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PSY 100: General Psychology > Exam #1 > Flashcards

Exam #1 Flashcards

Biological Psychology.

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1
Q

Neuron

A

converts chemical signals into electrical signals.

  • 3 Types: Motor Neurons, Sensory Neurons, and Interneurons.
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2
Q

Dendrite

A

the part of the neuron that receives messages from other cells.

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3
Q

Axon

A

the part of the neuron that passes messages to other cells.

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4
Q

Glial Cells

A

holds the neuron in place.

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5
Q

Myelin Sheath

A

the part of the neuron that insulates and speeds up neural impulses.

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6
Q

Action Potential

A

The amount of energy it takes to transmits nerve impulses.

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7
Q

Synaptic Gap

A

the space between two neurons.

  • contains neurotransmitters.
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8
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

chemical messengers throughout the body.

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9
Q

Central Nervous System

(CNS)

A

composed of the brain and spinal cord.

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10
Q

Peripheral Nervous System

(PNS)

A

composed of all of the other nerves throughout your body.

  • made up of the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System.
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11
Q

Autonomic Nervous System

A

any involuntary functions.

ex. breathing, heartbeat, and digestion.

  • contains Sympathetic and Parasympathetic divisions.
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12
Q

Somatic Nervous System

A

any voluntary functions.

ex. pulling your hand back after touching a hot stove.

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13
Q

Sympathetic Division

A

the “fight or flight” response.

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14
Q

Parasympathetic Division

A

the “rest and digest” response.

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15
Q

Reflex Arc

A

when your body performs the signal before the signal reaches the brain.

ex. pulling your hand away after touching a hot pan.

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16
Q

Hormone

A

chemical messengers in the blood.

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17
Q

Pituitary Gland

A

the master endocrine gland in the brain.

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18
Q

Endocrine System

A

the glands and organs that control hormones.

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19
Q

Hindbrain

A

regulates autonomic function.

ex. heartbeat, breathing, and sleeping.

  • the first part of our brain that developed.
  • called “reptile brain”.
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20
Q

Midbrain

A

regulates movement and processes auditory and visual information.

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21
Q

Forebrain

A

regulates all of the complicated things.

ex. complex emotions, language, and reading.

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22
Q

Cerebellum

A

controls balance and fine motor movement.

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23
Q

Spinal Cord

A

the pathway for neural fibers.

  • a part of the CNS.
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24
Q

Limbic System

A

primarily controls emotions and drives.

  • located underneath the cerebrum.
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25
Q

Amygdala

A

primarily controls fear and aggression.

  • a part of the Limbic System.
26
Q

Hippocampus

A

primarily controls memory and memory storage.

  • a part of the Limbic System.
27
Q

Corpus Callosum

A

connects the 2 hemispheres.

28
Q

Thalamus

A

relays information to different parts of the brain.

  • “relay center”.
29
Q

Cerebrum

A

the wrinkly part of the brain.

30
Q

Cerebral Cortex

A

the outer layer of the cerebrum.

31
Q

Frontal Lobe

A

personality, speaking, decision making, and problem solving.

ex. Fineas Gage, pole through brain, impacted personality.

  • contains the Motor Cortex.
32
Q

Parietal Lobe

A

sensation, recieving information on sensation.

  • contains the Somatosensory Cortex.
33
Q

Occipital Lobe

A

recieves visual information.

  • located in the back of the brain.
34
Q

Temporal Lobe

A

recieves auditory information.

  • located in the temple.
35
Q

Motor Cortex

A

controls movement.

  • located in the frontal lobe.
  • each lobe controls the opposite side.
36
Q

How many lobes does each hemisphere contain?

A

4 lobes each.

37
Q

Somatosensory Cortex

A

controls sensory and touch information.

  • located in the Parietal Lobe.
  • each lobe controls the opposite side.
38
Q

Association Area

A

controls complex tasks.

  • the origin of the myth that we only use 10% of our brain.
39
Q

Genetics

A

focuses on what makes us different from one another.

40
Q

Chromosomes

A

packages of genes you get from each of your parents.

41
Q

“Self-Regulating”

(genes)

A

how genes respond to the environment, and can switch on and off.

42
Q

Monozygotic

A

identical twins, share 100% DNA.

43
Q

Dizygotic

A

fraternal twins, share 50% of DNA.

  • are basically siblings born at the same time.
44
Q

Twin Studies

A

used to show the importance of environmental and genetic influences on traits.

45
Q

What is personality largely determined by?

A

environmental factors.

46
Q

Epigenetics

A

the study of the interaction of genes in an environment.

47
Q

Evolutionary Psychology

A

the study of what makes us similar.

  • based on the principal of Natural Selection.
48
Q

What is the basic idea of Natural Selection?

A

the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change.

49
Q

Sensation

A

describes what we are physically sensing from the environment.

50
Q

Perception

A

how our brain interprets the sensation received.

51
Q

What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing?

A

top-down = we use background information to interpret what we see.
bottom-up = we allow stimulus to shape our perception.

52
Q

Transduction

A

taking one form of energy and turning it into another.

  • all 7 senses perform this.
53
Q

Absolute Threshold

A

the point at which something is strong enough that you can sense it.

54
Q

Difference Threshold or Just Noticeable Difference

(JND)

A

the minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli.

ex. how much does the temperature have to change for you to noticed it changed.

55
Q

Weber’s Law

A

the JND depends on how loud the signal was before it was percieved.

ex. when the AC turns off and you notice it.

56
Q

Subliminal Stimulus

A

a stimulus below the absolute threshold.

  • listening to tapes at night on how to stop smoking while sleeping (subliminal messaging). NOT TRUE
57
Q

Sensory Adaptation

A

your senses adapt to the level of stimuli.

ex. someone in busy city goes to a small town, notice there is no no

58
Q

Perceptual Set

A

a disposition to percieve things in certain ways over others.

  • we are set in our ways.
59
Q

Schema

A

an organizing unit that helps us process and sort information.

60
Q

Context Effects

A

how we percieve things based on context.

ex. see a fuzzy thing in a tree on campus, wouldnt think its a bear.

PSY 100: General Psychology (5 decks)

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