Psych Terms Ch. 1-3

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Psychology

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The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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Science

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In pyschology, the use of systematic methods to observe, descrobe, predict, and explain behavior.

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Behavior

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Everything we do that can be directly observed

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Mental processes

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The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately, but cannot be observed directly.

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Natural selection

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An evolutionary process that favors organism's traits or characteristics that are best adapted to reproduce and survive

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Structuralism

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An early school of psychology that attempted to discover basic elements of the human mind
E.B. Titchener

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Functionalism

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An early school of psychology that emphasized the interaction between the mind and the outside environment. William James

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Behavioral Approach

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Empasizes the scientific study of behavior and asserts that behavior is shaped by the envirnment. John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner

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Social Cognitive Theory

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Stresses that behavior is determined not only by environmental conditions but also by how thoughts modify the impact of environment on behavior. Albert Bandura

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Psychodynamic Approach

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Empasizes the unconscious aspects of the mind, conflict between biological instincts and society's demands, and early family experiences. Sigmund Freud

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Cognitive Approach

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Focuses on the mental process involved in knowing, how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems. Elizabeth Loftus

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Behavioral Neuroscience Approach

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Views understanding the brain and nervous system as central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion.

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Evolutionary Psychology Approach

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Emphasizes the importance of functional purpose and adaptation in explaining why behaviors are formed, modified, and survive.

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Sociocultural Approach

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Emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior.

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Humanist Movement

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An emphasis on a person's capacity for personal growth, freedom to choose any destiny, and positive qualities

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Positive Psychology Movement

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A strong emphasis on the experiences that people value subjectively, such as happiness, positive individual traits, such as capacity to love, and positive group and civic duties, such as responsibility. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Martin Seligman

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Clinical and Counseling Psychology

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Diagnose and treath people with mental disorders. Clinical=more serious, counseling=less serious

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Experimental Psychology

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Conduct experimental research

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Behavioral Neuroscientists

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Brain's role in pyschological disorder. Comparitive Psych. = work with animals

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Developmental Psychology

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Development from conception to death

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Social Psychology

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How do people function in groups?

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Personal Psychologists

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Traits of certain people and how other factors influence those traits

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Health Psychologists

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Risky behaviors such as obesity, etc.

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Community Psychologists

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Focus on community-based resource for people with mental disorders. Help people gain access to these resources.

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School and Educational Psychology

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Focus on learning adjustment and use testing and some therapy.

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Industrial/Organizational Psychology

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Study people in the workplace and keep employees happy and hire the best people.

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Environmental Psychology

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Interactions between people and their pysical environment

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Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Examine culture and the behavior across those cultures

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Psychology of women

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Promote research and study of women

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Forensic Psychology

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Apply psychology to criminals and work on legal teams to help interogate and understand how jurys make decisions

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Sports Psychology

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Pyschology principlas as they apply to sports and excerise

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American Psychology Association (APA)

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Founded in 1882, it is the major psych. oraganization

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American Psychological Society (APS) or Association for Psychological Science

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Focuses on a more scientific aspect.

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Critical Thinking

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The process of thinking reflectively and productively as well as evaluating evidence

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Theory

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A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain and predict observations

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Hypothesis

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An idea that is a testable prediction, often arrived at logically from a theory

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Operational Definition

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A circumstance or behavior defined in such a way that it can be objectively observed and measured

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Population

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The entire group that the investigator wants to learn about

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Sample

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The subset of the population that the investigator has chosen to study

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Random Sample

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A sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

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Naturalistic Observation

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Observation of behavior in real-world settings with no effort made to manipulate or control the situation

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Standardized Test

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An oral or written assesment for which an individual receives a score indicating how the individual responded relative to others

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Case Study

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An in depth look at a single individual

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Correlational Research

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Research with the goal of describing the strength of the relationship between two or more events of characteristics

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Experiment

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A carefully regulated procedure in which one or more facotrs believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated and all other factors held constant

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Independent Variable

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The manipulated, influential, experimental factor in an experiment

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Dependent Variable

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The factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

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Experimental Group

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A group in a research study whose experience is manipulated

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Control Group

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A comparison group that is treated in every way like the experimental group except for the manipulated factor

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Random Assignment

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The assignment of participants to experimental and control groups by chance

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Experimenter Bias

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The influence of the experimenter's own expectations on the outcome of the research

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Research Participant Bias

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The influence of research participants' expectations on their behavior within an experiment

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Placebo

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An innocuos, inert substance or condition that may be given to participants instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to determine if it produces effects similar to those of the active agent.

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Placebo Effect

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The influence of participants expectations, rahter than the experimental treatment, on experimental outcome

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Double Blind experiment

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An experiment that is conducted so that neither the experimenter nor the participoants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the placebo control group until after the results are calculated

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Descriptive statistics

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Mathematical procedures that are used to describe and summarize samples of data in a meaningful way

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Mean

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Statistical measure of central tendency that is calculated by adding all the scoes and then dividing by the number of scores

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Median

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A statistical measure of central tendency that falls exactly in the middle of distribution of scores after they have been arranged or ranked from highest to lowest

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Mode

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A statistical measure of central tendency, the score that occurs most often.

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Range

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A statistical measure of variability that is the distance between the highest and lowest scores.

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Standard Deviation

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A statistical measure of variablility that involves how much the scores vary on the average around the mean f the sample.

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inferential statistics

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Mathematical methods that re used to draw conclusions about data

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ethnic gloss

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Using an ethnic label, such as "African American" or "latino" in a superficial way that portrays the ethnic group as more homogeneous than it really is.

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Nervous System

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The body's electro-chemical communication circutry, made up of billions of neurons

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Plasticity

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The brain's sepcial capacity for modification and change

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Afferent nerves

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Sensory nerves that transport information to the brain

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Efferent nerves

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Motor nerves that carry the brain's output

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Neural networks

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Clusters of neurons that are interconnected to process information

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central nervous system (CNS)

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The brain and the spinal cord

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Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

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The network of nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body. It is divided into the somatic nervous system and the automatic nervous system

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somatic nervous system

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the division of the PNS consisting of sensory nerves, whose function is to convey information to the CNS, and motor nerves, whose function is to transfer information to the muscles

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autonomic nervous system

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the division of the PNS that communicates with the body's internal organs. it consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

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sympathetic nervous system

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the division of the autonic nervous system that arouses the body

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parasympathetic nervous system

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the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body

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neurons

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nerve cells that are specialized for processing information. neurons are the basic units of the nervous system

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glial cells

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cells that provide support and nutritional benefits in the nervous system

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cell body

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the part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, which directs the manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance

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dendrites

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branches of a neuron that receive and orient information towards the cell body, most neurons have numerous dendrites

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axon

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the part of the neuron that carries information away from the cell body to other cells. each neuron has only one axon

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myelin sheath

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the layer of fat cells that encases and insulates most axons. the myelin sheath speeeds up the transfer of nerve impulses

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resting potential

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the stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron

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action potential

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the brief wave of electrical charge that sweeps down the axon during the transmission of a nerve impulse

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all-or-none principle

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once an electrical impulse reaches a certain level of intensity, it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any of its intensity

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synapses

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tiny junctions between two neurons, generally where the axon of one neuron meets the dendrites or cell body of another neuron

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neurotransmitters

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chemicals that carry information across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another

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agonist

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a drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitters effects

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antagonist

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a drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects

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hindbrain

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the lowest level of the brian, consisting of the medulla, cerebellum, and pons

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midbrain

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located between the hindbrain and forebrain, a region in which many nerve-fiber systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower portions of the brain

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reticular formation

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a midbrain system that consists of a diffuse collection of neurons involved in stereotypical behaviors, such as walking, sleeping, or turning to attend a sudden noise

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brain stem

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the region of the brain that includes most of the hindbrain (excluding the cerebellum) and the midbrain

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forebrain

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the highest level of the brain. key structures in the forebrain are the limbic system, thalamus, basal ganglia, hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex

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limbic system

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a loosely connected network of structures-including the amygdala and hippocampus-that play important roles in memory and emotion

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thalamus

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forebrain structure that functions as a relay station to sort input and direct it to different areas of the cerebral cortex, it also has ties to the reticular formation

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basal ganglia

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located above the thalamus and under the cerebral cortex, these large clusters of nerons work with the cerebral cortex and coordinate voluntary movement

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hypothalamus

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forebrain structure involved in regulating eating, drinking, and sex;directing the endocrine system through the pituitary gland; and nibutoring emotion, stress, and reward

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cerebral cortex

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highest level of the forebrain, where the highest mental functions, such as thinking, and planning, take place

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occipital lobe

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the part of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head that is involved in vision

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temporal lobe

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the portion of the cerebral cortex just above the ears that is involved in hearing, language processing, and memory

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frontal lobe

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the part of the cerebral cortex just behind the forehead that is involved in the control of voluntary muscles, intelligence, and personality

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parietal lobe

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area of the cerebral cortex at the top of the head that is involved in registering spatial location, attention, and motor control

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somatosensory cortex

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area of the cerebral cortex that processes information about body sensations

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motor cortex

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area of the cerebral cortex that processes information about voluntary movement

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assocation cortex

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region of the cerebral cortex in which the highest intellectual functions, including thinking a problem solving, occur also called association areas

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corpus callosum

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the large bundle of axons that connects the brain's two hemispheres

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endocrine system

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a set of glands that regulate the activities of certain organs by releasing hormones into the bloodstream

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hormones

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chemical messengers manufactured by the endocrine glands

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pituitary gland

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an important endocrine gland at the base of the skull that controls growth and regulates other glands

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adrenal glands

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important endocrine glands that are instrumental in regulating moods, energy level, and the ability to cope with stress

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chromosomes

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threadlike structures that contain genes and DNA. humans have 23 chromosone pairs in the nucleus of every cell. each parent contributes 1 chromosome to the pair

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deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

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a complex molecule that contains genetic information; makes up chromosones

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dominant-recessive genes principles

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if one gene of a pair governing a given characteristic (such as eye color) is dominant and one is recessive, the dominant gene overrides the recessive gene. a recessive gene exerts its influence only if both genes are ressive.