The Science of Psychology
What is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes?
What is psychology
What structure connects the brain & spinal cord to the rest of the body?
What is the peripheral nervous system?
What part of the neuron receives messages from other neurons?
What are dendrites?
What is the process by which sensory receptors detect information from the environment?
What is sensation?
What is it called when we focus our attention on one particular stimulus while filtering out other information?
What is attention?
In science, what is a proposed explanation that can be tested through research?
What is a hypothesis
Which brain structure is involved in balance, coordination, and smooth movement?
What is the cerebellum?
What is the axon?
What is the process of organizing & interpreting sensory information?
What is perception?
At a noisy party, you can focus on one person's conversation while still noticing when someone says your name. What is this phenomenon called?
What is the cocktail party effect?
A researcher observes children on a playground without interfering with their behavior. What research method is being used?
What is naturalistic observation?
Which brain structure helps regulate basic functions such as breathing & heartbeat?
What is the medulla?
What fatty substance surrounds some axons & helps speed neural communication?
What is the myelin sheath?
What is the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected 50% of the time?
What is the absolute threshold?
What occurs when a person fails to notice a visible change because their attention is focused elsewhere?
What is change blindness?
A researcher changes the amount of sleep participants receive & measures their performance on a memory test. What is the independent variable?
What is amount of sleep?
Which brain structure plays an important role in forming & storing new memories?
What is the hippocampus?
What is the brief electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron?
What is an action potential?
You stop noticing the feeling of your clothing against your skin after wearing it for several minutes. What is this an example of?
What is sensory adaptation?
What occurs when a person fails to notice something visible because they are focused on another task?
What is inattentional blindness?
A researcher randomly assigns participants to either receive a new treatment or receive no treatment. The group receiving the treatment is called what?
What is the experimental group?
A person can understand language but has difficulty producing meaningful speech. Damage to which area of the brain may cause this difficulty?
What is Broca's area
Which neurotransmitter is associated with pain reduction & feelings of pleasure & is also naturally produced in the body?
What are endorphins?
When you use your previous knowledge & expectations to interpret sensory information, what type of processing are you using?
What is top-down processing?
A study finds that as the number of hours students study increases, their exam scores also tend to increase. What type of correlation is this?
What is positive correlation?