Prologue

Terms:

1. Psychologya. The science of behavior and mental processes

2. Empiricisma. The view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b)

science flourishes through observation and experiment3. Structuralism

a. An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind (see Titchener)

4. Functionalisma. A school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes

function – how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish (see William James)

5. Natural Selectiona. The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to

increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

6. Biopsychosocial approacha. Involving the biological, social, and psychological approaches

7. Basic researcha. Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

8. Applied researcha. Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

9. Counseling Psychologya. The branch of psychology that focuses on personal problems not classified as

serious mental disorders, such as academic, social, or vocational difficulties of students

10. Clinical Psychologya. A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with

psychological disorders

Perspectives

1. Neurosciencea. The focus is on how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory

experiences2. Evolutionary

a. The focus is how the natural selection of traits promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes

3. Behavior Geneticsa. The focus is on how much our genes and our environment influence our

individual differences4. Behavioral

a. The focus is on how we learn observable responses5. Cognitive

a. The focus is on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information6. Social – Cultural

a. The focus is on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

People

1. Platoa. He believed that mind and body are distinct and that some ideas are inbornb. He was the student of Socrates

2. Aristotlea. He believed that the mind and body are connected and that the mind is a blank

slate when born.b. The student of Plato

3. Socratesa. He believed that mind and body are distinct and that some ideas are inbornb. He was the teacher of Plato therefore hugely influencing Plato

4. Bacona. He wrote that the human understanding, from its peculiar nature, easily supposes

a greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds5. Descartes

a. Agreed with Socrates and Platob. Dissected animals and concluded that the fluid in the brains cavities were called

“animal spirits”, later known as nerves6. Locke

a. Improved on Bacon’s theories, and helped form modern empiricismb. He thought that the mind was a blank slate when one is born

7. Wundta. Had the first psychology lab and they tested reflex times

8. Titchenera. He introduced structuralism and encouraged people in introspection

i. Other words, their immediate feelings after they were given a stimulus9. James

a. He introduced functionalismi. Mainly focused on how mental and behavioral processes function

10. Calkinsa. She was a student of James’b. She became a distinguished researcher after Harvard denied her PhD and she

became the first female president of the APA11. Floy-Washburn

a. First woman to receive a psychology PhD from Harvardb. Later on became the second female president of the APA

12. Freuda. He was an Austrian personality theorist

13. Pavlov

a. He pioneered the study of learning and was a Russian physiologist14. Watson

a. He found psychology was the science of behavior and he demonstrated conditional responses on “Little Albert”

15. Skinnera. A leading behaviorist, who rejected introspection and studied how consequences

shape behavior

Chapter 1

Terms:

1. Operational definitiona. A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For

example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

2. Case studya. An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of

revealing universal principles3. Survey

a. A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

4. Populationa. All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study. (Note:

Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population)5. Random sample

a. A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

6. Naturalistic observationa. Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying

to manipulate and control the situations7. Correlation

a. It is a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

8. Scatter plota. A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables.

The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)

9. Experimenta. A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors

(independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experiment controls other relevant factors

10. Double-blind procedure

a. 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

11. Placebo effecta. Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused

by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent

12. Control conditiona. The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and

serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment13. Random assignment

a. Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting difference between those assigned to the different groups

14. Independent variablea. The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being

studied15. Dependent variable

a. 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

16. Modea. The most frequently occurring score in a distribution

17. Meana. The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then

dividing by the number of scores18. Median

a. The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

19. Rangea. The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

20. Standard deviationa. A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

21. Statistical significancea. A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by

chance22. Scientific Attitude

a. NOT DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 2

Terms:

1. Biological Psychologya. A branch of psychology concerned with links between biology and behavior

2. Neurona. A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

3. Dendritea. The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct

impulses toward the cell body4. Axon

a. The extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

5. Myelin Sheatha. A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fivers of many neurons; enables

vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next

6. Action potentiala. A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action

potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s membrane

7. Thresholda. The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

8. Synapsea. 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

9. Neurotransmittera. 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 that neuron will generate a neural impulse

10. ACha. Otherwise known as acetylcholine; it is a neurotransmitter that, among its

functions, triggers muscle contraction11. Endorphins

a. “morphine within” – natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

12. Nervous Systema. The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system, consisting of all the

nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems13. CNS

a. (Central Nervous System); the brain and spinal cord14. PNS

a. (Peripheral Nervous System); the sensory and motor neurons that connect the (CNS) to the rest of the body

15. Nervesa. Neural “cables” containing many axons. These bundled axons, which are part of

the PNS, connect the CNS with muscles, glands, and sense organs16. Sensory neurons

a. Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the CNS17. Motor neurons

a. Neurons that carry outgoing information from the CNS to the muscles and the glands

18. Interneuronsa. CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory

inputs and motor outputs19. Somatic Nervous System

a. The division of the PNS that controls the body’s skeletal muscles, also called the skeletal nervous system

20. Autonomic Nervous Systema. The part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal

organs. Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms21. Sympathetic Nervous System

a. The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizying its energy in stressful situations

22. Parasympathetic Nervous Systema. The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its

energy23. Reflex

a. A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

24. Neural Networksa. They are interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as

feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning.

25. Endocrine systema. The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete

hormones into the bloodstream26. Hormones

a. Chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another

27. Adrenal glandsa. A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys. The adrenals secrete the

hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noadrenaline), which help to arouse the body in times of stress

28. Pituitary glanda. The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the

hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands29. Lesion

a. It is tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

30. EEGa. An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the

brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp31. PET

a. A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

32. MRIa. 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

33. fMRIa. It detects blood rushing to the back of the brain, which processes visual

information. It is basically the lighting of the brain on the screen34. CT Scan

a. A series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body

35. Brainstema. The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord

swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions

36. Medullaa. The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

37. Reticular formationa. A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling

arousal38. Thalamus

a. 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

39. Cerebelluma. The “little brain” attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate

voluntary movement and balance40. Limbic System

a. A doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus

41. Amygdalaa. Two almond-shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and

are linked to emotion42. Hypothalamus

a. A neural structure lying below 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

43. Cerebral cortexa. The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral

hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center44. Glial cells

a. Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons45. Frontal lobes

a. The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

46. Parietal lobesa. The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear;

includes the sensory cortex47. Occipital lobes

a. 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

48. Temporal lobesa. 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

49. Motor cortexa. An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

50. Sensory cortexa. The area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body

sensations51. Association areas

a. Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

52. Aphasiaa. Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to

Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)

53. Broca’s areaa. Controls language expression – an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left

hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech54. Wernicke’s area

a. Controls language reception – a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

55. Plasticitya. The brain’s capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following

damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development

56. Corpus callosuma. The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and

carrying messages between them57. Split Brain

a. A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them

b. The left hemisphere uses the right eye to see, it is the use of speechc. The right hemisphere uses the left eye to see, it is the use of pointing and reading

1.