Chapters 1-7 "Experience Psychology" Laura King

Amygdala

"An almond shaped structure with the base of the temporal lobe -emotion related memory formation. -discrimination of objects necessary for organism's survival such as appropriate food, mates, and social rivals

thalamus

"The forebrain structure that sits at the top of the brainstem and the brains central core and serves as an important relay station relays info between lower and higher brain centers"

hippocampus

"The structure in the limbic system that has a special role in the storage of memories A structure of the brain in the medial temporal lobe; damage or removal can result in amnesia."

oxytocin

"hormone and neurotransmitter that plays imp. role in love and social bonding. -released in new mothers for nursing and bonding -released in orgasm to form romantic bond with partner

seratonin

"involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, attention, and learning. Low levels lead to depression

endorphines

"natural opiates that mainly stimulat the firing of neurons.-shield body from pain, and elevate feelings of pleasure

The Cerebral cortex

"the outermost layer of gray, wrinkled matter of the cerebral hemispheres -governs higher brain functions: thinking, learning consciousness --motor, sensory and association areas"

Theory

A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations.

Limbic system

A loosely connected network system of structures under the cerebral cortex, important in both memory and emotion. Its two principal structures are the amygdala and the hippocampus

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

A neurotransmitter found throughout the nervous system, believed to be in approx. 1/3 of the brain's synapses. It helps control the precision of signals being carried from one neuron to the next by keeping many neurons from firing. Low levels of this are linked with anxiety

Somatosensory cortex

A region in the cerebral cortex that process information about body sensations located at the front of the parietal lobes

hypothalamus

A small forebrain structure located just below the thalamus that monitors 3 pleasurable activities: eating, drinking, and sex. Also emotional stress and reward

Reticular formation

A system in the Midbrain comprising a diffuse collection of neurons involved in stereo type patterns of behavior such as walking, sleeping, and turning to attend to a sudden noise

biological approach

An approach to psychology focusing on the boday, especially the brain and nervous system

Sociocultural Approach

An approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior

natural selection

Darwin's principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment and will survive and produce offspring

agonist drug

Drugs often mimic or increase work of neurotransmitter, they can also block their effects

functionalism

James's approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaption to the environment

basal ganglia

Large neuron clusters located above the thalamus and under the cerebral cortex that work with the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex to control and coordinate voluntary movement

Mid brain

Located between the hindbrain and forebrain an area in which many nerve fiber systems asend and descend to connect the higher and lower portions of the brain in particular the midbrain release information between the brain and the eyes and ears

Parietal lobes

Structures at the top and toward the rear of the head that are involved in registering spatial location, attention, and motor control

Temporal lobes

Structures in the cerebral cortex that are located just above the ears and are involved in hearing, language, processing, and memory

occipital lobes

Structures located at the back of the head that respond to visual stimuli

central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord.

Forebrain

The brains largest division and its most forward part

Acetylcholine (ACh)

The neurotransmitter responsible for motor control at the junction between nerves and muscles; also involved in mental processes such as learning, memory, sleeping, and dreaming. (See page 84)

neocortex

The outer most part of the cerebral cortex making up 80 percent of the human brains cortex

Frontal lobes

The portion of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead, involed in personality, intelligence, and the control of voluntary muscles

Brain stem

The stem like brain area that includes much of the hindbrain excluding the cerebellum and the midbrain connects with the spinal cord at its lower end and then extends upward to encase the reticular formation in the midbrain

structuralism

Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements or structures of mental processes

experiment

a carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that are believed to influence some other variable

operational definition

a definition that provide an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular studay

antagonist drug

a drug that blocks a neurotransmitters effects. ex. treating schizo's

myelin sheath

a layer of fat cells that encases and insulates most axons

independent variable

a manipulated experimental factor, the variable that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are

confederate

a person who is given a role to play in a study so that the social context can be manipulated

critical thinking

a serious examination and judgment of something

longitudinal design

a special kind of systematic observation that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time

hypothesis

a testable prediction that derives logically from a theory

case study

also called a case history, and in-depth look at a single person

afferent nerves

also called sensory nerves: nerves that carry info about the external environment to the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors

Efferent nerves

also called sensory nerves; nerves that carry infor out of the brain and spinal cord to other areas of the body

evolutionary approach

an approach to phychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors

behavioral approach

an approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants

psychodynamic approach

an approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences

Humanistic approach

an approach to psychology that emphasizes a persons positive qualities, the capacity for positive human growth and the freedom to choose one's own destiny

Cognitive Approach

an approach to psychology with an emphasis on mental processes involved in knowing, how we direct attention, perceive, remember, solve problems

double-blind experiment

an experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated

demand characteristics

any aspect of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave

variable

anything that can change

neurotransmitters

chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the terminal buttons and involved in transmitting information across a synaptic gap to the next neuron

stressors

circumstances and events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities that cause psysiological changes to read the body to handle the assault of stress

reticular formation

diffuse collection of neuronsinvolved in arousal and stereotyped patterns such as walking

behavior

everything we do that can be directly observed

empirical method

gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data and logical reasoning

experimenter bias

he influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of the research

dopamine

helps to control voluntary movement and affects sleep, mood, attention, learning and ability to recognize awards in the environment. too much=schizophrenia. too little= parkinsons disease

placebo

in a drug study, a harmless substance that has no psysiological effect, given to participants in a control group so they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active ingredient

research participant bias

in an experiment, the influence of participants' expectations, and of their thoughts about how they should behave, on their behavior

norepinephrine

inhibits the firing of neurons in the CNS, but it excites the heart muscle, intestines, and urogenital tract. Stress stimulates the release of this hormone

hindbrain

located at the skulls rear, the lowest portion of the brain, consisting of the medulla, cerebellum, and pons

neural networks

networks of nerve cells that integrate sensory input and motor output

neurons

one of two types of cells in the nervous system; neurons are the nerve cells that handle the information-processing function

medulla

part of brain that governs breathing and reflexes

pons

part of brain that governs sleep and arousal

cerebellum

part of the brain that's a rounded structure involved in motor coordination

correlational research

research that examines the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how two variables change together

random assignment

researchers' assignment of participants to groups by chance, to reduce the likelihood that an experiments results will be due to preexisting differences between groups

random sample

sample that gives every member of the population and equal chance of being selected

somatic nervous system

the body system consisiting of the sensory nerves, whose function is to convey info from the skin and muscles to the CNS about conditions such as pain and temperature, and the motor nerves, whose function is to tell muscles what to do

autonomic nervous system

the body system that takes messages to and from the body's internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate, and digestion

nervous system

the body's electrochemical communication circuitry

plasticity

the brain's capacity for change

action potential

the brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon

all-or-nothing principle

the brief wave of positive electrical impulse reaches a certain level of intensity (it's threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any intensity

third variable problem

the circumstance where a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables. Third variables are also known as confounds

external validity

the degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real-world issues it is supposed to address

internal validity

the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

population

the entire group about which the investigator whats to draw conclusions

peripheral nervous system(PNS)

the network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body

naturalistic observation

the observation of behavior in a real world setting

dependent variable

the outcome, the factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

sympathetic nervous system

the part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body to mobilize it for action and thus is involved in the experience of stress

parasympathetic nervous system

the part of the body autonomic nervous system that calms the body

axon

the part of the neuron that carries info away from the cell body toward other cells

cell body( called soma)

the part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, which directs the manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance

experimental group

the participants in a experiment who receive the drug or other treatment under the study--that is, those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents

control group

the particpants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible and who are treated in every way like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor, the independent variable

stress

the response of individuals to environmental stressors

neuroscience

the scienctific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought and emotion

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

glial cells

the second of the two types of cells in the nervous system that provide support, nutritional benefits, and other functions and keep neurons running smoothly

placebo effect

the situation where participants' expectations, rater than the experimental treatment, produces an experimental outcome

validity

the soundnessof the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment

resting potential

the stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron

sample

the subset of the population chosen by the investigator for stday

mental processes

the thoughts, feelings, and motives that people experience privately but that cannot be observed directly

science

the use of systematic methods to observe the to observe the natural world, including human behavior,and to draw conclusions

synapses

tiny spaces between neurons; the gaps between neurons

dendrites

treelike fibers projecting from a neuron, which receive information and orient it toward the neuron's cell body