M's in Glossary Flashcards
major depressive disorder
a mood disorder in which a person experiences 2 or more weeks with 5 or more symptoms, at least one of which much be either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure
mania
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
manifest content
the remembered story line of a dream
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
medical model
the concept that diseases have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and cured.
medulla
the base of the brain stem; controls heartbeat and breathing
memory
the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of info
menarche
the first menstrual period
menopause
the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
mental age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age hat most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
mere exposure effect
the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them
meta-analysis
a procedure for statically combining the results of many different research studies
methamphetamine
a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels
middle ear
the chamber between the eardrum and the cochlea containing 3 tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. originally developed to identify emotional disorders
mirror neurons
frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. may enable imitation and empathy
mirror-image perceptions
mutual views often held by conflicting people
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading info into one’s memory of an event
mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
modeling
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
molecular genetics
the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes
monocular cues
depth ques, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
mood disorders
psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes
mood-congruent memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
morpheme
the smallest until that carries a meaning, may be a word or part of a word
motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
motor cortex
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue; show brain anatomy
mutation
a random error in gene replication that leads to a change
myelin sheath
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next
