PSY 101 Straighterline Final Exam
accommodation - ANS-adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new
information
\Acetylcholine (ACh) - ANS-stimulates the firing of neurons and is involved in the action of
muscles, learning, and memory
\action potential - ANS-a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
\adrenal glands - ANS-located at the top of each kidney, regulate mood, energy level, and the
ability to cope with stress.
\agonist - ANS-A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
\all or nothing principle - ANS-The principle that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain
level of intensity (its threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any
intensity.
\altruism - ANS-unselfish regard for the welfare of others
\Alzheimer's disease - ANS-degenerative brain disorder that involves a decline in memory, have
an acetylcholine deficiency
\amnesia - ANS-loss of memory
\amygdala - ANS-A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear
and aggression
\antagonist - ANS-drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects
\anterograde amnesia - ANS-an inability to form new memories
\antisocial personality disorder - ANS-A personality disorder in which the person (usually a man)
exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be
aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
\assimilation - ANS-interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
\association cortex - ANS-regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate sensory and motor
information
\Atkinson-Shiffrin theory - ANS-Theory stating that memory storage involves three separate
systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
\attribution theory - ANS-The view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes
of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior
\autobiographical memory - ANS-the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life
story
\Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - ANS-Erikson's stage in which a toddler learns to exercise will
and to do things independently; failure to do so causes shame and doubt
\availability heuristic - ANS-estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in
memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume
such events are common
\axon - ANS-the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which
messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
\basal ganglia - ANS-structures in the forebrain that help to control movement
, \base rate neglect - ANS-The tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of
very specific but vivid information.
\behavior - ANS-everything we do that can be directly observed
\behavior genetics - ANS-study of the degree and nature of heredity's influence on behavior.
\biological personality - ANS-personality characteristics reflect underlying biological processes
such as those carried out by the brain, neurotransmitters, and genes. differences in behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings depend on these processes; Eyesneck
\borderline personality - ANS-a personality disorder characterized by lack of stability in
interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotion; impulsivity; angry outbursts; intense fear of
abandonment; recurring suicidal gestures
\brain lesioning - ANS-abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain resulting from injury or
disease
\brain stem - ANS-Connects the brain and spinal cord
\Broca's area - ANS-important role in the production of speech
\cell body - ANS-Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the
cytoplasm
\cerebellum - ANS-A large structure of the hindbrain that controls motor coordination
\cerebral cortex - ANS-The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral
hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.
\concrete operational stage - ANS-in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from
about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable
them to think logically about concrete events
\confirmation bias - ANS-a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions
and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
\convergent thinking - ANS-a type of critical thinking in which one evaluates existing possible
solutions to a problem to choose the best one
\corpous callosum - ANS-connects hemispheres, each hemisphere controls opposite side of
body
\critical thinking - ANS-thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather,
it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions.
\decay theory - ANS-proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time
\decreased GABA levels - ANS-lead to anxiety
\deductive reasoning - ANS-reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general
principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning;
therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)
\Deindividuation - ANS-the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations
that foster arousal and anonymity
\dendrites - ANS-Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
\discrimination - ANS-in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a
conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
\divergent thinking - ANS-expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking
that diverges in different directions)
\divided attention - ANS-concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
accommodation - ANS-adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new
information
\Acetylcholine (ACh) - ANS-stimulates the firing of neurons and is involved in the action of
muscles, learning, and memory
\action potential - ANS-a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
\adrenal glands - ANS-located at the top of each kidney, regulate mood, energy level, and the
ability to cope with stress.
\agonist - ANS-A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
\all or nothing principle - ANS-The principle that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain
level of intensity (its threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any
intensity.
\altruism - ANS-unselfish regard for the welfare of others
\Alzheimer's disease - ANS-degenerative brain disorder that involves a decline in memory, have
an acetylcholine deficiency
\amnesia - ANS-loss of memory
\amygdala - ANS-A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear
and aggression
\antagonist - ANS-drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects
\anterograde amnesia - ANS-an inability to form new memories
\antisocial personality disorder - ANS-A personality disorder in which the person (usually a man)
exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be
aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
\assimilation - ANS-interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
\association cortex - ANS-regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate sensory and motor
information
\Atkinson-Shiffrin theory - ANS-Theory stating that memory storage involves three separate
systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
\attribution theory - ANS-The view that people are motivated to discover the underlying causes
of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of the behavior
\autobiographical memory - ANS-the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life
story
\Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - ANS-Erikson's stage in which a toddler learns to exercise will
and to do things independently; failure to do so causes shame and doubt
\availability heuristic - ANS-estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in
memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume
such events are common
\axon - ANS-the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which
messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
\basal ganglia - ANS-structures in the forebrain that help to control movement
, \base rate neglect - ANS-The tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of
very specific but vivid information.
\behavior - ANS-everything we do that can be directly observed
\behavior genetics - ANS-study of the degree and nature of heredity's influence on behavior.
\biological personality - ANS-personality characteristics reflect underlying biological processes
such as those carried out by the brain, neurotransmitters, and genes. differences in behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings depend on these processes; Eyesneck
\borderline personality - ANS-a personality disorder characterized by lack of stability in
interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotion; impulsivity; angry outbursts; intense fear of
abandonment; recurring suicidal gestures
\brain lesioning - ANS-abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain resulting from injury or
disease
\brain stem - ANS-Connects the brain and spinal cord
\Broca's area - ANS-important role in the production of speech
\cell body - ANS-Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the
cytoplasm
\cerebellum - ANS-A large structure of the hindbrain that controls motor coordination
\cerebral cortex - ANS-The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral
hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.
\concrete operational stage - ANS-in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from
about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable
them to think logically about concrete events
\confirmation bias - ANS-a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions
and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
\convergent thinking - ANS-a type of critical thinking in which one evaluates existing possible
solutions to a problem to choose the best one
\corpous callosum - ANS-connects hemispheres, each hemisphere controls opposite side of
body
\critical thinking - ANS-thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather,
it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses
conclusions.
\decay theory - ANS-proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time
\decreased GABA levels - ANS-lead to anxiety
\deductive reasoning - ANS-reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general
principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning;
therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)
\Deindividuation - ANS-the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations
that foster arousal and anonymity
\dendrites - ANS-Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
\discrimination - ANS-in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a
conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
\divergent thinking - ANS-expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking
that diverges in different directions)
\divided attention - ANS-concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
