Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology 1 Psychology the scientific study of behavior and mental processes 2 Objective introspection the process of objectively examining and measuring one s own thoughts and mental activities Titchner figures 3 Structuralism focus of study is the structure or basic elements of the mind William Wundt and Edward 4 Functionalism focus of study is how the mind allows people to adapt live work and play William James 5 Gestalt psychology focuses on perception and sensation particularly the perception of patterns and whole 6 Psychoanalysis insight theory based on Freud s theory emphasizing the revealing of unconscious conflicts Freud s term for both the theory of personality and the therapy based on it 7 Behaviorism science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only 8 Psychodynamic perspective modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person s behavior other than sexual motivations 9 Cognitive perspective modern perspective that focuses on memory intelligence perception problem solving and learning 10 Cognitive neuroscience study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking 11 Sociocultural perspective perspective that focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture 12 Biopsychological perspective perspective that attributes human and animal behavior to biological event occurring in the body such as genetic influences hormones and the activity of the nervous system 13 Evolutionary perspective perspective that focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share psychology 14 Psychologist professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas of 15 Psychiatrist a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders 16 Psychiatric social worker social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders such as poverty overcrowding stress and drug abuse 17 Basic research research focused on adding information to the scientific knowledge base 18 Applied research research focused on finding practical solutions to real world problems 19 Scientific method system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced 20 Hypothesis tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations 21 Replicate in research repeating a study or experiment to see if the same results will be obtained in an effort to demonstrate reliability of results 22 Observer effect tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are 23 Participant observation a naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group 24 Observer bias tendency of observers to see what they expect to see 25 Case study study of one individual in great detail 26 Representative sample randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects 27 Population the entire group of people or animals in which the researcher in interested 28 Correlation measure of the relationship between two or more variables 29 Correlation coefficient number that represents the strength and directions of a relationship existing between being observed being observed two variables 30 Experiment a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in a behavior result allowing the determination of cause and effect relationships 31 Operational definition definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be measured 32 Independent variable variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter 33 Dependent variable variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the 34 Experimental group subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable 35 Control group subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may subjects in the experiment receive a placebo treatment 36 Random assignment process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group 37 Placebo effect phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior results of the study 38 Experimenter effect tendency of the experimenter s expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the 39 Single blind study study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or control group 40 Double blind study study in which the experimenter nor the subjects know if the subjects are in the experimental or control group 41 Critical thinking making reasoned judgments about claims Chapter 2 The Biological Perspective 1 Nervous system a network of cells that carries information to and from all parts of the body 2 Neuroscience branch of the life sciences that deals with the structure and functioning of the brain and the neurons nerves and nervous tissues that form the nervous system 3 Biological psychology behavioral neuroscience branch of neuroscience that focuses on the biological bases of psychological processes behaviors and learning 4 Neuron specialized cell in the nervous system that receives and sends messages within the system 5 Dendrites parts of the neuron that receive messages from other cells 6 Soma cell body contains nucleus and keeps entire cell alive and functioning 7 Axon fiber attached to the soma that carries messages out to other cells 8 Axon terminals enlarged ends of axonal branches specialized for communication between cells 9 Glial cells cells that provide support for the neurons to grow on and around deliver nutrients to neurons produce myelin to coat axons clean up waste products and dead neurons influence information processing and during prenatal development influence generation of new neurons 10 Myelin fatty substances produced by certain glial cells that coat the axons of neurons to insulate protect and speed up the neural impulse 11 Nerves bundles of axon coated in myelin that travel through the body 12 Diffusion the process of ions moving from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration 13 Resting potential state of the neuron when not firing a neural impulse 14 Action potential release of the neural impulse consisting of a reversal of the electrical charge within the axon 15 All or none