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AP Psych > Vocab words 3/30/23 > Flashcards

Vocab words 3/30/23 Flashcards

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1
Q

The basic building block of the nervous system

A

Neuron

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2
Q

The neuron’s bushy branching extensions the receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell

A

Dendrites

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3
Q

The neuron’s extension passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or to glands

A

Axon

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4
Q

a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one sausage-like node to the next?

A

Myelin Sheath

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5
Q

A neural impulse; a brief electric charge that travels down an axon

A

Action potential

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6
Q

A period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

A

Refractory period

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7
Q

Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

A

Threshold

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8
Q

Neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing

A

All or nothing response

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9
Q

Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

A

Synapse

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10
Q

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. Influences whether a neuron will generate a neural impulse or not

A

Neurotransmitters

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11
Q

Neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

A

Reuptake

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12
Q

“morphine within” - Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

A

Endorphins

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13
Q

A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, simulates a response

A

Agonist

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14
Q

A molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, inhibits or blocks a response

A

Antagonist

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15
Q

Neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning and memory

A

Acetylcholine (Ach)

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16
Q

The neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

A

Dopamine

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17
Q

The neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

A

Serotonin

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18
Q

Neurotransmitter that helps control alertness and arousal

A

Norepinephrine

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19
Q

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter whose undersupply is linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia

A

GABA

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20
Q

Major excitatory neurotransmitter that is involved in memory. Oversupply can cause migraines or seizures

A

Glutamate

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21
Q

A poison that can form in improperly canned food that causes paralysis by blocking Ach release

A

Botulin

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22
Q

A poison some South American Indians have applied to hunting-dart tips which occupy and blocks Ach receptor sites on muscles, producing paralysis in animals struck by the darts

A

Curare

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23
Q

Chemicals which are agonists and produce a temporary “high” by amplifying normal sensations of arousal or pleasure

A

Opiate drugs

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24
Q

Ancient Greek philosopher who correctly located the mind in the spherical head- his idea of the perfect form

A

Plato

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25
Q

The study of the bumps on the skull to reveal the persons’ mental abilities and character traits

A

Phrenology

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26
Q

Early German physician who proposed the study of phrenology

A

Franz Gall

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27
Q

Scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes

A

Biological psychology

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28
Q

First woman president of the American Psychological Association

A

Mary Whiton Calkins

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29
Q

The first female to earn a psychology Ph.D. from Cornell

A

Margaret Floy Washburn

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30
Q

Man who suffered massive brain damage when a large iron rod accidentally pierced his brain

A

Phineas Gage

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31
Q

Man who proposed a hierarchy of motives from physiological needs to self-actualization

A

Abraham Maslow

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32
Q

Father of behaviorism

A

John B Watson

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33
Q

Man who published the Interpretation of Dreams

A

Sigmund Freud

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34
Q

Name of man who began publishing studies of the conditioning in animals

A

Ivan Pavlov

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35
Q

Man who outlines “The Nature of Love” his work on attachment in monkeys

A

Harry Harlow

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36
Q

British philosopher who rejected Descartes’ notion of innate ideas

A

John Locke

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37
Q

Psychologist who reasoned that we are born with an innate language acquisition device

A

Noam Chomsky

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38
Q

Face blindness

A

Prosopagnosia

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39
Q

Study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

A

Epigenetics

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40
Q

Proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes

A

Heritability

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41
Q

Study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

A

Behavior genetics

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42
Q

Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

A

Corpus callosum

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43
Q

Formation of new neurons

A

Neurogenesis

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44
Q

Brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing new pathways or by building new pathways based on experience

A

Plasticity

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45
Q

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; they are involved in higher mental functions

A

Association areas

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46
Q

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

A

glial cells

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47
Q

A portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head, and receives information from the visual fields

A

occipital lobe

48
Q

Area at the rear of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movements

A

motor cortex

49
Q

a portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; including the auditory areas

A

temporal lobe

50
Q

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and towards the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

A

Parietal lobe

51
Q

The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and making plans and judgements

A

frontal lobe

52
Q

The intricate fabric or interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres

A

cerebral cortex

53
Q

The “little brain”

A

Cerebellum

54
Q

The neural system located below the vertebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

A

limbic system

55
Q

The part of the brain at the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

A

medulla

56
Q

Body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

A

Endocrine system

57
Q

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus

A

Reflex

58
Q

Division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body

A

Sympathetic nervous system

59
Q

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body

A

Parasympathetic nervous system

60
Q

The statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1.0 to +1.0)

A

Correlation coeicient

61
Q

Graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

A

Scatterplot

62
Q

The perception of a relationship where none exists

A

illusory correlation

63
Q

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance

A

random assignment

64
Q

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

A

independent variable

65
Q

The outcome factor the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the IV

A

Dependent variable

66
Q

factor other than the IV that might produce an effect in an experiment

A

Confounding variable

67
Q

The extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

A

Validity

68
Q

The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that one would have foreseen it

A

Hindsight bias

69
Q

The thinking that not blinding accept arguments and conclusions

A

Critical thinking

70
Q

The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

A

REM rebound

71
Q

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind

A

Dreams

72
Q

Recurring problems in falling and staying asleep

A

Insomnia

73
Q

Sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

A

Narcolepsy

74
Q

characterized by temporary cessation of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

A

Sleep apnea

75
Q

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

A

Consciousness

76
Q

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

A

Dissociation

77
Q

The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms

A

Circadian rhythm

78
Q

The periodic, natural loss of consciousness as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, anesthesia, or hibernation

A

Sleep

79
Q

perceiving object as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

A

Perceptual constancy

80
Q

The ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

A

Depth perception

81
Q

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

A

Grouping

82
Q

The theory is that the retina contains three different color receptors, which produce the perception of any color

A

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

83
Q

The theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

A

Opponent-process theory

84
Q

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement

A

Feature detectors

85
Q

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster

A

Fovea

86
Q

The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

A

Accommodation

87
Q

Amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude

A

Intensity

88
Q

The body’s resting rate of energy expenditure

A

Basal metabolic rate

89
Q

The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues

A

Glucose

90
Q

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

A

Motivation

91
Q

The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivate an organism to satisfy the need

A

Drive reduction theory

92
Q

A tendency to maintain a balance or constant internal state

A

Homeostasis

93
Q

Another name for a fertilized egg

A

Zygote

94
Q

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, can reach the embryo or fetus and cause harm

A

Teratogens

95
Q

People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states-feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors they might predict

A

Theory of mind

96
Q

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

A

Object permanence

97
Q

concept or framework that organizes and interprets inforation

A

Schema

98
Q

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

A

Assimilation

99
Q

Adapting our current understanding to incorporate new information

A

Accommodation

100
Q

The optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

A

Critical period

101
Q

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

A

Temperament

102
Q

The sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy

A

Basic trust

103
Q

The concept that all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the questions, “Who am I?”

A

Self-concept

104
Q

socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defins male and females

A

Gender

105
Q

A set of expected behaviors for males and females

A

Gender roles

106
Q

Our sense of being male or female

A

Gender identity

107
Q

The first menstrual period

A

Menarche

108
Q

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

A

Cross-sectional study

109
Q

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

A

Longitudnal study

110
Q

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

A

Social clock

111
Q

The theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological response and subjective experience of emotion

A

Cannon-bard theory

112
Q

The schachter-singer theory that to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

A

Two-factor theory

113
Q

Learning by observing others

A

Observational learning

114
Q

An event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

A

Punishment

115
Q

A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

A

Operant conditioning

116
Q

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

A

Classical conditioning

AP Psych (12 decks)

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