AP Psychology Midterm
positive correlation
A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.
Amygdala
A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
temporal lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.
occipital lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information
Axon
A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.
Dendrites
Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive 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.
Stimulants
Drugs that speed up the central nervous system
negative punishment
taking away a pleasant stimulus to decrease or stop a behavior
Cerebellum
the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance
recognition
the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact
endocrine system
the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
Thalamus
the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex
Tolerance
the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect
withdrawal
the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug
parasympathetic nervous system
the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
selective attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain
illusory correlation
the perception of a relationship where none exists
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.
internal locus of control
the perception that you control your own fate
negative correlation
the relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable decreases
learned helplessness
the tendency to fail to act to escape from a situation because of a history of repeated failures in the past
independent variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable
The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
Wernicke's area
a brain area involved in language comprehension; usually in the left temporal lobe
intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
confounding variable
a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment
conditioned response
a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus
Hippocampus
a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
positive reinforcer
adding a reward
positive punishment
addition of something unpleasant
uncondtioned response
an automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
Cones
color vision
Depressants
drugs (such as alcohol and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions
unconditioned stimulus
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
conditioned stimulus
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
divided attention
paying attention to more than one thing at a time
kinesthetic sense
perception of the positions in space and movements of our bodies and our limbs
negative reinforcer
removing an unpleasant stimulus
reconstruction of memory
- Combination of episodic and semantic information - Using schemas/scripts to fill in missing details
sympatheic nervous system
Responsible for the body's response to stress or any perceived emergency situations.
Rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray
mylein sheath
layer of fatty tissue that covers many axons and helps speed neural impulses
