AP Psychology : Midterm Review Flashcards
who made the first psychological lab?
Wilhelm Wundt
Introspection
Looking Inward
Self reflection
natural selection
traits that lead to survival will be passed on to future generations
behavior genetics
perspective of psychology that studies how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament
Psychologist associated with functionalism
William James
Emphasis of a behavioral perspective
psychology = the scientific study of observable behavior. You can’t observe feelings or sensations you can only observe a person’s actions.
What does the cognitive perspective deal with
how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
What is the social - cultural perspective
How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
Hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. AKA: I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.
overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of one’s beliefs and judgements. This happens before outcomes occur.
critical thinking
hinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumption, discusses hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
hypothesis
a testable prediction often implied by a theory.
population
all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study; an entire set of things in which we collect data from.
random sampling
smaller sample that fairly represents a population.
naturalistic ovservation
Research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment.
double blind procedure
An experimental procedure in which both the patient and staff are blind as to the condition that the participant is in.This would make it impossible for either to know if the participant is receiving the treatment or a placebo.
standard deviation
A measure of the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread apart the data, the higher the deviation.
purpose of correlational research
Correlational studies are used to look for relationships between variables. The three possible results are either a positive correlation, negative correlation, or no correlation. The correlation coefficient is a measure of correlation strength and can range from -1.00 to 1.00.
confusion about correlation vs. causation
Causation is the fact that something causes an effect and correlation is the relationship in which two or more are mutual or contemplementary.
example of placebo
Using a sugar pill and pretending that it is a drug.
how to calculate mean median mode
Mean= add numbers and divide by how many you added. Median- put numbers in numerical order and it is the middle
Dendrite
the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
Sympathetic Nervous System
the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.
Location of Reticular formation
Inside the brain stem, between your ears, lies the reticular formation, a finger-shaped network of neurons that extends from the spinal cord right up to the thalamus.
Role of Thalamus
The brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brain stem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
Role of the Occipital Lobe
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual area, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field.
Role of Sensory Cortex
The area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Location of the Association areas
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.
What is Brain Plasticity
The ability of the brain to modify itself after some type of damage
Why is the corpus collossum surgically removed?
The corpus callosum was surgically severed in hopes that it would reduce seizures in patients with uncontrollable epilepsy.
Top - Down Processing
processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Sensory Adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Transduction
conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.
Parallel Processing
the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Opponent Process Theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
Kinesthesis
system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Cocktail Party Effect
the phenomenon of being able to focus one’s auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, much the same way that a partygoer can focus on a single conversation in a noisy room.
Gestalt
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Closure
The ability for the human mind to close gaps in images to form complete and closed objects. Ex. Triangle theory
Depth Perception
The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information. (pg. 147)
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis (pg. 264)
Example of Subliminal Stimulation
Subliminal messages that only your deep consciousness can recognize.
Example of Difference Thresholds
Feeling small amounts of sand being added to your hand.
Components of Brightness
Wavelength is the distance from peak to to the next - determines color.
Classification of smell
Olfaction (smell) and gustation (taste) are senses that respond to minute traces of chemical molecules that foods and many other substances emit.
Dominant Sense
The different senses actual can be heard in conservations with people. When you listen to people you can easily pickup their dominant sense. Normally, seeing (visual), hearing (auditory) and touching (kinesthetic) are the senses that are strongest and show up the most in conversation. Usually it is the sense of smell which people normally have the strongest bond with.
Depth Perception Tested in labs
the babies that walk across a glass pane over a “cliff” and they note whether or not the baby will crawl right over it or notice the sudden drop and stop before.
Perceptual adaptation
This refers to the ability of the body to adapt to an environment by filtering out distractions
conciousness
your individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environment
age regression
Have you ever seen a movie in which some characters supposedly had something happen to them when they were young and some therapist says he/she will hypnotize the person so they can “go back” in time and remember the thing that happened? Well, that’s basically what age regression is, its reliving a past experience that you blocked out
withdrawal
the distress and cravings that occur when people stop using an addictive substance
spontaneous recovery
after extinction, the sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished response.
Generalization
Generalization refers to a process within operant and classical conditioning, where a conditioned response (CR) starts occurring in response to the presentation of other, similar stimuli, not just the conditioned stimulus (CS). For example, a dog is trained to sit (CR) when you give the command, “sit” (CS). Soon after that, the dog might sit when you say “hit”, “bit”, and “kick”. In this case, the CR (sitting) is not only done to the CS (the command, “sit”) but also to commands that are similar.
discrimination
In classical conditioning, it is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus
extinction
When a conditioned response weakens or disappears
Purpose of Melatonin
Hormone that induces sleep
characteristics of dreaming
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep. It is the 5th stage of sleep. There is an increased rate of respiration and brain activity.
characteristics of delta waves
Takes place during Stage 3 and 4 of sleep
Symptoms of sleep apnea
Not breathing during sleep is probably a big one. Other ones may include: sleepiness or lack of energy during the day, waking up with a sore/dry throat, morning headaches, waking up with a choking or gasping sensation, forgetfulness, mood changes, and a decreased interest in sex.
synaptic gap
aka cleft
tiny gap at the junction between axon tip and sending neuron
action potential
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s membrane
Synapse
The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
myelin sheath
a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulses hops from one node to the next
motor neurons
neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands
role of iris
a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening
controls the light passing through the pupil
function of the retina
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
upside down image passes onto the retina
components of the optic nerve
nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
ganglion fibers
creates a blind spot when the optic nerve leaves the eye
components of the cochlea
coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
nerve impulses trigger ripples in the liquid which creates basilar movement, with hair cells
drug tolerance
the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take large and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect
marijuana
hallucinogen
THC
primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
secondary reinforcer
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through the association with a primary reinforcer
punishment
an event that decreases the event that it follows.
