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an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.
Emphasis on breaking experience down into its most basic component elements. |
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| a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. Emphasis on the ultimate function or purpose of behaviour – Evolutionary. |
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| Self‐Observation/Report about private internal experiences. (Unreliable) |
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the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
Emphasis on behaviour as the only observable and measurable unit of psychology.
• Minimized the existence of mental functions and cognition. |
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| historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth |
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Emphasis on the principle that experience is different than the sum of its parts.
• Focus was predominantly on perception, but theories expanded to all psychology. |
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School of psychology developed from medicine and observation of abnormal individuals – Freud & Jung
• The Role of the Unconscious • The Sexual Nature of Behaviour • Internal Drives & Conflict |
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| the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language). |
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| the longstanding 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 |
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| 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. |
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| : an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis |
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| the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.) |
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| The tendency to overestimate the limits of our abilities and the accuracy of our beliefs.Maintained by perceiving incorrect predictions as being almost right. |
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| thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. |
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| an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events |
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| a testable prediction, often implied by a theory. |
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| a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. |
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| 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. |
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| an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. |
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| a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group. |
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| all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.) |
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| a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. |
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| observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. |
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| a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. |
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| a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from −1 to +1). |
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| a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation). |
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| the perception of a relationship where none exists. |
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| 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). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors. |
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| assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups. |
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| an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies. |
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| 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 |
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| in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable |
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| 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. |
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| the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. |
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| the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. |
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| the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution |
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| the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores |
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| the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it |
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| a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. |
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| a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system. |
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| neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord. |
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| neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands |
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| neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs. |
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| the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body |
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| the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands. |
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| 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. |
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| a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
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| the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse. |
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| he junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or synaptic cleft. |
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| chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse. |
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| a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron. |
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| morphine within”—natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. |
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| the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems. |
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| peripheral nervous system (PNS) |
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| the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body. |
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| bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs. |
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| bundled axons that form neural “cables” connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs. |
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| the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system |
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| the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. |
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| parasympathetic nervous system |
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| the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy. |
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| the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream. |
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| chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues. |
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| a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and nor-epinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress. |
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| the endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands. |
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| tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue. |
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| electroencephalogram (EEG) |
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| an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. |
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| PET (positron emission tomography) scan |
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| a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task. |
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| MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) |
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| a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy. |
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| fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) |
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| a technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function. |
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| the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. |
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| the base of the brainstem; controls heart-beat and breathing |
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| part of brain right above the medulla which helps coordinate movements |
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| a nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal. |
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| 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 and medulla. |
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| the “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance |
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| neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives. |
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| two lima bean–sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. |
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| a neural structure lying below (hypo) 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. |
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| the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center. |
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| cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons. |
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| portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments. |
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| portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position. |
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| portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields. |
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| portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear. |
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| an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements. |
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| area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
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| 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. |
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| he brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience. |
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| the formation of new neurons. |
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| the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them. |
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| a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them. |
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| the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. |
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| every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us. |
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| threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes |
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| DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) |
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| a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes |
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| the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein. |
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| the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes. |
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| a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity. |
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| the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied. |
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| the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection. |
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