Term 1 rev

• Biological Approach


  Human beings are biological systems. Our behaviour can be explained by our biology.

  Brain, hormones, genetics
• Sociocultural Approach


  Behaviour of one or a few people can affect the behaviour and attitude of another. Group behaviours + interactions, impacts of culture
• Every Cool Dude Does Really Choose Psychology

  Ethics committee, consent, deception (none), debriefing, right to withdraw, confidentiality (and anonymity), protection from harm
• Informed consent

  an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.
• Protection from harm


  the right of research participants to be protected from physical or psychological harm.
• anonymity/confidentiality 


  Data collected and the fact of participation in the study must remain unknown to any third parties.
• Right to Withdraw


  participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time they want.
• Cerebral cortex


  The convoluted outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres.

  Perception, language, learning, memory, thinking, planning, problem solving, control of voluntary movements. 70% of brain cells.
• Frontal lobe


  associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement&control, emotions, and problem solving.

  Retains long term memories which are not task based.
• temporal lobes


  Parts of the cerebrum involved in speech & language.

  Memory, hearing, emotion control
• Dendrite branching


  when neurons sprout out new dendrites as a result of stimulation in the environment.
• long-term potentiation


  gradual strengthening of synapses from repetitive stimulation
• Psychology


  the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Pineal gland 


  Sleep cycles
• Superior colliculus 


  Responsible for body orientation and eye movements, the dorsal region of the midbrain.
• pons 


  Regulates sleep cycles, respiratory processes and motor control
• Cognitive Approach


  The products of our biological systems can be seen in our cognitive systems — that is our thoughts, emotions and behaviour.Memory
• Deception


  purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment.Must be minimal
• Debriefing


  After the study, participants must be fully informed about its nature, its true aims, and how the data will be stored and used.
• Corpus Callosum


  Strand of nerve tissue that connects the two hemispheres.

  Main communication pathway

  Facilitates the exchange of information
• Parietal lobe


  Integrates sensory information from different modalities (senses). Visuo-spatial processing. Stimuli related to touch - pain pressure temperature
• Occipital lobe


  visual processing centreSmallest true lobe
• limbic system


  Part of temporal lobesConsists of hippocampus and amygdala
• Hippocampus


  Responsible for short to long term (declarative) memory formation and consolidation. Declarative — episodic and semantic
• Amygdala


  Emotional processing, threat detection and fear.
• Cerebellum


  the "little brain"

  sensory

  perception

  Coordination of voluntary movements

  Balance

  Some speech & language
• Thalamus


  the brain's sensory switchboard, it directs sensory signals to appropriate areas in the brain for processing.
• Aphasia


  inability to speak.

  Broca's area affected.
• Broca's area


  Speech center - located in frontal lobe (left side)
• Wernicke's area


  involved in development of language; in the left temporal lobe
• synaptic pruning


  Occurs when synapse is under stimulated. Brain's way of removing synapses that are no longer needed.
• Localisation


  The theory that specific areas of the brain are associated with particular functions and behaviours
• Case study


  a qualitative in-depth study on individuals, groups and institutions over a long period of time — requiring more than one research method. Conducted in the natural environment.
• Neuron


  a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; a nerve cell.
• Quasi-experiment


  A quantitative method in which the researcher observes what happens to the DV. The IV is to be changed naturally or not change at all as it is not ethical.

  Often conducted in the natural environment.

  Variables cannot be randomly allocated.
• Neurotransmitters

  Chemicals that transmit information from nerve cells to target cells
• Process of neurotransmission


  Electrochemical process whereby an electrical signal (action potential) or impulse travels down the axon of a neuron to trigger the release of neurotransmitters which travel across the synapse.
• Acetylcholine


  A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction
• Antagonist


  blocks neurotransmitter
• Agonist


  Enhances action of neurotransmitters