Book Flash Cards
What is humanistic psychology?
focus on our growth potential, our needs for love and acceptance, and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth.
What is behavioral genetics?
the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
What is positive psychology?
the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
What is community psychology?
studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions (such as schools and neighborhoods) affect individuals and groups.
What is a meta-analysis?
a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion.
What is a survey?
a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.
What is a random sample?
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
What is a population (when doing research)?
all those in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.
What is random assignment?
assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups
What is a double blind procedure?
an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.
What is the placebo effect?
experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.
What are the mean, median, and mode?
Mode: the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.
Mean: the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.
Median: the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.
What are the range and standard deviation?
Range: the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
Standard Deviation: a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.
What are glial cells?
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.
What are endorphins?
natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
What are interneurons?
neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.
What is an agonist?
a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.
What is an antagonist?
a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action.
What is the somatic nervous system?
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system
What is the autonomic nervous system?
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
What effects do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems have on the body?
Sympathetic arouses and expends energy.
Parasympathetic will produce the opposite effects, conserving energy as it calms you
What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system?
sympathetic and parasympathetic
What is the brainstem?
the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions.
What does the thalamus do?
he brain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
