Intro Psych Test 1

Front 1

psychology

Back 1

study of behavior and experience

Front 2

free will

Back 2

belief that behavior caused by individual's independent decision making

Front 3

determinism

Back 3

assumption everything has a cause in the observable world (can be measured)

Front 4

dualism

Back 4

mind is separate from the brain but controls the brain, and through it, the whole body

Front 5

monism

Back 5

conscious experience generated by and therefore inseparable from the brian

Front 6

nature

Back 6

heredity, differences in potential and behavior due to genetic influences

Front 7

nurture

Back 7

environment; culture, expectations, resources

Front 8

clinical psychologists

Back 8

advanced degrees in psych; help people w/ emotional/mental problems

Front 9

psychiatrists

Back 9

trained as medical doctors; can prescribe drugs to treat psychological distress

Front 10

learning and motivation

Back 10

how behavior relates to outcomes of past behaviors and to current motivations

Front 11

biological psych

Back 11

anatomy, electrical and chemical activities in the nervous system; effects of drugs, hormones, genetics and evolution

Front 12

theory

Back 12

explanation of observable events and conditions; makes precise, consistent predictions while relying on a sm. number of underlying assumptions (valid)

Front 13

falsifiability

Back 13

theory makes precise predictions; can find evidence to confirm/contradict

Front 14

parsimony

Back 14

fewest and simplest possible assumptions; strength of good scientific theory

Front 15

burden of proof

Back 15

obligation to present evidence to support one's claim

Front 16

hypothesis

Back 16

claim; testable prediction of what will occur under a stated set of conditions (clear predictive statement)

Front 17

testing hypothesis

Back 17

repeated, reported, replicable results

Front 18

meta-analysis

Back 18

combine results of many studies and analyze as if they were all one study; provides info about circumstances that will inc/dec occurrence of predicted effect

Front 19

prob. of measurement

operational definitions

Back 19

specifies procedures used to measure something, gives numerical value to something intangible

Front 20

convenience sample

Back 20

ease of availability and study

Front 21

representative sample

Back 21

resembles population in percentage of males/females, ethnic/racial groups, age levels, other characteristics relevant to study

Front 22

random sample

Back 22

every individual in pop. has equal chance of being selected

Front 23

cross-cultural sample

Back 23

groups of people from at least two distinct cultures

Front 24

experimenter bias

Back 24

researcher's unintentional distortion of the procedures or results of experiment based on the desired outcome

Front 25

blind observers

Back 25

record data w/out knowing what researcher studying

Front 26

placebo control

Back 26

sham treatment preventing subjects (single blind) or the subjects and experimenter (double blind) knowing who has received treatment and who has not

Front 27

naturalistic observation

Back 27

careful monitoring and examination of what people and animals do under more or less natural circumstances

Front 28

case history

Back 28

observation and description of an individual usually done in an unusual condition or circumstance

Front 29

survey

Back 29

study of prevalence of certain beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors based on people's responses to specific questions

Front 30

survey: cons

Back 30

problems obtaining random/representative sample,
honesty of those who respond,
wording of questions,
surveyor bias

Front 31

correlation studies

Back 31

measure of relationship btwn two variables over which investigator has no control (height, weight, socio-economic status, education)

Front 32

correlation coefficient

Back 32

mathematical estimate of strength and direction of a relationship
+1 -1
(stronger correlation is closer to 1)

Front 33

pro/con correlation

Back 33

pro: useful predictions

con: cannot draw cause/effect conclusions

Front 34

experimental study

Back 34

investigator manipulates one variable (independent) while measuring the other variable (dependent);
one under investigators control, other must be scientifically measurable

Front 35

experimental group

Back 35

set of individuals receive treatment

Front 36

control group

Back 36

set of individuals experience same conditions except for exposure to treatment

Front 37

random assignment

Back 37

selection method in which subjects assigned either to experimental/control group based on chance

Front 38

experiment cons

Back 38

demand characteristics- cues telling subject what is expected of him/her, and what researcher hopes to find;
ethical considerations: possible harm vs. benefits

Front 39

ethical concerns in research: human subjects

Back 39

informed consent, institutional research board (IRB) approval

Front 40

ethical concerns in research: animal subjects; criteria established by: APA, neuroscience society animal care committees at research institutions

Back 40

treated humanely, minimize discomfort/pain, ensure all alternatives examined before animals subjected to potentially painful procedures

Front 41

neurons

Back 41

cells that make up nervous system; receive and transmit info electrochemically

Front 42

sensory neurons

Back 42

carry info from sense organs to CNS (afferent= to brain); neurons in CNS process info, interpret it, send commands to muscles, glands, organs (efferent= from brain)

Front 43

action potential

Back 43

axons convey info by a combo of electrical and chemical processes; signal travels along axon at a constant strength no matter how far it travels

Front 44

action potential- all or none law

Back 44

message reaches brain at full strength, but more slowly than regular electrical conduction

Front 45

resting potential

Back 45

electrical polarization across the membrane covering the axon; polarized axon is negatively charged relative to the outside; maintained by sodium-potassium pump

Front 46

sodium-potassium pump

Back 46

sodium (+1) concentrated on outside, potassium (-1) on inside; "gated" pumps open and sodium rushes in (while K goes out) creating + charge on inside (depolarization) as it moves down axon

Front 47

synapses

Back 47

specialized junctions btwn neurons; chemicals released here excite/inhibit neighboring cells (making act. pot. more/less likely); crucial to brain function

Front 48

terminal bouton

Back 48

at end of axon, when act. pot. reaches neurotransmitters released

Front 49

neurotransmitter

Back 49

chemical stored in neuron, activates special receptors of other neurons

Front 50

dopamine

Back 50

excites post-synaptic neurons; promotes activity levels and facilitates movement

Front 51

parkinson's disease

Back 51

individual has trouble w/ voluntary mvmts inc. tremors, rigidity, depressed mood; related to gradual decay in system of axons that release dopamine; managed w/ L-dopa

Front 52

ADHD (attention deficit disorder)

Back 52

symptoms inc. impulsive, agitated behavior, short attn. span; possibly oversupply of dopamine but no relationship

Front 53

haloperidol

Back 53

blocks dopamine activity at synapses (schizophrenia medication)

Front 54

CNS (central nervous system)

Back 54

consists of brain and spinal cord; communicates w/ rest of body via the PNS

Front 55

PNS (peripheral nervous system)

Back 55

composed of bundles of axons btwn spinal cord and rest of body; two subdivisions: SNS (somatic nervous system) and ANS (autonomic nervous system)

Front 56

SNS

Back 56

peripheral nerves that communicate w/ skin and muscles (voluntary)

Front 57

ANS

Back 57

controls involuntary actions of the heart, stomach and other organs

Front 58

CNS: embryonic development

Back 58

vertebrae nervous system forms out of simple tube w/ three lumps: forebrain (becomes cerebral cortex), midbrain and hindbrain (become brianstem)

Front 59

forebrain

Back 59

L/R hemisphere, each controls sensation and motor functioning on opposite side; they communicate through a bundle of axons crossing between them (the corpus callosum)

Front 60

cerebral cortex

Back 60

outer covering of forebrain, composed of gray matter (cell bodies of cortical neurons); interior composed of white matter (axons of cortical neurons, covered in myelin sheath)

Front 61

cerebral cortex

Back 61

four lobes: occipital, parietal, temporal, frontal

Front 62

occipital lobe

Back 62

in the rear, interprets visual sensory info; special areas for shape, color, motion vision

Front 63

parietal lobe

Back 63

in front of occipital; contains primary somatosensory cortex, specialized for body senses and awareness of the location of body parts

Front 64

temporal lobe

Back 64

sides of head, near ears; main processing area for hearing and complex aspects of vision; L- language processing and comprehension

Front 65

hypothalamus

Back 65

regulates emotional and motivated behavior

Front 66

amygdala

Back 66

almond shaped structure crucial for emotional processing, deep inside temporal lobes

Front 67

hippocampus

Back 67

vital for memory processing

Front 68

frontal lobes

Back 68

primary motor cortex, important for control of fine movements; prefrontal cortex- where organization and planning of action, aspects of memory are controlled

Front 69

cerebellum (hindbrain)

Back 69

coordination and timing; tasks involving shifting of attn. and discrimination btwn stimuli

Front 70

medulla oblongata and pons (hindbrain)

Back 70

contain axons control breathing and heart rate; relay sensory info from head and send motor messages back to it (lizard brain)

Front 71

spinal cord

Back 71

reflex and voluntary responses; communicates via sensory (from extremities to spinal cord/brain) and motor neurons (from CNS to muscles/glands)

Front 72

reflex

Back 72

rapid automatic response to stimulus, usually originate in spinal cord

Front 73

voluntary responses

Back 73

originate in brain and travel via the spinal cord to the muscles to carry out movements

Front 74

EEG and MEG

Back 74

eeg=electrical record, meg=magnetic record of brain (do not visualize brain activity)

Front 75

viewing brain activity: PET

Back 75

positron emission tomography- high resolution picture of brain activity using radioactive chemicals injected into the bloodstream; color indicates level of activity: red=most active, followed by yellow, green, blue

Front 76

fMRI

Back 76

functional magnetic resonance imaging- uses magnetic detectors to measure amts of hemoglobin and oxygen in different areas of brain; highly active areas use more oxygen

Front 77

ANS

Back 77

division of PNS, closely linked to spinal cord; little control over; has two subdivisions: SNS and PSNS

Front 78

SNS (sympathetic nervous system)

Back 78

crisis management center; inc. heart and respiration rate, prepares body for fight/flight response; controlled by chain of neurons just outside spinal cord

Front 79

PSNS (parasympathetic nervous system)

Back 79

long-term survival-related functions, nutrition and energy conservation; decreases heart rate, increases digestive activities, promotes restorative processes; controlled by neurons at upper/lower levels of spinal cord

Front 80

endocrine system

Back 80

under control of nervous system; glands release hormones into bloodstream

Front 81

hormones

Back 81

chemicals affect mood, behavior, anatomy; some neurotransmitters act as hormones (epinephrine=adrenaline)

Front 82

plasticity, stem cells

Back 82

neurons generated later in life; stem= undifferentaited cells capable of developing into neurons on older organisms (growth of new neurons is limited)

Front 83

binding problem

Back 83

how different parts of the brain produce unified experience of objects/events (areas of brain not interconnected)

Front 84

L hemisphere

Back 84

works w/ R t synthesize details into whole picture

Front 85

R hemisphere

Back 85

communicates w/ L in order to name objects in visual field