Ap Psychology Midterm Review

Front 1

hindsight bias

Back 1

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

Front 2

overconfidence

Back 2

tendency to be more confident than correct

Front 3

random sample

Back 3

sample that fairly represents a population; each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Front 4

random assignment

Back 4

assiging subjects to the control or experimental group by chance

Front 5

illusory correlation

Back 5

perception of a relationship where none exists

Front 6

false-consensus effect

Back 6

tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Front 7

operational definition

Back 7

defining a variable with a numerical value (ex: definig intelligence by score on IQ test)

Front 8

case study

Back 8

an observation technique in which one person is studied over a long period of time

Front 9

naturalistic observation

Back 9

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations

Front 10

double blind

Back 10

neither the scientist or subjects knows if they are in the control group or experimental group

Front 11

single blind

Back 11

only the scientist knows who is in the control or experimental group

Front 12

standard deviation

Back 12

computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score: the average distance from the mean

Front 13

neurotransmitters

Back 13

chemical messengers that traverse the synpatic gap between neurons

Front 14

hormones

Back 14

chemical messengers, mostly made by endocrine glands

Front 15

3 parts of a neuron

Back 15

soma (cellbody)
axon (extension)
dendrite (branches)

Front 16

endorphins

Back 16

neurotransmitters that control pain and pleasure

Front 17

neurons

Back 17

nerve cells

Front 18

glial cells

Back 18

cells in the brain that nourish and protect neurons

Front 19

synapse

Back 19

the gap between neurons that neurotransmitters cross

Front 20

reuptake

Back 20

when the sending neuron reabsorbs any excess neurotransmitters left in the synapse

Front 21

threshold

Back 21

after a dendrite is stimulated, enough positive ions rush in

Front 22

action potential

Back 22

electrical transmission across the neuron

Front 23

myelin sheath

Back 23

fatty layer around the axon, insulates and speeds up transmission

Front 24

cell body

Back 24

the soma, filled with negative ions

Front 25

synaptic vesicle

Back 25

the end of the axon

Front 26

refractory period

Back 26

when the Na and K "pumps" return the ions to their original positions

Front 27

lesion

Back 27

tissue destruction in the brain

Front 28

interneurons

Back 28

Central Nervous System neurons that internally communicate between sensory outputs and motor outputs

Front 29

affector neuron vs. effector neuron

Back 29

sensory neurons-carry information from the senses vs. motor neurons-carry informationo from the muscles and glands
(acronym SAME)

Front 30

PET scan

Back 30

measures brains consumption of sugar glucose

Front 31

MRI

Back 31

picture of brains magnetic fields, literal photo of the brain

Front 32

association areas

Back 32

areas in the frontal lobe; have to do with judgement, planning, and personality

Front 33

depolarization

Back 33

when the axon changes from negatively to positively charged

Front 34

repolarization

Back 34

when K+ ions rush out of the axon causing the axon to become negative again

Front 35

all-or-none effect

Back 35

if a signal hits threshold, the signal is sent at the same strength regardless of the initial stimulus

Front 36

acetylcholine

Back 36

ACh, neurotransmitter involved in alzheimer's

Front 37

dopamine

Back 37

NT linked to parkinson's disease

Front 38

seratonin

Back 38

NT linked to depression

Front 39

norepinephrine

Back 39

NT that controls alertness and arousal

Front 40

GABA

Back 40

NT with an inhibitory function on the central nervous system

Front 41

agonist vs. antagonist

Back 41

substance that mimics NTs vs. substance that inhibits NTs

Front 42

Autonomic Nervous System

Back 42

involuntary controls

Front 43

Somatic Nervous System

Back 43

voluntary controls

Front 44

Parasympathetic NS

Back 44

branch of the autonomic system, in control when you are at rest

Front 45

Sympathetic NS

Back 45

second branch of the autonomic system, in control when you are aroused

Front 46

Central NS

Back 46

brain, spinal cord

Front 47

Peripheral NS

Back 47

contains autonimic and somatic nervous systems

Front 48

limbic system

Back 48

relatively primitive, border of lower brain and cerebral hemispheres, contains the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus

Front 49

amygdala

Back 49

influence fear and aggression

Front 50

hypothalamus

Back 50

regulates "drives" (hunger, thirst, body temp, sex, fight-or flight) triggers the pituitary gland; reward center

Front 51

cerebellum

Back 51

in the rear of the head, involved in balance and coordination

Front 52

thalamus

Back 52

the sensory switchboard, proccesses all senses except for smell

Front 53

reticular formation

Back 53

bundle of nerves running through the brain stem, control alertness

Front 54

medulla

Back 54

where spinal cord meets the skull, controls heartbeat and breathing

Front 55

frontal lobe

Back 55

forehead region, contains motor cortex, broca's area, and association areas

Front 56

parietal lobe

Back 56

crown of the head, contains sensory cortex

Front 57

temporal lobe

Back 57

sides of the head, processes auditory information, contains wernicke's area

Front 58

occipital lobe

Back 58

back of the head, processes vision

Front 59

sensory cortex

Back 59

part of the brain that processes sensory information

Front 60

motor cortex

Back 60

part of the brain that controls voluntary movement

Front 61

wernicke's area

Back 61

only on the left side, involved in understanding language

Front 62

broca's area

Back 62

only on the left side, involved in forming words

Front 63

corpus callosum

Back 63

nerves connecting the left and right hemispheres

Front 64

hippocampus

Back 64

part of the limbic system, involved in forming new memories

Front 65

auditory cortex

Back 65

part of the brain that procedsses sounds

Front 66

visual cortex

Back 66

part of the brain that processes vision

Front 67

plasticity

Back 67

brain's capacity for modification

Front 68

aphasia

Back 68

impairment of language

Front 69

genes

Back 69

biochemical units that make up chromosomes

Front 70

chromosomes

Back 70

DNA makes these up, contain genes

Front 71

DNA

Back 71

contains genetic information

Front 72

nucleotide

Back 72

?

Front 73

gender schema

Back 73

theory that people learn what their gender means, and that they adjust their behavior to fit it

Front 74

social learning theory

Back 74

theory that we learn social behavior from observation, and being rewarded or punished

Front 75

gender

Back 75

the definition, whether psychologically or biologically influenced, of male or female

Front 76

sex

Back 76

determined at birth