PSYCH KILL ME NOW

applied psychologists

Psychologists who extend the principles of scientific psychology to practical problems in the world

behavior

Observable actions such as moving about, talking, gesturing, and so on; it can also refer to the activity of cells and to thoughts and feelings.

behaviorism

A school of psychology proposing that the only proper subject matter of psychology is observable behavior rather than immediate conscious experience

clinical psychologists

Psychologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems

cognitive revolution

The shift away from strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s, characterized by renewed interest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental processes

culture

The shared values, customs, and beliefs of a group or community.

eclectic approach.

The idea that it’s useful to select information from several sources rather than to rely entirely on a single perspective or school of thought.

empiricism.

The idea that knowledge comes directly from experience.

evolutionary psychology.

A movement proposing that we’re born with mental processes and “software” that were acquired through natural selection in our ancestral past and help us to solve specific adaptive problems.

functionalism.

An early school of psychology; functionalists believed that the proper way to understand mind and behavior is to first analyze their function and purpose.

humanistic psychology.

A movement in psychology that focuses on people’s unique capacities for choice, responsibility, and growth.

mind.

The contents and processes of subjective experience: sensations, thoughts, and emotions.

nativism.

The idea that some knowledge is innate, or present at birth.

psychiatrists.

Medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems.

psychoanalysis.

Freud’s method of treatment that attempts to bring hidden impulses and memories, which are locked in the unconscious, to the surface of awareness, thereby freeing the client from disordered thoughts and behaviors.

psychoanalysis.

A term used by Freud to describe his theory of mind and system of therapy.

psychology.

The scientific study of behavior and mind.

research psychologists.

Psychologists who try to discover the basic principles of behavior and mind

structuralism.

An early school of psychology; structuralists tried to understand the mind by breaking it down into basic parts, much as a chemist might try to understand a chemical compound.

systematic introspection.

An early technique used to study the mind; it required people to look inward and describe their own experiences.

case study.

A descriptive research technique in which the effort is focused on a single case, usually an individual.

confidentiality.

The principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research or therapy should not be revealed without the individual’s permission.

confounding variable.

An uncontrolled variable that changes along with the independent variable.

correlation.

A statistic that indicates whether two variables vary together in a systematic way; correlation coefficients vary from +1.00 to −1.00.

debriefing

At the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved

dependent variable.

The behavior that is measured or observed in an experiment.

descriptive research.

Methods designed to observe and describe behavior.

descriptive statistics.

Mathematical techniques that help researchers describe their data.

double-blind study.

Neither participants nor research observers are aware of who has been assigned to the experimental and control groups; it’s used to control for both participant and experimenter expectancies.

experimental research.

A technique in which the investigator actively manipulates the environment to observe its effect on behavior.

external validity.

The extent to which results generalize to other situations or are representative of real life.

independent variable

The aspect of the environment that is manipulated in an experiment. It must consist of at least two conditions.

inferential statistics.

Mathematical techniques that help researchers decide whether data are representative of a population or whether differences among observations can be attributed to chance.

informed consent.

The principle that before consenting to participate in research, people should be fully informed about any significant factors that could affect their willingness to participate.

internal validity.

The extent to which an experiment has effectively controlled for confounding variables; internally valid experiments allow for the determination of causality.

mean.

The arithmetic average of a set of scores.

median.

The middle point in an ordered set of scores; half of the scores fall at or below the median score, and half fall at or above the median score.

mode.

The most frequently occurring score in a set of scores.

naturalistic observation.

A descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring behavior as opposed to behavior produced in the laboratory.

operational definitions.

Definitions that specify how concepts can be observed and measured.

placebo.

An inactive, or inert, substance that resembles an experimental substance.

random assignment.

A technique ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions in the experiment.

random sampling.

A procedure guaranteeing that everyone in the population has an equal likelihood of being selected for the sample.

range.

The difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution.

reactivity.

When behavior changes as a result of the observation process.

scientific method.

A multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge—that is, knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world.

single-blind study.

Experimental participants do not know to which condition they have been assigned (e.g., experimental versus control); it’s used to control for participant expectancies.

standard deviation.

An indication of how much individual scores differ or vary from the mean.

survey.

A descriptive research technique designed to gather limited amounts of information from many people, usually by administering some kind of questionnaire.

validity.

An assessment of how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

variability.

A measure ofhow much the scores in a distribution of scores differ from one another.

acetylcholine.

A neurotransmitter that plays multiple roles in the central and peripheral nervous systems, including the excitation of muscle contractions.

action potential.

The all-or-none electrical signal that travels down a neuron’s axon.

adaptation.

A trait that has been selected for by nature because it increases the reproductive “fitness” of the organism.

autonomic system.

The collection of nerves that controls the more automatic needs of the body (such as heart rate, digestion, and blood pressure); part of the peripheral nervous system.

axon.

The long tail-like part of a neuron that serves as the cell’s transmitter.

central nervous system.

The brain and the spinal cord.

cerebellum.

A hindbrain structure at the base of the brain involved in the coordination of complex motor skills.

cerebral cortex.

The outer layer of the brain, considered to be the seat of higher mental processes.

computerized tomography scan (CT scan).

The use of highly focused beams of X-rays to construct detailed anatomical maps of the living brain.

corpus callosum.

The collection of nerve fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and allows information to pass from one side to the other.

dendrites.

The fibers that extend outward from a neuron and receive information from other neurons.

dopamine.

A neurotransmitter that has been linked to reward and pleasure systems in the brain; decreased levels have been linked to Parkinson’s disease, and increased levels have been linked to schizophrenia.

electroencephalograph (EEG).

A device used to monitor the gross electrical activity of the brain.

endocrine system.

A network of glands that uses the bloodstream, rather than neurons, to send chemical messages that regulate growth and other internal functions.

endorphins.

Morphinelike chemicals that act as the brain’s natural painkillers.

family studies.

The similarities and differences among biological (blood) relatives are studied to help discover the role heredity plays in physical or psychological traits

forebrain.

The outer portion of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and the structures of the limbic system.

frontal lobe.

One of four anatomical regions of each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, located on the top front of the brain; it contains the motor cortex and may be involved in higher-level thought processes.

gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

A neurotransmitter that may play a role in the regulation of anxiety; it generally produces inhibitory effects.

genes.

Segments of chromosomes that contain instructions for influencing and creating particular hereditary characteristics.

genotype.

The actual genetic information inherited from one’s parents.

glial cells.

Cells that fill in space between neurons, remove waste, or help neurons to communicate efficiently.

glutamate.

The most common neurotransmitter in the brain.

hindbrain.

A primitive part of the brain that sits at the juncture point where the brain and spinal cord merge. Structures in this part of the brain, including the medulla, pons, and reticular formation, act as the basic life-support system for the body.

hormones.

Chemicals released into the blood by the various endocrine glands to help control a variety of internal regulatory functions.

hypothalamus.

A forebrain structure thought to play a role in the regulation of various motivational activities, including eating, drinking, and sexual behavior.

interneurons.

Cells that transfer information from one neuron to another; they make no direct contact with the outside world.

limbic system.

A system of structures thought to be involved in motivational and emotional behaviors (the amygdala) and memory (the hippocampus).

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

A device that uses magnetic fields and radio-wave pulses to construct detailed, three-dimensional images of the brain; “functional” MRIs can be used to map changes in blood oxygen use as a function of task activity.

midbrain.

The middle portion of the brain, containing such structures as the tectum, superior colliculus, and inferior colliculus; these structures serve as neural relay stations and may help coordinate reactions to sensory events.

motor neurons.

Cells that carry information away from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands that directly produce behavior.

mutation.

A spontaneous change in the genetic material that occurs during the gene replication process.

myelin sheath.

An insulating material that protects the axon and helps to speed up neural transmission.

nerves.

Bundles of axons that make up neural “transmission cables.”

neurons.

The cells in the nervous system that receive and transmit information.

neuroscience.

An interdisciplinary field of study directed at understanding the brain and its relation to behavior.

neurotransmitters.

Chemical messengers that relay information from one neuron to the next.

occipital lobe.

One of four anatomical regions of each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, located at the back of the brain; visual processing is controlled here.

optogenetics.

A technique that uses light to activate and control neurons that have been genetically engineered to respond to light.

parietal lobe.

One of four anatomical regions of each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, located roughly on the top middle portion of the brain; it contains the somatosensory cortex, which controls the sense of touch.

peripheral nervous system.

The network of nerves that links the central nervous system with the rest of the body.

phenotype.

A person’s observable characteristics, such as red hair. The phenotype is controlled mainly by the genotype, but it can also be influenced by the environment.

pituitary gland.

A kind of master gland in the body that controls the release of hormones in response to signals from the hypothalamus.

positron emission tomography (PET).

A method for measuring how radioactive substances are absorbed in the brain; it can be used to detect how specific tasks activate different areas of the living brain.

reflexes.

Automatic motor behaviors present in humans at birth.

reflexes.

Largely automatic body reactions—such as the knee jerk—controlled primarily by spinal cord pathways.

refractory period.

The period of time following an action potential when more action potentials cannot be generated.

resting potential.

The tiny electrical charge in place between the inside and the outside of the resting neuron.

sensory neurons.

Cells that carry environmental messages toward the spinal cord and brain.