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AP Psychology Exam 1: 12-13

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AP Psychology Exam 1: 13-14

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Stats: Unit 1 Exam• 100% of students who came on his or her own time to

ask questions earned a B or higher on the test – What is the extraneous variable here? Is this cause/effect?

• 94.6% of students who got 7/7 for RQ earned a B or higher on the test

• 98.7% of students who failed RQ earned a D or lower on the test– What correlations can you make? Are they positive or

negative?

• How will you personally be able to work against the extraneous variable from the first bullet if you were not successful on this test?

Where do we go from here…

• Let’s make a deal…

1. Conference

2. Study

3. Improve • Drop this test if improved by 2 letter grades

(or B to an A)

most missed questions

A negative correlation between degree of wealth and likelihood of suffering from a psychological disorder would indicate that

a. Poverty makes people vulnerable to psychological disordersb. The poor are more likely to have a psychological disorder than

the wealthy c. Psychological disorders usually prevent people from

accumulating wealthd. Poverty causes vulnerability to psychological disorderse. All the above are true

Cont’d

Alexandra is told that research supports the value of cosmetic surgery for boosting self-esteem. Belinda is told that the esteem-enhancing value of cosmetic surgery has been refuted by research. Both women would consider the findings to be common sense. This best illustrates the power of

a. Random samplingb. The false consensus effectc. The hindsight biasd. Illusory correlatione. Confirmation bias

Neurons:

• Sensory neurons

- afferent

• Motor neurons

- efferent

• Interneurons

The Neuron: the basic building block (cell) of the nervous system.

• Neurons are composed of the following parts:– Axon– Soma/Cell Body– Dendrite– Myelin sheath– Terminal Branches– Terminal Buttons– Synapse– Post synaptic Dendrite– Glial cells

Neuron Parts continued

–Synapse-space between neurons.• Aka Synaptic Gap/Cleft or Nodes of

Ranvier

–Action Potential- electrical charge that runs through the neuron caused by depolarization of the neuron.

All or None Law: Like firing a gun

• Neuron will fire or it won’t – there is no between– Squeezing a trigger hard or soft?– Turning on a light switch slow or fast?

Neurotransmitters

• Neurotransmitters can be excitatory or inhibitory: – Agonists excite, – Antagonists inhibit

• Endorphins block• Heroin tolerance and withdrawal

\

Acetylcholine (ACh)

• Released by motor neurons

• Regulation of attention, arousal, and memory

• Enables muscle action, memory and learning

• Lack of Ach creating neurons = Alzheimer’s

Dopamine (DA)

• Control of voluntary movement

• Cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at DA synapses

• “reward pathway”

• Too little = Parkinson’s

• Too much = Schizophrenic disorders, addictive disorders

Norepinephrine (NE)

• Mood and arousal

• Cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at NE synapses

• Too little = depression

Serotonin

• Regulation of sleep and wakefulness, aggression

• Prozac and antidepressant drugs affect serotonin circuits

• Too little = depressive disorders

GABA or gamma-aminobutryic acid

• Inhibitory transmitter

• Regulates anxiety, sleep/arousal

• Too little = insomnia, anxiety disorders

Glutamate

• Widely distributed excitatory transmitter

• Learning and memory

• Too much = migraines or seizures– Why do people avoid MSG?

Endorphins

• Resembles opiates in structure and effects

• Roles in pain relief and response to stress

• Regulation of eating behavior

• “Runner’s High”

Monoamines

• 3 neurotransmitters– Dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin

GABA and Glutumate

• Consist of amino acids– GABA - produces only inhibitory postsynaptic

potentials (PSP)– Glutamate – widely distributed in the brain,

only has excitatory effects

MAOI’s

• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor

• Antidepressants used to treat depression, anxiety, etc

SSRI Antidepressants

• Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor

• Anti depressant drugs (and some other illegal drugs like cocaine) – block the reuptake of neurotransmitters,

keeping in the synapse longer,– intensifying their activity. – For some depressed people that elevates

their mood.

Opiod peptides and Substance P

• Among those peptides known to affect synaptic transmission are substance P and the opioid peptides.

• The best-studied are the opioid peptides, so called because opiate drugs, such as morphine, are known to bind to their receptors and mimic their painkilling and mood-altering actions.

END OF DAY 1