Psych Exam 1

Chapter 1,2,3,5

Psychology

scientific study of mind and behavior

Mind

private inner experience

Behavior

observable action of human beings and animals

W.E.I.R.D.

Western Educated Industrialized Rich and Democratic

Nativism

philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge is born

Kant

Nature

based on the genes from your parents

Philosophical Empiricism

knowledge is acquired through experience

Locke

Nurture

everything you are and do is because of how you were raised

Functionalism

study of how mental abilities adapt to an environment

William James

Structuralism

analyzing the mind by breaking it down into components

Wilhelm Wundt "father of psychology"

Consciousness

person's subjective experience

Introspection

subjective observation of one's own experience

Scientific Method

principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence

Theory

hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon

Hypothesis

falsifiable prediction of a theory

Empirical Method

set of rules and techniques for observation

Objective

see it, observe it

Subjective

personal feelings and thoughts

Operational Definition

Specific and precise procedure by which a variable is defined and measured

Measure

process by which you get results

Validity

measurement and property are completely related

Reliability

Consistent

Power

ability of measure to detect the concrete conditions specified in operational definition

Demand Characteristics

subjects behave how they think they should behave when being evaluated

Naturalistic Observation

observing people in natural environments

Observer Bias

expectations influence observations and influence perceptions

Correlation

relationship between two variables

Third Variable Problems

variables can not be inferred because of possibility of third variable

Manipulation

creation of artificial pattern of variation in the variable in order to determine its power

Random Assignment

use of random count to assign people to the experimental or control group

Case Method

special case of a single subject

Willowbrook State School

institutionalized kids with disabilities, parents had to agree to let the school give their child hepatitis A to be let in

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

free check ups where they tested for syphilis without telling the subjects if they had it or not

Syphilis Tests in Guatemala

deliberately infected people with syphilis

Neurons

cells in nervous system that communicate with one another to performing information processing tasks

B.O.L.D.

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent

Sensory Neuron

receive information from outside world and convey it to the brain

Motor Neuron

signal from spine to muscle for movement

Interneuron

connect sensory, motor and other interneurons

Mirror Neurons

neurons that fire when watching someone do an action and actually doing it

Action Potential

electric signal that is conducted along a neuron's axon to a synapse ; K closes, Na opens, becomes positive

Resting Potential

difference in charge between inside and outside of neuron's cell membrane; K opens, Na closes, negative charge

Synaptic Transmission

1. Crosses and goes to receptor sites
2. Reuptake
3. Enzyme deactivation
4. Autoreceptor

Acetylcholine

neurotransmitter involved in voluntary motor control

Dopamine

regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure and emotional arousal

Glutamate

promotes action in other neurons

GABA

calms things down, slows it down

Norepinephrine

aware and vigilant

Serotonin

regulation of sleep and wakefulness

Endorphins

chemical that acts within pain pathways

Agonist

increase action in neuron

Antagonist

blocks function in neuron

Somatic

voluntary muscle control

Autonomic

things we can't control

Hindbrain

basic functions of life

Cerebellum

fine motor skills

Reticular Formation

regulates sleep, wakefulness, and arousal

Medulla

heart rate, circulation, respiration

Pons

relays info from cerebellum to rest of brain

Midbrain

on top of hindbrain

Tegmentum

movement and arousal

Tectum

orients organism in environment

Thalamus

takes in sensory info to be processed

Corpus Callosum

band of axons - gallele cells

Limbic System

motivation, emotion, memory and learning

Hypothalamus

Regulatory behavior

Pituitary Gland

master gland

Amygdala

processing fear and memories of fear

Hippocampus

memories

Occipital Lobe

processing visual information

Temporal Lobe

responsible for hearing and language

Parietal Lobe

information about touch

Frontal Lobe

lobe associated with planning, memories, movement and judgment

Motor Cortex

generate signals to direct the movement of the body

Sensory Cortex

all cortical areas associated with sensory function

Phenomenology

how things seem to the conscious person

Intentionality

being directed towards an object

Unity

the entire scene

Automaticity

skill that was practiced repeatedly can be done with direction

Selectivity

capacity to include some objects but no others

Transcience

tendency to change

Minimal Consciousness

low-level sensory awareness

Full Consciousness

you know and are able to report your mental state

Self Consciousness

person’s attention is drawn to themself

Default Mode Network

Daydreaming, random things going on in your brain

Mental Control

Attempt to change conscious states of mind

Thought suppression

conscious avoidance of a thought

Rebound effect of thought suppression

tendency of a thought to return to consciousness

Dynamic Unconsciousness

An active system encompassing a lifetime of hidden memories, the person’s deepest \n instincts and desires, and the person’s inner struggle to control these forces; described \n by Freud.

Repression

mental process that removes unacceptable thoughts and memories ; coping mechanism ; Freud

Cognitive unconscious

mental process that gives rise to a person’s thoughts, etc

Sleep

reversible physiological state; daily rest period

Circadian Rhythm

naturally occurring 24 hour process

Hypnagogic State

wakefulness to sleep

Hypnopompic State

Sleep to wakefulness

Somnambulism

sleep walking ; series of complex behaviors that happen while sleeping

Enurusis

bed wetting

Nightmares

scary dreams; occur in REM sleep

Night Terrors

even scarier dreams; happen in N3(slow wave sleep)

Insomnia

unable to stay asleep or fall asleep