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What theory is René Descartes known for?

A: Philosophical Dualism - the mind and body are fundamentally different; the body is material, the mind is immaterial.

What theory is Thomas Hobbes known for?

A: Philosophical Materialism - mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena; the mind is what the brain does

What theory is John Locke known for?

A: Philosophical Realism - perception is entirely based on sensory input; the brain uses only incoming data to perceive.

What theory is Immanuel Kant known for?

A: Philosophical Idealism - perception involves interpretation by the brain, using sensory input + other mental processes.

What theory is Aristotle known for?

A: Philosophical Empiricism - all knowledge is acquired through experience; the mind is a "blank slate" at birth.

What theory is Plato known for?

A: Philosophical Nativism - some knowledge is innate rather than learned from experience.

What is Structuralism in psychology?

A: An early approach that analyzed the mind's basic elements through introspection.

What method did Structuralists use to study the mind?

A: Introspection - analyzing subjective experiences reported by trained observers.

Why did Structuralism fall out of favor?

A: Introspection lacked objectivity; results were not valid or reliable.

What is Functionalism in psychology?

A: The study of how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment; inspired by Darwin and natural selection

Who is associated with Functionalism?

A: William James - considered the Father of American Psychology

What was William James' main idea about psychology's mission?

A: To understand how psychological processes help people survive and reproduce.

What is Hysteria (as studied by Charcot and Janet)?

A: Loss of function with no physical cause - thought to originate in the unconscious mind.

What did Freud propose about the unconscious?

A: The unconscious influences thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of awareness.

What is the focus of Psychoanalytic Theory?

A: Unconscious mental processes shape behavior; therapy involves making the unconscious conscious.

What was William James' opinion of Freud's theories?

A: He thought they were nonsense.

What is Behaviorism?

A: A psychological approach that focuses only on observable behavior, not thoughts or feelings.

What did John Watson believe about studying behavior?

A: Psychology should predict behavior based on stimuli (Stimulus → Response).

Who influenced Watson with classical conditioning research?

A: Ivan Pavlov - demonstrated associations between stimuli and reflexive responses (e.g., dogs salivating to tone).

What is B.F. Skinner known for?

A: Operant conditioning and the Principle of Reinforcement - behaviors that are rewarded are repeated.

What tool did Skinner use to study behavior?

A: The Skinner Box - studied how animals behave to obtain rewards.

What is Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer)?

A: Emphasizes perception of the whole over the sum of its parts.

What is Developmental Psychology (Piaget)?

A: The study of psychological changes across the lifespan.

What is Social Psychology (Lewin)?

A: The study of how behavior is influenced by individual interpretation (subjective construal) of the environment.

Who challenged behaviorism with his work on language?

A: Noam Chomsky - argued that behaviorism couldn't explain language acquisition.

What is Cognitive Psychology?

A: The study of human information processing - thinking, memory, decision-making, etc.

What is Evolutionary Psychology?

A: The study of how mental abilities and behaviors are shaped by natural selection.

What was Garcia's contribution to Evolutionary Psych?

A: Demonstrated biological preparedness - some associations (like taste aversion) are learned more easily due to evolution.

What is Cultural Psychology?

A: The study of how cultural values, traditions, and beliefs shape psychological processes.

What are cultural universals vs. culturally varied phenomena?

A: Universals = shared across humans (often biologically based); Varied = influenced by specific cultural practices.

When was the APA founded?

A: 1892 by William James and six others at Clark University.

When was the APS founded?

A: 1988 - focused on scientific research in psychology

What are different types of psychologists?

A: Experimental, Clinical, School, Organizational, Academic (teaching/research), Private Practice, etc.

Why can't we rely solely on intuition and common sense in psychology?

A: Because of:

Hindsight bias ("I knew it all along")

Judgmental overconfidence ("I'm sure I'm right")

Perceiving patterns in random events

What is the Scientific Method?

A: A procedure for finding facts using empirical evidence. Involves forming a theory, hypothesis, testing, and observation.

What are the steps of the Scientific Method?

A:

Develop a theory

Derive a falsifiable hypothesis

Test the hypothesis using empirical evidence

Analyze data and draw conclusions

Replicate the findings

What is a theory?

A: A hypothetical explanation that organizes observations and predicts outcomes.

What is a hypothesis?

A: A testable, falsifiable prediction made by a theory.

What is an operational definition?

A: A specific, measurable definition of a property (e.g., defining "hyperactivity" by # of movements per hour).

What is an instrument in research?

A: A tool that detects the concrete, observable event in the operational definition.

What are the two key steps in measuring a property?

A:

Define the property (with construct validity)

Detect the property (with reliability and power)

What is construct validity?

A: The extent to which a measurement actually captures what it claims to measure.

What is internal validity?

A: The extent to which a study shows a cause-effect relationship, free from confounding variables.

What is external validity?

A: The extent to which findings generalize to other contexts, people, or situations.

What is reliability?

A: The ability to get consistent results; includes test-retest and inter-rater reliability.

What is power (in measurement)?

A: A detector's ability to detect small changes or differences in magnitude.

What are demand characteristics?

A: Cues in a setting that influence participants to behave how they think they're expected to.

What is descriptive research?

A: Systematic, objective observation to create an accurate picture of behavior.

What is naturalistic observation?

A: Observing people in their natural environments without interference.

What is correlation in research?

A: A measure of how closely two variables are related or co-vary.

What is a positive correlation?

A: Both variables increase or decrease together (e.g., height & weight).

What is a negative correlation?

A: One variable increases while the other decreases (e.g., stress & sleep).

What is a correlation coefficient?

A: A statistic between -1 and +1 that shows the strength/direction of a relationship.

Does correlation imply causation?

Why not? A: No — correlation does not prove causation due to possible third variables.

What is the independent variable (IV)?

A: The factor that is manipulated (e.g., drug dose).

What is the dependent variable (DV)?

A: The factor that is measured (e.g., symptom reduction).

What is a confounding variable?

A: A factor other than the IV that might affect the DV (e.g., other meds).

What is random assignment?

A: Randomly placing participants into groups to eliminate bias.

What is random sampling?

A: Selecting a sample that fairly represents a population.

What is a double-blind procedure?

A: Neither the participants nor the researchers know who gets the treatment — prevents bias.

What is the placebo effect?

A: Results caused by participants' expectations alone.

What is mean?

A: The arithmetic average.

What is median?

A: The middle score in a distribution.

What is mode?

A: The most frequently occurring score.

What is range?

A: The difference between the highest and lowest scores.

What is standard deviation?

A: How much scores vary around the mean.

What is a normal distribution?

A: A bell-shaped curve where most scores fall near the mean.

When is a result statistically significant?

A: When the likelihood of it occurring by chance is less than 5% (p < 0.05).

What makes an observed difference reliable?

A:

Representative samples

Less variability

Larger sample sizes

What are key components of the ethical code of conduct?

A:

Informed Consent

Freedom from Coercion

Protection from Harm

Risk-Benefit Analysis

Deception (when necessary)

Debriefing

Confidentiality

What traits define a good scientist?

A: Curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

What is the theory behind SSRIs as a treatment for depression?

A: Depression is thought to result from low levels of serotonin; SSRIs increase serotonin levels in the brain.

How do SSRIs work?

A: They block the reuptake of serotonin into the presynaptic neuron, increasing its availability in the synaptic cleft.

What do sensory neurons do?

A: Receive information from external stimuli and transmit it to the brain via the spinal cord.

What do motor neurons do?

A: Carry signals from the spinal cord to muscles to produce movement.

What do interneurons do?

A: Connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, or other interneurons.

What is the dendrite?

A: Receives information from other neurons and sends it to the cell body.

What is the cell body?

A: Coordinates info processing and keeps the neuron alive.

What is the axon hillock?

A: The region where the axon begins and where the action potential is triggered.

What is the axon?

A: Transmits electrical signals away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands.

What is the myelin sheath?

A: An insulating fatty layer that speeds up signal transmission.

What is the Node of Ranvier?

A: A gap in the myelin sheath where action potentials jump during saltatory conduction.

What is the synapse?

A: The junction between neurons where neurotransmitters carry signals.

What are the two stages of communication in neurons?

A:

Conduction - Electrical signal within a neuron

Transmission - Chemical signal between neurons

What is an action potential?

A: An electrical impulse that travels down the axon; caused by a change in voltage due to ion movement.

Is the action potential all-or-none?

A: Yes — it either happens or it doesn't.

What is saltatory conduction?

A: The action potential jumps from node to node, speeding up transmission.

What ions are involved in the action potential?

A: Sodium (Na⁺) and Potassium (K⁺)

Where is sodium more concentrated?

A: Outside the neuron.

Where is potassium more concentrated?

A: Inside the neuron.

Why does sodium rush in?

A: Opposite charges attract; Na⁺ channels open and Na⁺ moves down its concentration gradient.

Why does potassium rush out?

A: Like charges repel; K⁺ channels open and K⁺ moves out to balance voltage.

What is the resting potential of a neuron?

A: -70 mV

What is the threshold to trigger an action potential?

A: -55 mV

What is depolarization?

A: Sodium enters the neuron, making the inside more positive.

What is repolarization?

A: Potassium exits the neuron, restoring negative charge inside.

What is hyperpolarization?

A: The neuron becomes more negative than resting potential.

What restores resting potential?

A: Na⁺/K⁺ pump - pushes 3 Na⁺ out and 2 K⁺ in using ATP.

What are neurotransmitters?

A: Chemicals that transmit signals across the synapse.

What are receptors?

A: Proteins on the postsynaptic neuron that bind to neurotransmitters to start a new action potential.