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Psych 101 Ch. 1-3 vocab.

Terms

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motor neurons
neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement
random sampling
a technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
Stimulus
Sensory input from the environment
Philosophical Empiricism
the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
neurotransmitters
chemicals that transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron's dendrites
Psychology
the scientific study of mind and behavior
parietal lobe
a region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch
cognitive psychology
the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning
mode
the "most frequent" measurement in a frequency distribution
hypothalamus
a subcortical structure that regulates body temperature, hunger thirst, sexual behavior
Gestalt Psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts
Physiology
the study of biological processes, epecially in the human body
self-selection
the case in which a participant's inclusion in the experimental or control group is determined by the participant
control group
one of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment that is not exposed to the stimulus being studied
predictive validity
the tendency for an operational definition to be related to other operational definitions
structuralism
the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind
tectum
a part of the midbrain that orients an organism in the environment
clial cells
support cells found in the nervous system
nervous system
an interacting network of neurons that conveys electrochemical information throughout the body
autonomic nervous system
a set of nerves that carries involuntary and automatic commands that control blood vessels, body organs, and glands
manipulation
a characteristic of experimentation in which the reasearcher artificially creates a pattern of variation in an independent variable in order to determine its causal powers. Manipulation usually results in the creation of an experimental group and a control group
pituitary gland
the master gland of the body's hormone-producing system which releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands in the body
reticular formation
a brain structure that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal
population
the complete collection of participants who might possibley be measured
cognitive neuroscience
a field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity
sympathetic nervous system
a set of nerves that prepares the body for action in threatening situations
evolutionary psychology
a psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection
Illusions
errors of perception, memory, or judgement in which subjective experience differs from objective reality
tegmentum
a part of the midbrain that is involed in movement and arousal
empiricism
originally a greek school of medicine that stressed the importance of observation, and now generally used to describe any attempt to acquir knowledge by observing objects or events
neurons
celles in the vervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks
law of large numbers
a statistical law stating that as sample size increases, the attributes of a sample will more closely reflect the attributes of the population from which it was drawn
gene
the unit of hereditary transmission
Mind
our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings
case method
a method of gathering scentific knowledge by studying a single indidvidual
synapse
the junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another
cell body
the part of a neuron that coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive
somatic nervous system
a set of nerves that conveys information into and out of the central nervous system
Natural selection
charles darwin's theory that the features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent generations
median
the "middle" measurement in a frequency distribution. Half the measurements in a grequency distribution are greater than or equal to the median and half are less than or equal to the median
behavioral neuroscience
an approach to psycology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes
Dissociative Identity Disorder
a condition that involves the occurrnce of two or more distinct identities within the same individual
reinforcement
the consequences of a behavior that determine whether it will be more liely that the behavior will occur again
receptors
parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and initiate a new electric signal
thalamus
a subcortical structure that relays and filters information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex
randomization
a procedure to ensure that a participant's inclusion in the experimental or control group is not determined by a third variable
construct validity
the tendency for an operational definition and a property to have a clear conceptual relation
social psychology
a subfield of psychology that studies the causes and consequences of intrerpersonal behavior
basal ganglia
a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements
internal validity
the characteristic of an experiment that allows one to draw accurate inferences about the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable
hypothesis
a specific and testable prediction that is usually derived from a theory
norpinephrine
a neurotransmitter that influences mood and arousal
Functionalism
the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment
variable
a property whose value can vary or change
GABA
the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain
reliability
the tendency for a measure to produce the same result whenever it is used to measure the same thing
psychoanalysis
a therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders
experiment
a technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables
cerebral cortex
the outermost layer of the brain, visible to the naked eye and divided into tow hemispheres
response
an action or physiological change elicited by a stimulus
independent variable
the variable that is manipulated in an experiment
Reaction Time
the amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus
sample
the partial collection of people who actually were measured in a study
endorphins
chemicals that act within the pain pathways and emotion centers of the brain
frontal lobe
a region of the crebral cortex that has apecialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement
behaviorism
an approach tha advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior
operational definition
a description of an abstract property in terms of a concrete condition that can be measured
Nativism
the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
glutamate
a major excitatory neurotransmitter involved in information trasmission throughout the brain
hindbrain
an area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord
action potential
an electric signal that is conducted along an axon to a synapse
mean
the average of the measurements in a frequency distribution
cultural psychology
the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
hippocampus
a structure critical for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex
power
the tendency for a measure to produce different results when it is used to measure different things
unconscious
the part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions
resting potential
the difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane
dendrites
the part of a neuron that recieves information form other neurons and relas it to the cell body
medulla
an extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration
validity
the charactereistic of an observation that allows on to draw accurate inferences from it
limbic system
a group of forebrain structures including the hypothalamus, the amygdala, and the hippocampus, which are involed in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory
Consciousness
a person's subjective experience of the world and the mind
parasympathetic nervous system
a set of nerves that helps the body return to a normal resting state
heritability
a measure of the variability of behavioral traits among individuals that can be accounted for by genetic factors
humanistic psychology
an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings.
myelin sheath
an insulating layer of fatty material
axon
the part of a neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands
occipital lobe
a region of the cerbral cortex that processes vissual information
pons
a brain structure that relays information form the cerebellum to the rest of the brain
Introspection
the subjective observation of one's own experience
acetylcholine
a neurotransmitter involed in a number of functions, including voluntary motor control
dopamine
a neurotransmitter that regulates motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal
third-variable problem
the fact that the causal relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the correlation between them because of the ever-present possibility of third-variable correlation
Behavior
observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
cerebellum
a large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills
informed consent
a written agreement to participate in a study made by a person who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail
interneurons
neurons that connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons
Central nervous system
the part of the nervous system that is composed of the brain and spinal cord
serotonin
a neurotransmitter that is involved in the regulation of aleep and wakefulness, eating, and aggressive behavior
chromosomes
strands of DNA wound around each other in a double helix configuration
antagonists
drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter
terminal buttons
knoblike structures that branch out from an axon
peripheral nervous system
the part of the nervous system that connects the central nervous system to the body's organs and muscles
Phrenology
a now defuct theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions of the brain
double-blind
an observation whose true purpose is hidden from the researcher as well as from the participant
experimental group
one of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment; the experimental group is exposed to the stimulus being studied and the control group is not
psychoanalytic theory
sigmund freud's approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
theory
a hypothetical account of how and why a phenomenon occurs, usually in the form of a statement about the casual relationship between two or more properties. Theories lead to hypotheses
measure
a device that can detect the measurable events to which an operational definition refers
naturalistic observation
a method of gathering scientific knowledge by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments
correlation
the "co-relationship" or pattern of covariation between two variables, each or which has been measured several times
agonists
drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter
amygdala
a part of the limbic system that plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories
sensory neurons
neurons that receive information form the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord
refractory period
the time following an action potential during which a new action potential acnnot be initiated
dependent variable
the variable that is measured in a study
method
a set of rules and techniques for observation that allow researchers to avoid the illusions, mistakes, and erroneous conclusions that simple observation can produce
Hysteria
a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences
association areas
areas of the cerebral cortex that are composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex
temporal lobe
a region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language
corpus callosum
a thick band of nerve fibers that connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports communication of information across the hemispheres
correlation coefficient
a statistical measure of the direction and strength of a correlation, which is signified by the letter r
debriefing
a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study that psychologists provide to people after they have participated in the study
external validity
a characteristic of an experiment in which the independent and dependent variables are operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way
demand characteristics
those aspects of an obeservational setting that cause people to behave as they think an observer wants or expects them to behave
normal distribution
a frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the mean and fall off towared the tails, and the two sides of the distribution
electromyograph EMG
a device that measure muscle contractions under the surface of a person's skin
frequency distribution
a graphical representation of the measurments of a sample that are arranged by the number of times each measurement was observed

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