Essential Psychology Vocabulary and Concepts

Part 1: Foundations of Psychology

• A to try to cure a medical condition: TREAT
• B the study of the mind: PSYCHOLOGY
• C an observable action: BEHAVIOR
• D relating to the mind: MENTAL
• E to evaluate something: ASSESS
• F a physical setting: ENVIRONMENT
• G the status of the body's systems: PHYSICAL STATE
• H a set of events that take place in a certain order: PROCESS

2. 1B Many different factors affect people's minds.
3. 2A The brain directs many processes, so it has many different functions.

Part 2: The Nervous System

• A information that comes from the sense organs: SENSORY INFORMATION
• B the organ in the body responsible for thinking: BRAIN
• C to take in and understand something: PROCESS
• D a part of the CNS that does not contain nerve cell bodies: WHITE MATTER
• E a nerve cell: NEURON
• F a part of the CNS that contains nerve cell bodies: GRAY MATTER

4. 1 The SPINAL CORD is located in a person's back.
5. 2 The brain has to INTEGRATE sensory information from different areas of the body.
6. 3 A fast, uncontrollable response is a(n) REFLEX.
7. 4 The CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM sends and receives messages to and from the body.

Part 3: Autonomic and Peripheral Systems

• A a division of the autonomic system that is active when the body is stressed: SYMPATHETIC DIVISION
• B a nerve that transmits information from the brain to muscles: MOTOR NERVE
• C a division of the autonomic system that is active when the body rests: PARASYMPATHETIC DIVISION
• D split into more than one piece or part: DIVIDED
• E the division of the PNS that controls voluntary movements: SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
• F a nerve that transmits information from sense organs: SENSORY NERVE

6. 1. The PERIPHERAL NERVOUS system contains all the nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord.
7. 2. Something is INVOLUNTARY if a person cannot control it.
8. 3. Internal processes, like digestion, are a part of the AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM.
9. 4. A(n) VOLUNTARY action is one that a person can control.

Part 4: Brain Anatomy and Functions

• A one half of something round: HEMISPHERE
• B the front part of the cerebrum: FRONTAL LOBE
• C the part of the brain that interprets information seen by the eyes: VISUAL CORTEX
• D the bottom middle part of the cerebrum: TEMPORAL LOBE
• E a part of the cerebrum that controls consciousness and emotion: INSULAR LOBE
• F a group of fibers that connects the two halves of the cerebrum: CORPUS CALLOSUM
• G the rear part of the cerebrum: OCCIPITAL LOBE
• H the top middle part of the cerebrum: PARIETAL LOBE

8. 1. The scientist studies the largest division of the human brain: CEREBRUM.
9. 2. The part of the brain that interprets sounds is located in the temporal lobe: AUDITORY CORTEX.
10. 3. Damage to the part of the brain that controls movements can lead to trouble walking: MOTOR CORTEX.
11. 4. The part of the brain that senses the body's position and movement is near the parietal lobe: SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX.

Part 5: Brain Structures and Systems

9. 1. The students identified the part that sends signals from the medulla to the thalamus: PONS.
10. 2. The amygdalae are in the part that controls emotions: LIMBIC SYSTEM.
11. 3. A number of senses are governed by the part that contains the medulla and midbrain: BRAIN STEM.
12. 4. Some emotional responses are affected by the part that creates and releases hormones: HYPOTHALAMUS.

10. 1A Each AMYGDALA helps control certain emotions.
11. 1B The MIDBRAIN helps control vision and hearing.
12. 2A The CEREBELLUM helps control the body’s movements.
13. 2B The PITUITARY GLAND releases hormones that perform various functions.
14. 3A Breathing and heartbeat are controlled in the MEDULLA.
15. 3B The THALAMUS regulates the body's alertness.

Part 6: Endocrine System and Senses

11. 1. The glands of the ENDOCRINE SYSTEM exist in various places around the body.
12. 2. The spinal cord releases ACETYLCHOLINE and causes the muscles to move.
13. 3. The body uses hormones to REGULATE many functions.
14. 4. INSULIN in the blood affects sugar levels.
15. 5. When the brain is under stress, it releases NOREPINEPHRINE.
16. 6. The brain can control pain sensations by releasing ENDORPHINS.

Part 7: Perception and Consciousness

• A the decline of a sensory response as a result of unchanging stimuli: SENSORY ADAPTATION
• B the ability to focus on only a small part of the environment: SELECTIVE ATTENTION
• C the branch of psychology that studies perception and the senses: PSYCHOPHYSICS
• D the smallest change in a stimulus that a person can perceive: DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD
• E the lack of a normal amount of sensory information: SENSORY DEPRIVATION
• F the smallest amount of a stimulus that a person can perceive: ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD

Part 8: Memory and Learning

• A a system that stores sensory information for a very short time: SENSORY MEMORY
• B the change of information into a storable form: ENCODING
• C occurring for an extended period of time: LONG-TERM
• D the ability to recall information from memory: RETRIEVAL
• E the act of repeating information to keep it in memory: REHEARSAL

Part 9: Intelligence and Personality

• A related to relationships between people: INTERPERSONAL
• B the ability to think and learn: INTELLIGENCE
• C a measurement of intelligence based on test scores: IQ
• D related to the appreciation or production of music: MUSICAL
• E an idea that influences people's thinking: BIAS
• F related to movement in 3-D space: SPATIAL
• G related to a person's understanding of him- or herself: INTRAPERSONAL
• H related to language: LINGUISTIC