Psychology 10th Edition Exam

Psychology 10th Edition Exam Action Potential - ANSWER-A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon. .Adrenal Glands - ANSWER-A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress. .Amygdala - ANSWER-Two limabean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. .Applied Research - ANSWER-Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. .Association Areas - ANSWER-Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking. .Autonomic Nervous System - ANSWER-The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs. Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms. .Axon - ANSWER-The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands. .Basic Research - ANSWER-Pure Science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. .Biological Perspectives - ANSWER-Concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Includes psychologists working in neuroscience, behavior, genetics, and evolutionary psychology. .Biopsychosocial Approach - ANSWER-An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social cultural levels of analysis. .Brainstem - ANSWER-The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. .Case Study - ANSWER-An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. .Central Nervous System - ANSWER-The brain and spinal cord .Cerebellum - ANSWER-The "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions including processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance. .Cerebral Cortex - ANSWER-The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hermispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center. .Clinical Psychology - ANSWER-A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. .Cognitive Neuroscience - ANSWER-The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language). .Community Psychology - ANSWER-A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups. .Confounding Variable - ANSWER-A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment. .Control Group - ANSWER-In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment. Serves as comparison. .Corpus Callosum - ANSWER-The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them. .Correlation - ANSWER-A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. .Correlation Coefficient - ANSWER-A statistical index of the relationship between two things. .Counseling Psychology - ANSWER-A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. .Critical Thinking - ANSWER-Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. .Cultural - ANSWER-The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditional shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generations to the next. .Debriefing - ANSWER-The post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants. .Dendrites - ANSWER-A neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body. .Dependent Variable - ANSWER-The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. .Electroencephalogram - ANSWER-An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. .Endocrine System - ANSWER-The body's slow chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream. .Endorphins - ANSWER-Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure. .Experimental Group - ANSWER-In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, to one version of the independent variable.