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| the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and the physiological processes that underlie. |
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Nature=biological and genetic factors
Nurture=Environment and learning |
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| A type of communication system which is made up of a network of glands. It uses hormones to carry its messages. |
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Step 1: review of the literature and informal questions
Step 2: formulate a testable hypothesis. Must be operationally defined.
Step 3: Design the study and collect the data.
Step 4: Analyze the data and accept or reject the hypothesis
Step 5:Publish, replicate, and seek scientific review.
Step 6:Building theory. (Cycle continues) |
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| Precise description of how the variables in a study will be observed and measured (For example drug abuse might be operationally defined as the number of missed work days due to the use of an addictive substance.) |
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| typically conducted in universities or research labs by researchers interested in advancing general scientific understanding-knowledge for its own sake without known real-world uses. |
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| conducted outside the laboratory...it meets the 4th goal of psychology, to change existing real world problems. |
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| Describe, explain, predict, and change. |
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| Looking for causes. The experiment is a research method in which the researcher manipulates one (independent) variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a 2nd (dependent) variable as a result. |
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| a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable. Its the variable the researcher manipulates in the experiment. Changing, varying, manipulating. |
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| the variable that is thought to be affected by the manipulations of the independent variable. DV= Measuring. |
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| Consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable. |
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| consists of similar subjects who dont receive the special treatment given to the experimental group. |
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| ensures that each participant is equally likely to be assigned to any particular group and that differences among the groups will be spread out across all experimental conditions. |
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| Respecting the rights of humans. Respecting the rights of nonhuman animal participants. Respecting the rights of psychotherapy clients. |
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| Institutional Review board |
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| a committee that has been formally designated to approve, monitor, and review biomedical and behavioral research involving humans with the aim to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects. |
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| Researchers systematically measure and record the observable behavior of participants as it occurs in the real world, without interfering. The purpose is to gather descriptive information. |
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| In the case of such rare disorders, researchers try to find someone who has the problem and study him or her intensively. Such an in-depth study of a single research participant is called a case study. |
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| observes and describes behavior and mental processes without manipulating variables. |
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| Psychologists use surveys and interviews to measure a wide variey of psychological behaviors and attitudes. One key advantage of surveys is that they can gather data from a much larger sample of people than is possible with outher research methods. |
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| When researchers want to determine how one trait or behavior accompanies another and the degree of relationship, or correlation, between these naturally occurring variables, they turn to correlational research. |
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| Correlational Coefficient |
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| a numerical value that indicates the degree and direction of the relationship between the two variables. |
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| systematic differences among the groups being studied-exists, experimental results may not truly reflect the influence of the independent variable. |
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| can occur when experimental conditions influence participants behavior or mental processes. |
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| "Sleep clock" Biological changes that occur on a 24 hour cycle. Our sleep-wake cycle, alertness, moods, learning efficiency, blood pressure, metabolism, pulse rate, and other responses alll follow circadian rhythms. |
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| brain & spinal cord. Directs mental and basic life processes |
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| Responsible for regulating drives (hunger, thirst, sex aggression) Master control center. It also helps govern horomonal processes by regulating the endocrine system. |
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| Peripheral Nervous system |
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| All nerves and neurons connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body. Carries information to & from the central nervous system. |
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| Thin surface layer on the cerebral hemispheres that regulates most complex behavior, including sensations, motor control, and higher mental processes. |
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| the area on the left frontal lobe on the surface of the cortex near the bottom of the motor control area. |
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| carry messages inward from other body areas to the central nervous system. |
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| carry messages away from the central nervous system. |
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| internally communicate and intervene between the senory inputs and the motor outputs. Most of the neurons in the brain are interneurons. |
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| Dendrites->Cell body->axon->terminal button |
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| Branching neuron structures that receive neural impulses from other neurons and convey impulses toward the cell body. |
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| part of the neuron containing the cell nucleus, as well as other structures that help the neuron carry out its functions; also known as the soma. |
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| long, tubelike structure that carries the neurons message and conveys impulses away from the neurons cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands. |
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| form junctions with other cells and release chemicals called neurotransmitters. Near each axons end, the axon branches out, and at the tip of each branch are terminal buttons, which release chemicals. These chemicals move the message from the end of the sending neuron to the dendrites or cell body of the next receiving neuron, and the message continues. |
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| the fluid inside the axon has more negatively charged ions than the fluid outside. Positive on the outside, negative on the inside. |
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| A small gap. Junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving nueron. During action potential, neurotransmitters are released and travel across the synaptic gap. |
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