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116 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Anxiety Disorder
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General term for disorders in which chronic anxiety with debilitating consequences is prominent. Includes phobias and panic attacks.
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Aphasia
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Speaking disorder usually caused by lesions in the broca's area causing problems articulating words.
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Apraxia
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Movement disorders caused by damage to higher brain centers
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Archetypes
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Images held in the collective unconscious frequent in folk art and mythology. Ex. "mother nature"
JUNG |
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Asch Effect
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Conformity from awareness that individual opinion or judgment would cause dissension from the group.
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Association Cortex
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Loose term given to parts of the cerebral cortex which don't have a specific, localized function.
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Audience Effect
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Effects produced by the presence of other people on individual behavior.
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Auditory Cortex
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Part of the cerebral cortex associated with hearing. Located on the temporal lobe of the cerebrum.
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Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
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Network of unmyelinated nerve fibers running from the brain stem and spinal cord to internal organs. Divided into Parasympathetic and Sympathetic divisions.
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Autism
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Disorder appearing towards end of infancy in which total withdrawl from social contact which may cause aversion or distress prominent.
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Aversion Therapy
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A technique of behavior therapy that uses classical conditioning to develop an alternative behavior pattern through association of unpleasant stimuli or consequences with said maladaptive behavior, causing avoidance.
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Axon
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elongated stem of a neuron which passes the electrical current from one region of nervous system to another. Found after cell body, before dendron.
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Babinski Reflex
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reflex in newborns when scratching bottom of foot produces extension of toes. Absence indicates damaged motor system.
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Balance Theory
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Haider's theory that we need to maintain balance between different attitudes and modify social cognitions to do so.
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Barbiturate
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widely used drug used for promoting sleep and control epilepsy. Highly addictive and promote amnesiac disorders in long term users.
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Behavior Disorders
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general term used to describe disorders causing concerning behaviors and conduct, usually bringing sufferers into conflict with society.
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Behaviorism
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School of though est. by JB Watson in which to be truly scientific, one can only be concerned with that which can be directly observed. i.e behavior of organisms.
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Benzodiazepines
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Form of barbiturate and light tranquilizers used for muscle relaxation and to decrease anxiety.
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Bimodal Distribution
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Set of scores which shows two separate peaks, usually means scores aren't from the same population.
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Binomial Distribution
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Set of scores with two mutually exclusive outcomes. i.e heads/tails.
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Biogenic amines
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group of amines important in functioning of nervous system. i.e catecholamines, histamines.
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Bipolar Depression
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Affect disorder which causes swings between two extremes of mania and depression. Biogenic in origin and treated with lithium.
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Borderline Disorder
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Personality disorder originally given to those on borderline or neurosis and psychosis. More broadly used to describe those with instability in emotions and interpersonal relationships without other diagnosis.
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Brocas Area
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area of cerebral cortext and the base of the frontal lobe, usually on the left hemisphere mainly concerned with speech production and formulation of words.
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Canon-Bard theory of emotion
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theory stating that psychological experience of emotion and physiological reactions are independent of one another.
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Catastrophe Theory
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mathematical theory of sudden and irreversible changes of state. i.e- walking off a cliff.
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Catatonia
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a state in which muscles are extremely tense for several hours or longer. i.e- catatonic schizophrenia
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Catecholamines
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Biogenic amines which aid in neural transmission. Ex. Adrenaline, excess of which though to be present in schizophrenia.
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Catharsis
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Sudden release of tension or anxiety from uncovering repressed trauma. Release of built up emotional energy.
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Cathexis
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Investment of intense emotional energy, opposite of catharsis.
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Central Fissure
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Deep groove running from the top of the cerebrum down, separating frontal and parietal lobes.
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Central Nervous System (CNS)
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Network of nerves, fibers and supporting cells forming the brain and spinal cord. Coordinates and regulates major body functioning and operates body systems.
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Cerebellum
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Large cauliflower like structure at the back of the brain responsible for mediation of voluntary movement and balance.
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Cerebral Cortex
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Ourter part of cerebrum in which informational processing of language and sensory perception take place.
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Cerebral Hemispheres
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Two halves of cerebrum, joined by corpus collosum. Left side responsible for right side of body, and v.v.
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Cerebral Palsy
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condition causing difficulty in motor control from damage around time of birth. Most common form is spasticity which causes tension and paralysis of muscles.
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Cerebrum
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largest mass of the brain concerned with information processing and coordination of voluntary responses. Divided into two hemispheres with four lobes each: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital.
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chlorpromazine
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anti-psychotic drug used for sedative effect caused by raised threshold for sensory information in brain stem. Blocks uptake of noradrenaline and acetylcholine. aka thorazine.
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Coefficient
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numerical value which indicates strength of a relationship and how much the variable is modified.
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Cohort
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any grouping of people or animals used for testing.
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Collective Unconscious
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Concept that the human race has developed a shared unconscious containing archetypes.
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Complex Cell
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type of neuron found in the visual cortex which codes incoming visual information into shapes and patterns.
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Compulsion
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an unwanted and unnecessary repetitive behavior carried out by an individual. Usually associated with obsessions.
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concept formation
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process by which an individual comes to develop mental categories to group and classify events.
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concurrent validity
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the degree to which a test or measurement agrees with another measure of the same thing, taken at the same time.
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Conditioned reflex
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a physiological reflex produced in response to a stimulus which would not normally produce such a rxn, but does so because of classical conditioning.
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Conditioned reinforcer
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an event or stimulus which strengthens a learned response.
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conditioned stimulus
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a stimulus which brings a response as a result of repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus.
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conduct disorders
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a group of behavior disorders in children in which aggression or rule breaking is involved.
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Connector Neuron
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neurons found in the grey matter of the brain and spinal cord which link and pass impulses onto other neurons
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construct validity
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a test of the validity of a test or measurement which involves seeing whether it makes sense in terms of the accepted theory
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control group
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a group in an experiment used for comparison with the experimental group
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correlation
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a statement of relationship between two variables. Changes in one is accompanied by changes in the other.
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Correlation coefficient
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numerical statement of the extent to which variables vary together. Expressed as a number between +1 and -1.
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Covariance
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a change in one variable causing a change in the other.
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Cretinism
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severe congenital condition caused by by lack of thyroxine or iodine in pregnant mothers diet resulting in severely stunted physical and mental development.
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Decentration
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process of someone stepping out of their own mental perspective to take anothers point of view.
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Defense Mechanism
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a strategy which protects the ego from real or imaginary threats. In Freudian theory they are: repression, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, denial.
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Degeneration
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the deterioration of neural tissue from lack of stimulation, nutrients, or injury.
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Dementia
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a state in which the cognitive abilities of a person are so damaged that they are no longer able to function independently.
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Dendrites
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branched structures at the end of the axon used for reception and transmission of neurotransmitters.
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Dendron
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elongated part of neuron stem before cell body taking the same direction as the impulse travels.
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Dependent Variable
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variable measured as an indicator of the outcome of the experiment. Ex. experiment of effect of caffeine on writing speed; DV would be writing speed.
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Determinism
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the belief that everything that happens is the result of an identifiable cause.
Behaviorism/Freudian Theory |
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Development Norms
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the expected level of performance of children at a specific age.
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Distribution
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pattern made by a set of scores when grouped according to frequency.
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ABA Design
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refers to a specific type of research design in which you have a baseline period where no treatment is given and/or no variable is introduced (A), followed by a period in which the treatment or variable is introduced (B), and then a period in which the treatment is removed so the behavior can be observed a second time (A).
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Absolute threshold
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the smallest intensity of a stimulus that has to be present for the stimulus to be detected.
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Catalepsy
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Unusual Immobility
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Denial
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ignoring unpleasant aspects of external reality
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Dissociative Amnesia
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memory failure following gross emotional trauma
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Dystonia
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involuntary and severely increased tone in a group of voluntary muscles
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Global Aphasia
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combined motor and sensory aphasia
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Tactile Hallucination
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sensation of physical contact with an object that isn't there.
Ex. Natalie Marie |
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Gustatory Hallucination
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tasting something which isn't there.
Ex. always thinking your food tastes rotten. |
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Sublimation
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diversion of destructive impulses into acceptable outlets
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Olfactory Hallucination
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Smelling something that isn't there.
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Persecutory Delusion
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Fixed, false belief that others are out to harm oneself.
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Paranoid Delusion
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Fixed, false belief in ones special and specific importance to others, especially strangers.
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Psychosis
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The most severe form of thought disorder
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Somatic Delusion
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Fixed, False believe that ones body is grossly abnormal.
ex. bugs under skin = extensive scratching. |
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Sublimation
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Diversion of destructive impulses into acceptable outputs
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Visual Hallucination
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Seeing something that isn't there
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Hypnagogic Hallucination
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false sensory perception at the onset of sleep
ex. "MOTHS!" |
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Hypnopompic Hallucination
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false sensory perception while awakening from sleep.
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Gustatory Hallucination
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Tasting something that isn't there.
ex. always thinking your food is rotten |
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Action Potential
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Neural impulses; the all-or-nothing electrical bursts that begin at one end of the axon of a neuron and move along the axon to the other end.
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Amygdala
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brain structure that is part of the limbic system and is particularly important for evaluating the emotional and motivational significance of stimuli and generating emotional responses.
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Axon Terminal
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A swelling at the end of an axon that is designed to release a chemical substance (neurotransmitter) onto another neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.
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Basal Ganglia
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The large masses of gray matter in the brain that lie on each side of the thalamus; they are especially important for the initiation and coordination of deliberate movements.
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Chromosomes
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The structures within the cell nucleus that contain the genetic material
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Coding
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In sensation, the process by which information about the quality and quantity of a stimulus is preserved in the pattern of action potentials sent through sensory neurons to the central nervous system
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Conversion Disorder
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A category of somatoform disorder in which the person, for psychological reasons, loses some bodily function.
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Correlation Coefficient
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A numerical measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
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Defense Mechanisms
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In psychoanalytic theory, self-deceptive means by which the mind defends itself against anxiety
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empiricism
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The idea that all human knowledge and thought ultimately come from sensory experience
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Excitatory Synapse
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A synapse at which the neurotransmitter increases the likelihood that an action potential will occur, or increases the rate at which they are already occurring, in the neuron on which it acts.
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Fechner's Law
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The idea that the magnitude of the sensory experience of a stimulus is directly proportional to the logarithm of the physical magnitude of the stimulus.
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Functionalism
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A school of psychological thought, founded by William James and others, that focuses on understanding the functions, or adaptive purposes, of mental processes.
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Gestalt Psychology
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A school of psychological thought, founded in Germany, which emphasizes the idea that the mind must be understood in terms of organized wholes, not elementary parts.
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Hippocampus
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A structure in the limbic system of the brain that is essential for encoding explicit memories for long-term storage.
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Humanistic Psychology
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An approach to understanding the human personality that emphasizes (a) the person's subjective mental experiences, (b) a holistic view of the person, and (c) the person's inner drive toward higher psychological growth
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Inhibitory Synapse
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A synapse at which the neurotransmitter decreases the likelihood that an action potential will occur, or decreases the rate at which they are already occurring, in the neuron upon which it acts.
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Interneuron
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A neuron that exists entirely within the brain or spinal cord and carries messages from one set of neurons to another
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Leptin
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A hormone produced by fat cells that acts in the brain to inhibit hunger and regulate body weight
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Myelin Sheath
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A casing of fatty cells wrapped tightly around the axon of some neurons.
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Negative Symptoms
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The class of symptoms of schizophrenia that are characterized by the absence of, or reduction in, expected behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and drives.
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Normative Influence
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The class of social influence that derives from people's concern about what others will think of them if they behave in a certain way or express a certain belief.
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Object Permanence
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Piaget's term for the understanding that an object still exists even when it is out of view.
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Peripheral Nervous System
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The entire set of cranial and spinal nerves that connect the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to the body's sensory organs, muscles, and glands
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Rational Emotive Therapy
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A type of cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis, based on the idea that people's irrational interpretations of their experiences, not the experiences themselves, cause their negative emotions.
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Resting Potential
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The constant electrical charge that exists across the membrane of an inactive neuron.
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Rorschach Test
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A widely use projective test in which symmetrical inkblots are presented and the person is asked what the inkblots look like
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Schema
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The mental representation of a concept; the information stored in long-term memory that allows a person to identify a group of different events or items as members of the same category
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
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A mood disorder characterized by severe depression in the fall and winter, apparently caused by reduced daylight
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Yerkes-Dodson Law
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The idea that the optimal degree of arousal for performing a task depends on the nature of the task. High arousal is best for easy tasks and low arousal is best for difficult tasks
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