Ap Pysch Summer Vocab

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome, often leading to an illusion of foresight.

Inferential statistics

Methods used to make predictions or inferences about a population based on a sample of data.

neuron

cell body / soma

The part of a neuron that contains the nucleus and organelles, responsible for maintaining the cell's functions.

dendrites

a neurons often bushy branchy extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body

Axon

segmented neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Myelin Sheath

fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; speeds up transmission

Glial Cells

cells in the nervous system that support, noruish, and protect neurons and may also play a role in learning, thinking and memory

Action potential

a neural impulse; travels down an axon

Threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron; synaptic gap

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons; released by sending neuron and travel across the synapse and bind to reeptor sites on the receiving neuron, influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

Reuptake

a neurotransmitters reabsorption by the sending neuron

Agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotrasmitters action

Antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitters action

Endocrine system

the body’s slow chemical communication system; set of glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

Biological Pyschology

The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Biopsychosial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological psychological sociocultural levels of analysis

Levels of analysis

The differeing complementary views from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

Neuroplasticity

The brian’s ability to change especially during childhood by reorganizing after damage or by by building new pathways based on experience

Lesion

tissue destruction; may occur naturally, during surgery, or experimentally