psych 100 chapter 1,2,3

the limbic system

"middle section" associated with functions that are generally within conscious awareness and sometimes under voluntary control

nucleus accumbens

"pleasure center" and cravings

contralateral control

A pattern in which the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body.

confounding variables aka extraneous variables

Any other variable that could have affected the dependent variable during the study, thereby "polluting" the results of the study.

incongruent trials

In Stroop tests, trials where the color named by the word differs from the color of the text are called

congruent trials

In Stroop tests, trials where the color named by the word is the same as the color of the text used for the word are called

levels of significance

STAT formula that looks at the strength of correlation and sample size to determine the likelihood that results were due to coincidence

double-blind experiment

Subjects AND researchers are unaware of group assignments. Double blind studies help to prevent "experimenter bias"

blind experiment

Subjects are unaware of which group they are assigned to. Blind studies help to prevent "subject bias"

experimenter bias

The tendency (probably unconscious) of a researcher to treat experimental and control subjects differently so as to favor the study's hypothesis.

Subject Bias (AKA Hawthorne Effect)

The tendency of a study participant to behave differently than they would in everyday life because they are in a study . Or subjects may have their thoughts or feelings altered by the self-knowledge that they are part of an experiment

stroop interference

a conflict between the color label and the written word on an incongruent trial

population

all people to whom the results apply, even if they are not in the experiment

operational definition

all variable must be measured in precise numeric increments

reticular formation

associated with awareness of your surroundings, arousal, and focusing/redirecting of attention

brainstem (core)

associated with functions that are generally beneath the level of conscious awareness and not under voluntary control

frontal lobe

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

Hypothalamus

basic instincts (sex, aggression, feeding behaviors)

amiable skepticism

being open to new ideas but carefully considering the evidence

medulla

controls "automatic" function such as consciousness, heart rate, blood pressure

behavior

describes the totality of human (or animal) actions

left hemisphere

does the majority of language processing

informed consent (volunteers only, must minimize deception)

ethical treatment of research subjects rule #1

no undo harm (no physical or psychological stress beyond everyday life)

ethical treatment of research subjects rule #2

confidentiality (no names)

ethical treatment of research subjects rule #3

may withdraw at anytime without penalty

ethical treatment of research subjects rule #4

debriefing (After the experiment researchers have to explain to the subjects what the hypothesis is, any deception that what used, and why the subject was deceived, they have to offer counseling, and the results)

ethical treatment of research subjects rule #5

coefficient of correlation

exact mathematical measurement of how often x and y appear together

thalamus

filter for sensory stimuli except smell

temporal lobe

hearing and processing language

occipital lobe

interprets vision

hypothesis

logical prediction about the relationship between two variables

population sample

members of the population who are in the study

hippocampus

memory- filing and retrieving of factual memories

assignments of participants

method that the experimenter uses to split the volunteers into experimental and control groups- it must be random

cerebral cortex

most complex, associating with functions that are within conscious awareness and under voluntary control

cerebellum

muscle coordination of "complex" movement (ex walking)

independent variable

new treatment that the variable researcher manipulates to see if it affects the other variable

mind

refers to mental activity

mental activity

results from biochemical processes within the brain

parietal lobe

sense of touch, spatial awareness

amygdala

stores emotionally charged memories, triggers emotionally charged behaviors

critical thinking

systematically questioning and evaluating information using well-supported evidence

experimental group

the 1/2 that gets the "new treatment"

control group

the 1/2 that gets the placebo/does not get the new treatment

lateralization

the concept where some functions in the brain do occur more on one side than the other

psychology

the study of thoughts, feelings, and behavior

psychological science

the study, through research, of mind, brain, and behavior

dependent variable

the variable that the researcher suspects will be affected by changes in the independent variable

meta-analysis

to mathematically combine results of many small studies