AP Psycholgy Unit 0 & 1 Flashcards
Flashcards: AP Psychology Unit 0 & 1
Brain Structures & Function
Term: Frontal lobes
Definition: The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.
Term: Parietal lobes
Definition: The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.
Term: Occipital lobes
Definition: The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.
Term: Temporal lobes
Definition: The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.
Term: Motor cortex
Definition: An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
Term: Somatosensory cortex
Definition: An area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Term: Association areas
Definition: Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
Term: Neurogenesis
Definition: The formation of new neurons.
Term: Corpus callosum
Definition: The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
Split Brain Research & Consciousness
Contributor: Roger Sperry
Contribution: Neuropsychologist who, along with Michael Gazzaniga, pioneered research on split-brain patients, revealing the specialized functions of the brain's two hemispheres.
Contributor: Michael Gazzaniga
Contribution: Neuropsychologist who, along with Roger Sperry, studied split-brain patients to understand the independent functioning of the two brain hemispheres.
Concept: Split brain
Explanation: A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them. This procedure has revealed distinct functions of the left and right hemispheres.
Term: Consciousness
Definition: Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.
Term: Cognitive neuroscience
Definition: The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).
Concept: Dual processing
Explanation: The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
Concept: Blindsight
Explanation: A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it, often due to damage in the visual cortex.
Term: Parallel processing
Definition: The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.
Term: Sequential processing
Definition: Processing one aspect of a problem at a time; generally used when we focus attention on new information or on solving difficult problems.
Sleep & Dreams
Term: Sleep
Definition: A periodic, natural loss of consciousness—as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.
Term: Circadian rhythm
Definition: Our biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of wakefulness and body temperature) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.
Term: REM sleep
Definition: Rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.
Term: Alpha waves
Definition: The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.
Term: NREM sleep
Definition: Non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep.
Term: Hallucinations
Definition: False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.
Term: Hypnagogic sensations
Definition: Frightening or startling hallucinations that occur during NREM-1 sleep; common sensations include falling or floating weightlessly.
Term: Delta waves
Definition: The large, slow brain waves associated with deep NREM-3 sleep.
Term: Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
Definition: A pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness.
Term: Insomnia
Definition: Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep.
Term: Narcolepsy
Definition: A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times.
Term: Sleep apnea
Definition: A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.
Term: REM sleep behavior disorder
Definition: A disorder where the paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is incomplete or absent, allowing the person to "act out" their dreams.
Term: Dream
Definition: A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind.
Contributor: Sigmund Freud
Contribution: Developed psychoanalytic theory; believed that dreams provide a psychic safety valve to discharge unacceptable feelings and express latent (hidden) content via manifest (remembered) content.
Term: REM rebound
Definition: The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep).
Sensation & Perception Fundamentals
Term: Sensation
Definition: The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
Term: Sensory receptors
Definition: Specialized neurons that detect particular forms of energy or chemicals and transduce these into neural signals.
Term: Perception
Definition: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Concept: Bottom-up processing
Explanation: Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. It is data-driven.
Concept: Top-down processing
Explanation: Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. It is conceptually driven.
Term: Transduction
Definition: The conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret.
Term: Psychophysics
Definition: The study of the relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Contributor: Gustav Fechner
Contribution: Known as one of the founders of psychophysics; studied the precise relationship between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and the intensity or quality of the resulting sensory experience.
Term: Absolute threshold
Definition: The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
Term: Signal detection theory
Definition: Predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.
Term: Subliminal
Definition: Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Term: Priming
Definition: The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
Term: Difference threshold
Definition: The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (JND).
Contributor: Ernst Weber
Contribution: Developed Weber's Law, which states that for an average person to perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Term: Weber’s law
Definition: The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Term: Sensory adaptation
Definition: Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. This allows us to focus on informative changes in our environment without being distracted by uninformative constant stimulation.
Vision
Term: Wavelength
Definition: The distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Determines the hue (color) of light.
Term: Hue
Definition: The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
Term: Intensity
Definition: The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave's amplitude.
Term: Cornea
Definition: The eye's clear, protective outer layer, covering the pupil and iris. Light first enters the eye through the cornea.
Term: Pupil
Definition: The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
Term: Iris
Definition: A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
Term: Lens
Definition: The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.
Term: Retina
Definition: The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.
Term: Accommodation
Definition: The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Term: Rods
Definition: Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
Term: Cones
Definition: Retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Term: Optic nerve
Definition: The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Term: Blind spot
Definition: The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there.
Term: Fovea
Definition: The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
Concept: Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
Explanation: The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.
Concept: Opponent-process theory
Explanation: The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.
Contributor: David Hubel
Contribution: Along with Torsten Wiesel, discovered feature detectors in the visual cortex.
Contributor: Torsten Wiesel
Contribution: Along with David Hubel, discovered feature detectors in the visual cortex.
Term: Feature detectors
Definition: Nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
Audition (Hearing)
Term: Audition
Definition: The sense or act of hearing.
Term: Frequency
Definition: The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (e.g., per second). Determines the perceived pitch of a sound.
Term: Pitch
Definition: A tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
Term: Middle ear
Definition: The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.
Term: Cochlea
Definition: A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.
Term: Inner ear
Definition: The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Term: Sensorineural hearing loss
Definition: Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.
Term: Conduction hearing loss
Definition: Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
Term: Cochlear implant
Definition: A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
Concept: Place theory
Explanation: In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
Concept: Frequency theory
Explanation: In hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.
Other Senses
Concept: Gate-control theory
Explanation: The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The gate is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Term: Gustation
Definition: The sense of taste.
Term: Olfaction
Definition: The sense of smell.
Term: Kinesthesis
Definition: The system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Term: Vestibular sense
Definition: The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
Term: Sensory interaction
Definition: The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Term: Embodied cognition
Definition: The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.
Additional Helpful Concepts for AP Psychology Unit 0 & 1
Here are a few more key terms and concepts that often appear in introductory units and can be very helpful for your exam:
Term: Psychology
Definition: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Concept: Nature vs. Nurture
Explanation: The long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes (nature) and experience (nurture) make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Term: Biopsychosocial Approach
Definition: An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis to understand behavior and mental processes.
Term: Neurotransmitters
Definition: Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse. (e.g., Dopamine, Serotonin, Acetylcholine).
Term: Neuron
Definition: A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.
Term: Action Potential
Definition: A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
Concept: Plasticity (Neural Plasticity)
Explanation: The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.
Term: Selective Attention
Definition: The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus among a myriad of stimuli.
Term: Inattentional Blindness
Definition: Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
Term: Change Blindness
Definition: Failing to notice changes in the environment.