1 Exam Flashcards
Behaviorism
View that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
What is a theory
Theory is an explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
What is descriptive research
Descriptive research is when you observe and record behavior. Could be using surveys and interviews, case studies, naturalistic observation.
Experimental research
To determine causation. Could be random sampling and assignment
Myelin sheath
Covers axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
Dendrites
Receive messages from other cells
Axon
Passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands
Terminal branches of axon
Form junctions with other cells
Resting potential
Stable,negative charge of an inactive neuron
Myelin
Insulating layer composed of glial cells
Neurotransmitters:
Seratonin
Regulation of sleep, mood, attention, learning.
Depression happens when there is a decrease serotonin lvl
Prozac will increase serotonin, but also affects other things
neurotransmitters:
-dopamine:
what is it?
what increases dopamine levels?
what disease comes with increased dopamine lvls?
what disease comes with decreased dopamine lvls?
dopamine is the mechanism for reward in the brain. stimulant drugs will increase dopamine.
increased dopamine levels cause schizophrenia while decreased lvls cause parkinsons
neurotransmitters -Acetycholine: what does it affect? what disease occurs with lowered lvls? what increases Acetyl.?
affects the muscle actions, learning, and memory.
Alzheimer occurs with low lvls.
nicotine increases Acetyl. lvls.
Neurotransmitters:
-GABA:
what is it and what does it do?
GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. It is the brains break pedal and keeps you calm and relaxed. With low lvls anxiety can occur.
what is lesioning
destruction of neural material. can be naturally occuring or induced
parietal lobe
sensory input for touch and body position
occipital lobe
sensory input for vision
cerebellum
coordinates movement and balance and processes some sensory input
pons
relays messages between cerebellum and cortex to help coordinate movement
medulla
controls breathing, heartbeat, and other vital functions
temporal lobe
sensory input for hearing
thalmus
relays sensory images to cortex and replies to cerebellum and medulla. (located in forebrain)
hindbrain
controls most bodily functions and contains the cerebellum (fine motor)
forebrain
houses the limbic system which is involved in memory, emotion, and motivational drives.
It contains the cerebral cortex which houses all the lobes
mid brain
reticular formation. stereotyped behavior, like how walking is automatic. selective attention
Amygalda
emotional awareness and expression. Also may be the aggression center
hippocampus
in forebrain. its involved in formation and storage of memories
Frontal lobe
personality, intelligence, voluntary muscles, motor control
somatasensory cortex
located in the parietal lobe. it processes info on about body sensations
motor cortex
located in frontal lobe, process info about voluntary movements
what 2 factors determine how well a person will recover from brain surgery?
age of the individual and extent of the damage
piaget: sensorimotor stage
experiencing the world through senses and actions
(Piaget) preoperational stage
representing things with words and images, using intuition rather than logical reasoning
(Piaget) concrete operational stage
thinking logically about concrete events
(Piaget) formal operational stage
abstract reasoning to consider logical form of the problem rather than concrete aspects
what are schemas
mental structures that help us catagorize and interpret our experiences. we create new schemas and change old ones using assimilation and accomodation
Eriksons stages of development:
Trust vs mistrust
1st, if needs are dependably met then infants develop a sense of basic trust
Erkisons:
Autonomy vs shame and doubt
2nd, toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves or they doubt their abilities
Erikson:
initiative vs guilt
3rd, preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent
Erikson:
competence vs inferiority
4th, kids learn pleasure of mastering tasks or they feel inferior
Erikson:
identity vs role confusion
5th,teens develop sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity or they will become confused about who they are
Erikson:
Intimacy vs isolation
6th, young adults struggle to form close relationships and gain teh capacity for intimate love, or theyll feel socially isolated
corpus callosum
large bundle of axons that connects the two hemispheres of the brain
right hemi
spatial perception, visual recognition, emotion
left hemi
verbal processing, speech, grammar
biological rythms
rythms controlled by biological clocks like sleep and hunger. we have a 24hr cycle
what desyncrinizes our biological clocks.
jet lag, work shifts, insomnia
what resets our biological clocks?
bright light, melatonin
what happens when someone has chronic sleep deprivation?
decreased alertness and cognitive performance, inability to sustain attention, problems with decsion making
what are the reflexes babies must learn
grasping, rooting/sucking, stepping, startle/moro
habituation
decrease in responding to stimulus after repeated (they get bored)
why was piaget critized for his stages of developmetn
he put too much emphasis on discrete stages and ignored individual differences
secure attachments
60% of infants, play comfy with moms around and explores environment, but upset when she leaves. seek contact on return of mom
Insecure attachments
you see anxiety and avoidant behavior
Moral development: Preconventional
punishments and rewards
Moral development: conventional
standards learned from parents and society
Moral development: Post conventional
standards of society and abstract principles (personal moral code)
where do gender differences come from
Hippocampus, amygdala, volume of grey vs white matter in brain.
what are males better at then females and vise versa
males are better with spatial learning while females are better with language
androgyny
adapt both female and male characterstics
gender fluidity
gender neutral (can be boy or girl, think ruby rose)
what is visible light
electromagnetic energy that travels as waves of varying lengths and amplitudes. the properties of the waves determines how we will perceive the light.
wavelengths
what color we see
amplitude
how bright it appears
how does the wavelength work?
enters eye through cornia delivering the info to to central nervous system
what are the 4 tasks the auditory system performs?
- pick up stimulus energy around us
- change energy into pattern of neural responses
- carry those impuses to proper places in brain
- process the info`
what does the outer ear contain
pinna, ear canal, and eardrum
middle ear
contains smallest bones in body, the hammer, anvil, and stirrup
inner ear
cochlea and semicircular canals which contain vestibular system
what is a soundwave
alternating regions of high and low pressure
what is frequency
when different objects vibrate at different times.
pitch
difference we hear. what our brain perceives
what is the cochlea
bony spiral filed with fluid. has 2 fluid filled chambers seperated by basilar membrane.
basilar membrane
it is covered by hair cells/receptors that convert soundwave into neural impulses
transduction
transforming physical energy inot electrochemical energy
what is perception
organizing and interpreting sensory info
sensory adaptation
reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation
perceptual set:
mental predisposition to percieve one thing rather than another
what are cones for
respond to color
rods
work best for darkness
what bends incoming light
cornea and lens
trichromatic color theory
3 types of color receptors; red, green, and blue
opponent process color theory
process that can handle colors in opponent pairs like red and green
