Psychology Review for exam Vocab Term Definition of Term Example Psychology Science used to understand behavior and mental processes Psychology explains our personalities and actions. Biological Psychology Study of how biological processes in the brain and other organs affect, and are affected by, behavior and mental processes. Eating certain foods changes the chemical interactions within and between nerve cells in your brain, thereby possibly inducing drowsiness. Developmental Psychologists They study changes in behavior and mentally that occurs from birth until old age and understands causes and effects of them. How you think when you graduate from elementary school is different from the way you think after graduating college. Cognitive Psychologists They study mental processes underlying judgment, decision making, problem solving, imagining, and other aspects of human thought. How does the brain translate light into the experience of sight? Personality Psychologists They study what makes a person different from another. Why do some people prefer red rather then pink? Clinical and Counseling Psychologists They study abnormal behavior and mental processes, what causes them and how to treat them. How well and why a treat works. Is depression heredity? What is its best treatment? Community Psychologists They try prevent psychological disorders and treat people in their community. Lora and her family in Hermosa are having constant arguments, they are all going to see one psychologists to solve their problem. Social Psychologists They study how people influence one another and interactions between people in groups. Mariana’s therapist observes the way she acts at school with her friends and at home with her family. Industrial/Organizational Pyschologits They study on ways to increase productivity and satisfaction of worker and employee. The manager of la Pasadita wants more productivity but doesn’t want to put too much pressure on the employees. Quantative Psychologists They use statistical tools to analyze data collected by psychologists working on other subfields. What percentage of clients improve behavior after being treated? Biological Approach This approach assumes that biological factors such as genetics, brain activity, or hormonal activity are the most important factors determining behavior and mental processes. People whose ancestors suffered from depression might have abnormal levels of certain chemicals important to mood. Evolutionary Approach This approach assumes that human and animal behavior is the result of evolution through natural selection. Running away from threats. Psychodynamic Approach This approach emphasizes the interplay of the unconscious mental processes in determining human thought, feelings, and Surgeons express aggressive instincts in a manner that is accepted by society.
behavior. Behavior Approach An approach to psychology emphasizing that human behavior is determined mainly by what a person has learned, especially from rewards and punishments. People become doctors only because of the salary received, positions gained, or satisfaction. Cognitive Approach A way of looking at human behavior that emphasizes research on how the brain takes information, creates perceptions, forms and retrieves memories, processes information, and generates integrated patterns of action. Study of why people try to fight terrorists on the 9-11 attacks rather than just panic. Humanistic Approach Approach to Psychology that assumes people control their behavior based on their perceptions of the world. People have the potential of doing things; they just got to look forward to it. culture Accumulation of values, rules of behavior, forms of expression, religious beliefs, and so on, for a group people who share a common language and environment. There’s individualists and collectivists. Name of Important Person What this person is known for Impact on Psychology Sigmund Freud He developed a theory of personality based on the assumption that the unconscious could influence people’s behavior. He is one of the most important psychologists recognized today. Wilhelm Wunt With his technique of introspection, he documented “quality” and “intensity” as elements of sensation. William James He investigated how consciousness works to help people adapt to their environment, his technique became known as functionalism. John B. Watson He believed psychologists should observe people’s behavioral reaction to stimuli without making inferences about consciousness. He inspired many psychologists to adopt behaviorism as the method of choice for scientific research in psychology. Research in Psychology Vocab Term Definition Of Term Example Hypothesis Scientific research, a prediction stated as a specific testable proposition about a phenomenon.
the central nervous system Fiber tracts or pathways Axons in the central nervous system that travel toghether in bundles Spinal cord Recieves signals from the senses Including pain and touch from the fingertips Reflexes Involutary, unlearned reaction in the form or swift, automatic, and finely coordinated movements in respose to external stimuli Direct simple behaviors without instruction from the brain Feedback system A series of processes in which information abut the consequences of an action goes back to the source of the action so that adjsutmensts can be made Afferent Sensory neurons Coming toward Efferent neurons Motor neurons Going away Electroencephalograph (EEG) Measures generl electrical activity of the brain Electrodes are pasted o the scalp to detect the electrical fields resulting from the activity of billions of neurons PET scan Can locate cell activity by recording here radioacive substances beome concentradted when injected into the bloodstream PET positron emission tomography Records images from the brain that indicate the location of the radioactivity as the brain performs various tasks Have revelaed that specific brain regions are activated when we look at fearful facial expressions or engage in certain kinds of thoughts MRI magnetic resonance imaging Exposes the brain to a magnetic field and measures the resulting radio frequency waves to get amazingly clear pictures of the brains anatomical details Functional MRI or fMRI Is capable of detecting changes in blood flow tht refect ongoing changes in the activity of neurons Providing a sort of “moving picture” of the brain DTI diffusion tensor imaing Traces activity of axon pathways TMS transcranial magnetic stimulation Temporarily disrupts the function of a particular part of the brain This technique may also have potential in the treatment of certain psychological disorders Hindbrain A continuation of the spinal cord Lies just inside the skull/ blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and many other vital autonmic functions are controlled by nuclei in the hindbrain
resolution, men enter a refractory phase, during which they are unresponsive to sexual stimulation. Women are capable of immediately repeating the cycle. William McDougall Listed 18 human instincts & within a few years later, named 10,000 more. Somewhat discarded but psychologists have continued to explore the possibility that at least some aspects of human motivation are innate. William James, late 1800’s James-Lange theory Conscious experience of emotion result’s from one’s awareness or autonomic arousal. Walter Cannon, 1927/1987 Cannon-Bard theory The thalamus sends information to the limbic system & cerebral cortex simultaneously so that conscious experience of emotion accompanies physiological processes. Stanley Schachter, 1996 Schachter-Singer two-factor theory We determine an emotion from our physiological arousal, then label that emotion according to our cognitive explanation for the arousal. Name of Important Person What this person is known for Impact on Psychology Alfred Kinsey First extensive studies of sexual behavior in the U.S. during the late 1940’s & early 1950’s. He conducted surveys of people’s sexual lives. Influence Masters and Johnson’s studies. David McClellan Described the achievement motive and used Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) to measure it. Charles Darwin Natural Selection Many behaviors were characteristics that could be passed on. Richard Lazarus Cognitive-Appraisal Theory Our emotional experience depends on out interpretation of the situation we are in. Vocab Term Definition of Term Example Sense System that translates information from outside the nervous system into neural activity. Sensations Messages from the senses that make up the raw information that affects many kinds of behavior and mental processes. Accessory structures Lens of the eye that modify a stimulus. Transduction Converting incoming energy into neural activity through receptor Sensory receptors Specialized cells that direct certain forms of energy Adaptation Responsiveness to an unchanging