Psychology Review For Test #1

Front 1

Skepticism

Back 1

doubt about the truth of something

Front 2

Consciousness

Back 2

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Front 3

Monozygotic

Back 3

twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms

Front 4

Dizygotic

Back 4

twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment (fraternal twins)

Front 5

Selective Attention

Back 5

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Front 6

Random Assignment

Back 6

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups

Front 7

Double-blind Procedure

Back 7

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Front 8

Naturalistic Observation

Back 8

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Front 9

Operational Definition

Back 9

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence ma be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Front 10

Transgender

Back 10

identified with a gender other than the biological one

Front 11

Bisexual

Back 11

sexually attracted to both men and women

Front 12

Heterosexual

Back 12

sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex

Front 13

Homosexual

Back 13

sexually attracted to people of one's own sex

Front 14

Withdrawal

Back 14

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Front 15

Dissociation

Back 15

a split in consciousness which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

Front 16

Tolerance

Back 16

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Front 17

Narcolepsy

Back 17

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

Front 18

Circadian Rhythm

Back 18

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle

Front 19

Gender Schema

Back 19

the generalizations children develop about what toys and activities are appropriate for boys versus girls and what jobs are meant for men versus women

Front 20

Evolutionary Psychology

Back 20

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Front 21

Natural Selection

Back 21

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Front 22

Survey Research

Back 22

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Front 23

Case Study

Back 23

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Front 24

Experiment

Back 24

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variables). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

Front 25

Nicotine Withdrawal

Back 25

when someone suddenly stops or significantly reduces their nicotine intake they may experience headaches, irritability, cravings, and hunger

Front 26

Mean

Back 26

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Front 27

Median

Back 27

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Front 28

Mode

Back 28

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Front 29

Synapse

Back 29

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Front 30

Lesion

Back 30

tissue destruction

Front 31

Insomnia

Back 31

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Front 32

Paradoxical Sleep

Back 32

a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs; a state of rapidly shifting eye movements during sleep (REM)

Front 33

Neurotransmitters

Back 33

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse (chemical messengers)

Front 34

Brainstem

Back 34

the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; it is responsible for automatic survival functions

Front 35

Medulla

Back 35

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Front 36

Reticular Formation

Back 36

a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

Front 37

Thalamus

Back 37

the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Front 38

Cerebellum

Back 38

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

Front 39

Pituitary Gland

Back 39

the endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Front 40

Limbic System

Back 40

neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

Front 41

Amygdala

Back 41

two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion

Front 42

Hypothalamus

Back 42

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward

Front 43

Cerebral Cortex

Back 43

the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center

Front 44

Glial Cells (Glia)

Back 44

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

Front 45

Frontal Lobes

Back 45

portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements

Front 46

Parietal Lobes

Back 46

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

Front 47

Occipital Lobes

Back 47

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

Front 48

Temporal Lobes

Back 48

portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

Front 49

Motor Cortex

Back 49

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Front 50

Sensory Cortex

Back 50

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Front 51

Association Areas

Back 51

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Front 52

Plasticity

Back 52

the brain's ability to change

Front 53

Neurogenesis

Back 53

the formation of new neurons

Front 54

Corpus Callosum*

Back 54

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Front 55

Split Brain

Back 55

a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

Front 56

Schizophrenia

Back 56

A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation

Front 57

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Back 57

the brain and spinal chord

Front 58

Sympathetic Nervous System

Back 58

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Front 59

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Back 59

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Front 60

Gender Role

Back 60

a set of expected behaviors for males or for females

Front 61

Hindsight Bias

Back 61

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Front 62

Neuron

Back 62

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Front 63

Sensory Neurons

Back 63

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal chord

Front 64

Motor Neurons

Back 64

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal chord to the muscles and glands

Front 65

Independent Variable

Back 65

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

Front 66

Dependent Variable

Back 66

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Front 67

Control Group

Back 67

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Front 68

Range

Back 68

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Front 69

Myelin Sheath

Back 69

a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next

Front 70

X Chromosome

Back 70

the sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two; males have one. One from each parent produces a female child.

Front 71

Y Chromosome

Back 71

the sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with the other type of chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child

Front 72

Genes

Back 72

the biochemical units of hereditary that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

Front 73

Hypothesis

Back 73

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Front 74

Phrenology

Back 74

he detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities

Front 75

Dendrite

Back 75

the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Front 76

Which is the strongest correlation?
A. +0.60
B. -0.24
C. -0.95
D. +0.80

Back 76

C. -0.95

Front 77

Correlation

Back 77

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Front 78

Correlation Coefficient

Back 78

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Front 79

Phineas Gage

Back 79

a rod shot through his left cheek through his skull and damaged his frontal lobes. He was fine, just irritable

Front 80

Bell Curve

Back 80

a graph of a normal distribution, with a large rounded peak tapering away at each end

Front 81

Stage 1 Sleep Cycle

Back 81

5 minutes, slow breathing, irregular brain waves, and hallucinations

Front 82

Stage 2 Sleep Cycle

Back 82

about 20 minutes, sleep spindles occur

Front 83

Stage 3 Sleep Cycle

Back 83

about 3 minutes, transition, slow delta waves

Front 84

Stage 4 Sleep Cycle

Back 84

about 30 minutes, delta waves, sleepwalking occurs then, hard to awaken

Front 85

Dopamine and glutamate

Back 85

Which neurotransmitters are involved in schizophrenia?