Midterm Review Flashcards
Plato
A Greek philosopher who believed that the mind and body are separate entities. Once we die, our body dies, but our mind doesn’t and it continues to live after death. He also believes that knowledge is innate and we inherit our behavior.
John Locke
An English philosopher that discovered the concept of tabula rasa. Tabula Rasa is the idea that the mind is a blank slate
Rene Descartes
A French philosopher that believed in Socrates and Plato’s idea of innate knowledge. He believed that the brain’s fluids contain spirit animals which led to the discovery of the nerve paths.
Aristotle
A Greek philosopher that disagrees with Socrates and Plato’s ideas of innate knowledge. He believed that the mind and body are together. Once you die, both, mind and body, dies. Also, he believed that behavior is learned from experience.
Socrates
A Greek philosopher and a mentor of Aristotle. He believed in innate knowledge and that the mind and body are separate.
Wilhelm Wundt
A German scientist. He’s considered as the father of psychology. Wundt believed that psychology should be an independent field instead of being a branch of physiology and philosophy. He discovered the method of introspection. Introspection is the idea that you must look within yourself to understand the mind.
William James
An American Harvard professor. Discovered functionalism - a school of psychology that focuses on the mental and behavioral processes function. One of the co-creators of the James - Lange theory of emotion. The theory states that emotions come from events that cause changes in the body – the release of hormones.
B.F. Skinner
An American behaviorist psychologist. He focused on the things that are observable and objective. He discovered operant conditioning and invented the skinner box.
Jean Piaget
A Swiss psychologist. She focused on cognitive development. Piaget discovered the Stage Theory of Development. This theory describes how children of different stages in life use different cognitive abilities.
Sigmund Freud
Discovered the psychoanalytic school of psychology. This school focuses on the role of the unconscious mind. He also studied dreams and our experiences from our childhood affect our adult personality.
Edward Titchener
Studied elements of consciousness. He discovered structuralism.
Immanuel Kant
Kant combined rationalism and empiricism. Kant believed that mental processes can’t be observed because it lacked substance.
Charles Darwin
A British scientist who discovered the Theory of evolution. His ideas of natural selection influenced psychology. Evolution psychology states that the stronger characteristics will continue to be passed on to the next generation.
Albert Bandura
An Canadian - American psychologist that discovered Social Learning Theory. He also conducted the Bobo doll experiment. In this experiment, a child had to witness a researcher verbally and physically abusing the clown doll. As a result, the child copied the same type of behavior
Edward Thorndike
An American psychologist that created the Law of Effect. He discussed the effects of punishment and reward. Thorndike concluded that learning is the outcome of associating responses with stimuli
Phineas Gage
He was the first patient who survived severe damage to his brain. This caused the discovery of the correlation between the functions of the front area of the brain and personality
Nervous System
Dendrites
The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Axon
the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
Neurons
A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
Myelin Sheath
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next
Action Potential
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Nervous System
the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system
Transduction
a conversion of one form of energy into another in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret
Pupil
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which the light enters
Iris
a ring of muscle that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the opening
Rods
retinal receptor cells that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision
Cones
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations
Blind Spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there
Retina
the light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Tolerance
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect
Depressants
drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
Opiates
opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
LSD
The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects including mild hallucinations
Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants.
Case study
an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope 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
Hypothesis
a testable prediction
Random Sampling
a sample that fairly represent a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Natural Observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Double - Blind procedure
an experimental procedure in which both the research staff are ignorant/blind about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo.
Mode
the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distinction
Mean
the arithmetic average of a distribution
Median
the middle score in a distribution
Synapse
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap
Endorphins
“morphine within” - natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure
REM Sleep
rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams occur. AKA paradoxical sleep because muscles relax, but other body systems are active
Psychoactive Drugs
a chemical substance that alter perceptions and moods
Natural Selection
the principle that among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Biopsychosocial Approach
a integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social - cultural levels of analysis
Clinical psychologist
a psychologist that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Psychiatrist
a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (ex. drugs) treatments as well as psychological therapy
Placebo
experimental results caused by expectation alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipients assumes is an active agent
Endorphins
“morphine within” - natural opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure
Psychoactive Drugs
a chemical substance that alter perceptions and moods
Tolerance
The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect
depressant
drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
opiates
opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety
LSD
The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects including mild hallucinations
