AP Psychology Flashcards: Key Concepts

the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

<p>deoxyribonucleic acid</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The view that knowledge comes from experience via the senses and that science flourishes through observation and experiment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function to enable adaptation, survival, and flourishing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who may provide medical treatments and therapy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The science of behavior and mental processes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but examines assumptions and evaluates evidence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A statement of the procedures used to define research variables.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A technique for ascertaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors, usually by questioning a representative sample.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>All the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and how well either factor predicts the other.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The perception of a relationship where none exists.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An inert substance or condition administered instead of a presumed active agent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An experimental procedure in which both participants and staff are unaware of whether participants have received treatment or a placebo.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Any effect on behavior caused by a placebo.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The experimental factor being measured; the behavior or mental process that may change in response to the independent variable.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The extension of a neuron that sends messages to other neurons or to muscles or glands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A layer of fatty tissue encasing the fibers of many neurons.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the receiving neuron.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic gaps between neurons.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>&quot;Morphine within&quot; - natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The body's speedy, electrochemical communication system.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The brain and spinal cord.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Neural cables containing many axons.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Neurons that carry outgoing information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and muscles of internal organs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body in stressful situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The oldest part and central core of the brain responsible for automatic survival functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The base of the brainstem; it controls heartbeat and breathing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The brain's sensory switchboard; it directs messages to sensory receiving areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Tissue destruction; in the context of the brain, it refers to the destruction of brain tissue.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 'little brain' attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce images of soft tissue.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A system of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres, associated with emotions and drives.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Two almond-shaped neural clusters linked to emotion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The portion of the cerebral cortex involved in speaking, muscle movements, and planning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The portion of the cerebral cortex that includes the sensory cortex.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The portion of the cerebral cortex that includes visual areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The portion of the cerebral cortex that includes the auditory areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The area at the front of the parietal lobes that processes body sensations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Areas of the cerebral cortex involved in higher mental functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An area of the frontal lobe that controls language expression.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A brain area involved in language comprehension and expression.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The brain's capacity for modification and reorganization.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Chemical messengers produced by the endocrine glands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A pair of endocrine glands just above the kidneys.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The endocrine system's most influential gland, regulating growth and other glands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to surroundings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Twins who develop from separate eggs; genetically no closer than siblings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The effect of one factor depends on another factor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>An understood rule for accepted and expected behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers