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Unit 1
AP Psychology
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What do dendrites do? | Receive messages from other neurons. |
| What does the axon do? | Sends electrical impulses away from the cell body. |
| What does the myelin sheath do? | Insulates the axon, speeds neural transmission. |
| What are neurotransmitters? | Chemical messengers released into the synapse to transmit signals between neurons. |
| What is the Central Nervous System (CNS)? | The brain and spinal cord. |
| What is the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)? | All nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, connecting CNS to the rest of the body. |
| Function of the thalamus? | Sensory “relay station” — directs incoming sensory info (except smell) to the cortex. |
| Function of the hypothalamus? | Regulates hunger, thirst, body temp, sexual behavior; controls pituitary gland. |
| Function of the pituitary gland? | Master endocrine gland; releases hormones that influence growth and other glands. |
| Function of the medulla? | Controls vital automatic functions — heartbeat and breathing. |
| Function of the cerebellum? | Coordinates balance, posture, and fine motor skills. |
| Function of the cerebral cortex? | Outer layer of brain; higher-level thinking, planning, perception. |
| Function of the primary visual cortex? | Located in occipital lobe; processes visual information. |
| Function of the auditory cortex? | Located in temporal lobe; processes sound information. |
| Function of Broca’s area? | Located in left frontal lobe; controls speech production. |
| Function of Wernicke’s area? | Located in left temporal lobe; language comprehension. |
| Function of the frontal lobe? | Planning, decision making, voluntary movement (motor cortex), personality. |
| Function of the parietal lobe? | Processes sensory info (touch, body position) via somatosensory cortex. |
| Function of the occipital lobe? | Processes vision (primary visual cortex). |
| Function of the temporal lobe? | Processes hearing (auditory cortex) and language (Wernicke’s area). |
| What is the left hemisphere mainly responsible for? | Language, logic, analytical thinking. |
| What is the right hemisphere mainly responsible for? | Spatial ability, creativity, facial recognition, holistic processing. |
| What does the corpus callosum do? | Connects left & right hemispheres, allowing communication. |
| What is heritability? | The proportion of variation in a trait explained by genetic factors in a population. |
| What does "nature vs nurture" refer to? | Debate over genetic inheritance (nature) vs environment/experience (nurture) in shaping behavior. |
| What is an example of gene-environment interaction? | A genetic predisposition for depression may only show when triggered by stressful life events. |
| What are the two main parts of the nervous system? | Central Nervous System (CNS: brain & spinal cord) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS: all other nerves). |
| What are the two divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System? | Somatic (voluntary control of muscles) and Autonomic (automatic body functions). |
| What are the two parts of the Autonomic Nervous System? | Sympathetic (arouses—fight/flight) and Parasympathetic (calms—rest/digest). |
| What are the main parts of a neuron? | Dendrites, soma (cell body), axon, myelin sheath, terminal branches. |
| What is the resting potential? | The neuron’s stable negative charge when inactive (~ -70 mV). |
| What is the all-or-none principle? | A neuron fires completely or not at all. |
| What is reuptake? | The process of neurotransmitters being reabsorbed into the sending neuron. |
| What do excitatory vs inhibitory neurotransmitters do? | Excitatory increase chance of firing; inhibitory decrease chance of firing. |
| What is dopamine’s main function and problem if too high/low? | Influences movement, reward, emotion. Too much |
| What is serotonin’s main function and low levels linked to? | Mood, hunger, sleep; low serotonin linked to depression. |
| What is acetylcholine’s main function and disease link? | Enables muscle action, learning, memory; ACh-producing neurons deteriorate in Alzheimer’s. |
| What is endorphins’ role? | Natural painkillers and pleasure boosters. |
| What are the three main brain regions (oldest to newest)? | Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain. |
| Function of the amygdala? | Involved in fear and aggression. |
| Function of the hippocampus? | Involved in memory formation. |
| What is the corpus callosum? | Large band of fibers connecting the two hemispheres. |
| What brain wave is linked to being awake and alert? | Beta waves. |
| What brain wave is linked to deep sleep (NREM-3)? | Delta waves. |
| What happens during REM sleep? | Dreaming, rapid eye movement, brain activity high, body paralyzed. |
| What is the sleep cycle length? | About 90 minutes. |
| Which sleep disorder involves falling asleep suddenly? | Narcolepsy. |
| Which sleep disorder involves stopping breathing during sleep? | Sleep apnea. |
| What is sensation? | The process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive environmental stimuli. |
| What is perception? | The brain’s interpretation and organization of sensory information. |
| What is absolute threshold? | The minimum stimulus needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time. |
| What is difference threshold (just noticeable difference)? | The minimum difference between two stimuli required to detect a change 50% of the time. |
| What is sensory adaptation? | Decreased sensitivity after constant exposure to a stimulus. |
| Who is the “father of psychology” and opened the first psych lab? | Wilhelm Wundt |
| Wundt’s method of self-reflection on thoughts/feelings is called? | Introspection |
| Which school focused on the structure of the mind? | Structuralism (Titchener, Wundt) |
| Which school focused on the functions of behavior and consciousness? | Functionalism (William James) |
| Which school emphasized observable behavior only? | Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner) |
| Which perspective focused on unconscious drives/conflicts? | Psychodynamic (Freud) |
| Which perspective emphasizes growth, potential, self-actualization? | Humanistic (Rogers, Maslow) |
| Which perspective studies mental processes (thinking, memory, problem-solving)? | Cognitive |
| Which perspective looks at biology, brain, genetics, neurotransmitters? | Biological |
| Which method shows cause & effect? | Experiment |
| Which method observes subjects in their natural setting? | Naturalistic observation |
| Which method is an in-depth study of one individual? | Case study |
| Which method collects self-reported data from many people? | Survey |
| Correlation shows what kind of relationship? | Strength and direction of relationship, not causation |
| What is manipulated in an experiment? | Independent Variable (IV) |
| What is measured in an experiment? | Dependent Variable (DV) |
| Assigning participants to groups by chance is called? | Random assignment |
| Choosing participants from a population by chance is called? | Random sampling |
| Definition of variables in measurable terms? | Operational definition |
| Hidden factor affecting results? | Confounding variable |
| What reduces bias from expectations in research? | Double-blind procedure |
| Average value of a data set? | Mean |
| Middle score when data ordered? | Median |
| Most frequent score? | Mode |
| Which central tendency is best with outliers/skewed data? | Median |
| Measure of spread/variation in data? | Standard deviation |
| r | +0.85 means? |
| r | -0.20 means? |
| What does “statistical significance (p < .05)” mean? | Results are unlikely due to chance (less than 5% probability). |
| Participants must agree before a study. This is called? | Informed consent |
| After deception, participants must be told true purpose. This is called? | Debriefing |
| Researchers must protect participants from what? | Physical/psychological harm |
| Researchers must keep participant info private. This is called? | Confidentiality |
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