AP Psychology Unit 1 Terms

nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

natural selection

the principle that the inherited traits enabling an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

mutation

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

environment

every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to our experiences of the people and things around us

heredity

the genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring

genes

the biochemical units of heredity

genome

the complete instructions for making an organism

identical (monozygotic) twins

individuals who developed from a single fertilized egg that split in two, creating two genetically identical organisms

fraternal (dizygotic) twins

individuals who developed from separate fertilized eggs; they are genetically no closer than ordinary siblings, but they shared a prenatal environment

interaction

the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity)

epigenetics

“above” or “in addition to” genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change)

nervous system

the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

central nervous system (CNS)

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body

nerves

bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs

sensory (afferent) neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the body’s tissues and sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor (efferent) neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles (aka the skeletal nervous system)

autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs; its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms

sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy

parasympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

reflex

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk reflex