Psych Final

External Reliability

A measure of consistency over several different occasions (a consistent measurement of the same variable over time).

Threshold of Excitation

The value of the membrane potential that must be reached to produce an action potential.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in learning and memory.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Wernicke's Area

A brain area involved in language comprehension; usually in the left temporal lobe

Pons

A brain structure that connects the medulla to the cerebellum. It seems to do "things" like balance.

Confounding Variable

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Representativeness

A heuristic by which a new situation is judged on the basis of its resemblance to a stereotypical model. With stereotypes, we confirm a stereotype even absent confirmatory evidence.

Cerebellum

A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.

Myelin Sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

Reticular Formation

A nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal (not that kind of arousal) and consciousness.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Hypothalamus

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 and reward.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression.

Temporal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

Frontal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement

Occipital Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information.

Parietal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch.

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Correlation Coefficient

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

Internal Reliability

A study participant gives a consistent pattern of answers, no matter how the researcher has phrased the question (a consistent measurement of the same variable across the test of the experiment).

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence. This is also psychologically rewarding.

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer (which can be positive or negative) or diminished if followed by a punisher (which can be positive or negative).

Test Statistic

A value, determined from sample information, used to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis.

Id, Ego, and Superego

According to Freud, the three interrelated parts that make up the mind: the id consists of basic inborn drives that are the source of instinctive psychic energy; the ego is the realistic aspect of the mind that balances the forces of the id and the superego; the superego has two components (the conscience and the ego-ideal) and represents the internalized demands of society

Medulla

An extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration

GABA

An inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Alcohol stimulates GABA release.

Demand Characteristics

Any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave.

Corus Callosum

Band in between the two hemispheres that holds them together

Soma

Cell body of a neuron

Antagonists

Chemical substances that block or reduce a cell's response to the action of other chemicals or neurotransmitters.

Agonists

Chemical substances that mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter on the receptor sites of the next cell, increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another.

Unconscious Thinking

Cognitive process which occurs automatically and are not available to introspection, and include thought processes, memories, interests, and motivations (popularized by Freud, particularly in association with dreams).

Cognitivism

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of the mind as an information processor. Cognitive psychologists try to build up cognitive models of the information processing that goes on inside people's minds, including perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness. It came as a response to behaviorism's focus on external stimuli as opposed to internal cognition.

Schemas

Concepts or mental frameworks that organize and interpret information.

Broca's Area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Experimental Demand

Describes a variety of ways that a method, setting, or personnel may inadvertently communicate the hypothesis or otherwise channel participant responses to confirm the hypothesis. Features of the situation, experimenter-participant interaction, or measures can inadvertently constrain expected behavior.

Gut-Brain Connection

Essential connection between microbiota in the gut and the nervous system in the brain. This is because certain microorganisms present in the gut can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology is one of many biologically informed approaches to the study of human behavior. Along with cognitive psychologists, evolutionary psychologists propose that much, if not all, of our behavior can be explained by appeal to internal psychological mechanisms. What distinguishes evolutionary psychologists from many cognitive psychologists is the proposal that the relevant internal mechanisms are adaptations—products of natural selection—that helped our ancestors get around the world, survive and reproduce.

Between Subject Design

Experimental design in which different groups of subjects are exposed to the various levels of the independent variable. This is used when taking the test would prevent one from being unbiased.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Humanism

Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the whole individual and stresses concepts such as free will, self-efficacy, and self-actualization. Rather than concentrating on dysfunction, humanistic psychology strives to help people fulfill their potential and maximize their well-being.

Population vs. Individual Level Prediction

If a population is predicted to be x, an individual may not be x, they just have a higher likelihood of being that thing.

Anchoring

The tendency, in making judgements, to rely on the first piece of information encountered or information that comes most quickly to mind.

Practical Significance

It is possible that some treatment or finding is effective, but common sense might suggest that the treatment or finding does not make enough of a difference to justify its use or to be practical.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Negative Skew

Mean < Median

Positive Skew

Mean > Median

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).

Endorphins

Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

Limbic System

Neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.

Epinephrine

Neurotransmitter secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress. Also known as adrenaline.

Inferential Statistics

Numerical data that allows one to generalize-to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population.

Descriptive Statistics

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation (mean, median, mode, standard deviation, range, etc...).

Brain Lesion Studies

One of 3 major approaches to studying the relationship between brain and behavior. The studies looked at behavioral consequences of permanent damage to the brain, which has helped us in identifying the functions of certain parts of the brain. Additionally, neuroplasticity is a thing.

Dichotic Listening Studies

Research based on an experimental technique in which the subject listens to different sounds in each ear. It has helped us parse out different theories of attention.

Correlational Research

Research that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists. It cannot necessarily state what the relationship is.

Experimental Research

Studies that seek clues to cause-effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant). This is generally more precise than correlational research.

System 1 vs. System 2

System 1: automatic evaluation based on pre-set assumptions System 2: Slower, more effortful, deliberate processing

Within Subject Design

Tests the same person at multiple time points and looks at changes within that person. This generally benefits from ignoring many confounding variables.

Old Brain

The "old brain" regulates basic survival functions, such as breathing, moving, resting, and feeding, and creates our experiences of emotion.

Conscious vs. Unconscious

The amount to which we are subjectively aware of our mental processes/events.

Mean

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

Brain Plasticity

The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

Thalamus

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

Dendrite

The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Statistical Significance

The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low.

Internal Validity

The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds.

Independent Variable

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

Axon

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

External Validity

The extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.

Mere Exposure Effect

The finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it.

Alternative Hypothesis

The hypothesis that states there is a difference between two or more sets of data.

Null Hypothesis

The hypothesis that there is no significant difference between specified populations, any observed difference being due to sampling or experimental error.

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

Synapse

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Random Sampling

The key technique employed by survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample (use of SSNs is common).

Median

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

Dependent Variable

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

P Value

The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).

Depolarization

The process during the action potential when sodium is rushing into the cell causing the interior to become more positive. If the stimulus intensity exceeds the excitatory threshold of the neuron, an action potential is created and a nerve impulse propagated.

Operationalization

The process of assigning a precise method for measuring a term being examined for use in a particular study

Subliminal Perception

The processing of information by sensory systems without conscious awareness. It's sensing vs. perceiving.

Hawthorne Effect

The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments. We also rationalize our choices, convincing ourselves that it was the right one.

Cerebral Hemispheres

Two halves of the cerebral cortex, each of which serve distinct yet highly integrated functions. 85% of brain weight and composed of gray matter (cell bodies) and white matter (axons).

Convenience Sampling

Using a sample of people who are readily available to participate. Usually this is what is used, as a truly random sample is hard to gather together.

Attention

We can only devote mental energy to a small range of tasks (being able to pay attention is actually really impressive).

Prototype Theory of Schemas

We compare objects against an "average" mental representation.

Exemplar Theory of Schemas

We compare objects against other objects.

WEIRD Populations

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic People, these are who most of psychological studies are composed of

Violations of Expectations

When our expectations are violated we experience psychological arousal, which we experience in a number of ways (discomfort, humor, shock, distress, confusion). This happens with lots of processes (e.g. language).

Availability

Whether or not an example easily comes to mind.

Typicality

Within a particular schema we tend to be biased towards the "basic" level.