Exam 1 (Ch. 1-3)

Question 1

Theory

Answer 1

explanation of a phenomena within a domain

Question 2

Hypothesis

Answer 2

specific prediction within a theory

Question 3

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 3

structuralist, introspection, consciousness, est. first psych lab

Question 4

Edward Titchener

Answer 4

Wundt’s student, structuralist, set up psych lab at Cornell

Question 5

introspection

Answer 5

documentation of one’s own thoughts

Question 6

structuralism

Answer 6

analyzes the basic elements of conscious mental experience

Question 7

William James

Answer 7

wrote first psychology textbook, established stream of consciousness; functionalist

Question 8

stream of consciousness

Answer 8

functions to help humans adapt to their environment

Question 9

functionalism

Answer 9

concerned with how we use mental processes to adapt to their environment and what we use consciousness for

Question 10

naturalistic observation

Answer 10

no attempt to influence behavior

Question 11

case study

Answer 11

study of a single individual

Question 12

survey

Answer 12

gather info by questionnaire about the attitudes, beliefs, experiences or behaviors of a group of people

Question 13

sample

Answer 13

a part of a population, represented by “n”

Question 14

population

Answer 14

entire group of interest to researchers, represented by “N”

Question 15

experiments

Answer 15

to test causal hypothesis

Question 16

placebo

Answer 16

harmless substance given to the control group in an experiment as a control for the placebo effect

Question 17

EEG

Answer 17

overall electric activity of the whole brain; used for sleep studies and to identify brain death

Question 18

FMRI

Answer 18

measures brain activity; cognitive neuroscience

Question 19

dendrites

Answer 19

branch-like extensions of the cell body that receive signals from other neurons (receiving end)

Question 20

axon

Answer 20

tail-like extension of the neuron that transmits signals to the dendrites of other neurons to muscles, glands and other parts of the body (firing end)

Question 21

neurotransmitter

Answer 21

specialized chemicals that facilitate or inhibit the transmission of impulses from one neuron to the next

Question 22

action potential

Answer 22

the sudden reversal of the resting potential, which initiates the firing of a neuron

Question 23

motor cortex

Answer 23

the strip of tissue at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary body movement and participates in learning and cognitive events

Question 24

synapse

Answer 24

gap between sending and receiving neurons where communication takes place

Question 25

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Answer 25

the nerves that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

Question 26

autonomic

Answer 26

automatic

Question 27

sympathetic functions

Answer 27

involved in arousal or "fight or flight" response

Question 28

parasympathetic functions

Answer 28

opposite of sympathetic; calms your body down within minutes; key to psychotherapy techniques

Question 29

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Answer 29

made up of the brain and the spinal cord

Question 30

brainstem

Answer 30

handles functions critical to physical survival

Question 31

medulla

Answer 31

part of the brainstem; regulates heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing

Question 32

limbic system

Answer 32

emotional core, highly evolved in mammals; includes the amygdala and the hippocampus

Question 33

cerebral cortex

Answer 33

responsible for the higher mental process of language, memory and thinking

Question 34

occipital lobe

Answer 34

vision

Question 35

temporal lobe

Answer 35

auditory/naming

Question 36

parietal lobe

Answer 36

sensory

Question 37

frontal lobe

Answer 37

motor and executive functions

Question 38

Broca's area

Answer 38

controls language production

Question 39

Wernicke's area

Answer 39

controls language comprehension

Question 40

aphasia

Answer 40

loss of the ability to use or understand language, resulting from damage to the brain

Question 41

corpus callosum

Answer 41

neural fibers that connect the two hemispheres and pass information between them

Question 42

cerebral hemispheres

Answer 42

the right and left halves of the cerebrum; control movement and feeling on the opposing sides of the body

Question 43

sensation

Answer 43

stimulus hitting sense receptors

Question 44

perception

Answer 44

brain's judgement of what the sensation is

Question 45

absolute threshold

Answer 45

minimum stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time

Question 46

JND (Just Noticeable Difference)

Answer 46

smallest change in sensation a person is able to detect 50% of the time

Question 47

retina

Answer 47

back of your eyeball; 120 million photo receptors

Question 48

cones

Answer 48

light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina; color, daylight, fine vision

Question 49

rods

Answer 49

light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina ; black and white, peripheral vision, night vision

Question 50

fovea

Answer 50

center of vision, most dense concentration of cones

Question 51

blind spot

Answer 51

point where optic nerve leaves the back of the retina

Question 52

optic nerve

Answer 52

nerve that carries visual information from each retina to both sides of the brain

Question 53

optic chiasm

Answer 53

optic nerves cross just above the pituitary gland and hypothalamus

Question 54

Gestalt

Answer 54

German word meaning "whole"

Question 55

closure

Answer 55

when an incomplete picture is seen as complete

Question 56

visual cliff

Answer 56

an apparatus used to test depth perception in infants

Question 57

retinal disparity

Answer 57

the difference between 2 retinal images that provides an important cue for depth perception

Question 58

perceptual constancy

Answer 58

the phenomenon that allows us to perceive objects as maintaining their shape and size despite differences in viewing angle or distance

Question 59

depth perception

Answer 59

the ability to perceive the visual world in 3D and to judge distances accurately

Question 60

monocular depth cues

Answer 60

depth cues that can be perceived by one eye alone

Question 61

interposition

Answer 61

when one object partially blocks your view of another, you perceive the partially blocked object as farther away

Question 62

ESP

Answer 62

gaining information about objects, events, or another person's thoughts through some means other than the known sensory channels

Question 63

opperational definition

Answer 63

precise description of a variable in a study/experiment