Psych Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Definition of Behavior
A
Observable actions of a person or animal
2
Q
Behavioral genetics
A
The research specialty that attempts to explain psychological differences among individuals in terms of differences in their genes
3
Q
Behavioral neuroscience
A
Research specialty that attempts explaining behavior in terms of processes within the nervous system using invasive research techniques
4
Q
Bio psychology
A
The branch of psychology that studies the way hormones and drugs act on the brain to alter behavior and experience
5
Q
Cognitive neuroscience
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Research specialty that attempts to explain cognition in terms of processes occurring within the nervous system using noninvasive techniques
6
Q
Cognitive psychology
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Research specialty that attempts to explain behavior or experiences in terms of cognitions that underlie the behavior or experiences
7
Q
Developmental psychology
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The branch of psychology that charts changes in people’s abilities and styles of behaving as they get older and tries to understand the factors that produce or influence these changes
8
Q
Empiricism
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The idea that all human knowledge and thought ultimately come from the sensory experience; the philosophical approach to understanding the mind that is based on that idea
9
Q
Evolutionary psychology
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Research specialty that attempts to explain how or why specific behavioral characteristics would have come about, by natural selection, in the course of evolution
10
Q
Materialism
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Hobbes’ theory proposing that nothing exists but matter and energy
11
Q
Mind
A
The entire set of an individuals sensations, perceptions, memories, thoughts, dreams, motives, emotional feelings, and other subjective experiences
12
Q
Nativism
A
The idea that certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind and do not need to be gained through experience
13
Q
Psychology
A
The science of behavior and the mind
14
Q
Science
A
An approach to answering questions that is based on the systematic collection and logical analysis of objectivity observable date
15
Q
Social psychology
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The branch of psychology that attempts to understand how the behavior and subjective experiences of individuals are influenced by the actual or imagined presence of other people
16
Q
History of Psychology
A
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first university-based psychology lab in Germany.
17
Q
Dualism
A
The church saw that each human had two distinct conjoined entities, a material body and a immaterial soul
18
Q
Descartes and Dualism
A
He believed that very complex behaviors could occur purely through mechanical means, without the involvement of the sou
19
Q
Materialism
A
Argues that the soul is a meaningless concept and that nothing exists but matter and energy
20
Q
types of psychology
A
There are different types of psychology, such as cognitive, forensic, social, and developmental psychology.
21
Q
Biological Processes:
Neural Explanations
A
All behaviors are products of the nervous system
22
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Biological Processes: Physiological explanations
A
Study the way hormones and drugs act on the brain or alter behavior or experiences
23
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Biological Processes: genetic explanations
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Genes are the units of heredity that provide the code of building he entire body including the brain
24
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Biological Processes: Evolutionary explanations
A
All the basic biological machinery underlying behavior is a product of evolution by natural selection
25
Psychology specialties: learning psychology
Most directly concerned with explaining behavior in terms of learning
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Psychology specialties: cognitive psychology
Information that includes thoughts beliefs, and all forms of memories, never measured directly but is inferred by from observable behaviors
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Psychology specialties: Social psychology
How mental experiences influence other people or by one’s beliefs about other people
28
Psychology specialties: Cultural psychology
Explains mental experiences and behavior in terms of a person’s cultural background
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Psychology specialties: Developmental psychology
Documents and describes the typical age differences in how people think, feel, and act
30
Bias
A technical term referring to non random effects on research results
31
Biased sample
A subset of the population under study that is not representative of the population as a whole
32
blind
When the people who collect information in a study are purposely kept uninformed as to not bias the results
33
Correlation coefficient
A numerical measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
34
dependent variable
The variable that is dependent upon another variable
35
Descriptive statistics
Mathematical methods for summarizing sets of data
36
Double blind experiment
An experiment where both the observer and subjects are blind
37
Experiment
A research design for testing hypotheses about cause-effect relationships, in which the researcher manipulates one variable
38
Field study
Any scientific research study in which date are collected in a setting other than the lab
39
Hawthorne effect
Changes in a subject’s behavior as a result of a reflexive response that occurs when the stimulus knows they are being watched
40
Hypothesis
A specific prediction about what will be observe in a research study, usually derived from a more general conception or theory q
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Independent variable
The condition that the researcher varies in order to assess its effect upon other variables
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Inferential statistics
Mathematical methods for helping researchers determine how confident they can be
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Laboratory study
Any research study in which the subjects are brought to a specifically designated area
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Operational definition
Defining something in terms of the operations by which it could be observed and measured
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Placebo
In inactive substance given to subjects assigned to the non drug group
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Reliability
Degree to which a measurement system produces similar results each time it is used with a set of subjects under certain conditions
47
Standard deviation
A measurement of the variability in a set of scores, determined by taking the square root of the deviance
48
Statistically significant
A statistical statement of how small the likelihood is that an obtained result occurred by chance
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Validity
Degree ri wug get a measurement system actually measures the characteristics that it is supposed to measure
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Variability
The degree to which the individual numbers in a set of numbers differ from one another
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Variable
Anything that can change or assume different values
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Scientific Method
Observation, Theory, Hypothesis, Experiment
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Research design: Within-Subject Experiment
A number of subject experiments are each tested in each condition of the independent variable
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Research design: Between Groups Experiment
There is a separate group of subjects for each different condition of the independent variable
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Research Strategies: research design
Three basic types: experiments, correlational studies, and descriptive studies
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Research Strategies: Setting
Field and laboratory studies
57
Research Strategies: Data collection method
Self-report and observation
58
Data collection methods: self report
Procedures in which people are asked to rate or describe their own behavior or mental state in some way
59
Data collection methods: observational
Includes all procedures by which researchers observe and record the behavior of interest rather than relying on the subject’s self reports
60
Statistical methods: descriptive statistics
Mean and median, variability (the degree to which the numbers in the set differ from one another and from their mean), standard deviation, correlation coefficient (a strong correlation is close to 1 or -1)
61
Human Ethics
Right to privacy, the possibility of discomfort or harm, the use of deception
62
Animal Ethics
Balance the animals suffering against the potential benefits of the research
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Adaptation
University and reliably developing inherited feature that arose as a result of natural selection and helped to solve some problem of survival
64
Aggression
Fighting and threats of fighting among members of the same species
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Alleles
Different genes that can occupy the same locus on a pair of chromosomes and thus can potentially pair with one another
66
Altruism
A types of helping behavior in which an individual increases the survival chance or reproductive capacity capacity of another individual which decreasing its own survival chance or reproductive capacity
67
Artificial selection
The deliberate selective breeding of animals or planets by humans for the purpose of modifying the genetic makeup of future generations
68
Chromosomes
The structures within the cell nucleus that contain the genetic material
69
DNA
A long, self replicating molecule that constitutes a gene
70
Epigenetics
Field that examines gene-regulating activity, with no changes to actual DNA, that can have lasting effects for one or more generations
71
Evolution
The long-term adaptive process, spanning generations, that equips each species for life in its ever-changing natural habitat
72
Genes
Component of long molecules of DNA that codes for a particular protein; the basic unit of heredity
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Genotype
The set of genes inherited of the individual
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Helping
Any behavior that increases the survival chance or reproductive capacity of another individual
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Monogamy
One female and one male; equivalent male and female parental investment
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Mutation
Errors that occasionally and unpredictability occur during DNA replication, producing a “replica” that is different from the original source of all genetic variability
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Natural selection
The selective breeding that results from the obstacles to reproduction that are imposed by the natural environment, the driving force of evolution
78
Normal distribution
A bell-shaped frequency distribution in which the mean, median, and mode are identical
79
Parental investment
The time, energy, and risk to survival involved in producing, deeding, and caring for each offspring
80
Phenotype
Observable properties of an individuals body and behavior
81
Polyandry
One female with more than one male; high male and low female investment
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Polygyny
One male with more than one female; high female and low male parental investment (most species are polygynous)
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Promiscuity
A group consisting of more than one male and more than one female; group investment
84
Recessive
A gene that produces its observable effects only if the Indios homozygous
85
Selective breeding
The mating of those members of a strain of animals or plans that manifest a particular characteristic
86
Species-typical behavior
Any behavior pattern that is so characteristic of a given species of animal that is can be used or help identify that species
87
How genes affect behavior
Genes never produce or control behavior directly; genes are associated with behavior
88
Evolution by Natural Selection
Genetic diversity provides the material for natural selection, environmental change provides the force for natural selection, evolution has no foresight
89
Sex Differences in Aggression
Male primates are generally more violent than female primates
90
Action potentials
Neural impulses; the all or nothing electrical bursts that begin at one end of the axon of a neuron and move along the axon to the other end
91
Amygdala
A brain structure that us part if rage lambic system and is particularly important for evaluating he emotional and motivational significance of stimuli and generating emotional responses
92
Androgen
A category of hormones, including testosterone, which are produced by the testes in male animals and are normally thought of as “male hormones”
93
Association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that receive input from the primary or secondary sensory areas for more than one modality (such as vision and hearing) and are involved in associating this input with stored memories, in the process of perception, thought, and decision making
94
Axon
A think, tube-like extension from a neuron that is specialized to carry neural impulses (action potentials) to other cells
95
Axon terminal
A swelling at the end of an axon that is designated to release a chemical substance onto another neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell
96
Brainstem
A primitive, stalk like portion of the brain that can be thought of as an extension of the spinal cord into the head, it consists of the medulla, pons, and midbrain
97
Cell body
The widest part of a neuron, which contains the cell nucleus and the other basic machinery common to all cells
98
Cell membrane
The thin, porous outer covering of a neuron or other cell that separates the cell’s intracellular fluid from the extra cellular fluid
99
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord
100
Cerebellum
The relatively large, conspicuous, convoluted portion of the brain arranged to the rear side of the brain stem; it is especially important for the coordination of rapid movements
101
Cerebral cortex
The outermost, evolutionarily newest, and by far the largest portion of the brain; it is divisible into two hemispheres (right and left) and each hemisphere is divisible into four lobes (the occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal)
102
Corpus callosum
A massive bundle of axons connecting the right and the left hemispheres of the higher parts of the brain, including the cerebral cortex
103
Dendrites
The thin, tube-like extensions of a neuron that typically branch repeatedly near the neuron’s cell body and are specialized for receiving signals from other neurons
104
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A record of the electrical activity of the brain that can be obtained by amplifying the weak electrical signals picked up by recording electrodes pasted to the person’s scalp
105
Excitatory synapse
A synapse at which the neurotransmitter increases the likelihood that an action potential will occur, or increases the rate at which they are already occurring, in the neuron on which it acts
106
Frontal Lobes
The front most lobes of the cerebral cortex, bounded in the rear by rage parietal lobes contain the motto area and parts of the association areas involved in planning and making judgements
107
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
A method for visually displaying brain activity that is based on the fact that protons in certain molecules can be made to resonate and give off radio waves indicating relative amounts of neural activity in each portion of the brain
108
Hippocampus
A structure in the limb is system that is essential for encoding memories for long-term storage
109
Hormones
Any chemical substances that is secreted naturally by the body into the blood and can influence physiological processes at specific target issues (such as the brain) and thereby influence behavior
110
Hypothalamus
A small brain structure lying just below the thalamus, connected directly to the pituitary gland and to the lambic system, that is especially important for the regulation of motivation, emotion, and the internal physiological conditions of the body
111
Inhibitory synapse
A synapse at which the neurotransmitter decreases the likelihood that an action potential will occur, or decrease the rate at which they are already occurring, in the neuron upon which it acts
112
Limbic system
An interconnected set of brain structures that form a circuit wrapped around the thalanius and basal ganglia, underneath the cerebral cortex. These structures are especially important for the regulation of emotional and motivation and are involved in the formation of long-term memories
113
Medulla
The lowest portion of the brain stem, bounded at one ends by the spinal cord and at the other bony the pons. It is responsible, with the pons, for organizing reflexes more complex than spinal reflexes
114
Midbrain
The upper portion of the brain stem, bounded at its lower end by the ponds and at its upper end by the thalamus, that’s contains neural center that organize basic movement patterns
115
Mirror neurons
Neurons in the brain that become active both when the individual makes a particular motion and when the individual sees another individual making that same motion. These neurons are believed to felicitate observational learning
116
Motor neurons
A neuron that carries messages from the brain or spinal cord, though a nerve, to a muscle or gland
117
Myelin sheath
A casing of fatty cells wrapped tightly around the axon of some neurons
118
Nerve
A large bundle containing the acorns of many neurons. Located in the peripheral nervous system, nerves connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sensory organs
119
Neurogenesis
The creation of new neurons in which neuronal stem cells divide and replicate themselves by mitosis
120
Neuron
Single cells in the nervous system that are specialized for carrying information rapidly from one another and integrating information from various sources
121
Neuroscience
The research specialty that studies the brain
122
Neurotransmitter (NT)
A chemical substance released from the axon terminal of a neuron, at a synapse, that influences the activity if another neuron, a muscle cell, or a glandular cell; also called a transmitter
123
Nucleus
In neuroanatomy, a cluster of cell bodies of neurons within the central nervous system
124
Occipital lobes
The rearmost lobes do the cerebral cortex, bounded in front by the temporal and parietal lobes; the contain the visual areas of the brain
125
Parietal lobes
The lobes of the cerebral cortex that lie in front of the occipital lobes above the temporal lobes, and behind the frontal lobes, they contain the somatosensory areas of the brain
126
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The entire set of cranial and spinal nerves that connect the central nervous system to the body’s sensory organs, muscles, and glands
127
Pons
The portion of the brain stem ray is bounded ay its lower end nu the medulla and its experiences end nu the midbrain and is responsible, with the medulla, for organizing reflexes more complex than spinal reflexes
128
Positron emission tomography (PET)
A method for visually displaying brain activity that is based upon the uptake of radioactive form of oxygen into active areas of the brain
129
Prefrontal cortex
The front-most portion of the frontal lobe of the brain’s cerebral cortex
130
Premotor cortex
located just anterior to the primary motor cortex, is involved in planning and organizing movements and actions
131
Primary sensory areas
Specialized areas of the cerebral cortex that receive input from the sensory nerves and tracts by way of the relay nuclei in the thalamus. They include the visual area (temporal lobe) auditory areas (in the parietal lobe)
132
Resting potential
The constant electrical charge that exists across the membrane of an inactive neuron
133
Sensory neurons
A neuron that carried messages from a sensory organ, through a nerve, into the brain or spinal cord
134
Somatosensation
The set if sense that derive from the whole body-such as from the skin, muscles, and tendons-as opposed to those senses that come from the special sensory organs of the head
135
Synapse
The functional connection through which neural activity in the axon of one neuron influences the action of another neuron, a muscle cell, or glandular cell
136
Temporal lobes
The lobes of the cerebral cortex that lie in front of the occipital lobes and below the parietal and frontal lobes and that contain the auditory areas of the brain
137
Thalamus
The brain structure that sits directly atop the brain stem; it functions as a sensory relay station, connecting incoming sensory tracts to special sensory areas of the cerebral cortex
138
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
A procedure for temporarily altering the responsiveness of a localized area of the cerebral cortex by creating a magnetic field over that brain area
139
Sensory neurons
Bundled together to form nerves, carry information from sensory organs into the central nervous system
140
Motor neurons
Also bundled into nerves, carry messages out from he central nervous system to operate muscles and glands
141
Interneurons
Exist entirely within the CNS carry messages from one set of neurons to another. Interneurons collect, organize, and integrate messages from various sources. They vastly outnumber the other two
142
Functional Organization of Nervous System: sensory perceptual hierarchy
Involved with data processing
143
Functional Organization of Nervous System: motor control hierarchy
Involved with the control of movement
144
Hormones and Male Sex Drive
Testosterone maintains male sex drive over the long term. In rats, this occurs by action on the pre optic areas of the hypothalamus. Confidence boosting events cause increased testosterone secretion on men, which may increase competitiveness or aggression
145
Hormones and Female Sex Drive
In nonhuman female mammals, ovarian hormones promote sexual drive at the time of fertility. In humans, adrenal androgens promote sexual receptivity throughout the ovarian cycle
