Intro To Psych

Front 1

Psychology

Back 1

the study of behavior and mental processes

Front 2

Scientific Method

Back 2

Identify a Problem, Design a Study, Collect and Analyze data, Draw conclusions, Communicate their findings

Front 3

Theory

Back 3

General set of principles proposed to explain how a number of a separate facts are related

Front 4

Replicable

Back 4

if the experiment can be replicated and get the same results

Front 5

4 Goals of Psychology

Back 5

Description, Explanation, Prediction, Influence (Control)

Front 6

2 Types of Research that you must define before testing

Back 6

Basic/pure: answers a questions

Applied Research: looking to change or fix a problem

Front 7

Critical thinking

Back 7

Independent thinking, suspension of judgement, willing to modify or abandon previous judgements

Front 8

Experimental method

Back 8

Research designed to test a hypothesis

Front 9

Correlation method

Back 9

Used to determine the relationship between characteristics, behavior, or events

Front 10

Descriptive Research Methods

Back 10

Naturalistic/Laboratory Observation

Case Study Method

Survey Research

Front 11

Naturalistic Observation

Back 11

Researchers record behavior that they observe in the subjects natural setting without influencing behavior

Front 12

Laboratory Observation

Back 12

Study behavior in a lab setting

Front 13

Case Study Method

Back 13

One person or a small group is closely studied over a long period over a long period of time

Front 14

Survey research

Back 14

Interviews or questions about attidutes, experiences, or behavior

Front 15

Representative sample

Back 15

Random, includes all diversities, also called a mini-population

Front 16

Biased sample

Back 16

handpicked sample to prove your point or hypothesis

Front 17

Experimental Method

Back 17

Research designed to test a hypothesis

Front 18

Hypothesis

Back 18

Testable prediction about when a behavior or mental process will occur

Front 19

Variable

Back 19

Element, feature, or factor that is liable to vary or change

Front 20

Independent Variable

Back 20

The factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Front 21

Dependent Variable

Back 21

the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Front 22

Experimental group

Back 22

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment; or to one version of the independent variable

Front 23

Control group

Back 23

The group not exposed to the treatments; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Front 24

Confounding variables

Back 24

Something you didn't take into account when starting experiment

Front 25

Selection bias

Back 25

Choose the people instead of random individuals

Front 26

The placebo effect

Back 26

the belief that their placebo will work is so strong that they get better

Front 27

Experimenter bias

Back 27

The experimenter sees what they want to see because they want it to work

Front 28

Double blind technique

Back 28

Neither the researcher nor the clients know which group is receiving the placebo

Front 29

the correlation method

Back 29

determines the relationship between characteristics, behavior, or events

Front 30

Reliable

Back 30

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting

Front 31

Valid

Back 31

the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure

Front 32

Structuralism

Back 32

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind; pure sensations combine to form perceptions

Front 33

Functionalism

Back 33

How humans use mental processes to adapt to their environment; school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Front 34

Behaviorism

Back 34

Something in your environment is influencing your behavior; evaluate your actions; immediate environment

Front 35

Psychoanalysis

Back 35

Idea that our driving forces are our subconscious sexual and aggressive urges by Freud; mind is like an iceberg

Front 36

Humanistic psychology

Back 36

We have free will and the ability to change; we will always try to better ourselves and problems arise when we cannot; i.e. problems= mental illness

Front 37

Cognitive psychology

Back 37

The study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking

Front 38

Gestalt

Back 38

5 phenomena

Front 39

Neuron

Back 39

Specialized cells that conduct impulses through the nervous system

Front 40

Cell body

Back 40

Nucleus-containing central part of a neuron excluding axons and dendrites

Front 41

Axon

Back 41

long threadlike part of a nerve cell along which impluses are conducted from cell to cell

Front 42

Myelin sheath

Back 42

insulating covering on an axon between the the nodes of ranvier

Front 43

Dendrites

Back 43

where impulses are received from other cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body

Front 44

Synapse

Back 44

From an axon terminal to synaptic vesicles; into neurotransmitters that cross the synaptic cleft into receptor sites on opposite neuron, take in the best fitting neurotransmitter

Front 45

Neurotransmitters

Back 45

Chemicals that transmit messages across synapses; stored in synaptic vesicles in the axon terminal; are replaced by manufacturing, recycling, and reuptake

Front 46

Nodes of Ranvier

Back 46

Gap in myelin sheath on an axon

Front 47

Receptor

Back 47

Responds specifically to a particular neurotransmitter, hormone, antigen, or other substance

Front 48

Nervous system

Back 48

CNS and Peripheral

Peripheral splits into Somatic and Autonomic

Autonomic splits into Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

Front 49

Central Nervous System

Back 49

Brain and the Spinal Cord

Front 50

Peripheral Nervous System

Back 50

Nervous system outside CNS; consists of somatic and autonomic

Front 51

Somatic

Back 51

Part of the peripheral associated with skeletal muscle and voluntary control of body movements

Front 52

Autonomic

Back 52

Part of peripheral responsible for unconsciously directed function (breathing, heartbeat, and digestive processes)

Front 53

Sympathetic

Back 53

Fight or flight; part of autonomic system that increases heartbeat, dilates pupils; the 'arousing system'

Front 54

Parasympathetic

Back 54

Part of autonomic system that slows heartbeat, contracts pupils, the 'calming system'

Front 55

Spinal Cord

Back 55

Cylindrical bundle of nerve fibers and associated tissues that is enclosed in the spine and connects are nearly all parts of the body to the brain, forming the CNS

Front 56

Endocrine system

Back 56

Ductless glands that produce and secrete hormones

Front 57

Hormones

Back 57

Chemicals manufactured in one part of the body that affect another part

Front 58

Frontal lobe

Back 58

Motor cortex (special language centers)

Voluntary movement

Thinking

Motivation

Planning for the future

Impulse controls

Emotional Responses

Front 59

Parietal Lobe

Back 59

Somatosensory cortex

Touch

Awareness of Limbs

Front 60

Occipital Lobe

Back 60

Primary visual cortex

Front 61

Temporal Lobe

Back 61

Primary auditory cortex

Front 62

Genes

Back 62

Provide all info about cells' purpose; determine the transmission of inherited traits

Front 63

Dominant Gene

Back 63

Only need one to be present or to be shown

Front 64

Recessive Gene

Back 64

Need both to show through and be present

Front 65

Polygenic

Back 65

Traits involving several genes; usually not recessive or dominant

Front 66

Multifactoral

Back 66

Polygenic traits influenced by both heredity and environment; ex: height & intelligence

Front 67

Chromosome

Back 67

Where genes are located

Front 68

Encoding

Back 68

Transforming information so it can be stored

Front 69

Storage

Back 69

Putting the information in the memory

Front 70

Consolidation

Back 70

the transfer of information from short-term into long-term memory

Front 71

Retrieval

Back 71

Act of getting the information out of our memory

Front 72

The three memory systems

Back 72

Sensory, Short-term, Long-term

Front 73

Sensory Memory

Back 73

Everything we see, hear, feel, sense

Visual lasts a fraction of a second (iconic memory)

Auditory lasts about 2 seconds (echoic memory)

Front 74

Short-Term Memory

Back 74

Also called working memory

Can hold about 7 items

Lost in 30 seconds without rehearsal

Front 75

Long-Term Memory

Back 75

Where data can be stored for long periods of time, indefinitely

Two Types: Declarative and Non-declarative

Front 76

Declarative Memory

Back 76

(Explicit) Refers to memories that can be consciously recalled (facts & verbal knowledge)

Falls into episodic and semantic memory

Front 77

Episodic Memory

Back 77

Memory of autobiographical events; contextual who, what, when, where, why knowledge; collection of past experiences from a particular time and place

Front 78

Semantic Memory

Back 78

Memory of general world knowledge that has accumulated throughout life

Front 79

Non-declarative Memory

Back 79

(Implicit memory) Doesn't require conscious thought; like riding a bike or reading

Front 80

Displacement

Back 80

Getting rid of or moving to long term memory

Front 81

Chunking

Back 81

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Front 82

Rehearsal

Back 82

Repeating something over and over again

Front 83

Elaborative rehearsal

Back 83

Repeating it over and over again and relating it to something in your life

Front 84

Levels of processing mode

Back 84

by Craig and Lockhart; describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. Deeper levels on analysis produce more elaborate, longer lasting, and stronger memory traces that shallow levels of analysis;

1. Shallow 2. Intermediate 3. Deep

Front 85

Three kinds of memory tasks

Back 85

Recall, Recognition, Relearning

Front 86

Recall

Back 86

Recalling without retrieval cues; serial- the 50 state; free- items from a picture

Front 87

Recognition

Back 87

A sense of familiarity when encountering people, events, or objects that have been previously encountered

Front 88

Relearning

Back 88

Regaining knowledge of material previously learned and forgotten

Front 89

Serial position effect

Back 89

Phenomenon in which faster learning and recall of items occur at the beginning and end in comparison to items at the middle of a list

Front 90

Primacy effect

Back 90

Remember what was first, now in long term memory

Front 91

Recency effect

Back 91

Remember what was last, still in short term memory

Front 92

State-dependent memory effect

Back 92

Easier to remember when you are in the same mood or emotional state

Front 93

Causes of forgetting

Back 93

Encoding, Decay theory, Interference

Front 94

Encoding failure

Back 94

Don't make an effort to remember

Front 95

Decay theory

Back 95

Proposes that memory fades due to the passage of time; as time passes memory retrieval and memory strength wear away

Front 96

Retroactive interference

Back 96

Most recent occurrence interferes with long term memory

Front 97

Proactive interference

Back 97

Tendency of previously learned material to hinder recent learning

Front 98

Retrograde amnesia

Back 98

Loss of memory-access to events or information from before the amnesia-causing event

Front 99

Ways to improve memory (6)

Back 99

Over learning, massed practice, rhyme, method of loci, first letter technique, peg word

Front 100

Overlearning

Back 100

to continue studying or practicing after initial proficiency as to reinforce or ingrain the material or skill

Front 101

Massed practice

Back 101

Practice that occurs without rest between trials (cramming)

Front 102

Rhyme

Back 102

Creating a rhyme to remember something

Front 103

Method of loci

Back 103

Also called the memory palace, assigning things to different objects, and 'walking' through your 'palace' allows you to remember this information

Front 104

First letter technique

Back 104

ex: ROY G BIV using first letters to create an acronym

Front 105

Peg word

Back 105

Pre-memorizing a list of words that are easy to associate with the numbers they represent (1-1000)

Front 106

Conscioiusness

Back 106

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Front 107

Altered states of consciousness

Back 107

Any mental state causes by meditation, hypnosis, or drugs that deviates from the normal waking state of consciousness

Front 108

NREM

Back 108

Non-rapid eye movement sleep; stages 1-4

Front 109

REM

Back 109

Period of sleep where dreaming occurs, fifth and last stage in the cycle, rapid periodic eye movement

Front 110

Subjective night

Back 110

Period in which an organism is normally inactive and when sleep occurs

Front 111

First stage of sleep

Back 111

1. transition period of drowsiness between waking and sleeping

Front 112

Second stage of sleep

Back 112

Somewhat more deeply asleep

Front 113

Stage three of sleep

Back 113

The beginning of slow wave sleep

Front 114

Fourth stage of sleep

Back 114

Delta waves reach nearly 100%

Front 115

Fifth stage of sleep

Back 115

REM sleep

Front 116

Sleep cycles

Back 116

Each cycle consists of the five stages and takes 90 minutes

Front 117

Restorative theory

Back 117

Theory that says we sleep to restore the body's ability to function at the end of the day

Front 118

Circadian theory

Back 118

Theory that says sleep evolved to keep humans out of harm's way during the night; or sleep according to a sleep-wake cycle

Front 119

Freud's theory of dreams

Back 119

Theory that dreams express unconscious urges and wishes

Front 120

Manifest content

Back 120

The elements of the dream that we remember upon waking

Front 121

Latent content

Back 121

The underlying, more hidden, but true meaning of a dream

Front 122

Activation-synthesis hypothesis

Back 122

A neurobiological theory of dreams that suggests that dreams are caused by the physiological processes of the brain

Front 123

Parasomnias

Back 123

Behaviors and states normally occurring while awake happen during sleep

Front 124

Sleep apnea

Back 124

Sleep disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep

Front 125

Narcolepsy

Back 125

Condition charaterized by an extreme tendency to fall asleep whenever in relaxing surroundings

Front 126

Insomnia

Back 126

Condition that makes it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or both despite the opportunity for adequate sleep

Front 127

Substance Abuse

Back 127

Continued use after it has interfered with work, education, or social relationships

Front 128

Psychoactive drug

Back 128

A substance that has psychological effects, changes moods, perception or thought

Front 129

Stimulant

Back 129

Speed up nervous system ex: caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine

Front 130

Depressant

Back 130

Slow body functions ex: alcohol, barbiturates, and tranquilizer

Front 131

Narcotic

Back 131

Pain relief ex: opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin

Front 132

Hallucinogen

Back 132

distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input ex: LSD, Ecstasy, and Marijuana

Front 133

Addiction

Back 133

Condition that results when a person ingests a substance that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities

Front 134

Psychological drug depenedence

Back 134

Form of dependence that involves emotional-motivational withdrawal symptoms after stopping use of drug or certain behaviors

Front 135

Physical drug depedenced

Back 135

Form of dependence that negative physical symptoms of withdrawal result from abrupt discontinuation or dosage reduction

Front 136

Drug tolerance

Back 136

After repeated use of a drug, the body adapts to the continued presence and is able to withstand the effects off the drug, and more is needed to feel these effects

Front 137

Hypnosis

Back 137

Induction of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion or direction

Front 138

Meditation

Back 138

A mental exercise for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness