Psychology Lecture Notes Flashcards: Behavior, Brain, Sleep & Biopsychology (8/14–8/29)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lectures on behavior, brain, sleep, and biopsychology.

Behavior

An observable action that can be measured (e.g., laughing).

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Mental Process

Private experiences that are not directly observable (e.g., thoughts, feelings).

Introspection

Wundt’s method of looking inward to report conscious experiences.

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of psychology; established the first psychology lab in Germany in 1879.

Structuralism

Early school aiming to analyze the basic elements of conscious mental experience.

Consciousness

Awareness of oneself and the surrounding environment; fundamental to early psychology debates.

Edward Titchener

Bringing psychology to the United States; advocate of structuralism.

Functionalism

School focused on how mental processes enable adaptation; emphasized practical use.

William James

Proponent of stream of consciousness; thoughts are ever-changing and not easily decomposed.

Mary Whiton Calkins

Pioneer in memory research; Harvard PhD work denied the title; early female psychologist.

Critical thinking

Actively questioning and evaluating evidence.

Curiosity

Desire to understand why things happen.

Skepticism

Challenging facts and assumptions.

Objectivity

Seeing things as they really are, not just as you want them to be.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek evidence that supports beliefs and to dismiss contradictory evidence.

Belief perseverance

Holding onto beliefs even when faced with contradictory evidence.

Hindsight bias

After an outcome is known, believing you could have predicted it.

Intuition

Automatic, gut-level feeling not based on conscious reasoning.

Overconfidence

Overestimating one’s knowledge or abilities.

Perceiving order in random events

Seeing patterns in random data; seeking to make sense of randomness.

Population

The entire group a researcher wants to study.

Sample

A smaller group drawn from the population used in a study.

Representative sample

A sample that mirrors the population.

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord; the body's main processing center.

Peripheral Nervous System

Links the CNS to the rest of the body.

Somatic Nervous System

Voluntary control; sensory (afferent) nerves and motor (efferent) nerves.

Autonomic Nervous System

Involuntary system; includes sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

Afferent nerves

Sensory nerves carrying information to the CNS.

Efferent nerves

Motor nerves carrying information from the CNS to muscles.

Neuron

Nerve cell that transmits electrical and chemical signals.

Axon

The long fiber that carries signals away from the neuron's cell body.

Dendrite

Branch-like extensions that receive signals toward the neuron.

Synapses

Gaps between neurons where neurotransmitters cross.

Neurotransmitter

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses; can be excitatory or inhibitory.

Excitatory

Neurotransmitter that increases the likelihood a neuron will fire.

Inhibitory

Neurotransmitter that decreases the likelihood a neuron will fire.

Receptors

Protein molecules on neurons that bind neurotransmitters (lock-and-key).

Spinal cord

Extension of the brain; transmits messages between brain and body; reflexes.

Brainstem

Lower part of the brain; handles essential life-sustaining functions.

Medulla

Controls heartbeat, blood pressure, swallowing, coughing.

Pons

Relays motor messages between the cerebellum and the motor cortex.

Midbrain

Region above the pons involved in functions like vision and hearing.

Cerebellum

Coordinates movement; balance; motor learning.

Substantia nigra

Part of the basal ganglia involved in movement; linked to unconscious processes.

Thalamus

Relays sensory information to the cortex; involved in learning and language production.

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, memory, thirst, temperature, emotion; controls endocrine system; maintains homeostasis.

Amygdala

Emotion center; important for fear responses and processing emotional memories.

Low road to emotions

Fast, automatic emotional responses via subcortical pathways; less conscious processing.

High road to emotion

Slower, conscious emotional processing through cortical circuits.

Hippocampus

Critical for forming new memories and spatial memory.

Cerebrum

Largest brain region; two hemispheres responsible for higher cognitive functions.

Corpus Callosum

Bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.

Cerebral Cortex

Outer layer of the forebrain; sensory processing and higher brain functions.

Frontal lobes

Region involved in decision making, planning, and movement; contains motor cortex and Broca's area.

Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary movements; located in the frontal lobe near the central sulcus.

Broca's area

Left frontal lobe region responsible for speech production.

Prefrontal Cortex

Executive functions: planning, thinking, motivation, impulse control, emotions.

Parietal Lobes

Process touch; spatial orientation; body awareness; contains somatosensory cortex.

Somatosensory Cortex

Registers touch, temperature, pain; body position and movement.

Occipital Lobes

Primary visual processing region; interprets visual information.

Temporal Lobes

Hearing and language areas; memory; includes Wernicke's area.

Wernicke's Area

Left temporal lobe region for language comprehension.

Temporal Association Areas

Processes memory and recognition; integrates sensory information.

Lateralization

Specialization of one hemisphere for particular functions (e.g., left language, right spatial processing).

Endocrine system

Glands that secrete hormones; slower than neural communication; interacts with the nervous system.

Sleep

State of reduced awareness; characterized by circadian rhythm and selective attention.

Circadian rhythm

24-hour cycle of bodily processes; synchronized with day-night cycle.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Hypothalamic region that regulates circadian rhythms; responds to light via the retina.

Pineal gland

Secretes melatonin; regulated by the SCN.

Melatonin

Hormone that promotes sleepiness.

REM sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep; vivid dreams; brain activity similar to wakefulness; sometimes REM paralysis.

Non-REM sleep

Sleep stages N1–N3; deeper, less dream-filled sleep.

Stage N1

Hypnagogic stage; transition to sleep; may feel falling or floating.

Stage N2

Deeper sleep with sleep spindles; harder to awaken; possible sleep talking.

Stage N3

Slow-wave (deep) sleep; hard to awaken; associated with bedwetting and sleepwalking.

Stage R

REM sleep; dreaming; brain activity resembles wakefulness; paradoxical sleep.

REM rebound

Increased REM sleep after deprivation; dreams may be more frequent.

Sleep deprivation

Lack of sleep; irritability, fatigue, slower responses, memory issues, immune suppression.

Agonist

Drug or molecule that increases neurotransmitter activity; mimics the transmitter.

Antagonist

Drug or molecule that decreases or blocks neurotransmitter activity.

Tolerance

Decreased response to a drug, requiring higher doses for the same effect.

Addiction/Dependence

Compulsive use of a substance; can involve tolerance, withdrawal, and craving.

Left Hemisphere

Dominant for language functions (speaking, reading, writing); math/logic; processes information for the right side of the body.

Right Hemisphere

Specializes in visual-spatial processing and music; interprets tone and emotion; processes the left body.