Psychology Mid-Term
Terms
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- Parallel Processing
- The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
- Mean
- The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.
- Cones
- Receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
- Color Constancy
- Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.
- Axon
- The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
- Social-Cultural
- A perspective for how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures. Sample questions include: How are we- as Africans, Australians, or North Americans- alike as members of one human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?
- Neurotransmitters
- Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether it will generate a neural impulse.
- Maturation
- Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
- Hypothesis
- A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
- Replication
- Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different subjects in different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances.
- Bottom-up Processing
- Analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
- Schema
- A concept of framework that organizes and interprets information.
- Imprinting
- The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.
- Humanist
- Perspective of psychology that acknowledges that an individual's mind is strongly influenced by ongoing determining forces in both their unconscious and in the world around them, specifically the society in which they live. The humanistic perspective is on the self, which translates into "YOU", and "your" perception of "your" experiences. This view argues that you are free to choose your own behavior, rather than reacting to environmental stimuli and reinforcers. Issues dealing with self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and needs are paramount. The major focus is to facilitate personal development. Two major theorists associated with this view are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
- Place Theory
- In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
- Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
- The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
- Synapse
- The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft.
- Norm
- An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norm prescribes "proper" behavior.
- Placebo
- (Latin for "I shall please") An inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent.
- Correlation
- A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
- MRI
- A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain.
- Hypothalamus
- A neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature,) helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion.
- Absolute Threshold
- The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
- Independent Variable
- The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
- Frontal Lobes
- The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.
- Thalamus
- The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
- Rods
- Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
- Retinal Disparity
- A binocular cue for perceiving depth: The greater the disparity (difference) between the two images the retina receives of an object, the closer the object is to the viewer.
- Mode
- The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.
- Dependent Variables
- The experimental factor- in psychology, the behavior or mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
- Parietal Lobes
- The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; includes the sensory cortex.
- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.
- Case Study
- An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
- Critical Period
- An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.
- Central Nervous System (CNS)
- The brain and spinal cord.
- Figure-ground
- The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
- CT Scan
- A series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body.
- Top-down processing
- Information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
- Parasympathetic Nervous System
- The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy.
- Behavioral
- A perspective in psychology that involves how we learn observable response. Sample questions include: How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say, to lose weight or stop smoking?
- Neuroscience
- A psychologist's perspective for how the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences. Sample questions include: How are messages transmitted within the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?
- Motor Cortex
- An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
- Object Permanence
- The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
- Psychodynamic
- Perspective of psychology that focuses on how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts. Sample questions include: Can personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?
- Hippocampus
- A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.
- Amygdala
- Two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion.
- Myelin Sheath
- A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
- Genes
- The biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein.
- Lesions
- Tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
- Median
- The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.
- Gestalt
- An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
- Cerebellum
- The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance.
- Cognitive
- Perspective of psychology that focuses on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. Questions include: How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving problems?
- Random Sample
- A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. Samplings are the most representative when they are random.
- Evolutionary (Darwin)
- Perspective of psychology that focuses on how nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of one's genes.
- Dendrites
- The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.
- Single and Double-Blind Study
- This is an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.
- Occipital Lobes
- The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field.
- PET
- A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
- Temporal Lobes
- The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear.
- Cognition
- All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering.
- Transduction
- Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.
- Sensation
- The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
- Sensory Cortex
- The area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body sensations.
- Pons
- relays sensory information between the cerebellum and cerebrum; aids in relaying other messages in the brain; controls arousal, and regulates respiration
- Sympathetic Nervous System
- The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
- Visual Cliff
- A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
- Sensory Adaptation
- Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
- Medulla
- The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.