Psychology refers to the ___________________.
scientific study of the mind and behavior
What is the primary function of the parietal lobe and where is it located in the brain?
Sense of touch, on top of the head.
What is REM sleep and what happens within the brain/ body?
Rapid eye movement, the muscles in the body should be paralyzed but the eyes often move because of the dreams going on.
Who is often credited with the creation of classical conditioning?
Ivan Pavlov, Pavlov's Dog
Who created social learning theory?
Albert Bandura, the BoBo Doll experiment
For which concept is Abraham Maslow best known?
Proposing a hierarchy of human needs in motivating behavior
What is the best type of research to do with large samples in a timely manner?
Surveys
What is a circadian rhythm?
The body's sleep/ wake cycle.
What is the main idea of the Social Learning Theory?
People can learn behaviors by observing the behaviors of others.
What environmental stimulus helps the brain begin to release melatonin? What does melatonin do for the body/
Melatonin is part of our sleep cycle helps make us tired and is naturally released with darkness.
What area of psychology focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior?
Clinical psychology
What is homeostasis?
The body's natural equilibrium point, bringing the body back to a balance point.
The theory of ________ states that organisms that are better suited for their environment will survive and reproduce, while those that are poorly suited for their environment will die off.
evolution by natural selection
What is the confirmation bias?
focusing on information that confirms your existing beliefs
When you take a multiple-choice test, you are relying on ________, because you are comparing the information in front of you to that which is already stored in your long-term memory.
Recognition
What is the main problem associated with correlational research? (what can we NOT conclude?)
What is the difference between a negative and a positive correlation?
In a negative correlation, one variable moves up while the other moves down. In a positive correlation, both variables move in the same direction (either up or down).
What is the difference between a dependent and independent variable?
The dependent variable is the thing being measured, while the independent variable is the thing the researcher manipulates or changes in the experiment.
What is the difference between a genotype and a phenotype?
A genotype is the genetic coding within the DNA, while the phenotype is what is shown on the outside in a physical manner.
What are the main functions of the amygdala and the hippocampus?
The amygdala is primarily responsible for processing emotions, particularly fear, anxiety, and aggression, and attaching emotional significance to memories. The hippocampus is crucial for forming, organizing, and storing new explicit, episodic, and spatial memories.
Dr. Sarkeesian observes and records how watching cartoons influences heart rates. What type of research method does this exemplify?
The empirical method.
When a researcher follows the same group of participants over a period of time, it is called a _____________ research design.
longitudinal
Niaz’s car breaks down, and he is convinced that it was a predictable event even though there was no way of knowing it would happen. This exemplifies ________.
hindsight bias
How are longitudinal and cross-sectional research different from one another?
Both can follow groups over a period of time, but in cross-sectional research, there will be multiple groups beginning at various ages. For example, in a longitudinal study, the researcher may observe a group at ages 2, 4 and 6 while in a cross-sectional study the researchers will start with 3 groups (ages 2, 4, and 6) and they will evaluate the 2 year olds when they turn 4 and 6 and they will also study the 4 year olds when they turn 6 and compare all groups.
What concepts are associated with Gestalt psychology? (hint: there are 4)
figure-ground relationship, law of continuity, and principle of closure