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Section one
chapters 1-8 not encluding 6
100
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
10/05/2013

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
The enduring traditions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a large group of people
Definition

Culture

Term

Which technique involves repeating the essence of an earlier research study with different participants and in different circumstances?

Definition
Replication
Term

Which of the following is a statistical measure of both the direction and the strength of a relationship between two variables?

Definition
Correlation Coefficent
Term
Psychologists' personal vaules and goals
Definition
Can Bias their observations and interpretations.
Term
To compare the pace of life in different countries, investigators measured the speed with which postal clerks completed a simple request. Which research method did this illustrate?
Definition
Naturalistic Observation
Term
Psychological differences between the genders are
Definition
Far outweighed by gender similarites
Term
The standard deviation is the square root of the average squared deviation of scores from the
Definition
Mean
Term
An inert substance that may be administered insead of a drug to see it it produces any of the same effects as the drug is called a
Definition
Placebo
Term
A hypothesis is a(n)
Definition
Testable prediction that gives direction to research.
Term
Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee societies in the jungle are using a research method known as
Definition
Naturalistic Observation
Term
When a statistical average is reported in the news, it is important for readers to
Definition
Consider whether it is distorted by a few extreme cases.
Term
University of Texas students were fitted with belt-worn tape recorders for up to four days so that researchers could sample their daily activities. The researchers employed a scientific methond known as
Definition
Naturalistic Observation
Term
Approximately 95 percent of the cases represented by the normal curve fall within                 standard deviation(s) from the mean
Definition
Two
Term
The fact that the same individual won the New Jersey lottery on two separate occasions best illustrates
Definition
A Random Outcome
Term
The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it
Definition
May be unrepresentative of what is generally true
Term
Which research method assesses how well one variable predicts another without demonstrating a cause-and-effect relationship between the variables?
Definition
Correlational Research
Term
Correlational research is most useful for purposes of
Definition
Replication
Term
The symmetrical bell shaped figure used to represent the distribution of many physical and psychological characteristics is called a
Definition
Normal Curve
Term
The explanatory power of a scientific theory is most closely linked to its capacity to generate testable
Definition
Predictions
Term
Approximately what percentage of the cases represented by the normal curve fall between -1 and +1 standard deviations from the mean?
Definition
68
Term
Critical thinking is smart thinking that involves
Definition
Evaluation Evidence
Term
A lopsided distribution of scores in which the mean is much larger than both the mode and the median is said to be
Definition
Skewed
Term
Three key attitudes of scientific inquiry are
Definition
Curiosity, skepticism, and humility
Term
The mean of a distribution of scores is the
Definition
Arithmetic average of all the scores
Term
Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to isolate
Definition
Cause from effect
Term
A statistically significant difference between two sample groups is NOT likely to be
Definition
Due to chance variation within and between the sample groups
Term
In a survey, psychologists selected a random sample of research participants in order to ensure that
Definition
The participants are representative of the population they are intersted in studying
Term
A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a
Definition
Confounding Variable
Term
The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to
Definition
Exaggerate their abliliy to have foreseen an outcome
Term
Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors
Definition
Vary Together
Term
In which type of research would an investigator manipulate on factor and observe its effect on some behavior or mental process?
Definition
Experimentation
Term
Random assignment minimizes                 between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes              between a sample and a population.
Definition
Differences; Similarities
Term
In an effort to prevent participants in an experiment from trying to confirm the researchers' predictions, psychologists sometimes
Definition
Deceive participants about the true purpose of an experiment
Term
An axon is
Definition
The extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body
Term
Neural networks refer to
Definition
Interrelated clusters of neurons in the central nervous system
Term
Oxytocin is secreted by the
Definition
Pituitary Gland
Term
The association areas are located in the
Definition
Cerebral Cortex
Term
One function of glial cells is to
Definition
Provide nutrients to interneurons
Term
The hypothalamus influences                      the to send messages to the                   .
Definition
Pituitary; Endocrine Glands
Term
A synapse is a(n)
Definition
Junction between a sending neuron and a receiving neuron
Term
The parasympathetic nervous system
Definition
Stimulates digestion and slows heartbeat
Term
Additive disorders may stem from malfunctioning reward centers in the
Definition

Limbic System

 

Term
The amygdala consists of emotion-linked neural clusters in the
Definition
Limbic System
Term
Severing a cat's reticular formation from higher brain regions causes the cat to
Definition
Lapse into a coma
Term
Schizophrenia is most closely linked with excess receptor activity for the neurotransmitter
Definition
Dopamine
Term
The body's natural production of endorphins is likely to be
Definition
Decreased by heroin use and increased by vigorous exercise
Term
Dendrites are branching extensions of
Definition
Neurons
Term
Left handedness is             common among males than females, and in both right- and left-handers the left hemisphere tends to be slightly                than the right hemisphere.
Definition
More; Larger
Term
The release of cortisol into the bloodstream is most likely to
Definition
Increase blood sugar
Term
Opiate drugs occupy the same receptor sites as
Definition
Endorphins
Term
The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem is called the
Definition
Cerebellum
Term
Hormones, the chemical messengers of the endocrine system, travel through the bloodstream to affect other
Definition
Tissues
Term
Optic nerves transmit informtion from the               visual field of                 to the left cerebral hemisphere
Definition
Right; Both the right and left eyes
Term
The central nervous system consists of
Definition
The brain and the spinal cord
Term
Which division of the autonomaic nervous system arouses the body and mobilizes its energy in stressful situations?
Definition
The sympathetic nervous system
Term
An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransimitter known              as is linked to seizures
Definition
GABA
Term
A person whose hand has been amputated felt sensations on his noecistent fingers when his arm was stroked. This best illustrates the consequences of
Definition
Brain Plasticity
Term
Brain plasticity may contribute to the effectiveness of
Definition
Constraint-induced therapy
Term
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that
Definition
Triggers muscle contractions
Term
Motor neurons transmit signals to
Definition
Glands
Term
Degenetation of the myelin sheath results in
Definition
Multiple Sclerosis
Term
The chemical messengers released into the spatial junctions between neurons are called
Definition
Neurotransmitters
Term
Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere is most likely to reduce people's ability to
Definition
Solve arithmetic problems
Term
Reuptake refers to the
Definition
reabsorbtion of excess neurotransmitter molecules by a sending neuron
Term
The function of dendrites is to
Definition
Receive incoming signals from other neurons
Term
With regard to the process of neural transmission, a refractory period refers to a time interval in which
Definition
Positively charged ions are pumped back outside a neural membrane
Term
The absence of a hypothalamic neural center that produces orexin has been linked to
Definition
Narcolepsy
Term
The divided-consciousness theory of hypnosis receives support from evidence that
Definition
Hypnotized people can endure pain without experiencing emotional distress
Term
The best time for athletes to engage in heavy exercise workouts is
Definition
Late afternoon or early evening
Term
A need to take larger and larger doses of sleeping pills to avoid insomnia indicates
Definition
Tolerance
Term
Depressants are drugs such as
Definition
Barbituates and opiates
Term
Repeated use of an opiate
Definition
Decreases the brain's production of endorophins
Term
Unlike alcohol, the THC in marijuana
Definition
Lingers in the body for a week or more
Term
Bed-wetting is most likely to occur at the end of             sleep
Definition
NREM-3
Term
Reduced immune system functioning is most likely to accompany long-term repeated use of
Definition
Ecstasy
Term
Conscioussness is
Definition
Our awarness of ourselves and our environment
Term
Brain regions that are activated as people learn to perform a visual-discrimination task are especially likely to be active later as they experience
Definition
REM sleep
Term
One of the dangers of using Ecstasy at all-night dances is
Definition
Dehydration
Term
The use of barbiturates            anxiety and               nervous system activity
Definition
Decrease; Decrease
Term
Sleep deprivation has been shown to
Definition
Diminish immunity to disease
Term
Most college students are "owls," with performance               across the day. Most older adults are "larks," with performance               as the day progresses.
Definition
Improving; Declining
Term
According to Freud, the dreams or adults can be traced back to
Definition
Erotic Wishes
Term
People can be hypnotically induced to
Definition
Report little pain from placing their arms in an ice bath
Term
Research on the use of addictive drugs indicates that
Definition
Many people are able to stop using addictive drugs without professional help
Term
The best indication that dreaming serves a necessary biological function is provided by the fact that
Definition
most mammals experience REM rebound
Term
The simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels is called
Definition
Dual Processing
Term
Hypnosis involves a state of
Definition
Heightened openness to suggestion
Term
Fast and jerky movements of the eye are especially likely to be associated with
Definition
REM sleep
Term
Alcohol consumption is likely to               attention to an arousing provocation and                attention to normal in hibitions.
Definition
Increase; Decrease
Term
Compared with unconscious information processing, conscious processing is relatively
Definition
Slow and especially effective for solving new problems
Term
Researchers are most likely to question the value of hypnosis for
Definition
Enhancing Memory
Term
During REM sleep, your skeletal muscles are relaxed because messages from the motor cortex are blocked by the
Definition
Brainstem
Term
The activation of light-sensitive retinal proteins in our eyes signals our brains to decrease production of
Definition
Melatonin
Term
Our inability to consciously process all the sensory information available to us at any single point in time best illustrates the necessity of
Definition
Selective attention
Term
Research studies of the content of dreams indicate that
Definition
people are more likely to dream of failure than of success
Term
Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere is called
Definition
Inattentional Blindness
Term
Sleep deprivation                the production of body fat by                   levels or the stress hormone cortisol.
Definition
Stimulates; Increasing
Term
Compared with adults, children are
Definition
 More likely to experience night terrors and more likely to experience sleepwalking
Term
REM sleep is called paradoxical sleep because
Definition
Our nervous system is highly active, while our voluntary muscles hardly move
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