OpenStax Psychology 2e Study Guide: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major perspectives, research methods, biopsychology, states of consciousness, and learning theories from OpenStax Psychology 2e.

Structuralism

A psychological perspective established by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener that sought to analyze the adult mind into its simplest definable components using introspection.

Introspection

A scientific method in which an individual examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible.

Functionalism

A school of psychology founded by William James that focused on how mental activities and behaviors help an organism adapt, survive, and flourish in its environment.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud's perspective positing that human thought and behavior are deeply driven by unconscious desires, motives, conflicts, and early childhood experiences.

Behaviorism

A psychological perspective championed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner that rejected internal mental states to focus entirely on observable, measurable behavior and environmental conditioning.

Humanism

A psychological perspective led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow emphasizing innate human potential for good, personal growth, free will, and self-actualization.

Cognitive Revolution

A mid-20th-century movement led by Ulric Neisser, Noam Chomsky, and Jean Piaget that shifted psychology back to studying internal mental processes like memory, language, and problem-solving.

Case Study

An in-depth, detailed analysis of a single individual or a small group, useful for rare phenomena but characterized by very low generalizability and a high risk of researcher bias.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method that observes and records behavior in its natural setting without researcher manipulation, providing high ecological validity but difficulty controlling confounding variables.

Survey

A standardized questionnaire or interview administered to a sample population to collect large amounts of data efficiently, though vulnerable to self-report bias and question-wording effects.

Correlational Research

A research design that measures the statistical relationship between two or more variables ($r = -1.0\text{ to }+1.0$), predicting relationships without proving causation or ruling out third variables.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or controlled by the researcher to determine its effect on the outcome.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable measured by an experimenter to assess the effect of the independent variable; it changes in response to the IV.

Random Assignment

An experimental procedure giving every participant an equal chance of being assigned to either the experimental or control group, minimizing systematic preexisting differences.

Single-Blind Study

An experimental design where participants do not know whether they are assigned to the experimental or control group, preventing participant expectancy and placebo effects.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental design where neither the participants nor the experimenters interacting with them know group assignments, eliminating both experimenter bias and placebo effects.

Wilhelm Wundt

Known as the father of experimental psychology; founded the first formal psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879 and pioneered structuralism using introspection.

William James

The first American psychologist; formulated functionalism, arguing that human thinking and consciousness evolved to serve adaptive functions.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter involved in muscle contraction and memory formation; the severe decay of ACh-producing neurons is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter regulating voluntary motor control, reward, and pleasure centers; excess is implicated in schizophrenia, and substantia nigra deficits cause Parkinson's disease.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that dampens neural firing to promote calm; affected by alcohol and anxiolytic drugs.

Glutamate

The major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, critical for long-term potentiation, learning, and memory.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep, appetite, and emotional arousal; deficient levels are associated with major depressive disorder and targeted by SSRIs.

Endorphins

Endogenous opioid peptides that function as natural analgesics (painkillers) and elicit feelings of pleasure.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter that elevates alertness, vigilance, and physical arousal; mediates the fight-or-flight stress response.

Thalamus

The brain's primary sensory relay station, redirecting visual, auditory, somatosensory, and gustatory inputs to cortical areas (olfaction bypasses it).

Hypothalamus

A limbic system structure regulating homeostatic biological drives (hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual behavior) and controlling the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure responsible for processing emotional responses, particularly the experience and expression of fear, anxiety, and aggression.

Hippocampus

A limbic system structure essential for learning, spatial navigation, and the consolidation of short-term memories into long-term declarative storage.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic division that prepares the body for action during emergencies (fight-or-flight) by increasing heart rate, dilating pupils, and inhibiting digestion.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The autonomic division responsible for rest-and-digest functions, restoring homeostatic baseline by slowing heart rate, constricting pupils, and stimulating digestion.

Frontal Lobe

Cerebral cortex lobe housing the motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, and Broca's area; controls executive function, voluntary movement, impulse regulation, and language production.

Parietal Lobe

Cerebral cortex lobe containing the primary somatosensory cortex; processes bodily tactile sensations such as touch, pressure, temperature, vibration, and pain.

Temporal Lobe

Cerebral cortex lobe containing the primary auditory cortex and Wernicke's area; specialized for hearing, memory consolidation, and language comprehension.

Occipital Lobe

Cerebral cortex lobe housing the primary visual cortex; responsible for interpreting visual inputs such as shape, color, movement, and spatial orientation.

NREM Stage 2 (N2)

A sleep stage characterized by deeper physical relaxation and unique brain patterns, specifically sleep spindles (rapid bursts) and K-complexes (high-voltage waves).

NREM Stage 3 (N3)

Deep slow-wave sleep (SWS) dominated by low-frequency, high-amplitude delta waves; the stage where muscle relaxation and physical tissue repair occur.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep

A sleep stage marked by rapid eye movements, brain waves resembling wakefulness, vivid dreams, elevated heart rate, and muscle paralysis (atonia).

Manifest Content

In Freud's dream theory, the literal, visible narrative storyline and events that occur during a dream.

Latent Content

In Freud's dream theory, the hidden psychological, symbolic meaning of a dream that represents unconscious desires and drives.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Hobson's neurobiological theory proposing that dreams are constructed by the cerebral cortex attempting to make sense of random neural signals fired by the brainstem during REM sleep.

Dissociation Theory

Ernest Hilgard's theory of hypnosis proposing that conscious awareness splits into two streams: one responding to hypnotic suggestion and an aware 'hidden observer.'

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to notice a visible, unexpected object or event because attention is entirely occupied with another stimulus or task.

Change Blindness

The inability to spot a visual alteration or difference in an environment across a brief disruption or visual interruption.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers an unlearned, involuntary reflex.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

In classical conditioning, an automatic, unlearned physiological reaction triggered by an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

In classical conditioning, an initially neutral stimulus that elicits a learned reflex after being paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

In classical conditioning, the learned reflexive behavior elicited by a conditioned stimulus alone.

Extinction

The gradual decrease and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The sudden reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response following a rest period without any additional conditioning.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency of an organism to demonstrate the conditioned response to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination

The learned ability of an organism to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli, responding only to the specific conditioned stimulus.

Law of Effect

Edward Thorndike's behavioral principle stating that actions followed by satisfying outcomes tend to be repeated, while actions followed by unpleasant outcomes tend to decline.

Positive Reinforcement

An operant conditioning procedure where a desirable stimulus is presented following a target behavior to increase that behavior's likelihood.

Negative Reinforcement

An operant conditioning procedure where an unpleasant stimulus is removed following a target behavior to strengthen and increase that behavior.

Positive Punishment

An operant conditioning procedure where an aversive stimulus is added following an undesirable behavior to decrease that behavior's frequency.

Negative Punishment

An operant conditioning procedure where a pleasant stimulus is removed following an undesirable behavior to decrease that behavior's frequency.

Shaping

An operant procedure of reinforcing successive approximations toward a complex target behavior until the final desired behavior is achieved.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where rewards are delivered at set, predictable time intervals, generating a scalloped response curve with significant post-reinforcement pauses.

Variable Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule providing rewards at unpredictable, varying time intervals, resulting in a moderate, steady rate of response.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that provides a reward after a predetermined, constant number of responses, resulting in high output with brief pauses after delivery.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule delivering rewards after an unpredictable, varying number of responses; produces high, steady response rates and is the most resistant to extinction.

Cognitive Map

A mental internal layout or representation of physical environmental space, as demonstrated in Edward Tolman's rat maze experiments.

Latent Learning

Learning that takes place without immediate reinforcement or observable performance, becoming apparent only when an incentive to demonstrate it is introduced.

Vicarious Reinforcement

An increase in the likelihood of an observer performing a modeled behavior after seeing the model rewarded for that specific action.

Vicarious Punishment

A decrease in the likelihood of an observer performing a modeled behavior after seeing the model receive a negative consequence for that action.