Exam #1 Flashcards
Amiable Skepticism
a combination of openness (to new ideas) and wariness (of new “scientific findings” when good evidence and sound reasoning does not support them. → thinking this way – systematically questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence – is called critical thinking.
Confirmation Bias
People are inclined to overweight evidence that supports their beliefs and tend to downplay evidence that does not match what they believe.
Seeing Casual Relationships That Do Not Exist
the misperception that two events that happen at the same time and must somehow be related.
Seeing After-The-Fact Explanations) Hindsight Bias
looking back at an event that we could not predict at the time and think the outcome was easily predictable
Taking Mental Shortcuts (Heuristics) → can produce really good decisions without too much effort, but may also lead to biased or inaccurate judgements.
The Mind / Body Problem
Are the mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the subjective experience of ongoing brain activity?
Monism
conscious thought/experience can be
explained by one category of substance.
- Hippocrates (460-370 BCE): the brain is the seat of thought and emotions.
- Aristotle (384-322 BCE): the heart is the seat of emotions, the brain just a “cooling organ”
Dualism
Descartes suggested that the mind and body are separate yet intertwined → that the mind was nothing more than an organic machine governed by reflex.
Nature / Nurture
Aristotle and Plato → questioned nature vs. nurture → are psychological characteristics biologically innate? Or are they acquired through education, experience, and culture?
Stream of Conciousness
coined by William James. He noted that the mind consists of an ever-changing, continuous series of thoughts. This stream of consciousness is the product of interacting and dynamic stimuli coming from both inside our heads, outside in the world (such as input from the senses).
Functionalism
by James William → suggested the brain developed over the course of human evolution → it essentially helps humans adapt to the environment.
Localization of Function
the idea that certain functions (e.g. language, memory, etc.) have certain locations or areas within the brain.
Broca’s Aphasia
a form of aphasia in which the person knows what they want to say but is unable to produce the words or sentence.
Symptoms of Broca’s aphasia include:
- Poor or absent grammar.
- Difficulty forming complete sentences.
- Omitting certain words, such as “the,” “an,” “and,” and “is”
Wernicke’s Area
region of the brain that contains motor neurons involved in the comprehension of speech.
Broca’s area is associated with language production, while Wernicke’s area is associated with language comprehension.
Charles Darwin – Natural Selection
Features are adapted that facilitate survival and reproduction and are passed down.
Features that hinder survival and reproduction are not.
Gestalt Psychology
emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts. That is, the attributes of the whole are not deducible from analysis of the parts in isolation.
Behaviorism
Watson, Skinner → learning is a process of ‘conditioning’ in an environment of stimulus, reward and punishment (observes environmental influences on behavior)
Limitations of Behaviorism → ignores motivation, thought, and cognition
Cognitive Psychology
the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive Neuroscience
the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes.
Levels of Analysis
- Biological → how the physical body contributes to mind and behavior
- Individual → focuses on individual differences in personality and in the mental processes that affect how people perceive and know the world.
- Social → how group contexts affect the ways in which people interact and influence each other
- Cultural → explores how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are similar or different across cultures
Goals of Science
- Description
- Prediction
- Explanation
Ways of Knowing
- Tenacity → perseverance
- Authority → influence
- Reasoning → thinking logically
- Observation → examining
- The Scientific Method → cyclical process obtained through empirical research to support a claim
- Research involves the careful collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, which are measurements gathered during the research process
Steps to an Experiment
- Theory → explanation based on evidence
a. Pose a Specific, Testable Research Question
b. Educate Yourself About What Is Already Known About Your Theory - Hypothesis → prediction based on the theory
- Design a Study
- Conduct the Study
- Analyze the Data
- Report the data
- Research → test the hypothesis. This test yields data, the data either:
a. Refutes or supports the theory - If data refutes, either discard or revise the theory
- If data supports, theory is strengthened and may be revised to make it more specific.
IV
(cause) whose variation does not depend on that of another
DV
(effect) variation depends on the manipulation of the independent variable
Experimental Research Design
carrying out research in an objective and controlled fashion so that precision is maximized and specific conclusions can be drawn regarding a hypothesis statement.
Correlational Design
investigates relationships between variables without the researcher controlling or manipulating any of them
Descriptive Research Design
aims to systematically obtain information to describe a phenomenon, situation, or population
Case Study
intensive observation, recording, and description of an atypical person or organization
Observational
Participant Observation → researcher involved in the situation
Naturalistic Observation → observer remains separated from the situation
Self-Report
can be used to gather data from a large number of people in a short time
Behavioral Data Collection
examine actions or manners exhibited by the user that are responses to objects or events in the virtual environment
Physiological Data Collection
observation of variables attributable to normative functioning of systems and subsystems in the human body
Phys Method - Lesions
The function of a brain area is inferred by observing the deficits that are produced when the area is removed from the brain
Phys Method - EEG
measures the electrical activity of firing populations of neurons in the brain
Phys Method - PET
measures physiological function by looking at blood flow, metabolism, and neurotransmitters
Phys Method - MRI
forms pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body
Phys Method - fMRI
measures brain activity
Phys Method - TMS
delivers a magnetic pulse that stimulates nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression
Laboratory Study
a place that the researcher can control to a great extent
Field Study
out in the field
Descriptive Statistical Method
summarize a given data set, which can be either a representation of the entire population or a sample of a population
Inferential Statistical Method
provides data from a sample that a researcher studies which enables them to make conclusions about the population
Mode
Most frequently occurring number
STDE
the amount of variation in the data set
Correlational Coefficient
a statistical measure of the strength and duration of the relationship between two factors. In a positive correlation, the two factors rise and fall together. In a negative correlation, one factor rises, and the other one falls.
CV - Random Variables
a variable that may affect the dependent variable
CV - Subject Expectancy
the change in behavior as a result of participants behaving in a way that they think they’re expected to.
CV - Research Expectancy
the researcher may lead the participant to figure out how they’re supposed to act.
CV - Third Variable Problem
variables that the researcher failed to control, or eliminate, damaging the internal validity of an experiment.
Placebo Effect
The placebo effect is when an improvement of symptoms is observed, despite using a non active treatment. It’s believed to occur due to psychological factors like expectations or classical conditioning. Research has found that the placebo effect can ease things like pain, fatigue, or depression.
Double Blind Control
A type of clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researcher knows which treatment or intervention participants are receiving until the clinical trial is over.
Population
complete group with at least one characteristic in common
Sample
a subset of a population of interest that is selected for study with the aim of making inferences to the population
Random Sample
every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected
Convenience Sample
using respondents who are “convenient” to the researcher. There is no pattern whatsoever in acquiring these respondents—they may be recruited merely asking people who are present in the street, in a public building, or in a workplace, for example.
Selection Bias
An error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a study
Institutional Review Boards
federally-mandated, locally-administered groups charged with evaluating risks and benefits of human participant research at their institution.
Construct Validity
how well a test measures the concept it was designed to evaluate
External Validity
the extent to which you can generalize the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures
Internal Validity
the extent to which you can be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship established in a study cannot be explained by other factors.
Reliability vs. Accuracy
Accurate results mean that the results are valid or correct. Reliable results mean you consistently get the same results after repeating an experiment.
Ethical Considerations
- Protection of participants → do no physical or mental harm and distress
- Consent → participants must be informed of the true aims and nature of research before giving consent
- Right to withdraw → participants should be informed of their right to withdraw their participation and data at any time in the study without penalty.
- Confidentiality → data collected in a study should remain confidential and anonymous
- Deception → deception should be avoided; slight deception is considered acceptable if:
- Participant bias would result from participants knowing the true aims of
the study
- The research has potential significant contribution
- It is unavoidable
- The deception does not cause any distress to the participant,
including upon being informed of the deception
- If deception is involved, informed consent is not obtained
- Any deception must be revealed at the earliest opportunity - Debriefing → findings of the research should be made available to participants as soon as possible
Neurons
fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.
Glia
have a structural role within the central nervous system and also regulate nerve firing rates, brain plasticity (guiding early brain development), and immune responses.
Myelin Sheaths
a sleeve (sheath) that’s wrapped around each nerve cell (neurons). It’s a protective layer of fat (lipids) and protein that coats the main “body” section of a neuron called the axon
Dendrites
receive communications from other cells
Soma
contains the nucleus and other structures common to living cells. These structures support the chemical processing of the neuron; the most important of which is the production of neurotransmitters.
Axon
where electrical impulses from the neuron travel away to be received by other neurons
Synapse
The space between the end of a nerve cell and another cell
Terminal Buttons
the small knobs at the end of an axon that release chemicals called neurotransmitters
Synaptic Cleft
a space that separates two neurons
Synaptic Vessicles
store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse
Neurotransmitters
chemical messengers
Presynaptic
- causes the transmission of a signal to another neuron
- at the end of an axon and is the place where the electrical signal (the action potential) is converted into a chemical signal (neurotransmitter release)
Postsynaptic
- part of a neuron that receives a nerve impulse after it has crossed a synapse
- a temporary change in the electric polarization of the membrane of a nerve cell (neuron) → postsynaptic potential can lead to the firing of a new neuron.
Cell Membrane
forms the border of a neuron and acts to control the movement of substances into and out of the cell
CNS
Central Nervous System → controls most of the functions of the body, including awareness, movement, thinking, speech, and the 5 senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling.
PNS
Peripheral Nervous System → feeds information into your brain from most of your senses. It carries signals that allow you to move your muscles. Your PNS also delivers signals that your brain uses to control vital, unconscious processes like your heartbeat and breathing
SNS
Sympathetic Nervous System → responding to dangerous or stressful situations. In these situations, your sympathetic nervous system activates to speed up your heart rate, deliver more blood to areas of your body that need more oxygen or other responses to help you get out of danger.
ANS
Autonomic Nervous System → regulates involuntary physiologic processes including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal.
The ANS is the part of the PNS that acts as a control system, maintaining homeostasis in the body
Sympathetic
a network of nerves that helps your body activate its “fight-or-flight” response
Parasympathetic
relax or reduce your body’s activities
Sensory Neurons
nerve cells that are activated by sensory input from the environment - for example, when you touch a hot surface with your fingertips, the sensory neurons will be the ones firing and sending off signals to the rest of the nervous system about the information they have received.
Interneurons
they connect spinal motor and sensory neurons → the sensory neuron activates the interneurons.
Motor Neurons
two subgroups: The upper motor neurons originate in the brain and travel downward to connect with the lower motor neurons.
Muscle Movement
When a muscle is stretched, sensory neurons within the muscle spindle detect the degree of stretch and send a signal to the CNS. The CNS activates alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord, which cause extrafusal muscle fibers to contract and thereby resist further stretching.
All or Nothing Movement
when a motor unit receives a stimulus of sufficient intensity to bring forth a response, all the muscle fibres within the unit will contract at the same time, and to the maximum possible extent.
Intracellular Fluid
clear viscous fluid within a neuron. It composes the bulk of cellular material, and provides a suspension medium for organelles and free-floating molecules
Extracellular Fluid
the medium in which neurons and glia are embedded
Diffusion
An ion that is in high concentration in one area will tend to move, or diffuse, to an area of lower concentration. Diffusion is necessary for neurotransmission.
Electrostatic Forces
Sodium ions (Na+) are attracted to the inside of neurons at rest by two forces. The high concentration of (Na+) outside the cell pushes this ion into the cell down the concentration gradient. Likewise, the electrostatic pressure due to the negative charge within the neuron attracts the positively charged (Na+) inside
Resting Membrane Potential
between −60 and −75 mV. When the inside of the plasma membrane has a negative charge compared to the outside, the neuron is said to be polarized. Any change in membrane potential tending to make the inside even more negative is called hyperpolarization, while any change tending to make it less negative is called depolarization.
Threshold Potential
value of the membrane potential which, if reached, leads to the all-or-nothing initiation of an action potential
Ion Channels
protein molecules that span across the cell membrane allowing the passage of ions from one side of the membrane to the other
Receptor
in postsynaptic cells, neurotransmitter receptors receive signals that trigger an electrical signal, by regulating the activity of ion channels
Voltage-Dependent Ion Channel
transmembrane proteins that play important roles in the electrical signaling of cells. The activity is regulated by the membrane potential of a cell, and open channels allow the movement of ions along an electrochemical gradient across cellular membranes
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential
potential that makes the postsynaptic neuron more likely to fire an action potential → depolarize the postsynaptic cell
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential
potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential → a temporary hyperpolarization of postsynaptic membrane caused by the flow of negatively charged ions into the postsynaptic cell
Spatial Integration
when stimuli are applied at the same time, but in different areas, with a cumulative effect upon membrane potential → ex. Two sensory neurons communicating with one motor neuron
Temporal Integration
the neuron may fire when multiple impulses are received, even if each impulse on its own would not be sufficient to cause firing
Spatial vs. Temporal Integration
Temporal summation involves a single presynaptic neuron rapid-firing signals to a single postsynaptic neuron’s synapse. Because the signals are received in rapid succession, they compound into a greater signal. Spatial summation involves multiple presynaptic neurons simultaneously sending signals to a single neuron.
Reuptake
the reabsorption of a neurotransmitter by a neurotransmitter transporter after it has transmitted a neural impulse
Deactivating Enzymes
a specific enzyme changes the structure of the neurotransmitter so it is not recognized by the receptor (lock and key enzymatic activity)
Auto-Reception
control internal cell processes, typically inhibiting further release or synthesis of the neurotransmitter
Agonists
substances that bind to synaptic receptors and increase the effect of the neurotransmitter
Antagonists
bind to synaptic receptors but they decrease the effect of the neurotransmitter
Glutamate
excitatory → plays a major role in learning and memory
GABA
inhibitory neurotransmitter → reduce neuronal excitability by inhibiting nerve transmission → creates a calming effect and can be used to treat anxiety.
Acetylcholine
stimulates a response, meaning it can have excitatory effects (ex. For skeletal muscles) or have inhibitory effects (ex. For slowing down heart rate) → important for muscle control, autonomic body functions, and in learning, memory, and attention
Botox
Blocks acetylcholine and paralyzed the facial muscles so they are not used (reducing wrinkles)
Serotonin
inhibitory → regulate mood, sleep patterns, sexuality, anxiety, appetite and pain
SSRIs
Serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors –> After carrying a message, serotonin is usually reabsorbed by the nerve cells (known as “reuptake”). SSRIs work by blocking (“inhibiting”) reuptake, meaning more serotonin is available to pass further messages between nearby nerve cells
Norepinephrine
excitatory → plays an important role in your body’s “fight-or-flight” response. As a medication, norepinephrine is used to increase and maintain blood pressure in limited, short-term serious health situations
Endorphins
inhibitory → involved in pain reduction and pleasure, and the opioid drugs work by attaching to endorphin’s receptor sites.
Dopamine
both excitatory and inhibitory → associated with reward
Neural-basis of drug addiction; “Reward Circuits”
By activating the brain’s reward circuitry, drugs deliver a jolt of intense pleasure.
Forebrain
responsible for a variety of functions including receiving and processing sensory information, thinking, perceiving, producing and understanding language, and controlling motor function.
CNS: Spinal Cord
send motor commands from the brain to the body, send sensory information from the body to the brain, and coordinate reflexes.
CNS: Brainstem
connected to the spinal cord and is responsible for regulating most of the body’s automatic functions that are essential for life (ex. breathing)
CNS: Cerebllum
helps coordinate and regulate a wide range of functions and processes in both your brain and body
Subcortical Structures
responsible primarily for motor control, as well as other roles such as motor learning, executive functions and behaviors, and emotions.
Hippocampus
Learning and memory
Amygdala
responsible primarily for motor control, as well as other roles such as motor learning, executive functions and behaviors, and emotions.
Thalamus
All information from your body’s senses (except smell) must be processed through your thalamus before being sent to your brain’s cerebral cortex for interpretation
Hypothalamus
maintain homeostasis (stability)
Gray Matter
serves to process information in the brain. Structures within the gray matter process signals generated in the sensory organs or other areas of the gray matter
White Matter
deeper in the brain → allows the exchange of information and communication between different areas of your brain. It’s called “white matter” because the nerve fibers are covered in a protective sheath called myelin, which gives the tissue its white color
Sulcus (sulci)
surface of the hemisphere and separates frontal and temporal lobe → important to structure
Gyrus (gyri)
have an important evolutionary function; they increase the surface area of the brain
Hemispheres
The right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body.
Frontal Lobe
important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions.
Parietal Lobe
processes sensory information it receives from the outside world, mainly relating to touch, taste, and temperature
Occipital Lobe
responsible for visual perception, including color, form and motion
Temporal Lobe
associated with processing auditory information and with the encoding of memory
Phineas Gage
An accident with dynamite drove an iron rod into his cheek and through his frontal lobes. He survived the accident but his behavior and personality changed after the accident: lack of ability to plan, control, and assess behavior. This helped teach us that different parts of the brain play a role in different functions.
Functional Specialization
a theory which suggests that different areas in the brain are specialized for different functions
Topographic Organization
the projection of adjacent neurons in one area to adjacent neurons in another
Contralateral Connections
the hemispheres of the cerebrum and the thalamus represent mainly the contralateral side of the body
Asymmetry of Higher Functions (i.e., hemispheric specialization)
the differential role of the left or right brain side in processing a specific neuronal task or behavior
Phrenology
Bumps on the skull corresponded to personality
Somatosensory Area
inform us about objects in our external environment through touch (i.e., physical contact with skin) and about the position and movement of our body parts (proprioception) through the stimulation of muscle and joints.
Auditory Area
receives and processes the contents of sounds, voices, or music.
Visual Area
receives, integrates, and processes visual information relayed from the retinas
Primary Motor Area
generates signals to direct the movement of the body
Association Areas
where different modalities combine, attention is shifted, planning occurs, and memories are stored
Frontal Areas
manages thinking, emotions, personality, judgment, self-control, muscle control and movements
Homunculus
a map along the cerebral cortex of where each part of the body is processed. The sensations occur all along the body. The impulses from the body will be sent into the spinal cord and eventually back to the brain to be processed.
Receptive Field
A specific region of sensory space in which an appropriate stimulus can drive an electrical response in a sensory neuron.
Phantom Limb Syndrome
patients experience sensations, whether painful or otherwise, in a limb that does not exist. Experts believe phantom pain results from a mix-up in nervous system signals, specifically between the spinal cord and brain. When a body part is amputated, the nerve connections from the periphery to the brain remain in place.
Corpus Callosum
a large bundle of more than 200 million myelinated nerve fibers that connect the two brain hemispheres, permitting communication between the right and left sides of the brain
Corpus Callosum & Split-Brain Patients
agenesis (a brain disorder in which the tissue that connects the left and right sides of the brain (its hemispheres) is partially or completely missing) of the corpus callosum may cause split-brain syndrome. The syndrome causes the affected individual to be unable to learn to perform new tasks that require interdependent movement of each hand. Eye movements also remain coordinated. Unusual behaviors concerning speech and object recognition occur.
Evidence for Specialization
referred to as lateralization—in each hemisphere, mainly regarding differences in language functions. The left hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the right hemisphere controls the left half of the body.
Left hemisphere as “the interpreter”
a function in the left hemisphere of the brain that search for and produce causal explanations for events, behaviours and feelings, even though no such apparent pattern exists between them.
