Psychology 1100 Exam 1

psychology

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

psychiatry

the medical specialization focusing on the brain and its disorders

William Wundt

Father of psychology, first to approach the inner workings of the mind as a science.

Structuralism

A perspective from the early history of psychology that focused on breaking down mental processes into their structure or basic parts

Functionalism

A perspective from the early history of psychology that focused on the function of our mental processes and behaviors (tries to determine what our mental processes are for)

William James

Father of psychology in the United States, His psychology research lab was the first in the united states. He promoted functionalism

Psychoanalysis

a perspective in psychology created by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes unconscious mental activity and long lasting influence of childhood experiences.

Sigmund Freud

popularized psychology in the united states and around the world in the late 1800s. His psychological theory emphasized unconscious mental activity and the impact of childhood experiences on adult life.

Behaviorism

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes observable behavior over internal mental processes.

Humanism

A perspective that emphasizes the notion that human nature is generally good and people are naturally motivated to grow toward their own potential

Multiculturalism

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes the influence of culture on behavior and mental processes

evolutionary psychology

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes Charles Darwin's Theory of evolution as an influence on behavior.

Cognitive psychology

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes processes such as thinking, language, attention, memory, and intelligence.

Neuroscience

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes the link between behavior and the biological functioning of the brain.

Positive psychology

A perspective in psychology that emphasizes people's strengths and successes

Biopsychosocial theory

a uniquely comprehensive popular perspective in psychology that emphasizes biological, psychological, and social factors as influences on behavior.

Pseudopsychology

Information that is not supported by science but still may appear to be.

Critical thinking

an inquisitive, challenging approach to ideas and assumptions

Confirmed Bias

A tendency to prefer information that confirms what you thought in the first place

Belief perseverance

A tendency to maintain a belief even when evidence suggests it is incorrect

Descriptive research

research in which the goal is simply to describe a characteristics of the population

Correlational research

research in which the goal is to determine the relationship between two variables.

Correlation coefficient

a statistic that shows the relationship between two variables, ranging from highly positive (+1) to highly negative (-1). It means that as one variable goes up, the other variable goes up with it.

correlation-causation fallacy

The mistaken belief that when two variables correlate strongly with each other, one must cause the other.

Experimental research

research in which the goal is to determine the cause and effect relationship between two variables by manipulating one and observing changes in the other.

Random assignment

a procedure in experimental research by which the assignment of participants into either experimental or control group happens entirely by chance.

Independent Variable

A variable that is manipulated by the researchers

Dependent variable

a variable that is expected to depend u[on the independent variable

experimental group

the group of participants who receive the treatment that is the focus of the study

control group

the group of participants who did not receive the treatment that is the focus of the study

placebo effect

the effect of expectation rather than the experimental manipulations

Scientific method

a way of asking and answering questions that follows a predetermined series of steps: posing a question, conducting a literature review, developing a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis by collecting data, and analyzing the data and drawing conclusions.

Theory

A proposed explanation for observed events

hypothesis

a prediction; typically based on a theory; that can be tested

Naturalistic observation

psychologists collect data from participants by visiting them in the real-world location where their behavior happens naturally

surveys

A set of questions addressed to a group of people about their behavior or attitudes

Case study

A small number of psychologists conduct research in which the sample consists of just one person (or a very small group) studied in great depth

Neurons

the cells that facilitate communication within the nervous system.

Dendrites

branches at the end of neurons that receive signals from other neurons

Cell body (soma)

the large central region of a neuron that performs the basic activities, including the production of energy, to keep the neuron functional

Axon

the part of the neuron that carries information toward other neurons

myelin sheath

a protective sleeve of fatty material that surrounds the axon

action potential

the release, or firing, of an electrical impulse that travels through the axon.

synapse

a gap between two connecting neurons

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that travel across synapses from one neuron to the next

Acetylcholine

a compound that occurs throughout the nervous system, in which it functions as a neurotransmitter

dopamine

neurotransmitter involved in reward system and in movement

serotonin

neurotransmitters involved in mood and possibly sleep and appetite

endorphins

are neurotransmitters involved in reducing pain and increasing pleasure

epinephrine

involved in fight or flight

agonist

drugs that impact the neurotransmitters

antagonist

against the histamine neurotransmitter

Brain stem

the part of the brain that connects to the spine and controls the functions most essential to staying alive

cerebellum

the part of the brain near the bottom and back primarily involved in balance and the coordination of movement

medulla

the part of the brainstem most specifically involved in heartbeat and breathing

Thalamus

the brains main sensory processing center, located near the center of the brain

limbic system

a cluster of brain areas involved primarily in emotion

hypothalamus

is the part of the limbic system involved in maintaining steadiness in bodily functions

hippocampus

the part of the limbic system involved in memory, especially spatial memory and long-term memory

amygdala

part of the limbic system involved most directly in emotions, especially fear.

cerebrum (forebrain)

is the upper front part of the brain, which consists of two hemispheres and is involved in sophisticated, often uniquely human abilities.

cerebral cortex

the outer layer of the cerebrum, where sensory information is processed

right cerebral hemisphere

receives pain messages, paired with your right side of your body

left cerebral hemisphere

is paired with the right side of the body, sends the messages

corpus callosum

the bundle of neurons that connects and allows communication between the two cerebral hemisphere

frontal lobe

the part of the cerebral cortex right behind the forehead, which is involved in complex thinking tasks, planning, purposeful action, and other advanced functions.

parietal lobe

the part of the brain near the top and back of the head involved in touch and perception

temporal lobe

the lower middle part of the brain, involved in hearing and speech production.

occipital lobe

the lower back part of the brain involved with vision

motor cortex

the strip of brain matter near the back of the frontal lobe involved in voluntary movement

somatosensory cortex

a strip of the brain matter near the front of the parietal lobe involved in receiving information from the senses.

Broca's area

a part of the left side of the frontal lobe heavily involved in speaking

Broca's aphasia

is the speech dysfunction caused by damage to Broca's area.

Wernicke's area

part of the temporal lobe specifically involved in understanding speech

Wernicke's aphasia

dysfunction in understanding or creating coherent speech caused by damage to Wernicke's area.

plasticity

the ability of the brain to adapt its structure or function in response to damage or experience.

Nervous system

full set of nerves that connect your brain with all the other parts of your body.

central nervous system

the brain and the spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the neurons that connect the central nervous system to other parts of the body

somatic nervous system

part of the peripheral nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the parts of the body you control voluntarily

autonomic nervous system

part of the peripheral nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the parts of the body you control involuntarily

sympathetic division

part of your autonomic nervous system that revs your body up in response to stressors

parasympathetic division

is the part of your autonomic nervous system that calms your body down when stressors decrease

hormones

chemicals made by the glands of the endocrine system, affect certain tissues throughout the body

cortisol

the stress hormone

Sensations

the ability of your sensory organs to pick up energy in the environment around you and transmit it to your brain

absolute threshold

the minimum level of a stimulus necessary for you to detect its presence at least half of the time.

difference threshold

the smallest change in a stimulus necessary for you to detect it at least half of the time.

ESP (extrasensory perception and parapsychology)

the debatable notion of perception without sensation

parapsychology

the study of topics that fall outside the range of mainstream psychology

sensory adaptation

the tendency of a person's sensation of a stimulus to decrease when the stimulus remains constant

Habituation

when you decrease or stop responding to a stimulus that repeats or stays constant

perceptual constancies

your brain's ability to maintain the same perception of an object even when conditions around it cause it to produce different sensations

selective attention

paying more attention to one sensory channel than others

change blindness

a failure to notice changes in your visual field simply because you expect otherwise

inattentional blindness

a failure to notice something in your visual field simply because your attention was focused elsewhere

Bottom-up processing

a way of processing information in which what you sense becomes a perception with no influence of expectation or previous experiences

top-down processing

a way of processing information in which what your expectations or previous experiences influence what you perceive

Vision

your sense of sight, dominates the human senses.

Retina

the rear part of the eyeball that receives visual stimulation and sends it to the brain via the optic nerve