Psychology 2000 Final Study cards

Han

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences (rewards or punishments).

Skinner Box

A controlled environment where animals (like rats or pigeons) are trained to perform tasks (e.g., press a lever) in exchange for rewards (like food) or to avoid punishments (like a mild shock).

Case Study

In-depth study of one person or a very small group, often with rare traits.

Longitudinal Survey

A research method that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods. This method is often used to study changes over time in a population or individual, allowing researchers to observe trends and developments.

Naturalistic Observation

Observes behavior in a natural setting without manipulation or control (e.g., watching kids at recess).

Negative Correlation

A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases while the other decreases, indicating an inverse association.

Positive Correlation

A relationship between two variables where both variables move in the same direction, meaning that as one variable increases, the other also increases.

No Correlation

A relationship between two variables where changes in one variable do not predict changes in the other variable, indicating no association.

Control group

A group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment or intervention and is used as a benchmark to measure the effects of the treatment on the experimental group.

Experimental group

A group in an experiment that receives the treatment or intervention being tested, allowing for comparison with the control group.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to observe its effects on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured or observed in an experiment, which is affected by changes in the independent variable.

cross-sectional study

compares different groups (or segments) of people at a single point in time.

A school wants to see if the amount of sleep students get impacts their test performance

This is an example of a study that examines the relationship between sleep (independent variable) and test performance (dependent variable) by comparing outcomes among students.

A fitness coach compares the effects of two workout programs on weight loss over a month.

This is an example of a study that evaluates the impact of different workout programs (independent variable) on weight loss (dependent variable) over a specific time frame.

somatic nervous system

a part of the peripheral nervous system that controls voluntary movements and sensory information transmission. controls voluntary muscle movements. “Soma" = body → Somatic = voluntary body movements

Autonomic Nervous System

a part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary bodily functions such as heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate. Auto = automatic → Autonomic = automatic body functions.

Sympathetic Nervous System

a division of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations, often referred to as the 'fight or flight' response.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

a division of the autonomic nervous system that promotes rest and recovery, often referred to as the 'rest and digest' response. calms the body down, rest-and-digest mode.

Dendrites

branch-like structures on neurons that receive signals from other neurons and transmit them to the cell body.

Soma

Also called the cell body — it processes the signal but doesn’t receive it directly from other neurons.

Terminal Buttons (Axon Terminals)

These are the "senders" — they release neurotransmitters to pass the message to the next neuron.

Myelin Sheath

A fatty covering around the axon that speeds up signal transmission — it doesn’t send or receive signals directly.

The order of neural flow

Dendrites → Soma → Axon → Terminal Buttons→ Synapse

Wernicke’s Area

responsible for language comprehension — understanding spoken or written language. Wernicke = Word Meaning (comprehension)

Broca’s Area

responsible for language production — planning and creating speech. Broca = Broken speech (production problem)

Amygdala

Handles emotions, especially fear and aggression - not language.

Occipital Lobe

Processes visual information, not language

Thalamus

is the brain’s main sensory relay station. It receives sensory signals (except smell) and routes them to the appropriate areas of the cortex for processing. (“Traffic Cop” of the brain for sensory info)

Hippocampus

Handles memory formation, especially converting short-term memory to long-term.

Hypothalamus

Regulates homeostasis — controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, and links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of tissues and organs — especially useful for the brain and spinal cord. (Magnetic + detailed images)

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

Measures electrical activity in the brain — great for studying sleep or seizures, not for imaging structures. (Electricity (brain waves))

PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography)

Shows activity/function by tracking a radioactive tracer — used to see what part of the brain is active, not detailed tissue structure. (Position of brain activity)

CT Scan (Computed Tomography)

Uses X-rays to take images — faster but less detailed than MRI; good for detecting bleeding or fractures. (Cheaper quick scan (X-ray)

Frontal Lobe (Orange)

• Motor control (premotor cortex)

• Problem solving (prefrontal area)

• Speech production (Broca’s area)

• Also linked to decision-making, impulse control, and personality

• thinking & speaking

Temporal Lobe (Pink)

• Hearing (auditory processing)

• Language comprehension (Wernicke’s area)

• Memory and information retrieval

hearing & understanding

Parietal Lobe (Blue)

• Touch perception (somatosensory cortex)

• Body orientation and spatial awareness

• Helps you know where your body is in space

• touch & space

Occipital Lobe (Green)

• Sight (visual cortex)

• Visual processing and interpretation

• vision

Cerebellum (red)

• Balance and coordination

• Helps fine-tune movements

balance

Brainstem (yellow)

• Involuntary responses (breathing, heartbeat, digestion)

• Connects the brain to the spinal cord

survival

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of random neural activity during REM sleep.

(Key Word Trick:
Activation (brain activity) + Synthesis (making sense of it))

Wish-Fulfillment Theory (Freud)

Dreams are a way to satisfy unconscious desires and wishes.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory of psychology developed by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior and the importance of childhood experiences.

Important Life Events Hypothesis

more like an informal idea that dreams reflect things going on in our daily lives.

Latent Content

the hidden, symbolic meaning of the dream — often representing unconscious thoughts, desires, or conflicts. (discovered by freud)

You dream of falling →

• Manifest content = literally falling off a cliff.

• Latent content = anxiety about losing control in real life.
  
  Latent = Hidden (what it means)

Manifest Content

The actual events/images you remember from the dream (surface storyline).

Manifest = Memory (what you recall)

Collective Unconscious

shared symbols and memories across cultures

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)

A sleep disorder where muscle paralysis doesn’t occur during REM sleep, causing the person to physically act out their dreams — sometimes violently

In normal REM, you're paralyzed. In RBD, you're not

Narcolepsy

A chronic sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable daytime sleepiness and sudden sleep episodes, often accompanied by cataplexy.

Insomnia

A sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, leading to daytime fatigue and impaired functioning.

Sleep Apnea

A disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep — leads to fatigue but not dream reenactment.

Light Waves

• Shorter wavelength = higher frequency = colors like blue/violet

• Longer wavelength = lower frequency = colors like red

• So, wavelength determines color

Sound Waves

• Higher frequency = higher pitch (e.g., a whistle)

• Lower frequency = lower pitch (e.g., a bass drum)

Frequency

the number of times a wave cycles in a second, determining the pitch of sound or color of light.

length (or wavelength)

the distance between consecutive peaks of a wave, affecting the color of light and pitch of sound.

Length = Frequency = Color (light), Pitch (sound)

Retina

retina is the layer at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells — rods and cones — responsible for transduction, which is the process of converting light into neural signals.

Lens

Focuses light onto the retina but doesn’t handle sensory conversion

Iris

the colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil and controls the amount of light entering the eye.

Pupil

the opening in the center of the iris that allows light to enter the eye.

Rods

night/black & white vision

Cones

color/daytime vision

Proximity

the principle that objects close together are perceived as a group.

Similarity

the principle that objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as a group.

Good Continuation

the principle that elements arranged in a line or curve are perceived to be more related than elements not on the line or curve.

Closure

the principle that a broken or incomplete figure is perceived as a complete shape. (like seeing a triangle even if part of it is missing)

The Gestalt principle of closure says we tend to mentally fill in gaps in a visual image to perceive a whole, complete object, even when parts are missing.

What is the unconditioned stimulus in the Little Albert study?

A loud noise that scared Albert.

Term	Example
UCS	Loud noise
UCR	Fear to loud noise
CS	White rat
CR	Fear to white rat

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior conditioning.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as fear or distress in response to a loud noise.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes associated with a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has been conditioned to elicit a response after association with an unconditioned stimulus.

After Little Albert was conditioned to fear white rats, he also showed fear to a white bunny. What is this an example of?

Stimulus generalization

Stimulus Generalization happens when a subject responds the same way to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus (CS)

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of negative punishment?

Taking away a teenager's phone for breaking curfew.

Negative punishment means removing something pleasant to decrease a behavior.

_____ is when we reward successive approximations toward a target behavior, which is helpful to use when teaching a complex set of behaviors.

Shaping

Shaping

involves reinforcing behaviors that are incrementally closer to the desired behavior.

Teaching a dog to roll over by first rewarding it for lying down, then for turning slightly, and finally for a full roll.

Slot machines reward gamblers with money according to which reinforcement schedule?

Variable ratio schedule.

variable ratio schedule

provides reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses.

Which is the correct order of steps in the modeling process?

Attention → Retention → Reproduction → Motivation

Attention

• You must notice the behavior.

Retention

• You must remember the behavior after observing it.

Reproduction

• You must be able to reproduce the observed behavior.

Motivation

• You must have a reason or desire to perform the behavior.

Bandura’s social learning theory

is a theory that explains how individuals learn behaviors through observation, imitation, and modeling, emphasizing the roles of retention, reproduction, and motivation.

What is a schema?

A mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts.

______ is when you stereotype someone or something without a valid basis for your judgment.

Representative bias

Representative bias

occurs when we judge or stereotype something based on how closely it matches a prototype we have in mind, rather than on logical reasoning or actual probability.

Example: Assuming someone is a librarian because they’re quiet and wear glasses, even if it's statistically unlikely.

Which type of bias involves becoming fixated on a single trait of a problem?

Anchoring bias

Anchoring bias

occurs when individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information (the “anchor”) when making decisions.

Example: If you're told a shirt was originally $200 and is now $100, it seems like a great deal—even if the shirt isn't actually worth $100.

In order for a test to be normed and standardized it must be tested on ______.

A representative sample

representative sample

accurately reflects the demographics of the larger population for which the test is intended.

Example: If you're creating a math test for all 8th graders, your sample should include 8th graders from different regions, backgrounds, and abilities — not just one specific type.

Fluid intelligence is characterized by ______.

Being able to see complex relationships and solve problems

Fluid intelligence

your ability to think quickly and abstractly, solve novel problems, and recognize patterns — without relying on prior knowledge or experience.

crystallized intelligence

which is based on accumulated knowledge (like facts and vocabulary)

The three functions of memory are ______.

Encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Encoding

The process of taking in information and converting it into a form that can be stored in the brain.

Storage

The process of maintaining encoded information over time for later retrieval.

Retrieval

The process of accessing and bringing into consciousness the stored information from memory.

Answering essay questions requires what type of retrieval?

Recall

According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, the three stages of memory are:

sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

Briefly holds incoming sensory information (like sights and sounds).