Chapters 1 & 2 Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of behaior and mental processes
Scientific Method
The orderly systematic procedures that reserachers follow as they identify a research problem, design a study to investigate the procem, collect and analzye data, draw conclusions, and communicate their findings.
The most objective method for acquiring knowledge.
The Steps of the Scientific Method
- Observe and Theorize
- Formulate a Hypothesis
- Design a Study
- Collect Data
- Apply the Results to the Hypothesis
Observe and Theorize
The first step in the scientific method.
The reseracher observes some phenomenon and theorizes (develops a hunch) about what may have led to the phenomenon.
Theory
A general principle or set of principles proposed to explain how a number of separate facts are related.
Hypothesis
A prediction about a relationship between two or more variables.
Formulate a Hypothesis
The second step of the Scientific Method.
A researcher comes up with a hypothesis that can be tested empiracally with data.
Hypothesis
A prediction about a relationship between two or more variables.
Design a Study
The third step in the Scientific Method.
A resercher designs a study in which he/she uses the same procedures to test her hypothesis.
Collect Data
The fourth step in the Scientific Method.
Once the researcher conducts his/her study, they collect the data that could be relevant to the hypothesis.
Apply the Results to the Hypothesis
The researcher must assess if the data collected from the study supports the hypothesis. If the results do not support the hypothesis, the researcher must modify the hypothesis.
The researcher typically replicates the study to further support the data collected from the study which supports/does not support the hypothesis.
Replication
The process of repeating a study with different participatnts and preferably a different investigator to verify the research findings.
What are the goals of psychology?
- Describe
- Explain
- Predict
- influence
The behavior and mental processes.
Description
One of the goals of psychology.
Describe the behavior or mental processes as accurately as possible.
A description tells WHAT occured.
Explanation
One of the goals of psychology
Requires an understanding of the conditions under which a given behavior or mental process occurs.
Suggest causes for behavior mental processes of interest.
Tells WHY a given event or behavior occurred.
Prediction
One of the goals of psychology
Researchers can specify the condictions under which a behavior or an event is likely to occur.
Influence
One of the goals of psychology
When researchers know how to apply a principle or change a condition in order to prevent unwanted occurerences or bring about desired outcomes.
What are the two types of research that can help psychologist accomplisht the four goals of Psychology?
- Basic research
- Applied research
Basic Research
Seek new knowledge and expore and advance general scientific understanding.
Explores topics such as nature of memory, brain function, motivation, and emotional expression.
Applied Research
Conducted specifically for the puropose of solving practical problems and improving the quality of life.
Focuses on finding methods to improve memory or increase motivtation, therapies to treat psychological disorders, ways to decrease stress, etc.
Primarily concerned with “influence” because it specifies ways and means of changing behavior.
Who were the founders of Psychology?
Ernst Weber
Gustav Fechner
Hermann von Helmholtz
Who is the Father of Psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Established a psychological labratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany (1879).
Established a method called “introspection,” he studied the perception of a variety of visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli, including the rhythm patterns produced by metronomes set a different speeds. Introspection as research involves looking inward to examine one’s own conscious experience and then reporting that experience.
Structuralism
The first formal school of thought in psychology, which endeavored to analyze the basic elements or structure, of conscious mental experience.
Criticized because introspection is not objective.
Functionalism
An early school of pscyhology that was concerned with how humans and animals use mental processes in adapting to their environment.
It also allowed the sudy of children, animals, and individuals with mental health issuess. These groups could not be studied by the structuralists becasue they could not be trained to use introspection.
Focused on applied, more practical use of psychology by encouraging the study of educational practices, individual differences, and adaptation in the workplace (industrial psychology).
Behaviorism
Proposed by John B. Watson (1913)
Views observable, measurable behavoior as the appropriate subject matter for psychology and emphasizes the key role of environment as a determinant of behavior.
Most influential school of thought in American psychology until the 1960’s.
Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner’s (1904-1990) research which emphasized the importance of reinforcement in learning as well as in shaping and maintaining behavior. He mantained that any behavior that is reinforced (followed by pleasant or rewarding consequences) is more likely to be performed again.
Psychoanalysis
Developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).
The term that Freud used for both his theory of personality and his therapy for the treatment of psychological disorders.
The unconscious is the primary focus of this theory- individuals do not consicously control their thoughts, feelings, and behavior; this is determined by unconscious forces.
Humanistic Psychology
The school of psychology that focuses on the uniqueness of human beings and their capacity for choice, growth, and psychological health.
- Rejects the behaviorist view that behavior is determined by factors in the environment
- Rejects the pessimsitic view of the psychoanalytic approach that human behavior is determined primarily by the unconscious forces
Self-actualization
Developed by Maslow.
This hiearchial need to develop to one’s fullest potential.
Person-centered Therapy
Developed by Carl Rodgers.
An approch in which the client directsa discussion focused on his or her own view of the problem rather than on the therapist’s analysis.
Cognitive Psychology
The school of psychology that views humans as active participants in their environment; studies mental processes such as memory, problem solving, reasoning, decision making, perception, language, and other forms of cognition.
Gestalt Psychology
Developed by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler
School of psychology that emphasizes that individuals perceive objects and patterns as whole units and that the perceived whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Central to cognitive pschologists’ ideas about learning, memory, problem solving, and psychotherapy
Information-Processing Theory
An approach to the study of mental structures and processes that uses the computer as a model for human thinking.
The brain processes information in sequential setps, in much the same way as a computer does serial and parallel processing.
The brain interprets information rather than responding to it (similar to Gestalt Psychology).
Biological Psychology
The school of psychology that looks for links between specific behaviors and equally specific biological processes that often help explain individual differences.
Focuses on universals, traits that exists in every member of the species.
Researchers study the structures of the brain and CNS, the functioning of neurons, the delicate balance of neurotransmitters and hormones, and the effects of heredity to look for links between biological factors and behaviors.
Neuroscience
An interdisciplinary field that combines the work of psychologists, biologists, biochemists, medical researchers, and tohers in the study of the structure and function of the nervous system.
Sociocultural Approach
Emphasizes social and cultural influences on human behavior and stresses the importance of understanding those influences when interpreting the behavior of others.
Systems Perspective
Social and cultural influences on behavior are often studied within this broader context.
Multiple factors work together holistically. Their combined, interactive influences on behavior are greater than the sum of the individual factors that make up the system.
Psychological Perspectives
General points of view used for explaining people’s behavior and thinking, whether normal or abnormal.
Evolutionary Psychology
The school psychology that studies how humans have adapted the behaviors required for survival in the face of environmental pressures over the long course of evolution.
Eclectic (or Integrative) Position
Many psychologists choose a combination of approaches to explain a particular behavior.
Heuristic Value
Makes people think and spurs their curiosity and creativity. Stimulates debate among psychologists and encourages both proponets and opponents of the theory to pursue additional research.
Aids for learning, discovery, and problem solving.
Critical Thinking
The foundation of the scientific method.
The process of objectively evaluating claims, propositions, and conclusions to determine whether they follow logically from the evidence presented.
Characteristics of Critical Thinking
- Independent Thinking
- Suspension of judgment
- Willingness to modify or abandon prior judgments
Anecdotal Evidence
Reponse to research on the basis of own perosnal experiences.
Pseudosience
The distortion of theories and/or research for the purpose of suporting some kind of claim.
Descriptive Research Methods
Research methods that yield descriptions of behavior and include naturalistic and laboratory observation, the case study, the survey, and the correlational method.
Involves direct observation and often provides the clearest results.
Naturalistic Observation
A descriptive research method in which researchers observe and record behavior in its natural setting, without attempting to influence or control it.
May be the only feasible way to study behavior (e.g. how people react during earthquakes, etc.)
Observer Bias
A distortion in the researcher’s observations.
Can result when researchers’ expectations about a situation cause them to see what they expect to see or to make incorrect inferences about what they observe.
Laboratory Observation
A descriptive research method in which behavior is studied in a laboratory setting, where researchers can exert more control and use more precise equipment to measure responses.
Disadvantages: may not observe real-world behavior, building, staffing, equipping, and maintaing a research laboratory can be expensive.
Case Study
A descriptive research method in which a single person or a small number of individuals are studied in great depth, usually over an extended period of time.
Involves the use of observations, interviews, and sometimes psychological testing.
Survey
A descriptive research method in which researchers use interviews and/or questionnaires to gather information about the attitudes, beliefs, experiences, or behaviors of a group of people.
Population
The entire group of interest to researchers, to which they whish to generalize their findings.
The group from which a sample is selected.
Sample
A part of a population that is studied in order to reach conclusions about the entire population.
A representative sample
A sample that mirrors the population of interest.
It includes important subgroups in the same proportions as they are found in that population.
A Biased Sample
A sample that does not adequately reflect the larger population.
A Random Sample
The best method for obtaining a representative sample from a list of all members of the population of interest.
individuals are selected in such a way that every member of the larger population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.
What are some of the advantages of interviews and questionnaires?
They can be completed more quickly and less expensively.
Can be completed by the internet.
What are some disadvantages of interviews and questionnaires?
Truthfulness of the responses can be affected by characteristics of the interviewers, such as their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, and accent.
People are most inhibited when they give personal responses to interviewers who are the same age but of the opposite sex.
Questionnaires are subject to technical glitches and problems which can affect the results.
Data from questionnaires may be skewed as people choose to participate rather than being randomly selected.
Social Desirability Response
Respondents to a survey who may try to present themselves in a good light or delibrately mislead the interviewer.
Correlational Method
A method used to establish the degree of relationship between two characteristics, events, or behaviors.
Cannot be used to determine a cause-effect relationship.
ex. a research may examine the relationship of a person obtaining a college degree and subsequent income.
Correlation Coefficient
A numerical value that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
Ranges from +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation) to a -1.00 (a perfect negative correlation).
The higher the number, the stronger the relationship.
Experimental Method
The only research method that can be used to identify cause-effect relationships between two or more conditions or variables.
Casual Hypothesis
A prediction about a cause-effect relationship between two or more variables.
Variable
Any condition or factor that can be manipulated, controlled, or measured.
Independent Variable
In an experiement, a factor or condition that is delibreately mainpulated in order to determine whether it casuses any change in another behavior or condition.
Sometimes referred to as the treatment.
Dependent Variable
The factor or condition that is measured at the end of an experiement and is presumed to vary as a result of the manipulations of the independent variable(s).
Experimental Group
In an experiment, the group that isexposed to an independent variable.
Control Group
In an expeirment, a group similar to the experimental group that is exposed to the same experiemental environment but is not given the treatment.
Used for the purposes of comparision.
Confounding Variables
Factors or conditions other than the independent variable(s) that are not equivalent across groups and could cause differences among the groups with respenct to the dependent variable.
Selection Bias
The assignments of participants to experimental or control groups in such a way that systematic differences among the groups are present at the beginning of teh experiement.
Random Assignment
The process of selecting participants for experimental and control groups by using a chance procedure to guarantee that each participant has an equal probability of being assigned to any of the groups.
A control for selection bias.
Placebo Effect
The phenomenon that occurs in an experirment when a participant’s response to a treatment is due to his or her expectations about the treatment rather than the treatment itself.
Placebo
An inert or harmless substance given to the control group in an experiment as a control for the placebo effect.
Experimenter bias
A phenonmenon that occurs when a researcher’s preconceived notions or expectations in some way influence participants’ behavior and/or the researcher’s interpretation of experimental results.
Double Blind Technique
A procedure in which neither the participants nor the experimenter knows who is in the experimental and ctonrol groups until after the data have been gathered; a control for experimenter bias.
What are the limitations of the experimental method?
- The more control researchers excercise over the setting, the more unnatural and contrived the research setting becomes. This means less generalizable findings may be to the real world.
- Its use is either unethical or impossible for research in many areas of interest to psychologists. Some research cannot be given becausephysical or psychological health would be endangered.
Participant-related bias
The lack of representativeness in a research sample.
ex. Whites (who are expected to become a minority population in 2050) are overrrepresented in psychological studies because the majority of subjects in studies in the last 30 years is drawn from college studies. College students represent a select group of people in terms of age, SES, and educational level.
Gender Bias
Another type of participant-related bias.
Overrepresentation of one gender in a study.
What are some of the ethical rules established by the American Psychological Association (APA)?
- Legality
- Insitutional Approval
- Informed Consent
- Deception- can be ethical when necessary, although encouraged to use alternative method if other means can be used to test the hypothesis.
- Debriefing- If deception is used, researchers must tell the participants about the deception as soon as the study is complete.
- Clients, patients, students, and subordinates- must not damage the participants of the study in any way
- Payment for participation- participants may be paid, as long as they clearly understand what they must do to receive payment. Discourages excessive payment as this may bias the study.
- Publication
What are some of the ethical rules established by the American Psychological ASsociation (APA) for the use of animals in research?
- Legality
- Supervision by experienced personnel- must be supervised by people trained in their care. Must treat all personnel how to properly handle and feed animal and recognize signs of illness or distress.
- Minimization of discomfort
Neurons
Specialized cells that conduct impulses through the nervous system and contain three major parts: cell body, dendrites, and axon.
What are the important tasks performed by the neuron?
- Sensory neurons relay messages from the sense organs and receptors- eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin to the brain or spinal cord.
- Motor neurons convey signals fromt he CNS to the glands and the muscles, enabling the body to move.
- Interneurons (thousand times more numerous than sensory and motor neurons) carry information between neurons in the brain and between neurons in the spinal cord.
Neuron’s Cell Body
AKA the Soma
Contains the nucleus and carries out the metabolic, or life-sustaining functions of a neuron.
Dendrites
In a neuron, the branchlike extensions of the cell body that receive signals from other neurons.
Primary senders of signals but can receive signals directly too.
Axon
The slender, tail-like extension of the nueron that transmits signals to the dendrites or cell bodies of other neurons and to muscles, glands, and other parts of the body.
Axon Terminal
Bulbous endo f the zxon where signals from the axon of one neuron to the dendrites or cell bodies of another.
Glial Cells
Specialized cells in the brian and spinal cord that hold neurons together, remove waste products such as dead neurons, and perform other manufacturing, nourishing, and cleanup tasks.
These cells in the spinal cord are also involved in the transmission of pain sensations from the various parts of the body to the brain.
Synaptic Clefts
Tiny, fluid filled gaps where the axon terminals are separated from the receiving neurons. Signals are transmitted through these gaps.
Synapse
The junction where the axon terminal of a sending neuron communicates with a receiving neuron across the synaptic cleft.
Resting Potential
The slight negative electrical potential of the axon membrane of a neuron at rest, which is about -70 millivolts
Action Potential
The sudden reversal of the resting potential, which initiates the firing of a neuron. Lasts for approximately 1 millisecond and the inflow of positive ions causes the axon membrane to charge abruptly, a positive charge of +50 millivolts
Refractory Period
The action potential of a neuronoperates according to the “all or none” law meaning that a neuron either fires completely or not at all.
Immediately after a neuron fires, it cannot fire again for 1-2 milliseconds.
Myelin Sheath
The white, fatty coating wrapped around some axons that acts as insulation and enables impulses to travel that much faster.
Nodes of Ranvier
The gaps between the myelin sheath on the axon.
The electrical impulse is retriggered or regenerated at each naked gap on the axon.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical substances that are released into the synaptic cleft from the axon terminal of a sending neuron, cross a synapse, and bind to appropriate recepter sites on the dendrites or cell body of a receiving neuron, influencing the cell to fire or not to fire.
Messages transmitted between neurons by one or more of a large group of chemical substances.
Located inside the azon terminal within the synaptic vesicles (little bladders)- small sphere shaped containers
Receptors
Protein molectules on the surfaces of dendrites and cell bodies that have distinctive shapes and will interact only with specific neurotransmitters
How can synaptic vesicles can continue to pour out of neuortransmitters and have a ready supply so that neuron can respond to continuing stimulation?
- The neuron’s cell body is always working to manufacture more of the neurotransmitter.
- Unused neurotransmitters in the snyaptic cleft may be broken down into components and reclaimed by the axon terminal to be recycled and used again.
- Reuptake terminates the neurotransmitter’s excitatory or inhibitory effect on the receiving neuron.
Reuptake
the process by which neurotransmitters are taken from the synaptic cleft back into the axon terminal for later use, thus terminating their excitatory or inhibitory effect ont he receiving neuron.
Gap Junction
Electrical transmission
Involved in the spinal cord’s transmission of “mirror image” pain sensations from one side of the body, the side on which actual injury occured, to the other side.
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter that plays a role in learning new information, causes the skeletal muscle fibers to contract, and keeps the heart from beating too rapidly.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter that plays a role in learning, attention, movement and reinforcement; neurons in the brain of those with Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia are less sensitive to its effects.
Also important in our ability to feel pleasure.
Monoamines
A neurotransmitter that belongs to one amino group.
Contains dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin
Norepinephrine
A neurotransmitter affecting eating, alertness, and sleep.
stimulates the intake of carbohydrates.
Epinephrine
A neurotransmitter that affects the metabolism of glucose and causes nutrient energy stored in muscles to be released during strenuous excerise.
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that plays an important role in regulating mood, sleep, impulsivity, aggression, and appetitte.
Glutamate
Primary excitatory neuotransmitter in the brain.
May be released by about 40% of neurons and is active in areas of the brain involved in learning, thought, and emotions.
GABA
gamma-aminobutyriacid
Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.
Facilitates the control of anxiety.
Tranquilizers, barbiturates, and alcohol appear to have a calming and relaxing effect because they bind with and stimulate one type of receptor and increases this neurotransmitter’s anxiety-controlling effect.
An abnormality in the neurones that secrete this neurotransmitter is believed to be one of the causes of epilepsy.
Endorphins
Chemicals produced naturally by the brain that reduce pain and the stress of vigorous exercise and positively affect mood.
“runner’s high”
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The part of the nervous system comprising the brain and the spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The nerves connecting the CNS to the rest of the body.
Somatic Nervous System: controls skeletal mucles
Autonomic Nervous System: Regulates the body’s internal environment including organs, glands, and blood vessels.
Sympathetic Nervous System: Prepares body for action
Parasympathetic Nervous System: Conserves the body’s energy
Spinal Cord
An extension of the brain, from teh base of teh brain through the neck and spinal column, that transmits messages between the brain and the PNS
Links the body to the brain.
Hindbrain
A link betwen the spinal cord and the brain that contains structures that regulate physiological functions, including heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure
Brainstem
The structure that begins at the point where the spinal cord enlarges as it enters the brain and handles functions critical to physical survival.
It includes the medulla, the pons, and the reticular formation.
Medulla
The part of the brainstem that controls heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, coughing, and swallowing.
Part of the Hindbrain.
Reticular Formation
(aka reticular activating system)
A structure in the brainstem that plays a crucial role in arousal and attention.
Screens sensory messages entering the brain.
Part of the Hindbrain.
Pons
Structure that connects the halves of the cerebellum.
Plays a role in body movement and exerts an influence on sleep and dreaming.
Part of the Hindbrain.
Cerebellum
The brain structure that helps the body execute smooth, skilled movements, and regulates muscle tone and posture.
Makes up 10% of brain’s volume.
Part of the Hindbrain.
Midbrain
Area that contains structures linking the physiological functions of the hindbrain to the cognitive functions of the forebrain.
Subtantia nigra
Located in the Midbrain
Controls unconscious motor movements.
Forebrain
The largest part of the brain, where cognitive functions as well as many of the motor functions of the brain are carried out.
Includes functions such as memory, logic, and self-awareness.
Thalamus
The structure, located above the brainstem, that acts as a relay station for information flowing into or out of the forebrain.
Has two egg shaped parts
Includes all sensory information except for smell
Regulates verbal information and sleep cycles
Hypothalamus
A small but influential brain structure that regulates hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, internal body temperature, other body functions, and a wide variety of emotional behaviors.
Part of the Forebrain.
Regulates the “body clock”
Limbic System
A group of structures in the forebrain, including the amygdala and hippocamus, that are collectively involved in exmotional expression, memory, and motivation.
Amygdala
A structure in the limbric system that plays an important role in emotion, partuclarly in reponse to unpleasant or punishing stimuli.
Recreates vivid memories of emotional events, which helps prevent dangerous situations.
Located within the limbic system in the Forebrain.
Hippocamus
A structure in the limbic system that plays a central role in the storing of new memories, reposne to new or unexpected stimuli, and navigational ability.
Located in the limbic system in the Forebrain.
Plasticity
The ability to respond to evironmental demands.
The capacity of the brain to adapt to changes such as brain damage.
Cerebal Cortex
Forebrain structure that is wrinkled, gray covering of the cerebum (the thinking part of the brain).
Corpus Callosum
Membrane that joins the two halves of the cerebrum
Somatic Nervous System
All of the sensory and motor neurons that transmit messages between the brain and the parts of the body that make it possible to sense the environment and to move (e.g. the skin and joints).
- All the sensory nerves, which transmit info from the sense receptors (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin) to the CNS
- All the motor nerves which relay messages from the CNS to all the skeletal muscles of the body
Part of the PNS
Autonomic Nervous System
Nerves that transmit messages between the brain and the parts of the body that are not under voluntary control (e.g. the heart)
Part of the PNS
Divided into two parts- sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Sympathetic Nervous System
The division of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes the body’s resources during stress and emergencies, preparing the body for action.
“fight or flight”
Part of the PNS
Parasympathetic Nervous System
The division of autonomic nervous system that brings the heightened bodily responses back to normal following an emergency.
Part of the PNS
Cerebrum
The largest structure of the human brain consisting of two cerebral hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum and covered by the cerebral cortex
Cerebral Hemispheres
The right and left halves of the cerebrum, covered by the cerebral cortex, and connected by the corpus callosum.
They ctonrol movement and feeling on the opposing sides of the body.
Corpus Callosum
The thick band of nerve fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and makes possible the transfer of information aond the synchronization of activity between the hemispheres.
Cerebal Cortex
The gray, convoluted covering of the cerebral hemispheres that is responsible for the higher mental processes of language, memory, and thinking.
Contains the following:
- sensory input areas (hearing, vision, touch, pressure, temperature) register
- motor areas, which control voluntary movement
- association areas, which house memories, thought, perception, language.
Association Areas
Areas in the cerebral corext that house memories and are involved in thought, perception, and language
Lateralization
The specialization of one of the cerebral hemipshere s to handle a particular function.
Left Hemisphere
The hemisphere that controls the right side of the body, coordinates complex movements, and in most people, handles most of the language function.
Also handles mathematical abilities. Processes information in analytical and sequential manner.
Right Hemisphere
The hemisphere that controls the left side of the body and in most people, is specialized in visual-spatial perception.
Processes music.
Association between creativity and problem solving (e.g. idioms).
Reading and interpeting nonverbal behavior.
Split Brain Operation
A surgical procedure performed to treat severe cases of epilepsy in which the corpus callosum is cut, separating the cerebral hemisphere.
Frontal Lobes
The largest of the brain’s lobes, which contain the motor cortex, Broca’s area, and the frontal association areas.
Motor Cortex
The strip of tissue at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary body movement and participates in learning and cognitive events
The parts of the body with fine motor coordinaton (e.g. lips, fingers, tongue) have a large part.
Movement in the upper body parts are located in the bottom of this tissue, whereas teh lower body parts are located in the top of this tissue.
Broca’s Area
The area in the frontal lobe, usually in the left heimsphere, that controls the production of speech sounds.
Broca’s Aphasia
An impairment in the physical ability to produce speech sounds or, in extreme cases, an inability to speak at all.
This is caused by damage to Broca’s area.
Parietal Lobes
The lobes that contain the somatosensory cortex (where touch, pressure, tempuratere, and pain register) and other areas that are responsible for body awareness and spatial orientation.
Makes you aware of moment in your body and the positions of your body parts at any given moment.
Somatosensory Cortex
The strip of tissue at the front of parietal lobes where touch, pressure, temperature, and pain register in the cerebral cortex.
Occipital Lobes
The lobes that are involved in the reception and interpretation of visual information.
They contain the primary visual cortex.
Primary Visual Cortex
The area at the rear of the occipital lobes where vision registers in the cerebral cortex.
Temporal Lobes
The lobes that are involved in the reception and interpretation of auditory information.
They contain the primary auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area, and the temporal association areas.
Primary Auditory Cortex
The part of each temporal lobe where hearing registers in the cerebral cortex.
Injury to one of these areas resultes in reduced hearing in both ears and the destruction of both areas cause total deafness.
Wernicke’s Area
The language area in the left temporal lobe involved in comprehending the spoken word and in formulating coherent speech and written language.
This occurs in the left hemisphere for about 95% of the people.
Wernicke’s Aphasia
Aphasia that resultes from damage to Wernicke’s area and in which the person’s speech and fluent and clearly articulated but does not make sense to listeners.
“word deafness”
Neurogensis
The creation of neurons.
Begins about the third week when the child is conceived.
Synaptogenesis
Synapses begin to form as a reuslt of the growth of both dendrites and axons. Occurs in spurts during the lifespan.
Pruning
The process through the developing brain eliminates unnnecessary or redundant synapses.
Myelination
The development of the myelin sheaths around axons which begins prior to birth but continues well into adulthood.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A record of brain-wave activity made by a machine called the encephalograph
a computerized imaging technique shows the different levels of electrical activity occuring every millisecond on the surface of the brain.
Beta Wave
The brainwave pattern associated with mental or physical activity.
Alpha Wave
The brain-wave pattern associated with deep relaxation
Delta Wave
The brain-wave pattern associated with slow-wave (deep) sleep
Microelectrode
A small wire used to monitor the electrical activity or stimulate activity within a single neuron.
Computerized Axial Tomography (CT Scan)
A brain-scanning technique that uses a rotating, computerized x-ray tube to produce cross-sectional images of the structures of the brain.
Doughnut shaped.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A diagnostic scanning technquire that produces high-resolution images of the structures of the brain.
Popular since the 1980’s
Positron-emission Tomography (PET scan)
A brain-imaging technique that reveals activity in various parts of the brain, based on patterns of blood flow, oxygen use, and glucose consumption.
used since 1970s
patients are injected with minute amounts of radioactive tracers that migrate to places in the body where glucose is consumed.
Shows action of drugs and other biochemical substances in the brain and other bodily organs.
Functional MRI (fMRI)
A brain imaging technique that revelas both brain structure and brain activity more precisely and rapidly than PET.
became available in the 1990s
does not require radioactive tracers
Endocrine System
A system of ductless glands in various part so fthe body that manufacture hormones and secrete them into the bloodstrem, thus affecting cells in other parts of the body.
Hormones
Chemical substances that are manufactured and released in one part of the body and affect other parts of the body.
Released into the bloodstreem and travel throughout the circulatory stystem, but each of this chemical substance perfomrs ists assigned job only when it connects with the ody cells that have receptors for it.
Pituitary Gland
The endocrine gland located in the brain that releases hormones that active other endocrine glands as well as the growth hormone; often called the “master gland”
Also releases hormones that control the body’s growth.
Thyroid Gland
Rests in the front, lower part of the neck just below the voice box (larynx). This produces the hormone thyroxine, which regulates the rate at which food is metabolized, or transformed into energy.
Parathyroid Gland
Secrets parathormone, which regulates the amount of calcium in the bood. It influences bone density.
Disfunctions of this gland are linked to depression and memory loss.
Pancreas
Regulates teh body’s blood sugar levels by releasing the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream.
Adrenal Glands
A pair of endocrine glands that release hormones that prepare the body for emergencies and stressful situations and also release corticoids and small amounts of the sex hormones.
Produces epinephrine and norepinephrine
Gonads
Sex glands.
Ovaries in women
Testes in men
Release sex hormones that make reproduction possible and are responsible for secondary sex characteristics
Secondary Sex Characteristics
Pubic and underarm hair in both sexes
Breasts in women
Facial hair and deep voices in men
Androgens
Male sex hormones
Influences sexual motivation
Estrogen and progesterone
Female sex hormones
helps regulate the menstrual cycle
Genes
The segments of DNA that are located on the chromosomes and are the basic units for the transmission of all hereditary traits
Chromosomes
Rod-shaped structures in the nuclei of body cells which contain all the genes and carry all the genetic information necessary to make a human being.
Genotype
An individual’s genetic makeup.
Phenotype
An individual’s actual characteristics
Dominant-Recessive Pattern
A set of inheritance rules in which the presence of a single dominant ene causes a trait to be experessed but two genes must be present for the expression of a recessive trait
Homozygous
A person who carries two copies of the same gene, whether both dominant or both recessive
Heterozygous
A person who carries two different genes
Polygenic Inheritance
Many genes influence a particular characteristic
Multifactorial Inheritance
A pattern of inheritance in which a trait is influenced by both genes and environmental factors
Sex-linked Inheritance
Involves genes on the X and Y chromosomes.
Can cause genetic disorders which results in lifelong disabilites (e.g. fragile X syndrome)
Behavioral Genetics
A field of research that uses twin studies and adoption studies to investigate the relative effects of heredity and environmental behavior
Nature vs. nuture
