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
Crosses and goes to receptor sites
Reuptake
Enzyme deactivation
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