High-Yield Science Flashcards
Parts of the hindbrain
Medulla oblongata, pons, reticular formation and cerebellum
Medulla oblongata
Regulating vital functions: breathing, heat rate, blood pressure, and digestion
Reticular formation
Controls general arousal processes and alertness
Cerebellum
Maintain posture, balance and coordination of body movements
Parts of the hypothalamus
Anterior hypothalamus, ventromedial hypothalamus and lateral hypothalamus
Anterior hypothalamus
Regulates sexual behavior, sleep and body temperature
Ventromedial hypothalamus
The satiety center
Provides signals to stop eating
Lateral hypothalamus
The hunger center
Contains special receptors though to detect when the body needs more food or fluids
Parts of the cerebrum
Basal ganglia, limbic system and cerebral cortex
Right and left hemispheres
How is the cerebrum associated with Parkinson’s disease?
Damage to the basal ganglia, resulting in jerky movements and controlled resting tremors
How is the cerebrum associated with schizophrenia?
Damage to the basal ganglia
Within the cerebrum are ventricles follies with cerebrospinal fluid that ultimately floes into the central canal in the middle of the spinal cord. Research has linked abnormally enlarged ventricles with symptoms often seen in schizophrenia, including social withdrawal, flat affect, and catatonic states
Where is the hindbrain located?
Where the brain meets the spinal cord
Pons
Contain sensory and motor pathways between the cortex and the medulla
Where is the cerebellum?
At the top of the hindbrain
What does damage to the cerebellum result in?
Clumsiness, slurred speech, loss of balance
What does alcohol largely affect?
The cerebellum, resulting in clumsiness, slurred speech and loss of balance
Basal ganglia
Coordinate muscle movements as they receive information from the cortex and relay this information to the brain and spinal cord
Include the extrapyramidal motor system, which gathers information about body position and carries this information to the brain and spinal cord, helping to smoothen movements and study posture
What are the two main types of photoreceptors in the retina?
Cones and rods
Feature detection theory
We interpret objects by assessing specific characteristics, such as lines, shapes or specific kinds of motion to identify something of importance v. something of little value
Parallel processing
The psychological counterpart to feature detection theory
Refers to out analysis of different attributes of an object though separate pathways before integrating them
Requires the interpretation of color, motion, shape, and depth as separate entities, which are then combines to create a cohesive view of the world
Cones
Used for color vision and perceiving fine details
When are cones most effective?
In bright light
When are rods most effective?
In reduced light
Rods
Allow for perception only of an achromatic, Lowe-resolution image
Allow for night vision
Are there more rods or cones in the retina?
Rods
What kind of photoreceptors exist in the fovea?
Cones
Where is visual acuity best on the retina?
In the fovea
When is the fovea most sensitive?
Normal daylight vision
Parvocellular cells
Used for shape and boundary detection
Magnocellular cells
Used for motion detection
What is the typical timeline for language development in children?
First year of life: babbling 9 - 12 mo: babbling peaks 12 - 18 mo: adding 1 word per month 18 mo: explosion of language 18 - 20 mo: 2-word sentences 2 - 3 y: 3-word sentences 5 y: language is mastered
Nativist (biological) theory of language acquisition
Humans have an innate capacity for language
This capacity is sometimes referred to as the language acquisition divide, a theoretical pathway in the Bain that allows infants to absorb and process language rules. It is though that this divide is triggered by exposure to language. Thus, the nativist theory posits that children must be exposed to language during a critical period between the age of two and puberty in order to fully develop their linguistic abilities.
Learning (behaviorist) theory of language acquisition
Language acquisition is accomplished through operating conditioning. Caregivers repeat and reinforce the sounds that mimic their own spoken language. Thus, over time, the infant perceives that certain sounds are highly values and are reliably reinforced, while others have little value and are not reinforced, with the result of shaping the child’s acquisition of language.
Broca’s aphasia
Intact speech comprehension
Reduced or absent speech production
Wernicke’s aphasia
Intact speech production
Reduced or absent speech comprehension
Conduction aphasia
Intact speech production and comprehension
Loss of the ability to repeat verbal information
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
Event –> physiological arousal + emotional response
James-Lange theory of emotion
Event –> physiological arousal –> emotional response
Is the spinal cord the only pathway for feedback from the visceral organs?
No, the vagus nerve, which feeds directly into the medulla oblongata, performs this function as well
What did Darwin have to say about emotions?
Emotions are products of evolution, as a result, emotions and their corresponding expressions are universal
Because all humans evolved the same set of facial muscles, these muscles would show the same expression when communicating an emotion, regardless of differences in society or culture
How did Edman further develop Darwin’s ideas about emotions?
Identified seven universal emotions: happiness, sadness, contempt, surprise, fear, disgust and anger
Each of these universal emotions comes with a specific set of facial cues, regardless of culture or society
A three-year-old has begun to explore her surrounding and is learning that she is able to control the world around her. She brushes her own teeth, dresses herself and has begun to develop personal interests. According to Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, what is the next conflict this child will face?
Integrity v. Guilt :: The child should feel a sense of purpose, have the ability to initiate activities and have the ability to enjoy accomplishment
Two college roommates are constantly at odds because one is extremely messy and the other is obsessively tidy. According to Freudian analysis, how can the differences between these roommates be explained in terms of psychosexual fixation?
Anal fixation
A child of busy parents is often left on his own to play and learn. According to Vygotsky, what effect would the consistent absence of a more knowledgable other have on the child’s locus of control and self-efficacy?
Persistent external locus of control and low self-efficacy
Depressive episode
Lasts at least two weeks and includes five of the depressive episode symptoms
What diagnoses may include a depressive episode?
(Sadness + SIG E. CAPS) Feeling down or sad Changes in sleep patters Loss of interest Feelings of guilt Loss of energy Difficulty concentrating Changes in weight or appetite Psychomotor retardation or agitation (feeling or seeming slowed down or agitated) Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Hypomanic episode
Less severe than manic episodes and requires 3 symptoms of manic episodes lasting 4 days
Children were observed on Halloween while trick-or-treating. Candy was left on the porch of a home with a note saying Please take only one piece of candy. It was observed that children trick-or-treating alone or with one friend or sibling were very likely to take only one piece of candy, but that children in groups were dramatically more likely to take handfuls of candy. What social process is at play, and what influence does the nature of the holiday have on the observed results?
De-individuation :: During Halloween, children are dressed up in costumes, which increases anonymity, making them even more likely to behave in atypical ways
An Olympic weightlifter is preparing for a competition and records his clean-and-jerk weights over a period of three months during his independent training sessions. He sees increases in his lifts as he progresses towards the competition, but plateaus in the final month. At the competition, he reaches a personal record, adding seven kilograms to his lift. What social process best describes the improved performance at the competition?
Social facilitation
Max is a high school student who has typically shown mediocre performance. He transfers to a new school and befriends a group of high achieving students. Max’s grades in his first semester are much above his previous grades. What social process describes these results?
Peer pressure
How does nonverbal communication add to a conversation?
Nonverbal cues serve several functions in communication, but their primary purpose is often to express emotions
Nonverbal communication can also be used to convey attitudes
One can communication personality traits through nonverbal communication
Nonverbal cues may be culture specific
Alter-casting
The imposition of an identity onto another person
One assigns a role to another person
Ingratiation
The use of flattery or conforming to expectations to win someone over
e.g. blindly agreeing with another person, complimenting another person before asking for a favor, trying to live up to the good boy, good girl imagery
Aligning actions
Related to excuse-making and rationalization of questionable behavior
It may be associated with an external locus of control and may be used to encourage others to make situational–rather than dispositional–attributions
