5838418306 | absolute threshold | intensity level at which one can detect a stimulus 50% of the time | | 0 |
5838418307 | accommodation | the process of modifying a schema to account for new information; the process of the eyes lens changing shape in order to focus on distant or near objects | | 1 |
5838418308 | acetylcholine (ACh) | a neurotransmitter involved in learning, memory and muscle movement | | 2 |
5838418311 | acquisition | a process in classical conditioning by which the association of a neutral stimulus with a natural stimulus is first established | | 3 |
5838418312 | action potential | the electrical process by which information is transmitted the length of an axon | | 4 |
5838418313 | activation synthesis | the idea that dreams are the result of the cerebral cortex interpreting and organizing random flashes of brain activity, originating in the lower brain structures, especially the pons | | 5 |
5838418314 | adrenal gland | source of the hormone norepinephrine which affects arousal | | 6 |
5838418317 | after image | an image that remains after a stimulus is removed, especially one in which the colors are reversed | | 7 |
5838418318 | agonists | drugs which mimic the activity of neurotransmitters | | 8 |
5838418319 | alcohol | the most frequently used and abused CNS depressant in most cultures; its use affects mood, judgment, cognition | | 9 |
5838418320 | all-or-nothing | description of the action of neurons when firing | | 10 |
5838418321 | alpha waves | seen when an individual is in a relaxed, unfocused, yet still awake state | | 11 |
5838418322 | amygdala | limbic system component associated with emotion, particularly fear and anger | | 12 |
5838418325 | antagonist | drug which blocks the activity of neurotransmitters | | 13 |
5838418329 | anvil | the middle of the three ossicles | | 14 |
5838418330 | aphasia | impairment of language usually caused by damage to the left hemisphere | | 15 |
5838418331 | arousal | condition in which the sympathetic nervous system is in control | | 16 |
5838418334 | association areas | areas of the cerebral cortex which have no specific motor or sensory repsonsibilities, but rather are involved in thinking, memory and judgment | | 17 |
5838418335 | associative learning | learning in which an organism learns that certain events occur together, such as my cat knowing that she will be fed when I get home from work | | 18 |
5838418340 | auditory canal | the area that sound waves pass through to reach the eardrum | | 19 |
5838418342 | autonomic nervous system | division of the nervous system that control the glands and organs; its divisions arouse or calm | | 20 |
5838418345 | axon | extension of the neuron which carries, via an action potential, information that will be sent on to other neurons, muscles or glands | | 21 |
5838418347 | basic research | scientific investigations intended to expand the knowledge base | | 22 |
5838418348 | applied research | scientific investigations intended to solve practical problems | | 23 |
5838418349 | behavioral | perspective on psychology that sees psychology as an objective science without reference to mental states | | 24 |
5838418352 | binocular cues | retinal disparity and convergence which enable people to determine depth using both eyes | | 25 |
5838418353 | biological | perspective that stresses links between biology and behavior | | 26 |
5838418354 | bipolar cells | eye neurons that receive information from the retinal cells and distribute information to the ganglion cells | | 27 |
5838418356 | blind spot | point in the retinal where the optic nerve leaves the retina so there are no rods or cones there | | 28 |
5838418357 | bottom-up processing | analysis that begins with sensory receptors and works its way up to the brain's integration of sensory information | | 29 |
5838418358 | hemispheres | we have two, right and left, and some brain functions seem to centered in one or the other | | 30 |
5838418359 | brainstem | oldest part of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells upon entering the skull; controls fundamental survival processes like heartrate and breathing | | 31 |
5838418361 | bystander effect | the tendency to not offer help when needed if others are present who do not offer help | | 32 |
5838418362 | Cannon-Baird | theory of emotion that says that a stimulus causes simultaneously psyiological arousal and the subjective experience of an emotion | | 33 |
5838418363 | case study | scientific investigation in which a single subject is studied in great detail | | 34 |
5838418364 | CAT scan | a method of creating static images of the brain through computerized axial tomography | | 35 |
5838418367 | Central Nervous System | consists of the brain and the spinal cord | | 36 |
5838418368 | cerebellum | brain structure that controls well-learned motor activities like riding a bike | | 37 |
5838418369 | cerebral cortex | the fabric of interconnecting cells that blankets the brain hemispheres; the brain's center for information processing and control | | 38 |
5838418372 | circadian rhythm | the daily biological rhythms that occur in a 24-hour period | | 39 |
5838418373 | classical conditioning | method of learning in which a neutral stimulus can be used to elicit a response that is usually a natural response to a stimulus | | 40 |
5838418376 | cochlea | this coiled structure in the inner ear is fluid-filled and in it the energy from sound waves stimulate hair cells | | 41 |
5838418378 | cognitive | perspective on psychology that stresses the importance of mental activities associated with thinking, remembering, etc | | 42 |
5838418380 | collective unconscious | Jung's theory that we all share an inherited memory that contains our culture's most basic elements | | 43 |
5838418381 | color blindness | a variety of disorders marked by inability to distinguish some or all colors | | 44 |
5838418385 | conditioned response | in classical conditioning, the response elicited by the conditioned stimulus | | 45 |
5838418386 | conditioning | generally, learning in which certain experiences make certain behaviors more or less likely; there are two forms of this | | 46 |
5838418387 | conduction | one type of hearing impairment caused by mechanical problems in the ear structures | | 47 |
5838418388 | cones | neurons in the retina that are responsible for color vision | | 48 |
5838418389 | confirmation bias | a tendency to search for information that supports one's preconceptions | | 49 |
5838418391 | confounding variable | extraneous factor that interferes with the action of the independent variable on the dependent variable | | 50 |
5838418392 | consciousness | one's awareness of one's environment and oneself. | | 51 |
5838418394 | control group | subjects in an experiment who do not receive application of the independent variable but are measured nonetheless for the dependent variable | | 52 |
5838418396 | cornea | the transparent outer covering of the eye | | 53 |
5838418397 | corpus callosum | the fibers that connect the right and left hemispheres, enabling them to communicate | | 54 |
5838418398 | correlation | the degree of relationship between two variables | | 55 |
5838418399 | correlation coefficient | a positive one near 1.0 indicates two variable are positively related; a negative number indicates a negative relationship; zero indicates no relationship | | 56 |
5838418400 | cross-sectional | type of study that measures a variable across several age groups at the same time | | 57 |
5838418401 | debriefing | giving participants in a research study a complete explanation of the study after the study is completed | | 58 |
5838418405 | delta waves | largest brain waves, associated with deep, dreamless sleep | | 59 |
5838418407 | dendrite | a branch off the cell body of a neuron that receives new information from other neurons | | 60 |
5838418409 | dependent variable | the variable that the experimenter measures at the end of the experiment | | 61 |
5838418410 | depressant | any agent that reduces the activity of the CNS | | 62 |
5838418411 | depth perception | an ability that we exercise by using both monocular and binocular cues | | 63 |
5838418412 | difference threshold | also called the jnd; smallest distinction between two stimuli that can consistently be detected | | 64 |
5838418420 | dopamine | a neurotransmitter that is associated with Parkinson's disease (too little of it) and schizophrenia (too much of it) | | 65 |
5838418421 | double blind | this term describes an experiment in which neither the subjects nor the experimenter knows whether a subject is a member of the experimental group or the control group | | 66 |
5838418422 | dreams | occur most often during REM sleep; may be caused by activation-synthesis, or may be a way of cementing memories | | 67 |
5838418424 | DSM | initials of the American Psychiatric Association's book that lists diagnostic criteria for many psychological disorders | | 68 |
5838418426 | eardrum | also called the tympanic membrane - vibrates - sends converted sounds into inner ear to be interpreted | | 69 |
5838418428 | EEG | initials of a method of representation of brain waves | | 70 |
5838418436 | endocrine system | the slow messenger system of the body; produces hormones that affect many bodily functions | | 71 |
5838418437 | endorphins | neurotransmitters that give one a feeling of well-being, euphoria or eliminate pain | | 72 |
5838418439 | evolutionary | perspective that stresses the value of behavior in Darwinian terms | | 73 |
5838418440 | experiment | form of scientific investigation in which one variable is tested to determine its effect on another | | 74 |
5838418441 | experimental group | subjects in an experiment to whom the independent variable is administered | | 75 |
5838418444 | extinction | in classical conditioning, the process of eliminating the previously acquired association of the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response | | 76 |
5838418446 | extrinsic | term that describes motivations that drive behavior in order to gain rewards from outside forces | | 77 |
5838418448 | feature detection | the ability of the brain to identify specific components of visual stimuli such as corners or edges | | 78 |
5838418451 | figure-ground | refers to our ability to distinguish foreground from background in visual images | | 79 |
5838418452 | fixed interval | describes the schedule of reinforcement wherein a worker receives a paycheck every Friday | | 80 |
5838418453 | fixed ratio | describes a schedule of reinforcement wherein a worker is paid for a certain sum for each product produced | | 81 |
5838418459 | fovea | the central focus area of the retina | | 82 |
5838418460 | frequency | theory of hearing which states that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the tone's frequency | | 83 |
5838418462 | functionalism | William James's school of thought that stressed the adaptive and survival value of behaviors | | 84 |
5838418464 | ganglion cells | their axons form the optic nerve | | 85 |
5838418469 | gestalt | German word for "whole", it refers to our tendency to perceive incomplete figures as complete | | 86 |
5838418470 | glial cell | this acts as a support system for neurons | | 87 |
5838418475 | hallucination | a false sensory perception that seems to be real but for which there is not an actual external stimulus | | 88 |
5838418476 | hallucinogen | a substance capable of producing a sensory effect in the absence of real external sensory stimuli | | 89 |
5838418477 | heritability | the extent to which differences in a group of a characteristic is due to genetics, not environment | | 90 |
5838418479 | hierarchy of needs | Maslow's theory of the most important motivations people have | | 91 |
5838418480 | hindsight bias | the tendency, after an event occurs, to overestimate the likelihood that an event could have been predicted | | 92 |
5838418481 | hippocampus | limbic system component associated with memory | | 93 |
5838418482 | homeostasis | the steady, stable state that is the body's regulatory processes try to maintain | | 94 |
5838418483 | hormone | chemical substance secreted by endocrine glands that affect body processes | | 95 |
5838418484 | humanist | perspective in psychology that stresses the goodness of people and their possibility of reaching their fullest potential | | 96 |
5838418485 | hunger | it is regulated by the lateral hypothalamus and the ventromedial hypothalamus | | 97 |
5838418486 | hypnosis | a social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain events or emotions will occur | | 98 |
5838418488 | hypothalamus | limbic system component that regulates hunger, body temperature and other functions | | 99 |
5838418489 | hypothesis | a prediction of how the an experiment will turn out | | 100 |
5838418495 | incentive | an external stimulus that tends to encourage behavior | | 101 |
5838418496 | independent | type of variable manipulated by the experimenter | | 102 |
5838418500 | information processing | humans accomplish this either in parallel (unconsciously) or in serial fashion (consciously) | | 103 |
5838418501 | informed consent | agreement to participate in psychology research, after being appraised of the dangers and benefits of the research | | 104 |
5838418504 | insight | in psychoanalysis, the basic understanding one develops of the underlying sources of emotion or behavioral difficulty | | 105 |
5838418505 | insomnia | inability to fall asleep or remain asleep long enough for sufficient rest | | 106 |
5838418511 | interneurons | cells in the spinal cord through which reflexes travel without going to the brain | | 107 |
5838418512 | interposition | monocular visual cue in which two objects are in the same line of vision and one patially conceals the other, indicating that the first object concealed is further away | | 108 |
5838418514 | intrinsic | term that describes motivations that derive from one's interest in the object of the motivation, rather than from rewards that one might gain | | 109 |
5838418518 | just noticeable difference | the threshold at which one can distinguish two stimuli that are of different intensities, but otherwise identical | | 110 |
5838418519 | kinethesis | sense of balance and of one's physical position | | 111 |
5838418520 | latent | Freud's stage of psychosexual development occuring from about age 6 to puberty during which little happens in psychosexual terms | | 112 |
5838418521 | latent content | the hidden or disguised meaning of dreams | | 113 |
5838418522 | latent learning | a change in behavior due to experience acquired without conscious effort, s, for example, a student using a quote in an exam essay that the student had never tried to memorize, though eh had encountered it in studying | | 114 |
5838418523 | law of effect | Thorndike's rule that behaviors which have positive outcomes tend to be repeated | | 115 |
5838418525 | lens | a curved, transparent element of the vision system that provides focus | | 116 |
5838418526 | lesion | any destruction or damage to brain tissue | | 117 |
5838418531 | lucid | describes a dream in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming and is able to influence the progress of the dream narrative | | 118 |
5838418534 | manifest | describes, in Freudian terms, the surface content of a dream | | 119 |
5838418535 | marijuana | a drug, often smoked, whose effects include euphoria, impairment of judgment and concentration and occasionally hallucinations; rarely reported as addictive | | 120 |
5838418536 | mean | numerical average of a set of numbers | | 121 |
5838418537 | median | the middle one of a set of numbers | | 122 |
5838418538 | medulla | part of the brain nearest the spinal cord which controls breathing, heart rate and blood pressure | | 123 |
5838418541 | mere exposure effect | this phenomenon causes one to prefer a stimulus as a consequence of repeated exposures to that stimulus, particularly is there is no adverse result of the exposure | | 124 |
5838418545 | mode | the most commonly occurring term in a batch of data | | 125 |
5838418546 | modeling | the process of observing and imitating a behavior | | 126 |
5838418547 | monocular | terms that means "one eyed", used to indicate the sort of of enviromental cues to depth perception tha tonly require one eye, for example, interposition | | 127 |
5838418550 | motivation | a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior | | 128 |
5838418551 | motor cortex | an area of the brain, near the rear of the frontal lobes, that controls voluntary movement | | 129 |
5838418552 | motor neuron | this carries information from the brain to the muscles; also called "efferent" | | 130 |
5838418553 | MRI | a technique that enables us to see static images of the brain's structures; uses magnetism to achieve this effect | | 131 |
5838418555 | myelin sheath | a layer of fatty tissue encasing a neuron's axon that speeds transmission | | 132 |
5838418556 | narcolepsy | a disorder characterized by sudden sleep attacks, often at inopportune times | | 133 |
5838418557 | naturalistic | term refers to observations made of individual's behavior in an everyday life setting | | 134 |
5838418558 | nature vs nurture | name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior | | 135 |
5838418559 | negative reinforcement | in operant conditioning, removing something unpleasant in order to elicit more of a particular behavior | | 136 |
5838418560 | neural network | refers to interconnected neuron cells | | 137 |
5838418561 | neuron | the fundamental building block of the nervous system | | 138 |
5838418562 | neuroscience | perspective on psychology that emphasizes the study of the brain and its effects on behavior | | 139 |
5838418563 | neurotransmitter | a chemical that is released by a neuron for the purpose of carrying information across the gaps (synapses) between neurons | | 140 |
5838418564 | neutral | describes a stimulus in classical conditioning that would normally not elicit the response intended, such as the tone in Pavlov's experiments before it was associated with the food | | 141 |
5838418565 | night terrors | also called sleep terror disorder, these include the characteristic of waking abruptly in a state of panic, usually in children, less often in adults | | 142 |
5838418566 | normal distribution | describes a symmetrical, bell shaped curve that shows the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes | | 143 |
5838418568 | NREM | refers to sleep during which there is no rapid eye movement | | 144 |
5838418571 | observational learning | change in behavior due to watching other people behave | | 145 |
5838418573 | occipital | this lobe contains the primary vision processing function | | 146 |
5838418575 | olfactory bulb | the first brain structure to pick up smell information from the nose | | 147 |
5838418577 | operant conditioning | a method of influencing behavior by rewarding desired behaviors and punishing undesired ones | | 148 |
5838418578 | operational definition | a description of an experimental variable in such a way that the variable can be measured and the procedure can be replicated | | 149 |
5838418580 | optic nerve | the axons of the ganglion cells form this | | 150 |
5838418584 | oval window | membrane at the enterance to the cochlea through which the ossicles transmit vibrations | | 151 |
5838418587 | parasympathetic | the branch of the nervous system that automatically calms us down when the reason for arousal has passed | | 152 |
5838418588 | parietal | lobe that contains the sensory cortex | | 153 |
5838418590 | perception | the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information | | 154 |
5838418591 | peripheral nervous system | the subsystem of the nervous system that does not include the CNS | | 155 |
5838418593 | person-centered | therapy developed by Rogers featuring the patient's self-discovery and actualization; also called client-centered | | 156 |
5838418595 | PET scan | method of brain imaging using positron emissions | | 157 |
5838418597 | phobia | fear | | 158 |
5838418599 | pituitary | gland that is the master gland of the endocrine system | | 159 |
5838418600 | place theory | the idea that different sound frequencies stimulate different locations on the basilar membrae | | 160 |
5838418601 | placebo | an inert substance given to the control group in an experiment | | 161 |
5838418602 | placebo effect | phenomenon that some people get better even though they receive not medication but an inert substance which should have no medical effect | | 162 |
5838418603 | plasticity | the ability of the brain to adapt to damage by reorganizing functions | | 163 |
5838418604 | pons | part of the brain, works with the cerebellum in coordinating voluntary movement; neural stimulation studied in activation synthesis theory may originate here | | 164 |
5838418605 | population | all of the individuals from which subjects for an experiment may be drawn | | 165 |
5838418608 | preconscious | in Freud's theory, the level of consciousness in which thoughts and feelings are not conscious but are readily retrieveable to consciousness | | 166 |
5838418611 | preoperational | Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, when egocentrism declines | | 167 |
5838418615 | psychiatrist | medical doctor who has specialized in treating psychological disorders | | 168 |
5838418616 | psychoanalysis | Freud's therapeutic technique - cons, precons, uncons - iceberg - underlying experiences affecting cons life | | 169 |
5838418617 | psychodynamic | term describes the perspective on psychology in which inner feeling and unconscious tensions are emphasized | | 170 |
5838418619 | punishment | can be either positive or negative, intended to reduce the occurrence of a behavior | | 171 |
5838418620 | random | term that describes assignment in which all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to the control group or to the experimental group | | 172 |
5838418625 | refractory period | resting time; occurs in both neuron firing and in human sexual response | | 173 |
5838418628 | reinforcer | in operant conditioning any event that strengthens the behavior it follows | | 174 |
5838418629 | reliability | in testing, the characteristic of a test that produces consistent scores through retesting or alternate halves or other methods | | 175 |
5838418630 | REM | describes sleep in which vivid dreams typically occur; this type of sleep increases as the night progresses while stage 4 sleep decreases | | 176 |
5838418631 | representative | this kind of sample accurately reproduces the characteristics of the population a researcher is studying | | 177 |
5838418634 | reticular formation | a network of cells in the brainstem that filters sensory information and is involved in arousal and alertness | | 178 |
5838418635 | retina | the sensory reception system of the eye; includes rods and cones | | 179 |
5838418638 | rods | responsible for black and white vision | | 180 |
5838418644 | scatterplot | name for a graph of data points in a two variable correlation | | 181 |
5838418645 | schedules of reinforcement | these include fixed interval and variable ratio | | 182 |
5838418646 | schema | a collection of basic knowledge about a category of information; serves as a means of organization and interpretation of that information | | 183 |
5838418650 | selective attention | this term describes the situation when you are focused on certain stimuli in the environment while other stimuli are excluded | | 184 |
5838418653 | self-actualization | the highest of Malow's needs; "the full use of talent" | | 185 |
5838418655 | self-fulfilling prophecy | a belief or expectation that helps to make itself true | | 186 |
5838418659 | sensory adaptation | reduced responsiveness caused by prolonged stimulation | | 187 |
5838418660 | sensory cortex | the parts of the brain that receive information from the sensory receptors | | 188 |
5838418661 | sensory neurons | nervous system cells that receive information from the environment | | 189 |
5838418662 | afferent | in neurons, another name for sensory | | 190 |
5838418664 | serotonin | a neurotransmitter; associated with improved mood and other positive emotions | | 191 |
5838418668 | shaping | an operant conditioning technique in which reinforces guide behavior to closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior | | 192 |
5838418670 | signal detection | this theory predicts how and in what circumstances we can detect a stimulus; assumes there is no single threshold | | 193 |
5838418671 | sleep apnea | a disorder characterized by cessation of breathing during sleep | | 194 |
5838418672 | sleep spindles | short bursts of brain waves detected in stage 2 sleep | | 195 |
5838418673 | socio-cultural | a perspective on psychology that emphasizes effects on behavior and thinking of one's culture and the people around one | | 196 |
5838418677 | somatic | a division of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movements | | 197 |
5838418679 | split brain | a condition in which the two brain hemispheres are isolated by cutting the corpus callosum | | 198 |
5838418680 | spontaneous recovery | in classical conditioning the re-occurence of conditioning after it had appeared to be extinct | | 199 |
5838418681 | standard deviation | a computation of how much scores vary around a mean | | 200 |
5838418683 | structuralism | school of psychology developed by Wilhelm Wundt | | 201 |
5838418686 | sympathetic | part of the nervous system that controls the "flight or fight" response | | 202 |
5838418687 | synaptic gap | space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the receptors of the next neuron | | 203 |
5838418688 | syntax | in language the set of rules that describe how words are arranged to make sentences | | 204 |
5838418690 | temporal | the lobe that controls audition | | 205 |
5838418691 | thalamus | the sensory switchboard | | 206 |
5838418693 | theory | this organizes data and is used to make predictions | | 207 |
5838418694 | threshold | in a neuron, reaching this causes the neuron to fire | | 208 |
5838418697 | unconditioned response | in conditioning the behavior elicited by the unconditioned stimulus | | 209 |
5838418698 | unconditioned stimulus | in conditioning it elicits the UCR | | 210 |