Chapter 1 Reading

Front 1

biopsychology(behavioral neuroscience)

Back 1

investigate the electrical and chemical processes in the nervous system that underlie these mental events

Front 2

localization of function

Back 2

major issue in behavioral neuroscience

Front 3

cross cultural psychology

Back 3

relation between culture and psychological attributes

Front 4

psychological anthropologists

Back 4

studied the way economic realities shape child rearing practices which in turn mold personalitity

Front 5

introspection

Back 5

verbally report everything that went through their minds when they were presented with a stimulus or task

Front 6

structuralism

Back 6

an early school of thought which used introspection as a method for uncover the basic elements of consciousness

Front 7

functionalism

Back 7

emphasized the role or function of psychological processes in helping individuals adapt to their environment

Front 8

perspectives

Back 8

several different schools of thought

Front 9

psychodynamic perspective

Back 9

1) peoples actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings, and wishes are connected in their minds

2) many of these mental events occur outside of conscious awareness

3)these mental processes may conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives

Front 10

falsifiability criterion

Back 10

the ability of a theory to be proven wrong as a means of advancing science

Front 11

behaviorist or behaviorist perspective

Back 11

focuses on relation between observable behaviors and environmental events or stimuli

Front 12

cognition

Back 12

thought

Front 13

cognitive perspective

Back 13

focuses on the way people perceive, process, and retrieve information

Front 14

information processing

Back 14

the environment provides inputs which are transformed, stored, and retrieved using various mental programs leading to specific response outputs

Front 15

rationalist philosophers

Back 15

philosophers who emphasize the role of reason in creating knowledge

Front 16

nature vs nurture

Back 16

nurture: behavior is primarily learned

nature: behavior is biologically ordained

Front 17

evolutionary perspective

Back 17

many behavioral tendencies in humans evolved because they helped our ancestors survive

Front 18

natural selection

Back 18

forces select adaptive traits in organisms that help them adjust to and survive in their environment are passed to offspring

Front 19

ethology

Back 19

the field that studies animal behavior from a biological and evolutional perspective

Front 20

sociobiology

Back 20

a field that explores possible evolutionary and biological bases of human social behavior

Front 21

behavioral genetics

Back 21

field that examines the genetic and environmental bases of differences among individuals in psychological traits

Front 22

reproductive success

Back 22

the capacity to survive and reproduce offpsirng

Front 23

inclusive fitness

Back 23

the notion that natural selection favors organisms that survive, reproduce, and foster the survival and reproduction of their kin

Front 24

nervous system

Back 24

the interacting network of nerve cells that underlies all psychological activity

Front 25

neuron

Back 25

cell in the nervous system

Front 26

cell body

Back 26

the part of the neuron that includes a nucleus containing the genetic material of the cell as well as other microstructures vital to cell functioning

Front 27

axxon

Back 27

the long extension from the cell body of a neuron through which electrical impulses pass

Front 28

synapse

Back 28

the place at which the transmission of information between neurons occurs

Front 29

graded potentials

Back 29

a spreading voltage change that occurs when the neural membrane receives a signal from another cell

Front 30

action potential

Back 30

a temporary shift in the polarity of the cell membrane which leads to the firing of a neuron

Front 31

neurotransmitters

Back 31

chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another

Front 32

receptors

Back 32

protein molecules in the postsynaptic membrane that pick up neurotransmitters

Front 33

glutamate

Back 33

one of the most widespread neurotransmitters in the nervous system

Front 34

dopamine

Back 34

neurotransmitter involved in thought, feeling, motivation, and behavior

Front 35

serotonin

Back 35

neurotransmitters involved in mood sleep eating arousal and pain

Front 36

endorphins

Back 36

chemicals in brain similar to morphine that elevate mood and reduce pain

Front 37

central nervous system

Back 37

brain and spinal cord

Front 38

somatic nervous system

Back 38

transmit sensory info and control intentional actions

Front 39

autnomic nervous system

Back 39

beating of heart and breathing

Front 40

sympathetic nervous system

Back 40

fight or flight

Front 41

parasympathetic nervous system

Back 41

conserving and mainting bodys energy and resources