AP Psychology Midterm

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Structuralism

Breaks down consciousness into elements and parts; introspection

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Gestalt

a whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Humanism

A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity

Psychoanalytical

unconscious, childhood

Biopsychology

study of how biology influences behavior

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Sociocultural

Social interaction and the cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes

Empiricism

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Nature vs nurture

Heredity vs. Environment

Psychiatrists

Psychologists who can prescribe medicine

Wilhelm Wundt

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

John B Watson

founder of behaviorism

BF Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Carl Rogers

Humanisic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist known for his "Hierarchy of Needs" and the concept of "self-actualization"

Sigmund Freud

founder of psychoanalysis

Biopsychosocial

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

SQ3R

Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational definitions

Precise and measurable description of concept or task

Case study

study one individual/group to reveal universal principle

Survey

Technique to gather info from self-reported behaviors of a group

Naturalistic observation

observing and recording behaviors natural situations not disturbing environment

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Random sampling

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

Scatterplots

a graphed cluster of dots which represents the values of two variables

Experiment

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

Double blind

when neither researchers nor participants are aware of who's in the experimental or control group

Placebo

something which has a positive mental effect, but no physical effect

Experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Control group

the group that does not receive the experimental treatment.

Experimenter bias

the influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of research

Confounding variables

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Descriptive statistics

statistics that summarize the data collected in a study

Inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Central tendency

mean, median, mode

Measure of variation

range and standard deviation

Statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Ethics of Experimentation

informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing

fundamental attribution error

the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

foot in the door

persuasive technique involving making a small request before making a bigger one

low ball

make an agreement on a deal and then change the terms of the agreement to be more beneficial to you

group polarization

tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group

social facilitation

improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others

Deindividuation

the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

social exchange theory

the theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord.

neurotransmitter

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Seratonin

A neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal; linked to depression and treated by Prozac. (Blocks reuptake of seratonin, activating more seratonin in neural pathways, therefore elevating mood.)

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Agonist

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

Antagonist neurotransmitter

binds to the dendrites of a neuron and prevents or blocks its response

endocrine gland

a ductless gland that secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

pineal gland

melatonin

Melatonin

sleep-inducing hormone

thyroid gland

affects metabolism

adrenal glands

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress.

Epinephrine

Neurotransmitter secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress. Also known as adrenaline.

noeprinephrine

neurotransmitter that help produce arousal and fear along with epinephrine. released by the adrenal glands

cortex

outermost covering of the brain consisting of densely packed neurons, responsible for higher thought processes and interpretation of sensory input

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

reticular formation

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

cerebellum

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

Thalamus

the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

occipital lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

parietal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch.

frontal lobe

The lobe at the front of the brain associated with movement, speech, and impulsive behavior.

temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

corpus callosum

a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain.

brainstem

cortex, medulla, reticular formation, cerebellum

limbic system

thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala

left hemisphere

controls language, math, and logic

right hemisphere

controls the left side of the body; creative, intuitive, spacial

split brain patients

corpus collosum is severed, two hemispheres of the brain don't communicate as effectively

psychoactive drug

a chemical that influences consciousness or behavior by altering the brain's chemical message system

Freud's wish-fulfillment theory

Dreams provide a "psychic safety valve"—expressing otherwise unacceptable feelings; contain manifest (remembered) content and a deeper layer of latent content—a hidden meaning.

activation-synthesis theory

a theory of dreaming; this theory proposes that the brain tries to make sense of random brain activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories

pons function

Management of sleep, arousal

information processing theory

dreams help us sort out the day's events and consolidate our memories

alpha waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

beta waves

smaller and faster brain waves, typically indicating mental activity

stage one sleep

dominated by theta waves, hypnic jerks, hypnagogic hallucinations

delta waves

long, slow waves that indicate the deepest stage of sleep

stage 2 sleep

slower, more regular wave pattern, along with momentary interruptions of "sleep spindles."

stage 3 sleep

third stage of sleep; deep sleep characterized by low frequency, high amplitude delta waves