ap review

biological perspective

focuses on how the brain, nervous system, hormones and genetics influence behavior.

cognitive perspective

emphasizes internal mental processes like perception, memory, language, and problem solving.

behavioral perspective

observable behavior

psychodynamic perspective

how unconscious drives and early childhood experiences influence behavior.

humanistic behavior

Inherent goodness of humans and the potential for personal growth.

social cultural perspective

how social and cultural contexts shape behavior.

expiremental research

designed to identify cause and effect relationships between variables.

indepent variable

the variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

the variable that is measured

control group

a group that is not exposed to the independent variable, used for comparisons.

Random assignment

the process of assigning participants to different groups randomly, helping ensure that the groups are comparable

positive correlation

as one variable increases the other variable increases also

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other variable decreases

observer bias

the researcher's expectations or preferences may influence their observations or interpretation of data.

Hawthorne effect

the presence of the observer may cause participants to alter their behavior, simply because they are being watched.

informed consent

participants must be fully informed about the nature of the study and must voluntarily agree to participate.

confidentiality

researchers must protect participants' privacy by keeping personal information confidential.

debriefing

after the study is completed, participants should know all the details about the study.

random sampling

every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

convenience sampling

participants are chosen based on ease of access, such as college students in a psychology class.

sampling bias

this occurs when certain groups or individuals are overrepresented or underrepresented, in the sample, leading to inaccurate conclusions.

descriptive statistics

summarized the characteristics of a data set

mean

the average

median

the middle value when data points are ordered

mode

the most frequent value in a data set

t-tests

used to compare the means of two groups

chi-square tests

used to assess relationships between categorical variables.

biological bases of behavior

explores how our brains and bodies influence the way we think, feel, and act

heredity

genetic code inherited from our parents, and the environment. Determines how we develop, function, and respond to the world around us.

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature emphasizes the role of genetics. Nurture focuses on the environment and how it effects us.

twin and adoption studies

provide valuable insights into how much of our behavior and traits are influenced by genetic inheritance versus environmental factors.

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

serves as the main control center for the body, comprising the brain and spinal cord.

frontal lobe

involved in higher cognitive functions, such as decision making, problem solving, reasoning, and emotional regulation.

occipital lobe

responsible for visual processing and interpreting the information received from the eyes

temporal lobe

hearing, processing auditory information, particularly through the hippocampus.

parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch and body position

limbic system

a complex set of structures that manage emotional responses and play a role in memory and learning.

hippocampus

critical for forming new memories

amygdala

regulate emotional responses especially those related to fear and aggression.

Spinal Cord

extends from the brainstem down the back, housed within the vertebral column. It's a major pathway for info traveling to and from the brain.

Peripheral nervous system

connects the central nervous system to the limbs, organs, and other parts of the body, allowing for communication between the brain and spinal cord and the rest of the body.

Somatic nervous system

responsible for voluntary movements and the conscious control of skeletal muscles. Also relays sensory information from the body back to the brain.

autonomic nervous system

regulates involuntary functions that occur automatically and without conscious thought.

Sympathetic nervous system

responsible for initiating the body's "fight or flight" response, preparing the body for action during times of stress or danger

parasympathetic nervous system

Promotes 'rest and digest' functions.

Nuerons

a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; a nerve cell.

dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

cell body

Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm

axon

transmits electrical impulses, or action potentials, away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, 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

Nuerotransmitters

Chemical messengers released from neuron to neuron.

dopamine

a neurotransmitter that regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal

serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger,sleep, arousal, and mood.

Acetylcholine

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

cerebrum

Area of the brain responsible for all voluntary activities of the body. Divided into two distinct hemispheres.

left hemisphere

controls the right side of the body; analytical, language, math

right hemisphere

controls the left side of the body; creative, intuitive, spacial

brain stem

Connection to spinal cord. Filters information flow between peripheral nervous system and the rest of the brain.

medulla

an extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration

pons

regulates breathing and is involved in the sleep-wake cycle and facial sensations

midbrain

A small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward.

cerebellum

A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.

REM sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.

insomnia

A disorder that involves difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep

sleep apnea

breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.

sensation

stimulation of sense organs

sensory receptors

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

photoreceptors

respond to light: rods and cones

chemoreceptors

nose and mouth detect chemicals in the air and food allowing us to experience smell and taste.

Mechanoreceptos

receptors that respond to physical forces

sensory transduction

the process by which sensory stimuli are transduced into slow, graded receptor potentials

absolute threshold

the minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected by our senses.

difference threshold

smallest difference between two stimuli that can be perceived

sensory adaptation

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

bottom up processing

raw sensory data received from the environment.

top-down processing

when we interpret sensory information based on our prior knowledge, experiences, and expectations.

gestalt principles

Principles that describe the brain's organization of sensory information into meaningful units and patterns.

proximity

we perceive objects that are close together as being related or belonging to the same groups.

similarity

objects that share similar characteristics are often perceived as belonging together.

closure

refers to our tendency to fill in missing information to create a complete object.

continuity

we tend to perceive continuous patterns or lines even when they are uninterrupted.

perceptual constancy

ability to perceive objects as stable and unchanging, even though the sensory information we receive about them may change due to varying environmental conditions.

size constancy

Perception of an object as the same size regardless of the distance from which it is viewed

color constancy

the ability to recognize colors despite changes in lighting

shape constancy

the tendency to interpret the shape of an object as being constant, even when its shape changes on the retina

perceptual illusions

misperceptions or interpretations of stimuli that do not correspond to the sensations received

visual illusions

physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception

auditory illusions

Auditory perceptual experiences that are not related to properties of the sound waves being received

cognitive biases

errors in memory or judgment that are caused by the inappropriate use of cognitive processes

confirmation biases

the tendency to seek, interpret, and create information that verifies existing beliefs

anchoring biases

tendency to focus on one piece of information when making a decision or solving a problem

availability heuristic

a mental shortcut where individuals make decisions based on the information that is most readily available in their memory.

problem solving

involves finding solutions to obstacles or challenges

algorithms

very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems

heuristic

a rule-of-thumb problem-solving strategy

insight

a special kind or problem-solving experience that involves a sudden and often unexpected realization of a solution to a problem.