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Three components of the scientific attitude
Curiosity, skepticism, and humility.
Scientific method
A systematic procedure for research that distinguishes psychology as a science from pseudoscience.
Case study
An in-depth analysis of a single individual or group, often used in clinical psychology.
Naturalistic observation
Observing subjects in their natural environment without manipulation.
Correlation
A statistical measure that describes the extent to which two variables are related.
Meta-analysis
A technique that combines the results of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion.
Experiment
A research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating variables.
Strongest correlation
+.79, indicating a strong positive relationship, visually represented by points clustered upwards on a scatterplot.
Random sample
A method of selecting participants where everyone has an equal chance; differs from random assignment which allocates participants to conditions.
Independent variable
The factor manipulated by the researcher in an experiment.
Dependent variable
The outcome or response measured in an experiment.
IRB approval
Institutional review board approval ensures ethical research practices are followed.
Informed consent
Participants must be made aware of the nature of the research and agree to participate.
Confidentiality
Ensuring that all participant information is kept private.
Debriefing
Explaining the study's purpose and any deceptions to participants after completion.
Percentile rank
Indicates the percentage of scores that fall below a specific score in a distribution.
Bell curve
A graph that depicts the distribution of scores, where most values cluster around the mean.
Standard deviation
A measure of variance that indicates how much individual scores differ from the mean.
Statistically significant
Results that are unlikely to have occurred by chance, indicating a real effect.
Psychology definition
Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.
Psychological perspectives
Different approaches to understanding behavior including psychodynamic, behavioral, biological, cognitive, sociocultural, evolutionary, and humanistic.
Mean
The average score of a data set.
Median
The middle score when data is arranged in order.
Mode
The most frequently occurring score in a data set.
Range
The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set.
Correlation does not imply causation
A principle stating that correlation between two variables does not mean that one causes the other.
Threshold of excitation
The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
Action potential
A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon.
All-or-nothing principle
The principle that a neuron either fires completely or does not fire at all.
Reuptake
The reabsorption of neurotransmitters by the sending neuron.
Glial cells
Supportive cells that nourish and protect neurons.
Pruning
The process of eliminating unused neurons to strengthen active pathways.
Neuroplasticity
The brain's ability to form new connections and reorganize itself.
Neurogenesis
The process by which new neurons are formed in the brain.
Dendrites
Branch-like structures that receive messages from other neurons.
Soma
The cell body that contains the nucleus of the neuron.
Axon
The long, thin structure that transmits impulses away from the neuron.
Myelin sheath
A fatty layer that insulates the axon and speeds up neural transmission.
Axon terminal
The endpoint of an axon where neurotransmitters are released.
Synaptic gap
The space between two neurons where neurotransmitters are exchanged.
Threshold of excitation
The minimum level of stimulation required to trigger a neural response.
Absolute refractory period
The period after an action potential during which a neuron cannot fire again.
Relative refractory period
The period after an action potential when a neuron can fire again but requires a stronger stimulus.
Neurotransmission
The process of transmitting signals between neurons.
Acetylcholine (ACh)
A neurotransmitter involved in movement and memory.
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
Serotonin
A neurotransmitter that regulates mood and sleep.
GABA
A neurotransmitter that inhibits neural activity.
Norepinephrine
A neurotransmitter related to arousal and alertness.
Glutamate
The primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain.
Endorphins
Neurotransmitters that relieve pain and induce feelings of pleasure.
Substance P
A neurotransmitter involved in pain perception.
Agonists
Substances that enhance the effect of a neurotransmitter.
Antagonists
Substances that reduce the effect of a neurotransmitter.
Somatic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary movements.
Autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary body functions.
Sympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for fight or flight.
Parasympathetic nervous system
The division of the autonomic nervous system that conserves energy and promotes rest.
Motor neurons
Nerve cells that carry signals from the central nervous system to muscles.
Sensory neurons
Nerve cells that carry signals from sensory receptors to the central nervous system.
Interneurons
Nerve cells that communicate within the central nervous system.
Corpus callosum
The thick band of neural fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
Broca's area
Brain region involved in speech production.
Wernicke's area
Brain region involved in language comprehension.
Aphasia
A language disorder that affects speaking and understanding.
Contralateral control
The concept where one side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.
Natural selection
The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce.
Heritability
The genetic contribution to variations in a trait within a population.
Criticism of evolutionary psychology
Challenges arise from cultural differences that dispute universal claims made by evolutionary psychologists.
Selective attention
Focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring others, such as listening to music while studying.
Inattentional blindness
Failing to notice an unexpected stimulus in plain sight, like missing a person in a gorilla suit while focused on a ball game.
Change blindness
Not noticing large changes in a visual scene, such as a friend changing clothes between shots.
Bottom-up processing
Processing that begins with sensory input and builds up to perception, like learning a new song.
Top-down processing
Processing driven by cognition, such as recognizing a familiar tune.
Absolute threshold
The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.
Difference threshold
The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli that can be perceived.
Amplitude (A)
The height of a wave, which determines brightness in light waves.
Wavelength (W)
The distance between waves, which affects the perceived color.
Young-Helmholtz theory
The trichromatic theory of color vision, suggesting three types of cones detect red, green, and blue.
Opponent-processing theory
A theory that proposes color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: black-white, yellow-blue, and red-green.
Feature detectors
Cells in the visual cortex that respond to specific features of a visual stimulus.
Parallel processing
The ability to simultaneously process different types of information.
Blindsight
A condition where a person can respond to visual stimuli without consciously perceiving them.
Necker cube
An optical illusion representing a 3D cube that can be perceived in multiple ways.
Ames room
A distorted room that creates an optical illusion regarding the size of objects within it.
Phi phenomenon
The optical illusion of perceiving continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession.
Visual cliff
A laboratory device used to test depth perception in infants and young animals.
Figure-ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
Gestalt principles
Concepts that describe how we organize sensory information into meaningful patterns, including closure, similarity, and proximity.
Binocular vision
Depth perception using both eyes to judge distances.
Context-dependent memory
The improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.
State-dependent memory
The improved recall of specific episodes or information when an individual is in the same state of consciousness during encoding and retrieval.
Mood congruent memory
The tendency to recall memories that are consistent with a person's current mood.
Kinesthesia
The awareness of body position and movement.
Vestibular sense
The sense that contributes to balance and spatial orientation.
Parapsychology
The study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception (ESP).
