Meredith Bessey & Rachel Grant

PSYCHOLOGY 1011 MIDTERM #1

QUESTIONS? EMAIL US!

Meredith Bessey

Meredith.bessey@dal.ca

Rachel Grant

Rachel.grant@dal.ca

CHAPTER 2 – STUDYING BEHAVIOUR SCIENTIFICALLY

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Some key terms to know:

Hypothesis

Theory

Variable

Independent variable

Dependent variable

Operational definition

Placebo and expectancy effects

STATISTICS!

Statistics is the branch of mathematics involving the collection, description, and interpretation of numerical data

What is a normal distribution?

Be able to differentiate and calculate the:

Mean

Median

mode

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS WE MEASURE BEHAVIOUR?

Self-report measures

Reports by others

Often used to support self-reports

Physiological measures

Behavioural measures

All these approaches have their advantages and disadvantages

METHODS OF RESEARCH

Descriptive research

Case studies

Naturalistic observations

surveys

Correlational research

Experimental research

VALIDITY & THREATS TO VALIDITY

Know the difference between:

Internal validity

External validity

Understand:

placebo effects

Confounding variables

Generalization

replication

ETHICS IN RESEARCH

Ethical guidelines for both:

Human research

Non-human animal research

CHAPTER 3 – BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BEHAVIOR

THE NEURON

Terms to know:

Neuron

Glia

Axon

Dendrite

Soma

Axon terminal

Nodes of ranvier

Myelin Sheath

FUNCTION OF THE NEURON

Know:

The primary purpose of the neuron

The stages of depolarization/repolarization

Action potential vs. resting potential

Threshold

SIGNAL TRANSMISSION

Three types of neurons: motor, sensory, interneurons

4 structure types: bipolar, unipolar, multipolar, pyramidal

What two ways can a response be terminated in the synapse?

Common NTs

Serotonin, dopamine, Ach, GABA norepinephrine

Know a small amount about each (in general are they inhibitory or excitatory?)

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Comprised of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS)

BRAIN STRUCTURES

Know major brain areas and their primary function

Hindbrain (medulla, pons, cerebellum)

Midbrain (reticular formation)

Forebrain (basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, lymbic system)

Cerebral Cortex (know Wenickes/Brocas areas)

CORTEX

Prefrontal cortex

Association cortex

Agnosia

Split brain syndrome

Neural plasticity

CHAPTER 4 – GENES AND BEHAVIOUR

SOME KEY GENETICS CONCEPTS

Nature or nurture? Or is it nature AND nurture?

Key genetics terms:

Genotype

Phenotype

Genes

Chromosomes

Allele

DNA

GENE EFFECTS

Genes can be expressed in different ways

Dominant gene

Recessive gene

Polygenic transmission

GENE TECHNOLOGIES

Recombinant DNA procedures

Virus-mediated gene transfer

Transgenic mice

HOW MUCH IS GENES AND HOW MUCH IS ENVIRONMENT?

Heritability coefficient

Twin studies

Compare concordance

Minnesota Twin Study

Adoption studies

Reaction range

Gene expression

epigenetics

EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR

Evolution

Natural selection

Adaptation

Domain-specific adaptations

Genetic determinism

Social Darwinism

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

What factors influence mate selection?

Parental investment

Different mating systems

Polygyny

Monogomous mating system

Polyandry

polygynandry

HELPING BEHAVIOUR

Cooperation

Altruism

Kin-selection theory

Theory of reciprocal altruism

aggression

QUESTIONS? EMAIL US!

Meredith Bessey

Meredith.bessey@dal.ca

Rachel Grant

Rachel.grant@dal.ca