All AP Psychology Terms

Biological Psychology

A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Dendrite

The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the body cell

Axon

The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Myelin Sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Synapse

The junction between the the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

Endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Nervous System

The body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Nerves

Neural "cables" containing many axons. These bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect to the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

Sensory Neurons

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.

Motor Neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.

Interneurons

Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Somatic Nervous System

Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

Autonomic Nervous System

The part of the nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart).

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

Parasympathetic Nervous System

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

Reflex

A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response.

Neural Networks

Interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning.

Endocrine System

The body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Hormones

Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another

Adrenal Glands

A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. These glands secret the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which helps to arouse the body in times of stress.

Pituitary Gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Lesion

Tissue destruction. A brain _____ is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction to brain tissue.

EEG Scan

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

PET Scan

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

MRI

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain

fMRI

A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.

Brainstem

The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; this part of the brain is responsible for automatic survival functions.

Medulla

Base of brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Reticular Function

A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

Thalamus

The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Cerebellum

The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions including processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.

Limbic System

A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

Amygdala

Two lima bean sized neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion.

Hypothalamus

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Glial Cells

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

Frontal Lobes

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements.

Parietal Lobes

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.

Occipital Lobes

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field

Temporal Lobes

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.

Motor Cortex

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

Sensory Cortex

Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Association Areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

Aphasia

Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Broca's Area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's Area

Controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Plasticity

The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development

Corpus Callosum

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Split Brain

A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them

Chromosomes

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

DNA

A complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Enviroment

Every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us.

Behavior Genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Genome

The complete instructions for making an organism

Genes

The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosome.

Temperament

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Heritablilty

the proportion of variation among individual that we can attribute to genes. The ___ of a trait may vary, depending in the range of population and environment studied

Natural Selection

The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Mutation

A random error in gene replication that leads to a change.

X Chromosome

The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two _ chromosomes; males have one. An _ chromosome from each parent produces a female child.

Y Chromosome

The sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.

Zygote

The fertilized egg.

Embryo

The developing human organism from about two weeks after fertilization through the second month.

Fetus

The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Teratogens

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

Rooting Reflex

A baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas.

Accomodation

Adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Sensorimotor Stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Object Permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

Preoperational Stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

Conservation

The principle (which Piaget believed to be part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

Egocentrism

In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.

Theory of mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict.

Concrete Operational Stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Formal Operational Stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Stranger Anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.

Attachment

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.

Critical Period

An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.

Self-Concept

A sense of one's identity and personal worth.

Preconventional Morality

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.

Conventional Morality

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, by early adolescence social rules and laws are upheld simply because they are the rules and laws.

Postconventional Morality

In Kohlberg's Moral Ladder, some of those who develop the abstract reasoning may follow what one perceives as ethical principles.

Identity

One's sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Preschoolers learn yo initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent.

Competence vs. Inferiority

Erikson's Stages of Psychological Development; Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior.