Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, methodologies, neurobiological structures, consciousness states, and developmental topics from Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5 of the Exam 1 Study Guide.

Historical Pioneers of Scientific Psychology

Key founders: Wundt (first lab, structuralism), James (functionalism), Calkins and Washburn (early female pioneers), Freud (psychoanalysis), Watson and Skinner (behaviorism), and Rogers and Maslow (humanism).

Nature-Nurture Debate

The controversy over whether genetic inheritance (nature) or environmental experience (nurture) primarily shapes psychological traits and behavior.

Levels of Analysis in the Biopsychosocial Approach

Three integrated tiers of study: biological (genetics, brain chemistry), psychological (cognition, emotions), and social-cultural (peer influence, culture).

Distinction Between Counseling, Clinical Psychology, and Psychiatry

Counseling assists with everyday life challenges; clinical psychology evaluates and treats psychological disorders; psychiatry is a medical field authorized to prescribe medications.

Hindsight Bias and Overconfidence

Hindsight bias is believing an outcome was foreseeable after learning it; overconfidence is overestimating the accuracy of one's own beliefs and judgment.

Scientific Attitude

A research mindset composed of curiosity to explore, skepticism to question claims, and humility to accept what the evidence shows.

Critical Thinking in Psychological Research

An objective approach that questions assumptions, checks sources, detects hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and tests conclusions.

Theories, Hypotheses, and Operational Definitions

A theory organizes principles to explain behavior; a hypothesis is a testable prediction; an operational definition specifies exact, measurable research procedures.

Descriptive Research Methods and Random Sampling

Observation via case studies, surveys, and natural observation; random sampling ensures every population member has an equal selection chance to prevent bias.

Correlational Research and Causality

Measures the statistical strength and direction between two variables to allow predictions, but does not prove cause-and-effect.

Illusory Correlation and Perceived Order

Perceiving a relationship between variables where none exists, driven by the mind's tendency to find meaningful patterns in random events.

Core Elements of Experimental Design

Manipulating an independent variable to measure its effect on a dependent variable, comparing an experimental group against a baseline control group.

Value of Simplified Laboratory Conditions

Controlled environments designed to isolate and test specific theoretical principles, rather than reproducing complex real-world settings.

Generalizability Across Cultures and Genders

Although specific behaviors and attitudes vary widely across cultures, underlying biological and psychological principles remain broadly universal.

Ethics in Animal and Human Research

Guidelines requiring humane care for animals, alongside informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, and debriefing for human participants.

Influence of Values on Psychological Science

Personal beliefs affect which topics are researched, how results are interpreted, and how findings are applied, requiring rigorous methods to curb bias.

Four Steps of the SIFT Method

A media verification tool: Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims back to original context.

Biological Perspective in Psychology

The study of physiological mechanisms, exploring how genes, brain structures, and biochemistry interact with the environment to influence behavior.

Neuron Anatomy and Signal Transmission

Dendrites receive incoming signals, the cell body (soma) integrates them, and the myelin-coated axon conducts the electrical signal to terminal branches.

Action Potential and Neural Firing

A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon, firing on an all-or-none basis once a minimum threshold is reached.

Neurotransmitter Mechanisms and Drug Interactions

Chemical messengers crossing synaptic gaps; agonists mimic or enhance their activity, whereas antagonists block receptor sites.

Nervous System Hierarchy and Autonomic Divisions

Splits into Central (brain and spine) and Peripheral systems; the peripheral's autonomic division splits into sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest).

Endocrine System Communication

A slower communication network of glands secreting hormones into the bloodstream, coordinated by the hypothalamus through the pituitary master gland.

Brainstem, Thalamus, and Cerebellum Functions

The brainstem regulates automatic survival functions; the thalamus routes incoming sensory signals; the cerebellum coordinates balance and procedural memory.

Major Brain Imaging Technologies

EEG measures brainwave electrical activity; PET tracks radioactive glucose; MRI captures structural images; fMRI maps oxygenated blood flow during brain activity.

Limbic System Components and Functions

Regulates emotion, memory, and basic drives; includes the amygdala (fear and aggression), hippocampus (memory formation), and hypothalamus (homeostasis).

Four Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

Frontal (judgment, planning, motor control), parietal (sensory touch), occipital (vision), and temporal (audition and language).

Motor Cortex, Sensory Cortex, and Association Areas

Motor cortex directs voluntary movement, somatosensory cortex registers tactile input, and association areas process higher-level mental tasks.

Broca's Aphasia vs. Wernicke's Aphasia

Broca's damage impairs speech production (slow, halting speech); Wernicke's damage impairs comprehension, producing fluent but meaningless sentences.

Brain Plasticity and Neurogenesis

Plasticity is the brain's capacity to reorganize neural pathways after trauma; neurogenesis is the production of new neurons.

Split-Brain Research and Lateralization

Severing the corpus callosum reveals hemisphere specializations: the left specializes in speech, logic, and calculation; the right excels in spatial perception and recognition.

Historical Trajectory of Consciousness

Initially central to psychology, later discarded by behaviorists as unscientific, and eventually revived through modern cognitive neuroscience.

Two-Track Mind / Dual Processing

The principle that information is processed simultaneously on an explicit conscious track and an automatic unconscious track.

Selective Attention, Inattentional Blindness, and Change Blindness

Focusing conscious awareness on one event causes failure to notice unexpected visible objects (inattentional) or alterations in a visual scene (change blindness).

Circadian Rhythm and Entrainment Disruptions

A 24-hour biological cycle governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus; disrupted by jet lag, night shifts, and irregular light exposure.

Stages of the Sleep Cycle and Brainwaves

Cycles through NREM-1 (alpha/theta), NREM-2 (sleep spindles), NREM-3 (delta waves), and REM sleep (rapid eye movements, dreaming, and motor paralysis).

Biological Functions of Sleep and Sleep Debt

Protects, repairs tissue, consolidates memories, promotes creative problem-solving, and facilitates physical growth; chronic debt leads to cognitive decline.

Dyssomnias vs. Parasomnias

Dyssomnias disrupt sleep quantity, quality, or timing (insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea); parasomnias involve abnormal behaviors during sleep (sleepwalking, night terrors).

Major Perspectives on Dream Meaning and Function

Freud's wish-fulfillment (latent content), information-processing (memory filing), physiological maintenance, activation-synthesis (neural firings), and cognitive development.

Tolerance, Physical Dependence, and Addiction

Tolerance requires larger doses for effect, dependence produces withdrawal distress, and addiction is compulsive drug seeking despite adverse consequences.

Depressants and Their Neurological Effects

Substances like alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates that reduce central nervous system activity, amplify GABA, and slow bodily functions.

Stimulants and Neural Excitation

Drugs like caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, and cocaine that excite neural activity, elevate cardiovascular metrics, suppress appetite, and boost alertness.

Nicotine Dependence and Withdrawal

A psychoactive stimulant triggering rapid dopamine surges; intense physical reinforcement and painful cravings make cessation difficult.

Hallucinogens and MDMA Effects

Psychedelics like LSD distort perceptual reality; MDMA floods serotonin pathways, creating euphoria while risking dangerous dehydration and neurotoxic damage.

Biopsychosocial Influences on Substance Use

Addiction results from an interplay of genetic vulnerabilities (biological), stress and mood disorders (psychological), and peer norms and availability (social-cultural).

Elements of Heredity: DNA, Genes, and Chromosomes

Chromosomes are long coiled strands of DNA; genes are specific biochemical segments of DNA that provide templates for building proteins.

Twin and Adoption Research Methodologies

Compares identical versus fraternal twins, or adopted children to biological versus adoptive parents, to separate genetic influence from environmental effects.

Evolutionary Psychology and Natural Selection

The study of how mental and behavioral traits that enhanced ancestral survival and reproduction have been passed down over generations.

Gender Role, Identity, Schema, and Typing

Role (social norms), identity (internal sense of gender), schema (cognitive framework), and typing (the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role).

Evolutionary Perspectives on Mating Preferences

Men typically prioritize visual cues of youth and fertility, while women place greater value on signs of maturity, protection, and long-term resources.

Critiques of Evolutionary Explanations in Psychology

Argues that evolutionary theories rely on hindsight reasoning, underestimate rapid cultural shifts, and risk justifying unfair social conventions.

Biopsychosocial Model of Gender Development

Gender evolves from the interplay of biological chromosomes and hormones, social observation and reinforcement, and personal cognitive schemas.

Human Sexual Response Cycle and Sexual Dysfunctions

Four stages: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution; dysfunctions are chronic conditions that consistently impair sexual arousal or satisfaction.

Hormonal Regulation of Sexual Motivation

Sex hormones (testosterone and estrogens) guide physical sex differentiation during development and modulate sexual drive throughout life.

Role of External Stimuli and Fantasies in Arousal

External visual and auditory erotica stimulate immediate physical arousal, while internal mental fantasies elicit sexual interest without external triggers.

Adolescent Sexual Activity and STI Spread

Teen sexual behavior is shaped by peer norms, communication, and impulsivity; inconsistent barrier use increases transmission rates of STIs.

Biological and Environmental Influences on Sexual Orientation

Supported by evidence linking orientation to genetic heritability, hypothalamic brain anatomy, and prenatal hormones, with no link to parenting style.

Values in Sex Research and Biological Sex vs. Gender

Scientific inquiry is often framed by cultural values; biological sex is physiological/chromosomal, whereas gender is an internal identity and social role.