PYSC Exam 1

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Cognitive Psychology

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123 Terms
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Cognitive Psychology

the branch of psychology concerned with how people acquire, store, transform, use, and communicate information

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Empiricism

belief that knowledge comes from experience

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Nativism

emphasizes the role of native ability over the role of learning in the acquisition of abilities and tendencies

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Mental Association

Locke argued that two distinct ideas or experiences could become joined in the mind simply because they happened to occur or be presented to the individual at the same time

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believed in nativism

Socrates and Plato ___

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believed in empiricism

Aristotle ___

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Wilhelm Wundt

converted a laboratory into the first institute for research in experimental psychology

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Introspection

consisted of presenting highly trained observers with various stimuli and asking them to describe their conscious experiences

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Structuralism

focus on the elemental components of the mind and how they combine to perform mental processes

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structuralists

Edward B. Titchner and Wundt were ___

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Functionalism

emphasizes questions such as why the mind or a particular cognitive process works the way it does; draws on Darwinian evolutionary theory

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believed in functionalism

WIlliam James ___

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Ibn Al-Haytham

father of psychophysics; used the experimental method to study vision in the brain

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Bacon and Locke

British psychologists interested in how the mind failed

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Tabula Rasa

Locke; mind is a ⠀ slate

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Franciscus Donders

conducted the first experiment; in mental chronometry

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Mental Chronometry

measuring how long a cognitive process takes

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Reaction-Time Experiment

measures the interval between stimulus presentation and the response to the stimulus

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variable, hard to verify, often debated

problems with introspection

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Ebbinghaus

studied forgetting; savings and forgetting curve

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William James

early US psychologist; taught 1st psychology course at Harvard

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Behaviorism

defines psychological research in terms of observable measures

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Edward Thorndike

studied instrumental conditioning

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John Watson

baby albert; behaviorist; regarded all mental phenomena as reducible to behavioral and physiological responses

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believed studying mental phenomena wasn’t possible

John Watson ___

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B.F. Skinner

argued that there should be an attempt to study mental phenomena

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Edward Tolman

accepted the idea of mental representations; believed that even rats have goals and expectations

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Cognitive Revolution

a movement in psychology culminating after WWII, belief in empiricism; rejected behaviorism

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Human Factors Engineering

focuses on the design of equipment and technology that are well suited to people’s cognitive capabilities

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Linguistics

focuses on the structure, use, and acquisition of language

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Neuroscience

the study of the brain-based underpinnings of psychological and behavioral functions

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Experiment

a test of a scientific theory in which the researcher manipulates the interdependent variable

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Clever Hans

a horse that appeared to be able to do math

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Scientific Method

the process of testing ideas about the world

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Descriptive Research

systematic and objective observation of people

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Naturalistic Observation

consists of an observer watching people in familiar everyday contexts going about their cognitive business

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Case History

a thorough observation and description of an individual usually in an unusual case

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Survey

study of the prevalence of beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors through responses to questions

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limitations of descriptive research

may not predict future behavior, doesn’t uncover mechanisms behind behavior, you can’t control behavior to test specific questions

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Correlational Studies

a relationship between two variables in which the investigator has no control

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Experimental Studies

studies to show relationships between variables through manipulation and control

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Hindbrain

contains the pons, the medulla, and the cerebellum

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Medulla

transmits information from the spinal cord to the brain and regulates life support functions such as respiration, blood pressure, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, heart rate

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Pons

acts as a neural relay center, facilitating the crossover of information between the left side of the body and the right side of the brain and vice versa; also involved in balance, sleep, arousal, and processing of visual and auditory information

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Cerebellum

contains neurons that coordinate muscular activity; one of the most primitive brain structures; governs balance and is involved in general motor behavior and coordination

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Midbrain

located in the middle of the brain

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Reticular Formation

helps to keep us awake and alert and is involved in arousal

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Forebrain

contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebral cortex

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Thalamus

relays information, especially to the cerebral cortex

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Hypothalamus

controls the pituitary gland by releasing hormones; also controls eating, drinking, temperature control, sleeping, sexual behaviors, and emotional reactions

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Hippocampus

involved in the formation of long-term memories

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Amygdala

modulates the strength of emotional memories; involved in emotional learning

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Basal Ganglia

helps in the production of motor behavior

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Cerebral Cortex

the surface of the cerebrum containing both sensory and motor nerve cell bodies

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Frontal Lobe

located beneath the forehead; contains the motor cortex, premotor cortex, and prefrontal cortex

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Motor Cortex

directs fine motor movement

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Premotor Cortex

involved in planning movements

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Prefrontal Cortex

involved with executive functioning

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Executive Functioning

planning, making decisions, implementing strategies, inhibiting inappropriate behaviors, using working memory to process information

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Parietal Lobe

located at the top rear part of the head that contains the primary somatosensory cortex

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Somatosensory Cortex

contained in the postcentral gyrus; involved in the processing of sensory information from the body

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Occipital Lobe

located at the back of the head; involved in the processing of visual information

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Temporal Lobe

located on the side of the head; involved in processing auditory information and some aspects of memory

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Faculty Psychology

the theory that different mental abilities; such as reading and computation, are independent and autonomous functions carried out in different parts of the brain

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Phrenology

psychological strengths and weaknesses can be precisely correlated to the relative sizes of different brain areas

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Central Nervous System

consists of the brain and the spinal cord

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Peripheral Nervous System

all nerves exiting the brain and the spinal cord; carries sensory and motor messages to and from the other parts of the body

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Neurons

cells that make up the brain and the nervous system

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Materialism

mind and brain have a casual relationship

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Sensory / Afferent Neurons

detects changes in external or internal environment; sends information about changes to the CNS

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Interneurons

neurons located entirely within the CNS

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Motor / Efferent Neurons

located within the CNS; controls contraction of a muscle or the secretion of a gland

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Dendrite

a bushy, branching extension of a neuron that receives messages and conduct impulses

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Cell Body / Soma

contains the nucleus, mitochondria, and ribosomes

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Axon

the fiber of a neuron, the cell’s output structure, transmits nerve impulses

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Myelin Sheath

white fatty casing on an axon; acts as an electrical insulator; increases the speed of neural signals down the axon

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Terminal Button

the bud at the end of a branch of an axon; sends information to the next neuron; forms synapses with the neuron

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Synapse

junction between the terminal button and the membrane of another neuron

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Action Potential

electrical / chemical signal that axons convey information by; all-or-none

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Neurotransmitters

a chemical that is released by a terminal button; exhibitory or inhibitory

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Brain Plasticity

the brain’s ability to rewire itself

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Broca’s Aphasia

disruption of expressive language

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Wernicke’s Aphasia

ability to produce speech without meaning

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Ablation

removal of parts of the brain

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