General Psychology Exam 1

investigates purpose of consciousness, not the structure, consciousness is a continuous flow of thoughts

Analyze consciousness into "basic elements", introspection, self observation

psychology should be purely objective, study behavior without reference to mental processes

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

study the physical, social, and psychological changes and development from womb to adult

study how the situation influences behavior, norms, and how people affect one another

study mental processes, such as memory and language

study of how to make people have happier lives

study how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

study how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

study how we learn observable responses

study, assess, and helps troubled people

uses the same perspectives as Behavioral and Cognitive

prediction that is testable, falsifiable, operationally defined

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.

used to develop hypothesis

observe people (animals) behaving "naturally" (in natural environment or in lab)

study one individual in depth (with hope to revealing things true to us all)

attempts to get an accurate picture of populations attitudes and experiences (need a representative sample of population)

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of being included in the study (representative)

when two traits or behaviors are correlated, one is perdictable

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

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.

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

group in experiment that does not receive treatment or manipulation

group in experiment that receives treatment or manipulation

the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and the dividing by the number of scores

the middle score in a distribution

most frequently occurring score

the distance between the highest and lowest scores in your data

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

tendency to believe an event was predictable after it has happened even though it was not

Tendency to be more confident that our actual knowledge or ability warrants

tendency to search for information that confirms our preconceptions

a nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system

the cell's life support center

a neurons bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

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

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

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

state of neuron most of the time, when "at rest"

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

resting pause

a filtering mechanism of the capillaries that carry blood to the brain and spinal cord tissue, blacking the passage of certain substances

portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements

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

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

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

part of the brain that allows us to think and reason, ultimate control and information processing center

relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex

controls maintenance functions such as eating; helps govern endocrine system; linked with emotion and reward

master endocrine gland

controls heartbeat and breathing

coordinates voluntary movement and balance and supports memeories of such

"save button", allows you to process new long term memories

active when feeling emotions

controls consciousness and arousal

group of brain structures crucial for movement

processes emotions

an area at the rear of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movements

area at the front of the parietal love that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

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

increases effect of NTM, mimics the effect of NTM by activating the receptor, blocks reuptake

reduces effect of NTM, bind to synaptic receptor and block off NTM

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

the division of the PNS that controls the body's skeletal muscles

the part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs

the division of the ANS that arouses the body mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

the division of the ANS that calms the body, conserving its energy

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

the biochemical units of heredity that makes up the chromosomes, segments of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

the study of influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

a characteristic that provides a survival benefit

individuals better suited to survive pass more of their gene and favorable traits into the next generation

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly