Psychology exam 1

If some one is nearsighted or farsighted it means?

Images are not properly focused on their retina.

What was a criticism of introspection as a technique?

Introspection could not be used to study thinking of children and non-human animals.

Parietal lobe is associated with?

Involved in somatosensory experience; gets info from sensations, touch, temp, pressure.

What are the 3 basic types of neurons?

Sensory neurons, motor neurons and internerons.

Broca's area is associated with what function?

Speaking

The brain's ability to physically change in response to environmental stimulation is called?

Structural plasticity.

Almost all info going to and from the cerebral cortex is processed through the?

Thalamus

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that involves?

The degeneration of the myelin sheath, slowing or interrupting the transmission of neural messages.

Define introspection?

The process of "looking inward" and examining one's self and one's own actions in order to gain insight.

What does statistically significant mean?

The results are unlikely to have occurred by chance.

When the image cast on the retina expands, we perceive that objects as?

moving towards us.

Define kinesthetic?

the ability to feel where you are in space.

Motion parallax is?

thing's that move by faster are closer and things that move slower seem father.

The sympathetic nervous system does what?

Arouses and mobilizes

Random assignments refers to a procedure that?

Assures that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the experimental conditions.

The link between the nervous and endocrine system is?

Hypothalamus

The basic goal of descriptive methods is to?

Observe and describe behavior.

What is contralateral organization?

One side of our brain controls the opposite side of the body.

What theory's best explains color vision in humans?

Opponent process theory and the trichromatic theory.

What is the correct sequence of events in hearing?

Pinna, ear canal, eardrum, hammer, anvil, stirrup, oval window, cochlea, basilar membrane, hair cells, auditory nerves.

Which gland directly regulates the production of hormones in other endocrine glands?

Pituitary gland

Occipital lobe is associated with?

Primary visual processing.

Weber's law?

Principle of sensation, that the size of difference threshold, is a constant proportion to the size of the original stimules.

Temoral lobe is associated with?

Processing sound information.

Define hypothesis?

A testable prediction about the relationship between at least two events, characteristics, or variables

The vestibular system is?

Balance, located in the ear, sense of equillibrium.

The two main divisions of nervous system are?

CNS and PNS

Which two psychologist are associated with humanistic psychology(Human potential, self-actualization, and free will)?

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

The brain receives more detailed information from _______ than from the_________.

Cones; rods

Corpus callosum?

Connects both sides of the brain. Made up of axons

What is the path light takes into the eye?

Cornea, pupil, lens, retina.

What are psychology's basic goals?

Describe, explain, predict and control.

Cortical localization is?

Different parts of our brain are specialized for different functions.

Who is associated with structuralism?

Edward Titchner

Like other scientists, psychologists are guided by the assumption that?

Events are lawful and ultimately explainable.

Which type of research method is used to show one variable causes changes in another variable?

Experimental method

Define cross-cultural perspective?

How cultural factors influence behavior.

Who are the 3 key figures in the development of behaviorism(The study of observable behavior)?

John Watson, Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner

Frontal lobe is associated with?

Largest, controls voluntary motor movements, planning logical reasoning, decision making.

The parasympathetic nervous system does what?

Maintains and conserves

What part of the brain stem is involved in the control of important life functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion?

Medulla

Define meta-analysis?

Meta Analysis refers to a research strategy where instead of conducting new research with participants, the researchers examine the results of several previous studies.

The branch of science that is concerned with the study of the nervous system is called?

Neuroscience

Hippocampus is responsible for?

New memory forming

Psychology is defined as?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

What is sensory thresholds?

The smallest stimules that your senses can detect so they can fire.

What is absolute threshold?

The smallest strength of a stimulis that can be detected half of the time.

The process by which the odor of any popcorn is converted into neural signals that your brain can interpret as the smell of popcorn is called?

Transduction

Describe operational definition?

Variables are anything that might impact the outcome of your study. An operational definition describes exactly what the variables are and how they are measured within the context of your study

What is an example of sensory adaptation of the Pacinian corpuscles?

When you put on glass and feel them at first then for get they are on.

Who opened the first psychology laboratory in 1879?

Wilhelm Wundt

Who is associated with functionalism?

William James

Define a neurotransmitter?

a chemical messenger that crosses the synaptic gap between neurons.

Wernicke's area is?

a portion of the left posterior temporal lobe of the brain, involved in the ability to understand words.

Difference threshold (or Just noticeable difference) can be defined as?

the smallest possible difference between two stimulus that we can detect half the time.