Chpt 1 and 2 Psych

Developed the controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced many people's self-understanding

the neuron's extension that passes messages through its branching terminal fibers that form junctions with other neurons, muscles, or glands

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

part of the brain that controls language expression, an area of the frontal lobe, ususally in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen in

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to work, school, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

the vein that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without references to mental processes

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people; used personalized methods to study personality in hopes of fostering personal growth

the scientific study of behavior and mental process

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychology traits and behaviors

a branch of psychology that studies, assess, and treats people with psychological disorders

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions, rather it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behavior or events

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

repeating the essence of a study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has a equal chance of inclusion

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process by random assignments of participants the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent

commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of independent variable

the bushy, branching extension of a neuron that receives messages and conduct impulses toward cell body

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of cell body of the receiving neuron the tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap or cleft

chemical messengers that transverse the synaptic gaps between neurons, when released by the sending neurons, these travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

"morphine within" natural, opiatelike, neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure

the brain and the spinal cord

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system

neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands

the part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs, its sympathetic division arouses, its parasympathetic division calms

the division of the autonomic nervous system the arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

the body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

a pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys, the adrenals secrete the hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) which help to arouse the body in times of stress

the endocrine system's most influential gland, under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

the base of the brain stem; controls heartbeat and breathing

the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top or the brainstem; it directs messages tot he sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

the "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

a donut-shaped system of neural structures below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex includes the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus, it directs several maintenance activities, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgements

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, each receiving information from the opposite visual field

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

areas of the cerebral cortex that are no involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning remembering, thinking, and speaking

controls language reception-a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

the brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

a condition in which the brain's two hemispheres are isolated by cutting the fibers connecting them

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

any or all of the sciences, such as neurochemistry and experimental psychology, which deal with the structure or function of the nervous system and brain