Studied by 16 people
Case Study
To examine one individual in depth to make observations. Weakness-Information can be unrepresentative and lead to false conclusions. Strength- They can suggest directions for further study
Survey
To get a representative sample from people to show attitudes of behaviors. Strength-Can determine opinions of a population easily. Weaknesses- Subtle changes in the order of wording can effect peoples expressed opinions and can lead to generalization and be unrepresentative.
Naturalistic Observation
To record behavior in natural environments. Strengths- They illuminate human behavior and lead to strong results. Weaknesses- You cant control all factors influencing behavior
Correlation
To measure the extent to which two factors vary together and how well either factor predicts eachother. Strengths- Can be done in many different ways. Weaknesses- Indicates possibility of a cause and effect relationship but it does not prove causation.
Experiment
To manipulate one or more factors to observe the affect on some behavior or mental processes. Strengths- Enables a researcher to focus on the possible effects on one or more factors. Weaknesses- There can be human error
Descriptive Statistics
numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics
Measures of Central Tendency
a single score that represents a whole set of scores
Mean
the average
Median
the middle score
Mode
the most frequent
Range
Highest minus lowest
Standard deviation
how much scores vary around the mean
Informed consent
an ethical principle that makes sure participant is willing and know what they are doing
Protect from harm and discomfort
an ethical principle to not hurt anyone badly
Maintain Confidentiality
an ethical principle that makes sure the experiment remains confidential.
Debriefing
an ethical principle that its letting the participant know the results after experiment.
Neurons
a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Sensory Neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
Motor Neurons
they carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
Interneurons
Within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally
Dendrites
the bushy branching extensions of a neuron that recieve messages and conduct impulses.
Axon
the extension of a neuron through which messages pass
Myelin Sheath
a layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of many neurons
Action potential
a neural impulse; a brief electrical pulse that travels down the axon
Synapses
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the recieving neuron
Neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons
Reuptake
a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron
Acetylcholine (ACh)
enables muscle action, learning, and memory. Malfunction- There neurons deteriorate with Alzheimers disease
Dopamine
Influences movement,learning, attention, and emotion. Malfunction- Excess dopamine activity linked to schizophrenia and a lack of dopamine is linked to Parkinsons
Serotonin
Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. Malfunction- Under supply is linked to depression
Norepinephrine
Helps control alertness and arousal. Malfunction- Undersupply can depress mood
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
a major inhibitory neurotransmitter. Malfunction- undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia
Glutamate
A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory. Malfunction- oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing migraines or seizures.
Substance P
communicates pain. Malfunction- can cause fibromyalgia
Endorphins
relieves pain and stress, improves feelings of well being. Malfunction- when the brain is flooded with opiate drugs the brain stops producing its own opiates(endorphins). When the drug is withdrawn the brain does not automatically begin producing opiates causing intense discomfort.
Central Nervous System
the brain and the spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous systems to the rest of the body.
Sympathetic Nervous system
the division of the automatic systems that arouses the body
Parasympathetic Nervous system
the division of the automatics nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
Somatic Nervous System
the division of the periphral nervous system that controls the bodys skeletal muscles.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
reads brain waves, used to detect seizures.
Computer tomography (CT)
uses x-rays to detect soft tissue damage
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Uses radio waves to reveal overall structure/exposes tumors, dementia, alzeheimers
Functional MRI (FMRI)
explores brain function and blood flow, used after surgery
Positron emission tomography (PET)
explores memory function, mirror neurons - uses radioactive material to detect hot spots of brain activity
Lesion
tissue destruction; caused either naturally or experimentally causes destruction of brain tissue.
Brainstem
the oldest and innermost part of the brain, responsible for automatic functions
Medulla
Primarily responsible for breathing and heart rate
Pons
Responsible for sleep cycles and coordinating movement
Reticular formation
controls arousal and spread between brainstem and thalamus
Thalamus
delivers sensory information to cortex (all senses except smell)
Cerebellum
automatically processes movement, balance, judging time, managing emotion, working to identify different sounds or textures
The limbic system(what structures it contains)
Amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus
Amygdala
aggression and fear
Hippocampus
linked to memory
Hypothalamus
influences pituary gland, reward centers, reward deficiency syndrome
The cerebral cortex
interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres
Frontal lobes
involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgement
Parietal Lobes
recieves sensory input for touch and body position
Occipital Lobes
includes areas that recieve information from the visual fields
Temporal lobes
they lay above the ears and recieve information from the opposite ears
Motor cortex
an area at the rear or the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
Sensory cortex
area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensation
Association areas
areas of the cerebral cortex involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
Aphasia
impairment of language; usually caused by damage to left hemisphere
Broca’s Area
controls language expression and directs muscles involved in speech
Wernicke’s area
controls language reception; language comprehension and expression
Neurogenesis
the formation of new neurons
Corpus Callosum
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
Split brain
a condition resulting form surgery that isolates the brains 2 hemispheres
Sleep
periodic, natural loss of consciousness
NREM 1
Brief, slowed breathing, irregular brain waves, hallucinations, sensations of falling or floating
NREM 2
Easily awakened, about 20 mins, rapid rhythmic brain wave activity
NREM 3
Deep sleep, about 30 min, brain emits large slow delta waves, sleep walking and bedwetting typically happens in this stage
REM
Heart rate rises, breathing is rapid and irregular, eyes dart around, muscles are relaxed, not easily awakened, dreaming occures
Night terrors
a sleep disorder in which a person quickly awakens from sleep in a terrified state
Sleep apnea
type of sleep-related breathing disorder, a group of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal breathing patterns during sleep
Narcolepsy
a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain's ability to control sleep-wake cycles
Insomnia
Chronic tiredness and inability to fall or stay asleep
Freuds wish fufillment
Dreams contain a deeper layer of latent content, hidden meaning. Dreams have unexpressible thoughts
Information-processing
Dreams help us sort out they days events and consolidate our memories
Psychological function
Regular brain stimulation for REM sleep may help develop and preserve neural pathways
Activation-synthesis
REM sleep triggers neural activity that evokes random visual memories which our sleeping brain weaves into stories
Cognitive theory
Dream content reflects dreamers cognitive development- their knowledge and development
Depressants
drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
Hallucinogens
Psychedelic drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images
Stimulants
Drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions
Tolerance
the diminished effect with the regular use of the same drug requiring the user to take larger and larger amounts
Dependence
a psychological need to use a drug
Withdrawal
physical discomfort that results from discontinuing a addictive substance
Addiction
cravings and compulsive drug use, despite consequence
Absolute Threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
Signal detection theory
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation
Subliminal stimulation
below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Difference threshold
the minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time
Webers law
the principle that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant %
What do rods and cones detect?
Rods detect black, white, and gray. Cones detect fine detail and color sensations.
Trichromatic color theory (aka young-helmholtz trichromatic theory)
the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors-one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue, which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color. (Does not account for afterimages)
Ewald Herings opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
Gerog von Beksey's place theory
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochleas membrane is stimulated
Note
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