Ch. 2 (part 2) and 3 Flashcards
Observational method
watch and record behavior, performed in a lab
Naturalistic observation
performed in a natural setting, don’t interpret, non-intrusive
advantages of observational method
avoids influencing of behavior by experimenter, used with animal and human behavior
disadvantages of observational method
no causation, observer bias, participant self-consciousness
Case Study Method
An investigation of a single individual or organization over time, an in-depth analysis of an individual, group or event
sample
Subset of individuals drawn from the larger population, a segment of the population
population
Individuals you are interested in drawing conclusions about
random sampling
Every member of the population has an equal probability (chance) of being chosen to participate in the study
Representative sampling
reflects the important characteristics of the population
Convenience sampling
utilizes the most readily available individuals
Statistics
Branch of mathematics that allows one to reduce/summarize, describe and interpret numerical data
Two types of statistics
descriptive and inferential
Descriptive statistics
Allows one to summarize, reduce the numerical data
Inferential statistics
Allows one to draw logical conclusions
two types of descriptive statistics
frequency distribution & histogram
Measures of Central Tendency
Describes distribution in terms of a single statistic that is in some way typical of the sample: the middle of the distribution. This is where most individuals are.
3 measures of central tendency
mean, mode & median
Measures of Variability
Provide information about the spread of the scores in the distribution
range
The difference between the highest and the lowest score in the distribution
T-test and ANOVA are examples of
inferential statistics tests
statistical significance
unlikely that the findings occurred by chance alone
2 types of validity issues in research
internal & external
Internal validity
does the research study/experiment support clear casual conclusions?
External validity
can the results be generalized to other populations, settings or conditions? replication of the study is important.
3 types of threats to internal validity
confounding variables, the placebo effect, and experimenter expectancy effects
You can avoid experimenter effects by:
Using a single- or double-blind procedure
ethical standards are administered by the
IRB
T or F: Ethical standards only apply to human research
F
4 ethical principles in human research
informed consent, maintain confidentiality, can use deception (only when no other feasible alternative is available; benefits must outweigh the cost of deceiving), and free of physical & psychological harm
receptor cells
located in sense organs, receive stimulation
neurons
located between receptor and effector cells, transport/transmit messages
effector cells
located near muscles & glands, tell muscles to contract and glands to secrete
glial cells
don’t send or receive nerve impulses, outnumber neurons about 10 to 1, absorb toxins and waste that would damage/kill neurons
nerve cells
building blocks of the nervous system, we have 100 billion in our brain and spinal cord
cells do not equal
neurons
3 types of neurons
sensory/afferent neurons, interneurons, & motor/efferent neurons
afferent/sensory neurons
transmit messages from receptor cells in sense organ to the Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord)
interneurons
also called association neurons, connect afferent to efferent neurons
efferent/motor neurons
transmit messages from CNS to effector cells near muscles and glands, muscles contract; glands secrete
3 main parts of the neuron
dendrites, soma & axon
dendrites
short fibers, collect messages from neighboring neurons
soma
carries out basic functions of the cell, holds the nucleus
axon
long fiber, message leaves neuron by way of axon
myelin sheath
fatty, white tissue that surrounds the axon, helps message travel down axon and speeds up the impulse
nodes of Ranvier
breaks in myelin sheath, impulse jumps from node to node
axonal terminals
end of axon, axon splits into many parts, terminals connect to other neurons
terminal buttons
knobs at the end of the terminal, house synaptic vesicles
synaptic vesicles
tiny oval sacs that hold neurotransmitters
synaptic cleft/gap
space between 2 neurons
T or F: Neurons/cells don’t physically touch
T
2 states of neuron
resting state/potential and action state/potential
resting state/potential
no stimulation or impulse, not receiving any messages, membrane is semi-permeable, cell is polarized
action state/potential
cell stimulated, impulse, receiving message, permeable membrane, more positive ions flow in
2 refractory periods
absolute & relative
absolute refractory period
the period immediately following the action potential, cannot discharge another impulse
relative refractory period
the period immediately following the absolute refractory period, impulse must be stronger than the initial impulse
2 types of chemical reactions can occur
excitatory & inhibitory
excitatory reaction
causes the action potential to fire
inhibitory reaction
prevents the neuron from firing
T or F: Each neurotransmitter can fit in any space in the neuron.
F
Peripheral Nervous System
contains all neural structures that are outside of the brain and spinal cord
2 divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic and Autonomic
Somatic Nervous System
division of the Peripheral Nervous System, system of sensory and motor neurons that sense and respond to our environment
Autonomic Nervous System
a system that senses the body’s internal functions and controls many glands and muscles
2 divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System
sympathetic & parasympathetic
Sympathetic Division
fight/flight, bodily actions when you are intensely aroused (emergency situations)–heart pounds, etc.
Parasympathetic Division
slows down the body (causes opposite of sympathetic changes), maintains state of internal equilibrium
Central Nervous System
contains the brain and the spinal cord
Spinal cord
densely-packed bundle of nerve fibers, handles simple reflexes
3 major subdivisions of the brain
hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain
5 parts of the hindbrain
brainstem, medulla, pons, cerebellum, reticular formation
brainstem
point where spinal cord enters brain, supports vital life functions
medulla
life-sustaining functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing and respiration
pons
“bridges” the higher and lower levels of the nervous system, plays a crucial role in triggering dreams, produces chemicals that help maintain the sleep-wake cycle
cerebellum
concerned with muscular movement - coordination, learning and memory; contains more neurons than the rest of the brain, regulates movement requiring precise timing, balance and coordination, functeions are easily disrupted by alcohol, ataxia
Reticular Formation/Reticular Activiating System
alerts you that a message is coming in, then either blocks or allows those messages, signals importance of the message
What does damage to the RF cause?
a sleep-like coma state
RF leads to activity in the
locus coeruleus
Abnormalities in the RF are linked to
ADHD, depression, sleep disorder, PTSD
midbrain
contains clusters of sensory and motor neurons, important for hearing and sight, orienting reflex, one place where pain is registered
forebrain
the brain’s most advanced portion from an evolutionary standpoint
Thalamus
2 egg-shaped structures, functions like a “switchboard”, organizes inputs from sensory organs, relays pain signals from spinal cord
Hypothalamus
plays a major role in hunger, thirst, body temperature & sex drive, connected to the autonomic nervous system–reactions to stress
2 parts of the hypothalamus
lateral hypothalamus and ventromedial hypothalamus
function of the lateral hypothalamus
tells you to eat
function of the ventromedial hypothalamus
tells you to stop eating
Limbic System
plays role in emotional behavior
3 parts of the limbic system
hippocampus, amygdala, septum
hippocampus
forming and retrieving memories (particularly new ones), Alzheimer’s disease
amygdala
formation of emotional memories, self-preservation (aggression), fear
septum
pleasure, anger suppression
cerebrum
major structure of the forebrain, constists of 2 large hemispheres that wrap around the brain stem
corpus callosum
in the cerebrum, neural bridge that serves as a communication link between the 2 hemispheres that allows them to function as a single unit
sulci
valleys in the cerebral cortex, separate brain into 4 lobes
4 lobes
frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
frontal lobe
planning and goal-setting behavior, concentration, moral decision-making, abstract thinking, language
motor cortex
in frontal lobe, controls muscles involved in voluntary body movements
Broca’s Area
in frontal lobe, production of speech through its connections w/motor cortex region
Parietal Lobe
feeling temperature, touch & pressure, body sense
somatosensory cortex
in parietal lobe, recieves sensory input that gives rise to our sensation of heat, cold & touch, and our senses of balance and body movement. it just tells you the position your body is in, it isn’t the thing that moves your body
Temporal Lobe
plays a role in hearing, facial recognition, speech comprehension
Wernicke’s Area
in temporal lobe, primarily involved in speech comprehension
Occipital Lobe
sight/vision, each eye feeds info to occipital lobe in each hemisphere by way of optic nerves
Principle of Opposite Control
each hemisphere governs movement on the opposite side of the body
Lateralization
relatively greater location of a function in one hemisphere or the other
Left hemisphere
language (frontal lobe), verbal abilities, speech, mathematical and logical abilities
Right hemisphere
special relations, faces, mental imagery, musical and artistic abilities
Neuropsychological tests
measure verbal and nonverbal behaviors of brain-damage sufferers
destruction and simulation techniques
destroy portions of brain with cold, heat, electricity or chemicals
EEG
put electrodes on the scalp, measures the activity of large groups of neurons
PET scans
indicate specific changes in neuronal activity
MRI scans
exposes the brain to a magnetic field
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers in nervous system, housed in synaptic vesicles
Acetylcholin
neurotransmitter involved in muscle activity and memory, underproduction involved in Alzheimer’s, overproduction occurs with Black Widow bites
Norephinephrine
involved in learning, memory, wakefulness, and eating. underproduction associated with depression, overproduction associated with stress and panic
Serotonin
involved in mood, sleep, eating and arousal, underproduction associated with depression, sleeping and eating problems, overproduction with OCD
Dopamine
involved in emotional arousal (sensations of pleasure) and movement. underproduction associated with Parkinson’s & depression, overproduction with schizophrenia
Endochrine System
includes hormone secreting-glands that distribute hormones directly into your bloodstream
Hormones
chemical messengers that give slower, more widespread messages
5 glands
pituitary, pineal, thyroid, adrenal & gonads
Pituitary gland
regulates growth, water and salt metabloism; controlled by the hypothalamus; causes the uterus to contract during childbirth, causes milk production for nursing, “master” gland
Pineal gland
located directly above brainstem, secretes melatonin, regulates sleep-wake cycle
Thyroid gland
located in neck, secretes thyroxin (plays a role in metabolism), holds the parathyroids
Parathyroids
regulate calcium & phosphate levels in body, influences excitability
Pancreas
curve b/w stomach and small intestines, regulates blood sugar levels, secretes insulin & glucagon
Underproduction of insulin leads to diabetes [blank].
mellitus
Adrenal glands
twin structures located just above kidneys, secrete epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as about 48 other hormones, involved in body’s response, arousal when physically threatened–“fight or flight”
Adrenal cortex
outer later
Adrenal meulla
inner core
gonads
sex glands, secrete androgen and estrogen
androgen
classified as masculine, aka testosterone
estrogen
classified as feminine
T or F: Both males and females produce androgen and estrogen.
T
Example of a primary sex characteristic
testes/ovaries
Example of a secondary sex characteristic
facial hair
testosterone is linked to [blank] behavior
aggressive
