VCE Psychology Unit 1 exam revision

Hindbrain

A collection of lower level brain structures including the cerebellum

Brain vs. Heart debate

A debate about whether the brain or the heart is the source of our thoughts, feelings and behaviour

Neuroimaging

A technique that captures a picture of the brain using various devices

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

By measuring oxygen consumption across the brain, the scan tells us the brains activity and function. This scan doesn't expose the participants to radioactive tracers but there are very few of them around.

Parasympathetic nervous system

Calms body after action

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Carries messages to and from the CNS

Developmental plasticity

Changes in neural connections as a result of interactions with the environment as a consequence of developmental processes

Cerebellum

Co-ordinates fine motor movements and regulates posture and balance. Found in the hindbrain

Phrenology

Comes from the idea that different parts of the brain have different functions- localization of brain function- relationship between a persons personality and the skulls surface features (dents and indents)

Spinal cord

Connects brain and PNS

Thalamus

Filters incoming information and directs it to the appropriate brain areas

Myelin development

Growth and development of this fatty substance around most axons. This allows the neurons to be better at sending messages to each other

Reticular formation

Help screen incoming information so as not to overload the brain, alerts higher brain centers to important information, helps maintain consciousness, arousal and muscle tone

Ablation

Involves disabling, destroying or removing selected brain tissue followed by an assessment of subsequent changes in behaviour. The key researcher- Pierre Flourens, didn't write detailed reports which made his findings difficult to detect.

Primary visual cortex

Located at the base of each occipital lobe, this cortices main job is to process different types of stimuli which is received from the retina

Primary auditory cortex

Located in the temporal lobe, this cortex receives and processes sound from both ears. It has a vital role in the identification of sounds, understanding speech or listening to music. Verbal sounds are mainly processed in the left hemisphere of this cortex

Rerouting with adaptive plasticity

New neural connections made between a neuron and other active neurons

Somatic nervous system

Part of the PNS. Carries messages from sensory receptors in the body to the CNS, and motor messages from the CNS to skeletal muscles

Autonomic nervous system

Part of the PNS. Connects CNS to internal organs and glands: self-regulating

Sympathetic nervous system

Prepares body for action

Cerebrum

Primarily responsible for cognitive processes such as learning, memory and thinking

Hypothalamus

Regulates bodies internal environment, releases hormones. Monitors activities that the body enjoys such as eating. In the Forebrain

Primary somatosensory cortex

Situated at the front of each parietal lobe, this cortex receives and processes sensory info from the skin and body, enabling us to perceive bodily sensations like touch, pressure and temperature

Electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB)

Stimulation or detection of electrical activity in the brain using an electrode. Very invasive and potentially harmful.

Adoption studies

Studies used to learn about the or gain insight on heredity and environment on a range of psychological characteristics.

Plasticity (neuroplasticity)

The brains ability to change

Adaptive plasticity

The brains ability to compensate for lost function due to brain damage as well as in response to interaction with the environment by reorganizing it's structure

Dendrites

The branching structure of a neuron that receives messages from other neurons and transmits it to the soma

Myelin

The fatty substance that surrounds and protects the axon

Sprouting with adaptive plasticity

The growth of dendritic fibres enabling the neuron to form new connections with other neurons

Axon

The long extension of a neuron that receives nerve impulses away from the body of the cell

Synaptic pruning

The process of eliminating synaptic connections that are weak or unused- The 'use it or lose it' principal

Glial cells

These cells provide insulation, nutrients and support for neuronal function. They also aid repair of neurons and eliminate waste materials. Unlike neurons, these cells tend to be smaller and can readily multiply and divide however they can't generate or carry messages. Different types include Astrocytes, microglia and oligodendroglia

Interneurons

These neurons act as a link between sensory and motor neurons and relay information from one to the other as motor and sensory neurons, but rarely connect directly. They also are responsible for very sophisticated functions of the brain

Motor neurons

These neurons carry messages from the CNS to the cells in the skeletal muscles organs and glands- they carry messages that will initiate a response. They are sometimes called efferent neurons.

Sensory neurons

These neurons receive and carry sensory information, within our body, from both the external and internal environment. These neurons carry this information to the CNS. Sometimes called afferent neurons.

Twin studies

These studies have mainly been used to conduct research on the development of personality and intelligence as these psychological characteristics can be easily measured using personality and intelligence tests.

Broca's area

This area is part of the left frontal lobe , near the primary motor cortex. It is the speech production centre of the brain, aiding the movement of a persons mouth muscles and the articulation of the sequence of words that makes for meaningful speech

Wernicke's area

This area is part of the left temporal lobe. Its functions include; interpreting the meaning of language, is the receptor code for language, allows people to communicate. Damage to this area would cause ******** aphasia

Occipital lobe

This lobe is at the rear most end of each cerebral hemisphere. It is entirely concerned with vision, damage upon this lobe can cause blindness

Temporal lobe

This lobe is located in the lower, central area of the brain, above and around the top of each ear. It is primarily responsible for processing auditory information, but also plays an important role in memory such as ability to identify objects and recognize faces, and in our emotional responses to sensory info and memory

Frontal lobe

This lobe is the largest of the cerebral hemispheres. It has roles in language, planning, problem solving, aspects of personality and emotions. People with damage to this area may have problems with learning from experiences or make mistakes easily

Parietal lobe

This lobe occupies the upper back half of the brain, but not the rear most area. It enables a person to perceive their own body and to perceive where things are in their immediate environment. Made of two parts- the left and right ******* lobes.

Primary motor cortex

This primary cortex is located in the frontal lobe, where it is situated at the rear of each frontal lobe. It is involved in controlling voluntary bodily movements through it's control of skeletal muscles (attached directly to the bones- hand, arms, legs, back and facial). Note that this cortex functions contralaterally meaning the left part of this cortex is responsible for the movement of the right side of the body and vice versa.

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Tracks radioactive tracer in glucose solution injected into the bloodstream, producing a colour image of brain structure, activity and function. This scan can produce the brains activity in a matter of seconds.

Central nervous system (CNS)

Transmits and receives messages to and from the PNS. Made up of the Brain and Spine

Computerized tomography (CT)

Uses x-ray equipment to scan the brain at different angles and create and image showing horizontal cross-sections of the brain. Useful for identifying, locating and telling the size of tumors. However scan only shows brain structure and not as well as other scanners.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Vibrates atoms by using magnetic fields then generates an image on the computer. Very clear and detailed compared to a CT scan and can more clearly distinguish the difference between brain tissue to cancerous tissue.

Biopsychosocial approach

a broad view that attributes disease causation or disease outcome to the intricate, variable interaction of biological factors (genetic, biochemical, etc), psychological factors (mood, personality, behavior, etc), and social factors (cultural, familial, socioeconomic, medical, etc).

mental disorder

a combination of thoughts, feelings and/or behaviors which impair the ability to function effectively in everyday life; also called psychological disorder or mental illness

mental health problem

a mental health concern that interferes with functioning but is mild and temporary

homunculus

a representation of the relative size of the area of a body part takes up in the primary motor and somatosensory cortices

Stratified sample

a sampling procedure which involves dividing the population to be sampled into different sub-groups (strata), then selecting a separate sample from each subgroup in the same proportions as they occur in the population of intrest

Critical period

a specific time in development when during which an organism is most vulnerable to the deprivation or absence of certain environmental stimuli or experience

Brain injury

any brain damage that impairs normal functionality of the brain, either temporarily or permenantly

pre-operational stage (2-7)

as children progress through this stage, they become increasingly able to mentally represent objects and experiences

Medulla

controls vital bodily functions such as swallowing, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure etc.

statistical approach

if an individual does not think like or behave like a large majority of people called the 'statistical average' think, feel or behave in a certain way

medical approach

if an individual has thoughts, feeling or behaviors that are considered abnormal they can be viewed as having an underlying biological cause

concrete thinking

in Piagets theory when thinking revolves around what is known and can be experienced through the senses

abstract thinking

in Piagets theory, a way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see, visualize, experience or manipulate in order to understand something

accomodation

in Piagets theory, changing a pre-existing mental idea to fit new information

assimilation

in Piagets theory, taking in new info and fitting it into a pre-existing mental idea. Making sense or explaining new information using our existing knowledge and understanding

reversability

in Piagets theory, the cognitive ability to mentally follow a sequence of events or line of reasoning back to it's starting point

symbolic thinking

in Piagets theory, the cognitive ability to use symbols such as symbols such as words and symbols to represent objects that are not physically present

conservation (concrete operations stage)

in Piagets theory, understanding that certain properties of an object can remain the same even when it's appearance changes

Midbrain

in the central part of the brain and involved with movement, processing of visual, tactile and auditory sensory information, sleep and arousal. Smallest

sensori-motor stage (0-2)

in this stage infants explore and learn about the world primarily though their senses and motor activities

cognitive development

involves changes in an individuals mental abilities such as reasoning or decision making

social development

involves changes in an individuals relationships with other people and their skills in interacting with others

emotional development

involves changes in how an individual experiences different feeling and how they are expressed, interpreted and dealt with

physical development

involves changes of the body and it's various systems, such as development of the brain and its nervous system or body growth

Mind-body Problem

involves the question of whether our mind or body are separate entities or one and the same thing.

schemata

mental structure/framework that organise past experiences and provide an understanding of future experiences

formal operational stage (12+ years)

more complex thought processes are evident and their thinking becomes increasingly sophisticated through the combined effects of maturation and life experience

development

refers to the changes that happen over time

situational approach

says that within a society or culture, thoughts, feelings and behavior may be considered normal in one situation may be considered abnormal in another situation

Sample

smaller group of research participants selected from a larger group of research intrest

mental health

state of wellbeing in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of everyday life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community mental processes thoughts feelings and behaviors that are internal, personal and cannot be directly observed

functional approach

suggests that if an individual is capable of living independently in society than they are considered normal

concrete operational stage (7-12)

the child is now capable of true logical thought and can perform mental 'operations'

Population

the entire group of research interest from which a sample is drawn

Labelling

the process of classifying and naming a mental disorder following a diagnosis

Axon terminals

the small branches at the end of the axon

Dependent variable

the variable in an experiment the researcher chooses to measure on order to asses the effect of the independent variable

Atypical development

this development is not typical- it noticeably differs

sensitive periods

this period is a period of time when, during development an individual is more responsive to certain types of environmental experiences ore learning

Independent variable

variable that is manipulated in order to test its effects on the dependent variable

socio-cultural approach

views normality as thought, feeling and behavior that are appropriate or acceptable to in a particular society or culture

experimental group

when conducting research this group is exposed to the independent variable

control group

when conducting research this group is not exposed to the IV and the effect it has

historical approach

whereby what is considered normal or abnormal depends on the era, or period of time when the judgment is made

Forebrain

with other structures, regulates complex cognitive processes