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Psych 105
Wazzu Psych 105 Exam 1
116
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
09/21/2009

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Term

pyschology

Definition
the scientific study of thought and behavior
Term
cognitive pyschology
Definition
the study of how people precieve, remember, think, speak, and solve problems
Term
developmental pyschology
Definition
the stucy of how thought and behavior change and remain stable across the life span
Term
behavioral neuroscience
Definition
the study of the links among brain, mind, and behavior
Term
biological pyschology
Definition
the study of the relationship between bodily systems & chemicals and how they influence behavior and thought
Term
clinical pyschology
Definition
the study of the treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and the promotion of pyschological health
Term
personality pyschology
Definition
the study of what makes people unique and the consistencies in people's behavior across time and situations
Term
social pyschology
Definition
the study of how living among others influences thought, feeling, and behavior
Term
health pyschology
Definition
the study of the role that psychological factors play in regard to physical health and illness
Term
educational pyschology
Definition
the study of how students learn, the effectiveness of particular teaching techniques, the social pyschology of schools, and the pyschology of teaching
Term
sports psychology
Definition
the study of pyschological factors in sports and exercise
Term
industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology
Definition
application of pyschological concepts and questions to work settings
Term
forensic psychology
Definition
field that blends, psychology, law, and criminal justice
Term
shamans
Definition
medicine men or women who treated people with mental problems by driving out their deamons with elaborate rituals, such as exorcisms, incantations, and prayers
Term
asylums
Definition
facilities for treating the mentally ill in Europe during the Middle Ages and into the 19th century
Term
moral treatment
Definition
19th Century approach to treating the mentally ill with dignity in a caring environment
Term
pyschoanalysis
Definition
a clinically based approach to understanding and treating psychological disorders; assumes that the unconscious mind is the most powerful force behind thought and behavior
Term
empiricism
Definition
the view that all knowledge and thoughts come from experience
Term
pyschophysics
Definition
the first scientific form of pyschology; labratory studies of the subjective experience of physical sensations
Term
structuralism
Definition
19th-century school of pyschology that argued that breaking down experience into its elemental parts offers the best way to understand thought and behavior
Term
introspection
Definition
the main method of investigation for structuralists; it involves looking into one's own mind for information about the nature of conscious experience
Term
functionalism
Definition
19th-century school of psychology that argued it was better to look at why the mind works the way it does than to describe its parts
Term
humanistic psychology
Definition
a theory of psychology that foucuses on personal growth and meaning as a way of reaching ones highest potential
Term
positive psychology
Definition
scientific approach to studying, understanding, and promoting healthy and postive psychological functioning
Term
Gestalt psychology
Definition
a theory of psychology that mantains that we precieve things a wholes rather than as a compilation of parts
Term
behaviorism
Definition
a school of psychology that proposed that psychology can be a true science only if it examines observable behavior, not ideas, thoughts, feelings, or motives
Term
nature through nuture
Definition
the position that the environment constantly interacts with biology to shape who we are and what we do
Term
evolution
Definition
the change over time in the frequency with which specific genes occur within a breeding species
Term
natural selection
Definition
a feedback process whereby nature favors one design over another because it has an impact on reproduction
Term
evolutionary psychology
Definition
the branch of psychology that studies human behavior by asking what adaptive problems it may have solved for our ancestors
Term
scientific method
Definition
the procedures by which scientists conduct research, consisting of five basic processes; observation, prediction, testing, interpretation, and communication
Term
hypothesis
Definition
a specific, informed, and testable prediction of the outcome of a particular set of conditions in a research design
Term
theory
Definition
a set of related assumptions from which scientists can make testable predictions
Term
replication
Definition
the repetion of a study to confirm the results; essential to the scientific process
Term
pseudoscience
Definition
claims presented as scientific that are not supported by evidence obtained with the scientific method
Term
research design
Definition
palns of action for how to conduct a scientific study
Term
varible
Definition
a characteristic that changes or "varies", such as age, gender, weight, intelligence, anxiety, and extraversion
Term
population
Definition
the entire group a researcher is interested in; for example, all humans, all adolescents, all boys, all girls, all college students
Term
samples
Definition
subsets of the population studied in a research project
Term
social desirability bias
Definition
the tendency toward favorable self-presentation that could lead to inaccurate self reports
Term
descriptive designs
Definition
study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and varible of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything
Term
case study
Definition
a study design in which a psychologist, often a therapist, observes on person over a long period of time
Term
natural observation
Definition
a study in which the researcher unobtrusively observes and records behavior in the real world
Term
representative sample
Definition
a research sample that accurately reflects the population of people one is studying
Term
correlation coefficient
Definition
a statistic that ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 and assumes the strength and direction of association between two varibles
Term
correlational designs
Definition
studies the measure two or more varibles and their relationship to one another; not designed to show causation
Term
confounding varible
Definition
varible whose influence on the dependent varible cannot be separated from the independent varible being examined
Term
single-blind studies
Definition
studies in which participants do not know the experimental condition (group) to which they have been assigned
Term
experimenter expectancy effects
Definition
result that occurs when the behavior of the participants is influenced by the experimenter's knowledge of who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group
Term
double-blind studies
Definition
studies in which niether the participants nor the researchers adminstering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental group or control group
Term
self-fulfilling prophecy
Definition
a statement that affects events to cause the prediction to come ture
Term
effect size
Definition
a measure of strength of the relationship between two varibles or the magnitude of an experimental effect
Term
mata-analysis
Definition
a research and statistical technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion
Term
self-reports
Definition
written or oral accounts of a person's thoughts, feelings, or actions
Term
mode
Definition
a statistic that represents the most commonly score or value
Term
behavioral measures
Definition
measures based on systematic observation of people's actions either in their normal environment or in a labratory setting
Term
physiological measures
Definition
measures of bodily responses, such as blood pressure or heart rate, used to determine changes in psychological state
Term
multiple measurement
Definition
the use of several measures to acquire data on one aspect of behavior
Term
descriptive statistics
Definition
measures used to describe and summarize research data
Term
standard deviation
Definition
a statistical measure of how much scores in a sample vary around the mean
Term
ethics
Definition
the rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation-- or more simply, standards of right and wrong
Term
debriefing
Definition
the explanation of the purposes of a study following data collection
Term
institutional review boards (IRBs)
Definition
organizations that evaluate research proposals to make sure research involving humans does not cause undue harm or distress
Term
quasi-experimantal design
Definition
research method similar to an experimantal design except that it makes use of naturally occuring groups rather than randomly assigning subjects to groups
Term
chromosomes
Definition
a coiled-up thread of DNA
Term
DNA (deoxy-ribonucleic acid)
Definition
a large molecule that contains genes
Term
genes
Definition
small segments of DNA that contain information for producing proteins
Term
genome
Definition
all the genetic information in DNA
Term
alleles
Definition
different forms of a gene
Term
dominant genes
Definition
genes that show their effect even if there is only one allele for that trait in the pair
Term
recessive genes
Definition
genes that show their effects only when both alleles are the same
Term
behavioral genetics
Definition
the scientific study of the role of heredity in  behavior
Term
monogenic transmission
Definition
the hereditary passing on the traits determined by a single gene
Term
polygenic tranmission
Definition
the process by which many genes interact to create a single characteristic
Term
twin studies
Definition
research into hereditary influence comparing pairs of fraternal or identical twins
Term
adoption studies
Definition
research into hereditary influence in which adopted people are compared to their boilogical and adoptive parents
Term
heritability
Definition
the extent to which a characteristic is influenced by genetics
Term
gene-by-environment interaction research
Definition
a method of studying heritability by comparing genetic markers that allows researchers to assess how genetic differences interact with the environment to produce certain behaviors in some ppl but not in others
Term
epigenetics
Definition
concerns changes in the way genes are turned on or off without a change in the sequence of DNA
Term
central nervous system (CNS)
Definition
the part of the nervous system that comprises the brain and spinal cord
Term
peripheral nervous system
Definition
the part of the nervous system that comprises all the nerve cells in the body outside the central nervous system
Term
somatic nervous system
Definition
nerve cells of the peripheral nervous system that transmit sensory information to the central nervous system (CNS) & those that transmit information from the CNS to the skeletal muscles
Term
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Definition
all the nerves of the peripheral nervous system that serve involuntary systems of the body, such as the internal organs and glands
Term
parasympathetic nervous system
Definition
the branch of the autonomic nervous system nervous system that usually relaxes or returns the body to a less active, restful state
Term
sympathetic nervous system
Definition
the branch of the autonomic nervous system that activates bodily systems in times of emergency
Term
glial cells
Definition
central nervous system cells that provide structural support, promote effcient communication between neurons, and serve as scavengers, removing cellular debris
Term
neurons
Definition
the cells that process & transmit information in the nervous system
Term
neurotransmitters
Definition
chemicals that transmit information between neurons
Term
soma
Definition
the cell body of the neuron
Term
axon
Definition
a long projection that extends from a neuron's soma; it transmits electrical impulses toward the adjacent neuron and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters
Term
dendrites
Definition
finger like projections from a neuron's soma that recieve incoming messages from other neurons
Term
terminal buttons
Definition
little knobs at the end of the axon that contain tiny sacs of neurotransmitters
Term
sensory neurons
Definition
nerve cells that recieve incoming sensory information from the sense organs (eye,ear,skin,tongue,nose)
Term
myelin sheath
Definition
the fatty substance wrapped around some axons, which insulates the axon, making the nerve impulse travel more efficiently
Term
synapse
Definition
the junction between an axon and the adjacent neuron, where information is tranmitted from one neuron to another
Term
motor neurons
Definition
nerve cells that carry commands for movement from the brain to the muscels of the body
Term
action potential
Definition
the impulse of positive charge that runs down an axon
Term
resting potential
Definition
the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the axon when the neuron is at rest
Term
mirror neurons
Definition
nerve cells that are active when we observe others preforming an action as well as when we are preforming the same action
Term
interneurons
Definition
neurons that communicate only with other neurons
Term
ions
Definition
chemically charged particles that pre-dominate in bodily fluids; found both inside and outside cells
Term
refractory period
Definition
the span of time, after an action potential has been generated, when the neuron is returning to its resting state and the neuron cannot generate an action potential
Term
all-or-none principle
Definition
the idea that once the threshold has been crossed, an action potential either fires or does not; there is no halfway
Term
synaptic vesicles
Definition
tiny sacs in the terminal buttons that contain neurotransmitters
Term
reuptake
Definition
a way of removing excess neurotransmitter from the synapse, in which excess neurotransmitter is returned to the sending, or presynaptic, neuron for storage in vesiclesand future use
Term
dopamine
Definition
a neurotransmitter released in response to behaviors that feel good or are rewarding to the person or animal; also involved in voluntary motor control
Term
enzymatic degradation
Definition
a way of removing excess neurotransmitter from the synapse, in which enzymes specific for that neurotransmitter bind with the neurotransmitter and destroy it
Term
graded potentials
Definition
small changes in membrane potential that by themselves are insufficient to trigger an action potential
Term
acetylcholine (ACh)
Definition
a neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement and plays a role in mental processes such as learning, memory, attention, sleeping and dreaming
Term
epinephrine
Definition
also known as adrenaline, a neurotransmitter that arouses bodily systems (such as increasing heart rate)
Term
serotonin
Definition
a neurotransmitter with wide-ranging effects: involved in dreaming and controlling emotional states, especially anger, anxiety and depression
Term
norepinephrine
Definition
a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the sympathetic nervous system, energizing bodily systems and increasing mental arousal and alertness
Term
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
Definition
a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that tells postsynaptic neurons not to fire; it slows CNS activity and is necessary to regulate and control neural activity
Term
glutamate
Definition
a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain that increases the likelihood that a postsynaptic neuron will fire; important in learning, memory, neural processing, and brain development
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