AP Psych flashcards

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Gestalt psychology

The whole is different from the sum of parts

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory that explains how unconscious thoughts impact behaviors and mental process

Behaviorism

Studies observable behavior and actions rather than internal processes

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of psychology

Edward Titchener

Founder of structuralism

Structuralism

Every experience can be broken down into emotions and sensations (or “parts”)

Objective introspection

Focusing on objective facts for measurements, property of structuralism

Functionalism

Founded by William James, focuses on how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play

Psychodynamic perspective

Modern version of psychoanalysis focused on motivations of behavior, usually due to internal conflicts, unconscious thoughts, and childhood experiences

Humanistic perspective

Focus on free will and self-actualization (reaching full potential)

Behavioral perspective

Usage of conditioning (classical and operant) to explain how voluntary behavior is learned and reinforced

Cognitive perspective

Focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, and problem-solving

Sociocultural perspective

Focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture

Biopsychological perspective

Attributes human and nonhuman behavior to biological events occurring in the body

Evolutionary perspective

Focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share

Psychologist

Specialized training and degree in 1+ areas of psychology

Psychiatrist

Physician who specializes in diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Mental health social worker

Social worker with training in psychotherapy

Observer effect

Tendency of people or nonhuman animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed

Naturalistic observation

Watching subjects behave in their normal environment

Laboratory observation

Observing subject behavior in scientific/laboratory setting rather than natural setting

Observer bias

Tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Case study

Study of one individual in great detail

Representative sample

Randomly selected sample of participants from a larger population of participants

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

Correlation coefficient

A number that represents the strength and direction of a relationship existing between two variables

Operationalization

Specific description of a variable of interest that allows it to be measured

Placebo effect

Expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior

Experimenter effect

Tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study

Random selection vs random assignment

Selection is picking the people to participate in the study so that they represent a population, assignment is picking groups for the participants

Measures of central tendency

Mean, median, and mode; summarize the data and provide one typical score

Measures of variability

Range, standard deviation; Indicate how spread out the data are

Frequency distributions

Scores represented in graph or pictorial form

Normal bell curve

Symmetrical data distributed around the mean, median, and mode

Skewed distributions

Concentrations of scores toward either end of the distribution

Bimodal distributions

Have two high points or modes

Nervous system

An extensive network of specialized cells that carries information to and form all parts of the body

Dendrites

Branchlike structures of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons

Soma

Cell body of neuron responsible for maintaining life of cell

Axon

Tubelike structure of a neuron that carries the neural message from the cell body to the axon terminals for communication with other cells

Axon terminals

Specialized parts of axonal branches for communication with other cells

Glial cells

Cells that provide support for the neurons to grow on and around, deliver nutrients to neurons, produce myelin to coat axons, clean up waste

Myelin

Fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coat axons to protect and speed up neural impulses

Resting potential

State of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse

Action potential

The reversal of electrical charge that travels down the axon to the terminals, resulting in the release of neurotransmitters

All-or-none principle

A neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all

Synaptic vesicles

Saclike structures that contain neurotransmitters and are found within the axon terminal

Neurotransmitter

Chemical found in the synaptic vesicles that when released has an effect on the next cell

Synapse

Fluid filled space between axon terminal and dendrites of other cell

Receptor sites

3D proteins on the surface of the dendrites or certain cells of the muscles and glands which are shaped to fit only certain neurotransmitters

Excitatory synapse vs inhibitory synapse

Excitatory causes receiving cell to fire, inhibitory causes the receiving cell to stop firing

Antagonists vs agonists

Antagonists block or reduce a cell’s response to the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters, agonists mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next cell

Acetylcholine

Arousal, attention, memory, muscle contractions; correlated with Alzheimer’s

Norepinephrine

Involved in arousal, alertness, attention, and mood, correlated with ADHD

Dopamine

Movement, pleasure, and reward system; correlated with tremors, rigidity, and Parkinson’s

Serotonin

Sleep, mood, anxiety, and appetite; persistent sad mood, sleep disruption, and some eating disorders

GABA

Sleep, inhibits movement; anxiety and panic attacks

Glutamate

Learning, memory, and nervous system; neural over excitation, triggering seizures

Endorphins

Pain relief; decrease causes chronic pain

Substance P

Transmission of pain information; increased activity enhances pain perceptions and heightened stress perception

Reuptake

Process by which neurotransmitters are taken back into the synaptic vesicles

Enzymatic degradation

Process by which the structure of a neurotransmitter is altered so it can no longer act on a receptor

Lesioning

Inserting a thin electrode into the brain to destroy the brain cells at the tip of the wire

Computing tomography

MRI

Electroencephalogram

Positron emission tomography (PET)

fMRI

fNIRS

Medulla

Breathing, swallowing, heart rate (lowest part of brain)

Pons

Sleep, dreaming, body coordination, arousal, larger swelling above medulla

Reticular formation

Area of neurons running through the middle of the medulla and pons responsible for attention, alertness, and arousal

Cerebellum

Controls and coordinates involuntary, rapid, fine, motor movement

Limbic system

A group of brain structures located under the cortex and involved in learning, emotion, memory, and motivation

Thalamus

Part of the limbic system located in center of brain, relays sensory information from the lower part of the brain to the proper areas of the cortex EXCEPT smell

Olfactory bulbs

Bulb-like projections that receive information from the olfactory receptor cells

Hypothalamus

Small structure in the brain located below the thalamus and directly above the pituitary gland, responsible for temperature, appetite, libido, and emotion

Hippocampus

Formation of long-term memories

Amygdala

Fear/anger responses

Cortex

Responsible for higher thought processes and interpretation of sensory input

Cerebrum

Upper part fo the brain consisting of two hemispheres

Cerebral hemispheres

Two sections of cortex

Corpus callosum

Thick band of fibers that connect the right and left cerebral hemispheres

Occipital lobes

Responsible for vision

Pareital lobes

Responsible for touch, temperature and body position

Somatosensory cortex

Area of cortex at the front of the parietal lobes responsible for information from skin and internal body receptors for parietal lobe functions

Temporal lobes

Sense of hearing and meaningful speech

Frontal lobes

Logical thinking, decision making, higher mental processes

Motor cortex

Rear section of the frontal lobe, responsible for sending motor commands to the muscles of the somatic nervous system

Mirror neurons

specialized brain cells that fire both when you perform an action and when you watch someone else perform that same action

Broca’s aphasia

Retain full understanding but unable to fluently speak

Wernicke’s aphasia

Can speak fluently but words have no meaning

Left hemisphere

Language, speech, handwriting, math

Right hemisphere

Perception, visualization, spatial perception, recognition of patterns, faces, and emotional expression

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

All nerves other than brain and spinal cord

Motor neurons

Interneurons

Sensory neurons