Behavioral Sciences: Biology, Cognition, and Social Systems

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering neurology, sensation, learning, cognitive development, personality, psychological disorders, and social structures based on Behavioral Sciences lecture notes.

Sensory Neurons (Afferent)

Neurons that carry signals from receptors to the spinal cord.

Interneurons

Neurons found between other neurons, located mainly in the Central Nervous System (CNS).

Motor Neurons (Efferent)

Neurons that carry signals from the Central Nervous System (CNS) to muscles and glands.

Reflex Arcs

A process where interneurons in the spinal cord relay information to the source of stimuli while simultaneously routing it to the brain.

Franz Gall

Researcher ($1758 - 1828$) associated with the study of Phrenology.

Pierre Flourens

Researcher ($1794 - 1867$) who studied functions of major sections of the brain using extirpation.

Functionalism

A perspective supported by William James ($1842 - 1910$) and John Dewey ($1859 - 1952$) concerning how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment.

Broca’s Area

A specific region of the brain responsible for speech production; named after Paul Broca ($1824 - 1880$) who studied people with legions.

Hermann von Helmholtz

Researcher ($1821 - 1894$) who measured the speed of impulse and helped make psychology a science.

Thalamus

A forebrain structure that serves as a relay station for sensory information.

Hypothalamus

A structure involved in homeostasis and the $4$ F’s that integrates with the endocrine system via the hypophyseal portal.

Basal Ganglia

Brain structures that smooth movements and help maintain postural stability.

Limbic System

A system composed of the Septal Nuclei (pleasure/addiction), Amygdala (fear/aggression), and Hippocampus (emotion/memory).

Cerebral Cortex Lobes

The four lobes: Frontal (executive function/speech), Parietal (touch/spatial), Occipital (visual), and Temporal (sound/memory).

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter used by the somatic nervous system to move muscles, also used by the parasympathetic system and CNS.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter that maintains smooth movements and steady posture.

$\gamma$-aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

An inhibitory neurotransmitter that acts as a brain stabilizer; Glycine serves a similar function.

Neurulation

The development process where the notochord stimulates ectoderm to fold into a neural tube topped with neural crest cells.

Primitive Reflexes

Infant reflexes including Rooting (turning head), Moro (fanning arms), Babinski (toe extension), and Grasping.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum of stimulus energy that will activate a sensory system.

Weber’s Law

States that the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) for a stimulus is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus.

Signal Detection Theory

Refers to the effects of nonsensory factors like expectations and motives on the perception of stimuli, accounting for response bias.

Retina: Rods vs. Cones

Rods detect light/dark and contain rhodopsin; Cones detect color and are concentrated in the fovea.

Parallel Processing

The brain's ability to process color, form, and motion at the same time.

Bony Labyrinth

A part of the inner ear filled with perilymph.

Inner Ear Structures

Includes the cochlea (sound), utricle and saccule (linear acceleration), and semicircular canals (rotational acceleration/balance).

Two-Point Threshold

The minimum distance between two points of stimulation on the skin such that they are felt as distinct stimuli.

Bottom-Up Processing

Recognition of objects by feature detection (details to whole), not influenced by background knowledge.

Top-Down Processing

Recognition of an object by memories and expectations with little attention to detail.

Dishabituation

When a second stimulus intervenes, causing a resensitization to the original stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

A form of associative learning where behavior is changed through consequences, such as reinforcement or punishment.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response through repetition.

Explicit (declarative) Memory

Memories that require conscious recall with effort and focus, such as episodic (events) and semantic (facts) memory.

Implicit (nondeclarative) Memory

Memories accounting for acquired skills and conditioned responses.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

Memory loss caused by thiamine deficiency, resulting in retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia, and confabulation.

Heuristics

Rules of thumb used in decision-making, including Availability (ease of imagining instances) and Representativeness (standard representations).

Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage

The stage from $0 \rightarrow 2$ yrs where a child manipulates the environment and develops object permanence.

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage

The stage from $2 \rightarrow 7$ yrs characterized by pretend play, symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.

Sleep Stages 3 & 4

Deep sleep characterized by DELTA waves, primarily known as slow-wave sleep (SWS) when growth hormone is released.

Brain Waves Sequential Order

The sequential order represented by the BAT-D mnemonic: Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta.

Mesolimbic Pathway

The pathway mediating drug addiction, including the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area.

Drive Reduction Theory

States that motivation arises from the desire to eliminate uncomfortable internal states of tension.

Opponent-Process Theory

Explains motivation for drug use, where the body counteracts the drug, leading to tolerance and withdrawal.

Theories of Emotion

James-Lange (behavior/physiology lead to emotion), Cannon-Bard (simultaneous response), and Schacter-Singer (arousal plus cognitive label).

General Adaptation Syndrome

The three-stage physical stress response consisting of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Self-Efficacy

The degree to which an individual sees themselves as capable of a specific skill or situation.

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Oral ($0 \rightarrow 1$), Anal ($1 \rightarrow 3$), Phallic ($3 \rightarrow 6$), Latent ($6 \rightarrow \text{puberty}$), and Genital ($\text{puberty} \rightarrow \text{adult}$).

Erikson’s Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust

Conflict occurring between the ages of $0 \rightarrow 1$.

Zone of Proximal Development

Lev Vygotsky's term for skills a child has not mastered but can do with a more knowledgeable other.

Psychoanalytic Personality Structure

The Id (base urges), Superego (perfectionist), and Ego (mediator).

Big Five Traits (OCEAN)

Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Schizophrenia Symptoms

Positive symptoms (delusions/hallucinations) and Negative symptoms (disturbances of affect/avolition).

Personality Disorder Cluster B

The 'wild' cluster including antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic disorders.

Social Facilitation

The tendency for people to perform at a different level when others are present.

Groupthink

The tendency for groups to reach decisions based on internal solutions without considering outside ideas.

Mores

Informal norms with major importance for society that can result in severe sanctions if broken.

Ascribed vs. Achieved Status

Ascribed is involuntarily assigned (race/gender), whereas achieved is voluntarily earned (efforts/credentials).

Role Conflict vs. Role Strain

Role Conflict is difficulty managing multiple roles; Role Strain is difficulty managing just one role.

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Terms for Community and Society, respectively.

Secure Attachment

Occurs when a consistent caregiver allows a child to show a strong preference for the caregiver over strangers.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The bias toward making dispositional (internal) attributions rather than situational (external) attributions for others' actions.

Prejudice vs. Discrimination

Prejudice is an irrational affective attitude; Discrimination is the resulting behavioral treatment.

Manifest vs. Latent Functions

Manifest functions are deliberate helpful actions; Latent functions are unintended or unrecognized consequences.

Conflict Theory

Based on Karl Marx, it focuses on how power differentials contribute to maintaining social order.

Demographic Transition

A model representing drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization.

Prevalence vs. Incidence

Prevalence is the total number of cases per population; Incidence is the number of new cases per population at risk.

Anomie

A lack of social norms or the breakdown of social bonds between individuals and society.

Absolute vs. Relative Poverty

Absolute is the inability to acquire basic necessities; Relative is being poor compared to a larger population.