intro to psych final exam ch. 1-11

psychology

scientific study of behavior and mental processes

critical thinking

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

biological approach

explains mental processes and behavior by studying the physical and biological bases of the body, including the brain, nervous system, genetics, and hormones

behavioral approach

studies observable, learned behaviors, focusing on how the environment shapes actions through conditioning, not internal thoughts

psychodyamic approach

focuses on unconcious mind, early childhood, and hidden conflicts

humanistic approach

the approach that focuses on individual potential and personal growth

cognitive approach

focuses on how we think, learn, remember, and solve problems

sociocultural approach

focuses on culture, social groups, and how society influences behavior

theory

a big, broad explanation of how something works

hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction based on a theory

descriptive research

research that describes behavior and tells WHAT I happening, NOT why

correlational research

a research design that examines the relationships between two or more variables

correlation vs causation

correlation shows two or more things move together, while causation means one directly causes another

random assignment

researchers assign participants to groups by chance

independent variable

the factor you change or control in an experiment

dependent variable

the variable you measure to see if its affected by change

experimental group

group that experiences manipulation, receives treatement

control group

group that serves as a baseline for comparison, receives placebo

plasticity

the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections and pathways throughout life

sympathetic nervous system

the “fight or flight” response to stress by boosting heart rate, blood pressure, and alertness

parasympathetic nervous system

the “rest and digest” nervous system, responsible for calming the body and conserving energy

nervous system

coordinates and controls activity of sensing information, processing, and responding to stimuli

neurons / nerve cells

the basic building blocks, responsible for information processing

dendrites

receive messages from other neurons, branch like structure

cell body (soma)

contains the nucleus, keeps entire cell alive and functioning

nucleus

provides energy to neuron for growth and maintenance

axon

tube like structure that carries messages to other neurons, muscles, or glands

myelin sheath

fatty substance that coats the axon, insulates, protects, and speeds up neural message

neurotransmitters

the chemical messengers

dopamine

a neurotransmitter and hormone in the brain that influences voluntary movement, affects sleep, mood, learning, and attention

serotonin

neurotransmitter and hormone that helps nerve cells communicate, regulating mood, sleep, appetite, digestion, and more

limbic sytsem

complex system of nerves and networks in the brain that controls memory and emotion

amygdala

an almond shaped structure on each side of the brain

hippocampus

plays a role in storing memories

cerebral cortex

outermost layer of neural tissue responsible for higher-level functions like thought, memory, language, and consciousness

optical lobe

controls vision

temporal lobe

controls hearing

frontal lobe

largest lobe, controls movement, intelligence, language, and personality

parietal lobe

receives and interprets bodily sensations (taste, touch, temperature)

somatosensory cortex

located in parietal lobe, controls body sensations and touch

motor cortex

located in frontal lobe, controls voluntary movements

corpus callosum

a large bundle of fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain

left hemisphere of brain

language, speech, grammar, and mathematics, controls right side of body

right hemisphere

recognition of faces, objects, emotions, and creativity, controls left side of body

sensation

process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive stimulus energies from our environment

perception

process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

bottom-up processing

taking sensory information and then assembling and integrating it, ex. “what am I seeing?”

top-down processing

using models, prior understanding, and expectations to interpret sensory information, ex. “is this something I've seen before"?”

selective attention

focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring others

sensory adaption

change in the responsiveness in our sensory system

perceptual constancies

recognition that objects do not physically change despite changes in vantage point and viewing conditions

controlled processing

deliberate, effortful, conscious thinking for new or complex task

automatic processing

effortless, unconscious, and fast, handling routine tasks

circadian rythyms

24 hour cycle on which the brain and body function

stage 1 of sleep

lightest sleep, slow frequency, lasts approx. 10 mins

stage 2 slseep

sudden increase in wave activity, sleep spindles, approx. 20 mins

stage 3 sleep

muscles more relaxed, delta waves, approx. 20 mins

stage 4 sleep

deepest sleep, difficult to wake, sleep walking, sleep talking, etc.

stage 5 REM sleep

brain is active but the body is inactive, rapid eye movement, dreaming, sleep paralysis

insomnia

problems in falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

uncontrollable sleep attacks

sleep apnea

stops breathing in sleep

physical dependence

physiological need, an unpleasant withdrawal, physical pain and craving of drug

psychological dependence

uses drugs for emotional reasons like stress

depresssants

slow down mental and physical activity

• alcohol

• barbiturates

• tranquiliziers

• opiates/narcotics

stimulants

• amphetamines

• cocaine

• MDMA (ectasy)

• caffeine

• nicotine

hallucinogens

• LSD

• marjiuana

classical conditioning

type of unconscious learning where a neutral signal becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, causing it to trigger a learned, automatic response

unconditioned stimulus (food)

stimulus which triggers a response before / without any conditioning

unconditioned response and condition response (dog salivates)

same response triggered by different events

neutral and condition stimulus (bell)

same stimulus

shaping

reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior and reinforced until desired behavior occurs

observational learning

learning that occurs when a person observes and imitates behavior

encoding

getting information into memory

storage

retaining information over time

retrieval

order of information

levels of processing

• shallow

• intermediate

• deep

sensory memory

detailed information in original sensory form, a brief duration

short term memory

limited duration and compacity of memory

long term memory

relatively permanent memory with “unlimited” capacity

chunking

grouping items

semantic memory

persons knowledge about the world

episodic memory

retention of information about life’s happenings

serial position effect

tendency to recall items at the beginning and end of a list

primary

first items on a list

recency

last / most recent items on a list

concept

mental category used to groups objects, events, and characteristics, by image or word

prototypes

mental image of the best example of a concept

algorithm

step by step strategy for solving a problem, leading to a specific solution

heuristics

short, step saving, thinking strategy guideline which generates a solution quickly, though not guaranteed and answer

confirmation bias

tendency to prefer information that confirms or supports your own ideas

availability heuristic

estimates the likelihood of an event based on how much it stands out in our minds

validity

test accurately measures what is intended to measure

reliability

test generates consistent results

nature

biological

nurture

environmental and social experiences

assimilattion

incorporate new information into existing schemas

accommodation

adjust or create new schemas to incorporate new information

conservation

ability to understand that an object’s basic properties remain the same even when its appearance changes

egocentrism

a young child’s inability ti differentiate between their own perspective and someone else’s