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psychology (pg. 2)

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the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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interactive dualism (pg. 3)

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the idea that mind and body were separate entities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences; proposed by the French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650)

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Sigmund Freud (pg. 7)

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neurologist who developed an intriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that were unconscious, or hidden from the person's conscious awareness; this school of thought, called psychoanalysis, emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality

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William James (pg. 5)

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the main proponent of American psychology; evolutionist

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Edward B. Titchener (pg. 4)

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shared many of Wilhelm Wundt's ideas about the nature of psychology; eventually developed his own approach, which he called structuralism (the first major school of thought in psychology; held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into elemental structures, or component parts, of sensations and feelings)

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William Wundt (pg. 4)

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generally credited as being the founder of psychology as an experimental science

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Ph.D. Degree (†)

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also called doctorate; the highest degree awarded by a graduate school, usually to a person who has completed at least three years of graduate study and a dissertation approved by a board of professors

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behaviorism (pg. 8)

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school of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning

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Ivan Pavlov (pg. 8)

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pioneer of behaviorism; Russian physiologist who first described the basic learning process of associating stimuli that is now called classical conditioning

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Abraham Maslow (pg. 9)

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advocate of humanistic psychology; developed a theory of motivation that emphasized psychological growth

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Burrhus Frederick Skinner (pg. 8, 197)

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famous American psychologist; champion of behaviorism; believed that psychology should restrict itself to studying outwardly observable behaviors that could be measured and verified; developed the operant conditioning model of learning; emphasized studying the relationship between environmental factors and observable actions, not mental processes, in trying to achieve a scientific explanation of behavior

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"third force" (pg. 9)

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humanistic psychology; school of psychology that emphasizes each person's unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction

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social interaction (†)

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an exchange between two or more individuals; a building block of society; can be studied between groups of two (dyads), three (triads) or larger social groups; a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals or groups

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ethnocentrism (pg. 13)

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the tendency to use your own culture as the standard for judging other cultures; can lead to the inability to separate ourselves from our own cultural backgrounds and biases so that we can understand the behaviors of others

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placebo (pg. 28)

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a fake substance, treatment, or procedure that has no known direct effects

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sensory neuron (pg. 43)

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the type of neuron that conveys information to the brain from specialized receptor cells in sense organs and internal organs

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glial cells/glia (pg. 44)

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the support cells that assist neurons by providing structural support, nutrition, and removal of cell wastes; manufacture myelin

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motor neuron (pg. 43)

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the type of neuron that signals muscles to relax or contract

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interneuron (pg. 43)

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the type of neuron that communicates information from one neuron to the next

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neuron (pg. 43)

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a highly specialized cell that communicates information in electrical and chemical form; a nerve cell

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curare (†)

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a bitter, resinous substance obtained from the bark and stems of some South American plants; paralyzes the motor nerves and is traditionally used by some Indian peoples to poison their arrows and blowpipe darts

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morphine (†)

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an analgesic and narcotic drug obtained from opium and used medicinally to relieve pain

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L-dopa (†)

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the levorotatory form of dopa, used to treat Parkinson's disease

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botox (†)

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a drug prepared from the bacterial toxin botulin, used medically to treat certain muscular conditions and cosmetically to remove wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing facial muscles

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endocrine system (pg. 58)

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the system of glands, located throughout the body, that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

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myelin (†)

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a mixture of proteins and phospholipids forming a whitish insulating sheath around many nerve fibers, increasing the speed at which impulses are conducted

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endorphin (†)

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any of a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system and having a number of physiological functions; peptides that activate the body's opiate receptors, causing an analgesic effect

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hormones (pg. 58)

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chemical messengers secreted into the bloodstream primarily by endocrine glands

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epinephrine/adrenaline (†)

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a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion

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hippocampus (pg. 70)

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a curved forebrain structure that is part of the limbic system and is involved in learning and forming new memories

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left-hemisphere general functions (pg. 76)

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words, letters, language sounds, verbal memory, speech, grammar rules, reading, writing, arithmetic

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right-hemisphere general functions (pg. 76)

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geometric pattens, faces, emotional expression, non-language sounds, music, nonverbal memory, emotional tone of speech, geometry, sense of direction, distance, mental rotation of shapes

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Roger Sperry (pg. 75)

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psychologist and neuroscientist who began to unravel the puzzle of the left and right hemispheres in the 1960s

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fitness (†)

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the condition of being physically fit and healthy; the quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task

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perception (pg. 86)

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the process of integrating, organizing, and interpreting sensations

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absolute threshold (pg. 88)

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the smallest possible strength of a stimulus that can be detected half the time

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difference threshold/just noticeable difference (pg. 88)

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the smallest possible difference between two stimuli that can be detected half the time

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sensory adaption (pg. 88)

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the decline in sensitivity to a constant stimulus

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color blindness (pg. 96)

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one of several inherited forms of color deficiency or weakness in which an individual cannot distinguish between certain colors

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opponent-process theory of color vision (pg. 97)

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the theory that color vision is the product of opposing pairs of color receptors: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white; when one member of a color pair is stimulated, the other member is inhibited

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mere exposure effect (pg. 89)

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the finding that repeated exposure to a stimulus increases a person's preference for that stimulus

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skin (pg. 106)

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largest and heaviest sense organ; the thin layer of tissue forming the natural outer covering of the body of a person or animal

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pain (pg. 106)

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the unpleasant sensation of physical discomfort or suffering that can occur in varying degrees of intensity

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Gestalt psychology (pg. 112)

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school of psychology that maintained sensations are actively processed according to consistent perceptual rules, producing meaningful whole perception, or gestalts

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Müller-Lyer illusion (pg. 123)

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a famous visual illusion involving the misperception of the identical length of two lines, one with arrows pointed inward, one with arrows pointed outward

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consciousness (pg. 135)

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personal awareness of mental activities, internal sensations, and the eternal environment

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circadian rhythm (pg. 138)

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a cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24 hours long; the cyclical daily fluctuations in biological and psychological processes

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REM sleep (pg. 140)

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type of sleep during which rapid eye movements (REM) and dreaming usually occur and voluntary muscle activity is suppressed; also called active sleep or paradoxical sleep

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NREM sleep (pg. 140)

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quiet, typically dreamless sleep in which rapid eye movements are absents; divided into four stages; also called quiet sleep

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dream (pg. 147)

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an unfolding sequence of thoughts, perceptions, and emotion that typically occurs during REM sleep and is experienced as a series of real-life events

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obstructive sleep apnea (pg. 153)

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a sleep disorder in which the person repeatedly stops breathing during sleep

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hypnosis (pg. 156)

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a cooperative social interaction in which the hypnotized person responds to the hypnotist's suggestions with changes in perception, member, and behavior

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Ernest R. Hilgard (pg. 159)

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psychologist who believed that the hypnotized person experiences dissociation (the splitting of consciousness into two or more simultaneous streams of mental activity); theorized the neodissociation theory of hypnosis (where a hypnotized person consciously experiences one stream of mental activity that complies with the hypnotist's suggestions; but a second, dissociated stream of mental activity is also operating, processing information that is unavailable to the consciousness of the hypnotized subject; referred to this second, dissociated stream of mental activity as the hidden observer [the phrase hidden observer does not mean that the hypnotized person has multiple personalities])

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psychoactive drug (pg. 164)

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a drug that alters consciousness, perception, mood, and behavior

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heroin (†)

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a highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, often used illicitly as a narcotic producing euphoria

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marijuana (pg. 174)

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a psychoactive drug derived from the hemp plant

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cocaine (pg. 173)

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a stimulant drug derived from the coca tree

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caffeine (pg. 170)

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a stimulant drug found in coffee, tea, cola drinks, chocolate, and many over-the-counter medications

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learning (pg. 183)

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a process that produces a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge as a result of past experience

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Robert A. Rescorla (pg. 192)

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American psychologist who experimentally demonstrated the involvement of cognitive processes in classical conditioning

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John B. Watson (pg. 188)

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American psychologist who, in the early 1900s, founded behaviorism, an approach that emphasizes the scientific study of outwardly observable behavior rather than subjective mental states

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classical conditioning (pg. 185)

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the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response

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phobia (pg. 195)

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an extreme, irrational fear of a specific object, animal, or situation

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reinforcement (pg. 198)

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the occurrence of a stimulus or event following a response that increases the likelihood of that response being repeated

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positive reinforcement (pg. 198)

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a situation in which a response is followed by the addition of a reinforcing stimulus, increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated in similar situations

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negative reinforcement (pg. 199)

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a situation in which a response results in the removal of, avoidance of, or escape from a punishing stimulus, increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated in similar situations

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operant conditioning (pg. 198)

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the basic learning process that involves changing the probability that a response will be repeated by manipulating the consequences of that response; explains learning as a process in which behavior is shaped by its consequences

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strategies to improve your self control

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• Precommitment • Self-Reinforcement • Stimulus Control • Focus on the Delayed Reinforcer • Observe Good Role Models

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