Psych 101 Exam 1

UGA, Howard

Lesions

Tissue destruction of a portion of brain structures that can reveal their function after recovery

microelectrodes

selectively stimulate single neurons in the animal brain; normally small

What is psychology?

A scientific discipline that uses critical thinking and systematic methods to examine assumptions and evaluate evidence

Curiosity

Identifying a problem and finding ways to address those issues

Skepticism

Not being cynical about information you find but also not being gullible

Humility

Predicts helpfulness and realistic academic confidence; researchers must be willing to be surprised and follow new ideas

Wilhelm wundt

One of the daunters of modern p psychology; atoms of the mind

Structuralism

Uses introspection to discover the structure of the mind

functionalism

Investigates the function/purpose of behavior, thoughts, and feelings

Mary whiten Calkins

Harvard refused to grant her a PhD despite completing all requirements and outscoring her male colleagues; studied memory and first woman president of APA

Behaviorism

study of behavior w/o reference to mental processes

Freudian Psychology

emphasized ways in which unconsciousness influences behavior

Humanistic Psych

Emphasized need for love, acceptance, nurturing to achieve potential

Operational definition

carefully constructed concept/statement regarding the exact procedures used in a research study

basic knowledge

builds knowledge based

Applied knowledge

searches for solutions to immediate problems; clinical, industrial, organizational psych research

Descriptive methods

Case studies- suggest fruitful ideas for future research; no generalizations or universal truths

Naturalistic observation- often involves new tech and observe the world as it is ; not modify

Surveys and interviews- ask ppl to self-report behavior or opinions of particular group

Correlation

Measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and how well either factor predicts the other

Correlation coefficient

statistical index of relationship between two things

Positive correlation

when one factor increases and the other also increases

Negative correlation

when one factor increases as the other decreases

Independent variable

the factor that is manipulated in a study; variable being studied

Dependent variable

outcome that is measured; variable that changes when IV is manipulated

Experimental group

group that is being exposed to treatment

control group

group not exposed to treatment

confounding variable

something other than IV that might be impacting the DV

Random Assignment

Participants randomly assigned to experimental or control groups with equal chance of being selected

Double-blind procedure

when neither participant nor experimenter knows which group is receiving treatment

Placebo Effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Need for Psychological science

helps us sift reality from overestimated intuition and illusion

Biological Psychology

scientific study of links between biological and psychological processes

Plasticity

adaptability of a system; experiences

Neuroplasticity

the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorgainzing after damage or by building are pathways based on experience

Neurons

nerve cells; receive, integrate, and transmit information; building blocks of nervous system

Parts of a neuron

Dendrites- receives messages from other cells

Axon- passes messages away from cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Cell body- cell’s life support center

Neural Impulse- action potential; electrical signal traveling down the axon

Myelin Sheath- covers axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses

Terminal branches of axon- form junctions with other cells

Nodes of Raniver

gaps between segments of myelin sheath along the axon

Effect of multiple sclerosis

can result from break down of myelin sheath; communicating effectively, loss ability to control muscle groups

Glial cells

support and protect neurons; help nervous sys continue its work while neurons send signals; nerve glue

Action potential

electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron; form of signal; carries all info we know

Depolarization

loss of difference in charge between the inside/outside of axon, Na in

Repolarization

Return of this difference in charge; K out

Refractory period

brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until axon returns to its resting state; allows nervous sys to determine if a sound is a whisper or blast of sound; little resting period- intense moment

Synapse

the place where two neurons met; junction between tip of sending neuron and dendrite/cell body of the receiving neuron; terminal buttons sends neurons

Neurotransmitters

chemicals that cross a synapse, bind to a post-synaptic neuron and cause changes (like action potential)

Reuptake

process by which a presynaptic neuron reabsorbs neurotransmitters from the synapse

Acetylcholine

makes muscles contract; involved in learning & memory of new things and consolidate memory; common in brain

Dopamine

movement, learning, attention, and emotion; helps w/ sys of reward; things you enjoy and like to do again

Serotonin

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

Endorphins

body produced endogenous painkillers

Agonist

molecule that increases action of a neurotransmitter; morphine

Antagonist

molecule that inhibits action of a neurotransmitter; enhance experience of pain; stops swelling after allergy responses

Central Nervous Sys

the brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous Sys

Neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Nerves

bundles of axons that form neural cables to connect the CNS w/ muscles, glands, organs

Sensory neurons

carry messages from the body’s tissues inward to the CNS; detect pressure, temp, chemicals

Motor Neurons

carry messages from CNS outward to the muscles and glands; movement

Interneurons

neurons that communicate internally and process info between sensory inputs and motor inputs; important in reflexes; autonatic response; touching a hot pan

Sympathetic nervous system

increase arouses to the body; mobilizes energy; avoid damage; submissive responses; fight or flight

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Parasympathetic Nervous System

calms the body; conserves energy; prioritizes settling of heart, rest and digest

Endocrine System

chemical communication sys in the body; slower than neurons; communicate via hormones

Hormones

chemical messengers secreted by the gland of the endocrine sys; travel through blood stream

Somatic Nervous System

controls the body’s skeletal muscles; movement

Autonomic

controls the glands and muscles of internal organs; contribute to survival functions of the body ex: breathing

Adrenal gland

sits on top of the kidneys; releases epinephrine and norepinephrine; impacts heart rate, blood pressure, cognitions; contacts w/ sympathetic and parasympathetic

Pituitary Gland

master gland in brain, releases hormones associated with puberty, birth. lactation, bonding, orgasm; controls human behavior and development

Electroencephalography (EEG)

amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface; tool for measuring things that happen quickly, not good at telling exactly where it happened

Positron Emission Tomography scan (PET)

technique for detecting brain activity activity that displays where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI)

technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue; shows brain anatomy

Functional MRI

technique for revealing blood flow and therefor brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans; shoe brain function as well as structure

Hindbrain- lower n behind

contribute to movements; directs essential survival functions like breathing sleeping as well as coordination and balance

Midbrain- tucked inside

controls some motor movement; transmits auditory and visual information; coordinate things we see and hear

Forebrain- front and top

consist to movement; manages complex cognitive activities like decision making; sensory and associative functions like understanding what we hear and see to associate things we see with memory; voluntary motor activities- choice to reach out and touch something

Brainstem

oldest part of the brain that connects us with oldest relatives; part of the hindbrain responsible for autonomic survival functions like heartbeat; cross over point-touch sensation like when right hand crosses over to be processed by left hemisphere of the brain using sensory neurons

Medulla

part of the brain stem that controls heartbeat and breath; at the bottom of brain stem which maintain survival functions during an accident

Thalamus

Central control center at the top of the brainstem; sensory receiving areas that transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla; receives replies and transmit to brain stem and spinal cord

Reticular formation

neural network that extends from the spinal cord into the thalamus; control arousal and is the reason why you don’t act out your dreams since it shuts down for the night; reason why certain sleep disorders occur

Cerebellum

at rear of the brainstem that process sensory input and coordinates smooth movement from start to finish; enables nonverbal memory like muscle memory and movement w/o conscious control

Limbic system

group of disparate structures located below cerebral hemispheres

Amygdala

two bean-sized neural clusters; linked to emotional activation toward normal stimulus (things new to you); aggression and fear-perceiving a threat

Hypothalamus

controls endocrine system by controlling pituitary gland; directs body maintenance activities like eating and part of the pleasure and reward system of the brain

Hippocampus

formation and consolidation of explicit, conscious memories that you know you remember; damage to it limits the ability to form new associations between events experienced and memories

Cerebral Cortex

layer of neural tissue covering the cerebral hemispheres; ultimate control and information processing center of body; responsible for thinking, creating movement, and understanding; perception, thought, and speech; 20-23 billion brain nerve cells and 300 trillion synaptic connections

Cerebral Hemispheres

paired and covered with intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells; speech center is usually on left hemisphere; cortex of each hemisphere is divided into four lobes separated by fissures

frontal lobe

planning; movement-typing; logic; judgements; speech

Motor Cortex

Found in frontal lobe; controls voluntary movements when you decide to move a part of the body; have map of body so different areas corresponds to different regions of the body

Prefrontal cortex

enables planning, judgement, processing of new memories in a way you associate them w/ your life; maintain life behavior; case of Phineas Gage

Parietal lobe

sensation- somato sensation; sense of touch and body position

Somatosensory cortex

registers body touch and movement sensations, have map of different regions; more space for regions that are highly sensitive to touch

Occipital lobe

vision and back of the skull

Temporal Lobe

hearing; side of the skull; speech

Association Areas

cerebral cortex areas not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; involved in higher mental functions like learning, remembering, thinking, speaking; found in all four lobes

Lateralization

left and right hemispheres of the brain are specialized for different functions; left brain: language, right side of the body; right brain: inference, self awareness, left side of the body

Corpus callosum

band tissues that joins the two hemispheres

Split Brain

when the two hemispheres of the brain are surgically separated; has been used to help with epilepsy

Chromosomes

strings of DNA molecules

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

molecule that codes for genetic info with base pairs; sequences codes for protein and body structures; aspects of behavior n mental health

Gene

a small segment of DNA that codes for a specific protein

why do psychologists care?

because heredity and environment interact to create behavior; prenatal environmental impact

monozygotic twins

develop from a single zygote; identical; share identical genes

dizygotic twins

develop from separate fertilized eggs; not identical