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Psychology 101
Midterm 1
130
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
10/07/2013

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Behaviorism
Definition
An approach to psychology that features the study and careful measurement of observable behaviors
Term
BF Skinner
Definition
  • Psychologist after Watson, expanded on the theory of Behaviorism 
  • Operant Conditioning: response of individual "operates" on the environment
  • Skinner Boxes--> pigeons and rats to complex human behaviors 
  • "Reward and Punishment 
  • Stimulus--> response 
Term
Biological Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspective that focuses on the relationships between mind, behavior and their underlying biological processes including genetics, biochemistry, anatomy and psychology; also known as behavioral neruoscience
Term
Clinical Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspective that seeks to explain, define and treat abnormal behaviors
Term
Cognitive Psychology
Definition
A combination of cognitive reconstructuring with behavior treatments that has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of many psychological disorders
Term
Culture
Definition
The practices, values, and goals shared by groups of people.
Term
Developmental Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspective that examines the normal changes in behavior that occur across the lifespan
Term
Evolutionary Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspective that investigates how physical structure and behavior have been shaped by their contributions to survival and reproduction.
Term
Sigmund Freud
Definition
  • Physician in neurology
  • Psychodynamic Theory: role of unconcious
  • Mind in 3 parts: Id (inborn) Ego (self) Superego (conscious)
  • Psychoanalysis- mental disorders
  • No real experimentation
  • Founded study of personality in psychology 
Term
Functionalism
Definition
An approach to psychology that saw behavior as purposeful and contributing to survival
Term
Gestalt Psychology
Definition

An approach to psychology that saw experience as different than the sum of its elements; founded by Max Wertheimer

 

Term
Hermon Von Helmholtz
Definition
  • Physics of sound and color
  • Tricolory Theory of Vision: red, green, blue cones
  • First measured nerve conduction speed
  • Test: Push button when felt a touch different at thigh than at toes 
  • Wundt was his assistant 
Term
Humanistic Psychology
Definition
A therapy approach to psychology that saw people as inherently good and motivated to learn and improve
Term
Individual Differences
Definition
An approach to psychology that investigates variations in behavior from on person to the next
Term
Introspection
Definition
Personal observation of your own thoughts, feelings and behavior
Term
John Watson
Definition
  • Influenced by Pavlov, youngest Ph. D
  • Founded Behaviorism school of Psychology
  • Product--> appealing image--> adds
  • Observable behavior 
  • Relationship between environmetal cues and behavior
  • "Take a baby and turn it into a doctor"
Term
Karl Lashley
Definition
  • Memory and location of function
  • Use of brain lesions in the cortex to examin localization of higher congnitive funcitons 
Term
Abraham Maslow
Definition
  • Hierarchy of Needs
  • Self actualization--> main goal with motivation
  • Esteem, love/belonging, safety, physiological
  • What makes a person "good" ?
Term
Mind
Definition
The brain and its activities, inluding thought, emotion, and behavior
Term
Ivon Petrovitch Pavlov
Definition
  • Discovered "conditioned relex"
  • Studying digestion--> dog's saliva means food
  • Published classical conditoning
  • Stimulus--> response
  • Won nobel prize for medicine 
Term
Personality
Definition
An indiviudal's characteristic way of thinking, feeling and behaving
Term
Philosophy
Definition
The discipline that systematically examines basic concepts, including the source of knowledge
Term
Physical Science
Definition
Any science that studies nonliving matter, including, physics, chemisty, astronomy, and geology
Term
Jean Piaget
Definition
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Zoologist, observed his own children to develope stages of Human Intellectual Development 
Term
Psychology
Definition
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Term
Social Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspectivethat examines the effects of the social environment on the behavior of individuals
Term
Solomn Asch
Definition
  • Social Psychology
  • Studied nature of compliance to people in authority
  • found people following others even if they know what they are doing is wrong 
Term
Structuralism
Definition
An approach in which the mind is broken into the smalles elements of mental experience
Term
Ulric Neisser
Definition
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • contributed to the term congnition 
  • Thinking, reasoning, problem solving using math and computers 
Term
William James
Definition
  • Wrote the textbook Principles of Psychology
  • Opened a lab at Harvard for demonstartions, not research
  • Coined the Stream of Consciousness
  • Founded functionalism
  • Evolutionary Psychology 
Term
Wilhelm Wundt
Definition
  • Known as the first psychologist
  • Conducted the first documented psychological experiement of the dropping the ball
  • Introspection: psycholog is the study of conciousness
  • Structualism: analyzes the elements of consciousness
Term
Adaptation
Definition
A change due to natural selection
Term
Allele
Definition
One of the several different versions of a gene, as in blood type
Term
Altruism
Definition
Sacrifice of one's self for the benefit of another individual
Term
Behavioral Genetics
Definition
The scientific study field that attempts to identify and understand links between genetics and behavior
Term
Case Study
Definition
An in-depth analysis of the behavior of one person or a small number of people
Term
Confounding Variable
Definition
Variables that are irrelevant to the hypothesis being tested that can alter a researcher's conclusion
Term
Control Group
Definition
A group that experiences all experimental procedures with the exception of exposure to the independent variable
Term
Correlation
Definition
A measure of the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
Term
Critical Thinking
Definition
The ability to think clearly, rationally, and independently
Term
Cross-sectional study
Definition
An experimental design forassessing age-related changesin which data are obtained simultaneously from people of differing ages
Term
Culture
Definition
The practices, values, and goals shared by groups of people.
Term
Dependent Variable
Definition
A measure that deomonstrates the effects of an independent variable; the result part of a hypothesis
Term
Descriptive Method
Definition
Research method designed for making careful, systematic observations
Term
Descriptive statistics
Definition
Statistical methods that organize data into meaninful patterns and summaries, such as finding the average value
Term
Evolution
Definition
Descent with modification from a common ancestor
Term
Evolutionary Psychology
Definition
The psychological perspective that investigates how physical structure and behavior have been shaped by their contribution to survival and reproduciton
Term
Falsifiable
Definition
A characteristic of a scientific hypothesis meaning that situations in which the hypothesis might be false can be imagined
Term
Genetic Drift
Definition
Change in a population's genes from one generation to the next due to chance or accident
Term
Independent Variable
Definition
An experimental variable controlled and manipulated by the experimenter
Term
Longitudinal Study
Definition
An experimental design for assessing age-related changes in which data are obtained from the same individuals at intervals over a long period
Term
Mixed longitudinal design
Definition
A method for assessing age-related changes that combines the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches observing a cross-section of participants over a shorter period than is used typically in longitudinal studies
Term
Nature
Definition
The contributions of heredity to our physical structure and behaviors
Term
Operationalization
Definition
Defining variables in practical terms
Term
Peer Review
Definition
The process of having other experts examine research prior to its publication.
Term
Placebo
Definition
An inactive substance or treatment that cannot be distinguished from a real, active substance or treatment
Term
Reciprical altruism
Definition
Help you provide another person when you expect the person to return the favor in the future
Term
Relatedness
Definition
The probability that two people share the same allele from a common ancestor
Term
Reliability
Definition
The consistency of a measure, including test-retest, inter-rater, ect.
Term
Standard Deviation
Definition
A measure of how tighly clustered a group of scores is around their mean
Term
Statistical Significance
Definition
A standard for deciding whether an observed result is due to chance
Term
Survey
Definition
A descriptive method in which participants are asked the same questions
Term
Testable
Definition
A feature of a hypothesis that means it can be evaluated using known scientific methods
Term
Theory
Definition
A set of facts and relationships betwen facts that can explain and predict related phenomena
Term
Third Variable
Definition
A variable that is responsible for a correlation observed between two other variables of interest
Term
Validity
Definition
A quality of a measure that leads to valid conclusions (ie. the measure measures the concept it was designed to measure)
Term
Variability
Definition
In statistics, the extent to which scores differ from one another or from their mean; often measured using the standard deviation
Term
Action Potential
Definition
The electrical signal arising in a neuron's axon
Term
Axon
Definition
The branch of a neuron that is usually responsible for transmitting information to other neurons; myelinated and unmyelinated axons
Term
Receptor
Definition
A special channel in the membrane of a neuron that interacts with neurotransmitters released by other neurons
Term
Synapse
Definition
A point of communication between two neurons
Term
Dendrite
Definition
A branch from the neural cell body that usually recieves input from other neurons
Term
Oligodendrocyte
Definition
A glial cell resembling an astrocyte but smaller with few and slender processes having few branches; concerned with the production of myelin in the CNS
Term
Synaptic Vessicles
Definition
In a neuron store various neurotransmitters that are released into the synapse
Term
Neurotransmitters
Definition
A chemical messenger that communicates across a synapse; bind to receptors on the cell membrane
Term
Resting Potential
Definition
The measure of the electrical charge across a neural membrane when the neuron is not processing information
Term
Threshold
Definition
The minimum amount of stimulation needed to start a neural impulse
Term
Depolarization
Definition
A loss of polarity making it more positive; result in an action potential
Term
Reuptake
Definition
A process in which molecules of neurotransmitter in the synaptic gap are returned to the axon terminal from which they were released
Term
Sensory Neurons
Definition
Carry information from the external environment or from the body to the CNS
Term
Motor Neuron
Definition
Carry comands from the CNS back to the muslces and glands of the body
Term
Spinal Cord
Definition
A long cylinder of neural tissue extending from the medulla of the brain down to the middle of the back; part of the CNS
Term
Thalamus
Definition
"gateway to the cortex"; involved wih memory and states of consciousness
Term
Occipital Lobe
Definition
The lobe of the cerebral cortex located at the back of the brain; location of primary visual cortex
Term
Temporal Lobe
Definition
The lobe of the cerebral cortex that curves around the side of each hemisphere; location of primary auditory cortex
Term
Parietal Lobe
Definition
The lobe of the cerebral cortex that lies at the top of the head between the frontal and occipital lobes; location of primary somatosensory cortex
Term
Frontal Lobe
Definition
The most forward of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex; location of primary motor cortex and areas responsible for some of the most complex cognitive processes
Term
Nerves
Definition
A whitish bundle of fibers that transmit impulses of sensation to the brain or spinal cord, and impulses from these to the muscles and organs
Term
Sacral
Definition
Hip bone
Term
Myelin
Definition
The insulating material covering some axons
Term
Node of Ranvier
Definition
A constriction in the myelin sheath, occuring at varying intervals along the length of a nerve fiber
Term
Acetylcholine
Definition
A neurotransmitter found in the synapse at which the nervous system commands muscles; related to learning and memory--> Alzheimer's disease; nicotine
Term
Norepinephrine (NE)
Definition
released in the brain and leads to arousal and visualance; disturbances cause bipolard disorder and PTSD
Term
Dopamine (DA)
Definition
A neurotransmitter involved with systems that govern movement, planning, and reward; when dopamine disturbed--> Parkinson's disease
Term
Serotonin
Definition
Regulating sleep, appetite and mood; people who are depressed lack serotonin--> causes LSD
Term
Neuron Doctrine
Definition
  • Santiago Ramon y Cajal proposed that the neuron is an independent anatomical unit
  • Neurons don't touch eachother
  • lead to the discovery of a synapse 
Term
Camillo Golgi
Definition

·      Italian physician/ scientist

·      Discovered a specific stain for neurons

·      Discovered “golgi” bodies in cells, which are the structures that package proteins for transport

·      Theorized that neurons were physically connected

·      Awarded Nobel prize for medicine in 1906 with Ramon Y Cajal

Term
Ramon Y Cajal
Definition

·      Spanish neuroanatomist

·      Used the golgi stain to discover spines in 1888

·      Described different types of neurons in the CNS and speculated on their function

·      Proposed the Neuron Doctrine, which went against the dominant idea- Golgi’s Reticular Theory

·      Shared the Nobel Prize with Golgi in 1906

Term
Prefrontal Cortex
Definition
The most forward part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex
Term
Hippocampus
Definition
A subcortical structure that participates in memory
Term
Amygdala
Definition
A subcortical structure located in the temporal lobe beleived to participate in emotional processing; uses visual info to make quick emotional judgements; monkeys without Amygdala don't show fear
Term
Cerebellum
Definition
A structure attached to the brainstem that participated in skilled movement and in humans complex cognitive processing
Term
Pons
Definition
A part of the brainstem located between the medulla and midbrain; sleep, arousal and facial expressions
Term
Medulla
Definition
contains large bundles of axons; heart rate and blood pressure--> survival
Term
Basal Ganglia
Definition
collection of large structures involved with voluntary movement that curve around the thalamus, sends information to the cortex--> degeneration can cause Parkinson's disease
Term
Parkinson's disease
Definition
Caused by degeneration of the basal ganglia; disorder of the brain leads to tremors and difficulty with walking, movement
Term
Sympathetic Nervous System
Definition
The division of the autonomic nervous system that coordinates arousal
Term
Resting Potential
Definition
The inside is negatively charged and the outside is positive; the measure of the electrical charge across a neural membrane when the neuron is not processing information
Term
Hypothalamus
Definition
Collection of structures involved with motivation and homeostasis such as thirst, hunger, temperature ect.
Term
Absolute Threshold
Definition
The smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected
Term
Basilar Membrane
Definition
Membrane in the cochlea on which the organ of corti is located
Term
Binocular Cue
Definition
A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes
Term
Bottom-up processing
Definition
Perception based on building simple input into more complex perceptions
Term
Cochlea
Definition
The strucutre in the middle ear that contains auditory receptors that respond to vibrations transmitted in the inner ear
Term
Cones
Definition
Receptible to bright light, sharp images and color
Term
Cornea
Definition
The clear surface at the front of the eye that begins the process of directing light to the retina
Term
Depth Perception
Definition
The ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the retina to percieve three dimensions
Term
Feature Detector
Definition
A hypothetical cell that responds to only one specific visual stimulus
Term
Fovea
Definition
An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision
Term
Gate Theory
Definition
The theory that suggests that input from touch fibers competes with inout from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages from reaching the brain
Term
Gustation
Definition
The sense of taste
Term
Rods
Definition
There are many more rods than cones; more sensitive to light and can just see dim light, not clar or sharp images
Term
Retinal disparity
Definition
Requires both eyes--> binocular cue, the difference between the images projected onto each eye
Term
Audition
Definition
Our sense of hearing, important in our ability to communicate
Term
SOUND: Amplitude
Definition
Loudness
Term
SOUND: wavelength
Definition
pitch
Term
Optic Tracts
Definition
Nerve pathways traveling from the optic chiasm to the thalamus, hypothalamus and midbrain
Term
Vestibular System
Definition
The system in the inner ear that provides information about body position and movement; has sensitive hairs that are bent back and forth within their surrounding fluid
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