Psychology

• Cluster sampling is a sampling method where the population is divided into clusters or groups, and a random sample of clusters is selected for the study.
• Biological factors influencing behavior:

  • Genetics, DNA, and physiological processes play a role in shaping behavior
  • Medication/drugs can affect behavior
  • Hormones like high testosterone and estrogen can impact moods and actions
  • Neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin influence behavior
  • Brain damage or abnormalities can alter senses and development
  • Tumors can change brain function
• Addiction:

  • Biological factors: gene variation influences addiction risk
  • Psychological factors: trauma can lead to self-medication and addiction
  • Social factors: stereotypes can impact addiction risk
• Social factors influencing behavior:

  • Interactions with peers, family, friends, bystanders, and environmental groups influence behavior
  • Stereotypes can affect behavior and influence how individuals perceive themselves
• Psychological factors influencing behavior:

  • Mental (cognitive) thought processes, memories, past experiences, trauma, and beliefs all impact behavior
  • Coping strategies, including maladaptive coping strategies, play a role in behavior
• Risk-taking behavior:

  • Biological factors: high testosterone increases risk-taking behavior
  • Psychological factors: trauma can lead to risky behavior
  • Social factors: personal experiences influence perspectives on risky behavior
• Infidelity:

  • Biological factors: substance abuse can lead to infidelity
  • Psychological factors: trauma correlates with infidelity
  • Social factors: stereotypes can impact relationships and lead to infidelity
• Violence:

  • Biological factors: medication can cause violence
  • Psychological factors: traumatic stress can lead to aggression
  • Social factors: stereotypes can influence aggression
• Anxiety:

  • Biological factors: genes can make individuals more susceptible to anxiety
  • Psychological factors: trauma can trigger anxiety
  • Social factors: stereotypes can affect people with social anxiety
• Three types of research:

  • Experimental research: researcher controls variables and tests one effect at a time
  • Observational research: identifies similarities between pre-existing variables
  • Qualitative study: focuses on in-depth understanding of behavior
• Ethical considerations in research:

  • Informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, accurate reporting, right to withdraw, debriefing
  • Ethics include minimizing harm and ensuring participant understanding
• Neuropsychology:

  • Brain structure and function, including the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain
  • Lobes of the brain and their functions
  • Brain imaging techniques like CT, MRI, PET, and EEG scans
  • Brain implants and their applications
• Physiological: deals with the normal functions of a living organism and their parts
• Anatomical: relating to bodily structures
• Neurotransmitters: endogenous chemicals that allow neurons to communicate throughout the body
• Schizophrenia: a mental disorder where people interpret reality abnormally
• Serotonin: a chemical messenger naturally found in the brain and body, known as the feel-good hormone
• Maladaptive coping strategies: coping mechanisms associated with poor mental health
• Infidelity: violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity, leading to feelings of anger, jealousy, and rivalry
• Experimental: scientific study of behavior, motives, or cognition in a controlled setting to predict, explain, or influence psychological phenomena
• Independent variable: manipulated by the experimenter
• Dependent variable: changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation
• Causal Relationship: implies a direct cause and effect relationship between independent and dependent variables
• Quantitative observational research: focuses on identifying relationships between pre-existing variables
• Longitudinal studies: collecting data from participants over a long period, potentially decades
• Retroactive studies: collecting and examining historical records
• Naturalistic observation: observing behavior in a natural setting
• Case Study: observing participant/s in great detail
• Survey: interviewing a range of people to collect information
• Delphi Method: gathering expert opinion through progressive questionnaires to reach consensus
• Quantitative: relating to measuring by quantity rather than quality
• Qualitative: relating to measuring by quality rather than quantity
• Validity: quality of being based on truth or reason, or being accepted
• Normal Distribution: probability distribution symmetric about the mean, showing data near the mean are more frequent
• Neuro-Psychology: study of the relationship between the brain and behavior
• Meninges: three membrane layers covering and protecting the brain and spinal cord
• Cerebrospinal fluid: fluid flowing in and around the brain and spinal cord, between two meninges
• Ventricles: cavities in the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid
• Sensory processing: how an individual perceives, processes, and organizes information received through senses
• Primary sensory cortex: processes afferent somatosensory input and integrates sensory and motor signals for skilled movements