Final Chapters 1,2,3, Flashcards
Critical thinking
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Hindsight bias
The tendency to believe that after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it
Theory
Am explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events,
Hypothesis
A testable prediction often implied by a theory
Operational definition
A statement of the operations used to define research variables.
Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different in participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.
Case study
Observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hole of revealing universal principles
Survey
A technique for ascertaining the self reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.
Population
All cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.
Random sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because each members has and equal chance of inclusion
Naturalistic observation
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation
Correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and this how well either factor predicts the other
Correlation coefficient
A statistical index of the relationship between two things from -1 to +1
Scatter plots
A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation. (Little scatter indicates high correlation.)
Experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process.
Random assignment
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, this minimizing pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups.
Double blind
An experimental procedure in which both the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. (Drug evaluation)
Placebo effect
Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inherit substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.
Experimental group
In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
Control group
In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to treatment.
Serves as comparison.
Independent variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated
Variable being studied
Dependent variable
The outcome factor
Mode
Most frequently occurring score in distribution
Mean
The arithmetic average of a distribution
Median
The middle score in a distribution
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Standard deviation
A computes measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
Normal curve
A symmetrical bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of data
Statistical significance
A statistical statement of how likely or is that an obtained result occurred by chance
Culture
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from on generation to the next.
Biological psychology
A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
Neuron
A nerve cell
Sensory neurons
Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Motor neurons
Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscle and glands
Interneurons
Neurons within the Brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Dendrite
Bushy branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward cell body
Axon
Extensions of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Myelin sheath
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers if many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulse hope from one node to the next
Action potential
A neural impulse
A electrical charge that travels down an axon
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Synapse
The junction between the axon top of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers that cross synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, Neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse
Reuptake
A Neurotransmitters reabsorption by the sending neuron
Endorphins
“Morphine within”
Natural, opiatelike Neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
Nervous system
The body’s speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting if all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system
Central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
Nerves
Bundled axon that form neural cables connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs
Somatic nervous system
The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs
Divided into parasympathetic and sympathetic
Sympathetic
The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing it’s energy I’m stressful situations
Accelerates heartbeat Raise your blood pressure Slows digestion Raises blood sugar Cools with perspiration
Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body conserving it’s energy
Reflex
A simple autonomic response to a sensory stimulus such as the knee jerk response
Endocrine system
The body’s slow chemical communication system
A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Hormones
Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travels through the bloodstream, and affect other tissue
Adrenal glands
A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress
Pituitary gland
The endocrine systems most influential gland. Under the influence it the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth had controls other endocrine glands
Lesion
Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An amplifier recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brains surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
PET scan
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
MRI
A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue.
Shows brain anatomy
Brainstem
The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions
Medulla
The base of the brainstem controls heartbeat and breathing
Reticular formation
A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal
Thalamus
The brains sensory switchboard, located on top if the brainstem. It directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
Cerebellum
The little brain at the rear of the brainstem
Functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance
Limbic system
Neural system including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus. Located below the cerebral hemispheres associated with emotion and drives
Amygdala
Two Lima bean sized neural clusters in the Limbic system linked to emotion
Hypothalamus
A neural structure lying below the thalamus that directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp)
Helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion and reward
Cerebral cortex
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres
Body’s ultimate control and information processing center
Glial cells
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
Frontal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead
Involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements
Parietal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head towards the rear
Receives sensory input for touch and body position
Occipital lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head
Includes areas that receive information from visual fields
Temporal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying above the ears at the back of the head
Includes auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear
Motor cortex
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
Sensory cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
Association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor it sensory functions
Involved in higher mental functioning such as learning, remembering, and thinking
Plasticity
The brains ability to change especially during childhood by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons
Corpus callosum
The later band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
Split brain
A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brains two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum
Consciousness
Our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Cognitive neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition
Includes perception, thinking, memory and language
Dual processing
The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Selective attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
Change blindness
Failing to notice changes in environment
Circadian rhythm
The biological clock
Regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle
REM sleep
Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur
Muscles relaxed but body systems may be active
Alpha waves
The relatively slow brainwaves of a relaxed awake state
Sleep
Periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness.
Hallucinations
False sensory experiences such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Delta waves
The large slow brainwaves associated with deep sleep
