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bkx PSY101 T1, KT
PSY-101 Test #1 Key Terms
| Definition | Term |
|---|---|
| an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind | Structuralism |
| a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish | Functionalism |
| the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes | Humanistic psychology |
| the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) | Cognitive neuroscience |
| the science of behavior and mental processes | Psychology |
| the long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors; today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture | Nature-nurture issue |
| the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations | Natural selection |
| the differing complementary views, from biology to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon | Levels of analysis |
| an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological and social-cultural levels of analysis | Biopsychosocial approach |
| pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base | Basic research |
| scientific study that aims to solve practical problems | Applied research |
| a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) in achieving greater well-being | Counseling psychology |
| a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy | Psychiatry |
| the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it | Hindsight bias |
| thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions; rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions | Critical thinking |
| an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events | Theory |
| a testable prediction, often implied by a theory | Hypothesis |
| a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables | Operational definition |
| repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances | Replication |
| an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles | Case study |
| a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group | Survey |
| all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn | Population |
| a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion | Random sample |
| observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation | Naturalistic observation |
| a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other | Correlation |
| a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1) | Correlation coefficient |
| a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables; slope suggests direction while scatter suggests correlation strength | Scatterplots |
| the perception of a relationship where none exists | Illusory correlation |
| a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) | Experiment |
| assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups | Random assignment |
| an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo | Double-blind procedure |
| experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent | Placebo effect |
| in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable | Experimental group |
| in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment | Control group |
| the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied | Independent variable |
| the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable | Dependent variable |
| the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution | Range |
| a computed measure of how scores vary around the mean score | Standard deviation |
| a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean, or average (68 percent fall within one standard deviation), and fewer and fewer near the extremes | Normal curve |
| a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance | Statistical significance |
| the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next | Culture |
| a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior | Biological psychology |
| a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system | Neuron |
| neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord | Sensory neurons |
| neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands | Motor neurons |
| neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs | Interneurons |
| the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses towards the cell body | Dendrite |
| the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands | Axon |
| a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next | Myelin sheath |
| a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon | Action potential |
| the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse | Threshold |
| the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron | Synapse |
| chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse | Neurotransmitters |
| a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron | Reuptake |
| “morphine within” – natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure | Endorphins |
| the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems | Nervous system |
| the brain and spinal cord | Central nervous system |
| the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body | Peripheral nervous system |
| bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs | Nerves |
| the division of the peripheral nervous system that control’s the body’s skeletal muscles | Somatic nervous system |
| the division of the peripheral nervous system that control’s the body’s skeletal muscles | Autonomic nervous system |
| the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations | Sympathetic nervous system |
| the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy | Parasympathetic nervous system |
| a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response | Reflex |
| the body’s “slow” chemical communication system | Endocrine system |
| chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and effect other tissues | Hormones |
| a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secret hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress | Adrenal glands |
| the endocrine system’s most influential gland; under the influence of the hypothalamus, it regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands | Pituitary gland |
| tissue destruction; naturally or experimentally caused | Lesion |
| an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface, measured by electrodes placed on the scalp | Electroencephalogram (EEG) |
| a visual display of brain activity that directs where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task | Positron emission topography (PET) |
| a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue; shows brain anatomy | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| a technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive scans; shows brain function | Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) |
| the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; this is responsible for automatic survival functions | Brainstem |
| the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing | Medulla |
| a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal | Reticular formation |
| the brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum | Thalamus |
| the “little brain” at the rear of brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance | Cerebellum |
| neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres | Limbic system |
| two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system, linked to emotion | Amygdala |
| a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward | Hypothalamus |
| the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center | Cerebral cortex |
| cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons | Glial cells |
| portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments | Frontal lobes |
| portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position | Parietal lobes |
| portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields | Occipital lobes |
| portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear | Temporal lobes |
| an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements | Motor cortex |
| area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations | Sensory cortex |
| areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking | Association areas |
| the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience | Plasticity |
| the formation of new neurons | Neurogenesis |
| the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them | Corpus callosum |
| a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers connecting them | Split brain |
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