1 - Biological Psychology: Scope And Outlook Flashcards
Neuroscience
The study of the nervous system
Biological psychology
Also called behavioral neuroscience. The study of the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior
Conserved (context of evolution)
Referring to a trait that is passed on from a common ancestor to two or more descendant species
Ontogeny
The process by which an individual changes in the course of its lifetime (grows up and grows old)
Neuron
Also called nerve cell. The basic unit of the nervous system
Somatic intervention
An approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves manipulating body structure or function and looking for resultant changes in behavior
Independent variable
The factor that is manipulated by an experimenter
Dependent variable
The factor that an experimenter measures to monitor a change in response to changes in an independent variable
Behavioral intervention
An approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves intervening in the behavior of an organism and looking for resultant changes in body structure or function
Correlation
The covariation of two measures
Neuroplasticity/neural plasticity
The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment
Reductionism
The scientific strategy of breaking a system down into increasing smaller parts in order to understand it
Level of analysis
The scope of experimental approaches. A scientist may try to understand behavior by monitoring molecules, nerve cells, brain regions, or social environments, or some combination of these level of analysis
Dualism
The notion, promoted by René Descartes, that the mind is subject only to spiritual interactions, while the body is subject only to material interactions
Phrenology
The belief that bumps on the skull reflect enlargements of brain regions responsible for certain behavioral faculties
