AP TEST Flashcards
ablation
removal or destruction of brain tissue in a surgical procedure
acetylcholine (ACh)
a neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory, and muscle movement
acquisition
a process in classical conditioning by which the association of a neutral stimulus with a natural stimulus is first established
activation synthesis
the idea that dreams are the result of the cerebral cortex interpreting and organizing random flashes of brain activity, originating in the lower brain structures especially the pons
adrenal gland
source of the hormone norepinephrine which affects arousal
afferent
in neurons, another name for sensory
agonists
drugs which mimic the activity of neurotransmitters
alpha waves
seen when an individual is in a relaxed, unfocused, yet still awake state
antagonist
drug which blocks the activity of neurotransmitters
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occur AFTER the onset of the amnesia
anvil
the middle of thee three occicles in the middle ear
applied research
scientific investigations intended to solve practical problems
bipolar cells
eye neurons that receive information from the retinal cells and distribute information to the ganglion cells
cannon-bard
theory of emotion that says that a stimulus causes SIMULTANEOUSLY physiological arousal and the subjective experience of an emotion
catatonic
a form of schizophrenia in which the patient has muscle immobility and does not move
catharsis
release of aggressive energy through activity or fantasy
CAT scan
a method of creating static images of the brain through computerized axial tomography
client-centered
therapy developed by Carl Rogers featuring the patient’s self-discovery and actualization” also called person-centered
client-centered therapy
developed by Carl Rogers, this humanistic therapy includes unconditional positive regard
correlation coefficient
a positive ear 1.0 indicates two variables are positively related; a negative number indicates a negative relationship; zero indicates no relationship
crystallized
term describes a type of intelligence which applies cultural knowledge to solving problems
Delta waves
largest brain waves, associated with deep, dreamless sleep
depressant
any agent that reduces the activity of the central nervous system (CNS)
depth perception
an ability that we exercise by using both monocular and binocular cues
displacement
defense mechanism in which unwanted feelings are directed towards a different object
dispositional attribution
assuming that another’s behavior is due to personality factors, not situational ones (attribution error)
dissociative fugue
disorder in which one travels away from home and is unable to remember details of his past, including often his identity (fugue state)
dopamine
a neurotransmitter which is associated with Parkinson’s disease (too little of it) and schizophrenia (too much of it)
tympanic membrane
eardrum
echoic
memory of sounds
ego
mediator between the id and superego
egocentrism
in a toddler, the belief that others perceive the world in the same way they do
eidetic
describes a type of visual memory that is retained for a long time; photographic
Electra complex
counterpart to the Oedipus complex for females
emotion-theories
James-Lange; Cannon-Baird; Singer-Schachter; Lazarus; Zajonc
endorphins
neurotransmitters that give one a feeling of well-being, euphoria, or eliminate pain
feature detection
the ability of the brain to identify specific components of visual stimuli such as corners or edges
figure-ground
refers to our ability to distinguish foreground from background in visual images
fluid intelligence
term that describes a type of intelligence used to cope with novel situations and problems
foot-in-the-door
term describes a phenomenon in which people who agree to a small request are more likely to later agree to a larger request
fovea
the central focus area of the retina
frequency
theory of hearing which states that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the tone’s frequency
functional fixedness
the tendency to think about things only in terms of the usual cues; can be a hindrance to creative thinking
functionalism
WILLIAM JAMES’S school of though that stressed the adaptive and survival value of behaviors
ganglion cells
their axons form the optic nerve
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Seyle’s concept that the body responds to stress
with alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
generativity vs. stagnation
Erikson’s stage of social development in which middle-aged people begin to devote themselves more to fulfilling one’s potential and doing pubic service
glial cell
this acts as a support system for neurons
group polarization
tendency of group members to move to an extreme position after discussing an issue as a group
heritability
the extent to which differences in a group of a characteristic is due to genetics, not environment
higher-order
term describes conditioning in which the CS for one experiment becomes the UCS in another experiment so that another neutral stimulus can be made to elicit the original UCR
hunger
regulated by the lateral hypothalamus and the ventromedial hypothalamus
hypochondriasis
a disorder characterized by an unreasonable fear that one has a serious disease
iconic
term that describes the memory of images
id
the repository of the basic urges toward sex and aggression (pleasure-seeking)
imprinting
evidence of critical period in some animals; they follow the first thing they see after hatching
industry vs. inferiority
Erikson’s stage between 6 and 11 years, when the child learns to be productive
integrity vs. despair
Erikson’s final stage in which those near the end of life look back and evaluate their lives
interneurons
cells in the spinal cord through which reflexes travel without going to the brain
interposition
monocular visual cues in which to objects are in the same line of vision and one partially conceals the other, indicating that the first object concealed is further away
James-Lange
theory of emotion in which physiological arousal precedes the emotion
kinethesis
sense of one’s balance and of one’e physical position
latent
Freud’s stage of psychosexual development occurring from about age 6 to puberty during which little happens in psychosexual terms
latent content
the hidden or disguised meaning of dreams
latent learning
a change in behavior due to experience acquired without conscious effort
law of effect
Thorndike’s rule that behaviors which have positive outcomes tend to be repeated
lens
a curved, transparent element of the vision system that provides focus
lithium
in psychopharmacology, this is used to control bipolar symptoms
long-term potentiation
a possible source of the formation of memories improvement in a neuron’s ability to transmit caused by repeated stimulations
lucid
describes a dream in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming and is able to influence the progress of the dream narrative
manifest
describes, in Freudian terms, the surface content of a dream
mental age
developed by Binet; equal to one’s chronological age times the % score on an IQ test
misinformation effect
situation wherein subtle cues disrupt and/or distort one’s memory of an event, often without conscious awareness of the influence
MMPI
the initials of a long, detailed personality inventory
monocular
terms that means, “one-eyed”, used to indicate the sort of environemntal cues to depth perception that only require one eye (ex: interposition)
morpheme
in language, the smallest unit that carries meaning (ex: syllables)
motion parallax
a depth cue in which the relative movement of elements in a scene gives depth information when the observer moves relative to the scene
motor cortex
an area of the brain, near the rear of the frontal lobes, that controls the voluntary movement
motor neuron
this carries information from the brain to the muscles: also called “efferent”
normal distribution
describes a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that shows that distribution of many physical and psychological attributes
Oedipus complex
in Freud’s theory, the conflict which results in a boy gaining a superego and beginning to emulate his father
omission training
a procedure in which reinforcement occurs when a specific behavior does not occur in a fixed period of time
opponent process theory
term used in both vision theory and emotion theory
optic chiasm
the point in the brain where the visual field information from each eye “crosses over” to the appropriate side of the brain for processing
oval window
membrane at the entrance to the cochlea through which the ossicles transmit vibrations
parasympathetic
the branch of the NS that automatically calms us down when the reason for arousal has passed
parietal
lobe that contains the sensory cortex
permissive
describes a parenting style that is characterized by the parent making few demands on the child
phallic
name for Freud’s stage which involves the Oedipus complex
phoneme
in language, smallest distinctive sound unit (ex: letter)
place theory
the idea that different sound frequencies stimulate different location on the basilar membrane
pons
part of the rain, works with the cerebellum in coordinating voluntary movement; neutral stimulation studies in activation synthesis theory (dreams) may originate here
preconscious
in Freud’s theory, the level of consciousness in which thoughts and feeling are not conscious but are readily retrievable to consciousness
proactive interference
when prior learning disrupts the recall of information
projection
defense mechanism in which one disguises one’s own unacceptable impulses by attributing them to others
projective
term describes a personality test in which ambiguous stimuli trigger revelation of inner feelingd/thoughts
rationalization
making an excuse for failure (ex: I failed the test because the teacher is no good)
reaction formation
defense mechanism in which unacceptable impulse are transformed into their opposite
REBT
Albert Ellis’s form of therapy for psychological disorders
reciprocal determinism
Bandura’s idea that though our environment affects us, we also affect our environment
relative deprivation
the notion that one is better off then those whom one compares oneself; concept used to explain some feelings of happiness
representativeness heuristic
this cognitive shortcut enables one to generalize based on how closely a stimulus matches a typical member of a class
reticular formation
a network of cells in the brain stem that filters sensory information and is involved in arousal and alertness
retroactive interference
when new learning disrupts the recall of previously-learned information
retrograde
loss of memory for events that occurred BEFORE the onset of amnesia
rooting
a reflex in which a newborn turns its head in response to a gentle stimulus on its cheek
Rorschach test
a projective test that uses inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli
self-serving bias
the tendency to assign oneself credit for successes but to blame failures on external forces
semantics
in language, the study of meanings of words
sensory cortex
the parts of the brain that receive information from the sensory receptors
serial position effect
this tells us that the best recall of a list of items will be those at the beginning of the list
serotonin
a neurotransmitter associated with improved mood and other positive emotions
signal detection
this theory predicts how and in what circumstances we can detect a stimulus; assumed there is no single threshold
sleep spindles
short bursts of brain waves detected in stage 2 sleep
social exchange
a theory that suggests that our behavior is based on maximizing benefits and minimizingg costs
somatoform disorders
any of a group of psychological disturbances characterized by physical symptoms for which there is not a medical cause
structuralism
school of psychology developed by WILHELM WUNDT; structure over function
sublimation
a defense mechanism in which unacceptable impulses are directed into socially acceptable outlets
sympathetic
part of the NS that controls the “fight or flight”response
TAT
a projective test in which the subjects look at and tell a story about ambiguous stimuli
temporal
the lobe that controls audition
token economy
a technique in operant conditioning by which desired behaviors receive forms of currency that can be exchanges for rewards
