AP PSYCHOLOGY UNIT ONE

Nature vs Nurture

Hereditary (Genetics, Natural Selection) vs Environmental (Culture, Gender, Experience)

Genetic Predisposition

Inherited increase in the likelihood of developing a disease, trait, or behavior based on genetics

Evolutionary Perspective

Explains how traits and behaviors evolved due to natural selection

Natural Selection

Survival of the fittest

Examples

Phobias, endurance, social behaviors 

Eugenics 

Selective breeding / sterilization 

Twin studies 

Determines influence of genetics vs environment by comparing twins 

Family Studies

Quantitative (Numbers), Qualitative (Case Studies), Mixed - Methods (Combination)

Adoption Studies 

Comparing adopted individuals to their bio vs adopt parents 

CNS

Spinal cord and Brain

Peripheral

Somatic vs Autonomic

Autonomic (Sympathetic)

Fight or flight

Autonomic (Parasympathetic)

Rest and digest (Paramedic)

Neurons

Transmit information

Glial cells 

Make up the myelin sheath, waste transport, structure

Reflex arc 

Neural pathway that allows for involuntary rapid response to a stimulus 

Neural transmission

How neuron cells communicate, electrical and chemical signals 

Resting Potential

Water in the toilet, neurons stable

Threshold

Amount of push needed to successfully flush the toilet, simulation needed to trigger action potential 

Action Potential

Actual flush itself, electrical charge that travels when neuron fires down the axon 

Depolarization

Transmission of nerve impulses 

All or Nothing

Toilet flushes or doesn’t, neuron fires or doesn’t

Refractory Period

Time after the flush, tank is refilling, nothing happens, unable to receive energy

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers emitted by neurons

Reuptake

Neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the same neuron that released them 

Multiple sclerosis

Chronic autoimmune disease affecting the brain and spinal cord 

Myasthenia Gravis

Chronic neuromuscular disorder that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles 

Excitatory vs Inhibitory

Increases/Decreases likelihood of a neuron firing an action potential 

Hormones

Chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands 

Adrenaline

Fight or flight

Leptin

Hunger suppressant (L = lowers)

Ghrelin

Hunger stimulation (Grilled cheese)

Melatonin

Sleep

Oxytocin

Love, Lactation, Labor

Acetylcholine

• Muscle action, learning, memory

• Undersupply = Alzheimer’s disease

• Learning the alphabet

Dopamine 

• Movement, learning, attention, emotion 

• Undersupply = Parkinsons Disease 

• Oversupply = Schizophrenia 

• DOPE / Opposite of mean = happy 

Serotonin

• Mood, hunger, sleep, arousal 

• Undersupply = depression 

• SSRI = Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (Anti - depressant medication)

• Tone = Mood

Norepinephrine

• Alertness, arousal

• Undersupply = Depresses mood 

• Epi - Pen

Glutamate

• Excitatory neurotransmitter affecting memory

• Oversupply = Migraines, seizures

• Mate = Migraines

GABA

• Inhibitory movement

• Oversupply = paralysis, coma 

• Undersupply = tremors, seizures 

• Get a break 

Endorphins

• Pleasure and pain control 

• Pain killers 

• Endor-pain, dolphins 

Substance P

• Transmits pain and urge to vomit, present in the spinal cord 

• Oversupply = oversensitivity to pain

• Chemotherapy increases supply leading to nausea and vomiting 

• P = pain, hand over stove 

Psychoactive drugs 

Substances that affect the mind and behavior by altering the activity of the actual nervous system

Agonist

Chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response 

Antagonist 

Binds to a receptor, but doesn’t activate it 

Reuptake Inhibitor

medication that blocks the reuptake of neurotransmitters to the brain 

Brainstem 

• Basic functions/ breathing 

• Brainstem is the base of the brain 

Medulla

• Heartbeat + breathing

• Meditate 

Reticular formation

• Arousal 

• Ready to go 

Pons

• A bridge is needed to traverse ponds; connects medulla to thalamus 

Thalamus

• Connects senses, sensory switchboard

• Rhymes with receptionist 

Cerebellum

• Balance, coordination 

• Ballerina 

Limbic System

Emotions

Hypothalamus

• Eating, drinking, temperature

• Hungry Hippo 

Amygdala

• Emotion/anger

• Amy is crazy 

Hippocampus

• Memory 

• Hippos have good memory 

Frontal lobe

• Complex thinking, language processing

• Forehead 

Occipital Lobe

• Vision 

• Ocular = eyes/vision 

Parietal Lobe

• Physical sensation, association areas 

• Taste, touch, temperature

Sensory cortex

• Feeling 

• Sensory = senses

Motor cortex

• Movement

Visual cortex

• Seeing

Auditory cortex

Hearing

Association areas

• Learning

• Associate = connection

Broca’s area

• Speaking ability

• Broca = broken speech

Wernicke’s area 

• Understanding speech

• Aphasia = off language

• Weird = Wernicke’s

Corpus callosum

• Connects brain hemispheres 

• Columns connect structures 

Biopsychology

• Study of how biological systems influence behavior, thoughts and feelings 

Plasticity

The brain’s ability to adapt and change its structure and function in response to various stimuli 

Phineas Gage

Railroad worker that survived severe brain injury, altering his personality 

H.M (Henry Molaison)

Lost the ability to form new long-term memories afterbrain surgery 

EEG

Test records the brains electrical activity using electrodes placed on the scalp 

fMRI

Brain scan that measures changes in blood flow to show which areas of the brain are active during specific tasks 

Lesioning

parts of brain tissue are intentionally damaged or removed to study or treat medical conditions 

Split-brain research

studies patients with a cat corpus callosum, reveals how the hemispheres function independently 

Why would someone cut their CC

To treat epilepsy, prevents seizures 

Left hemisphere contains what 

• Language / Reading

• Logic / Writing

• Reasoning

• Analytical thinking

Right hemisphere contains what

• Spatial awareness 

• Facial recognition

• Creativity 

Contralateral hemispheric organization

Left controls right, right controls left

Circadian Rhythm

• Body’s natural internal clock that regulates sleep and conscious cycles 

• 24-26 hours 

• Related to melatonin 

NREM Stage 1 

• Transition between wake and sleep 

• around 5 to 10 mins 

Hyponogogic sensations 

• Vivid dream like experiences that occur while transitioning to sleep

NREM Stage 2 

• Body temp drops, heart rate drops 

• approx. 20 mins

• Produce sleep spindles

NREM stage 3

• Muscles relax 

• blood pressure and breathing rate drop 

• DEEPEST SLEEP OCCURS

REM sleep 

• Brain becomes more active 

• Body becomes relaxed/immobilized 

• Eyes move rapidly 

REM rebound

Catching up on REM sleep

Paradoxical sleep

• Paralyzed

• Body immobilized, brain active, eyes moving 

Memory consolidation

Temporary memories are transformed into stable long term storage through changes in the brain 

Restoration

restore and repair the body/mind

Dreams

Thoughts, images, and sensation during sleep, mainly during REM sleep 

Activation synthesis

Brains attempt to interpret random neural signals

Consolidation Theory

Newly formed memories are transformed into stable, long-term memories

Transduction

How we process stimuli with our senses

Absolute threshold

the minimum amount of energy needed to produce sensation more 50% of the time 

Sensory adaptation

When sensory receptor cells are constantly stimulated, they undergo a loss of sensitivity to stimuli 

Just noticeable difference

• Smallest difference between two stimuli that can be consistently and accurately detected 50% of the time 

• Broad, minimum change in a stimulus

Weber’s law

• The relationship between actual and perceived differences in stimulus intensity

• Specific, describes the change in JND 

Sensory interaction 

One sense can influence or enhance another 

Synesthesia 

Simulation of one sensory lead to automatic experiences in another sensory

Cocktail Party Effect

• Eavesdropping

• Choose to hear what you want