AP psych mid term

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

depolarization

The process during the action potential when sodium is rushing into the cell causing the interior to become more positive

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

role of sympathetic nervous system

stimulates the fight/flights system

role of parasympathetic system

Relaxes the body and slows down many high-energy functions

relationship between maturation and the nature vs. nurture controversy

maturation, driven by nature, unfolds in predictable stages, but nurture can impact the timing and expression of these biological processes

the body part responsible for the reflex for when you touch fire

spinal cord, which is part of the spinal reflex pathway

love hormones

oxytocin

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

correlational study

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

case study

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

double blind study

An experiment in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows whether the participant has received the treatment or the placebo

single blind study

study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group

random selection

A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance

random sampling

a method of poll selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

effects of alcohol on the central nervous system

depresses the central nervous system, impairing coordination, judgement, memory, and mood

cause of multiple sclerosis

myelin sheath degeneration

amygdala and its role in fear responses

it detects threats and triggers the body's fight-or-flight response by activating other areas of the brain and body to prepare for a reaction

neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

neuroplasticity

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

broca's area vs. wernicke's area

broca's area = controls speech production

wernicke's area = handles language comprehension

brain lateralization and contra-lateralization

lateralization = the specialization of certain functions in either the left/right hemisphere of the brain

contralateralization = each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body

left hemisphere functions

language, logic, analytical thinking, and mathematical abilities

right hemisphere functions

spatial awareness, creativity, intuition, and processing of visual and emotional information

spatial reasoning

the ability to understand and mentally manipulate objects and spaces, including tasks like navigating, visualizing shapes, and judging distances

somatosensory cortex

registers and processes body touch and movement sensations; the more delicate the body part, the more space it takes up in this cortex

function of temporal lobe

hearing

function of frontal lobe

reasoning, planning, part of speech and movement, emotions, problem solving

function of occipital lobe

vision

function of parietal association areas

important for spatial awareness, coordination, and integrating sensory input for tasks like reading and math

function of hippocampus

important for memory formation and spatial navigation

senses processed in thalamus

processes sensory information for all senses except smell, relaying signals for vision, hearing, touch, taste, and balance to the appropriate areas of the brain.

circadian rhythym

24 hour biological clock

Body temperature and awareness change due to this

Controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SNC) in the brain

Explains jet lag

positive vs. negative correlations

Positive Correlation = One goes up, the other goes up.

Negative Correlation = Ones goes up, one goes down.

sleep terrors

frightening dreamlike experiences that occur during the deepest stage of non-REM sleep, shortly after the child has gone to sleep

narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

REM behavior disorder

a rare disorder in which the mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fails, allowing the person to thrash around and even get up and act out nightmares

sleep apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

function of hypothalamus

body temperature, sleep, appetite, emotions, control of the pituitary gland

role of reticular activating system

responsible for regulating arousal, alertness, and consciousness by filtering sensory input and influencing wakefulness, attention, and the sleep-wake cycle.

role of hypothalamus in relation to hunger

regulates hunger by detecting changes in the body's energy balance and releasing signals to either stimulate/suppress appetite

accommodation vs. assimilation

Accommodation = existing mental structures & behaviors are modified to adapt to new experiences. Assimilation = new ideas & experiences are absorbed & incorporated intro existing mental structures & behaviors

the part of the ear that contains the hairs that control balance

semicircular canal

kinesthetic vs. vestibular sense

Vestibular sense = detects balance and spatial orientation through the inner ear's response to gravity and motion

Kinesthetic sense = perception of body position and movement of muscles, joints, and tendons

rods and cones

rods- black and white

cones- color

cornea

The clear tissue that covers the front of the eye

retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones that begin the processing of visual information

lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

fovea

the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

process of transduction

occurs when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system

accommodation in lens

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances, becoming thicker to focus on close objects and thinner to focus on distant ones

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

just-noticeable difference threshold

the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time

subliminal stimulus

a stimulus that is below the threshold of conscious awareness

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

color blindness

inability to see some or all colors

trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green

opponent-process theory

suggests that color vision is controlled by three pairs of opposing color receptors: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white, where the activation of one color in a pair inhibits the other

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

amplitude and frequency in light waves

amplitude = brightness/intensity of light

frequency = color of light

amplitude and frequency in sound waves

amplitude = loudness

frequency = pitch

blindspot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

sensory interaction

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

selective attention

the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input

constancy

the tendency to perceive certain objects in the same way regardless of changing angle, distance, or lighting

principles of Gestalt

similarity, proximity, closure, and continuity

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (picture where one person sees one thing and another person sees another)

weber's law

states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the intensity of the original stimulus, meaning that larger changes in stimulus intensity are needed for detection as the original intensity increases

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

what allows us to perceive depth

monocular cues = size, texture, and perspective

binocular cues = convergence (the inward movement of the eyes when focusing on a close object) and retinal disparity (the slight difference in images between the two eyes)

what affects depth perception

lighting, distance, and visual impairments

correlation coefficients

+1 = perfect positive correlation

0 = no correlation

-1 = perfect negative correlation

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

procedural memory

A type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

primacy effect

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows

iconic memory

visual sensory memory

echoic memory

auditory sensory memory

declarative memory

the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory; knowledge that can be declared

prospective memory

remembering to remember

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event