Psychology Units 1-2

ABC model of operant conditioning

a way of explaining how operant conditioning works, showing how the consequence of a behavior influences the replication of behavior

action potential

the electrical trigger that passes along the axon and stimulates the neuron to activate and release neurotransmitters as a result of synaptic transmission

adrenal glands

pair of small glands at the top of each kidney, which produce and release hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline to help the body respond to stress

adrenaline and noraepinephrine

hormones that increase heart rate, alertness and other functions in preparation to deal with threat

affective disorder

disturbances in mood or emotion, such as depression

agency

when we act as an agent for another, e.g. obey orders

agonist

chemical substance (drug) that binds to and activates a receptor to cause a signal. When an agonist binds to a receptor, it triggers a biological response which mimcs and neurotransmitter

alternative hypothesis

a prediction of the outcome of a study when conducting a study using a non-experimental method

Alzheimer's disease

a neurological degenerative disease that impairs cognitive functioning causing memory loss and impairments in thinking and language

androcentric

research representing a male point of view

androgen

chemical that develops or maintains male characteristics

angular gyrus

part of the parietal lobe associated with memory, language processing and attention

antenatal

before birth

anterograde amnesia

the loss of ability to make new memories, while memories before the injury remain relatively intact

anterolateral

to the front and side of

antisocial personality disorder

characterized by a lack of empathy and understanding of others, a disregard for social conventions, impulsivity and aggression

aphasia

a disturbance in the comprehension or production of language caused by brain dysfunction or damage, such as a stroke

attended information

sensory information that is given attention

autonomy

acting on one's own free will/exercising self determination

axon

branch from the cell body that passes electrical impulses down to the end of the neuron to allow it to communicate with others

axon hillcock

area that connects the cell body to the axon

axon terminals

end of the axon that leads to the terminal buttons

basal model

model that suggests the testosterone is assumed to be a persistent trait that influences behavior

behavioral economics

a field of study that combines psychology and economics to study how individuals make decisions

bilateral

both hemispheres of the brain are involved

brain stimulation

the use of electrodes to stimulate regions of the brain and examine resulting behvioral or cognitive changes as a result

Broca's area

an area of the left (typically) frontal lobe associated with the proudction of language

castrated

when the testicles of a male animal or a man are removed

causality

the effect of the manipulated variable on the measured variable can be reliably established as a cause-and-effect relationship

cell body

main part of the cell where the nucleus sits; it also contains mitochondria

cingulate gyrus

part of the brain, which is involved in emotion formation

cognition

mental processes, such as thinking

concurrent validity

a way of establishing validity that compares evidence from several studies testing the same thing to see if they agree

conditioned response (CR)

a behavior that is shown in response to a learned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

s stimulus that has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus so that it now produced the same response

confederate

a researcher/actor who pretends to be a participant of a study

confidentiality

participants should not be identified as part of the study. Their data can be anonymized

confirmation bias

when a researcher conducts research in a way that confirms the intended outcomes

conformity

a form of social influence hwere our opinions, beliefs and/or behavior are influenced by a majority

confounding variable

a variable that affects the findings of a study directly, so much that you are no longer measuring what was intended

congenital blindness

blind since birth

consequence

an outcome of something. In psychology, a consequence is something that follows the showing of a behavior

conspecific

a member of one's own species

continuous reinforcement

the desired behavior is reinforced every time it occurs

control group

a group of participants that does not experience the experimental situation but acts as a baseline against which to judge any change

control processes

conscious decisions about what to attend to from the sensory information in our environment

corpus callosum

a band of nerve fibres that join the two hemispheres of the brain together and allow communication between the two parts

correlation coefficient

a number between 0 and 1 which shows how much a change in one variable is related to change in another variable

cost-benefit analysis

a process that any study which uses live animals must go through to assess the benefits of the research against any harm or suffering which the animals might experience

counterbalancing

altnernating the conditions of the study for each participant in a repeated measures design

covert observation

a form of observation where the participants do not know they are being observed. For example, you making an observation in behavior your student area, while simply sitting in one of the seated areas

critical/table value

a statistical cut-off point. It is a number presented on a table of critical values that determines whether the result is significant enough for the null hypothesis not to be accepted

cross-sectional design

involves collecting data from a population or sample at a single point in time; the data is typically divided into groups or characteristics of a population

debrief

a statement given to participants on conclusion of a study which discloses fully the nature and implications of the research

deception

participants should not be lied to or misguided about the nature of the study

deductive

a theory has been established and then tested to see whether it can be supported by data

demand characteristics

participant behavior altered because they may guess the study aim

dendrites

branches at the top end of a neuron that recieve messages from other neurons

descriptive statistics

calculations which describe trends from raw data; these include calculating the mean, median, mode and standard deviation

desensitization

brought about by relaxation techniques taught before facing the phobic object

digit span

how many digits can be retained and recalled in sequential order without mistakes

directional (one-tailed) hypothesis

a directional hypothesis predicts the direction of difference or relationship that the result is likely to take

double-blind procedure

a study where neither the participants or the researchers collecting data are aware of who is recieving a treatment

dual task experiment

experiments that involve two tasks that either compete with each other for the same cognitive resource because they are similar tasks (two verbal or two visual tasks), or involve different cognitive resources becasue they are different tasks (one verbal and one visual)

Dynamic Visual Noise task (DVN)

a cognitive task used to study attention and perception, typically involving presenting participants with a screen with rapidly changing visual patterns, or ‘noise'. Its purpose is to disrupt perception of other visual stimuli

ecological validity

the ability to generalize the findings of experimental research to situations beyond the laboratory

empiricism

knowledge can only be gathered through sensory experience. For example, empiricists would argue that you cannot infer that it is raining outside just because you can see people putting up their umbrellas; you can only establish that it is raining by going outside and feeling the rain on your skin

endocrine system

the system of glands that secrete hormone messages around the body using the circulatory system

episodic buffer

a subcomponent of the working memory associated with interfacing with long-term memory and integrating information from other subcomponents

excitatory postsynaptic potential

the temporary depolarisation of a neuron as a result of positively charged ion flowing into the cell that make it more likely to fire an action potential

experimental hypothesis

a prediction of the outcome of a study when conducting an experiment

external reliability

refers to the consistency of a measure

extraneous variable

a variable that may have affected the dependent variable but that was not the independent variable

face validity

looking at each question and deciding whether it makes sense in terms of the construct being measured

fascism

a very nationalist and authoritarian position, intolerant of others' views, based on an extreme right-wing political position

field experiment

a piece of research that takes place in the setting where the behavior being studied would naturally occur

gamma rays

gamma rays are created when a positron meets an electron. A positron is injected into the body (FGD) and when it encounters an electron they converge in a process known as annihilation. This coverts the mass of both the positron and electron into gamma rays. These gamma rays are detected by the scanner

generalizability

the ability to apply findings to other people, situation and contexts

generalized anxiety disorder

a long-term condition where individuals feel anxious in a range of situations rather than about a specific object

glands

organs of the body that product a substance that the body needs, such as hormones, sweat, or saliva

habituation

the process by which a response to a given stimulus is seen to decrease with repetition

hemispheres

two symmetrical halves of the brain

hierarchical

a system of social organizatino where there are leaders and those who follow

holism

studying human mind and behavior as a whole using different levels of explanation

homeostasis

process by which the body maintains the internal environment, including blood pressure, blood sugar levels and body temperature

hormones

chemicals produced by glands that are used to signal between organs and tissues

human psyche

the human mind with all its conscious and unconscious aspects; thoughts, feelings, memories, and wishes

hyperactivity

restlessness, impulsivity and excess of physical activity

hysteria

an outdated term today, but used by Freud to describe physical symptoms without a clear medical explanation

imitation

copying a behavior that has been observed and remembered

incentive

a monetary reward or other form of gift given to encourage participation in the study

independent measures

an experimental/research design where different groups of participants are used in each condition of the study

individual differences

natural variation in human characteristics that may exist between groups when using an independent groups design

inductive

conclusions are drawn from the data to produce a theory

informed consent

participants should be fully aware of the aims, procedure and implications of the research they are agreeing to undertake

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

changes in the polarization of a neuron that make it less likely to fire an action potential

instrumental learning

the term Edward Thorndike originally gave to the form of learning hwere the consequence of a behavior dictates the further repeating of it

interference task