Unit 1B

Biological Psychology

The study of how biological processes, particularly in the brain and nervous system, influence behavior and mental processes.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An approach that considers biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding health, illness, and behavior.

Levels of Analysis

Different perspectives, from biological to social-cultural, used to understand behavior and mental processes.

Brain Plasticity (Neuroplasticity)

The brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections in response to learning or injury.

EEG (Electroencephalography)

A technique that records electrical activity of the brain to study brain function.

MEG (Magnetoencephalography)

A brain-imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain’s electrical activity.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the brain’s structure.

CT (Computed Tomography) Scan

A series of X-ray images that provides cross-sectional views of body tissues, including the brain.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)

An imaging technique that shows active brain areas by detecting radioactive tracers.

fMRI (Functional MRI)

An imaging technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow.

Lesions

Damage to brain tissue that can help in studying the effects on behavior and function.

Brain Stem

The oldest part of the brain, responsible for basic life functions like breathing and heart rate.

Hindbrain

A lower region of the brain that includes the cerebellum, medulla, and pons, responsible for motor coordination and vital functions.

Midbrain

A small region of the brain that coordinates sensory information with motor responses.

Forebrain

The largest brain region, involved in complex behaviors and higher mental processes.

Medulla Oblongata

Controls vital functions such as heartbeat and breathing.

Reticular Activating System (Reticular Formation)

A network in the brainstem involved in arousal and attention.

Cerebellum

Controls fine motor skills, balance, and coordination.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the brain, responsible for complex thinking, perception, and decision-making.

Limbic System

A group of structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation, including the hippocampus and amygdala.

Thalamus

The brain’s relay station, transmitting sensory information to the appropriate brain areas.

Hypothalamus

Regulates body functions like hunger, thirst, temperature, and emotions.

Pituitary Gland

Known as the 'master gland,' it regulates hormones.

Hippocampus

A limbic system structure essential for memory formation.

Amygdala

Processes emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Corpus Callosum

The bundle of fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres.

Split Brain

A condition where the corpus callosum is severed, isolating the brain’s hemispheres.

Broca’s Area

Controls speech production, typically in the left hemisphere.

Wernicke’s Area

Involved in language comprehension, typically in the left hemisphere.

Cortex Specialization

The functional specialization of different areas in the cerebral cortex.

Contralateral Hemispheric Organization

Each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.

Aphasia

A language disorder caused by brain damage affecting communication.

Occipital Lobe

Processes visual information.

Temporal Lobe

Involved in processing auditory information and memory.

Parietal Lobe

Integrates sensory information, especially related to touch.

Association Areas

Regions involved in higher-level processing, integrating information from different sensory modalities.

Somatosensory Cortex

Processes body sensations, located in the parietal lobe.

Frontal Lobe

Associated with reasoning, planning, movement, and problem-solving.

Prefrontal Cortex

Involved in decision-making, social behavior, and personality.

Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary muscle movements.

Sensation

The process by which sensory receptors detect physical stimuli and send the information to the brain.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulus intensity needed for detection 50% of the time.

Just-Noticeable Difference (Difference Threshold)

The smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected.

Weber’s Law

The principle that the JND is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus.

Sensory Adaptation

The process where sensory receptors become less responsive to unchanging stimuli.

Sensory Interaction

When different senses influence each other, like how smell affects taste.

Synesthesia

A condition where one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses.

Embodied Cognition

The influence of bodily sensations and gestures on cognitive preferences and judgments.

Subliminal

Stimuli that are below the threshold for conscious perception.

Priming

Exposure to a stimulus influences the response to a later stimulus.

Wavelengths

The distance between peaks of light waves, determining color.

Hue

The color perceived based on wavelength.

Intensity

The brightness of light, determined by wave amplitude.

Cornea

The clear front surface of the eye, which focuses light.

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye.

Iris

The colored muscle that controls the pupil’s size.

Retina

The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye.

Blind Spot

The point where the optic nerve exits the eye, creating a gap in the visual field.

Optic Nerve

Transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.

Lens

Focuses light on the retina by changing shape.

Accommodation

The lens’ adjustment to focus on near or distant objects.

Nearsightedness

Close objects are seen clearly, but distant ones are blurred.

Farsightedness

Distant objects are seen clearly, but close ones are blurred.

Fovea

The central area of the retina, providing the sharpest vision.

Photoreceptors

Cells in the retina (rods and cones) that detect light.

Transduction

Conversion of physical stimuli into neural signals.

Rods

Photoreceptors sensitive to dim light but not color.

Cones

Photoreceptors that detect color and fine detail.

(Young-Helmholtz) Trichromatic Theory

Theory that color vision is based on the activity of three color-sensitive cones.

Opponent-Process Theory

Theory that visual neurons are stimulated by one color and inhibited by another (e.g., red-green).

Frequency

Determines pitch; the number of waves that pass a point in a given time.

Amplitude

Determines loudness; the height of the sound wave.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear where sound is transduced into neural signals.

Inner Ear

Contains the cochlea and structures for balance.

Place Theory

The theory that different sound frequencies stimulate different places on the cochlear membrane.

Volley Theory

Groups of auditory neurons fire in volleys for high-frequency sounds.

Frequency Theory

The theory that the rate of nerve impulses matches the frequency of a tone.

Perception

The process by which the brain organizes, interprets, and makes sense of sensory information.

Bottom-Up Processing

A method of perception that begins with sensory input, piecing together information from the senses.

Top-Down Processing

A method of perception driven by prior knowledge, expectations, and experiences.

Schemas

Cognitive frameworks or concepts that help organize and interpret information.

Perceptual Set

The predisposition to perceive things in a certain way, influenced by expectations, culture, or emotions.

Attention

Focusing cognitive resources on a particular object, event, or task.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on one specific piece of information while filtering out other distractions.

Cocktail Party Effect

The phenomenon of focusing on a particular auditory stimulus in a noisy environment.

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object or event when attention is focused elsewhere.

Change Blindness

A perceptual phenomenon where people fail to notice large changes in a visual scene.

Gestalt Psychology

A psychological approach that emphasizes that the whole of perception is greater than the sum of its parts.

Closure

The tendency to complete incomplete figures or objects to see them as whole.

Figure and Ground (Figure-Ground)

The tendency to distinguish an object (figure) from its background (ground).

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Proximity

The tendency to perceive objects that are close to each other as part of a group.

Similarity

The tendency to perceive objects that look similar as belonging together in a group.

Depth Perception

The ability to judge the distance of objects and see them in three dimensions.

Visual Cliff

An experiment setup used to study depth perception in infants and animals.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that require the use of both eyes to perceive depth.

Convergence

A binocular cue for depth perception; the extent to which the eyes turn inward when looking at an object.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular depth cue based on the slightly different images each eye receives.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues that can be perceived with one eye alone.

Relative Clarity

The tendency to perceive clearer, sharper objects as closer.