Psychology

Ch. 3 Notes Video notes the nervous system helps to sense things around us Neuron is also known as the nerve cell and is the basic building block of the nervous system Receptor- Neurons help in receiving, processing, and transmitting information 3 components of neurons soma dendrites short projections or extensions that stretch out of the cell body think of medusa pick up impulses from receptors and pass it to the cell body axon a long thread-like projection of the neuron It has an insulating and protective sheath called myelin sheath made of fats and proteins the neurons carry messages in the form of electrical signals called nerve impulses the impulses then travel along the axon axon passese these impulses to another neuron cell body consists of cytoplasm and nucleus

Rachael Kravetz Ch. 1 Notes From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed Prior to 1879 Physiology and philosophy scholars study questions about the mind Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) University of Leipzig Established first lab for psychology in 1879 after 10 years 24 new labs were formed in New England G. Stanley Hall first psychology lab in US in 1883, helped create APA American Psychological Association and was first president The Battle of the ?schools? in the US Structuralism- Edward Titchener Analyze consciousness into basic elements Introspection- careful, systematic observations of one?s own conscious experience Functionalism- William James Investigate function of consciousness Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex differences

Ch. 4 Outline Sensation sensation a process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energy the information that we get Perception a process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events process of info we receive Bottom-Up Processing analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain?s integration of sensory information Top-Down Processing information processing guided by higher-level mental processes as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations Sensation- basic principles Psychophysics study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them Absolute Threshold

Ch. 2 Notes Why do psychology? hindsight bias: tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it after you learn something you say that you already knew that overconfidence: we tend to think we know more than we do confirmation bias: leads observers to expect certain outcomes what is expected of you people expect you to perform at the level that is set as the best you can do The Scientific Approach: A Search for Laws basic assumption: events are governed by some lawful order; laws are already set in place getting to school on time doing your homework Goals: Measurement and description Understanding and prediction Application and control Flowchart of steps in a scientific investigation Step 1: Formulate a hypothesis Step 2: Design the study