test #1 (unit 1)

Developmental Psychologists

Professionals who study psychological development across the lifespan.

Quasi-experimental Design

A research method that compares groups without random assignment, often used due to ethical or practical constraints.

All-or-none Principle

The concept that once a neuron reaches its threshold, it fires an action potential of fixed magnitude.

Action Potential

A rapid increase and decrease in membrane potential that propagates along the axon of a neuron.

Wernicke's Area

A region in the brain important for language comprehension, usually located in the left hemisphere.

Broca's Area

A region in the frontal lobe associated with speech production.

Hippocampus

A brain structure involved in memory formation and spatial navigation.

Double-blind Procedure

A method used in experiments to prevent bias, where both participants and researchers are unaware of the treatment assignments.

Forensic psychology

A field that specializes in applying psychological principles within legal contexts.

Measures of variability

Statistical measures that provide important information about the spread and distribution of data in a dataset.

Expressive aphasia

A condition resulting from damage to Broca's area in the left frontal lobe, leading to difficulties in speech production.

Control group

A group in an experiment that does not receive the intervention and is used for comparison with the experimental group.

Behavioral genetics

A field of study that examines the role of genetic and environmental influences on behavior, particularly through gene variations.

High variability

Indicates that there is a wide spread of values in a dataset, which can influence the interpretation of study results.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of how evolutionary principles such as natural selection influence human behavior and psychological traits.

Personal music preference

Individual choices regarding music that can potentially confound experimental results when studying the effects of music on performance.

Deterioration in the left frontal lobe

Referencing damage to Broca's area, leading to the loss of speech production in patients.

Experimental group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or intervention being tested.