Psych final Flashcards
Empiricism
The belief that knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation.
Structuralism
A school of psychology that seeks to understand the structure of the mind by breaking it down into basic components.
Functionalism
A perspective in psychology that focuses on how mental and behavioral processes function to help organisms adapt to their environments.
Behaviorism:
A theory that focuses on observable behaviors rather than internal mental processes.
Humanistic Psychology
A perspective that emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, and the inherent goodness of people.
Psychodynamic Perspective
A theory developed by Freud, emphasizing unconscious forces and childhood experiences in shaping behavior.
Naturalistic observation
Observing and recording behavior in its natural environment without interference.
Illusory correlation
The perception of a relationship between two variables where none exists.
Independent variable
The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
Dependent variable
The variable that is measured in an experiment, influenced by the independent variable.
Neuron
A nerve cell that transmits information through electrical and chemical signals.
Sensory neuron
A neuron that carries sensory information from the body to the brain.
Motor neuron
A neuron that carries commands from the brain to muscles and glands.
Interneurons
Neurons that connect sensory and motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
Dendrite
Branch-like extensions of neurons that receive messages from other neurons.
Axon
The long, slender part of a neuron that carries electrical impulses away from the cell body.
Myelin sheath
A fatty layer that covers and insulates axons, speeding up neural transmission.
Action potential
A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon, triggering communication between neurons.
Threshold
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural response.
Synapse
The gap between two neurons where communication occurs.
Neurotransmitter
Chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons.
Somatic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movements.
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary functions like heart rate and digestion.
Parasympathetic nervous system
A branch of the autonomic system responsible for calming the body after stress.
Endocrine system
The system of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
EEG (Electroencephalogram)
A test that measures brain waves.
CT (Computed Tomography)
A type of brain imaging that uses X-rays to create detailed images.
PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
An imaging technique that shows brain activity by detecting radioactive glucose.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging
A technique that uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the brain.
fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
A type of MRI that measures brain activity by tracking blood flow.
Brainstem
The part of the brain responsible for basic life functions like breathing and heart rate.
Medulla
The part of the brainstem that controls vital functions like heartbeat and breathing.
Reticular formation
A network in the brainstem that controls wakefulness and alertness.
Thalamus
The brain’s relay station that sends sensory information to the appropriate brain areas.
Limbic system
A group of structures involved in emotion, memory, and motivation.
Hypothalamus
A brain structure that regulates hunger, thirst, and other homeostatic processes.
Cerebral cortex
The outer layer of the brain involved in higher cognitive functions like thinking and decision-making.
Frontal lobes
The brain’s front part, responsible for decision-making, problem-solving, and movement.
Parietal lobes
The brain regions involved in processing sensory information like touch and spatial awareness.
Motor cortex
The part of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movements.
Sensory cortex
The part of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information from the body.
Broca’s area
A part of the frontal lobe involved in speech production.
Wernicke’s area
A region in the temporal lobe is involved in understanding speech.
Corpus callosum
The bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
Split brain
A condition resulting from severing the corpus callosum, leading to communication issues between the brain’s hemispheres.
Cognitive neuroscience
The study of the brain’s role in mental processes like thinking, memory, and language.
Sensation
The process of detecting physical stimuli from the environment.
Perception
The process of interpreting and organizing sensory information.
Bottom-up processing
Starting from sensory input and building up to a perception.
Top-down processing
Using prior knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information.
Absolute threshold
The minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus.
Signal detection theory
A theory that explains how we detect signals amid noise or distractions
Priming
The activation of certain associations in memory, influencing later perceptions or behaviors.
Difference threshold
The smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected.
Weber’s law
The principle that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the size of the stimulus.
Transduction
The process of converting physical energy (e.g., light, sound) into neural signals.
Pupil
The opening in the center of the eye that controls light entry.
Iris
The colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil.
Lens
The transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto the retina.
Feature detectors
Neurons that respond to specific features of stimuli, like edges or movement.
Retina
The light-sensitive surface at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptors.
Accommodation
The process by which the lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances.
Rods
Photoreceptors in the retina that detect black, white, and gray, and are used for night vision.
Cones
Photoreceptors that detect color and are concentrated in the retina’s fovea.
Optic nerve
The bundle of nerves that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.
Blind spot
The point where the optic nerve leaves the retina, creating a spot with no visual information.
Fovea
The part of the retina responsible for sharp central vision.
Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory
The theory that the retina has three types of color receptors (red, green, blue).
Opponent process theory
The theory that we perceive colors in opposing pairs, like red-green or blue-yellow.
Cochlea
The spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear that converts sound vibrations into neural signals.
Frequency
The number of vibrations per second, determining pitch.
Inner ear
The part of the ear that contains the cochlea and is responsible for hearing.
Middle ear
The part of the ear that amplifies sound waves.
Conduction hearing loss
Hearing loss due to problems in the ear’s mechanical systems.
Sensorineural hearing loss
Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea or auditory nerve.
Kinesthesis
The sense of body position and movement.
Vestibular sense
The sense of balance and spatial orientation.
Gate-control theory
The theory that pain signals are blocked or allowed through a “gate” in the spinal cord.
McGurk Effect
A perceptual phenomenon in which visual information influences auditory perception.
REM sleep
A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement and vivid dreaming.
Alpha waves
Brain waves associated with relaxed wakefulness.
Delta waves
Brain waves associated with deep sleep.
NREM sleep
Stages of sleep without rapid eye movement.
Insomnia
: Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
Narcolepsy
A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks.
Sleep apnea
A disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.
Night terrors
Disturbing sleep episodes with intense fear, often occurring in NREM sleep.
Manifest content
The literal content of a dream.
Latent content
The symbolic meaning behind a dream.
Depressants
Substances that reduce brain activity, such as alcohol and barbiturates.
Barbiturates
Depressants that sedate the body and mind.
Opiates
Pain-relieving substances like heroin and morphine.
Stimulants
Substances that increase brain activity, like caffeine and nicotine.
Amphetamines
Stimulants that increase energy and alertness.
Habituation
The diminishing response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.
Behaviorism
A school of thought focused on observable behaviors and learning through interaction with the environment.
Acquisition
The initial stage of learning when the association between a conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is formed.
Extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus.
Spontaneous recovery
The reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction.
Operant conditioning
A type of learning where behavior is strengthened or weakened by reinforcement or punishment.
Law of effect
The principle that behaviors followed by favorable outcomes are likely to be repeated.
Operant chamber (Skinner Box)
A controlled environment used to study operant conditioning in animals.
Positive reinforcement
Adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior.
Negative reinforcement
Removing an undesirable stimulus to increase a behavior.
Continuous reinforcement
Reinforcing a behavior every time it occurs.
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement
Reinforcing a behavior only part of the time.
Fixed-ratio schedule
A reinforcement schedule that provides reinforcement after a set number of responses.
Variable-ratio schedule
A reinforcement schedule that provides reinforcement after a random number of responses.
Fixed-interval schedule
A reinforcement schedule that provides reinforcement after a set period.
Variable-interval schedule
A reinforcement schedule that provides reinforcement at unpredictable intervals.
Encoding
The process of converting sensory information into a form that can be stored in memory.
Storage
The retention of encoded information over time.
Retrieval
The process of accessing stored information from memory.
