Chapter 1 and 2 Flashcards
(105 cards)
1
Q
what is biological psychology?
A
The study of cells, genes, & organs and the physical & chemical changes involved in behavior & mental processes
2
Q
endocrine
A
regulates internal activity of the body
3
Q
nervous system
A
vast network of cells that tell you what is going on inside & outside your body and lets you respond appropriately
4
Q
what are the 2 main cell types?
A
neurons and glial cells
5
Q
what are neurons?
A
specialized cells that send & receive signals
6
Q
what are glial cells?
A
they hold together neurons and help them communicate, guide growth, provide energy, and restore damage
7
Q
outer membrane
A
cell body that contains a core called the nucleus
8
Q
how many axons does each neuron generally have?
A
1
9
Q
what do axons do?
A
carry signals away from the cell body
10
Q
what do dendrites do?
A
detect those signals the axons carry
11
Q
action potential
A
electrochemical impulse or message that is sent down an axon and stimulates the release of a neurotransmitter
12
Q
refractory period
A
short recovery after cell firing
13
Q
neurotransmitter
A
chemical that transfers messages across synapses
14
Q
synapse
A
tiny gap between axon of neuron & dendrites of another & communicate
15
Q
all cells have what 3 things?
A
- outer membrane
- cell body that contains a nucleus
- mitochondria that turns oxygen & glucose into energy
16
Q
what is the central nervous system (CNS) consisted of?
A
it is encased in bone and consists of the brain and spinal cord
17
Q
what is the peripheral nervous system?
A
it extends throughout the body and relays information to and from the brain
18
Q
what are the 2 subsystems of the peripheral nervous system?
A
somatic and autonomic
19
Q
what does the somatic nervous system do?
A
carry signals between senses & CNS and between CNS & skeletal muscles
20
Q
what does the autonomic nervous system (ANS) do?
A
carries messages between the CNS & heart, lungs, other organs, and glands
21
Q
what are the 2 divisions of the autonomic system (ANS)?
A
sympathetic and parasympathetic
22
Q
what does the sympathetic division do?
A
directs body to spend energy.
EX: increased heart rate/breathing, sweating
23
Q
what does the parasympathetic division do?
A
directs body’s functions to conserve energy.
EX: slow breathing and calming down
24
Q
what does the CNS do?
A
receives & sends signals to/from the brain.
reflexes are simple, involuntary behaviors
25
what are the 5 tools to measure the brain?
1. electroencephalogram (EEG)
2. positron emission tomography (PET)
3. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
4. functional mri (FMRI)
5. transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
26
what does an electroencephalogram (EEG) do?
measures electrical activity
27
what does a positron emission tomography (PET) do?
records location of radioactive substances that were injected
28
what does a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) do?
provides high resolution images of brain anatomy
29
what does functional mri (FMRI) do?
provides images of changes in blood flow that indicate specific changes in neural activity
30
what does a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) do?
studies normal functions of a particular brain region by observing changes after TMS is applied to a specific location
31
where is the hindbrain located and what does it contain?
located: above the spinal cord
contains: the medulla, reticular formation, locus coeruleus, and cerebellum
32
what does the medulla do?
controls vital life functions
33
what is the reticular formation?
web neurons in arousal & attention
34
what is the locus coeruleus involved in?
directing attention
35
what is the cerebellum in control of?
fine motor movements
36
what does the midbrain do?
relay information from eyes, ears, and skin
37
what are the 6 parts of the forebrain?
thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, corpus callosum
38
what does the thalamus act as?
a relay station for pain and sense-organ signals (except for smell)
39
what does the hypothalamus regulate?
hunger, thirst, and sex drives
40
what does the amygdala do?
connects sensations and emotions
41
what is your hippocampus involved in?
your ability to form new memories
42
what does the cerebral cortex analyze?
information from the senses, voluntary movements, and abstract thinking
43
what does the corpus callosum do?
connect the two halves of the brain and transfers information between them
44
what area of the brain will result in difficulty of speaking if damaged?
Broca's area
45
what will happen if the Wernicke's area is damaged?
it will result in difficulty to understand written or spoken language and to produce sensible speech
46
which hemisphere of the brain majorly impacts language?
the left
47
what does the right hemisphere of the brain do?
recognize shapes, faces, etc.
48
what is neural plastic?
adding or changing synapses due to one's experiences
49
what do cognitive psychologists study?
basic mental processes
50
what do personality psychologists study?
individuality
51
what do developmental psychologists study?
changes in behavior & mental processes over the life span
52
what do clinical psychologists study?
causes of behavior disorders & offer services to help
53
what do school psychologists study?
intelligence testing and diagnosing learning disabilities
54
what do social psychologists study?
ways that people influence one another
55
interest in behavior and the mind can be traced back to who?
ancient Greek philosophers
56
in the 1600's philosophers such as John Locke and David Hume argued for empiricism. what is empiricism?
the knowledge that comes from experience and observation
57
Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology lab in attempt to use empirical research methods to study what?
consciousness: the mental experiences that arise from our sensory-perceptional systems.
58
what kind of psychology from Europe saw consciousness as a whole experience that could not be studied in separate parts?
gestalt
59
what theory did Sigmund Freud from Austria develop about the behavior and consciousness experience stem from unconscious conflict and desires?
physcoalnalysis
60
what approach did William James founded which emphasizes the study of what consciousness does, how it functions to help people adapt to their new environments?
functionalism
61
what approach presumes that biological factors such as genes, hormones, and brain systems affect behavior and mental events?
biological
62
what approach explains how behavior and mental phenomena are a result of evolution through natural selection?
evolutionary
63
what approach sees constant unconscious conflicts within a person as the min determinant of behavior and mental life?
psychodynamic
64
what approach focuses on observable behaviors and how those behaviors are learned/
behavioral
65
what approach focuses on how people take in and mentally represent process and store information?
cognitive
66
what approach sees each person's unique perceptions of the world s guiding his/her thoughts and actions?
humanistic
67
what approach are all approaches combined?
eclectic
68
what are sociocultural variables?
factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class and culture that produce real differences in behavioral and mental processes
69
what is the accumulation of values, rules of behavior, forms of expression, religious beliefs, occupational choices and the like for a group of people with a common language and environment?
culture
70
in individualist cultures people focus on and value what kind of growth rather than group goals?
personal growth
71
in collectivist cultures people often tend to themselves as part of what rather than as individuals?
family/work groups
72
most countries of what?
multicultural
73
critical thinking is the process of what?
assessing claims and making judgments based on well-supported evidence
74
what is the first question you ask yourself to form the basis of good critical thinking?
'What am I being asked to believe or accept?'
75
what is a hypothesis?
a specific, testable statement
76
what are operational definitions?
the exact methods to be used in a research study of the hypothesis.
EX: height = inches
77
what are specific factors/characteristics?
variables that can be altered and measured in research
78
What refers to whether the results are consistent and repeatable?
reliability
79
what is validity?
whether the results accurately reflect what they claim
80
what is a theory?
an in-depth explanation of phenomena studied
81
what kind of observation does the researcher watch an record a phenomenon as it naturally occurs without ant interference?
naturalistic
82
what are intensive examinations of behavior or mental processes in a certain individual, group or situation?
case studies
83
what are correlational studies?
the use of data collected from the psychology methods to look for relationships between variables to find out how much one variable predicts the other
84
how do variables differ?
how strongly and in what direction they are related
85
positive correlations are two variables that......
increase together or decrease together
86
negative correlations are two variables that......
move in opposite directions
87
what is the indicator of the predictability and the direction of a correlation?
correlation coefficients
88
what do correlations NOT describe?
cause and effect
89
what is the independent variable?
the variable that the researcher manipulates
90
what is the dependent variable?
the variable that the researcher observes for an effect
91
what group receives the treatment?
experimental
92
what group receives no treatment?
control
93
what is a confound variable?
other factors that might have influenced the dependent variable
94
what are random variables?
uncontrolled factors such as weather or cultural backgrounds
95
what is the placebo effect?
if a participant expects a treatment to help them, they may show improvement just because of their expectations
96
what does experimenter bias happen?
when researchers encourage certain results
97
what is the design in which both the experimenter and the participants are unaware of who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group?
double-blind study
98
what is sampling?
process of selecting participants who are members of the population
99
what is a representative sample?
a sample of participants that is typical of the specific population of interest
100
a random sample is where?
every member of a population is allowed an equal chance of being selected
101
a biased sample occurs when?
everyone does not have an equal chance of being chosen
102
what is data?
numbers describing research findings
103
what do descriptive statistics summarize?
a set of data
104
what kind of statistics use mathematical procedures to make judgments and conclusions about what data mean?
inferential
105
what does it mean for a correlation to be statistically significant?
it occurs to some extent by more than chance alone
