Psychology Term 1 Flashcards

occipital lobe

located at the rearmost area of each cerebal hemisphere at the back of the head, damage to this lobe may lead to severe visual impairment

temporal lobe

located in the lower central area of the brain above and around the top of each ear it is vital for memory and aspects of visual perception

brain stem

connects your brain to your spinal cord. It sits at the bottom of your brain and includes the midbrain, pons and medulla

sensory cortex

The sensory cortex deals with the perception and recognition of sensory stimuli. It imparts unique characteristics to sensations

motor cortex

The motor cortex is a part of the frontal lobe of the brain that controls voluntary movement and motor learning

Wernicke's area

Wernicke's area is a part of the brain that helps with understanding spoken and written language

brocas area

a region of the brain acts as a command center, orchestrating the complex muscle movements necessary for articulating spoken words

parietal lobe

located behind the front lobe and occupies the upper-half of the brain it is involved in functions such as attention, spatial reasoning and judging others

sample

a subset of the research population whom participate in a study

population

the group of people whom are the focus of the study and from which the sample is drawn

generalise

using a samples results to make conclusions about the wider research population

sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)

the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years) is Piaget's first stage of cognitive development according to his theory. Which involves object permanence (understanding that objects or people still exist when out of sight) and goal-directed behavior (doing things with a specific purpose).

pre-operational stage (2-7 years)

the pre-operational stage (2-7 years) is Piaget's second stage of cognitive development according to his theory. Which involves egocentrism (understanding others' perspectives), centration (focusing on multiple features), and learning reversibility (knowing objects can change and return to their original form).

concrete operational stage (7-12 years)

the concrete operational stage (7-12 years) is Piaget's third stage of cognitive development according to his theory. Which includes conservation (understanding that mass, volume, or area remains the same despite changes in shape) and classification (organizing information into categories).

formal operational stage (12+ years)

the formal operational stage (12+ years) is Piaget's last stage of cognitive development according to his theory. Which involves abstract thought (understanding concepts that are not concrete, like love) and reason and logic (understanding problems from multiple perspectives).

Explain what is meant by the term: schema

A schema is a cognitive framework that helps individuals understand and interpret information

theory of mind

an individuals ability to understand mental states, beleifs, experiences and emotions of oneself and others

what certain requirements must a sample in a research meet?

the sample must be relatively large, since the more people in the sample, the more representative it is of a population

what is the relationship between assimilation and accomodation?

both processes are essential for learning and cognitive development. We constantly use both processes to understand the world and adapt to new experiences. 

secure attachment style

a strong, healthy emotional bond which is formed between the infant and caregiver, since all of their needs were fulfilled: the individual is often able to form healthy and strong emotional bonds and is independent and self sufficient

insecure-anxious resistant attachment style

when an infant experiences high distress when separated from their caregiver due to inconsitent support and attention during infancy and childhood, they may heavily depend on others for support and seek others to “complete them”

insecure-avoidant attachment style

a bond between an infant and caregiver where the infant avoids emotional closeness and intimacy since their emotional needs were not fulfilled during childhood and infancy, they may find it difficult to form strong bonds and be intimate with others and often tends to ignore or dismiss their own emotions

convenience sampling (include an example)

refers to any sampling technique that involves selecting readily available members of the population - a professor asking their class to participate in their research

random sampling (include a sample)

when every member of the population has a fair chance of being selected for the sample - randomly selecting data from a government data base

stratified sampling (include a sample)

best way to ensure that the sample is representative of the population - a researcher would ensure that their sample would have the same percentage of males and female as the population

explain the meaning of adaption in relation to Piaget’s theory

its the process of adjusting to new information and experiences. It's a key part of how people learn and develop their understanding of the world.

hindbrain

a complex organ contained within the skull that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates daily activity in the brain

the structure of the hindbrain

pons, medulla, cerebellum

what is the hindbrain responsible for?

regulation of sleep, regulation of autonomic functions such as breathing, heart rate, etc., coordination of muscle movement

midbrain

a region at the centre of the brain, between the hindbrain and the forebrain, and is a part of the brainstem

what is the midbrain responsible for?

replaying messages between the hindbrain and forebrain, filtering out and directing sensory information, reticular formation, and regulatory arousal and alertness

forebrain

a large and prominent brain region that is located at the top of front of the brain, above the midbrain

what are the key structures of the forebrain

cerebrum, thalamus, and hypothalamus

what is the forebrain responsible for?

decision making and critical thinking, attention filtering sensory, and maintaining the bodys stable biological state, known as homeostasis

the brain

an intricate network of cells that play a vital role in processing information

interconnecting nerves

cells from several pathways which link different brain areas and structures

the medulla

controls vital bodily functions such as, swallowing, breathing, heart rate etc.

pons

small bundle of neural tissue - 2.5cm long, involved in sleep, dreaming etc.

cerebrum

located at the base of the brain, cauliflower shape and contains approx. 80% of the brains neurons

reticular formation

helps screen information so as not to overload the brain

hypothalamus

it has the vital role of maintaining the bodys internal environment

thalamus

filters information from almost all receptor sites that detect sensory information

chronic

referring to something thats long term or long lasting such a chronic brain conditions, like CTE

concussion

a mild traumatic brain injury that temporarily disrupts the brain function

CTE

a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated exposure to mild traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions

cause of CTE

repeated blows to the head in, for an example, a sport eventually leads to abnormal buildup of a protein called tac

symptoms of CTE

cognitive impairments (memory loss, lack of concentration etc), mood disorders (depression and anxiety), and impulsive behaviour

Neurodegenerative disease

a disease, similar to CTE, in which damage occurs over time and is associated with symptoms that progressively worsen and can be fatal

post mortem examinations

an assessment of a dead body that occurs to determine the cause of death

the five key ethical concepts

beneficence, non-maleficience, integrity, justice, and respect

beneficence

the consideration of benefits or gains from research in relation to the risks

non-maleficience

the idea that any persons potential or harm should be avoided and minimised as much as possible

integrity

the commitment to search for knowledge, and then honestly report information and findings

justice

the distribution of fair access to the benefits of research to everyone, ensuring there is no burden on one group and that any opposing claims are considered

respect

the belief that everyone has value in regards to their welfare and beliefs, and has a right to make their own decisions

ethical guidelines VIWDDC (acronym)

voluntary participation, informed consent, withdrawn rights, debriefing, deception, confidentiality

ethical guidelines (meaning)

the procedures and principles used to ensure that participation are safe and respected

confidentiality

Confidentiality in psychology is the ethical and legal obligation of psychologists to protect the privacy of their patients/research subjects

deception

the act of intentionally misleading or giving false information to research participants

withdrawal rights

the rights of research participants to leave a study at any time, without penalty

informed consent

a person's decision, given voluntarily, to agree to being conducted via. research

debriefing

a formal version of providing emotional and psychological support immediately following a traumatic event

voluntary participation

people are free to choose whether or not to participate in an activity without pressure or coercion

hereditary factors (nature)

factors that influence development, which are generally passed down from biological parents to their children

environmental factors (nurture)

factors from an individual, physical, or social surrounding that influence development

genetic predisposition

an increased likelihood to develop certain traits including diseases, if certain conditions are met

the three types of devleopment

social, emotional, and cognitive development

biopsychosocial model

a holistic framework for understanding the human experience in terms of the influence of biological, physiological and social factors

biological factors

genetic predispositions, medications or other substances (drugs etc), nutrition, sleep etc.

pyschological factors

attitudes or beliefs, emotions, personality, etc.

social factors

relationships, culture, education, socioeconomic status, etc.

psychological social development

describes how a person's personality develops, and how social skills are learned from infancy through adulthood

psychological emotional development

Psychological emotional development is the process of learning and managing emotions throughout life and development

psychological cognitive development

how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of their world through the relations of genetic and learning factors

development stages

infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood

depth perception

the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object

concrete thinking

a literal form of thinking based on tangible concepts

assimilation

the process of taking in new information and fitting it into an existing mental idea

psychological crisis

a point of tension between an individuals capabilities and the deisre to meet the expectations of society

observational learning

learning that occurs when watching the actions of someone else and the consequences that follow

sensitive periods

Sensitive periods are windows of opportunity in development where the brain is more easily influenced by experiences, leading to rapid learning and skill acquisition examples include: language, math, social skills etc.

critical period

narrow and rigid period of development in which a specific function or skill must be learnt, if not the window/oppurtunity is closed examples include: Cognitive development, Sensory development, Language acquisition etc.

describe why it is difficult to test for sensitive and critical periods

Testing for sensitive and critical periods is difficult due to individual variability and complex interactions between genetics and the environment. Isolating the exact timing and impact of these periods is also challenging.

typical behaviour

an activity that is consistent with how an individual typically behaves

atypical behaviour

an activity that is unusal or unnatural according to how an individual usually behaves

social norms

society’s un-official rules and expectations regarding ghow individuals should act

statistical rarity

something that lies outside the range of statistical normality and is also unusal enough to be considered significant

personal distress

a negative and self oriented emotional reaction

mal-adaptive behaviour

an action that impairs an individuals abiloty to meet the changing demands of their everday life

adaptive behaviour

learned behaviors that reflect an individual's social and practical competence to meet the demands of everyday living

how to identify if an individuals behaviour is atypical or typical

• is this behaviour culturually appropriate?

• is the behaviour statistically rare?

• does the behaviour violate societal norms?

• Is the bahviour maladaptive

• does the behaviour cause personal distress

normality

the state of having thoughts, feelings and behavuours that are considered common and acceptable

abnormality

the state of deviating from the norml, usually in a way that is undertsandable

what is normal?

there are many ways to consider what is “normal” and this differs from place to place, culture to culture, and individual to individual

normality

the state of having thoughts, feelings and behaviours considered common and acceptable

abnromality

the state of deviating from the norms, usually in an un-desirable way

nuerotypicality

a term usef to describe individuals whom display excpected neurological and cognitive functioning

neurodiversity

variations in neurological development and functioning, such as those experiences by individuals with autism or adhd

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by

impaired social interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication difficulties, narrow

interests, and repetitive behaviours.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

a neurological condition characterised

by persistent inattention or hyperactivity that disrupts social, academic, or occupational

functioning.