Introduction to Psychology 1 of 33
key terms
CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY
- jealousy in left prefrontal cortex (approach-motivation / pleasurable —> motive of j= preventing
threat an re-establishing primary relationship)
- estradiol = jealousy hormone
- learning: experience —> change in behaviour
cognition: experience —> change in knowledge / beliefs (=mind) —> change in behaviour
CHAPTER 2: METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
- parsimony / Occam’s razor: when 2 explanations, we tend to choose the simpler one (cf. clever
Hans)
- observer-expectancy effects: unintentional communication to subjects / cues
- independent variable: causes an effect = dependent variable
- Hawthorne effect: knowing that researcher is watching subject interferes with the subject’s
behaviour
- correlational coefficient: assesses strength & direction of relationship:
between -1.00 & 1.00 (sign indicates direction, number aka absolute value indicates strength)
- positive correlation: one variable goes up, the other goes up
- negative correlation: one variable goes down, the other goes down
- if probability p <0.5 (5%) —> statistically significant (less than 5% probables that cause is due
to chance alone)
- inter-observer reliability: same behaviour seen by one researcher is also seen by another
- face validity: common sense tells us that sth is valid
- criterion validity: assess whether sth is valid = assessing it with another criterion —> see if
correlation
CHAPTER 3: GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY FOUNDATION OF BEHAVIOUR
- gene dictates a sequence of amino acids that provides a code for 1 type of protein
- coding gene: provides the code for unique protein molecules
- regulatory gene: activates / supports specific coding genes that influence the body’s
development
- mitosis: multiplying of sex cells —> result = human
- meiosis: formation of sex cells
- zygote: result of union of egg & sperm —> 1 cell containing all 23 pairs of chromosomes
- identical twins: form out of 1 zygote, before: consisting of 2 bundles of cells separating during
mitosis
- fraternal twins: form out of 2 zygotes
, Introduction to Psychology 2 of 33
key terms
- 2 genes at same locus can be homozygous or heterozygous
- alleles: different genes can occupy one same locus and potentially pair
- naturalistic fallacy: considering evolution to be a moral force: good (=nature)
- & evil (=humans)
- functionalism: attempt to explain behaviour in terms of what it accomplishes for the behaving
individual (=+-natural selection)
- distal explanation: @evolutionary level: how did the behaviour help get into the next generation
(=ultimate causation)
- proximate explanation: mechanisms: statements of the immediate conditions
- vestigial characteristics: from ancestors but no longer useful
- genetic drift: evolution due to chance alone, ≠natural selection
- homology: similarity between species because of a common ancestor
- analogy: similarity between species because convergent evolution: similarity in environment
produces a common characteristic
- polygyny: a male + females (high female, low male parental investment)
- polyandry: a female + males (high male, low female parental investment)
- monogamy: a female + a male
- promiscuity: females + males
- kin selection theory: helping relatives bc you share the same genes
CHAPTER 4: NEURAL CONTROL OF BEHAVIOUR
- central nervous system: brain & spinal cord
integrates & synthesises neural information
- peripheral nervous system: extensions from central nervous system = nerves
relays information from brain to other parts of the body
- neurone: single cell
nerve: bundle of many neurons
- sensory neurons: form nerves, carries information from sensory organs to central nervous
system
- motor neurons: form nerves, carries messages from central nervous system to muscles and
glands
- interneurons: only in central nervous system: carry messages from 1 set of neurons to another
collect, organise, integrate messages from various sources
- dendrites: extensions of neurons —> receive input into neurons
• in motor & interneurons they extend directly from cell body and thereby increase the
surface of the cell and allow for receipt from many other neurons
• in sensory neurons the branch out from 1 end of the axon and extend into the sensory
organs and respond to sensory signals
, Introduction to Psychology 3 of 33
key terms
- axon: carry messages to other neurons
in motor neurons they carry messages to other muscle cells
axon terminal: releases chemical transmitter molecules onto other neurons
(in motor neurons: onto other muscle cells or gland cells)
—> sometimes surrounded by myelin sheath: fatty substance produced by brain cells
called glial cells, it helps to speed up neural impulses along axons
- action potential: Na+ into the cell (depolarisation) makes K+ want to get out (repolarisation)
- synapse: junction between each axon terminal and cell body or dendrite of the receiving
neurone
- when the action potential reaches the axon terminal, it causes the terminal to release packets of
chemical substance called neurotransmitter spilled into the cleft by vesicles
- synaptic cleft: separates the axon terminal from the membrane of the cell
• presynaptic membrane: membrane of the axon terminal that touches the cleft
• postsynaptic membrane: membrane of the receiving cell or dendrite
- excitatory synapse: transmitter opens Na+ channels in the postsynaptic membrane
- inhibitory synapse: transmitter opens Cl- / K+ in the postsynaptic membrane causing a
hyperpolarisation in the receiving neurone which decreases the rate of action potential in that
neurone
- selective cell death / apoptosis
- transcranial magnetic stimulation / TMS: pulse of electricity is sent through a small copper coil,
inducing a magnetic field around the coil —> induces an electric current in the neurons
immediately below the coil —> temporary lesion
- tanscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
- dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: contains mirror neurons
- electroencephalogram EEG: records brain activity
• event-related potential ERP: change in EEG immediately after stimulus
- more activity in 1 brain region: blood vessels enlarge to let in moor blood that carries oxygen
and glucose
• emission tomography PET: involves injecting a radioactive substance into the blood
• functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI: creation of a magnetic field around a person’s
head —> hemoglobin molecules (carry oxygen) give off radio waves of a certain frequency
—> 3D images
- place cells: help animals keep track of the direction they are facing within familiar environments
- sensory-perceptual hierarchy: data processing: decisions about the person’s bodily needs and
threats and opportunities in the outside world —> from bottom (sensory receptors) to top
(perceptual centres in the brain)
- motor-control hierarchy: control of movement —> from top (executive centres that make
decisions about the activities the person should engage in) to bottom (centres that translate
those decisions into specific patterns of muscle movement)
- cranial nerves: project directly from the brain (12 pairs)
, Introduction to Psychology 4 of 33
key terms
- spinal nerves: project directly from the spinal cord (31 pairs)
- skeletal muscles: muscles that are attached to bones and produce externally observable
movement of the body when contracted (somatic portion of the peripheral motor system) —>
initiate activity
- visceral muscles: not attached to bones and not move when contracted (together with glands:
autonomic portion of the peripheral motor system) —> modulate / modify
• sympathetic neurons: fight or flight
• parasympathetic neurons: regenerative, growth-promoting, energy-conserving functions
- ascending tracts: carry somatosensory information brought in by the spinal nerves up to the
brain
- descending tracts: carry motor control commands down from the
brain to be transmitted out by spinal nerves to muscles
- pattern generators: activate motor neurons in the spinal cord,
controlled by neurons from the brain
- subcortical structures: lower, more primitive parts of the brain
- spinal cord: site of entry for spinal nerves
- brainstem: where spinal cord enters the head and enlarges, site of
entry for cranial nerves
- medulla & pons: regulate complex reflexes
• postural reflexes: help maintain balance
• vital reflexes: regulate breathing rate and heart rate in response
to input signalling the body’s metabolic needs
- midbrain: neural centres that help govern most of an animal’s
species-typical movement patterns, neurons that act on pattern generators in the spinal
cord to increase or decrease the speed of locomotion
- thalamus: relay station:
• most sensory input ascends through the brainstem and terminates in a special nuclei of the
thalamus —> sends it to specific areas in the cerebral cortex
• relay messages from higher parts of the brain to movement-control centres in the brainstem
arouses the brain as a whole
- cerebellum & basal ganglia: ability to produce learned, skilled, well-coordinated movements,
use sensory information to guide behaviour
- cerebellum: ability to behave in ways that require rapid, well-timed sequences of muscle
movements (pitching a baseball)
• feed-forward: info to program initiating an action
- basal ganglia: ability to coordinate slower, deliberate movements (reaching out for sth)
• feedback: when action is already happening, info given to b g makes sure it continues
steadily
- limbic system: border dividing the evolutionary older parts of the brain below it from the newest
part above it
key terms
CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY
- jealousy in left prefrontal cortex (approach-motivation / pleasurable —> motive of j= preventing
threat an re-establishing primary relationship)
- estradiol = jealousy hormone
- learning: experience —> change in behaviour
cognition: experience —> change in knowledge / beliefs (=mind) —> change in behaviour
CHAPTER 2: METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
- parsimony / Occam’s razor: when 2 explanations, we tend to choose the simpler one (cf. clever
Hans)
- observer-expectancy effects: unintentional communication to subjects / cues
- independent variable: causes an effect = dependent variable
- Hawthorne effect: knowing that researcher is watching subject interferes with the subject’s
behaviour
- correlational coefficient: assesses strength & direction of relationship:
between -1.00 & 1.00 (sign indicates direction, number aka absolute value indicates strength)
- positive correlation: one variable goes up, the other goes up
- negative correlation: one variable goes down, the other goes down
- if probability p <0.5 (5%) —> statistically significant (less than 5% probables that cause is due
to chance alone)
- inter-observer reliability: same behaviour seen by one researcher is also seen by another
- face validity: common sense tells us that sth is valid
- criterion validity: assess whether sth is valid = assessing it with another criterion —> see if
correlation
CHAPTER 3: GENETICS AND EVOLUTIONARY FOUNDATION OF BEHAVIOUR
- gene dictates a sequence of amino acids that provides a code for 1 type of protein
- coding gene: provides the code for unique protein molecules
- regulatory gene: activates / supports specific coding genes that influence the body’s
development
- mitosis: multiplying of sex cells —> result = human
- meiosis: formation of sex cells
- zygote: result of union of egg & sperm —> 1 cell containing all 23 pairs of chromosomes
- identical twins: form out of 1 zygote, before: consisting of 2 bundles of cells separating during
mitosis
- fraternal twins: form out of 2 zygotes
, Introduction to Psychology 2 of 33
key terms
- 2 genes at same locus can be homozygous or heterozygous
- alleles: different genes can occupy one same locus and potentially pair
- naturalistic fallacy: considering evolution to be a moral force: good (=nature)
- & evil (=humans)
- functionalism: attempt to explain behaviour in terms of what it accomplishes for the behaving
individual (=+-natural selection)
- distal explanation: @evolutionary level: how did the behaviour help get into the next generation
(=ultimate causation)
- proximate explanation: mechanisms: statements of the immediate conditions
- vestigial characteristics: from ancestors but no longer useful
- genetic drift: evolution due to chance alone, ≠natural selection
- homology: similarity between species because of a common ancestor
- analogy: similarity between species because convergent evolution: similarity in environment
produces a common characteristic
- polygyny: a male + females (high female, low male parental investment)
- polyandry: a female + males (high male, low female parental investment)
- monogamy: a female + a male
- promiscuity: females + males
- kin selection theory: helping relatives bc you share the same genes
CHAPTER 4: NEURAL CONTROL OF BEHAVIOUR
- central nervous system: brain & spinal cord
integrates & synthesises neural information
- peripheral nervous system: extensions from central nervous system = nerves
relays information from brain to other parts of the body
- neurone: single cell
nerve: bundle of many neurons
- sensory neurons: form nerves, carries information from sensory organs to central nervous
system
- motor neurons: form nerves, carries messages from central nervous system to muscles and
glands
- interneurons: only in central nervous system: carry messages from 1 set of neurons to another
collect, organise, integrate messages from various sources
- dendrites: extensions of neurons —> receive input into neurons
• in motor & interneurons they extend directly from cell body and thereby increase the
surface of the cell and allow for receipt from many other neurons
• in sensory neurons the branch out from 1 end of the axon and extend into the sensory
organs and respond to sensory signals
, Introduction to Psychology 3 of 33
key terms
- axon: carry messages to other neurons
in motor neurons they carry messages to other muscle cells
axon terminal: releases chemical transmitter molecules onto other neurons
(in motor neurons: onto other muscle cells or gland cells)
—> sometimes surrounded by myelin sheath: fatty substance produced by brain cells
called glial cells, it helps to speed up neural impulses along axons
- action potential: Na+ into the cell (depolarisation) makes K+ want to get out (repolarisation)
- synapse: junction between each axon terminal and cell body or dendrite of the receiving
neurone
- when the action potential reaches the axon terminal, it causes the terminal to release packets of
chemical substance called neurotransmitter spilled into the cleft by vesicles
- synaptic cleft: separates the axon terminal from the membrane of the cell
• presynaptic membrane: membrane of the axon terminal that touches the cleft
• postsynaptic membrane: membrane of the receiving cell or dendrite
- excitatory synapse: transmitter opens Na+ channels in the postsynaptic membrane
- inhibitory synapse: transmitter opens Cl- / K+ in the postsynaptic membrane causing a
hyperpolarisation in the receiving neurone which decreases the rate of action potential in that
neurone
- selective cell death / apoptosis
- transcranial magnetic stimulation / TMS: pulse of electricity is sent through a small copper coil,
inducing a magnetic field around the coil —> induces an electric current in the neurons
immediately below the coil —> temporary lesion
- tanscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
- dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: contains mirror neurons
- electroencephalogram EEG: records brain activity
• event-related potential ERP: change in EEG immediately after stimulus
- more activity in 1 brain region: blood vessels enlarge to let in moor blood that carries oxygen
and glucose
• emission tomography PET: involves injecting a radioactive substance into the blood
• functional magnetic resonance imaging fMRI: creation of a magnetic field around a person’s
head —> hemoglobin molecules (carry oxygen) give off radio waves of a certain frequency
—> 3D images
- place cells: help animals keep track of the direction they are facing within familiar environments
- sensory-perceptual hierarchy: data processing: decisions about the person’s bodily needs and
threats and opportunities in the outside world —> from bottom (sensory receptors) to top
(perceptual centres in the brain)
- motor-control hierarchy: control of movement —> from top (executive centres that make
decisions about the activities the person should engage in) to bottom (centres that translate
those decisions into specific patterns of muscle movement)
- cranial nerves: project directly from the brain (12 pairs)
, Introduction to Psychology 4 of 33
key terms
- spinal nerves: project directly from the spinal cord (31 pairs)
- skeletal muscles: muscles that are attached to bones and produce externally observable
movement of the body when contracted (somatic portion of the peripheral motor system) —>
initiate activity
- visceral muscles: not attached to bones and not move when contracted (together with glands:
autonomic portion of the peripheral motor system) —> modulate / modify
• sympathetic neurons: fight or flight
• parasympathetic neurons: regenerative, growth-promoting, energy-conserving functions
- ascending tracts: carry somatosensory information brought in by the spinal nerves up to the
brain
- descending tracts: carry motor control commands down from the
brain to be transmitted out by spinal nerves to muscles
- pattern generators: activate motor neurons in the spinal cord,
controlled by neurons from the brain
- subcortical structures: lower, more primitive parts of the brain
- spinal cord: site of entry for spinal nerves
- brainstem: where spinal cord enters the head and enlarges, site of
entry for cranial nerves
- medulla & pons: regulate complex reflexes
• postural reflexes: help maintain balance
• vital reflexes: regulate breathing rate and heart rate in response
to input signalling the body’s metabolic needs
- midbrain: neural centres that help govern most of an animal’s
species-typical movement patterns, neurons that act on pattern generators in the spinal
cord to increase or decrease the speed of locomotion
- thalamus: relay station:
• most sensory input ascends through the brainstem and terminates in a special nuclei of the
thalamus —> sends it to specific areas in the cerebral cortex
• relay messages from higher parts of the brain to movement-control centres in the brainstem
arouses the brain as a whole
- cerebellum & basal ganglia: ability to produce learned, skilled, well-coordinated movements,
use sensory information to guide behaviour
- cerebellum: ability to behave in ways that require rapid, well-timed sequences of muscle
movements (pitching a baseball)
• feed-forward: info to program initiating an action
- basal ganglia: ability to coordinate slower, deliberate movements (reaching out for sth)
• feedback: when action is already happening, info given to b g makes sure it continues
steadily
- limbic system: border dividing the evolutionary older parts of the brain below it from the newest
part above it
