Mod 1-3,5

Question 1

Biological Psychology

Answer 1

the science that deals with the biological basis of behavior, thoughts, emotions and the reciprocal relations between biological and psychological processes.

Question 2

Nervous System

Answer 2

the network of fibers which transmit nerve impulses between parts of the body

Question 3

neuron

Answer 3

a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; nerve cell

Question 4

neuroplasticity

Answer 4

the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience following an injury.

Question 5

cell body

Answer 5

the spherical part of a neuron containing the nucleus

Question 6

dendrite

Answer 6

the branches coming off of a nerve cell that receive impulses from other cells at synapses.

Question 7

axon

Answer 7

the long portion of a neuron that conducts impulses away from the body of the cell

Question 8

critical thinking

Answer 8

the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment through curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

Question 9

psychology

Answer 9

the scientific study of behavioral and mental processes

Question 10

levels of analysis

Answer 10

the various ways of observation in psychology: biological, psychological, and sociocultural

Question 11

biopsychosocial approach

Answer 11

considers the combination of biological, psychological, and social factors to help understand health (usually mental health)

Question 12

hindsight bias

Answer 12

you thought you knew it all along after hearing a fact you actually didn’t know simply because it “makes sense”

Question 13

overconfidence

Answer 13

being overconfident in answers because you think you know more than you do

Question 14

theory

Answer 14

a system of an idea to explain a behavior with little to no evidence yet—information to be tested

Question 15

hypothesis

Answer 15

is a precise, testable statement of what the researchers predict will be the outcome of the study

Question 16

operational definition

Answer 16

The way an original experiment was conducted (independent variables written down so they can be used). this is important when an experiment is being retested by the same scientists or others

Question 17

replicate

Answer 17

to conduct a study again with the same operational definition as before

Question 18

case study

Answer 18

a thorough study of a single person, community or event that relies on observations, facts and experiments to gather information

Question 19

naturalistic observation

Answer 19

to study the behavior of specimen in their natural state

Question 20

survey

Answer 20

this collects self-report data from study participants

Question 21

sample

Answer 21

a small portion of individual cases selected from a greater population. A population is every single person (or case) that shares a common characteristic

Question 22

population

Answer 22

the entire group of people you want to draw conclusions about

Question 23

correlational study

Answer 23

a type of research design that looks at the relationships between two or more variables

Question 24

experimental study

Answer 24

a type of study that involves manipulating variables to see if there is a cause-and-effect relationship

Question 25

experimental and control group

Answer 25

control group is the one who gets to act as normal or have a placebo, while experimental are the test subjects of the new medicine or whatever other reason the study is being conducted

Question 26

independent variable

Answer 26

a variable that stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure

Question 27

dependent variable

Answer 27

what changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation in experiments. It's what you're interested in measuring, and it “depends” on your independent variable. In statistics, dependent variables are also called: Response variables (they respond to a change in another variable)

Question 28

informed consent

Answer 28

the process by which researchers working with human participants describe their research project and obtain the subjects' consent to participate in the research based on the subjects' understanding of the project's methods and goals.

Question 29

debriefing

Answer 29

when an experimenter tells the subject more information about the study's purpose and procedures after the study is completed

Question 30

myelin sheath

Answer 30

a layer of fatty tissue that insulates some axons and speeds their impulses

Question 31

terminal branches

Answer 31

at the end of the axon, forming junctions with cells (neurons, muscles or glands)

Question 32

action potential

Answer 32

an incoming signal from another neuron that is either sufficient or insufficient to reach the threshold of excitation

Question 33

synapse

Answer 33

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. the gap is called synaptic gap or synaptic cleft

Question 34

neurotransmitters

Answer 34

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap 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.

Question 35

receptors

Answer 35

molecules that receive and react to neurotransmitters on the surface of a cell

Question 36

central nervous system

Answer 36

the body’s decision maker

Question 37

peripheral nervous system

Answer 37

responsible for gathering information and transmitting central nervous system decisions to other parts of the body

Question 38

brain

Answer 38

a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body.

Question 39

spinal cord

Answer 39

the conduit between the brain and the rest of the body

Question 40

nerve

Answer 40

cables that carry electrical impulses between your brain and the rest of your body

Question 41

somatic nervous system

Answer 41

gathers sensory input and sends to the central nervous system, but at the same time receives motor output from the CNS, causing you to move

Question 42

autonomic nervous system

Answer 42

controls action of internal organs and glands

Question 43

Sympathetic

Answer 43

arouses and expands energy so you are ready for action

Question 44

parasympathetic (nervous system)

Answer 44

produces opposite effects of sympathetic, conserving energy as it calms you.

Question 45

hierarchy

Answer 45

ranking parts of the brain from most complex to least complex base on control

Question 46

spinal reflex

Answer 46

simple behaviors the brain doesn’t control that are produced entirely by the spinal cord

Question 47

brainstem

Answer 47

the bottom, stalk-like piece of the brain that connects to the spinal cord. your brainstem sends messages to the rest of the body to regulate involuntary functions like balance, breathing, heart rate and more.

Question 48

medulla

Answer 48

it’s the lowest part of the brainstem and it’s job is to control functions that involve autonomic nervous response like heart rate and breathing.

Question 49

pons

Answer 49

the part of the brainstem that controls when you become conscious and unconscious. (part of the brainstem that controls when you wake up, and when you fall asleep)

Question 50

cerebellum

Answer 50

this helps -balance and posture, -movement and motor learning, -language processing and memory.

Question 51

thalamus

Answer 51

this is in the middle of your brain (on the top of the brainstem). it takes incoming motor and sensory information (hearing, taste, touch, sight, but not smell)

Question 52

forebrain

Answer 52

-controls voluntary movement, -it receives sensory information, -governs all our higher complex thought (logic, speech and emotions)

Question 53

cerebral cortex

Answer 53

This is called “gray matter.” it is the outer layer of the forebrains cerebral hemispheres. this is the body’s ultimate control and information processing center.

Question 54

hippocampus

Answer 54

this is in the limbic system. it helps process conscious memories, facts and events so they can be stored. it kind of looks like cords, and was blue on the diagram!

Question 55

amygdala

Answer 55

two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system that are linked to emotion. when activated, they cause fear and/or aggression. it is connected to the hippocampus and is purple on the diagram!

Question 56

hypothalamus

Answer 56

part of the limbic system that is below (hypo means below!) the thalamus; it makes you to do things to survive (eating, drinking, maintaining body temperature). When that happens, it gives you an emotional reward. It also controls the endocrine system by the pituitary gland, which helps with giving emotional rewards.

Question 57

motor cortex

Answer 57

causes voluntary motor function (motor means movement! and voluntary means to do on purpose.) “on purpose movement”

Question 58

somatosensory cortex

Answer 58

this receives skin senses such as touch and temperature, and from body part movements

Question 59

corpus callosum

Answer 59

the connectivity pathway that connects the left side of the brain to the right

Question 60

frontal lobes

Answer 60

the part of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead. it controls speaking, voluntary muscle movements, in making plans and judgments

Question 61

parietal lobes

Answer 61

the part of the cerebral cortex at the top of the head and towards the back. it receives sensory input for touch and body position.

Question 62

occipital lobes

Answer 62

the part of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head. it has the visual cortex, which makes you see

Question 63

temporal lobes

Answer 63

the part of the cerebral cortex above the ear; it includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

Question 64

association areas

Answer 64

areas of the cerebral cortex that don’t deal with motor or sensory functions; rather, they cause higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking and speaking