Definitions
The science that deals with mental processes and behavior.
Psychology
Who is considered the "father of psychology"?
Willhelm Wundt
What makes up the CNS?
It is composed of the brain and the spinal cord
A variable whose value is affected by another variable
Dependent variable
A psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection (Influenced by Darwin, James, and EO Wilson)
Evolutionary psychology
Fear of situations or places that may cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment
Agoraphobia
Who is Ivan Pavlov?
Experimenter; conducted the dog salivating experiment that led to the discovery of classical conditioning
They are cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information-processing tasks
Neurons
What is a t-test?
A statistic that compares two means to see whether they come from the same population
The branch of psychology that deals with social interactions, including their origins and their effects on the individual
What is exposure therapy?
A psychological treatment that gradually exposes a person to their fears in a safe environment. The goal is to help people confront their fears instead of avoiding them.
Who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment?
Philip Zimbardo
Name 3 parts of the limbic system
Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus, Basal Ganglia...
What is a double-blind experiment?
In order to avoid observer bias, scientists use a double blind to ensure that the observer and the person being observed are unaware of the experiment.
What is behavioral psychology?
The study of how the environment shapes human behavior, and how to change that behavior through analysis and therapy
What is Acute stress disorder?
Similar to PTSD but occurs within a month of exposure to a traumatic event
Who is Phineas Gage?
A 3-foot, 13 lbs. iron rod struck his head high speed and went through lower left jaw and exited the middle of his frontal lobe. Before the accident, he was quiet mannered and nice. After, he became irritable and rude
What do motor neurons do?
It receives information from the spinal cord and relays it to the muscle to produce movement
What is statistical significane?
Statistical significance is a way to quantify the confidence in a research finding. It's based on a p-value, which is the likelihood that the results of an experiment occurred by chance. A p-value of less than 0.05 is considered statistically significant
Study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
Cultural Psychology
What is the DSM-5?
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; a classification system for mental health disorders
Who conducted the bobo doll experiemnt?
Albert Bandura
What is dopamine?
A chemical messenger in the brain that's often called the "feel-good" hormone because it's released when you do something enjoyable or beneficial
What is a meta-analysis?
A procedure that permits psychologists to combine the results of many separate studies into one overall conclusion.
Abnormal Psychology
The branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion, and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder.