Introductory Psychology Cram Packet Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major concepts from research design, biological bases, cognition, development, and psychological health based on the Thompson cram packet.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation that must be FALSIFIABLE, meaning it is able to be supported or rejected.

Operational Definition

A clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables that allows replication and collection of reliable data.

Correlation

A research design used to identify a relationship between two variables; it does not equal causation.

Independent Variable

The variable purposefully altered by the researcher to look for an effect.

Dependent Variable

The measured variable that is dependent on the independent variable.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to either control or experimental groups at random to increase the chance of equal representation and allow for cause/effect statements.

Standard Deviation

The average amount the scores are spread from the mean; a bigger number indicates more spread.

Statistical Significance

A result not due to chance where experimental manipulation caused the difference in means, indicated by $p < .05$.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The part of the Autonomic NS responsible for the fight/flight response; it generally activates the body except for digestion.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The part of the Autonomic NS responsible for rest/digest functions; it generally inhibits the body except for digestion.

Resting Potential

The state where a neuron maintains a $-70/mv$ charge when it is not active.

All-or-Nothing Principle

The rule that a stimulus must trigger the Action Potential past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity or speed of the response.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with reward (short term), fine movement, and addiction; located in the hypothalamus.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter associated with moods (long-term), emotion, and sleep; located in the amygdala, where too little is associated with depression.

Agonist

A drug that mimics a neurotransmitter.

Antagonist

A drug that blocks a neurotransmitter.

Amygdala

Part of the limbic system responsible for emotions and fear.

Hippocampus

Part of the limbic system responsible for episodic and semantic memory.

Broca's Area

Located in the left hemisphere; damage results in an inability to produce speech (broken speech).

Wernicke's Area

Located in the left hemisphere; damage results in an inability to comprehend speech.

Circadian Rhythms

The $24$-ish hour biological clock regulating body temperature and sleep.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement)

A sleep stage associated with dreaming and cognitive processing, characterized by active brain/heart rate but a relaxed body.

Absolute Threshold

The level of detection of a signal $50\%$ of the time.

Weber's Law

The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion for the difference to be detectable.

Top-Down Processing

Processing that moves from a whole idea or prior expectations to smaller parts.

Algorithms

Step-by-step strategies, such as formulas, that guarantee a solution.

Heuristics

Short-cut strategies, such as representative or availability heuristics.

Encoding: Semantic

Deep processing with an emphasis on the meaning of words.

Proactive Interference

A memory issue where old information interferes with the retrieval of new information.

Retroactive Interference

A memory issue where new information interferes with the retrieval of old information.

Flynn Effect

The phenomenon where IQ scores have steadily risen over the past $80$ years.

Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage

The stage from Birth to $2$ years focused on exploration; infants lack and then gain object permanence.

Conservation

The recognition that substances remain the same despite changes in shape, length, or position; lacking in the pre-operational stage.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that causes a response naturally without needing to be learned, such as food.

Negative Reinforcement

Taking away something bad or annoying to increase a behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to blame a person's internal disposition (personality) while failing to consider the situation.

Cognitive Dissonance

Discomfort caused by two opposing thoughts conflicting, leading to justification of the situation.

The Big Five (OCEAN)

The personality traits Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

The three phases of stress response: Alarm (shock), Resistance (coping), and Exhaustion (body gives up).

Diathesis-Stress Model

A model stating that a genetic predisposition for a disease must be 'turned-on' by environmental stimuli like stress.