Articles

Article C:      http://www.mercola.com/2001/feb/7/lobotomies.htm

Article D:      http://www.electroboy.com/electroshocktherapy.htm 

12 + 13

Chapter 12

Motivation: a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior.
Instinct: a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned.
Drive-reduction theory: the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
Homeostasis: a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level
Incentive: a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior.
Hierarchy of needs: maslow’s pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must be first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active.
Glucose: the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues
Set point: the point at which an individual’s “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
Basal metabolic rate: the body’s resting rate of energy expenditure.
Anorexia nervosa: an eating disorder in which a normal-weight person (usually an adolescent female) diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve.
Bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise
Refectory period; a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
Sexual disorder: problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning.
Estrogen: sex hormone for females
Testosterone: sex hormone for males
Flow: a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with demised awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one’s skills
Industrial-organizational psychology: the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.
Personnel psychology: a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development.
Organizational psychology: a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change.
Task leadership: goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals.
Social leadership: group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, meditates conflict, and offers support.


Chapter 13

James-Lange theory: the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiogical responses to emotional arousing stimuli.
Cannon-Bard Theory: the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion.
Two-factory theory: Schachter-Singer’s theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal.
Polygraph: a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompany emotion.
Subjective well-being: self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being
Adaptation-level phenomenon: our tendency to form judgments relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience.
Relative deprivation: the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself.

Question Set

1 Psychologists define motivation as the energizing and directing of behavior. The four perspectives are instinct/evolutionary, drive-reduction, arousal, and hierarchy of needs perspectives.
2 The Hierarchy of needs are…
-self-actualizations needs (need to live up to one’s fullest and unique potential
-Esteem needs for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence
-Belongingness and love needs to love and be loved to be accepted
-Safety needs to feel that the world is organized
-Physiological to satisfy hunger and thirst.
4 The need of belonging is known as the 3rd level of the Hierarchy of needs which one needs to feel loved
5 Variations in body chemistry that influence our feelings of hunger include those in insulin, leptin, orexin, ghrelin, and PYY. All this information is integrated in two areas of the hypothalamus, which regulates the body’s weight by affecting our feelings of hunger and satiety.

ch.4 vocab

Ch.4 Vocabulary

Development psychology: a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Zygote: the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops, into an embryo
Embryo: the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
Fetus: the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
Teratogens: agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Fetal alcohol syndrome: physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misappropriations
Rooting reflex: a baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple
Habituation: decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.
Maturation: biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
Schema: a concept or framework tat organizes and interprets information.
Assimilation: interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schemes.
Accommodation: adapting one’s current understandings (schemes) to incorporate new information
Cognition: all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Object permanence: the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Formal operational stage: in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (begins at age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
Stranger anxiety: the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.
Attachment: an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.
Critical period: an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.
Imprinting: the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.
Basic Trust: according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.
Self-concept: a sense of one’s identity and personal worth.
Adolescence: The transition period from childhood to adulthood, from puberty to independence
Puberty: the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
Primary sex characteristics: the body structures that makes sexual reproduction possible
secondary sex characteristics: breasts, hips, voice, body hair
identity: one's sense of self, who am I today?
intimacy: ability to form close, loving relationships
cross-sectional study: a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
longitudinal study: research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period of time

Chapter 11 Vocab.

intelligence: mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

factor analysis:a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score.

general intelligence (g): a general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

savant syndrome: a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

creativity: the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

intelligence test: a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

mental age: a measure of intelligent test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have the mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet: the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ): defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca x 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

aptitude test: a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

achievement test: a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

standardization: defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group.

normal curve: the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, an fewer and fewer scored like near the extremes.

reliability: the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

validity: the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

content validity: the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).

criterion: the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity.

predictive validity: the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between tst scores and the criterion behavior.(Also called criterion-related validity.)

mental retardation: a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Down syndrome: a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup.

stereotype threat: a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

Chapter 10 Vocabulary

cognition: the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

concept: a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

prototype: a mental image or best example of category. Matching new items to the prototype provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

algorithm: a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier- but also more error prone- use of heuristics.

heuristic: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.

insight: a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrast with strategy-based solutions.

confirmation bias: a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions.

fixation: the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving.

mental set: a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

functional fixedness: the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.

representativeness heuristic: judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information.

availability heuristic: estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.

overconfidence: the tendency to be more confident than correct- to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.

framing: the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

belief bias: the tendency fro one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid.

belief perseverance: clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

language: our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

phoneme: in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

morpheme: in a language, a system of language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word, such as a prefix.

grammar: in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.

semantics: the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also the study of meaning.

syntax: the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.

babbling stage: beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utter various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.

one-word stage: the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage: beginning at about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements.

telegraphic speech: early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram- “go car”- using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting auxiliary words.

linguistic determinism: Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

Chapter 8 vocab... the first half....?

Positive reinforcement: increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.

Negative reinforcement: increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengths the response.

Primary reinforcer: an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.

Conditioned reinforcer: a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as secondary reinforcer.

Continuous reinforcement: reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement: reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

Fixed-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.

Variable-ratio schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.

Variable-interval schedule: in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.

Punishment: an event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

Cognitive Map: a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats as if they have learned a cognitive map of it.

Latent Learning: learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Intrinsic motivation: a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.

Extrinsic motivation: a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment.

Observational learning: learning by observing others.

Modeling: the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Mirror Neurons: frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation, language learning, and empathy.

Prosocial behavior: a positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

Make sure to check on your own

Chapter 8 (1st half)

learning: a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience.

associative learning: learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

classical conditioning: a type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (US) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning.

behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists agree with (1) but not with (2).

unconditioned response (UR): in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivations when food is in the mouth.

unconditioned stimulus (US): in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally – naturally and automatically – triggers a response.

conditioned response (CR): In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus.

conditioned stimulus (CS): In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.

acquisition: the initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that in neutral stimulus comes to elicit and conditioned responds. in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

extinction: the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery: the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished response.

generalization: the tendency, onces a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

discrimination: unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members.

operant conditioning: a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher.

respondent behavior: behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner's term for behavior learned through classical conditioning.

operant behavior: behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.

law of effect: Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

operant chamber: also known as a Skinner box, containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer, with attached devices to record that animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking. Used in operant conditioning research.

shaping: an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforces guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

reinforcer: in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.

Chapter 9 Vocabulary

notepad: the evolution of typing

Memory: the persistence of learning overtime through the storage and retrieval of information.
flashbulb memory: a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment of event.
encoding: the processing of information into the memory system
storage: the retention of encoded information over time
retrieval: the process of getting information out of memory storage.
sensory memory: the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
short-term memory: activated memory that holds a few item briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.
long-term memory: the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
working memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
rehearsal: the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
spacing effect: the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long term retention that is achieved through massed study or practice.
serial position effect: our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
visual encoding: the encoding of picture images
acoustic encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
semantic encoding: the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
imagery: mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.
mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
chinking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
iconic memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
echoic memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
long-term potentiation: an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
amnesia: the loss of memory
implicit memory: retention independent of conscious recollection
explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare."
hippocampus: a neural central that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage.
recall: a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
recognition: a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test.
relearning: a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.
priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of a particular associations in memory.
deja vu: the errie sense that "I've experienced this before" Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
mood-congruent memory: the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
Proactive interference: the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
retroactive interference: the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
source amnesia: attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about,read about, or imagined.

Jim does Pavlov experiment on Dwight in "The Office"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3sgR12ZSh8

Sleep Related Articles

Man without sleep for 33 years
I don't even get how this works, but if it's true this guy is amazing.

The Uberman's sleep schedule/ Polyphasic sleep
Sleep about 3-4 hours a day with increased energy.

Class related cool stuff.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=22913
Auditory processing creates three dimension hearing in "Virtual Haircut"

http://www.cinemaroll.com/Animation/Disney-Films-The-Hidden-Myths-and-Meanings.286739
Disney subliminal messages we talked about.

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=32921
Figure ground example. Close your eyes and think of him spinning the other way, when you open them he will be.

http://www.johnsadowski.com/big_spanish_castle.php#
A simple illusion that demonstrates opponent processing.

Chapter 7 Vocabulary

Biological rhythms: periodic physiological fluctuations
Circadian rhythm: the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness that occur on a 24-hour cycle)
REM sleep: rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.
Alpha waves: the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.
Sleep: periodic, natural reversible loss of consciousness, as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation.
Hallucinations: false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Delta waves: the large, slow brain waves associate with deep sleep.
Narcolepsy: a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often in inopportune times.
Sleep apnea: a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during a sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.
Night terrors: a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three ours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered.
Dream: a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. Dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities and incongruities, and for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it.
Manifest contest: according to Feud the remembered story lien of a dream (as distinct from its latent, or hidden content
Latent content: according to Freud, the underlying meanings of a dream (as distinct its manifest content). Freud believed that a dreams latent content functions as a safety value.
REM rebound: the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep).
Hypnosis: a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
Posthypnotic suggestion: a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.
Dissociation: a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
Psychoactive drug: a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood.
Tolerance: the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug’s effect.
Withdraw: the discomfort and distress that following discontinuing the use of an addictive drug.
Physical dependence: physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued.
Psychological dependence: a psychological need to sue a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions
Addition: compulsive drug craving and use.
Depressants: the drug (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduces neural activity and slow body functions.
Barbiturates: drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety by impairing memory and judgment.
Opiates: opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporally lessening pain and anxiety.
Stimulants: drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy) that excite neural activity and sleep up body function.
Amphetamines: drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes.
Methamphetamine: a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with sped-up body functions and associated energy and moon changes; overtime, appeared to reduce baseline dopamine levels.
Ecstasy (MDMA) a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term- harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.
Hallucinogens: psychedelic drugs such as LSD that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.
LSD: a powerful hallucinogenic drug, also known as acid
THC: The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

Ch. 6 Perception Vocab

Selective attention: the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect.

Inattentional blindness: failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Visual capture: the tendency for vision to dominate the other senses.

Gestalt: an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Figure-ground: the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Grouping: the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Depth perception: the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.

Visual cliff: a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Binocular cues: depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes.

Retinal disparity: a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images fomr the two eyeballs, the brain computes distance- the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Convergence: a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. The greater the inward strain, the closer the object.

Monocular cues: depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.

Phi phenomenon: an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Perceptual constancy: perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

Perceptual adaptation: in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Perceptual set: a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Human factors psychology: a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.

Extrasensory perception (ESP): the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. Said to include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.

Parapsychology: the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

Check for any mistakes; I think I got all the words.

Ch. 5 (All)

sensation: the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
perception: the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
bottom-up processing: analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
top-down processing: information processing guided by igher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
psychophysics: the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
absolute threshold: the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
signal detection theory: a theory predicting how much and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue.
subliminal: below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
difference threshold: the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference.
Weber's law: the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount.)
sensory adaption: diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
transduction: conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our rains can interpret.
wavelength: the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
hue: color
intensity: brightness or loudness
pupil: the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
iris: a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
lens: the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.
accommodation: the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
retina: the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that being the processing of visual information.
acuity: the sharpness of vision
nearsightedness: a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distance objects focus in front of the retina.

farsightedness: a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina.

rods: retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.

cones: retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.

optic nerve: the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

blind spot: the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.

fovea: the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

feature detectors: nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.

parallel processing: the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory: the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors- one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue- which when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color.

opponent-process theory: the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.

color constancy: perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

audition: the sense or act of hearing.

frequency: the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time. (per second)

pitch: a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on the frequency.

middle ear: the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.

cochlea: a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.

inner ear: the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

place theory: in hearing, the theory that links pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

frequency theory: in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerves matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense it's pitch.

conduction hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

sensorineural hearing loss: hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerve; also called nerve deafness.

cochlear implant: a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

gate-control theory: the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. the “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

sensory interaction: the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

kinesthesis: the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.

vestibular sense: the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

yay

culture the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
norm an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe “proper” behavior.
personal space the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies.
individualism giving priority to one's own goals over group goals, and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications.
collectivism giving priority of the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly.
aggression any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.
X chromosome the sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two X chromosomes; males have one. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child.
Y chromosome the sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.
testosterone the most important of the male sex hormones. both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty.
role a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.
gender role a set of expected behaviors for males and for females.
gender identity one's sense of being male or female.
gender typing the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.
social learning theory the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and being rewarded or punished.
gender schema theory the theory that children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female and that they adjust their behavior accordingly.

Chapter 3 vocab (first half)

environment: every non genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us
behavior genetics: the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
chromosomes: threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.
genes: the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein.
genome: the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes.
identical twins: twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms.
fraternal twins: twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment.
temperament: a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
heritability: the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the ranger of populations and environments studied.
interaction: the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).
molecular genetics: the sub field of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes.
evolutionary psychology: the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.
natural selection: the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction that survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
mutation: a random error in gene replication that leads to a change.
gender: in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characeristics by which people define male and female.

I also have no friends

Chapter 2 vocab (2nd half)

I'm too lazy to steal Microsoft Word and spell check, just do it in your own.

lesion: tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.
electroencephalogram: an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are ensured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
PET (positron emission tomography) scan: a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.
MRI (magnetic resonance imagine): a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of soft tissue; allows us to see structures within the brain.
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging): a technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scanes. MRI scans show brain anatomy; fMRI scans show brain function
brain stem: The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brain stem is responsible for automatic survival functions.
medulla: the base of the brain stem controls heartbeat and breathing
reticular formation: a nerve network in the brain stem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
thalamus: the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brain stem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
cerebellum: the "little brain" attached to the rear of the brain stem; its functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance.
limbic system: a doughnut-shaped system of neural structures at the border of the brain stem and the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions such as fear and aggression and drives such as those for food and sex. Includes the hippo campus, amygdala, and the hypothalamus.
amygdala: two lima bean sized neural clusters that are components of the luimbix system and are linked to emotion
hypothalamus: a neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (seating, drinking, body temperature0, helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion.
cerebral cortex: the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information processing center.
glial cells (glia): cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
frontal lobes: the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making planes and judgments.
paritel lobes: 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
occipital lobes: the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field.
temporal lobes: the portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primary from the opposite ear.
motor cortex: an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
sensory cortex: the area at the front of the partial lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
association areas: areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor of sensory function; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
aphasia: impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wenicke's area (impairing understanding).
Broca's area: controls language expression -- an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
Wericke's area: controls language reception -- a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
plasticity: the brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development.
corpus callosum: the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
split brain: a condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus collosum) between them.

First 28 Vocab in Ch. 2

Psychology Vocab Chapter 2 (first 28)

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

neuron a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

dendrite the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body.

axon the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands.

myelin sheath a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

action potential a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. The action potential is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane.

threshold the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.

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

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

acetylcholine (ACh) a neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction.

endorphins “morphine within” - natural, opiate like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.

nervous system the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems.

central nervous system (CNS) the brain and spinal cord.

peripheral nervous system (PNS) the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

nerves neural “cables” containing many axons. These bundled axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs.

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

motor neurons neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous sytem to the muscles and glands.

interneurons central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs.

somatic nervous system the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system.

autonomic nervous system the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

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

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

reflex a simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus such as the knee-jerk response.

neural networks interconnected neural cells. With experience, networks can learn, as feedback strengthens or inhibits connections that produce certain results. Computer simulations of neural networks show analogous learning.

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

hormones chemical messengers, mostly those manufactured by the endocrine glands, that are produced in one tissue and affect another.

adrenal glands 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.

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