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

direction