Psychology Final Exam questions with 100% correct answers verified for accuracy(graded A+

basic science the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomenon for its own sake applied science discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals hypothesis an assumption or prediction about behavior that is tested through scientific research theory a set of assumptions used to explain phenomena and offered for scientific study physiological needs having to do with an organism's physical processes cognitive needs having to do with an organism's thinking and understanding psychology the scientific study of behavior that is tested through scientific research 4 goals of psychology describe, predict, explain, influence wilhelm wundt set up the first psychology lab in germany and used introspection (scientific method) introspection a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings functionalist a psychologist who studies the function (rather than the structure) of consciousness sir francis galton wanted to understand how heredity influences a person's abilities, character, and behavior; concluded that genius or eminence is a hereditary trait gestalt principle the experience that comes from organizing bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes sigmund freud studied the unconscious minds and dreams; created free association (the patient says anything that comes to mind) ivan pavlov behaviorist; the dog experiment john b. watson behaviorist; "little albert" --believed that psychology should concern itself only with the observable facts of behavior b.f. skinner introduced the concept of "reinforcement" reinforcement a response to a behavior that increases the likelihood the behavior will be repeated behaviorist a psychologist who analyzes how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their response to events in the environment cognitivist a psychologist who studies how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how cognitive processes influence our behavior abraham maslow described human nature as evolving and self-directed; humans are not controlled by events or by unconscious forces; each person is unique and has a self-concept to develop fully dualism the concept that the mind and body are separate and distinct case study research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants sample the small group of participants, out of the total number available, that a researcher studies naturalistic observation research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering survey research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions longitudinal study research method in which data is collected about a group of participant over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development correlation the measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data double-blind experiment an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment single-blind experiment an experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment self-fulfilling prophecy a situation in which a researcher's expectations influence that person's own behavior, and thereby influence the participant's behavior placebo effect a change in a participant's illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather than the actual treatment central nervous system the brain and the spinal cord somatic nervous system the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles autonomic nervous system the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls internal biological functions neurons the long, thin cells of nerve tissue along which messages travel to and from the brain neurotransmitters the chemicals released by the neurons, which determine the rate at which other neurons fire hindbrain a part of the brain located at the rear base of the skull that is involved in the basic processes of life midbrain a small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward forebrain a part of the brain that covers the brain's central core corpus callosum carries messages back and forth between the two hemispheres of the brain to jointly control human functions EEG a machine used to record the electrical activity of large portions of the brain regions of the cerebral cortex parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, frontal lobe, primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex endocrine system a chemical communication system, using hormones, by which messages are sent through the bloodstream nature vs. nurture inherited genes vs. environmental factors REM sleep a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, a high level of brain activity, a deep relaxation of the muscles, and dreaming biofeedback the process of learning to control bodily states with the help of machines monitoring the states to be controlled meditation the focusing of attention to clear one's mind and produce relaxation hypnosis a state of consciousness resulting from a narrowed focus of attention and characterized by heightened suggestibility absolute threshold the weakest amount of a stimulus that a person can detect half the time difference threshold the smallest change in a physical stimulus that can be detected between two stimuli weber's law the principle that for any change in a stimulus to be detected, a constant proportion of that stimulus must be added or subtracted pupil the opening in the iris that regulates the amount of light entering the eye lens a flexible, elastic, transparent structure in the eye that changes its shape to focus light on the retina optic nerve the nerve that carries impulses from the retina to the brain auditory nerve the nerve that carries impulses from the inner ear to the brain, resulting in the perception of sound vestibular system three semicircular canals that provide the sense of balance, located in the inner ear and connected to the brain by a nerve olfactory nerve the nerve that carries small impulses from the nose to the brain kinesthesis the sense of movement and body position rods visual receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light but not color classical conditioning a learning procedure in which associations are made between a natural stimulus and a neutral stimulus discrimination the ability to respond differently to to similar but distinct stimuli generalization responding similarly to a range of similar stimuli extinction the gradual disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus operant conditioning learning in which a certain action is reinforced or punished, resulting in corresponding increases or decreases in occurrence primary reinforcer stimulus that is naturally rewarding, such as food or water secondary reinforcer stimulus such as money that becomes rewarding through its link with its primary reinforcer