Psychology Test 1

Front 1

Psychology
4

Back 1

The science of mental processes and behavior

Front 2

Mental Processes
5

Back 2

What the brain does when a person stores, recalls, or uses information or has specific feelings

Front 3

Behavior
5

Back 3

The outwardly observable acts of an individual, alone or in a group

Front 4

Level of the Brain
7

Back 4

Events that involve the structure and properties of the organ itself-brain cells and their connections, the chemical soup in which they exist, and the genes

Front 5

Level of the person
7

Back 5

Events that involve the nature of beliefs, desires, and feelings-the content of the mind, not just its internal mechanics.

Front 6

Level of the Group
7

Back 6

Events that involve relationships between people, relationships among groups, and culture. Events at the level of the group are one aspect of the environment;the other aspect is the physical environment itself (time, temperature, and other physical stimuli)

Front 7

Structuralism
10

Back 7

Wilhelm Wundt
School of psychology that seeks to identify the basic elements of experience and describe the rules and circumstances under which these elements combine to form mental structures

Front 8

Introspection
10

Back 8

The process of "looking within"

Front 9

Functionalism
11

Back 9

The school of psychology that sought to understand how the mind helps individuals function, or adapt to the world. More focused on the level of the group instead of the level of the brain

Front 10

Gestalt psychology
12

Back 10

Approach to understanding mental processes that focuses on the idea that the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Front 11

Unconscious
13

Back 11

Outside conscious awareness and not able to be brought to consciousness at will

Front 12

Psychodynamic Theory
13

Back 12

A theory of how thoughts and feelings affect behavior;refers to the continual push and pull interaction among conscious and unconscious forces. Developed by Freud

Front 13

Behaviorism
14

Back 13

School of psychology that focuses on how a specific stimulus (object, person, or event)evokes a specific response (behavior in reaction to the stimulus)American psychologists

Front 14

Humanistic Psychology
15

Back 14

School of psychology that assumes people have positive values, free will, and deep inner creativity, the combination of which leads them to choose life-fulfilling paths to personal growth. Rogers, Maslow

Front 15

Cognitive psychology
15

Back 15

The approach in psychology that attempts to characterize how information is stored and operated on internally.

Front 16

Cognitive neuroscience
16

Back 16

A blending of cognitive psychology and neuroscience (the study of the brain) that aims to specify how the brain stores and processes information

Front 17

Evolutionary psychology
17

Back 17

The approach in psychology that assumes that certain cognitive strategies and goals are so important that natural selection has built them into our brains

Front 18

Clinical psychologist
19

Back 18

Provides psychotherapy and is trained to administer/interpret psychological tests

Front 19

Psychotherapy
19

Back 19

Process of helping clients lear to change in order to cope with troublesome thoughts, feelings, behaviors

Front 20

Psychiatrist
20

Back 20

Physician-focuses on mental disorders, can prescribe drugs, but not trained to adminster psych tests

Front 21

Correlational research

Back 21

Studies where two or more variables are measured but not manipulated. ie, family income and IQ

Front 22

Independent variable

Back 22

Aspect of a situation that is varied while another thing is measured

Front 23

Dependent variable

Back 23

Thing that is measured while other aspects are changed

Front 24

Validity

Back 24

a measure is valid if it does in fact measure what it is supposed to measure

Front 25

Face Validity

Back 25

Design and procedure appear to assess the variables of interest

Front 26

Content Validity
35

Back 26

Measures assess all aspects of phenomenon of interest

Front 27

Criterion Validity
35

Back 27

A measure or procedure is comparable to a different, valid measure or procedure

Front 28

Construct Validity
35

Back 28

Measures assess variables specified by a theory

Front 29

Psuedopsychology
38

Back 29

Theories/statements that look like psychology but are actually superstition or unsupported opinion pretending to be science

Front 30

Neuron
53

Back 30

A cell that recieves signals from other neurons or sense organs, processes these signals, and sends the signals to other neurons, muscles, or organs; the basic unit of the nervous system

Front 31

Sensory neuron
53

Back 31

A neuron that responds to input from sense organs

Front 32

Motor neuron
53

Back 32

A neuron that sends signals to muscles to control movement

Front 33

Interneuron
53

Back 33

A neuron that is connected to other neurons, not to sense organs or muscles

Front 34

Axon
53

Back 34

The sending end of the neuron; the long cablike structure extending from the cell body.

Front 35

Terminal button
54

Back 35

A structure at the end of a branch of an axon that, when the neuron is triggered, releases chemicals into the space between neurons

Front 36

Dendrite
54

Back 36

The tree-like part of a neuron that recieves messages from the axons of other neurons

Front 37

Resting potential
54

Back 37

Negative charge within a neuron when it is at rest

Front 38

Action potential
54

Back 38

The shifting change in charge that moves down the axon

Front 39

All-or-none Law
54

Back 39

If a neuron is sufficiently stimulated, it fires, sending the action potential all the way down the axon and releasing chemicals frrom the terminal buttons; either the action potential occurs or it doesnt

Front 40

Synapse
56

Back 40

The place where an axon of one neuron can send signals to the membrane (on a dendrite or cell body) of another neuron

Front 41

Neurotransmitter
56

Back 41

A chemical that carries a signal from the terminal button on one neuron to the dendrite or cell body of another

Front 42

Reuptake
59

Back 42

Process by which surplus neurotransmitter is reabsorbed back into the sending neuron so that the neuron can effectively fire again

Front 43

Synaptic Cleft
56

Back 43

Gap between the axon of neuron and the membrane of another, across which communication occurs

Front 44

Receptor
56

Back 44

Site on a dendrite or cell body where a messenger molecule attaches itself. A receptor only recieves one type of neuro transmitter or neuromodulator.

Front 45

Agonist
59

Back 45

Chemical that mimics the effects of a neurotransmitter (often by blocking a receptor)

Front 46

Glial Cell
59

Back 46

Type of cell that surrounds neurons, influences communication between neurons, helps in care and feeding of neurons

Front 47

Antagonist
59

Back 47

Chemical that interferes with the effect of a neurotransmitter (often by blocking a receptor)

Front 48

Meninges
64

Back 48

Membranes that cover the brain

Front 49

Lobes
64

Back 49

Four major parts of each cerebral hemisphere-occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal

Front 50

Corpus Callosum
64

Back 50

The large band of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain

Front 51

Cerebral cortex
64

Back 51

Convoluted pinkish-gray outer layer of the brain, where most mental processes take place

Front 52

Sulcus
64

Back 52

Crease in the cerebral cortex

Front 53

Gyrus
65

Back 53

Bulge between sulci in the cerebral cortex

Front 54

Subcortical structures
65

Back 54

Parts of the brain located under the cerebral cortex and beneath the ventricles; similar to structures in brains of glasses

Front 55

Occipital Lobe
66

Back 55

the brain love at the back of the head; concerned entirely with different aspects of vision

Front 56

Temporal Lobes
67

Back 56

The brain lobe under the temples, in frot of the ears where sideburns begin; many functions including visual memory and hearing.

Front 57

Parietal Lobes
68

Back 57

Brain lobe across the top part of the brain behind tthe ears, which is involved in registering spatial location, attention, and motor control

Front 58

Frontal Lobe
68

Back 58

Brain lobe located behind the forehead; the seat of planning, memory search, motor control, reasoning. Conscious lives there

Front 59

Forebrain
71

Back 59

Cortex, thalamus, limbic system, and basal ganglia

Front 60

Thalamus
72

Back 60

Processes/integrates info from all senses except smell, relays info to appropriate higher brain centers.

Front 61

Hypothalamus
72

Back 61

Peanut-sized structure that maintains homeostasis, links endocrine system to brain, involved in motivation and emotional drives, orgasms

Front 62

Hippocampus
72

Back 62

A subcortical structure involved in forming new memories

Front 63

Amygdala
73

Back 63

Subcortical structure that is involved in fear and other emotions like anger

Front 64

Limbic System
73

Back 64

Set of brain areas like hippocampus, amygdala, that are involved in animal reflexes like fighting, fleeing, feeding, sex

Front 65

Basal Ganglia
73

Back 65

Subcortical structures play a role in planning and producing movement

Front 66

Brainstem
73

Back 66

The set of neural structures at the base of the brain, including the medulla and pons

Front 67

Medulla
73

Back 67

Lowest part of lower brainstem, which plays a role in automatic control of breathing, swallowing, and blood circulation

Front 68

Pons
74

Back 68

Helps coordinate movements on left/right sides of the body, controls eye movement, sleep and dreaming

Front 69

Reticular formation

Back 69

Helps regulate attention/alertness

Front 70

Midbrain

Back 70

processes visual and auditory functions, used to orient oneself to signals

Front 71

Hindbrain

Back 71

Medulla, pons, cerebellum, parts of reticular system

Front 72

Positron emission tomography

Back 72

A neuroimaging technique that uses small amounts of a radio-active substance to track blood flow or energy consumption in the brain

Front 73

Mendelian inheritance
84

Back 73

Transmission of characteristics by individual elements of inheritance (genes)

Front 74

Genotype
84

Back 74

The genetic code within an organism

Front 75

Phenotype
84

Back 75

The observable structure and behavior of an organism

Front 76

Gene

Back 76

Stretch of DNA that produces a specific protein

Front 77

Pruning
86

Back 77

Eliminations of certain connections between neurons because of non-use

Front 78

Plasticity

Back 78

The brain's ability to be molded by experience

Front 79

Behavioral genetics
88

Back 79

The field in which researchers attempt to determine the extent to which the differences among people are due to their genes or to the environment

Front 80

Sensation
100

Back 80

The awareness of an object or event that occurs when a type of receptor (eye, ear, skin) is stimulated

Front 81

Perception

Back 81

Acto of organizing and interpreting sensory input as signaling a particular object or event.

Front 82

Psychophysics

Back 82

Study of the relation between physical events and the corresponding experience of those events. Fechner

Front 83

Threshold

Back 83

The point at which stimulation is strong enough to be noticed

Front 84

Absolute threshold

Back 84

The smallest amount of stimulus needed in order to detect that the stimulus is present

Front 85

Just-noticeable difference (JND)

Back 85

The size of the difference in a stimulus property needed for the observer to notice that a change has occurred

Front 86

Weber's law

Back 86

The rule that a constant percentage of a magnitude change is necessary to detect a difference

Front 87

Sensitivity

Back 87

Threshold level for distinguishing signal from noise

Front 88

Bias

Back 88

Willingness to report noticing a stimulus

Front 89

Rods

Back 89

Rod-shaped retinal cells that are very sensitive to light but register only shades of gray. Located everywhere in the retina except the fovea

Front 90

Cones

Back 90

Cone-shaped retinal cells that respond most strongly to one of three wavelengths of light; play a role in producing color vision. Most densely concentrated near the fovea

Front 91

Fovea

Back 91

Small, central region of the retina with the highest density of cones and the highest resolution

Front 92

Retina

Back 92

Sheet of tissue at the back of the eye containing cells that convert light to neural impulses