Intro to Psych - Exam One

Chapters 1-4

psychology

the science that studies behavior and mental processes

clinical psychologists

psychologists that help people with psychological disorders adjust to the demands of life

school psychologists

psychologists that are employed by school system to identify and assist students who have problems with learning

developmental psychologists

psychologists that study the changes that occur throughout one’s lifespan

personality psychologists

psychologists that identify and measure human traits and determine influences on thought processes, feelings, and behavior

experimental psychologists

psychologists that specialize in processes such as the nervous system, sensation and perception, and emotion

industrial psychologists

psychologists that focus on people and work

organizational psychologists

psychologists that study behavior of people in organizations

human-factor psychologists

psychologists that make technical systems such as automobile dashboards and computer keyboards more user-friendly

biological perspective

this perspective states that all thoughts, feeling, and behavior have a biological cause

cognitive perspective

this perspective has to do with mental processes, such as perception, memory, and language

humanistic-existential perspective

the perspective that stresses self-fulfillment and view people as free to choose

psychodynamic perspective

perspective that follows the Freudian view of focusing on the unconscious

social cognitive perspective

the perspective that suggests that people create their environments

sociocultural perspective

the perspective that focuses on roles of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status in behavior and mental processes

case study

a study that collects info about individuals and small groups

naturalistic observation

observing people in their natural habitats, allows researchers to observe people where they’re most comfortable

experiments

groups of participants obtain treatments to determine how behavior changes

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

variable that measures an effect of an independent variable

experimental groups

groups that get a treatment in an experiment

control groups

groups that don’t get treatment in an experiment

placebos

fake treatment that looks real

survey

a large sample of people answer questions

correlational method

method of determining whether one variable increases/decreases as another increases/decreases

correlation coefficient

varies from 1 to -1 that expresses the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables in an experiment

neuron

a specialized cell of the nervous system that conducts impulses

glial cells

cells that remove dead neurons and waste from the nervous system, nourish neurons, form myelin, and play a role in neural transmission of messages

dendrites

rootlike structures that are attached to the cell body of a neuron; they receive impulses or incoming messages

axon

a long, thin part of a neuron that transmits impulses from other neurons from axon terminals

myelin

a fatty substance that encases and insulates axons, facilitating transmission or neural impulses

sensory neurons

neurons that transmit messages from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain

motor neurons

neurons that transmit messages from the brain or spinal cord to muscles and glands

depolarize

to reduce the resting potential of a cell membrane from about 70 millivolts toward zero

action potential

the electrical impulse that provides the basis for the conduction of a neural impulse along an axon of a neuron

neurotransmitters

chemical substances involved in the transmission of neural impulses from one neuron to another

acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter that controls muscle contractions

hippocampus

a structure of the brain that is involved in memory formation

dopamine

a neurotransmitter that affects the ability to perceive pleasure, voluntary movement, and learning and memory; involved in Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia

norepinephrine

a neurotransmitter whose action is similar to that of the hormone epinphrine and that may play a role in depression

serotonin

a neurotransmitter involved in emotional arousal and sleep; is linked to eating disorders, depression, alcoholism, aggression, and insomnia

GABA

a neurotransmitter that apparently helps calm anxiety

endorphins

neurotransmitters that occur naturally in the brain and in the bloodstream and are similar to the narcotic morphine in their functions and effects

nerves

a bundle of axons from many neurons

central nervous system

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the part of the nervous system consisting of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system

somatic nervous system

connects the central nervous system with sensory receptors, skeletal muscles, and the surface of the body

autonomic nervous system

regulates glands and activities such as heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and dilation of the pupils

sympathetic division

branch of the ANS that is most active during emotional responses, such as fear and anxiety

parasympathetic division

branch of the ANS that is most active during processes like digestion that restore the body’s reserves of energy

spinal cord

a column of nerves in the spine that transmits messages from sensory receptors to the brain and from the brain to muscles and glands throughout the body

spinal reflex

a simple, unlearned response to a stimulus that may involve only two neurons

gray matter

the grayish neurons and neural segments that are involved in spinal reflexes

white matter

axons bundles that carry messages to and from the brain

medulla

area of the hindbrain involved in regulation of heartbeat, blood pressures, movement, and respiration

pons

a structure of the hindbrain involved in respiration, attention, and sleep and arousal

cerebellum

part of the hindbrain involved in muscle coordination and balance

reticular formation

part of the brain involved in attention, sleep, and arousal

thalamus

area near the center of the brain involved in the relay of sensory information to the cortex and in the functions of sleep and attention

hypothalamus

bundle of nuclei below the thalamus involved in body temperature, motivation, and emotion

limbic system

group of structures involved in memory, motivation, and emotion that forms a fringe along the inner edge of the cerebrum

amygdala

part of the limbic system that apparently facilitates stereotypical aggressive responses

hypothalamus

a bundle of nuclei below the thalamus involved in body temperature, motivation, and emotion

corpus callosum

a thick fiber bundle that connects the hemispheres of the cortex

cerebrum

the large mass of the forebrain, which consists of two hemispheres; responsible for thinking and language

frontal lobe

the lobe that lies in front of the central fissure; responsible for critical thinking, memory, and attention

parietal lobe

the lobe behind the frontal lobe; responsible for the senses and sensory perception

temporal lobe

lobe that lies below the side fissure; responsible for encoding memory and processing noises

occipital lobe

lobe that lies behind the temporal lobe; responsible for helping use see and creating visual sensations or visions

trichromatic theory

the theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones, some of which respond to red light, some to green, and some to blue

sensation

the stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system

perception

the process by which sensations are organized into an inner representation of the world

binocular cues

stimuli suggestive of depth that involve simultaneous perception by both eyes

monocular cues

stimuli suggestive of depth that can be perceived with only one eye

gestalt perception

the process by which we organize or make sense of the sensory impressions caused by the light that strikes our eyes

ESP

perception of objects or events through means other than the recognized sensory organs

False

True or False: many psychologists do not believe ESP is an appropriate area for scientific inquiry

absolute threshold

the minimal amount of energy that can produce a sensation

selective attention

focusing on one stimulus at a time when flooded with multiple stimuli

bottom-up processing

the organization of the parts of a pattern to recognize, or form an image of, the pattern they compose

top-down processing

the use of contextual information or knowledge of a pattern in order to organize parts of the pattern

rods

photoreceptors that are sensitive to light; distributed across the retina

cones

photoreceptors that are sensitive to colors; distributed across the retina

retina

the area of the inner surface of the eye that contains rods and cones (photoreceptors)

sensory adaptation

the processes by which organisms become more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude and less sensitive to stimuli that are constant or ongoing in magnitude

smell and taste

Which two senses influence each other the most?

subliminal messages

stimulation below a person’s absolute threshold for conscious perception

perceptual set

the tendency to integrate perceptual elements into meaningful patterns

blind spot

the area of the retina where axons from ganglion cells meet to form the optic nerve

opponent process theory

the theory that color vision is made possible by three types of cones

visual illusions

ways in which the perceptual constancies trick the eye

Hering-Helmholtz Illusion

an illusion in which two lines are straight and parallel, but they seem to be bent

Muller-Lyer Illusion

the illusion in which two lines look like they are different lengths, but are really the same length

stage 1

stage of sleep during which slow theta waves are produced; lightest stage of sleep

stage 2

stage of sleep during which medium-amplitude waves called sleep spindles are omitted; produces the K complex

stage 3

stage of sleep during which high-amplitude but low frequency waves called delta waves are omsitted

stage 4

stage of sleep during which increasing amplitude delta waves; deepest stage of sleep

REM

a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, which have been linked to dreaming

insomnia

a sleep disorder in which it is difficult to fall and/or stay asleep

lucid dreaming

the condition during which you are aware that you are dreaming while in your dream