be added or removed from an existing stimulus for a person to be able to detect a change 50% of the time.
Learning
Learning Defined
The permanent change in behavior or the potential to react.
Classical Conditioning
Learning that occurs when two stimuli, one conditioned (originally a neutral stimulus) and one unconditioned, are paired and become associated with each other.
Operant Conditioning
Learning that occurs when the participant must respond to a change in the environment.
Positive Reinforcement
An event or stimulus presented after the target response that increases the possibility that this response will happen again.
Negative Reinforcement
An event or stimulus removed after the target response, thus increasing the likelihood that this response will happen again.
Positive Punishment
A stimulus that leads to decreased responsiveness of a target; it is in the form of adding a stimulus.
Negative Punishment
A stimulus that causes the decrease in response of a target; it is the cessation of a stimulus.
Motivation
Motivation Defined
Physiological and psychological factors that explain the activation, management, and persistence of behavior.
Instincts
These are unlearned behaviors specific to a species and are more complex than reflexes. Example: Bats locate objects, like moths, using sound waves, which are similar to radar.
Drives
Physiological needs create drives, such as the need for food. Example: If you had no money for lunch, you might borrow money.
Emotion
Emotion Defined
Physiological changes and conscious feelings of pleasure or pain, excited by external and internal stimuli, leading to behavioral reactions.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Self-Actualization
- Esteem
- Belonging and Love
- Safety
- Physiological Needs
James-Lange Theory
Affirms that physiological changes precede and create emotions. Emotional Stimulus -> Physiological Changes -> Emotion.
Cannon-Bard Theory
Emphasizes the role of the thalamus in simultaneously sending emotional stimuli to the cortex and the sympathetic nervous system.
Memory
Long-Term Memory (LTM)
Stage which has a large capacity and stores information permanently. Review is important to transfer memories from Short-Term Memory (STM) to LTM.
Types of LTM
- Procedural: Remembering how to respond and the ability to take action.
- Semantic: Our store of general knowledge.
- Episodic: Remembering personal events.
- Implicit: Shapes LTM without conscious awareness; relates to the identification of words and objects.
Techniques for Improving Memory
- Grouping
- Acronyms
- Acrostics
- Imagery
- Keyword Method
Proactive Interference
Old memories make it difficult to remember newly learned information.
Retroactive Interference
New memories hinder the recall of information learned in the past.
Problem Solving
Algorithm
A method to solve problems involving the systematic exploration of all possible solutions until you find the right solution.
Heuristics
Consist of general assumptions or rules that are used to solve problems but do not guarantee that the correct answer will be reached.
Help and Hindrance in Problem Solving
Establishing Subgoals
Asking people to think out loud allows psychologists to understand their problem-solving process and divide problems into subgoals.
Rigidity
The tendency to rely too heavily on past experience to solve problems.
Useful Heuristic Methods for Solving Problems
Confirmation Bias
Leaning towards a hypothesis without adequately testing other possibilities.
Representativeness Heuristic
Determining whether a particular instance represents a certain class or category.
Availability Heuristic
The probability of an event is determined by the ease with which it comes to mind.
Framing
The tendency to be influenced by the presentation of positive and negative results for decision-making, which tends to be risk-averse.
Adolescence
Adolescence Defined
The period from approximately 12 to 20 years.
Physical Changes: Puberty
The time at which the individual reaches full maturity.
Primary Sex Characteristics
Characteristics directly related to reproduction. Example: Maturation of the reproductive organs.
Secondary Sex Characteristics
Features of sex that develop during adolescence and have no direct relationship with reproduction. Example: Hair growth, voice changes, skin changes, etc.
Cognitive and Intellectual Changes: Formal Operational Stage
The last stage of intellectual development according to Piaget, characterized by abstract thought, is reached during adolescence or adulthood.
Personal Fable
A feeling shared by many teenagers that they are not subject to the same rules as other people.
Imaginary Audience
The adolescent’s assumption that all others are concerned about their appearance and behavior.
Social Change and Personality: Identity Formation
- Identity Achievement
- Identity Moratorium
- Identity Foreclosure
- Identity Diffusion
Influences on identity formation include peer groups, family, and personal commitments.
Personality
Personality Defined
This is the stable pattern of behavior, feeling, and thought that distinguishes one person from another.
The Big Five Traits
- Extraversion: Talkative and expressive person.
- Agreeableness: Altruistic and giving people.
- Conscientiousness: Organized, reliable, and responsible.
- Neuroticism: Self-defeating, anxious, and concerned about personal fitness.
- Openness to Experience: People who enjoy new and unfamiliar experiences and are not traditional.
Psychosexual Stages of Development
- Oral Stage: Mouth (0 months – 18 months)
- Anal Stage: Anus (18 months – 3 years)
- Phallic Stage: Genitals (3 years – 6 years)
- Latency Stage: None (6 years – Puberty)
- Genital Stage: Genitals (Adolescence – Adulthood)
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety
Feelings of apprehension generally characterized by behavioral, cognitive, or physiological symptoms.
Phobia
Irrational fear of an activity, object, or situation that is out of proportion to the actual danger.
Agoraphobia
Fear of being in public places like shopping malls. Sometimes associated with panic disorder.
Social Phobia
Fear related to being seen or observed by others.
Specific Phobia
A large category of phobias, including phobias related to animals, the natural environment (storms, water), and blood-injection-injury.
Panic Disorder
The most severe anxiety disorder characterized by intense physiological arousal unrelated to a specific stimulus. There is also apprehension about the possibility of future attacks and concern about the seriousness of the attacks, which are often seen as heart attacks.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
High and chronic level of anxiety that is not linked to a specific stimulus. Symptoms include excessive concern about several events or activities.