psychology

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Science

The use of symptomatic methods to observe the natural world, including human behavior, and to draw conclusions.

Behavior

Everything we do that can be directly observed.

Mental processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that people experience privately but that cannot be observed directly.

Critical thinking

The process of thinking deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence.

Reduces the likelihood that conclusions will be based on unrealistic beliefs, opinions, and emotions.

Empirical method

Gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the Collection of data, and logical reasoning.

William Wundt

Founder of the first psychology laboratory in 1879.

Considered the father of psychology, created the academic discipline of psychology.

Known for structuralism.

William James

Came up with the concept of functionalism.

Popularized psychology in US.

Structuralism

Wundt’s Approach to discovering the basic Elements, or structures, of mental processes.

Functionalism

Jame’s approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purpose of the mind and behavior in the individual’s adaptation to the environment.

Biological approach

An approach to psychology, focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system.

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotions.

Behavioral approach

An approach to psychology, emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental detriments.

Psychodynamic approach

An approach to psychology, emphasizing unconscious thought, The conflict between biological drives(Such as the drive for sex) And society’s demands, And early childhood family experience experiences.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of the psychodynamic approach.

Humanistic approach

An approach a psychology, emphasizing a Person’s Positive qualities, The capacity for positive growth, And the freedom to choose any destiny.

Cognitive approach

An approach to psychology, emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

Evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaption, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Sociocultural approach

An approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior.

Biopsychosocial approach

A perspective on human behavior that asserts that biological, psychological, and social factors are all a significant ingredients in producing behavior. All of these levels are important to understanding human behavior.

Culture

Into definition here

Variable

Anything that can change.

theory

Abroad idea, or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction that derives logically from a theory.

Operational definition

A definition that provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study.

Descriptive research

Describing some phenomenon determining its basic dimensions and defining what this thing is how often it occurs and so on.

Methods include observation, surveys, interviews, and case studies.

Case study

An in-depth look at a single individual.

Correlational research

Research that examine the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how to variables change together.

Experiment

A carefully Regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable.

Random assignment

Researchers assignment of participants to groups by chance to reduce the likelihood that An experiments results will be due to pre-existing differences between groups.

Two types of variables independent independent.

Independent variable

A manipulated experimental factor; The variable that the experimental changes to see what it affects are.

Dependent variable

The outcome; The factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable.

Experimental group

The participants in an experiment who received the drug or other treatment under the Study-That is, Those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represent represents.

Control group

The participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible, and who are treated in every way, like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor, The independent variable.

Placebo

In a drug study, a harmless substance that has No physiological effect given to participants in a control group so that they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active agent.

Placebo effect

A situation where participants expectations rather than the experimental treatment produce an experimental outcome.

Population

The entire group about which the researcher wants to draw conclusions.

Sample

The subset of the population chosen by the investigator for study.

Naturalistic observation

The observation of behavior in a real world setting.

Random sample

A sample that gives every member of the population and equal chance of being selected.

What are the two major divisions of the nervous system?

Central nervous system(CNS) And peripheral nervous system(PNS).

Plasticity

The brains special capacity for change.

Two major structures of the central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

The network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body.(brings information from the brain and spinal cord and carries out commands from CNS to execute various muscular and glandular activities.

What are the two major divisions of the peripheral nervous system?

Somatic, nervous system and automatic nervous system.

Somatic nervous system

The body system consisting of the sensory nerves whose function is to convey information from the skin and muscles to the central nervous system about condition conditions, such as pain and temperature and the motor nerves whose function is to tell muscles what to do

Automatic nervous system

The body system that takes messages to and from the body’s internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate and digestion.

Has two divisions, sympathetic, and parasympathetic

Sympathetic nervous system

The part of the automatic nervous system that rouses the body to mobilize. It is for action, and thus is involved in the experience of stress.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The part of the automatic nervous system that calms the body.

Stress

The response of individuals to environmental stressors.

Stressors

Circumstances and events that threaten individuals and tax, their coping abilities, and that caused psychological changes to the body to handle the assault of stress.

Afferent nerves

Also called sensory nerves; Neurons that carry information about the external environment to the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors.

Afferent= arrive at the brain.

Efferent nerves

Also called motor nerves; Neurons that carry information out of the brain and spinal cord to other areas of the body.

Efferent= Exit the brain.

Neurons

One of two types of cells in the nervous system system; Neurons are the nerve cells that handle the Information processing function.

Resting potential

The stable negative charge of an inactive neuron.

Action potential

The brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon.

All or nothing principal

The principal that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain level of intensity(It’s Threshold), It fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any intensity.

Myelin sheath

A layer of fat cell cells that in cases and insulates most axons.

Axon

The part of the neuron that carries information away from the cell body toward other cells.

Dendrites

Tree like fibers projecting from the neuron which receive information and oriented toward the neurons cell body.

Cell body

The part of the neuron that contains the nucleus which directs the manufacturer of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance.

Synapses

Tiny spaces between neurons; The gap between neurons are referred to as synaptic gaps.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the neurons terminal buttons and involved in transmitting information across a synaptic gap to the next neuron.

Brain stem

The stem like brain area that includes much of the hind brain, including the cerebellum and the midbrain; Connect with the spinal cord at its lower end and then extends upward to in case the reticular formation in the midbrain.

Reticular formation

A system in the mid brain comprising a diffuse collection of neurons involved in stereotyped patterns of behavior, such as walking, sleeping and turning to attend to a sudden noise.

Amygdala

An almond shaped structure within the base of the temporal lobe that is involved in the discrimination of objects that are necessary for the organism. Survival such as appropriate food, mates, and social rivals.

Thalamus

The forebrain structure that sits at the top of the brain stem in the brain’s central core and serves as an important relay station

Hypothalamus

Small forebrain Structure, Located just below the thalamus, That monitors three pleasurable activities— Eating, Drinking, And sexual behavior— As well as emotions, Stress, and reward.

Hypothalamus

Small forebrain Structure, Located just below the thalamus, That monitors three pleasurable activities— Eating, Drinking, And sexual behavior— As well as emotions, Stress, and reward.

Cerebral cortex

Part of the forebrain, The outer layer of the brain, Responsible for the most complex mental functions, Such as thinking and planning.

Occipital lobes

Located at the back of the head that respond to visual stimuli. (Seeing)

Temporal lobes

Structure of the cerebral cortex located just above the ears and are involved in hearing language, processing, and memory.

Frontal lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex behind the forehead involved in personality, intelligence and control of voluntary muscles.

Parietal lobes

Structure at the top and toward the rear of the head that are involved in registering spatial location, attention, and motor control.

somatosensory cortex

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes information about body sensations, Located at the front of the parietal lobes.

Motor cortex

A region in the cerebral cortex, Located just behind the frontal lobes, That process information about voluntary movement.

Corpus Collosum

The large bundle of axons that connects the brains to hemispheres responsible for relaying information between the two sides.

Agonist

A drug that mimics a neurotransmitters affect by binding to a neurotransmitters receptors.

Antagonist

A drug that blocks a Neurotransmitters effect.

Hippocampus

A structure in the Limerick system that has a special role in the storage of memories.