Unit 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Who is the father of psychology?
Wundt
What is Freud’s Theory of repressed unconscious?
Freud proposed that there is an unconscious (unaware) mind into which we push, or repress, all of our threatening urges and desires.
What is the study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking?
cognitive neuroscience
What is the study of one individual in great detail?
case study
What is a measure of the relationship between two or more variables?
correlation
How are two variables related to each other?
The value of one variable allows researchers to predict the value of the other variable
What is the only method that will allow researchers to determine the cause of a behavior?
experiment
What is the name for the variable that is manipulated in any experiment?
independent variable
What is the process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group?
random assignment
What is the area of psychology in which the psychologists study the changes in the way people think, relate to others, and feel as they age?
developmental psychology
What word describes making reasoned judgments about claims?
critical thinking
What is the tendency of observers to see what they expect to see?
observer bias
What is a tubelike structure that carries the neutral message to the other cells?
axon
What are branchlike structures that receive messages from other neurons?
dendrites
What is a neurotransmitter that has a main function of excitatory or inhibitory; involved in control of movement and sensations of pleasure?
dopamine
What is a pain-controlling chemical?
endorphin
What are fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coat the axons of neurons to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse?
Myelin sheath
What is the basic cell that makes up the nervous system and that receives and sends messages within that system?
neuron
What is the area of psychology in which the psychologists study the biological bases of behavior?
physiological psychologist
What is the area of psychology in which the psychologists diagnose and treat people with psychological disorders that may range from mild to severe?
clinical psychology
What is the area of psychology in which the psychologists focus on how human behavior is affected by the presence of other people?
social psychology
What is the part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord?
central nervous system
What is a thick band of neurons that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres?
corpus callosum
What are chemicals that are released into the bloodstream by endocrine glands?
hormone
What is a microscopic fluid-filled space between the synaptic knob of one cell and the dendrites or surface of the next cell?
synapse
What does the left hemisphere control?
controls the right hand spoken language written language mathematical calculations logical thought processes analysis of detail reading
What does the right hemisphere control?
controls the left hand nonverbal visual-spatial perception music and artistic processing emotional thought and recognition processes the whole pattern recognition facial recognition
What is the part of the limbic system located in the center of the brain, this structure relays sensory information from the lower part of the brain to the proper areas of the cortex and processes some sensory information before sending it to its proper area?
thalamus
What is a group of several brain structures located under the cortex and involved in learning, emotion, memory, and motivation?
limbic system
What is the process that occurs when special receptors in the sense organs are activated, allowing various forms of outside stimuli to become neutral signals in the brain?
sensation
What is the lowest level of stimulation that a person can consciously detect 50 percent of the time the stimulation is present?
absolute threshold
What is the decrease in response of sensory receptor organs, as those of vision, touch, temperature, olfaction, audition, and pain, to changed, constantly applied, environmental conditions?
adaptation
What is the innermost coat of the posterior part of the eyeball that receives the image produced by the lens, is continuous with the optic nerve, and consists of several layers, one of which contains the rods and cones that are sensitive to light?
retina
What is a mass of nerve tissue existing outside the central nervous system?
ganglion cells
What part of the eye senses color?
cones
What part of the eye senses light?
rods
What is the theory of color vision that proposes visual neurons (or groups of neurons) are stimulated by light of one color and inhibited by light of another color?
opponent-process theory
What is caused by defective cones in the retina?
color blindness
What is a psychological experience of sound that corresponds to the frequency of the sound waves; higher frequencies are perceived as higher pitches?
pitch
What is the sensation of smell?
Olfaction
What is the tendency of the brain to stop attending to constant, unchanging information?
habituation
What is the decrease in response of sensory receptor organs, as those of vision, touch, temperature, olfaction, audition, and pain, to changed, constantly applied, environmental conditions?
adaption
What are sensations of touch, pressure, temperature, and pain?
skin senses
What are pain asserts that non-painful input closes the “gates” to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. Therefore, stimulation by non-noxious input is able to suppress pain?
gate control theory
What is the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions?
depth perception
What of the cell body of the neuron is responsible for maintaining the life of the cell?
soma
What is the area of neurons running through the middle of the medulla and the pons and slightly beyond that is responsible for general attention, alertness, and arousal?
reticular formation
What are the branches that are at the end of the axon?
axon terminals
What is the part of the ANS that is responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal?
sympathetic division
What is the part of the ANS that restores the body to normal functioning after arousal and is responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the organs and glands?
parasympathetic division
What is the division of the PNS consisting of nerves that control all of the involuntary muscles, organs, and glands?
autonomic nervous system
What is a long bundle of neurons that carries messages between the body and the brain and is responsible for very fast, lifesaving reflexes?
spinal cord
What is the part of the lower brain located behind the pons that controls and coordinates involuntary, rapid, fine motor movement?
cerebellum
What is a small structure in the brain located below the thalamus and directly above the pituitary gland, responsible for motivational behavior such as sleep, hunger, thirst, and sex
hypothalamus
