PY 101 Chapters 1-4

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key topics for Chapters 1-4.

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Structuralism

Focused on analyzing the mind by breaking down conscious experience into its basic underlying components or structures (such as sensations and feelings).

Functionalism

Focused on understanding the adaptive functions and evolutionary purposes of mental processes, examining how cognitive capacities help organisms adapt and survive in their environments.

Introspection

The subjective observation of one's own conscious experience and mental processes.

Nativism

The philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn.

Empiricism

The philosophical view that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation.

Dualism

The philosophical view that the mind and body are distinct and separate entities.

Materialism

The philosophical view that all mental phenomena are reducible to physical processes in the brain and body.

Realism

The view that perceptions of the physical world are faithful copies produced directly by sensory receptors.

Idealism

The view that perceptions of the physical world are the brain's best interpretation of sensory information.

Mind is what the brain does

The core psychological principle asserting that mental activities are the direct result of physical and biological brain processes.

Reactivity

The phenomenon where individuals alter their behavior because they know they are being observed.

Demand Characteristics

Aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they believe someone else wants or expects them to behave.

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two variables vary together and can predict each other.

Positive Correlation

A relationship between two variables where both increase together or decrease together in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables where as one increases, the other decreases.

Operational Definition

A precise description of a property in measurable terms.

Validity

The extent to which a concrete event or measurement accurately reflects a specific concept or property.

Reliability

A detector’s ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property.

Internal Validity

An attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish clear causal relationships between variables without confounding factors.

External Validity

An attribute of an experiment in which variables are operationally defined in a realistic way to allow generalization to the real world.

Frequency Distribution

A graphic representation showing the number of times a given score or measurement occurs in a sample.

Mean

The mathematical average of a set of measurements.

Median

The middle value in a set of ordered measurements.

Mode

The most frequently occurring value in a set of measurements.

Third Variable Problem

The issue where two variables might be correlated only because each is causally related to a third, unmeasured variable.

Experiment

A research technique for establishing causal relationships between variables through manipulation and random assignment.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to test its effects on an outcome.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured in a study and expected to change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Population

A complete collection of participants or objects that could potentially be measured in a study.

Sample

A partial collection or subset of individuals drawn from a population.

Random Sampling

A procedure for choosing participants that ensures every member of a population has an equal chance of being included.

Random Assignment

A procedure that uses chance to place participants into experimental or control conditions.

Type I Error

A false positive result occurring when a researcher concludes a causal relationship exists when it does not.

Type II Error

A false negative result occurring when a researcher concludes no causal relationship exists when it actually does.

Structure of a Neuron

An information-processing cell in the nervous system that communicates via electrical and chemical signals.

Myelin

An insulating layer of fatty tissue surrounding axons that speeds up neural transmission.

Action Potential Process

An electric signal conducted along a neuron's axon to a synapse.

Synapse

The junction or gap between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another.

Presynaptic Neuron

The neuron that sends a signal by releasing neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft.

Postsynaptic Neuron

The neuron that receives a signal when neurotransmitters bind to its receptors.

Reuptake Deactivation

The process by which excess neurotransmitters are reabsorbed back into the presynaptic neuron.

Enzyme Deactivation

The breakdown of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft by specific enzymes to end signal transmission.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter regulating motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter involved in regulating sleep, wakefulness, mood, eating, and aggressive behaviors.

GABA

The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that prevents neurons from firing.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter involved in voluntary motor control, memory, and learning.

Glutamate

The major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain that enhances information transmission.

Central Nervous System

The division of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System

The division of the nervous system connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body's organs and muscles.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for action in threatening situations.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that helps the body return to a normal resting state.

Spinal Reflex

A simple neural pathway that generates rapid, involuntary motor responses without requiring brain processing.

Hindbrain

An area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord and controls basic life functions.

Midbrain

A central brain region important for orientation, movement, and sensory integration.

Forebrain

The highest region of the brain controlling complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions.

Thalamus

A forebrain structure that relays and filters sensory information to the cerebral cortex.

Hypothalamus

A subcortical structure regulating body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior.

Hippocampus

A limbic system structure critical for creating new memories and integrating them into network knowledge.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure located at the tip of the hippocampus that plays a central role in emotional processes, especially fear.

Somatosensory Cortex

A strip of brain tissue in the parietal lobe that processes tactile sensory input from the body.

Motor Cortex

A region at the back of the frontal lobe that initiates and coordinates voluntary muscle movements.

Frontal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex specialized for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgment.

Parietal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing tactile information and spatial processing.

Temporal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language comprehension.

Occipital Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe another performing that same action.

Monozygotic Twins

Identical twins who develop from the splitting of a single fertilized egg and share 100% of their genes.

Dizygotic Twins

Fraternal twins who develop from two separate fertilized eggs and share about 50% of their genes.

Sensation

The simple stimulation of a sense organ by environmental energy.

Perception

The mental organization and interpretation of sensory signals to form a meaningful mental representation.

Transduction

The process by which sensory receptors convert physical energy from the environment into neural signals.

Absolute Threshold

The minimal intensity needed to barely detect a stimulus in 50% of trials.

Just Noticeable Difference

The minimal change in a stimulus that can barely be detected by an observer.

Hit

In signal detection theory, correctly detecting a stimulus that is present.

Miss

In signal detection theory, failing to detect a stimulus that is present.

False Alarm

In signal detection theory, incorrectly reporting a stimulus as present when it is absent.

Correct Rejection

In signal detection theory, accurately reporting that a stimulus is absent when it is absent.

Rods

Photoreceptors in the retina that become active under low-light conditions for night vision.

Cones

Photoreceptors in the retina that detect color, operate in daylight, and allow focus on fine detail.

Blind Spot

A location on the retina where the optic nerve exits, containing no photoreceptors.

Trichromatic Color Theory

The theory stating that color perception results from the combined pattern of response across three types of cones (S, M, and L).

Opponent-Process Theory

The theory stating that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white) enable color vision.

Gestalt Principles

Rules governing how the visual system groups sensory elements into perceived wholes (simplicity, continuity, similarity, common fate).

Monocular Depth Cues

Aspects of a scene that yield depth information when viewed with only one eye.

Binocular Depth Cues

Information about depth and distance based on differences in images received by both eyes.

Cochlea

A fluid-filled, coiled tube in the inner ear containing auditory receptor cells.

Basilar Membrane

A structure in the inner ear cochlea that undulates when vibrations reach the cochlear fluid.

Taste Buds

Structures inside papillae on the tongue containing taste receptor cells.

Supertaster

An individual who experiences taste sensations with extreme intensity due to an unusually high density of papillae.

Sweet

Detects energetic monosaccharides and disaccharides.

Sour

Detects acidic hydrogen ion concentration ($\text{H}^+$).

Salty

Detects essential sodium ions ($\text{Na}^+$).

Bitter

Detects potentially toxic plant alkaloids or organic poisons.

Umami

Detects savory amino acids, specifically monosodium glutamate.

Oleogustus

Detects taste of specific fatty acids, often associated with the flavor of fats and oils.

EEG

Measures global electrical voltage activity produced by synchronized neural firing via scalp electrodes; offers high temporal resolution (milliseconds) but low spatial resolution.

PET

Assesses functional metabolic neural activity by injecting a short-lived radioactive glucose tracer and measuring positron emission decay in active brain regions; offers good spatial resolution but low temporal resolution.