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PSY 100: General Psychology > Exam #1 > Flashcards

Exam #1 Flashcards

Biological Psychology.

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
Amygdala
primarily controls fear and aggression. ## Footnote * *a part of the **Limbic System***.
26
Hippocampus
primarily controls memory and memory storage. ## Footnote * *a part of the **Limbic System***.
27
Corpus Callosum
connects the 2 hemispheres.
28
Thalamus
relays information to different parts of the brain. ## Footnote * *"relay center".*
29
Cerebrum
the wrinkly part of the brain.
30
Cerebral Cortex
the outer layer of the **cerebrum**.
31
Frontal Lobe
personality, speaking, decision making, and problem solving. | **ex**. Fineas Gage, pole through brain, impacted personality. ## Footnote * *contains the **Motor Cortex**.*
32
Parietal Lobe
sensation, recieving information on sensation. ## Footnote * *contains the **Somatosensory Cortex**.*
33
Occipital Lobe
recieves visual information. ## Footnote * *located in the back of the brain.*
34
Temporal Lobe
recieves auditory information. ## Footnote * *located in the temple.*
35
Motor Cortex
controls movement. ## Footnote * *located in the **frontal lobe**.* * *each lobe controls the **opposite** side.*
36
How many lobes does each hemisphere contain?
**4** lobes each.
37
Somatosensory Cortex
controls sensory and touch information. ## Footnote * *located in the **Parietal Lobe**.* * *each lobe controls the **opposite** side.*
38
Association Area
controls complex tasks. ## Footnote * *the origin of the myth that we only use 10% of our brain.*
39
Genetics
focuses on what makes us **different** from one another.
40
Chromosomes
packages of genes you get from each of your parents.
41
"Self-Regulating" | (genes)
how genes respond to the environment, and can switch on and off.
42
Monozygotic
**identical** twins, share 100% DNA.
43
Dizygotic
**fraternal** twins, share 50% of DNA. ## Footnote * *are basically siblings born at the same time.*
44
Twin Studies
used to show the importance of environmental and genetic influences on traits.
45
What is personality largely determined by?
environmental factors.
46
Epigenetics
the study of the interaction of genes in an environment.
47
Evolutionary Psychology
the study of what makes us **similar**. ## Footnote * *based on the principal of **Natural Selection**.*
48
What is the basic idea of Natural Selection?
the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change.
49
Sensation
describes what we are physically sensing from the environment.
50
Perception
how our brain **interprets** the sensation received.
51
What is the difference between **top-down** and **bottom-up** processing?
**top-down** = we use background information to interpret what we see. **bottom-up** = we allow stimulus to shape our perception.
52
Transduction
taking one form of energy and turning it into another. ## Footnote * *all 7 senses perform this.*
53
Absolute Threshold
the point at which something is **strong enough** that you can sense it.
54
Difference Threshold or Just Noticeable Difference | (JND)
the minimum difference a person can detect between any two stimuli. ## Footnote **ex**. how much does the temperature have to change for you to noticed it changed.
55
Weber's Law
the **JND** depends on how loud the signal was before it was percieved. | **ex**. when the AC turns off and you notice it.
56
Subliminal Stimulus
a stimulus below the absolute threshold. ## Footnote * *listening to tapes at night on how to stop smoking while sleeping (subliminal messaging). **NOT TRUE***
57
Sensory Adaptation
your senses adapt to the level of stimuli. | **ex**. someone in busy city goes to a small town, notice there is no no
58
Perceptual Set
a disposition to percieve things in certain ways over others. ## Footnote * *we are set in our ways.*
59
Schema
an organizing unit that helps us process and sort information.
60
Context Effects
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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