Purdue psych 120 exam #1

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

science

use of methods to observe the world

Behavior

Things we do that can be observed

mental processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

Psych frame of mind

1. critical thinking

2. curiosity

3. skepticism

4. objectivity

empirical method

gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning

Wilhelm Wundt

German physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Structuralism

the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

natural selection

evolutionary process where organisms that are best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce

Contemporary approaches

Biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, altruism

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

demand characteristics

cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behavior is expected

experimenter bias

the influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of research

nervous system

the network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits nerve impulses between parts of the body.

CNS

brain and spinal cord

PNS

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Somatic Nervous System (SNS)

sensory nerves that convey info from skin and muscles to CNS

automatic nervous system

controls involuntary actions

ex: heartbeat

neural networks

network of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output

afferent neurons

Nerve cells that carry impulses towards the central nervous system

efferent neurons

Nerve cells that conduct impulses away from the central nervous system

ANS

automatic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body to mobilize it for action and is involved in exp of stress

parasympathetic nervous system

calms the body

Neurons

nerve cells that handle info-processing

cell body

Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm

Dendrites

treelike fibers projecting from a neuron, which receive information and orient it toward the neuron's cell body

axon

carries info away from cell body to cells

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons.

resting potential of a neuron

stable, negative charge when the cell is inactive

action potential

the change in electrical potential associated with the passage of an impulse along the membrane of a muscle cell or nerve cell.

all-or-none principle

Refers to the fact that the action potential in the axon occurs either full-blown or not at all.

Synapse

Gap between neurons

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

aetylcholine (ACh)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Endorphins

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Oxytocin

a hormone released by the pituitary gland that causes increased contraction of the uterus during labor and stimulates the ejection of milk into the ducts of the breasts.

Agonist

a drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter's effects

Antagonist

drug that blocks or impedes the normal activity of a given neurotransmitter

Hindbrain

medulla, pons, cerebellum

Medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Cerebellum

coordinates voluntary movement and balance

Pons

A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

brain stem

connects spinal cord at lower end and extends up to encase the reticular formation in midbrain

Midbrain

Region between the hindbrain and the forebrain; it is important for hearing and sight.

reticular formation

collection of neurons involved in walking, sleeping, turning to sudden noise.

Forebrain

The largest and most complicated region of the brain

limbic system

central to emotion, memory, reward processing

amygdala

involved in discrimination of objects used for survival

Hippocampus

special role in storage of memories

Thalamus

important relay station

basal ganglia

works with cerebellum and cerebral cortex to control and coordinate voluntary movements

Hypothalamus

monitors eating, drinking, sex behavior, emotion, stress, reward

somatosensory cortex

processes information about body sensations

motor cortex

processes information about voluntary movement

left hemisphere of brain

speech and grammar

right hemisphere of brain

dominates in processing nonverbal info

endocrine system

set of glands that regulates activities of certain organs

Glands

organs or tissues that create chemicals that control many body functions.

Hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

pituitary gland

controls growth and regulates other glands

adrenal glands

regulates moods, energy level, ability to cope

Pancreas

produces number of hormones, insulin, digestive and endocrine

ovaries and testes

produce sex hormones

bottum-up processing

outside world's influence on perception, initiated by cognitive processing

top-down processing

initiated by cognitive processing, internal/mental world's influence on perception, expectations and prior understanding

sensory receptors

Specialized cells unique to each sense organ that respond to a particular form of sensory stimulation.

Photoreception

detection of light

Mechanoreceptors

respond to touch, pressure, vibration, and stretch

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

difference threshold

The minimum amount of difference that can be detected between two stimuli

Weber's Law

two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage to be perceived as different

subliminal perception

detection of information

signal detection theory

approach to perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty

attention

focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. Top-down processing

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

touch

we detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin

Temperature

thermoreceptors: sensory nerve endings under the skin to respond to changes in temp

pain

the sensation that warns an individual of damage to the body

Fast Neural Pathway

injury has happened

slow neural pathway

reminder that injury has occurred

taste

bumps on tongue called papillae contain tastebuds and receptors of taste

smell

lining of the roof of the nasal cavity, called olfactory epithelium, contains a sheet of receptor cells for smell

kinesthetic sense

sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other

vestibular sense

sense of balance

semicircular canals

three fluid-filled canals in the inner ear responsible for our sense of balance

consciousness

a person's subjective experience of the world and the mind

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.