Psychology Chapter 1 - 3 Vocabulary (not me)

Vocabulary flashcards generated from Chapters 1-3 lecture notes, covering psychological terms, historical perspectives, research methodologies, and neuroanatomy.

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation proposed by a researcher about how or why something happens to explain a phenomenon.

Empirical method

A method to acquire knowledge based on observation, including experimentation.

Critical thinking

The active application of a set of skills to information for the understanding and evaluation of that information.

Psychoanalytic theory

A psychological perspective emphasizing that early childhood experiences are important, with a focus on sexual and violent impulses.

Eros

In psychoanalytic theory, the life instinct responsible for procreation.

Thanatos

In psychoanalytic theory, the death instinct or drive towards death.

Gestalt Psychology

A school of thought centered on the principle that 'The whole is other than the sum of the parts.'

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that focuses solely on observable behaviors without reference to mental processes.

Humanism

A perspective in psychology focused on individual potential, growth, and the need for love and acceptance.

Cognitive psychology

The study of how we perceive, process, and remember information.

Cognitive neuroscience

The study of brain activity linked with cognition.

WEIRD cultures

An acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic cultures, which are over-represented in psychological research.

Biopsychology

The study of the biological basis of behavior, thoughts, emotions, and the reciprocal relationship between biological and psychological processes.

Natural Selection

The evolutionary process wherein individuals with specific adaptations survive and outbreed individuals without them.

Developmental Psychology

The study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life.

Social psychology

The study of how we are influenced by the actual, imagined, and implied presence of others.

Hindsight bias

The tendency to believe that one would have foreseen an outcome after learning it, also known as the 'I knew it all along' phenomenon.

Apophenia

The perception of meaningful connections or relationships between unrelated events or things.

Pareidolia

The perception of significant patterns or images, especially faces, in visual stimuli.

Deductive reasoning

Reasoning that begins with a question, hypothesis, or idea to reach logical conclusions about the real world.

Inductive reasoning

Reasoning in which specific empirical observations lead to new broad ideas or conclusions.

Case study

An in-depth research method focused on an individual or a small group.

Hawthorne effect

The alteration of behavior by subjects in a study due to their awareness of being observed.

Observer bias

The unconscious skewing of observations by researchers closely involved in a project to fit their expectations.

Inter-rater reliability

A measure that assesses the consistency of observations made by different observers.

Longitudinal Design

A research design that studies the same group of participants over an extended period of time.

Cross-sectional design

A research design that compares several different age groups to each other at one point in time.

Sequential Design

A research design combining longitudinal and cross-sectional methods by studying individuals of different ages over an extended period.

Correlation coefficient

A numerical value ranging from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of a relationship between variables.

Confounding variable

An unintended factor other than the variable of interest that causes changes in the results of an experiment.

Illusory correlation

The perception that a relationship exists between two variables when no actual relationship exists.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to accept evidence that fits our existing beliefs while ignoring evidence that contradicts them.

Independent variable

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter.

Dependent variable

The variable in an experiment that is measured to observe any effects caused by the independent variable.

Operational research

A description of how research variables are specifically defined and measured.

Double-blind study

An experimental procedure in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know which treatment group the participants are in.

Reliability

The consistency of a measuring tool to yield reproducible results.

Validity

The extent to which a test or instrument accurately measures what it claims to measure.

Genotype

The complete genetic material of an organism.

Phenotype

The observable physical and behavioral characteristics of an organism.

Range of reaction

The concept that genes set boundaries on potential, and environment determines the outcome within that range.

Agonist

A drug or chemical that is chemically similar to a neurotransmitter, binding to receptor sites and producing the same effect.

Antagonist

A drug or chemical that binds to receptor sites and blocks the normal action of a neurotransmitter.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for triggering the 'fight or flight' response.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for 'rest and digest' operations.

Neuroplasticity

The adaptability of the nervous system and the brain's ability to learn, change, and rewire itself.

Corpus callosum

A large band of neural fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres, enabling communication between them.

Prefrontal cortex

The part of the frontal lobe responsible for higher-level cognitive processes such as reasoning, planning, decision making, and personality. Ex. stops you from impusilve actions

Broca's area

A region in the frontal lobe of the brain essential for speech production. can understand other peoples speech, but can’t speak

Wernicke's area

A region in the temporal lobe responsible for language processing and comprehension. difficulty understanding, but can speak

Thalamus

The brain structure that serves as a sensory relay station for all senses except smell.

Amygdala

A structure in the limbic system involved in evaluating sensory information, processing emotions like fear and anger, and forming emotional memories.

Hypothalamus

A limbic system structure regulating body temperature, autonomic functions, and basic survival drives such as hunger, thirst, and reproduction. ex. decides whether to appproach or not

Hippocampus

A limbic system structure essential for transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

Reticular formation

A midbrain structure that screens incoming information and alerts higher brain centers.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure responsible for controlling vital, unconscious body processes like breathing and heart rate.

Cerebellum

A hindbrain structure that controls fine muscle movements, balance, and simple acquired reflexes.

The evaluation of information

assessing its reliability and usefulness; an important skill in a world full of competing “facts” many of which are designed to be misleading

Fundamental Belief

humans are innately good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency.

Culture

distinctive customs, values, beliefs, knowledge, art and language of a society

theory

set of statements used to describe a phenomenon, suggest future research

The evaluation of information

asessing its reliability and usefulness; an important skill in a world full of competing “facts” many of which are desgined to be misleading.

Fundamental Belief

humans are innatelty good and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency

culture

distinctive customs, vales, beliefs, knowledge, art and language of a society

Evolutionary Psychology

is a theoretical approach that examines human behavior, thoughts, and feelings through the lens of modern evolutionary theory

Industrial organization psychology

study of human behavior in organizations and work place

Health psychology

The study why people get sick, how they respond to illness, how they cope with stress,a nd how they can adopt preventative behvaiors to stay healthy. factors that would help stay healthy

Biological influences

potential chemical imbalance in neurotransmitters like serotonin and genetic prepredisposition

Psychological influence

thoughts, or events , coping mechanism

Social-culture psycology

The cultureal norms regarding mental health in her community

Sport and Exercise psychology

mental factors that influence particpation in sport, exercise and pshysical activity

clinical psycology

assessment/treatment of mental illness/disability

counseling psychology

mild treatment to less serious problems such as couple conseling or mild depression

forensic psychology

application of psychology to legal settings

Intuition

ability yo understand something immediatrly, without the conscious reasoning, analytic thought, or deliberate processing. Ex. gut feeling where brain quickly draws on past experiences, unconcious patterns, and implicit knowledge to arrive at a conclusion quickly

Pareidolia

perception of significant patterns/images ex. see the devil in smoke

Emperical

based on systematic observation/experimentation that are derived from observation and measureable evidence

Falsifiable

capable of being shown to be incorrect

astrology

applying signs like Greek Zodiac or just signs from different culture that claims to influence what type of person they are at birth. But applying signs to others, but it applies to anyone it doesn’t apply

Generalizing

ability to applying findings, principles or behaviors learned from a research project derived larger groups/population

Naturalistic Observation

observing in a natural environment. Observing a person’s behavior without them noticing.

Observer bias

observes closely involved in research project; may unconciously skew observations to fit expectations.

Survey research

answering questons in person, over phone electronically, pencil and paper

Wording effect

a question or statement that is phrased that signficantly influence how people responds to it

Sampling effect

occurs when the sample of the participants chosen for the study does not accurately represent the broader population intended to be studied.

archival research

use of existing records; newspaper, diaries, etc

Correlation

there is a relationhip among two or more variables

Positive correlation

variables change in the same direction; both increases or both decreases

Cofounding variable

something other variable of interest that causes changes; external factor that affects both the independent variable and dependent variable

Causality

refers to the relationship between cause and effect. Correlation does not equal Causality.

Replication

using same procedures like E1 = 10mg, E2 = 20 mg and so on.

Random assignment

assign anyone to your experiment and control group

cofounding variables

unmeasured or uncontrolled external factor that varies along with the IV variable as well. It makes it impossible to know whether the IV variable actually caused the effect.

single-blind study

participants don’t know which the experimental group receiving the treatment or control group receiving a placebo they been assigned to. The researchers knows

Informed consent

told enough to decide if they want to partcipate in the experiment

Debriefing

at the end of the study, review experiment, answer questions; researchers provide the participants with a complete, honest explanation of the study’s purpose, hypotheses, and methods.

Tuskegee Syphillis

a clinical study conducted by the U.S public health service between 1932 and 1972. Lack of bad blood, targeted population with low income that limited access to healthcare and witholding treatment

Protection of participants

physical/mental harm risk of normal life

Instiution and Review Board

reviews proposals for research that involves participants usually start off with proving they are consent from them.