PSYC 1010 Exam 1

empiricism

The conviction that accurate knowledge of the world can be acquired by observing it.

scientific method

A procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts

theory

An explanation of a natural phenomenon.

hypothesis

A falsifiable prediction made by a theory.

empirical method

A set of rules and techniques for observation

3 qualities that make humans hard to study

1. People are extremely complex.

2. People are extremely variable.

3. People are extremely reactive.

operational definition

A description of a property in measurable terms.

Construct validity

The degree to which the operational definition adequately describes the important features of the phenomenon being studied.

Power

A detector’s ability to detect the presence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property.

reliability

A detector’s ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property.

Demand characteristics

Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects

naturalistic observation

A technique for gathering information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.

observer bias

The tendency for observers’ expectations to influence both what they believe they observed and what they actually observed.

double-blind study

A study in which neither the researcher nor the participant knows how the participants are expected to behave.

variables

A property that can have more than one value.

correlation

A relationship between variables in which variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other.

third-variable problem

the correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them because a third variable could be causing them both.

Experimentation

a method for establishing the causal relationship between variables

manipulation

a technique for determining the causal power of a variable by actively changing its value

self-selection

a problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines the value of the independent variable to which the participant was exposed.

Random assignment

procedure that assigns participants to conditions by chance

internal validity

An attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships.

External validity

An attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way.

population

A complete collection of people.

sample

A partial collection of people drawn from a population

case method

A procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual.

random sampling

A technique for selecting participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.

replication

an experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population

informed consent

A verbal agreement to participate in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail.

debriefing

A verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study

neurons

cells in the nervous system that communicate with each other to perform information-processing tasks

cell body (also called the soma)

component of the neuron that coordinates the information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive

Dendrites

receive information from other neurons and relay it to the cell body

axon

carries information to other neurons, muscles, or glands

myelin sheath

an insulating layer of fatty material

glial cells

support cells found in the nervous system

synapse

the junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another

Sensory neurons

receive information from the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord

have specialized endings on their dendrites that receive signals for light, sound, touch, taste, and smell

Motor neurons

carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement. These neurons often have long axons that reach to muscles at our extremities

Interneurons

connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons.

resting potential

the difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron’s cell membrane

action potential

electric signal that is conducted along the length of a neuron’s axon to a synapse

refractory period,

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

terminal buttons

knoblike structures that branch out from an axon.

neurotransmitters

chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron’s dendrites

receptors

parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and either initiate or prevent a new electric signal

Agonists

drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter

Antagonists

drugs that diminish the function of a neurotransmitter

hindbrain

an area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord.

controls the most basic functions of life: respiration, alertness, and motor skills

medulla

an extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration

reticular formation,

regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal

cerebellum

a large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills

pons

a structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

hindbrain components

the cerebellum, the pons, reticular formation, and the medulla oblongata

midbrain

contains two main structures: the tectum and the tegmentum

tectum

orients an organism in the environment. receives stimulus input from the eyes, ears, and skin and moves the organism in a coordinated way toward the stimulus

tegmentum

involved in movement and arousal; it also helps to orient an organism toward sensory stimuli

forebrain

highest level of the brain — literally and figuratively — and controls complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions

ivided into two main sections: the cerebral cortex and the subcortical structures

cerebral cortex

the outermost layer of the brain and is divided into two hemisphere

subcortical structures

areas of the forebrain housed under the cerebral cortex near the center of the brain

thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia

thalamus

relays and filters information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex

hypothalamus

regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior. keep body temperature, blood sugar levels, and metabolism within an optimal range for typical human functioning

hippocampus

critical for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex

amygdala

plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories

basal ganglia

a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements and plays a role in reward processing

receive input from the cerebral cortex and send outputs to the motor centers in the brainstem

endocrine system

a network of glands that produce and secrete into the bloodstream chemicals known as hormones, which influence a wide variety of basic functions, including metabolism, growth, and sexual development.

main glands in the endocrine system

thyroid- which regulates bodily functions such as body temperature and heart rate

adrenals,- which regulate stress responses pancreas- which controls digestion

pineal- which secretes melatonin, influencing the sleep–wake cycle.

pituitary gland

the “master gland” of the body’s hormone-producing system, which releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands in the body

Organization Across Hemispheres

Divides the cortex into the left and right hemispheres. The two hemispheres are more or less symmetrical in their appearance and, to some extent, in their functions. The two hemispheres are more or less symmetrical in their appearance and, to some extent, in their functions.

The cerebral hemispheres are connected to each other by

commissures

commissures

bundles of axons that make possible communication between parallel areas of the cortex in each half

corpus callosum,

connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports communication of information across the hemispheres

Organization Within Hemispheres

Each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex is divided into four areas, or lobes: From back to front, these are the occipital lobe, the parietal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the frontal lobe

occipital lobe

located at the back of the cerebral cortex, processes visual information

parietal lobe

carries out functions that include processing information about touch

contains the somatosensory cortex, a strip of brain tissue running from the top of the brain down to the sides

temporal lobe

located on the lower side of each hemisphere, is responsible for hearing and language

frontal lobe

specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgment.

motor cortex

association areas

composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex

Mirror neurons

active when an animal performs a behavior, such as reaching for or manipulating an object, and are also activated when another animal observes that animal performing the same behavior

Brain Plasticity

sensory cortices are not fixed, they can adapt to changes in sensory inputs, a quality that researchers

Cultural neuroscience

the study of how culture and neurobiological processes influence one another

gene

the major unit of hereditary transmission, sections on a strand of DNA

chromosomes

rands of DNA wound around each other in a double-helix configuration

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences that determine whether and how strongly genes are expressed, without altering the basic DNA sequences that constitute the genes themselves.

neurodiversity

the idea that there are natural variations in the structure and function of the brain that produce variations across individuals in cognitive, social, and emotional functions that should be distinguished from a disorder or from a damaged brain

electroencephalograph (EEG)

a device used to record electrical activity in the brain

can determine the amount of brain activity during different experiences and states of consciousness. can also be used to examine the brain’s electrical activity when individuals who are awake engage in a variety of psychological functions, such as perceiving, learning, and remembering.

computerized axial tomography (CT) scan,

scanner rotates a device around a person’s head and takes a series of X-ray photographs from different angles. Computer programs then combine these images to provide views from any angle.

show different densities of tissue in the brain

used to locate lesions or tumors

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

uses a strong magnetic field to line up the nuclei of specific molecules in the brain tissue

produces pictures of soft tissue at a better resolution than a CT scan

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

a type of MRI that is used to visualize white matter pathways, which are fiber bundles that connect both nearby and distant brain regions to each other.

measures the rate and direction of diffusion or movement of water molecules, which reveal where a white matter pathway goes.

positron emission tomography (PET)

a harmless radioactive substance is injected into a person’s bloodstream. The brain is then scanned by radiation detectors as the person performs perceptual or cognitive tasks, such as reading or speaking.

Areas of the brain that are activated during these tasks demand more energy and greater blood flow, resulting in a higher amount of radioactivity in that region.

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

detects the difference between oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin when exposed to magnetic pulses

does not require any exposure to a radioactive substance

an localize changes in brain activity across briefer periods than PET