psychology unit 1

behavioral genetics

studies inheritance of traits related to behavior

behavioral neuroscience

examines biological basis of behavior

clinical psychology

deals with study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders

clinical neuropsychology

unites areas of biopsychology and clinical psychology, focuses on relationship b/w biological factors and psychological disorders

cognitive psychology

study of higher mental processes

counseling psychology

focuses on education, social, and career adjustment problems

cross-cultural psychology

investigates similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups

developmental psychology

examines how people grow and change from birth to death

diversity science

focuses on how society’s diversity affects individual and group behavior

educational psychology

concerned with teaching and learning processes, relationship b/w motivation and school performance

climate and environmental psychology

considers how climate changes affects behavior, relationship b/w people and their physical environments

evolutionary psychology

considers how behavior is influenced by genetic inheritance

experimental psychology

studies the process of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world

forensic psychology

focuses on legal issues, determining accuracy of witness memories

health psychology

explores relationship b/w psychological factors and physical ailments

industrial psychology

psychology of workplace

personality psychology

consistency in people’s behavior over time, differentiate one person from another

psychology of women

focuses on discrimination issues and causes of violence against women

school psychology

counseling children in school with academic or emotional problems

social psychology

how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes in both humans and animals

behavior

any observable action

mental processes

individual thoughts and feelings, cannot be directly observed

structuralism

wundts approach, understanding fundamental components of consciousness and thinking

introspection

procedure used to study structure of the mind, structuralism

functionalism

approach that concentrates on what the mind does, functions of mental activity, led by William James

Gestalt Psychology

approach that focuses on organization of perception in a whole sense rather than individual

neuroscience perspective

approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, nervous system, and other biological functions

psychodynamic perspective

approach based on view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces, individual has little control

behavioral perspective

approach that suggests that observable behavior that can be objectively measured should be the focus of study

cognitive perspective

approach that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world

humanistic perspective

approach suggests that individuals strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior

free will

idea that behavior is caused primarily by choices that are freely made by the individual

determinism

idea that peoples behavior is produced primarily by factors outside of their willful control

scientific method

approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior, 4 main steps

4 steps of scientific method

identifying questions, formulating an explanation,carrying out research, communicate findings

theories

broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest

hypothesis

prediction of a theory, stated so it can be tested

operational definition

translation of hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed in an experiment

archival research

research where existing data is used to test hypothesis (census, transcripts)

research

systematic inquiry aimed at discovery of new knowledge

naturalistic observation

research where an investigator observes naturally occurring behavior but does not make a change

survey research

research in which a sample of people have been chosen to represent a larger population and are asked series of questions about their thoughts, behaviors, or attitudes

ethnographic research

research that seeks to understand attitudes, values, and behavior of a culture using examination of people in their own environment

case study

intensive investigation of a single individual or small group

psychological testing

procedure in which set of questions is used to gain insight into the personality of the individual or group

experiment

researcher investigates relationship between two or more variables by changing one in a controlled situation and observing the effects

meta analysis

procedure that permits psychologists to combine results of separate studies into one conclusion

experimental bias

factors that distort the way the independent variable affects the dependent variable in the experiment

pre frontal cortex

planning complex, cognitive behavior, expressing personality, decision making, social behavior

motor cortex

receives info from various loves of brain, carries out body movements

broca’s area

controls motor functions for speech production and language comprehension

frontal lobe

area of cortex located in front, in charge of reasoning, motor, higher level cognition, and expressing language

parietal lobe

center for processing sensory signals, touch, pressure, temperature, and pain

somatosensory cortex

part of brain that receives and processes sensory information from entire body

occipital lobe

contain visual centers of the brain, located at bottom rear

visual association cortex

recognizes lines,angle, shapes, shadows, and movement

temporal lobe

part of brain in charge of sense of hearing, meaningful speech, language function, long term memory, located behind temples

wernickes area

located in temporal lobe, left side of brain, responsible for comprehension of speech

brain stem

most primitive part of brain, base of brain conncted to spinal cord, made of midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata, controls flow of message b/w brain and body, controls breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure

medulla oblongata

located at tp of spinal cord, controls vital functions like heart rate and blood pressure, area where many fibers cross over

pons

large swelling above medulla that connects top of brain to bottom, bridge b/w cerebral hemispheres and both medulla and cerebellum

reticular formation

network of nerves that carry messages b/w parts of brain stem, regulates intensity of paihn, helps ppl focus on useful sensory input

cerebellum

little brain, controls posture, balance, coordination of voluntary movements, allows different muscle groups in body to produce coordinated movement

thalamus

processes and transmits movement and sensory info, sensory relay station, receives info from all senses and routes to higher brain regions

limbic system

network of structures beneath cerebral cortex, coordinates emotions (fear and aggression), basic drives (hunger and sex), and formation of episodic memories

hypothalamus

connects w/ other regions of brain, responsible for controlling hunger, thirst, emotions, body temp regulation, controls pituitary gland

hippocampus

role in formation, organization, storage of new memories, connecting sensation and emotions to memories

amygdala

processes emotion and survival responses, active druing potentially threatening situations, influence aggression and fear

prefrontal lobotomy

operation that disconnects pre-frontal cortex from rest of brain

deep brain stimulation

opening in skill, electrode inserted, stimulates specific area

trans cranial magnetic simulation (TMS)

electromagnetic wand alters magnetic fields, how brain processes emotions and moods

x rays

show bones and solid structures

electroencephalograph (EEG)

measurement of electrical activity, shows waves

computer tomography (CT)

2D x-ray photographs from diff angles to create 3D representation of an organ

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

radio waves and magnetic field of body produce 3D image, better resolution

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

technique to measure magnetic fields produced by electrical activity

functional MRI (fMRI)

measures brain activity, detects change on blood oxygenation, high resolution structural image

positron emission tomography (PET)

use short lived radioactive material to map function processes in brain, radioactive decay causes positron to be emitted (radioactive glucose is common)

neuroplasticity

ability to constantly change both in structure and function of many cells in the brain in response to an experience/trauma

functional plasticity

brains ability to move functions from damaged area to undamaged area

structural plasticity

brains ability to change physical structure as a result of learning

split brain

when two hemisphere cannot communicated they act independently of each other (splits)

nervous system

body’s communication network that consists of all nerve cells

central nervous system (CNS)

coordinates actions and interaction of brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system (PNS)

includes sensory nerves outside of brain and spinal cord, connects CNS to rest of body

motor pathway

signals from brain to muscles

sensory pathway

signals from sensory receptors to brain

somatic nervous system

includes nerves that transmit signals from brain to skeletal muscles to allow voluntary movement

sensory neurons

afferent neurons, carry info from nerves to CNS

motor neurons

efferent neurons, carry info from brain and spinal cord to muscle fibers throughout body

interneurons

neurons only within brain and spinal cord, (CNS) communicate internally and intervene b/w sensory inputs and motor outputs

reflex arc

signal sent from sensory organ to spinal cord, processes info instead of passing to brain

autonomic nervous system

regulates involuntary actions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure

sympathetic nervous system

fight, flight, or freeze

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest

neuron

nerve cell, specialized cell in nervous system, receives and sends messages with electrochemical signals

glial cells

cells that provide physical support to grow on and around to neurons

dendrites

part of neuron, branch like, receives electrical messages from other cells

cell body

soma, where signal from dendrites are joined and passed on, serves to maintain cell and keep neuron functioning