intro to psych cscc exam 1(chapters 1-5)

Psychology

study of behavior and mental processes

Psychiatry

the specialization focusing on the brain and mental disorders

Structuralism

Wundt's idea, breaking down mental processes into their structures

introspection

look inside themselves (what's going on inside)

Functionalism

studied function of mental processes

psychoanalysis

unconscious mental activity and childhood experiences

Freud

specialized in nervous disorders

Behaviorism

emphasizes observable behavior over internal behavior

humanism

human nature is generally good and motivated to grow towards our greatest potential

Multiculturalism

emphasizes the influences of culture on psychology

evolutionary psychology

emphasizes the theory of evolution as an influence on behavior

cognitive psychology

cognitive processes (thinking, language, etc.)

neuroscience

a link between behavior and functioning of the brain

positive psychology

emphasizes people's strengths and successes

biopsychosocial theory

emphasizes biological, psychological, and social factors as influences on behavior

pseudopsychology

psychological information that isn't supported by science but may appear to be

confirmation bias

prefer information that confirms what a person thought in the first place

belief perseverance

a tendency to believe even when evidence suggests is not true

descriptive research

just describe a characteristic of the population

correlational research

two variables correlate strongly with each other, one must cause the other.

experimental research

determine cause and effect

random assignment

happen by chance

independent variable

manipulated by researcher

dependent variable

depends on the independent variable

experimental group

receives the treatment

control group

doesn't receive the treatment

placebo effect

effect of expectations instead experimental manipulation

scientific method

asking and answering questions through a series of steps

theory

a proposed explanation of what happens

hypothesis

a prediction that can be tested

neurons

the cells that facilitate communication within the nervous system

dendrites

the branches at the end of neurons that receive signals

cell body (soma)

performs basic activities (production of energy)

axon

carries information towards other neurons

myelin sheath

a protective sleeve of fatty material surrounding axon

action potential

the release or firing of an electrical impulse

synapse

the gap between two neurons

Neurotransmitters

the chemical message that travels across synapses from one neuron to the next.

acetylcholine

activate muscles

GABA

anxiety

dopamine

reward system and motivation

serotonin

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

endorphins

reducing pain and increasing pleasure

epinephrine

fight or flight response

agonist

enhance the impact of something (morphine)

antagonist

interfere the impact of something (Benadryl)

brain stem

connects to the spine and controls the functions to staying alive

cerebellum

near the bottom/back of the brain, involved in balance and movement

medulla

part of the brainstem most specifically involved in heartbeat and breathing.

thalamus

brain's main sensory processing system

limbic system

involved in emotion (near the center of the brain)

hypothalamus

maintaining a steadiness in bodily functions

hippocampus

involved in memory

amygdala

in emotions, especially fear and anger

cerebrum

front and upper (*two hemispheres) and withholds human abilities

cerebral cortex

sensory information is processed

right hemisphere of brain

controls left side of the body and contains creativity and the arts

left hemisphere of brain

controls right side of the body and is logical, contains mathamatics, lauguage, & speech

corpus callosum

allows communication between hemispheres

frontal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement, behind the forehead

parietal lobe

near the top and back, involved in touch and perception

temporal lobe

lower middle, involved in hearing and speech production

occipital lobe

lower back and involved in vision

motor cortex

back of frontal lobe, and controls voluntary movement

somatosensory cortex

front of parietal lobes, registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Broca's area

speaking words

Broca's aphasia

dysfunction in understanding speech due to damage of Broca's area

Wernicke's area

understanding speech

Wernicke's aphasia

dysfunction in understanding speech due to damage to Wernicke's area.

nervous system

nerves connecting brain and other parts of the body

plasticity

the ability to adapt structure after damage

central nervous system (CNS)

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

neurons connecting CNS to other body parts

Somatic nervous system

controlled voluntarily

autonomic nervous system

controlled involuntarily

sympathetic division

revs the body up in response to stressors

parasympathetic division

calms the body down when stressors decrease

hormones

chemicals that affect certain tissues throughout the body

cortisol

stress hormone

sensation

ability to pick up energy in the environment and transfer it to the brain

absolute threshold

minimum level of a stimulus for a person to detect its presence

difference threshold

smallest change of a stimulus for a person to detect its presence

ESP

the debatable notion of perspective without sensation

parapyschology

study of topics outside of mainstream psychology

sensory adaptation

a person's sensation of a stimulus to decrease when it remains constant

habituation

stop responding to a stimulus that repeats

perception

the ability of the brain to interpret the raw sensations

perceptual constancies

maintain the same perception when around it causes to produce different sensations

selective attention

when the brain pays more attention to one sensory channel than others.

change blindness

failure to notice changes in the visual field

inattention blindness

failure to notice something because attention was focused elsewhere

bottom-up processing

no influence of expectations or previous experiences

top-down processing

expectations/past experiences influence processing information

retina

rear part, receives visual stimulation and sends it to the brain

rods

receptor cells in the retina that detects shades of gray

cones

color vision

depth perception

judge distance and depth of objects

binocular depth cues

visual stimuli; indicates depth with both eyes

monocular depth cues

visual stimuli; indicates depth with one eye

wavelength/color

the color of light