Exam 1 (Ch. 1-3) Flashcards
Theory
explanation of a phenomena within a domain
Hypothesis
specific prediction within a theory
Wilhelm Wundt
structuralist, introspection, consciousness, est. first psych lab
Edward Titchener
Wundt’s student, structuralist, set up psych lab at Cornell
introspection
documentation of one’s own thoughts
structuralism
analyzes the basic elements of conscious mental experience
William James
wrote first psychology textbook, established stream of consciousness; functionalist
stream of consciousness
functions to help humans adapt to their environment
functionalism
concerned with how we use mental processes to adapt to their environment and what we use consciousness for
naturalistic observation
no attempt to influence behavior
case study
study of a single individual
survey
gather info by questionnaire about the attitudes, beliefs, experiences or behaviors of a group of people
sample
a part of a population, represented by “n”
population
entire group of interest to researchers, represented by “N”
experiments
to test causal hypothesis
placebo
harmless substance given to the control group in an experiment as a control for the placebo effect
EEG
overall electric activity of the whole brain; used for sleep studies and to identify brain death
FMRI
measures brain activity; cognitive neuroscience
dendrites
branch-like extensions of the cell body that receive signals from other neurons (receiving end)
axon
tail-like extension of the neuron that transmits signals to the dendrites of other neurons to muscles, glands and other parts of the body (firing end)
neurotransmitter
specialized chemicals that facilitate or inhibit the transmission of impulses from one neuron to the next
action potential
the sudden reversal of the resting potential, which initiates the firing of a neuron
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
synapse
gap between sending and receiving neurons where communication takes place
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
the nerves that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
autonomic
automatic
sympathetic functions
involved in arousal or “fight or flight” response
parasympathetic functions
opposite of sympathetic; calms your body down within minutes; key to psychotherapy techniques
Central Nervous System (CNS)
made up of the brain and the spinal cord
brainstem
handles functions critical to physical survival
medulla
part of the brainstem; regulates heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing
limbic system
emotional core, highly evolved in mammals; includes the amygdala and the hippocampus
cerebral cortex
responsible for the higher mental process of language, memory and thinking
occipital lobe
vision
temporal lobe
auditory/naming
parietal lobe
sensory
frontal lobe
motor and executive functions
Broca’s area
controls language production
Wernicke’s area
controls language comprehension
aphasia
loss of the ability to use or understand language, resulting from damage to the brain
corpus callosum
neural fibers that connect the two hemispheres and pass information between them
cerebral hemispheres
the right and left halves of the cerebrum; control movement and feeling on the opposing sides of the body
sensation
stimulus hitting sense receptors
perception
brain’s judgement of what the sensation is
absolute threshold
minimum stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time
JND (Just Noticeable Difference)
smallest change in sensation a person is able to detect 50% of the time
retina
back of your eyeball; 120 million photo receptors
cones
light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina; color, daylight, fine vision
rods
light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina ; black and white, peripheral vision, night vision
fovea
center of vision, most dense concentration of cones
blind spot
point where optic nerve leaves the back of the retina
optic nerve
nerve that carries visual information from each retina to both sides of the brain
optic chiasm
optic nerves cross just above the pituitary gland and hypothalamus
Gestalt
German word meaning “whole”
closure
when an incomplete picture is seen as complete
visual cliff
an apparatus used to test depth perception in infants
retinal disparity
the difference between 2 retinal images that provides an important cue for depth perception
perceptual constancy
the phenomenon that allows us to perceive objects as maintaining their shape and size despite differences in viewing angle or distance
depth perception
the ability to perceive the visual world in 3D and to judge distances accurately
monocular depth cues
depth cues that can be perceived by one eye alone
interposition
when one object partially blocks your view of another, you perceive the partially blocked object as farther away
ESP
gaining information about objects, events, or another person’s thoughts through some means other than the known sensory channels
opperational definition
precise description of a variable in a study/experiment
