Introduction to Psychology and Lifespan Development

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the foundations and history of psychology, research design, biological bases of behavior, nervous system anatomy, and lifespan developmental theories.

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behaviour.

Empirical

Grounded in objective, tangible, measurable, and perceivable evidence that can be observed repeatedly regardless of who is observing.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology developed by Edward Titchener that used introspection to examine the contents of mental processes rather than their function.

Functionalism

A historical perspective founded by William James, influenced by Charles Darwin, that focused on how mental activities and behaviours help an organism adapt to its environment.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud's perspective focusing on the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences, using psychoanalysis to resolve psychological issues.

Gestalt Psychology

A psychological movement founded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler emphasizing that individual sensory parts relate to each other as a whole in perception.

Behaviourism

An approach championed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner that rejected the study of consciousness in order to focus exclusively on observable behaviour.

Operant Conditioning Chamber

A specialized chamber, also called a Skinner box, used by B. F. Skinner to investigate the consequences of behaviour via reinforcement and punishment.

Humanism

A perspective represented by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers that arose in reaction against determinism and pessimism, emphasizing human agency, innate goodness, and self-actualization.

Client-Centred Therapy

A therapeutic modality developed by Carl Rogers emphasizing unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

Cognitive Revolution

An intellectual movement in the 1950s and 1960s spurred by linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science that shifted psychological focus back to mental processes and the mind.

Francis Cecil Sumner

The first African American to receive a doctoral degree (PhD) in psychology, awarded in 1920.

Biopsychosocial Model

A framework utilized in health psychology that examines how health is jointly affected by biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Forensic Psychology

A subfield of psychology that applies psychological principles to legal questions within the justice system, including competency to stand trial, jury selection, and expert testimony.

Deductive Reasoning

A type of reasoning that begins with a broad generalization or hypothesis and tests it against real-world observations to reach logical conclusions.

Inductive Reasoning

A type of reasoning that uses specific empirical observations to formulate broad generalizations and construct theories.

Falsifiability

The capacity of a scientific hypothesis or statement to be demonstrated incorrect or disproved through empirical testing.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method involving observing behavior in its natural, unforced setting, characterized by high ecological validity and low researcher control.

Archival Research

A research design that searches for patterns and answers by examining existing records or large historical data sets.

Longitudinal Research

A research approach where the same group of individuals is assessed repeatedly over an extended period, eliminating cohort effects while remaining vulnerable to participant attrition.

Cross-Sectional Research

A research method that compares multiple age segments of a population at a single point in time, which can be confounded by generational or cohort differences.

Inter-Rater Reliability

A measure of the consistency and agreement among different independent observers recording data during an observational study.

Correlation Coefficient ($r$)

A numerical statistic ranging from $-1.0$ to $+1.0$ indicating the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables.

Operational Definition

A precise and explicit description of how an abstract variable is measured or manipulated within a research study.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental procedure in which both the participants and the experimenters are unaware of individual group assignments, preventing experimenter bias and placebo effects.

Glial Cells

Non-neuronal cells in the nervous system that provide metabolic support, insulation, scaffolding, waste transportation, and immune defense in a roughly $1:1$ ratio with neurons.

Myelin Sheath

A fatty substance produced by glial cells that coats axons to insulate them and accelerate electrical signal transmission.

Resting Potential

The baseline electrical charge of a neuron when not actively firing, typically measured at $-70\,mV$, maintained by higher concentration of $Na^+$ outside and $K^+$ inside the cell.

All-or-None Phenomenon

The principle stating that an action potential in a neuron is either triggered at full strength once reaching the threshold of excitation or not triggered at all.

Reuptake

The biological process in which unabsorbed neurotransmitters are transported back into the presynaptic terminal button to clear the synaptic cleft.

Agonist

A chemical or drug that mimics the action of an endogenous neurotransmitter by binding directly to its receptor site.

Antagonist

A substance that impedes or blocks normal neurotransmitter activity by binding to a receptor without activating it.

Somatic Nervous System

The branch of the peripheral nervous system associated with conscious, voluntary activities, composed of afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) fibers.

Autonomic Nervous System

The division of the peripheral nervous system responsible for regulating internal organs, glands, and involuntary bodily functions.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic division that activates physiological resources for stress-related activities, mediating the fight-or-flight response.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic subdivision that downregulates arousal, supporting routine day-to-day functions and restoring homeostasis.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure that controls autonomic life-sustaining functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Cerebellum

A hindbrain structure that coordinates voluntary movement, balance, fine motor skills, and procedural memory.

Broca's Area

A region located in the frontal lobe of the brain critical for language and articulate speech production.

Wernicke's Area

A temporal lobe region necessary for the comprehension of spoken and written language.

Thalamus

A forebrain sensory relay station that processes and routes incoming sensory signals to specific cortical areas for every sense except olfaction (smell).

Hippocampus

A structure within the limbic system essential for learning, memory formation, and memory consolidation.

Neuroplasticity

The capacity of the nervous system to modify its physical structure, functional organization, and synaptic connections in response to experience or brain injury.

Normative Approach

A study method in developmental psychology that establishes average ages (norms) for developmental milestones by evaluating large cohorts of individuals.

Schemata

Mental models or cognitive frameworks conceptualized by Jean Piaget that categorize and interpret information about the environment.

Assimilation

The cognitive process of integrating new information into existing schemata without altering the schemata's underlying structure.

Accommodation

The cognitive process of modifying existing schemata or formulating new ones in response to novel environmental input.

Object Permanence

The cognitive achievement during the sensorimotor stage wherein an infant understands that objects continue to exist even when out of view.

Conservation

The understanding mastered in the concrete operational stage that changing an object's physical appearance does not change its basic quantity, mass, or volume.

Egocentrism

The preoperational cognitive limitation characterized by a child's inability to see a situation from another person's point of view.

Sociocultural Theory

Lev Vygotsky's theory asserting that cognitive development, thought, and language are fundamentally structured by cultural and historical interactions.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erik Erikson's first psychosocial stage (0–1 years), where infants develop basic trust based on the consistency and responsiveness of their caregivers.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erik Erikson's fifth psychosocial stage (12–18 years), during which adolescents experiment with internal values and social roles to answer 'Who am I?'

Integrity vs. Despair

Erik Erikson's eighth and final psychosocial stage (65+ years), where late adults reflect on life to achieve a sense of fulfillment or experience regret.