PSY 100 General Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated for PSY 100 General Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide covering Chapters 1, 2, and 3.

Psychology

The scientific study of mental activity/mental processes and behavior in the context of the brain.

Observations

Objective observations of behavior that do not include interpretations, assumptions, or subjective emotions, perceptions, or biases.

Inferences

Conclusions made by reasoning about available evidence, involving subjective interpretations and perceptions about behavior.

Critical Thinking

The use of thinking skills to improve how we think by asking what we are asked to accept, what evidence supports it, and what conclusions are most reasonable.

Scientific Method

A method of scientific inquiry using objective methods and empirical evidence to answer testable questions in five steps.

Theory

Multiple interconnected and related ideas or models of behavior.

Hypothesis

A specific research question that serves as a testable prediction.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistics used to summarize data collected in research.

Inferential Statistics

Statistics used to test a hypothesis by determining whether differences between sets of numbers in descriptive statistics can be extended to the overall population.

Descriptive Methods

Research methods used to describe what is occurring.

Correlational Methods

Research methods that test the relationships or associations between variables without manipulating variables or determining causality.

Experimental Methods

Research methods that test causal hypotheses by manipulating independent variables and measuring the effects on dependent variables.

Nervous System

A network of billions of cells in the brain and body responsible for regulating all aspects of feeling, thinking, and doing.

Central Nervous System

The division of the nervous system consisting of the brain and the spinal cord.

Somatic Nervous System

The part of the nervous system that transmits sensory information about skeletal muscles, skin, and joints, and controls skeletal muscular activity.

Autonomic Nervous System

The part of the nervous system that regulates glands and involuntary activities like heartbeat and digestion.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the Autonomic Nervous System responsible for the 'Fight or Flight' response during danger, activating heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and pupil dilation.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the Autonomic Nervous System that calms down heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing to replenish energy stores (glucose) in the body.

Neurons

Specialized cells (approximately 100 billion in the brain) that send messages through electrical and chemical neural impulses.

Dendrites

Tree-branch-like structures of a neuron that receive chemical messages in the form of neurotransmitters.

Cell Body

The part of a neuron that integrates incoming information and becomes stimulated to fire an electrical impulse.

Axon

The long trunk-like structure of a neuron through which an electrical impulse travels.

Terminal Buttons

Structures at the end of an axon that send chemical messages by releasing neurotransmitters into the synapse.

Synapse

The space between neurons into which neurotransmitters are released from terminal buttons to be taken up by the next receiving neuron.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter involved in emotional states, mood, well-being, happiness, depression, and anxiety.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter produced in the midbrain associated with reward, pleasure, motivation of behavior, voluntary movement, and psychosis.

GABA

A neurotransmitter that reduces anxiety and inhibits electrical action potentials of neurons to calm down neural activity in the brain.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure responsible for vital survival functions such as breathing, heart rate, and swallowing.

Pons

A hindbrain structure involved in sleep and arousal.

Cerebellum

A hindbrain structure responsible for motor learning, coordination, and balance.

Frontal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex involved in complex thought, planning, decision-making, self-control, social processes, and personality.

Parietal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for touch perception and spatial relations.

Occipital Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for visual perception.

Temporal Lobe

A lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing perception and memory.

Thalamus

A subcortical forebrain structure that serves as a relay station for sensory processing for all senses except smell.

Hypothalamus

A subcortical forebrain structure that regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep, and influences motivation and emotion.

Hippocampus

A subcortical forebrain structure essential for memory and forming long-term memories, which can be damaged by cortisol during chronic stress.

Amygdala

A subcortical forebrain structure involved in memory, emotion, fear processing, and recognizing emotions on facial expressions.

Basal Ganglia

Subcortical structures of the forebrain responsible for planned movement and reward.

Consciousness

How the brain allows awareness of self and environment, requiring awareness, brain activity, and subjective experience.

Circadian Rhythms

A 24-hour cycle of biological changes affecting sleep/waking cycles, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, blood sugar, and cell growth.

Beta Waves

Short, rapid brain waves present while awake and alert, as well as during REM sleep.

Alpha Waves

Lengthened brain waves that occur as an individual is relaxing just before sleep.

Theta Waves

Brain waves characteristic of Stage 1 and Stage 2 sleep.

Delta Waves

Slow brain waves characteristic of deep Non-REM sleep (Stages 3 and 4).

REM Sleep

A sleep stage characterized by beta waves, rapid eye movements, illogical dreaming, and motor paralysis, which plays a role in learning and memory.

Psychoactive Drugs

Mind-altering substances that change the brain's neurochemistry by activating neurotransmitter systems.

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use despite negative life consequences.

Tolerance

A physical effect of addiction occurring when a person requires larger doses of a drug to experience its effects.

Withdrawal

Negative physical and psychological effects experienced after discontinuing the use of an addictive drug.

Altered state of consciousness

when the external world is more or less clear or organized then usual

How many sleep cycles do you go through a night?

5

Four Benefits of Sleep

Adaptation/ protection, repair/restoration, growth/ development and Learning/Development

Stimulants

Activate sympathetic nervous system, increase heart rate and blood pressure. (Cocaine, methamphetamine, caffeine, nicotine)

Depressants

Decrease both mental processes and physical activity. (Examples include alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids.)

opiates

Reduce pain and produce pleasurable feelings. Provide enormous reward value, producing feelings of relaxation, insensitivity to pain, euphoria, connection to others, and love.(Heroin, morphine, codeine, and OxyContin)

hallucinogens

Alter sensation and perception by creating sensory images in the brain even without sensory input from the environment. Seeing or hearing things that are not there in the environment.

• Marijuana, MDMA (ecstasy), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), Mushrooms (psilocybin) and, peyote.

3 causes of altered state of consciousness

Hypnosis, mediation and drugs