Psychology Chapter 2

Front 1

Evolutionary Psychology

Back 1

An area of psychology that is interested in looking for the adaptive benefits of selected human behaviors

Front 2

Natural selection

Back 2

according to Charles Darwin, the process by which inherited characteristics that lead to an advantage in adapting to the environment are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations through genetic material

Front 3

behavioral neuroscience

Back 3

a general term encompassing a range of disciplines such as neurology, psychology, and psychiatry that focus on the role of the nervous system, especially the brain, in understanding behavior

Front 4

Stimulus

Back 4

Environmental feature that provokes a response from an organism

Front 5

Receptors

Back 5

Specialized cells that are sensitive to specific types of stimulus energy

Front 6

Central Nervous System

Back 6

division of the nervous system that consists of the brain and the spinal cord

Front 7

peripheral nervous system

Back 7

division of the nervous system that consists of the neural fibers lying outside of the brain and spinal cord

Front 8

Neurons

Back 8

basic cells of the nervous system

Front 9

Somatic nervous system

Back 9

division of the peripheral nervous system that consists of nerves coming from the receptors to the brain and spinal cord, as well as nerves that go from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles

Front 10

Afferent (sensory) nerves

Back 10

Nerves that carry information from the receptors to the spinal cord and brain

Front 11

Efferent (motor) nerves

Back 11

Nerves that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles

Front 12

Autonomic nervous system

Back 12

Division of the peripheral nervous system involved in the control of bodily functioning through organs and glands

Front 13

Sympathetic nervous system

Back 13

Subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for mobilizing the body in time of stress, preparing organisms for fight or flight

Front 14

Parasympathetic nervous system

Back 14

Subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that responsible for returning the body to a resting or balanced state

Front 15

reflex

Back 15

automatic behavior in response to a specific stimulus

Front 16

endocrine system

Back 16

system of glands that produce and secrete chemicals called hormones that can have effects some distance from the gland that secreted the hormone

Front 17

hormones

Back 17

CHemicals produced by the glands of the endocrine system that are carried by the bloodstream to other organs throughout the body

Front 18

Pancreas

Back 18

an endocrine gland that lies between the stomach and the small intestine: the primary hormone released, insulin, regulates levels of glucose in the body

Front 19

Hypothalamus

Back 19

Gland and brain structure tha sends signals to the pituitary gland and contains key centers for fighting, fleeing, sexual activity, and hunger

Front 20

Pituitary gland

Back 20

Called the master gland because its secretions control many other glands;

Front 21

Thyroid glands

Back 21

endocrine gland located just below the larynx that releases hormones including thyroxine, which has widespread effects throughout the body via its effects on metabolic rate

Front 22

Gonads

Back 22

General term that refers to sex glands in either males or females

Front 23

Adrenal glands

Back 23

pair of glands located at the top of each of the kidneys; they release a range of hormones including epinephrine and nor-epinephrine

Front 24

dendrite

Back 24

Short, branchlike structure of a neuron that receives information from receptors and other neurons

Front 25

soma

Back 25

cell body of a neuron, which contains the nucleus

Front 26

axon

Back 26

elongated part of a neuron that transmits information to other nerurons, muscles, and glands

Front 27

terminal buttons

Back 27

component of a neuron located at the end of the axon where neurotransmitters are stored before being released into the synapse

Front 28

myelin sheath

Back 28

whitish, fatty protein substance, composed of glial cells, that covers some axons and increases the speed of neural transmission

Front 29

glial cell

Back 29

special type of cell found in the nervous system that forms the myelin sheath, which increases the speed of neural conduction by providing insulation of axons

Front 30

synapse

Back 30

Site where two or more neurons interact but do not touch; neurotransmitters are released into the space in order to continue neural impulses

Front 31

Neurotransmitters

Back 31

Chemical substances that are stored in terminal buttons and released into the synapse between two neurons to carry signals from one neuron to the next

Front 32

agonists

Back 32

drugs that enhance the effects of a particular neurotransmitter

Front 33

axon

Back 33

Elongated part of a neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles, and glands

Front 34

terminal buttons

Back 34

component of a neuron located at the ends of the axon where neurotransmitters are stored before being released into the synapse

Front 35

Myelin sheath

Back 35

Whitish, fatty protein substance, composed of glial cells, that covers some axons and increases the speed of neural transmission

Front 36

Glial cell

Back 36

special type of cell found in the nervous system that forms the myelin sheath, which increases the speed of neural conduction by providing insulation of the axons

Front 37

synapse

Back 37

Site where two or more neurons interact, but do not touch; neurotransmitters are released into the space in order to continue neural impulse

Front 38

neurotransmitters

Back 38

chemical substances that are stored in terminal buttons and released into the synapse between two neurons to carry signals from one neuron to the next

Front 39

agonists

Back 39

Drugs that enhance the effects of a particular neurotransmitter

Front 40

antagonists

Back 40

Drugs that oppose or inhibit the effects of a particular neurotransmitter

Front 41

Neuromodulators

Back 41

Chemicals that may have a widespread or general effect on the release of neurotransmitters

Front 42

Endorphins

Back 42

Substances produced by the body that block pain; these substances are opium-like chemicals

Front 43

Resting state

Back 43

Electrical charge (270 mV) of a neuron when it is not firing

Front 44

Action potential

Back 44

Reversal in electrical charge of a neuron that occurs when then neuron fires

Front 45

Sensation

Back 45

Activation of receptors by stimuli on the environment

Front 46

Perception

Back 46

the process of organizing and making sense of sensory information

Front 47

Transduction

Back 47

Conversion of stimuli received by the receptors into a form that can be used by the nervous system

Front 48

Adaption

Back 48

Loss of sensitivity to a stimulus by the receptors as a result of continued presentation of that stimulus

Front 49

Weber's law

Back 49

The observation that teh amount of stumulus increase or decrease required to notice a change, divided by the original stimulation, is a constant

Front 50

Just notable difference

Back 50

Smallest difference between two stimuli that is noticeable 50% of the time by participants

Front 51

absolute threshold

Back 51

minimum amount of energy required for conscious detection of a stimulus 50% of the time by participants

Front 52

differential threshold

Back 52

Smallest amount of stimulation that must be added to or subtracted from and existing stimulus for a person to be able to detect a change of 50% of the time

Front 53

Signal Detection Theory

Back 53

The contention that the threshold caries with the nature of the stimulus (signal) and with background stimulation (noise)

Front 54

subliminal stimuli

Back 54

stimuli that are below the threshold of consciousness

Front 55

wavelength

Back 55

physical length of a light wave measured in nanometers

Front 56

amplitude

Back 56

strength or intensity of a stimulus (brightness for visual stimuli; loudness for auditory stimuli)

Front 57

saturation

Back 57

trueness or purity of a color

Front 58

Radiant light

Back 58

visible energy emitted by an object

Front 59

Reflected light

Back 59

energy that is reflected by objects

Front 60

accommodation

Back 60

in focusing, action of the ciliary muscles to change the shape of the lens

Front 61

Retina

Back 61

tissue that contains the visual receptors, located at the back of the eye

Front 62

bipolar cells

Back 62

cells in the retina that connect the receptors to the ganglion cells

Front 63

ganglion cells

Back 63

cells in the retina whose axons form the optic nerve

Front 64

blind spot

Back 64

location at which the optic nerve leaves the eyeball; contains no receptors

Front 65

optic chiasm

Back 65

point at which the optic nerve fibers from each eye join; fibers from the nasal half of the retina cross to the opposite hemisphere of the brain

Front 66

rods

Back 66

most prevalent visual receptors; have a lower threshold and lower acuity than cones and do not detect color

Front 67

cones

Back 67

Visual receptos that are less prevalent than rods; have a higher threshold than rods;have a higher threshold and acuity and are able to detect color

Front 68

foveaI

Back 68

indented spot in the center of the retina that contains only cones

Front 69

Trichromatic theory

Back 69

color vision theory stating that there are three types of color receptors

Front 70

Opponent-process theory

Back 70

color vision theory stressing the pairing of color experiences; activation of one process can inhibit its partner

Front 71

Color afterimage

Back 71

Perception of a color that is not really present; occurs after viewing the opposite or complementary color

Front 72

Monochromat

Back 72

person who sees only shades of gray; caused by a rare form of color deficiency

Front 73

Dichromat

Back 73

Person who has trouble seeing one of the primary colors caused by a from of color deficiency

Front 74

audition

Back 74

sense of hearing

Front 75

hertz (Hz)

Back 75

Unit of measure of the frequency of a sound wave

Front 76

decibel (db)

Back 76

unit of measure of the amount of energy producing the vibrations we perceive as sound

Front 77

timbre

Back 77

the purity of a soundwave

Front 78

ossicles

Back 78

three bones in the ear (hammer, anvil, and stirrup)