PSY final review

Psychology

The scientific study of mental activity, behavior, and the brain processes that underlie them.

Mental activity

Internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, memories, perceptions, and decisions.

Behavior

An observable and measurable action.

Brain processes

Physical activity in the brain and nervous system that supports mental activity and behavior.

Science of learning

Research-based principles and strategies used to improve studying, learning, and academic performance.

Empiricism

The principle that knowledge should be based on systematic observation and objective evidence.

Critical thinking

Systematically evaluating sources, evidence, and claims before reaching a conclusion.

IMPACT strategies

Six learning strategies: Improving, Monitoring, Practicing, Attending, Connecting, and Thinking Critically.

Domains of psychology

Five interconnected perspectives: biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health.

Biological psychology

The study of how the brain, nervous system, hormones, genes, and other biological processes influence behavior and mental activity.

Cognitive psychology

The study of mental processes such as attention, perception, memory, language, reasoning, and decision making.

Developmental psychology

The study of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional change across the lifespan.

Social and personality psychology

The study of how social situations, relationships, culture, and personality traits influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Mental and physical health psychology

The study of psychological disorders, treatment, stress, health behavior, and connections between mental and physical well-being.

Diversity

Variation in people’s identities, cultures, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

Culture

Shared, learned beliefs, values, norms, practices, and meanings transmitted within a group.

Ethics

Principles that guide responsible research and protect participants’ rights and welfare.

Privacy

A participant’s right to control access to their body, space, personal information, and decision to participate.

Confidentiality

The researcher’s responsibility to protect collected information and prevent participants’ identities from being improperly revealed.

Informed consent

Voluntary agreement to participate after receiving understandable information about procedures, risks, benefits, and the right to withdraw.

Protection from harm

The ethical requirement that researchers minimize physical and psychological risks to participants.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A committee that evaluates research plans to ensure the rights and welfare of human participants are protected.

Scientific method

A systematic cycle of developing explanations, making predictions, collecting and analyzing data, and revising conclusions.

Theory

A broad explanation that organizes existing findings and generates testable predictions.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction about what will happen under defined conditions.

Operational definition

A precise description of how a variable is manipulated or measured in a study.

Dependent variable

The measured outcome that may change in response to the independent variable; the data collected.

Independent variable

The variable a researcher manipulates or assigns to test its effect on an outcome.

Average

A measure of central tendency describing a typical score; the mean is the sum of scores divided by the number of scores.

Variability

The degree to which scores differ from one another or spread around an average.

Statistical significance

A judgment that an observed result would be unlikely if chance alone were operating under a stated statistical threshold.

Replication

Repeating a study to determine whether its findings occur again.

Generalization

The extent to which findings from a sample apply to a larger population or other settings.

Population

The full group a researcher wants to understand or draw conclusions about.

Sample

The smaller group of individuals actually studied.

Descriptive methods

Research approaches that describe behavior or mental activity without manipulating variables or establishing causation.

Case study

An intensive examination of one person, small group, or unusual case; it provides detail but may not generalize.

Observational study

Systematic watching and recording of behavior without manipulating variables.

Self-report study

A method in which participants describe their own attitudes, experiences, or behavior through surveys or interviews.

Correlational methods

Research methods that measure whether two variables are associated and how strongly they vary together.

Correlation coefficient

A number from −1.00 to +1.00 that represents the direction and strength of an association.

Positive correlation

An association in which two variables tend to change in the same direction.

Negative correlation

An association in which one variable tends to increase as the other decreases.

Zero correlation

The absence of a consistent linear association between two variables.

Directionality problem

The inability to determine from a correlation whether A affects B, B affects A, or both directions operate.

Third-variable problem

The possibility that an unmeasured variable causes or helps explain an association between two measured variables.

Correlation vs. causation

Correlation shows that variables are associated; causation requires evidence that changing one variable directly produces change in another.

Experimental methods

Research methods that manipulate an independent variable, control alternatives, and measure a dependent variable to test cause and effect.

Control group

The comparison group that receives no active treatment or receives a baseline or placebo condition.

Experimental group

The group that receives the treatment or active manipulation of the independent variable.

Placebo

An inactive treatment designed to resemble the real treatment and control for participants’ expectations.

Double-blind study

A design in which neither participants nor the researchers assessing them know who received the treatment or control condition.

Confound

An unintended variable that changes with the independent variable and creates an alternative explanation for the results.

Random sample

A sample selected so that each member of the target population has a chance of being included; it supports generalization.

Random assignment

Placing participants into experimental conditions by chance to make the groups as similar as possible at the start.

Introspection

Wundt’s method in which trained participants reported their conscious experiences in response to stimuli.

Structuralism

Edward Titchener’s approach that attempted to identify the basic elements or structure of conscious experience.

Functionalism

William James’s approach that examined the purpose and adaptive value of mental processes and behavior.

Psychodynamic theory

Sigmund Freud’s view that unconscious motives, conflicts, and early experiences influence behavior.

Behaviorism

The approach associated with Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner that emphasizes observable behavior and environmental learning.

Humanism

The approach associated with Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes free will, personal growth, meaning, and human potential.

Clinical psychology

The field focused on assessing, diagnosing, researching, and treating psychological disorders and serious emotional or behavioral problems.

Counseling psychology

The field focused on adjustment, relationships, life transitions, stress, and psychological well-being.

Basic research

Research conducted primarily to expand general knowledge and develop theory.

Applied research

Research conducted to solve a specific practical problem in a real-world setting.

Nervous system

The body’s electrochemical communication network consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.

Central nervous system (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord; the nervous system’s primary processing and command center.

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

All nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the CNS with the rest of the body.

Neuron

A specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits information in the nervous system.

Glial cells

Cells that nourish, insulate, protect, clean up after, and otherwise support neurons.

Sensory neuron

A neuron that carries information from sensory receptors toward the spinal cord and brain.

Motor neuron

A neuron that carries commands from the central nervous system to muscles or glands.

Interneuron

A neuron within the central nervous system that connects and processes signals between other neurons.

Cell body (soma)

The neuron structure containing the nucleus that maintains the cell and integrates incoming signals.

Dendrites

Branching neuron structures that receive messages from other cells.

Axon

The long neuron structure that carries an action potential away from the cell body.

Myelin sheath

An insulating covering around many axons that greatly speeds neural conduction.

Terminal buttons

Bulges at the ends of an axon that store and release neurotransmitters.

Synapse

The junction where a neuron communicates with another cell across a tiny gap called the synaptic cleft.

Reuptake

The process in which a presynaptic neuron reabsorbs released neurotransmitters for recycling.

Action potential

A rapid electrical impulse caused by ion movement that travels along an axon and triggers neurotransmitter release.

Transmission phase

The phase of neural communication in which terminal buttons release neurotransmitters into the synapse.

Reception phase

The phase in which neurotransmitters bind to matching receptors on the postsynaptic neuron.

Integration phase

The phase in which the cell body combines excitatory and inhibitory inputs to determine whether threshold is reached.

Conduction phase

The phase in which an action potential travels down the axon toward the terminal buttons after threshold is reached.

Resting state

The state in which a neuron is not firing and its inside is more negatively charged than its outside.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers released by terminal buttons that influence other cells by binding to receptors.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter involved in muscle control, attention, memory, learning, and sleep.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in arousal and alertness.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter involved in emotional states, impulse control, and dreaming.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, and voluntary movement.

GABA

The brain’s major inhibitory neurotransmitter; it reduces action potentials and contributes to anxiety reduction.

Glutamate

The brain’s major excitatory neurotransmitter; it supports learning and memory.

Endorphins

Naturally occurring neurotransmitters involved in pain reduction and pleasure.

Agonist

A drug that enhances or mimics a neurotransmitter’s action, often by activating its receptor.

Antagonist

A drug that inhibits a neurotransmitter’s action, often by blocking its receptor.

Broca’s area

A region usually in the left frontal lobe that is important for producing fluent speech.

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

A method that records electrical brain activity through scalp electrodes; it has excellent temporal resolution.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

A method that maps brain activity through blood-oxygen changes; it has strong spatial resolution.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

A method that uses magnetic pulses to temporarily stimulate or disrupt a targeted cortical region.