General Psychology Psyc 1011 Course Flashcards

This set of flashcards covers the foundational concepts, definitions, and theories from the General Psychology module, including history, sensory processes, learning theories, memory, motivation, personality, and psychological disorders.

Psychology

The scientific study of human behavior and the underlying mental processes.

Science (Psychology context)

The use of scientific methods to study behavior and mental processes in both humans and animals following scientific procedures and empirical data.

Behavior

All of our outward or overt actions and reactions, such as talking, facial expressions, and movement.

Mental Processes

All the internal, covert activities of our minds, such as thinking, feeling, and remembering.

Psychology Goals

The four main objectives of the field: description, explanation, prediction, and control.

Theory

A general explanation of a set of observations or facts.

Objective Introspection

A technique developed by Wilhelm Wundt to scientifically examine mental experiences by looking inward into consciousness.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology founded by Edward Titchener that aimed to find the basic mental elements like images, feelings, and sensations.

Functionalism

An early school of psychology founded by William James focusing on how the mind allows people to work, play, and adapt to their surroundings.

Gestalt Psychology

A school founded by Max Wertheimer based on the idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Behaviorism

A school founded by John B. Watson viewing psychology as the study of observable and measurable behaviors.

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's school of thought focused on the unconscious part of the human mind containing hidden wishes and conflicts.

Humanistic Perspective

A modern view emphasizing the uniqueness of human beings, free will, self-actualization, and reaching full potential.

Scientific Method

A process of testing ideas through systematic observations, experimentations, and statistical analysis to reduce bias and error.

Sensation

The process whereby stimulation of receptor cells in sensory organs sends nerve impulses to the brain.

Perception

The process that organizes sensations into meaningful patterns; interpretations given to sensations by the brain.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum level of stimulation that can be detected $50\,\%$ of the time when a stimulus is presented repeatedly.

Difference Threshold

The minimum amount of change in stimulation that can be detected $50\,\%$ of the time, also known as the just noticeable difference (jnd).

Weber’s Law

The principle that the amount of change needed to produce a jnd is a constant fraction of the original stimulus.

Sensory Adaptation

The tendency of sensory receptors to have decreasing responsiveness to unchanging stimulus.

Attention

The perceptual process that selects certain inputs for inclusion in conscious awareness while ignoring others.

Contours

Marked differences in brightness or color that give shape to objects in the visual world.

Law of Proximity

A Gestalt principle stating that items close together in space or time tend to be perceived as belonging together.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular depth cue based on the degree of difference between the image of an object focused on the two retinas.

Convergence

A binocular depth cue referring to the degree to which the eyes turn inward to focus on an object.

Texture Gradient

A monocular depth cue where objects farther away have fewer details distinguishable than nearer objects.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable in size, shape, and brightness despite changes in the retinal image.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience or practice.

Classical Conditioning

Learning where a neutral stimulus brings about a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally yields that response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response without having been learned.

Operant Conditioning

Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences.

Negative Reinforcement

The process whereby the termination of an aversive stimulus makes a behavior more likely to occur.

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced.

Observational Learning

Learning by watching the behavior of another person, or model, as proposed by Albert Bandura.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs but is not evident in behavior until conditions for its appearance are favorable.

Encoding

The process by which information is initially recorded in a form usable to memory.

Sensory Memory

The entryway to memory that retains information briefly until we can select items for attention.

Short-term Memory (STM)

Part of memory holding the contents of our attention with a limited capacity of approximately $7 \pm 2$ units.

Semantic Memory

Factual knowledge internal representations of the world independent of personal context.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory for "how to" knowledge of procedures or skills like swimming.

Decay Theory

The theory that memory traces or engrams fade with time if they are not accessed.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation in which a person acts because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying internally.

Homeostasis

The tendency of the body to maintain a steady-state state through internal mechanisms.

Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow’s ranking of five classes of needs: physiological, safety, love/belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.

James-Lang Theory of Emotion

The perspective that physical arousal leads to the labeling of an emotion.

Canon-Bard Theory of Emotion

The theory that emotion and physiological arousal occur more or less at the same time.

Id

The primitive, unconscious part of personality existing at birth that acts according to the pleasure principle.

Ego

The part of personality that deals with reality and works on the reality principle to satisfy the id’s demands safely.

Superego

The moral center of personality consisting of the ego ideal and the conscience.

Repression

A defense mechanism involving the banishment of threatening thoughts or memories into the unconscious mind.

Big Five Theory

A trait approach to personality focusing on five dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Self-concept

An image of oneself based on interactions with others and the striving for self-actualization.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Love, affection, and respect with no strings attached, necessary for full human development according to Carl Rogers.

Maladaptiveness

A criterion for psychological disorders where behavior seriously disrupts the social, academic, or occupational life of an individual.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder characterized by a series of intense feelings of fear including heart palpitations and shortness of breath.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors used to reduce those thoughts (compulsions).