Psychology master flashcards

Functionalism

Analyze purpose of behaviro

Structuralism

looks inward to examine mental experiences to determine structures of the mind

Psychoanalytical

unconscious, childhood trauma

Behavioral

learned, reinforced

Humanistic

free will, choice, goal setting

Cognition

perceptions, thoughts, 2 people interpret same stimuli differently

Evolutionary

survival of fittest, pased on traits

biological

brain, neurotransmitters

Gestalt

whole experiences is greater than the sum of its parts

Psychiatrist

perscribes medications

Experiment

cause and effect, manipulating one or more factors to observe an affect

independant variable

manipulated by researches

double blind

neither participant or the experimenter are aware of who is in experiemnt or control group

single blind

only participant doesnt know what group they are in

dependant variable

variable being measured

operational definition

definition of how we are going to measure our dependant variable

random assignemnt

assigns particapts to experiemnt or contrl group

random sample

random way of choosing participats from population

representative sample

group of participants represents entire population well

validity

how accurately a method measures, is the test really testing what teh experiment is trying to find out

reliablility

same results everytime

naturalistic observation

observe people in their own setting

correlation

proves a relationship exists, so we can PREDICT behavior

correlation coefficient

-strong correlation: -6 to -1.0 or .6 to 1.0

-closer to 0 the weaker the correlation

illusory correlatin

belief of correlation that doesnt exist

case study

studies one person

longitudional study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Neuron

basiac cell of the nervous system

Dendrites

branch like, receive incoming signals

soma

cell body

axon

action potential travels down this

myelin sheath

speeds up signal down axon

axon terminals

release neurotransmitters to send signals to next neuron

synapse

gap between neurons

action potential

movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon

refractory period

neuron must rest adn reset before firing another action potential

sensory neurons (afferent)

receive signals

motor neurons

send signals

Interneurons

trasmits impulses between other neurons

glial cells

supportive cells in nervous sustem

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system: SOMATIC

voluntary movement

periperal nervous: AUTONOMATIC

Involuntary

Sympathetic

fight or flight

parasympathetic

rest and digest

Neurotransmitters

cheicals released synaptic gap, recieved by neurons

GABA

a major inhibitory (less likely to fire) neurotransmitter

Glutamate

magor excitatory (more likely to fire) neurotransmitter

Dopamine

reward or pleasure- TOO MUCH ______ leads to schizophrenia

too little dopamine leads to Parkinsons

seretonin

impacts overall moods and emotion

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

endorphins

"morphine within"—natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Oxytocin

love and bonding

Agonist

drug that mimics or strengthens the effects of a neurotransmitter

Antagonist

a drug that blocks a neurotransmitter

Reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

Cerebellum

movement and balance

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

Pons

sleep and arousal

reticular formation

alertness and arousal

limbic system

emotional system

Amygdala

fear and anger

Hippocampus

where memories are stored and sometimes made

thalamus

relay center for all senses except smell

cerebral cortex

wrinkly looking outer portion of brain

occipital lobes

located in back of head for VISION

frontal lobe

decision making, problem solving, planning

parietal lobe

located on the top of the head - sensations, recieves and manages sensatiaons

temporal lobe

located on sides of head- hearing and face recognition

somatosensory cortex

registers and processes body touch and movement sensations, in parietal lobe

motor cortex

controls voluntary movements

left hemisphere

damage results in APHASIA (damages ability to speak and process language)

Broca's area

left frontal speech production in left hemisphere

Wernicke's area

left temporal language comprehension

corpus collosum

connects 2 hemispheres

Controlaterality

one side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body

split brain

images show to right will be processed in left, patient can vebally identify what they saw when presented to left field of vision

Plasticity

brain can heal itself, better when younger

EEG brain scan

detents brain waves, used for sleep studies

CT

Combines x rays to form a detailed 3D image

MRI

uses magnetic fields to show 3D structures of the body

PET

shows parts of hte brain active during certain activities

fMRI

shows brain structues with info regarding how blood flows during certain tasks

Endocrine sustem

send out hormones

adrenal glands

release adrenaline (fight or flight)

pineal glands

secreate melatonin

hypothalalus

helps maintain homeostasis controls hormone secretion of pituitary

parathyroid

regulation of calcium

pituatary

master gland

Thyroid

metabolism

pancreas

insulin

ovaries

estrogen

testes

testosterone

chromosome

strands of DNA

Zygote

single cell formed by union of sperm and egg

monozygotic twins

identical

dizygotic twins

fraternal