Exam Revision Flashcards
Exam revision from Quizlet
Split-brain surgery
Cutting the band of nerve tissue (corpus callosum) connecting the two hemispheres.
Medulla
Continuation of the spinal cord, connecting it to the brain; controls bodily functions required for survival.
Broca’s area
Speech production
Sampling
The process of selecting participants from a population of interest.
Mental health problem
A mental health concern that interferes with functioning but is mild and temporary.
Experiment
Used to test a cause-effect relationship between variables under controlled conditions.
Extraneous variable
Any variable other than the IV that can cause a change in the DV and therefore affect the results in a negative way.
Reticular formation
Helps screen incoming information, alerts higher brain centres to important information, helps maintain consciousness, and regulates arousal and muscle tone
Psychotic disorder
Symbolic thinking
In Piaget’s theory, the cognitive ability to use symbols such as words and pictures to represent objects that are not physically present.
Synaptic pruning
Pruning’ of weak or unused synaptic connections in the brain.
Wernicke’s area
Area of the brain involved in speech production and comprehension.
Sensorimotor stage
The first stage in Piaget’s theory (0-2 years), when infants explore and learn about the world primarily though their senses and motor activities.
Attachment
In psychology, the emotional bond that forms between an infant and another person, usually their main caregiver.
Ethics
The standards that guide individuals to identify good, desirable or acceptable conduct.
Midbrain
Connects upper and lower brain areas and houses structure involved with movement, processing of visual, auditory and tactile sensory information, sleep and arousal.
Primary visual cortex
Receives and processes visual information from the eyes.
Pre-operational stage
The second stage in Piaget’s theory (2-7 years) when children become increasingly able to mentally represent objects and experiences.
Sympathetic nervous system
A sub-division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body for vigorous activity or to deal with a stressful or threatening situation.
Psychosocial crisis
In Erikson’s theory, a social dilemma or problem an individual faces in adjusting to society involving a struggle between two opposing tendencies, one of which comes from internal personal needs and the other former demands of society.
Development
Psychological or physical change that occurs over time.
Electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB)
Stimulation or detection of electrical activity in the brain using an electrode.
Biopsychosocial model
A way of describing and explaining how biological, psychological and social factors combine and interact to influence an individual’s behaviour and mental processes; sometimes called the biopsychosocial approach or theory.
Case study
An intensive, in depth investigation of some behaviour or event of interest in an individual, group, organisation or situation.
Maturation
The genetically predetermined orderly and sequential developmental changes which occur in the nervous system and other bodily structures.
Brain
An intricate network of cells that plays a vital role in processing information received through nerve pathways from the body and in directing actions within the body.
Sensory neurons
Receives sensory information from both the external and internal environments and carries it to the central nervous system.
Computerised Tomography (CT)
Neuro imaging technique that uses x-ray equipment to scan the brain at different angles and produce scans showing structure only; also called computerised axial tomography (CAT).
Heredity
Transmission of characteristics from biological parents to their offspring via genes at the time of conception. Also referred to as nature.
Population
The entire group of research interest from which a sample is drawn and to which the researcher will seek to apply (generalise) the results of their investigation.
Conclusion
A decision about what the results obtained from a research study mean.
Mental disorder
A combination of thoughts, feelings and/or behaviours which impair the ability to function effectively in everyday life; also called psychological disorder and mental illness.
Synaptogenesis
Formation of new synapses between the brain’s neurons.
Accommodation
In Piaget’s theory, changing a pre-existing mental idea to fit new information.
Sample
A subsection or smaller group of research participants selected from a larger group of research interest.
Observational study
Involves collection of data by carefully watching and recording behaviour as it occurs.
Representative sample
A sample that is approximately the same as the population from which it is drawn in every important variable.
Adaptive plasticity
Ability of the brain to compensate for lost function and/or maximise remaining functions following injury.
Cerebral cortex
Outer layer of the brain involved in complex mental abilities, sensory processing and voluntary behaviours.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Neuro imaging technique that uses magnetic fields to vibrate atoms in the brain’s neurone and generate a computer image showing brain structure only.
Classification
In Piaget’s theory, the cognitive ability to organise objects or events into categories based on common features that set them apart from other categories.
Dendrite
Thin extension of a neuron that receives information from neighbouring neuron and transits it to the soma.
Forebrain
A collection of upper level structures that include the hypothalamus, thalamus and cerebrum; involved in complex cognitive processes, emotion and personality.
Dependent variable
The variable that is used to observe and measure the effects of the IV.
Stratified sampling
Involved dividing the population to be sampled into different subgroups, or strata, then selecting a separate sample from each subgroup (stratum) in the same proportions as they occur in the population of interest.
Cerebral hemispheres
Two almost-symmetrical brain areas running from the front to the back on the brain.
Central nervous system (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord. Its main function is to process information received through the sensory organs and other parts of the body and to activate appropriate action.
Hindbrain
A collection of lower level brain structures that include the cerebellum, medulla and pons.
Adaptive behaviour
Actions that enable a person to effectively carry out their usual everyday tasks.
Double-blind procedure
The participants and the researcher (or research assistant) directly involved with the participants are unaware of (are ‘blind’ to) the conditions to which the participants have been allocated.
Plasticity
Ability of the brain to change its structure and organisation in response to experience; also called neuroplasticity.
Cerebellum
The cauliflower-shaped structure located at the base of the brain that looks like a mini-brain.
Labelling
The process of classifying and naming a mental disorder following a diagnosis.
Thalamus
Relay station for sensory information (except smells).
Phrenology
The study of the relationship between the skull’s surface features and a person’s personality and behavioural characteristics.