General Psychology Exam
according to our textbook, list in order the 7 steps of the scientific method
1. pose a specfic research question 2. educate yourself about what known 3. form a hypothesis 4. design a study 5. conduct the study 6. analyze the data 7. report the results
why do scientist use inferential methods to determine in their results are statically significant
They want to know if their findings were just by chance
describe the plasticity of the brain
a property of the brain that allows it to change as a result of an experiemence or injury
understand how hindsight bias exists
after knowing the outcome change your stance to fix the narrative in our favor
know what comprises the peripheral nervous system
all nerve cells in the body that are not part of the central nervous system
describe the focus of the biopsychosocial research mode
an apporach to sychological science that intergrates biological factors, psychological process, and social contextual influences in shaping human mental life and behavior.
in considering the relative contributions og genes and enviorment, most scientist would agree that
both interact
which are os psychology studies, assesses, and treats individuals with psychological disorders
clinical psychology
name the tool that was very important to the rise of the cognitive approach in psychology
computer modeling
know which area psychology studies the processes of attention, memory, and perception
conative psychology
what is it called when writing a paper on a topic, a person only includes findings that support their own beliefs and ignore contradictory findings
confirmation bias
know which group in an experiment receives no treatment
control group
name the type of study that allows the researcher to establsih casue between an indpendent variable and a dependent variable
correlational studies
name the sequence that reflects the order in which a siginal travels through neurons
decrities, cell body, axon, terminal buttons
list, according to our textbook, the three primary goals of psychological science
description, prediction, and explantation
if a psychologists goal is to describe behavior or mental processes, they will most likely conduct what kind of study
descriptive research study
which sytem influences thoughts, behaviors, and actions via hormones
endocrine system
what type of study do researchers manipulate a variable to see how it affects behavior
experiement
the idea that the mind came into existence over the course of human devlopment is a viewpoint of what school of thought
functionalism
in considering a human charatistic, know what provides the option, and what determines which option is taken.
genetic inheritence
what change did john stuart mill advocate for in the field of psychology?
he said ppsychology should be a science of observation and of experimentation
according to our text, how do hypotheisis relate to theories?
hypotheisis are specific preditious to test a theory
name the variable that a researcher manipulates in an experiement
independent variable
in order to begin research project with human participants, a researcher must get approval from where
insutional review boards
if you list a set of scores from the lowest value to the highest and then take the middle value, you are chosing the_________.
median
what is a study of studies called?
metanalysis
which type of study do researchers examine the extent to which variables are naturally related in the real world while making no attempt to influence the relation among the variables
naturalistic observation
understand how neurons communicate with each other
neurotransmitters cross the synatic gap and bond with sheters post synatic neuron
what does pehnotype refer to
observeable physical characteristics which reults from genetics and environemntal influences
know which systems speed up our heart when we are nervous and which sytem calms it down
parasympathic slows it down sympathic speeds up
which area of the brain is believed to be reasonable for distinguishing the complexity and organization of humans from other animals
pre frontal cortex located in frontal lobe
what do researchers typically do to maximize the likelihood that experimental and control groups are similar before any treatment begins
random assignments
describe the process of replication and why it is done
repition of a research study to confirm the results when they are the same conclusion. confidence increases the findings
Define p-hacking
running many different statsical analyzes unit one is statiscally significant
what does the humangenome refer to
scientists have made progess understanding basic genetic code, or blueprint, for the body.
describe knonckout mouse
subjects whose particular genes have been rendered inactive by being removed from the genome.
how may critical thinking best be defined
systematically questioning and evaluating information using well supported evidence.
know which lobe of the cerbral cortex recieves auditory information
temporal lobe
what is the area of our brain called the recieves information from our sensory recoptors and then relays it to the cortex
thalamus
what is the contemporary view of psychological science in regards to the nature/nurture debate
the argument concerning weather or not psychological characteristics are biologically innat or acquired through education, experience, or cult.
define the mean
the average score
define neurons
the basic units of the neurons system cells that recieve, integrate, and transmit information to the nervous system
what is the central nervous system composed of
the brain and the spinal cord
know what struture of the brain that the medulla, oblongata, pns, and retucular formation belong to.
the brain stem
describe the process of cell division
the chromes dup and divide with identical chromosones
What is action potential?
the electrical siginal that passes along the axon and subsequelty causes the realse of chemicals from the terminal buttons
Define psychological science
the study, through research, of mind, brain, and behavior
what is an important goal of your psychology textbook
to educate you about the methods of psychology
know what the term nature in the nature/nurture debate refers to in relation to factors affecting human development
what you get genetically
one parent has all x chromosome, and the others gives
x and y