Chapter 1 Vocab: Introduction Flashcards
behavioral intervention
an approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves intervening in the behavior of an organism and looking for resultant changes in body structure or function
behavioral neuroscience
the study of the neural bases of behavior and mental processes
conciousness
state of awareness of one’s own existence and experience
conserved
referring to a trait that is passed on from a common ancestor to two or more descendant species
correlation
covariation of two measures
dependent variable
the factor that an experimenter measures to monitor a change in response to manipulation of an independent variable
dualism
notion promoted by Rene Descartes, that the mind is subject only to spiritual interactions while the body is subject only to material interactions
independent variable
the factor that is manipulated by an experimenter
level of analysis
the scope of experimental approaches. a scientist may try to understand behavior by monitoring molecules, nerve cells, brain regions, or social environments or some combination of these levels of analysis
neurons
basic unit of the nervous system, each composed of a cell body, receptive extensions (dendrites), and a transmitting extension (axon)
- aka nerve cell
neuroplasticity
the ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment
neuroscience
study of the nervous system and its functions
ontogeny
the process by which an individual changes in the course of its lifetime - that is grows up and grows old, and dies
phrenology
the outmoded belief that bumps on the skull reflect enlargements of brain regions responsible for certain behavioral faculties
reductionism
the scientific strategy of breaking a system down into increasingly smaller parts in order to understand it
