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81 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Functionalism |
investigates purpose of consciousness, not the structure, consciousness is a continuous flow of thoughts |
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Structuralism |
Analyze consciousness into "basic elements", introspection, self observation |
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Behaviorism |
psychology should be purely objective, study behavior without reference to mental processes |
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Cognitive Revolution |
rebellion, it led the field back to its early interest in mental process, such as the importance of how our mind processes and retains information |
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Developmental Psychology |
study the physical, social, and psychological changes and development from womb to adult |
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Social Psychology |
study how the situation influences behavior, norms, and how people affect one another |
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Cognitive Psychology |
study mental processes, such as memory and language |
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Positive Psychology |
study of how to make people have happier lives |
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Evolutionary Psychology |
study how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes |
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Neuroscience |
study how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences |
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Behavior Psychology |
study how we learn observable responses |
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Clinical/Counseling Psychology |
study, assess, and helps troubled people |
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Industrial/Organizational Psychology |
uses the same perspectives as Behavioral and Cognitive |
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Hypothesis |
prediction that is testable, falsifiable, operationally defined |
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Double-blind procedure |
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. |
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Descriptive |
used to develop hypothesis |
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Observational |
observe people (animals) behaving "naturally" (in natural environment or in lab) |
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Case Study |
study one individual in depth (with hope to revealing things true to us all) |
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Survey |
attempts to get an accurate picture of populations attitudes and experiences (need a representative sample of population) |
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Random Sampling |
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of being included in the study (representative) |
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Correlation |
when two traits or behaviors are correlated, one is perdictable |
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Correlation Coefficient |
a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1) |
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Experimental |
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (IV) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (DV). By random assignment of participants the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors. |
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Independent Variable |
the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied |
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Dependent Variable |
the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable |
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Control Group |
group in experiment that does not receive treatment or manipulation |
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Experimental Group |
group in experiment that receives treatment or manipulation |
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Mean |
the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and the dividing by the number of scores |
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Median |
the middle score in a distribution |
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Mode |
most frequently occurring score |
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Range |
the distance between the highest and lowest scores in your data |
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Statistical Significance |
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance |
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Hindsight Bias |
tendency to believe an event was predictable after it has happened even though it was not |
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Over-Confidence |
Tendency to be more confident that our actual knowledge or ability warrants |
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Confirmation Bias |
tendency to search for information that confirms our preconceptions |
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Neuron |
a nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system |
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Cell body |
the cell's life support center |
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Dendrites |
a neurons bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body |
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Axon |
the neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands |
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Myelin Sheath |
a fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons, enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next |
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Action potential |
a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon |
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Resting Potential |
state of neuron most of the time, when "at rest" |
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Threshold |
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse |
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Refractory period |
resting pause |
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Blood-brain barrier |
a filtering mechanism of the capillaries that carry blood to the brain and spinal cord tissue, blacking the passage of certain substances |
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Frontal Lobe |
portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements |
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Parietal Lobe |
portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position |
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Occipital Lobe |
portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes area that receive information from the visual fields |
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Temporal Lobe |
portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear |
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Cerebral Cortex |
part of the brain that allows us to think and reason, ultimate control and information processing center |
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Thalamus |
relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex |
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Hypothalamus |
controls maintenance functions such as eating; helps govern endocrine system; linked with emotion and reward |
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Pituitary Gland |
master endocrine gland |
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Medulla |
controls heartbeat and breathing |
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Cerebellum |
coordinates voluntary movement and balance and supports memeories of such |
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Hippocampus |
"save button", allows you to process new long term memories |
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Amygdala |
active when feeling emotions |
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Reticular Formation |
controls consciousness and arousal |
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Basal Ganglia |
group of brain structures crucial for movement |
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Limbic System |
processes emotions |
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Motor Cortex |
an area at the rear of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movements |
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Sensory Cortex |
area at the front of the parietal love that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
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Neurotransmitters |
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps, when released by the sending neuron, they travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse |
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Agonsits |
increases effect of NTM, mimics the effect of NTM by activating the receptor, blocks reuptake |
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Antagonist |
reduces effect of NTM, bind to synaptic receptor and block off NTM |
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Peripheral Nervous System |
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body |
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Somatic Nervous System |
the division of the PNS that controls the body's skeletal muscles |
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Autonomic Nervous System |
the part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs |
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Sympathetic Nervous System |
the division of the ANS that arouses the body mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
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Parasympathetic Nervous System |
the division of the ANS that calms the body, conserving its energy |
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Endocrine system |
the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream |
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Genes |
the biochemical units of heredity that makes up the chromosomes, segments of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein |
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DNA |
a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes |
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Chromosomes |
threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes |
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Epigenetics |
the study of influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change |
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Behavior Genetics |
the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior |
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Temperament |
a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity |
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Adaptation |
a characteristic that provides a survival benefit |
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Natural Selection |
individuals better suited to survive pass more of their gene and favorable traits into the next generation |
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Individualism |
giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications |
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Collectivism |
giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly |