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117 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the different subfields of psychology? |
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biological psychology |
links between brain and mind
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developmental psychology
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our changing abilities from birth to death
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cognitive psychology
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how we think and solve problems
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industrial/organizational psychology
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uses psychology's methods to help select and train employees, boost morale, and productivity.
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social psychology
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how we view and affect each other
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Personality psychology
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investigates our persistent traits
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What is an individualistic culture?
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Individualistic cultures are oriented around the self, independent instead of identifying with a group mentality.
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What is a collectivistic culture?
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emphasize family and work group goals above individual needs or desires.
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What is popular psychology?
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is the concepts and theories about human mental life and behavior that are purportedly based on psychology and that find credence among and pass muster with the populace.
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What is confirmation bias?
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the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.
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What is critical thinking?
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thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions rather it examines assumptions discerns hidden values evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions
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What are the basic principles of critical thinking?
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What is the scientific method?
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A self correcting process for asking questions and observing natures answers.
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What is a hypothesis? How does it differ from a theory?
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a prediction stated as a specific, testable proposition. theories can bias observation.
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What does replicate mean?
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the ability to reproduce the result with different test subjects.
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What are the two different types of studies?
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How are these two different type of studies different?
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experiments manipulate independent variables and descriptive study manipulates nothing.
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what is an independent variable? |
the experimental factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied.
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what is a dependent variable?
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the outcome factor, the variable that may change in response to manipulation.
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What is an experimental and a control condition?
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the experimental condition is the group that gets the treatment, and the control group gets no treatment.
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What is the difference between a blind and a double-blind study?
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A blind study the researchers know who gets treatment and who doesn't the double blind nobody knows who gets the treatment.
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What is a placebo? What is the placebo effect? How can you control for this?
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just thinking you are gettiing treatment can boost your spirits, relax your body and relieve your symptoms.
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What is an experimenter expectancy effect? How can you help control for this?
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a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment.
a double blind study will help control this. |
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What is a confound or confounding variable?
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a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in the experiment.
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What is random assignment and why is it important?
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assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance.
It minimizes the preexisting differences between groups |
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What are the four different types of descriptive studies?
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What is a correlation coefficient? What does a correlation coefficient tell you? (two things) Be able to talk about the relationship between two variables
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a statistical index of the relationship between two things. (from -1 to +1)
a positive correlation or direct relationship both increase or decrease together a negative correlation or an inverse relationship as one increases the other decreases |
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Median
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numbers you are given in value order and find the middle number.
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Mode
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the value that appears most often in a set of data
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Range
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the difference between the largest and smallest values.
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Mean
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you add up all the numbers and then divide by the number of numbers.
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What does statistical significance mean?
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A mathematical technique to measure whether the results of a study are likely to be true. Statistical significance is calculated as the probability that an effect observed in a research study is occurring because of chance.
p<.05 |
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What is the nervous system?
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the network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body.
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What is the basic cell of the nervous system called?
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Neurons
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What are the three different types of neurons and what do they do?
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What are glial cells? Why are they important?
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cells in the nervous system that support, nourish and protect neurons, they may also play a role in learning and thinking.
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Outer membrane (semipermeable)
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a membrane that prevents the passage of some substances but allows the passage of others based on differences in the size, charge, or lipid-solubility of the substances.
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What are the different structures of the neuron?
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Cell body
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the cells life support center
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Dendrites
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receive messages from other cells
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Axon
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passes messages away from cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands
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Axon terminals
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forms junctions with other cells
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Myelin sheath
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covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
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How do neurons communicate? (within one another and with each other)
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neurons transmit messages when stimulated by signals from our senses or when triggered by chemical signals from neighboring neurons.
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What is an action potential?
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a brief electrical charge that travels down its axon.
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What is stimulus threshold?
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The minimum stimulus needed to achieve an action potential is called the threshold stimulus.
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synapse
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a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell 0
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Synaptic vesicle
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store various neurotransmitters that are released
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neurotransmitter
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chemicals that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another
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What does lock and key mechanism mean and what does it apply to?
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Only molecules with the correct shape can fit
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Acetylcholine
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the only neurotransmitter used in the motor division of the somatic nervous system
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Serotonin
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It is popularly thought to be a contributor to feelings of well-being and happiness.
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Norepinephrine
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It is the hormone and neurotransmitter most responsible for vigilant concentration
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Endorphins
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The principle function of endorphins is to inhibit the transmission of pain signals
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What are the different divisions of the nervous system?
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the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system
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What is the central nervous system?
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controls most functions of the body and mind.
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What is a spinal reflex?
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a reflexive action mediated by cells in the spinal cord, bypassing the brain altogether
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What are the divisions of the peripheral nervous system? What is their function?
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-the autonomic nervous system-regulates involuntary actions
- somatic nervous system-governs voluntary action and body reflexes. |
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What are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system? What is their function?
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-the sympathetic division functions in actions requiring quick responses ("fight or flight")
-parasympathetic division regulates actions that do not require rapid responsiveness |
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What is the endocrine system?
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- the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood
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What are hormones? How are they different than neurotransmitters?
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Hormones are the chemical messengers of the endocrine system and are transported by blood to distal target cells. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers found in the nervous system that specifically do the transmission across the synaptic cleft, where the space exists between two axons.
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What is the immune system?
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the body's defense against infectious organisms and other invaders.
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What are the three main areas of the brain
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-forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus
-midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum -hindbrain |
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What are the structures and functions of the hindbrain?
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-hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and medulla.
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RAS
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- reticular activating system
responsible for regulating wakefulness and sleep - wake transitions. |
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Cerebellum
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-involved in the coordination of voluntary motor movement, balance and equilibrium and muscle tone.
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Pons
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- serves as a message station between several areas of the brain. It helps relay messages from the cortex and the cerebellum.
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Medulla
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-Carries out and regulates life sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing and heart rate
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Thalamus
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Responsible for relaying information from the sensory receptors to proper areas of the brain where it can be processed.
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What is the midbrain and why is it important?
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- controls many important functions such as the visual and auditory systems as well as eye movement
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What is the substantia nigra?
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- plays an important role in reward, addiction, and movement
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What is the cerebral cortex?
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- Responsible for thinking and processing information from the five senses
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Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes…. What are those lobes? What important structures are within each of the lobes?
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-frontal Carries out higher mental processes
-parietal Processes sensory information that had to do with taste, temperature, and touch -temporal Responsible for processing auditory information -occipital Responsible for processing visual information |
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Broca's area |
is the motor speech area,it helps in movements required to produce speech
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Wernicke's area |
is the sensory speech area,it helps you understand speech
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What is Broca’s Aphasia? How is it different from Wernicke’s Aphasia?
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Broca’s Aphasia Loss of the ability to produce language (spoken or written).
Wernicke’s Aphasia When they speak, they think they know what they are saying but a bunch of random words come out.Patient is unaware of his problem. |
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What does the prefrontal cortex do?
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known not only to be involved in emotional responses, but also to have numerous connections with other parts of the brain that are responsible for controlling dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, three neurotransmitters that are important in mood regulation
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What is the somatosensory cortex?
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-processes input from the various systems in the body that are sensitive to touch.
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What is the limbic system?
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- primarily responsible for our emotional life, and has a lot to do with the formation of memories.
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What are the different structures in the limbic system? What are their functions?
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-hypothalamus is one of the busiest parts of the brain, and is mainly concerned with homeostasis
- Hippocampus-short term to long term memories - Amygdala- involved in many of our emotions and motivations, particularly those that are related to survival. |
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What is lateralization?
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that there are certain mental processes that are mainly specialized to one side or the other. Read more: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Lateralization#ixzz3YU89qz62
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What is the left hemisphere superior in? What about the right hemisphere?
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-left hemisphere is superior in analytical tasks
-right hemisphere is superior in many forms of visual and spatial tasks |
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What is the corpus callosum? Why is it important?
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- a thick band of nerve fibers that divides the cerebrum into left and right hemispheres.
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Is there a difference in the two hemispheres and the sides of the body they control? If so, what?
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-The brain's right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side ofthe human body.
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What is a split-brain patient?
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- a surgical patient in which the corpus callosum has been cut
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What is a developmental psychologist?
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- is the scientific study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life.
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What are the three different phases (periods) of prenatal development? What happens in each period?
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- zygote- Cell division begins
-embryonic- organs and tissues start to form -Fetal- Sex organs begin to appear during the third month of gestation. The fetus continues to grow in both weight and length |
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What is habituation?
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-Habituation is a decrease in response to astimulus after repeated presentations.
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What is a critical period?
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-A critical period is a time during an organism's life span when it is more sensitive to environmental influences or stimulation than at other times during its life.
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As the brain develops what do the axons acquire?
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-mylein sheath
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What are the stages in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
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- sensorimotor-Object Permanence
-preoperational- Egocentrism -concrete- Conservation -Formal Operational- Abstract Reasoning |
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What is assimilation? Accomodation?
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-Assimilation, what is perceived in the outside world is incorporated into the internal world
-Accommodation, the internal world has to accommodate itself to the evidence with which it is confronted and thus adapt to it, which can be a more difficult and painful process. |
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What are the three different temperament patterns? Be able to differentiate between them.
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-Easy or flexible children are generally calm, happy, regular in sleeping and eating habits, adaptable, and not easily upset.
-Difficult, active, or feisty children are often fussy, irregular in feeding and sleeping habits, fearful of new people and situations, -Slow to warm up or cautious children are relatively inactive and fussy, tend to withdraw or to react negatively to new situations, |
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What is attachment?
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-Attachment refers to the critical bond that children develop to their parents or primary caregivers during the first years of life.
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What is stranger anxiety?
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- a form of distress that children experience when exposed to people unfamiliar to them.
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What is imprinting?
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-any kind of phase-sensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior.
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Know the difference between insecure and secure attachment.
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-Through repeated positive experiences with a caregiver, infants develop a secure attachment to that person.
-experiences with a caregiver are negative or unpredictable are more likely to develop an insecure attachment. Children who are insecurely attached have learned that adults are not reliable, and do not trust easily. |
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What are some of Baumrind’s Parenting styles. Know key differences between them.
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What is self-control?
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-the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires
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What are Kohlberg’s levels of moral development?
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What is identity vs. role confusion?
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- adolescents go through the psychosocial crisis of identity versus role confusion, which involves exploring who they are as individuals.
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What is tend and befriend?
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- Tend-and-befriend was theorized as having evolved as the typical female response to stress, just as the primary male response was fight-or-flight.
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What is gender identity?
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- is a person's private sense and subjective experience of their own gender.
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What are gender roles?
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-are sets of social norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived gender.
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What is intelligence?
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-the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
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Know the four different theories of intelligence and how they define intelligence
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What did Spearman say about intelligence? (How did he define it?)
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- believed that there was an underlying general factor of intelligencethat should predict what level of specific mental abilities individuals would show on tests
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What is fluid intelligence? What is crystallized intelligence? Be able to differentiate between the two.
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Fluid intelligence the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge.
Crystallized intelligence-the ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience. It does not equate to memory, but it does rely on accessing information from long-term memory. |
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-Gardner talked about multiple intelligence. Know what is meant by this.
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musical–rhythmic, visual–spatial, verbal–linguistic, logical–mathematical, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic
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What is the triarchic model of intelligence?
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-Componential — analytical
-Experiential — creative -Practical — contextual |
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What is emotional intelligence?
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- the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions
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What is eugenics?
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-the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.
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What is an aptitude test? What is an achievement test? What is the difference?
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-Achievement tests help measure a person's accomplishments and mastery of skills.
-Aptitude tests examine a person's strengths and weaknesses, as well as special abilities. |
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What makes a good test?
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What is a culturally fair test?
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` test designed to be free of cultural bias, as far as possible, so that no one culture has an advantage over another.
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What does the nurture/nature issue say about intelligence?
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