PSYC 2301: Final Exam

this was nightmare to make

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Behavior

What can be directly observed.

Positive psychology

a branch of human psychology that emphasizes human strengths

generally, it can be thought of as *the science of happiness.*

Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic Psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society’s demands, and early childhood family experiences.

Humanistic psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on a person’s positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one’s destiny.

Cognitive psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

*argues that people interpret as well as respond to the stimuli they experience.*

Evolutionary psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and __natural selection__ as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Biological psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system.

*It explores how our biology influences our behavior.*

Sociocultural Psychology

An approach to psychology focusing on the ways in which *social and cultural environments influence behavior*.

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Behavioral Psychology

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An approach to psychology focusing on the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.

Correlation coefficient

A statistic that tells us two things about the relationship between two variables—*its strength (#.##) and its direction (+/-)*.

Experimental method

A method of investigation used to demonstrate *cause-and-effect relationships* by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor.

Placebo

In a drug study, a harmless substance that has no physiological effect, given to participants in a control group so that they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active agent.

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Naturalistic observation

The observation of behavior in a real-world setting.

Correlational Method

Research that examines the *relationship* *between variables* in order to find out whether and how two variables change together.

Representative sample

A sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.

or

*a mirror the population of interest, includes the same subgroups in the same proportions as in that population.*

Independent variable

A *manipulated* experimental factor; the *variable* that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are.

Dependent variable

The *outcome*; the variable that may change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable.

Experimental group

The participants in an experiment who receive the drug or other treatment under study; those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents.

Control group

The participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible and who are treated in every way like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor, the independent variable.

Random assignment

The assignment of participants to experimental groups by chance, to reduce the likelihood that a study’s results will be due to preexisting differences between groups.

Placebo effect

A phenomenon in which the expectation of the participants, rather than actual treatment, produces an outcome.

Double-blind procedure

An experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated.

ethical guidelines

• informed consent

• confidentiality

• debriefing

• deception

Scientific Method

the ongoing cycle of observing behavior, forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, interpreting data, and communicating findings to others.

Step 1 of the Scientific Method

Observe- observe some phenomenon

• Curiosity and Critical Thinking.

• Formulate or challenge a theory.

Step 2 of the Scientific Method

Hypothesize- Formulate hypotheses and predictions.

• Testable prediction.

• Derived form theory.

Step 3 of the Scientific Method

Test- Test through empirical research.

• Operational definition of variables.

• Analyze data using statistical procedures.

Step 4 of the Scientific Method

Conclusions- Draw conclusions.

• Replication of results.

• Reliability.

Step 5 of the Scientific Method

Evaluate- Evaluate the theory.

• Change the theory?

• Peer review and publication.

• Meta-analysis.

Descriptive Research

Research that determines the basic dimensions of a phenomenon—defining what it is, how often it occurs, and so on.

*Designed to provide descriptions of behavior.*

Case Study

An in-depth look at a single individual.

*Often conducted on individuals with unique, unusual, or abnormal experiences.*

Survey

a questionnaire that presents a standard set of questions, or items, to obtain people's self-reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic.

Neuroscience

the field of study of the nervous system.

Cell body

contains the nucleus, which manufactures what the neuron needs for growth and maintenance.

Dopamine

an inhibitory neurotransmitter and helps *control voluntary movements*, and also *affects sleep, mood, attention, and learning.*

• reward anticipation

• stimulant drugs: activate ________ receptors

• Parkinson's disease: ↓ ________ levels

• schizophrenia: ↑ ________ levels

Endorphins

a neurotransmitter that stimulate neuron firing, *alleviate pain* and *elevate feelings of pleasure*, and are *considered natural opiates.*

Afferent nerves (or sensory nerves)

Nerves that carry information about the external environment *to* the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors.

They *arrive* at the brain and spinal cord.

efferent nerves (or motor nerves)

Nerves that carry information *out of* the brain and spinal cord to other areas of the body.

They *exit* the brain and spinal chord.

Autonomic nervous system

The body system that takes messages to and from the body’s *internal organs*, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate, and digestion.

Pons

A part of the brain that is involved in sleep and arousal.

Limbic system

A part of the brain that is a loosely connected network of structures under the cerebral cortex, important in both *memory and emotion*. Its two principal structures are the amygdala and the hippocampus.

Amygdala

A part of the brain that is kind of like an awareness center that is involved in the **discrimination of objects** that are necessary for the organism’s **survival**, such as appropriate foods, mates, and social rivals. It is also involved in *emotional awareness and expression*.

***Heavily involved in the learning of fear responses.***

Hippocampus

The part of the brain that is involved in the *formation and storage of memories*.

People who have damage to this cannot retain any new memories after the damage.

Cerebrum

The part of the brain that where *thinking, deciding, or other cognitive activity* mostly occur; a large, complex structure that sits atop the hindbrain.

Is active when you *ruminate*.

The left cerebral hemisphere

A part of the brain that is largely involved with *language processing and production*.

The right cerebral hemisphere

A part of the brain that is not very verbally orientated, but it does play a role in *word recognition*.

occipital lobe

Structures located at the back of the head that respond to *visual stimuli*.

temporal lobe

Structures in the cerebral cortex that are located just above the ears and are involved in *hearing*, *language processing*, and *memory*.

Frontal lobes

The portions of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead that is involved in the control of *voluntary muscles, intelligence, and personality*.

The largest of the brain’s lobes.

parietal lobe

Structures in the cerebral cortex at the top and toward the rear of the head that are involved in *registering spatial location*, *attention*, and *motor control*.

Corpus callosum

A part of the brain that is a bundle of axons that connects the left and right hemispheres. If it is severed, the two hemispheres cannot communicate with each other.

Association areas

The region of the cerebral cortex that is the site of the highest intellectual functions, such as thinking and problem-solving.

Motor cortex

A region in the cerebral cortex that *processes information about voluntary movement*, located just behind the frontal lobes.

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are produced by the endocrine glands and carried by the bloodstream to all parts of the body.

Adrenal glands

A part of the brain that are involved in regulating *mood, energy level, and the ability to cope with stress*. They secrete both epinephrine and norepinephrine.

Behavior(al) genetics

is the study of the degree and nature of *heredity’s influence on behavior*.

Medulla

A part of the brain that is important for essential life functions, such as controlling breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure, and regulates reflexes.

Cerebellum

A part of the brain that plays an important role in motor coordination. It coordinates leg and arm movements, *balance*, and steady hands.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

records the *electrical, brain-wave activity*.

CT scan (computerized axial tomography)

produces a *three-dimensional image* that is obtained through X-rays of the head.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

creates a strong magnetic field around a person’s body and uses radio waves to construct images of the person’s tissue and *biochemical activities*.

*produces sharp, clear, images of brain structures with the use of magnetic fields.*

PET scan (positron emission tomography)

provides information about the *amount of glucose* in various areas of the brain and then it sends this information to a computer where it is analyzed.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

allows researchers to see what is happening in the brain while it is working and tells us about the *brain activity* associated with the mental experience.

Information processing theory

a cognitive theory that uses computer processing as a metaphor for the workings of the human brain.

Neuron

the nerve cells that control the information-processing function.

Mirror neurons

Nerve cells in the brain that are activated (in human and nonhuman primates) both when an *action is performed* and when the organism *observes the action* being performed by another.

Dendrites

*receive* information and send that information on to the cell body.

Axon

*carries information away* from the cell body and to other cells.

Synaptic gap

the space between one neuron and the dendrites of another neuron

Synapse

the junctions between neurons

Resting potential

The stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron.

Action potential

is the term given to the electrical impulses flowing down the axon.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the terminal buttons and are involved in transmitting information (neural impulse) across a synaptic gap to the next neuron.

nervous system (NS)

the body’s electrochemical communication system.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

The network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body.

Sympathetic nervous system

The part of the autonomic nervous system that *prepares* a person for a stressful situation.

“Fight or Flight”

Parasympathetic nervous system

The part of the autonomic nervous system that *calms the body down after* the stressful situation.

“rest and digest”

Brain stem

The part of the brain that houses the medulla, pons, and much of the hindbrain and gets its name largely due its natural stem-like shape.

regulates survival-type functions such as *breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure.*

Hypothalamus

The part of the brain that ***monitors three pleasurable activities—eating, drinking***, ***sexual behavior —as well as*** ***temperature***, emotion, stress, and reward.

helps to direct the endocrine system, and regulates the pituitary gland.

Thalamus

The forebrain structure that sits at the top of the brain stem in the brain’s central core and serves as an important relay station.

Cerebral cortex

Part of the forebrain, the outer layer of the brain, responsible for the most complex mental functions, such as *thinking and planning.*

Broca’s area

The part of the brain that if it were to take damage, it would cause a person to have **difficulty** in *speaking or speech production*.

Wernicke’s Area

The part of the brain that if it were to take damage, it would cause a person to have difficulty *understanding spoken language, or language comprehension*.

Plasticity (Neuroplasticity)

The brain’s special physical capacity for change.

Endocrine system

consists of glands that regulate certain organs by releasing their chemical products into the bloodstream.

Pituitary gland

The part of the brain that involves growth and regulates other glands.

John Watson

little Albert experiment – The white rat became the conditioned stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

a form of associative learning where the consequences of behavior change the probability of the behavior’s occurrence; it explains voluntary behaviors.

*behavior is more likely to be performed in the future if the behavior is reinforced.*

Learning

A systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience.

Behaviorism

**A theory of learning** that focuses solely on observable behaviors, discounting the importance of mental activity such as thinking, wishing, and hoping.

Observational Learning

Learning that involves observing and imitating another’s behavior.

Also called Modeling or Imitation

Conditioning

occurs when you have learned to associate a stimulus with a response.

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that brings about a response *without* any prior learning.

unconditioned response (UR)

the *unlearned response* to the Unconditioned Stimulus (US).

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that *when associated* with the Unconditioned Stimulus (US) elicits a conditioned response.

conditioned response (CR)

the learned response of the Conditioned Stimulus (CS).

generalization (in classical conditioning)

occurs when a __new__ stimulus that is *similar* to the original stimulus elicits a response that is similar to the Conditioned Response (CR).

Discrimination

is learning to respond to certain stimuli while not responding to others.