Semester 1

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

hindsight bias

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

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Natural Observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

case study

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

representative sample

randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

Dependant variable

the variable that relies on the independant variable

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Humanism Perspective

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

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).

evolutionary perspective

perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share

confounding variable

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

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor 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 that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

sympathetic nervous system

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

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

parasympathetic nervous system

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

Axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

synpase

Gap between neurons

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression.

motor cortex

an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Melatonin

A hormone manufactured by the pineal gland that produces sleepiness.

Endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

statistical significance

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

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction - deficit can lead to Alzheimers

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Neuroplasticity

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

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle

REM sleep

a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity

REM rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

top-down processing

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

bottom-up processing

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

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time

Amplitude

Height of a wave

absolute threshold

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

vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance *semi circular canals

kinesthetic sense

sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

epinephrine and norepinephrine

fight-or-flight responses, wakefulness, alertness

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

physical dependence

a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

hypnagogic sensations

bizarre experiences, such as jerking or a feeling of falling or floating weightlessly, while transitioning to sleep

sleep apnea

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

activation-synthesis theory

theory that dreams reflect inputs from brain activation originating in the pons, which the forebrain then attempts to weave into a story

Freud's wish-fulfillment theory (dreams)

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

closure

the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

Weber's Law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

cocktail party effect

ability to attend to only one voice among many

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

bipolar cells

eye neurons that receive information from the retinal cells and transduce them into a neural message

lens

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

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

blind spot

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

sound localization

the process by which the location of sound is determined

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret.

Nociceptors

pain receptors

opponent process theory of color vision

the theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other

trichromatic color theory

The theory of color vision that holds that all color perception derives from three different color receptors in the retina (red, green, and blue receptors).

gate control theory of pain

The theory that pain is a product of both physiological and psychological factors that cause spinal gates to open and relay patterns of intense stimulation to the brain, which perceives them as pain.

Phantom Limb Syndrome

following limb amputation, some patients continue to feel sensations where the missing limb would be

ossicle bones in middle ear

to amplify sound waves coming from the eardrum - hearing aids can help

cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

cochlear implant

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

insight learning

a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem's solution

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.*rehearsal essential Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

spacing effect/distributed practice

our tendency to retain information more easily if we practice it over time in multiple sessions

Mneumonic devices

memory aids used to enhance memory

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

semantic encoding

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

state dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Flynn effect

The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations

g factor (general intelligence)

the notion of a general intelligence factor that is responsible for a person's overall performance on tests of mental ability

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

shaping behavior

the process of guiding learning in graduated steps using reinforcement or lack of reinforcement *successive approximations