general psychology final exam

Anthropomorphization

Anthropomorphization

the projecting of human experience and abilities onto non-human objects

Behavior Analysis

a subfield of psychology that aims to understand both external (observable movements) and internal behaviors (thoughts and feelings)

Behaviorism

suggests that psychology's goal should be to study directly observable behavior and to understand how the events in the external environment produce behavior.

Bio-psycho-social-cultural perspective

this perspective is inclusive of the many factors that work together to influence behavior (Hint: This is the current perspective in psychology)

Biopsychology

how the physical systems produce behavior

Cognitive Psychology

the study of memory, thinking, reasoning, and other mental activities

Developmental Psychology

the study of how the individual changes physically, cognitively, and emotionally over the life span

Evolutionary Psychology

a subfield of psychology that aims to understand the evolutionary pressures that shaped behavior and the adaptive function of behavior

Functionalism

the view that psychology's goal should be to study how consciousness and experience aid in adjusting to the environment

Gestalt

the view that psychology's goal should be to study experience as a whole rather than the sum of its parts

Humanism

the view that psychology's goal should be to understand human strengths, aspirations, conscious experience, free will, and potential

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

the subfield of psychology that examines the application of psychological principles to work and business

Multicultural/Diversity Studies

studies a subfield of psychology that explores how behavior is influenced by culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and disability

Personality Psychology

the study of the relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving within an individual

Perspectives of Psychology

philosophical ways of thinking about the goals of psychology and the nature of human behavior

Positive Psychology

the subfield of psychology that aims to understand the strengths, virtues, and values of human behavior

Psychodynamic Theory

Freud's argument that our psychological experience is the product of the conflict between our id and our superego

Psychology

the scientific study of the behavior of individual organisms and how environmental, physiological, mental, social, and cultural events influence these behaviors

Psychology of Intelligence

the study of individual differences in mental capacities and abilities

Psychopathology

the scientific study of psychological problems, including mental illness, and their treatment

Sensation and Perception

the study of how the senses collect energy from the environment and then process this sensory information

Social Psychology

a subfield of psychology that focuses on how the social environment—including individuals and groups—influences the behavior of the individual, including how they think, act, and feel

Structuralism

the view that psychology's goal should be to identify and understand the basic elements of human experience

Subfields of Psychology

are areas of research that focus on a specific set of influences on behavior

Zeitgeist

the major intellectual theories and philosophies that dominate an area during a specific time in history

(Hint: "the spirit of the time")

Case Study

a detailed observation of a single individual or group of individuals

Comparative Psychology

an indirect form of measurement whose goal is to learn about humans by studying non-humans

Confounding Variables

uncontrolled variables that can influence the phenomenon being studied

Control Condition

a situation in which variables are not changed in order to observe what the behavior looks like in normal circumstances

Correlation Coefficient

summarizes the degree of relatedness between two continuous variables

(Hint: Tells us the direction and strength of a relationship)

Correlational Study

a research study that involves the measurement and comparison of two or more variables

Dependent Variable

the behavior that is being directly measured and observed

Environmental Realism

the degree to which the testing environment is similar to the real world context where the behavior typically occurs

Experimental Condition

a situation in which the level of one or more independent variables has been changed, while holding as many other variables constant as possible

Experimental Control

the ability of the researcher to control the environment and minimize outside influences on the behavior of interest

External Validity

the degree to which findings from the study can be applied to situations and participants outside the original group of participants

Falsifiability

the ability to test a hypothesis with an objective, empirical observation that could demonstrate the hypothesis to be incorrect

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

a technology that uses MRI techniques to measure changes in blood flow in the brain during mental activity

Generalizability

he degree to which scientific findings from one context can be applied to a different context, group of people, or situation

Independent Variables

the environmental conditions the researcher manipulates during the experiment

Indirect Measures

surveys and comparative psychology

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

a committee composed of scientists and administrators that oversees all human research at an institution in order to protect the rights of research participants

Internal Validity

the ability to minimize the influence of variables other than those involved in the research question

Naturalistic Observation

a research method in which behavior is observed and recorded in the context where it typically occurs with as little interference from the researchers as possible need hierarchy theory this theory proposes that we have genetically determined physiological needs that drive our behavior

Operational Definition

a statement that clearly explains what is being measured and how to measure it

Placebo Effect

a phenomenon in which people often feel better when exposed to a treatment, even if the treatment does not work

Reactivity

changes in behavior that occur because of being observed/recorded

Scatterplot

a graph that shows the relationship between two variables

Science

the systematic, organized approach to understanding the physical and natural world through direct observation and measurement

Scientific Method

an organized way that helps scientists (or anyone!) answer a question or begin to solve a problem

Spurious Correlation

a situation in which two variables are not really related, but are statistically correlated

Statistics

type of mathematics used to describe and evaluate data

Survey

an indirect form of measurement used to collect data about individuals

Acetycholine

a neurotransmitter that causes a muscle fiber to contract

Action Potential

electrical impulse that moves from the soma through the axon

Agonist

a drug that boosts the effectiveness of a neurotransmitter

Analgesic

a substance that relieves pain

Antagonist

a drug that reduces the effectiveness of a neurotransmitter

Aphasia

a language deficit

Autonomic Nervous System

the portion of the nervous system that controls involuntary behaviors (i.e., digestion)

Axon

single long wire that sends electrical signals from the soma to other neurons

Broca's Area

an area of the cortex typically located in the left hemisphere associated with language, damage to which causes aphasia

Callosotomy

a surgical procedure in which the corpus callosum is severed

Central Nervous System

the part of the nervous system made up of the brain and the spinal cord

Cerebellum

a brain structure that contributes to movements requiring balance, coordination, and precise timing

Corpus Callosum

a broad band of fibers that connects the left hemisphere of the brain to the right hemisphere

Cortex

the wrinkly surface of the brain

Dendrites

branching neural fibers that collect inputs from other neurons

Focus

the point of origin of a seizure

Frontal Lobe

the area of the brain that is implicated in impulse control and personality

Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

an area of the temporal lobe that has increased activity when we view faces

Glial Cell

a brain cell that supports the activities of neurons

Hemisphere

the division of the cortex into left and right sides

Hypothalamus

a midbrain structure that is essential to motivated behaviors such as feeding or fighting

Interneuron

a neuron in the spine that is involved in reflexive movements

Ion Channels

passageways that enable charged particles (ions) to travel through the neural membrane when opened

Limbic System

a group of midbrain structures that contributes to our emotional experience

Medulla

a brain stem structure that controls basic reflexes such as breathing and heartbeat

Morphine

a drug that relieves pain by mimicking the neurotransmitter endorphins

Myelin

a type of glial cell that provides electrical insulation for the axon

Neglect

a visual deficit in which people tend to ignore everything seen in one half of the visual field

Neuromuscular Junction

tiny gap between a muscle fiber and the motor neuron controlling the fiber

Neuron

a brain cell that stores and processes information using an electrical code

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers manufactured by one neuron that communicate with other neurons via synapses

Nucleus Accumbens

part of the brain that underlies feelings of pleasure

Occipital Lobe

the lobe at the posterior corner of the brain, concerned primarily with basic visual processing

Parasympathetic Nervous System

the portion of the autonomic nervous system that controls normal organ activity

Parietal Lobe

the part of the cortex that processes visual locations and contains the primary somatosensory cortex

Peripheral Nervous System

the portion of the nervous system containing all nerves outside the central nervous system

Phrenology

an idea created by Franz Joseph Gall that postulates bumps on a person's skull are correlated to his or her personality

Primary Motor Cortex

lies on the frontal lobe and programs voluntary movements

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

lies on the parietal lobe and processes touch sensations

Prosopagnosia

a condition which causes people to lose the ability to recognize faces

Receptor Sites

locations where neurotransmitters fit like a key in a lock to activate postsynaptic neurons

Resting Potential

voltage maintained by a neuron when it is not sending any electrical messages

Reuptake

the process of the sending neuron reclaiming used neurotransmitters from the synapse rods a more sensitive type of photoreceptor found mostly on the periphery of the retina

Serotonin

a neurotransmitter that affects mood, sleep, and appetite

Soma

part of the neuron that contains machinery to keep the neuron alive and functioning

Somatic Nervous System

the portion of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary behaviors (i.e., walking)

Sylvian Fissure

a structure of the cortex that separates the parietal and temporal lobe