AP Psych Midterm Flashcards

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