Psychology Test 1

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William James

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nineteenth century American psychologist, often labeled as the “Father of American psychology” - associated with pragmatism.

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Mary Calkins

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American psychologist who became the first woman to be President of the American Psychological Association.

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Psychology (how it's changed)

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before 1920’s = science of mental life. 1920’s-1960’s = the scientific study of observable behavior. 1960’s-present = scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

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Biopsychosocial Approach

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BIOlogical- nature, genetics, inherited, can’t control, & instinct. PSYCHOlogical- think, feel, & act. SOCIOcultural- nurture, environment, & raised.

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Multiple Levels of Analysis

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The three levels of analysis: biological, psychological, & sociocultural.

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Hindsight Bias

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the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it - leads us to overestimate our intuition.

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Overconfidence

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we tend to think we know more than we really do - leads us to overestimate our intuition.

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Scientific Attitude

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composed of curiosity (passion for exploration), skepticism (doubting and questioning), & humility (ability to accept responsibility when wrong).

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Hypothesis

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a testable prediction often prompted by a theory to enable us to accept, reject, or revise a theory.

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Case Study

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one person is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavior principles.

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Survey

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a technique for getting self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people - usually done by questioning a random sampling of people.

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Correlation

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when one trait or behavior accompanies another, the two correlate.

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Illusory Correlation

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the perception of a relationship where no relationship really exists.

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Random Assignment

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when each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample.

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Dendrites

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receive incoming messages from other cells & conduct it towards the cell body - dendrites listen.

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Axon

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passes messages from body to other neurons, muscles, or glands - axons speak.

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Myelin Sheath

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fatty substance around axons that facilitate conduction - helps spread neural impulse.

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Synapse

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fluid-filled junction between neurons.

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Chemical Messenger/Neurotransmitters

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chemical messages that travel across the synaptic gap & bind to receptor sites on receiving neurons when released, thereby influencing whether the next neuron will generate a neural impulse.

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Reuptake

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reabsorption of neurotransmitters/chemical messengers by the sending neurons.

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Endorphins

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any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions. They are peptides that activate the body's opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect.

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Dopamine

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affects voluntary movements, learning, memory, & arousal - deficiencies are linked to Parkinson’s disease in which people progressively lose control over their muscles - people with Schizophrenia may have more receptor sites than needed for dopamine, & causes confusion or false perceptions.

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2 Divisions of Nervous System

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Central Nervous System (CNS) = brain & spinal cord. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) = sensory & motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body - transmits messages from brain & spinal cord to muscles & glands.

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Interneurons

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CNS neurons that internally communicate & intervene between sensory inputs & motor outputs.

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Sensory Neurons

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carry messages inward toward the brain & spinal cord for processing.

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Motor Neurons

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carry outgoing messages from CNS to muscles, glands, & tissue.

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Medulla

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section in the brain stem - primarily responsible for breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and coughing.

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Cerebellum

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the part of the brain at the back of the skull - responsible for voluntary movement and balance.

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Cerebral Cortex

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outer layer of the cerebrum, composed of folded gray matter - ultimate control and information processing center.

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Corpus Callosum

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band of nerve fibers that join the two brain hemispheres - its function is communication between the two brain hemispheres.

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How does a neuron fire?

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A neuron either fires or doesn’t work at all. It begins with the synapse, the gap between neurons, where the neurotransmitters are sent to the dendrite fibers to pass along messages. Those fibers receive the information and conduct the neurotransmitters towards the cell body, where the energy-generating nucleus is located. After that, the cell’s axon, which is usually covered with a conductive myelin sheath, passes the message along through the axon terminal buds, where the neurotransmitters get sent to the synapse in between other neurons or glands, and the cycle begins again.