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SLS 20 Test #1
SLS 20: Psychology Test #1
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Functionalism | William James' focus. The study of understanding the purpose/function of mental processes. Contrast to Structuralism: examines the structure of mental processes. |
Psychology | The scientific study of mind and behavior |
Mind | Our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings |
William James | "Father of Psychology." Wrote Principles of Psychology |
Behavior | Observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals |
fMRI Scan | Allows scientists to scan a brain and see which parts are acive |
Structuralists | Philosophical view to try and analyze the mind by breaking it down into its basic components |
Functionalists | Philosophical view to try and focus on how mental abilities allow people to adapt to their environment |
Nativism | Plato's philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn |
Philosophical Empiricism | Aristotle's philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience |
Descartes v. Hobbes | Mind =/= Body v. Mind = Body |
Phrenology | Specific mental abilities are located in specific regions of the brain. One could tell whether a person was friendly, cautious, etc. based on the size of bumps on the skull (poster) |
Physiology | The study of biological processes (ex. the speed of nerve impulses) |
Stimulus | Sensory input from the environment |
Reaction Time | The amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus |
Broca's Area | In left side of the brain |
Wundt | Opened the first laboratory ever exclusively devoted to psychological studies. Believed psychology should focus on analyzing consciousness and structuralism |
Consciousness | A person's subjective experience of the world and the mind |
Structuralism | The analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind (focus on structure & break down elements/sensations/feelings) |
Introspection | The subjective observation of one's own experience |
Hysteria | A temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences |
Freud | Theorized that patients' problems could be traced to the effects of painful childhood experiences that the person could not remember. Revealed the presence of an unconscious mind |
Unconscious | The part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness, but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions |
Psychoanalytic Theory | Freud's approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors |
Psychoanalysis | Freud's therapeutic approach that focused on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness in order to better understand psychological disorders. Patients recall past experiences and relate their dreams and fantasies |
Humanistic Psychology | Contrasting Freud's approach. This positive therapy viewed people as free agents who have a need to develop and grow. "Blossoming of the spirit" |
Pavlov | Experiment with dogs (stimulus-response) |
Stimulus | A sensory input from the environment |
Response | An action of physiological change evoked by a stimulus |
Reinforcement | The consequences of behavior that determine whether it will be more likely that the behavior will occur again (Skinner's rats and food tray) |
Behaviorism | The study of behavior (Skinner's rats) |
Illusions | Errors of perception (Ex. The Mueller-Lyer Line Illusion) |
Behavioral Neuroscience | An approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes |
Cognitive Neuroscience | A field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity |
Evolutionary Psychology | A psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved by natural selection |
Social Psychology | How others affect an individual (competition) |
Cultural Psychology | How cultures reflect and shape psychological processes of their members |
Dogmatists | Greek doctors who thought the best way to understand an illness was to develop a theory about the body's function |
Empiricists | Greek doctors who thought the best way to understand an illness was to observe sick people |
Empiricism | The belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation |
Scientific Method | A set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence |
Theory | A hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon |
Hypothesis | A falsifiable prediction made by a theory |
Empirical Method | A set of rules and techniques for observation |
Operational Definition | A description of a property in concrete, measurable terms |
EMG | A device that measures muscle contractions under the surface of a person's skin |
Validity | The extent to which a measurement and a property are conceptually related |
Reliability | The tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing |
Demand Characteristics | Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think they should |
Naturalistic Observation | A technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environment |
Mode | The value of the most frequently observed measurement |
Mean | The average value of all the measurements |
Median | The value that is "in the middle" |
Neurons | Cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks |
Neuron Structure | 1. Cell Body (nucleus, chromosomes, DNA) 2. Dendrites 3. Axon |
Dendrites | The part of the neuron that receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body (they look like tree branches) |
Axon | The part of the neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands. One axon/neuron. Axon is covered with a Myelin Sheath, composed of Glial Cells. |
Myelin Sheath | Covers the Axon. An insulating layer of fatty material |
Glial Cells | Support cells found in the nervous center. Makes up the Myelin Sheath (which covers the axon) |
Synapse | The gap between the axon and one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another neuron |
Sensory Neurons | Neurons that receive information from the external world and convey the information to the brain via the spinal cord |
Motor Neurons | Neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord tot he muscles to produce movement |
Interneurons | Neurons that connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, and other interneurons |
Resting Potential | The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane. Creates the environment for a possible electrical impulse. Arises from the difference in concentration of ions inside/outside the neuron's cell membrane |
Action Potential | An electric signal that is conducted along a neuron's axon to a synapse |
Refractory Period | The rest period after action potential |
Nodes of Ranvier | Gaps where the Myelin Sheath does not cover the axon |
Saltatory Conduction | When an electric current passes the length of a myelinated axon and the charge jumps from node to node |
Terminal Buttons | Branch out from the axon and contain neurotransmitters |
Neurotransmitters | Chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron's dendrites |
Receptors | Parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and initiate/prevent a new electric signal |
Agonists | Drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter |
Antagonists | Drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter |
Nervous System | An interacting network of neurons that convey electrochemical information throughout the body |
Central Nervous System | The part of the nervous system that is composed of the brain and the spinal chord. Receives information from the external world, processes the information, and sends commands to the skeletal/muscular systems for action |
Peripheral Nervous System | The part of the nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the body's organs and muscles |
The Somatic Nervous System | A set of nerves that conveys information into and out of the central nervous system. Humans have conscious control over this system and use it to perceive, think and coordinate their behaviors. |
The Autonomic Nervous System | A set of nerves that carries involuntary and automatic commands that control blood vessels, body organs, and glands |
Sympathetic Nervous System | A set of nerves that prepares the body for action in threatening situations |
Parasympathetic Nervous System | A set of nerves that helps the body return to a normal resting state |
Spinal Reflexes | Simple pathways in the nervous system that rapidly generate muscle contractions (ex. the pain-withdrawal reflex) |
Hindbrain | An area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord |
Medulla | Part of the hindbrain. Coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration. |
Reticular Formation | Part of the hindbrain. Regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal |
Cerebellum | Part of the hindbrain. Controls fine motor skills |
Pons | Part of the hindbrain. Relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain |
Forebrain | Controls cognitive, emotional, and motor functions |
Cerebral Cortex | The outermost layer of the brain; two hemispheres |
Subcortical Structures | Areas of the forebrain under the cerebral cortex near the center of the brain |
Thalamus | A subcortical structure that relays/filters information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex. Input from all senses (except smell) |
Hypothalamus | A subcortical structure that regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior |
Pituitary Gland | A subcortical structure. A "Master Gland" of the body's hormone-producing system. |
The Limbic System | A group of forebrain structures: hypothalamus, amyglada, hippocampus. |
Hippocampus | A part of the limbic system, critical for creating new memories and filing them into a network of knowledge |
Amyglada | A part of the limbic system that plays a central role in many emotional processes, formation of memories (attaches significance to these memories) |
Corpus Callosum | A thick band of nerve fibers that connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports communication of information across the hemispheres |
Occipial Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information |
Parietal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that processes information on touch |
Temporal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that processes information on hearing and language |
Frontal Lobe | A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, planning, memory, and judgement |
Heritability | A measure of the variability of behavioral traits among individuals that can be accounted from genetic factors |
EEG | A device used to record electrical activity in the brain |
MRI | Applying a brief but powerful magnetic pulse to the head and recording how these pulses are absorbed throughout the brain |
PET | A harmless radioactive substance is injected into a persons bloodstream and the brain is scanned |