Book Flash Cards

Question 1

What is humanistic psychology?

Answer 1

focus on our growth potential, our needs for love and acceptance, and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth.

Question 2

What is behavioral genetics?

Answer 2

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Question 3

What is positive psychology?

Answer 3

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Question 4

What is community psychology?

Answer 4

studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions (such as schools and neighborhoods) affect individuals and groups.

Question 5

What is a meta-analysis?

Answer 5

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion.

Question 6

What is a survey?

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

What is a random sample?

Answer 7

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 8

What is a population (when doing research)?

Answer 8

all those in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.

Question 9

What is random assignment?

Answer 9

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Question 10

What is a double blind procedure?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

What is the placebo effect?

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

What are the mean, median, and mode?

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

What are the range and standard deviation?

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

What are glial cells?

Answer 14

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.

Question 15

What are endorphins?

Answer 15

natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

Question 16

What are interneurons?

Answer 16

neurons within the brain and spinal cord; they communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

Question 17

What is an agonist?

Answer 17

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.

Question 18

What is an antagonist?

Answer 18

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action.

Question 19

What is the somatic nervous system?

Answer 19

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

Question 20

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

What effects do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems have on the body?

Answer 21

Sympathetic arouses and expends energy.

Parasympathetic will produce the opposite effects, conserving energy as it calms you

Question 22

What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 22

sympathetic and parasympathetic

Question 23

What is the brainstem?

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

What does the thalamus do?

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

What does the reticular formation do?

Answer 25

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus; filters information and plays an important role in controlling arousal

Question 26

What does the cerebellum do?

Answer 26

enables nonverbal learning and skill memory

Question 27

What are the three structures in the limbic system?

Answer 27

the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus