PSYCHOLGY EXMA Flashcards
Frontal Lobe
Reasoning, planning problem solving, decision making, emotions, movement and personality
Parietal Lobe
body information, touch, temperature and taste.
Occipital Lobe
Vision
Temporal Lobe
Hearing and memory.
Broca’s Area
frontal lobe, left hemisphere.
Wernicke’s Area
Temporal Lobe, dominant hemisphere.
CT Scan beneifts
can be 3D and more detail than x-ray.
CT Scan Disadvantages
black and white, only shows structure (not activity).
MRI Scan benefits
detect small changes in brain anatomy down to myelin
MRI Scan Disadvantages
loud and only shows structure (no activity)
PET Scan Benefits
looks at brain activity
PET Scan Disadvantages
Little detail and unreliable
fMRI Scan Benefits
detects abnormalities in both structure and function of organs
fMRI Scan Disadvantages
expensive and patient most stay still
Primary Research
Information collected firsthand through a researcher.
Secondary Research
Information collected by another researcher at an earlier time.
Extraneous Variable
Variable that may impact the dependent variable
Confounding Variable
Variable that impacts the dependent variable.
Within Subjects (repeated measures)
two or more measures are obtained from a sample of subjects
Within Subjects (repeated measures) Advantage
good results
Within Subjects (repeated measures) Disadvantage
carryover effect
Case Study
study only focuses on one person or a few individuals.
Case Study
study only focuses on one person or a few individuals.
Case Study Advantage
Qualitive, good when sample hard to find or situation is hard to replicate.
Case Study Disadvantage
small sample size
Observational Study
behaviour is observed and recorded by researcher
fMRI Scan Disadvantage
expensive and patient most stay still
Observational Study Advantage
easy, high accuracy and doesn’t require any technical skills
Observational Study Disadvantage
not everything is observed, expansive and time consuming
Controlled Experiment
experiment with all the same factors in both the control and experimental group except for the IV.
Self-Report
participants are asked to report on their own behaviours
Self-Report Advantage
simple and cheap
Self-Report Disadvantage
bias and decrease validity and reliability
Participant Related Variables
Any characteristic of a specific participant that could affect study results.
Order Effects
The results are affected by the order in which the tests are done.
Experimenter Effect
The experimenter aims to produce the results that meet their expectation.
Situational Variables
Aspects of environment that may affect a participant’s behaviour.
Psychological Development
an individual’s cognitive emotional and social growth over time.
Hereditary Factors
factors that influence development that have been passed genetically down from biological parents to children.
Environmental Factors
factors that influence development that come from someone’s environment and social surroundings.
Genetic Predisposition
Increased likelihood to develop certain traits.
Biopsychosocial Model
A model that depicts how biological, psychological and social factors work together to influence psychological development and wellbeing.
Biological Factors
Genetic based factors
Psychological Factors
Factors relating to a person’s mind, such as thoughts or feelings
Social Factors
Factors relating to a relationship or environment.
Plasticity
flexibility and adaptability
Critical Periods
narrow and rigid period of development in which a specific function or skill must be learnt.
Sensitive Periods
Period of development in which it is optimal to learn a specific function or skill.
Cerebrum
Biggest part of the brain, split into two halves and control muscle functions, speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing and learning.
Medulla
Responsible for autonomic nervous response (heart rate and respiration process.
Pons
Controls unconscious processes, such as sleep-wake cycle.
Reticular Function
subserves autonomic, motor, sensory, behavioural, cognitive and mood-related functions
Thalamus
keeps you awake and alert, role and thinking, processing emotions, memories and learing.
Hypothalamus
To keep the body in homeostasis, all body systems are balanced and function correctly.
Hindbrain
functions needed to survive, pons cerebrum and medulla
Midbrain
motor function and sensory information (visual and audio), thalamus, pons and recticular function
Forebrain
processes information, Cerebrum, thalamus and hypothalamus
Mixed Design
A study that combines a between and within subject design.
Mixed Design Advantage
more reliable, lots of data
Mixed Design Disadvantage
expensive, time consuming, complex
Synapse
small pocket of space between two cells, where they can pass messages to communicate
Neuroplasticity
Brain’s ability to change in response to experience to environment.
Adaptive Plasticity
Brain’s ability to restore functioning over time after an injury.
Sprouting
type of adaptive plasticity neuron’s ability to make new branches on the dendrites or axons.
Rerouting
type of adaptive plasticity in which a neurons ability to form new connections with another undamaged neuron.
Developmental Plasticity
changes the brain in response to aging
Myelination
the formation and development of myelin around a neurons axon
Synaptogenesis
the formation of synapses between neurons as axon terminals and dendrites grow.
Synaptic Pruning
the elimination of unused synapses
Traumatic Brain Injury
brain damage caused by an external force
Informed Consent
All participants understand all aspects of an experiment before agreeing, written consent is needed.
Correlational Study
objective study of the relationship between variables without control or manipulation
Correlational Study Advantage
cheap, good to predict casual relationships and human behaviour
Correlational Study Disadvantage
no cause and effect, possible confounding variable
Neurodegenerative Disease
conditions in which cells in the brain break down, causing problems with how people move, think, feel or behave.
Epilepsy
a chronic neurological condition that causes an individual to experience recurrent seizures
Seizures
caused by rapid and uncoordinated electrical firing in the brain causing temporary abnormalities in behaviours, movements
Deception
Is only allowed when knows the purpose and is only used when necessary.
Gut-Brain Axis
the communication between the central and enteric nervous system
Debriefing
By the end of the experiment the participant leaves fully understanding all aspects.
Concussion
a type of traumatic brain injury
Emotional Development
developmental changes in how an individual experiences different feeling and how they are expressed.
Cognitive Development
The development of mental processes over a lifespan
Social Development
The development of skills that enable an individual to interact with others.
Between Subjects (independent groups design)
Between Subjects (independent groups design)
each member of the sample is paired with someone with the same characteristic who are then put into the control or experimental groups.
Between Subjects (independent groups design) Advantage
more reliable and better results
Between Subjects (independent groups design) Disadvantage
carryover affect, complex, need a large sample size
Cerebral Cortex
Outer layer on top of cerebrum divides brain in two.
Cultural Perspectives
influence of society and community on ones thoughts and behaviour
Social Norms
society’s unofficial rules and expectations
Statistical Rarity
something that lies outside the range of statistical normality.
Personal Distress
a negative self-oriented emotional reaction.
Maladaptive Behaviour
an action that impairs an individual’s ability to meet the demands of life.
Normality
thoughts, feeling and behaviours considered common and acceptable
Neurotypicality
development and cognitive functioning are typical.
CTE
degenerative brain disease
CTE Symptoms
cognitive impairments, mood disorders, impulsivity, executive functioning, aggression and dementia.
Acquired Brain Injuries
all types of brain injury after birth
Acquired Brain Injuries - Biological
changes to biological functioning, organs and neurons
Acquired Brain Injuries - Social
changes to social skills
Acquired Brain Injuries - Psychological
changes to a person thoughts, feelings and behaviour
Assimilation
taking in new information and fitting it into old information
Accommodation
changing an existing mental idea to fit new information
Sensorimotor Stage
1st Piaget Stage
Age – 0-2
Pre-Operational
2nd Piaget Stage
Age – 2-7
Concrete Operational Stage
3rd Piaget Stage
Age – 7-12
Formal Operational Stage
4th Piaget Stage
Age – 12+
Goal Directed Behaviour
Doing things with a predetermined purpose
Stage – Sensorimotor Stage
Object Permanence
Learning that something exists when you cannot see them
Stage – Sensorimotor Stage
Transformation
Understanding that something can change from one state to another state
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Egocentrism
Unable to see something from someone else’s perspective
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Centration
Only focuses on one feature at a time.
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Animism
All objects have a consciousness.
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Symbolic Thinking
thinking based on the ability to represent abstract concepts.
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Reversibility
Ability to mentally follow a sequence of events back to the start.
Stage – Pre-Operational Stage
Classification
ability to organise information into categories
Stage – Concrete Operational Stage
Conservation
An object doesn’t change its mass even if its shape changes.
Stage – Concrete Operational Stage
Idealistic Thinking
Definition – Comparing themselves and others to a perfect standard.
Stage – Formal Operational Stage
Abstract Thinking
Definition – Considering concepts in brain
Stage – Formal Operational Stage
Secure Attachment
Definition – forms good relationships, independent, self-sufficient, self-esteem and resilience.
Insecure Avoidant Attachment
struggles to make bonds/be intimate, ignores/dismisses own emotions and avoids depending on others.
Insecure Resistant Attachment
heavily depend on others for support and seek others.
Disorganised Attachment
infants show odd and inconsistent increase behaviour.
Beneficence
Trying to maximise benefits and minimise harm.
Non-Maleficence
Avoiding harm in an experiment.
Justice
ensure fair access to all benefits and no unfair burden to a group.
