Midterm AP Psychology Review

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Evolutionary Psychology

behaviors (i.e., fears) exist because they help keep us alive; natural selection and survival of the fittest; behaviors adapt

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

branch of psychology; study of psychology in the workplace; goal can be to improve employee satisfaction and efficiency

Naturalistic Research

natural environment; observing and recording only; no manipulation and describe behavior; advantages are that it cheap and easy; cons are that you can not generalize.

correlational research

a measure to an extent of how much two variables change and predict each other; does not equal causation

Experiment

research method where the researcher manipulates one or more factors to observe the behavior or mental process; uses random assignment

Independent Variable

the factor that is being manipulated

Dependent Variable

the factor that is the result of the independent variable

Confounding Variables

a factor that could change the outcome of the experiment other than the independent variable; use random assignment to control them

control group

does not receive the treatment and serves to evaluate the effect of the treatment; baseline

Experimental group

receives the treatment (independent variable)

random sampling

drawing a sample from the population; everyone has an equal chance of being selected

Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance; eliminates alternative explanations

Operational Definition

precise definition to allow for replication, a carefully worded statement describing the exact procedures and measurement

Positive Correlation

if one goes up the other goes up (or one down the other down); amount of food and amount of energy

Negative Correlation

if one goes up, the other goes down; alcohol consumption and ability to focus

Scatterplot

used in correlational research

Correlation coefficient

-1 to +1

Statistical Significance

statistical statement that a result occurs by chance or due to independent variable; minimum wanted is probability = .05

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest score in a distribution

Standard deviation

how much a score varies from the mean

Mean

average of the scores

Median

middle value in data

Mode

number that occurs most often

Ethics

Debriefing necessary with deception; confidentiality; no harm; informed consent

Axon

passes messages/information through its branches to other neurons; AWAY

Dendrite

receives (DETECT) messages and conducts impulses toward the cell body;

Terminal buttons

small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons (release neurotransmitters)

Myelin sheath

fatty tissue encasing the axon; enables greater transmission speed; if deteriorates it causes multiple sclerosis

Sensory Neurons (Afferents)

carry messages FROM body TO brain for processing (Afferent - ARRIVE at Brain)

motor neurons (efferent)

carry messages FROM brain to body (Efferent - EXITS the brain)

Interneurons

in spinal cord & brain; this is where the signal is processed; neurons that communicate with each other

Association Areas

areas responsible for higher brain function; it makes us US; ex language, recognizing faces

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers in the brain

Serotonin

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal; "happy hormone"; too little is associated with depression

Dopamine

pleasure and reward; too much causes schizophrenia and too little causes tremors and Parkinson's

Endorphins

your body's natural pain killer; known as "the morphine within."; get this when you exercise "runner's high"

Glutamate

excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory, learning and many other cognitive functions; too much is migraines and general brain fogginess; found in MSG in food

Agonists

drugs that increase (or mimic) a neurotransmitter's action; heroine is an agonist to endorphins ex, antidepressant to increase serotonin

Antagonists

drugs that decrease a neurotransmitter's action (blocking production or release of a neurotransmitter); ex, antipsychotic medication blocks dopamine (schizophrenia)

Reuptake

the absorption of the excess neurotransmitters into the terminal buttons by the sending neuron; like chemical recycling

occipital lobe

processes visual information - Vision

parietal lobe

processes sensory input (pain, pressure, temperature, touch)

frontal lobe

planning and judgment, movement

temporal lobe

processes auditory information - Hearing

motor cortex

responsible for the body's voluntary movement (in frontal lobe)

visual cortex

responsible for receiving images from the eyes (occipital lobe)

Somatosensory cortex

the ability to perceive touch and pressure in a particular area of the body (in parietal lobe).

Hippocampus

memory; not fully developed until 3 (infantile amnesia)

Endocrine System

the body's slow communication system; secretes hormones

Pituitary gland

releases hormones which travels through the blood; tells other glands when to work; BOSS

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight; increases size of pupils, breathing, heart rate, adrenaline, relaxes bladder, digestion slows

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest; when the danger is over, it brings you down like a parachute decreases heart rate, slows breathing, allows digestion, contracts bladder

Neuroplasticity

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

Right Hemisphere

controls left side, non verbal tasks such as relationships, patterns, emotional expression.

Left Hemisphere

controls right side, Language and Logic; speaking, reading, thinking, reasoning

Corpus Callosum

connects 2 hemispheres

Split-brain research

surgery that separates 2 hemispheres to reduce seizures and epilepsy, Gazzaniga (researcher)

Broca's area

Controls production of speech

Wernicke's area

controls comprehension of speech

Circadian Rhythm

body clock; controlled by hypothalamus, SCN, pineal gland

Sleep Apnea

sleep disorder; stop breathing during sleep, wake up several times during the night

Insomnia

trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

REM Sleep (characteristics)

when you dream, muscles are paralyzed because of the pons, brain looks like it is awake with alpha waves

Absolute Threshold

the smallest amount of stimulus we can detect 50% of the time

Difference Threshold

just noticeable difference; the smallest amount of change needed in a stimulus before we detect a change 50% of the time.

Sensory Adaptation

diminished sensitivity to something as a consequence of being exposed to it ongoing (candle)

Transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another

Retina

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye. Like a screen on the back of the eye that the image is projected on. Contains rods, cones, and specialized neurons that begin processing visual info.

Rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight visual

Cones

retinal receptors that detect color (center of retina)

Opponent Process theory of color

the theory that sensory receptors come in opposing pairs (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision and afterimages

Retinal Disparity

perceives depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes; the brain computes distance

Eardrum

Tight membrane that vibrates when struck by sound waves

Cochlea

a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Amplitude of sound waves

the loudness; higher is louder

Gate Control Theory

The spinal cord has a neurological "gate" that swings open for some pain messages (Higher priority) and we feel pain or swings shut for others and pain is blocked.

Nociceptors

sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperature/pressure/chemicals

Smell

olfactory sense, chemical sense, olfactory sensors in nose pick up odor molecules

vestibular sense

movement and balance - receptors in semicircular canals in inner ear

Kinesthetic sense

knowing the body's location in space without even looking - receptors all over body

classical conditioning

learning where one learns to pair two or more stimuli and anticipate events.

Generalization (learning)

is the tendency to respond to similar CSs in the same way. (dog salivates to bell-like sounds).

Discrimination (learning)

is the learned ability to distinguish between CSs (dog salivates only to specific bell).

Extinction

is diminishing the conditioned response; the dog unlearns the bell-food connection and ceases to salivate to the bell.

Positive Reinforcement

increases behaviors by adding something good

Negative Reinforcement

increases behavior by removing something bad/unpleasant

Positive Punishment

reducing behavior by adding something bad/unpleasant

Negative Punishment

reducing behavior by removing something good.

Primary and Secondary Reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need (unlearned, like food).

secondary reinforcer

any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars

Fixed-ratio schedule

reinforces a response only after a specific number of responses (free drink after every 10 purchased)

Variable-ratio schedule

reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses (slot machines)

Fixed-interval schedule

reinforces a response only after a specific time has elapsed (paycheck every 2 weeks)

Variable-interval schedule

reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals (fishing).

Shaping

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior (successive approximations)

Learned Helplessness

the helplessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.

Mirror Neurons

neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy

Prejudice

(pre-judgement) an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a group and its members

Discrimination (social psych)

unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members