Final Exam (left to learn) Flashcards
research validity
- internal: “can we rule out alternative explanations?”
- external: can the sample generalize the population of interest?
- construct: accurately measures what its supposed to
measuring correlation
r: higher |r|= higher correlation
- can use r to predict a future score
p-value: probability we would get a difference between the two groups (lower p-value = higher statistical significance of different observations)
*low is good
if p < .05 reject null hypothesis
if p > .05 fail to reject null hypothesis
ethical principles of experimental groups
- autonomy: informed consent (not coercion/ $, especially for vulnerable populations)
- beneficence: evaluation on risks/ benefits to participants and potential benefits to society
- justice: participants who bear the burden of research should most benefit from the outcome of research
evolutionary explanations of behavior
proximate explanations: immediate cause of behavior (within lifetime of individual)
- (ex. culture teaches men and women different attitudes towards casual sex)
ultimate explanations: long-term causes of behavior
(ex. women have greater reproductive burden so are more selective)
naturalistic fallacy
logical fallacy that something must be good if its “natural”
action potential voltage
resting membrane potential: -70 mV
voltage threshold: -55 mV
altering neurotransmitters with drugs
- antagonist: decreases natural neurotransmitters
- agonist: boost to increase the impact of neurotransmitters
invasive techniques to study the brain
- lesions (accidental or intentional): damage part of brain
- single-cell electrophysiology: hear neurons firing
- electrical stimulation: (for epilepsy, can temporarily deactivate parts of the brain)
non-invasive techniques to study the brain
- electroencephalogram (EEG): electrodes outside the scalp
- functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): to find where things are happening in the brain (ex. oxygenated blood, different magnetic processes)
- transcranial magnetic stimulation: magnetic coils outside skull to stimulate parts of brain
brain orientation
(in a side view with the brain stem on the right)
left: anterior rostral
top: superior dorsal
right: posterior caudal
bottom: inferior ventral
side view: lateral view
back view: medial view
brain slicing techniques
horizontal: axial
vertical, width: coronal
vertical, height: saggital
brain stem
- midbrain: nerve pathway of cerebral hemispheres, auditory and visual reflex center
- pons: “bridge” where fibers horizontally across brain, connects the cerebellum to the brain
- medulla: connects spinal cord and brain, controls blood pressure and major reflexes
cerebellum
coordinates voluntary muscle movements (balance and posture)
limbic system
- thalamus: receives sensory information (except taste and smell) sends information to appropriate area
- hypothalamus: motivated behavior (fight, flee, feed, romance)
- amygdala: motivation and emotion, aggression, and emotional memories (controls response to these stimuli)
- hippocampus: center of emotion, memory, and autonomic nervous system
cerebral cortex
(huge surface area, crinkled up)
- frontal lobe: motor control, higher order cognition, self-control, personality, language
- parietal lobe: body sensation (touch, pressure, temperature, pain)
- temporal lobe: smell, hearing (auditory cortex), memory (hippocampus), language (wernicke’s area)
- occipital lobe: vision
- insular lobe: taste (primary taste cortex), internal awareness of organs
broca’s area
frontal lobe (left)
- disrupts speech (speak in pieces)
wernicke’s area
temporal lobe
- disrupts comprehension of speech (speak incoherently)
split-brain surgery
corpus callosum has been severed in two
- assuming this person has language localized in their left hemisphere, they will be unable to verbally describe information presented in their left visual field
selectivity of attention and perception
- inattentional blindness (“moonwalking bear demonstration”)
- change blindness (“color changing card trick” demonstration)
face identity aftereffects
wil see the image minus the image you’ve been staring at (ex. staring at a picture of Harry Styles and it switches to a mix between Harry Styles and Chris Pine, will just see Chris Pine)
perceptual set
what we perceive based on previous experiences (such as seeing a glass half empty or half full)
afterimage (color aftereffect)
will see opposite colors when you blink after staring at something for a long time
(ex. red –> green, blue –> yellow)
motion aftereffect
see opposite of motion after staring at it for a long time (ex. waterfall illusion)
sight
rods: dark
cones: light
reinforcement types
- fixed-interval: reinforcement after a set amount of time
- variable-interval: response reinforced based on average amount of time elapsed
- fixed-ratio: set number of behaviors before reward
- **variable-ratio: reinforces average number of behavior