RUTGERS GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY FINAL REVIEW - BRYNILDSEN EXAM
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS UPDATED GRADED A+
behavioral psych perspective
learning via reinforcement and punishment
psychoanalytic psych perspective
our behaviors and thoughts are influenced by unconscious dynamics
evolutionary psych perspective
psychological traits are universally shared because natural selection allowed them to
stay
operational definition
statement on how a variable is being measured/defined
case study
in-depth analysis on one or more subjects
survey
asking people questions about thoughts, desires, etc.
naturalistic observation
describing and measuring peoples' behavior in their natural environment
correlational method
examines strength and direction of a relationship between two variables
experimental method
manipulates one variable in a study and observing the effects of the change
random sampling
everyone in the population has an equal chance of being studied
positive correlation
variables increase and decrease together
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other decreases
random assignment
,participants have an equal chance of being in the experimental or control group
independent variable
variable being manipulated in an experiment
dependent variable
changes as a result of the independent variable
confounding variable
unintentionally affects the dependent variable
Dendrites
Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receives messages
Axon
thin tube like structure that transmits messages
glial cells
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
myelin sheath
surrounds axons so they can fire faster
action potential
electric signal sent by an axon; lower levels of electric charge in the axon do not cause
lower action potentials by the "all-or-nothing" effect
synapse
junction between two neurons; neurons do not physically touch
neurotransmitters
cause (excitatory) or stop (inhibitory) action potentials in other receiving neurons
endorphins
neurotransmitter; reduce pain, promote pleasure
dopamine
neurotransmitter; voluntary movement, reward, learning, memory
serotonin
neurotransmitter; sleep, appetite, mood (too little causes depression)
epinephrine
neurotransmitter; involved in stress response
sympathetic nervous system
, causes involuntary arousal responses
parasympathetic nervous system
causes involuntary calming responses
endocrine system
glands that release hormones
brainstem
houses the medulla (vital bodily functions) and pons (bridge between cerebellum and
brainstem, sleep and arousal)
amygdala
handles agression, fear
hypothalamus
regulates endocrine activity, maintains homeostasis
hippocampus
forms new conscious memories
frontal lobes
at the front of the brain; personality, judgement, forethought, voluntary movement,
speech production
parietal lobes
at the top of the brain; process touch sensory information
occipital lobes
in the back of the brain; conatins the visual cortex
temporal lobes
on the sides of the head; auditory cortex, language comprehension
somatosensory cortex
processes touch sensory information
motor cortex
handles voluntary movement
plasticity
ability of the brain to change in response to damage or new learning
mirror neurons
fire when observing or thinking about something
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS UPDATED GRADED A+
behavioral psych perspective
learning via reinforcement and punishment
psychoanalytic psych perspective
our behaviors and thoughts are influenced by unconscious dynamics
evolutionary psych perspective
psychological traits are universally shared because natural selection allowed them to
stay
operational definition
statement on how a variable is being measured/defined
case study
in-depth analysis on one or more subjects
survey
asking people questions about thoughts, desires, etc.
naturalistic observation
describing and measuring peoples' behavior in their natural environment
correlational method
examines strength and direction of a relationship between two variables
experimental method
manipulates one variable in a study and observing the effects of the change
random sampling
everyone in the population has an equal chance of being studied
positive correlation
variables increase and decrease together
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other decreases
random assignment
,participants have an equal chance of being in the experimental or control group
independent variable
variable being manipulated in an experiment
dependent variable
changes as a result of the independent variable
confounding variable
unintentionally affects the dependent variable
Dendrites
Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receives messages
Axon
thin tube like structure that transmits messages
glial cells
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
myelin sheath
surrounds axons so they can fire faster
action potential
electric signal sent by an axon; lower levels of electric charge in the axon do not cause
lower action potentials by the "all-or-nothing" effect
synapse
junction between two neurons; neurons do not physically touch
neurotransmitters
cause (excitatory) or stop (inhibitory) action potentials in other receiving neurons
endorphins
neurotransmitter; reduce pain, promote pleasure
dopamine
neurotransmitter; voluntary movement, reward, learning, memory
serotonin
neurotransmitter; sleep, appetite, mood (too little causes depression)
epinephrine
neurotransmitter; involved in stress response
sympathetic nervous system
, causes involuntary arousal responses
parasympathetic nervous system
causes involuntary calming responses
endocrine system
glands that release hormones
brainstem
houses the medulla (vital bodily functions) and pons (bridge between cerebellum and
brainstem, sleep and arousal)
amygdala
handles agression, fear
hypothalamus
regulates endocrine activity, maintains homeostasis
hippocampus
forms new conscious memories
frontal lobes
at the front of the brain; personality, judgement, forethought, voluntary movement,
speech production
parietal lobes
at the top of the brain; process touch sensory information
occipital lobes
in the back of the brain; conatins the visual cortex
temporal lobes
on the sides of the head; auditory cortex, language comprehension
somatosensory cortex
processes touch sensory information
motor cortex
handles voluntary movement
plasticity
ability of the brain to change in response to damage or new learning
mirror neurons
fire when observing or thinking about something
