Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Chapters 1,2,3
N/A
31
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
09/12/2010

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What is Psychology?
Definition
The science of behavior (what we do and mental processes)
Term
What is an ellusion correlation?
Definition
when we think things are related and they aren't
Term
How do we develop research?
Definition
define the variables (figure out who we are measuring)
Term
What is hindsight bias?
Definition
the "I knew it all along" phenomenon
Term
What is the false-consensus effect?
Definition
we overestimate how much others think and behave like we do
Term
What is descriptive research design?
Definition
the least sophisticated design; it describes what "is" (basic facts)

it is conducted through surveys, case studies, and naturalistic observation
Term
What is correlational design?
Definition
it typically has two or more variables and try to see if they are directly related; it does not prove causation; negative correlation (one group goes up the other goes down); third variable and naturally occurring variables
Term
What is experimental design?
Definition
studies cause-effect relationships; experiementer creates the groups; there is an independent variable (cause, what experimenter changes) and dependent variable (effect, will change because of messing with the IV); uses random assignment (how to determine how people are put in groups)
Term
What is neuroscience?
Definition
the study of how the brain works
Term
what is a neuron? what are the three types of neurons?
Definition
a nerve cell: consists of a dendrite (receive messages) and the axon (sends messages)
three types: sensory neurons (related to senses; bring info from senses to the brain to process), motor neurons (the neurons that take info from the brain to body parts), interneurons (how the other neurons communicate between one another
Term
What is neural communication?
Definition
when neurons talk to each other
Term
What is action potential?
Definition
a neural impulse; an electrical charge that travels down an axon generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axons membrane (chemical process)
Term
What is threshold?
Definition
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
Term
What does the myelin sheath do?
Definition
it helps messages travel more efficiently in the space allotted to them
Term
what is the synapse?
Definition
the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron
Term
What are neurotransmitters?
Definition
chemical messengers that travel across the synaptic gaps between neurons
Term
What is reuptake?
Definition
when the neurotransmitters do not cross to the other side so the vesicles take them back in after a certain time frame
Term
What does the nervous system consist of?
Definition
central and peripheral
Term
What does central consist of?
Definition
involves the brain and spinal cord
Term
What does the peripheral consist of?
Definition
everything else; autonomic (things that occur naturally; controls automatic functions)-> sympathetic and parasympathetic; somatic (the skeletal muscles, motor movements etc.
Term
What are the 2 hemispheres of the brain?
Definition
The left and right: sensory and motion are oppositely controlled
Term
What holds the brain together?
Definition
the corpus callosum (carries messages between the hemispheres)
Term
What are the four lobes?
Definition
frontal (self-monitoring, planning, personality, and speech production); parietal (sensory and motor cortex, physical or tactile stuff, language input); occipital (sight); temporal (receiving of language, auditory, memory)
Term
What is consciousness?
Definition
our awareness of ourselves and our environment
Term
What is selective attention?
Definition
the focus of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Term
What is the circadian rhythm?
Definition
bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle such as wakefulness and body temperature
Term
What are alpha and delta waves?
Definition
alpha: slow waves of a relaxed awake brain
delta: large, slower waves of deep sleep
Term
What are the sleep stages?
Definition
Sleep Stage 1 (the brief transition stage when first asleep (lasts 5 mins); hypnagogic sensation (the feeling of falling, muscle tension is released)); sleep stage 2 through 4 (about 20 mins at first then lengthens; REM (rapid eye movement): vivid dreams, paradoxical sleep
Term
What is somnambulism?
Definition
sleepwalkig, cannot occur in REM
Term
What are nightmares (REM)?
Definition
frightening dreams that wake a sleeping person from REM, will have some memory
Term
What are night terrors?
Definition
occur within 2 to 3 hours of falling asleep and usually occur during stage 4; high arousal; appearance of being terrified
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