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Introduction to Psychology Chapters 1-3

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Wilhelm Wundt   Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany  
Sigmund Freud   Austrain physician who developed the influential theory of personality  
William James and Mary Whiton Calkins   William James mentored Mary Calkins, a pioneering memory researcher and first woman president of the American Physchological Association (denied Harvard Ph. D)  
Margaret Floy Washburn   First woman to receive a psychology Ph. D. and synthesized animal behavior research.  
Behaviorism   Psychology should be an objective science (and "should" be studied without reference to mental processes)  
Humanistic Psychology   Emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and an individuals personal growth.  
Cognitive Neuroscience   Study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, and language)  
Psychology   The science of behavior and mental processes  
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner   Demonstrated conditioned responses on "Little Albert" and championed psychology as the science of behavior.  
B. F. Skinner   Was a leading behaviorist who rejected inspection and studied how consequences shape behavior (pigeons)  
Nature-Nurture Issue   Controversy over the relative contributions of biology and the experience to the development of our traits and behaviors.  
Levels of Analysis in Psychology   Differing complementary views (biological, psychological, social-cultural) for analyzing phenomenon  
Biopsychosocial Approach   Integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis)  
Psychology's Current Perspectives   Neuroscience, Evolutionary, Behavior genetics, Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social-cultural  
Basic Research   Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base  
Applied Research   Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems  
Counseling psychology   A branch that assists people with problems in living and in achieving greater well-being  
Clinical psychology   A branch that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders  
Psychiatry   Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; Practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical as well as psychological therapy  
Hindsight Bias   Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it (I knew it all along)  
Critical Thinking   Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. It examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.  
Theory   An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.  
Hypothesis   A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.  
Operational Definition   A statement of the procedures used to define research variables  
Replication   Repeating the essence of a research study to see whether a the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.  
Case study   An observation technique where one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.  
Survey   A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group  
Population   All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn.  
Random sample   A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.  
Naturalistic observation   Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.  
Correlation   Extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other (-1 to +1)  
Illusory Correlation   Perception of a relationship where none exists  
Experiment   Research method where an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process.  
Random assignment   Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance  
Experimental group   Group that is exposed to the treatment (exposed to one version of the variable)  
Control group   Group that is not exposed to the treatment (contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluation effect of treatment)  
Double-blind procedure   An experimental procedure where both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether participants have received treatment or a placebo  
Placebo effect   Any effect on behavior caused by administration of inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.  
Independent variable   Experimental factor that is manipulated (variable whose effect is being studied).  
Dependent variable   Outcome factor; Variable that may change in response to manipulations of independent variable  
Culture   Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next  
SQ3R   A study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, rehearse, and review.  
Biological Psychology   Scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes.  
Neuron   A nerve cell; basic building block of the nervous system  
Dendrite   Neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward a cell body  
Axon   Neuron's extension that passes messages through its branching terminal fibers (forms junctions with other neurons, muscles, or glands)  
Action potential   A neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels down an axon  
Threshold   Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse  
Synapse   The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron  
Neurotransmitters   Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic clefts between neurons. Travel across and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron influencing whether neuron will generate neural impulse  
Endorphins   Natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure  
Nervous System   Speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems  
Central Nervous System   Consists of the brain and spinal cord  
Peripheral Nervous System   Sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body  
Nerves   Bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the CNS with muscles, glands, and other sense organs  
Sensory Neurons   Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord  
Motor Neurons   Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands  
Interneurons   Neurons in the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between sensory and motor inputs  
Somatic Nervous System   Division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles (skeletal nervous system)  
Autonomic Nervous System   Part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of the internal organs  
Sympathetic Nervous System   Division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body (fight or flight) mobilizing energy in stressful situations  
Parasympathetic Nervous System   Division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy (rest and recover)  
Reflex   A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus  
Endocrine System   "Slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream  
Hormones   Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands and travel through the bloodstream; affect other tissues  
Adrenal glands   Pair of endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinehrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress  
Pituitary gland   Endocrine system's most influential gland; under influence of hypothalamus, regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands  
Lesion   A type of tissue destruction; can be naturally or experimentally caused in the brain  
Brainstem   Oldest part and central core of the brain; begins where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull. Is responsible for automatic survival functions  
Electroencephalogram (EEG)   An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface (waves measured by electrodes)  
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan   A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a task  
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)   Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue (show brain anatomy)  
fMRI (functional MRI)   Technique for revealing bloodflow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans (show brain function)  
Medulla   Base of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing  
Thalamus   Brain's sensory switchboard on top of brainstem. Directs messages to sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla  
Reticular formation   Nerve network in brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal  
Cerebellum   "Little brain;" Functions include some nonverbal learning, processing sensory input, and coordinating movement output and balance  
Limbic system   Neural system associated with emotions and drives (includes hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) below cerebral hemispheres  
Amygdala   Two lima-bean sized neural clusters in the limbic system linked to emotion  
Hypothalamus   Directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern endocrine system via pituitary gland, and liked to emotion and reward (below thalamus)  
Cerebral Cortex   Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering cerebral hemispheres; body's ultimate control and information-processing center  
Frontal lobes   Portion of cerebral cortex just behind forehead involved with speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements  
Parietal lobes   Portion of cerebral cortex at the top of the head that receives sensory input for touch and body position  
Occipital lobes   Portion of cerebral cortex back of the head that receives information from the visual fields  
Temporal lobes   Portion of cerebral cortex roughly above the ears that includes auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear  
Motor cortex   Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements  
Sensory cortex   Area at the front of the parietal loves that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations  
Association areas   Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, but are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, speaking, and integrating information  
Aphasia   Impairment of language usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impaired speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impaired understanding)  
Broca's area   controls language expression; area of frontal lobe that directs muscle movements involved in speech  
Wernicke's area   controls language reception; area in temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression  
Phineas Gage   Ruptured his frontal lobes which caused a disconnect from his behavior; altered personality and personal inhibitions  
Plasticity   Brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience  
Neurogenesis   Formation of new neurons  
Corpus Callosum   Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them  
Split brain   Condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mostly corpus callosum) connecting them  


   


 

 

 
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Created by: jgk25 on 2011-09-15




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