Midterm

Question 1

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

Answer 1

nature vs. nurture

Question 2

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

Answer 2

empiricism

Question 3

a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people

Answer 3

humanistic psychology

Question 4

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Answer 4

structuralism

Question 5

early school of thought promoted by James; explored how mental and behavioral processes function–how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Answer 5

functionalism

Question 6

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Answer 6

applied research

Question 7

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Answer 7

informed consent

Question 8

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it

Answer 8

hindsight bias

Question 9

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Answer 9

naturalistic observation

Question 10

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hopes of revealing universal principles

Answer 10

case study

Question 11

sampling that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Answer 11

random sampling

Question 12

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Answer 12

experiment

Question 13

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between the different groups

Answer 13

random assignment

Question 14

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Answer 14

placebo

Question 15

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Answer 15

standard deviation

Question 16

portion of the cerebral cortex just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements

Answer 16

frontal lobe

Question 17

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

Answer 17

parietal lobe

Question 18

portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

Answer 18

occipital lobe

Question 19

portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

Answer 19

temporal lobe

Question 20

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed onto succeeding generations

Answer 20

natural selection

Question 21

rapid eye movement sleep; a reocurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur

Answer 21

REM sleep

Question 22

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Answer 22

depressants

Question 23

the process of observing and imitating a certain behavior

Answer 23

modeling

Question 24

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Answer 24

sensory neurons

Question 25

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Answer 25

motor neurons

Question 26

a nerve cell

Answer 26

neuron

Question 27

a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Answer 27

dendrites

Question 28

a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables greater transmission

Answer 28

myelin sheath

Question 29

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Answer 29

synapse

Question 30

the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Answer 30

axon

Question 31

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Answer 31

neurotransmitters

Question 32

"morphine within"; a natural, opiate-like neurotransmitter linked to pain control and pleasure

Answer 32

endorphin

Question 33

the endocrine system's most influential gland; regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

Answer 33

pituitary gland

Question 34

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands; travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues

Answer 34

hormones

Question 35

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress

Answer 35

adrenal glands

Question 36

the body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

Answer 36

endocrine system

Question 37

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Answer 37

medulla

Question 38

the brain's sensory control center, located on the top of the brainstem

Answer 38

thalamus

Question 39

the oldest part of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull

Answer 39

brainstem

Question 40

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement and balance

Answer 40

cerebellum

Question 41

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities and helps govern the endocrine system

Answer 41

hypothalamus

Question 42

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Answer 42

top-down processing

Question 43

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Answer 43

sensation

Question 44

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Answer 44

perception

Question 45

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

Answer 45

bottom-up processing

Question 46

the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

Answer 46

retina

Question 47

the retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

Answer 47

rods

Question 48

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Answer 48

optic nerve

Question 49

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina that function in daylight or well-lit conditions

Answer 49

cones

Question 50

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

Answer 50

middle ear

Question 51

a coiled, bony fluid-filled tube in the inner ear

Answer 51

cochlea

Question 52

hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or the auditory nerves

Answer 52

sensorineural hearing loss

Question 53

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

Answer 53

conduction hearing loss

Question 54

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

Answer 54

vestibular sense

Question 55

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned response; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

Answer 55

extinction

Question 56

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Answer 56

spontaneous recovery

Question 57

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer of diminished if followed by a punisher

Answer 57

operant conditioning

Question 58

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Answer 58

shaping

Question 59

any event or situation that evokes a response

Answer 59

stimulus

Question 60

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Answer 60

classical conditioning

Question 61

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

Answer 61

punishment

Question 62

the view that psychology should be an objective science and study behavior without reference to mental processes

Answer 62

behaviorism