PSYCHOLOGY A1 – WEEKS 1-6 REVIEW

A comprehensive set of question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts from Weeks 1-6 of Psychology A1, including definitions, theories, research methods, brain and behaviour, consciousness, sensation, perception, statistics, ethics, and Indigenous perspectives.

What is the scientific definition of psychology?

The scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, feeling) and behaviour.

Which three levels must be considered to fully understand a person, according to psychology?

Biology, psychological experience, and cultural context.

Name four major subfields of psychology highlighted in Week 1.

Biological (or biopsychology), cognitive, developmental, and personality psychology.

What does cognitive psychology primarily study?

Processes underlying judgment, decision-making, problem solving, imagery and other aspects of human thought.

What is the main aim of developmental psychology?

To understand, describe and explore how behaviour and mental processes change over the lifespan.

Define positive psychology.

A branch that studies and promotes factors that help individuals and communities flourish, such as hope, gratitude and happiness.

List the five basic steps of the scientific method used by psychologists.

Systematically gather evidence, perform controlled experiments, analyse information, draw conclusions, apply findings.

What are the three pillars of critical thinking?

Scepticism, objectivity, and open-mindedness.

Give an example of a fallacy that appeals to authority.

Claiming a statement is true simply because an expert or authority figure said it.

Who founded the first psychology laboratory and emphasised introspection?

Wilhelm Wundt.

What is structuralism and who championed it?

The view that conscious experience can be understood by analysing its basic elements; promoted by Edward Titchener.

Which early school of thought focused on the adaptive purpose of mind and behaviour?

Functionalism (William James).

What is the central idea of Gestalt psychology?

The whole of perception is more than the sum of its parts.

Behaviourism limits psychology to what type of data?

Observable behaviour explained through learning principles.

Which movement in the 1950s renewed interest in studying internal mental processes scientifically?

The Cognitive Revolution.

State Maslow’s five levels of the Hierarchy of Needs in order.

Physiological, Security (safety), Social (belonging), Esteem, Self-actualisation.

In the anger example, how would a psychodynamic psychologist explain an angry outburst?

As an unconscious defence mechanism or outlet.

What are the minimum education steps (Australia) to gain general registration as a psychologist via the 5+1 pathway?

Complete a four-year bachelor, then one further year of study plus a one-year internship, then pass the national exam.

Name three sections found in every empirical journal article.

Abstract, Introduction, Method (also Results, Discussion, References).

What are the three main goals of psychological research?

Describe behaviour, make accurate predictions, explain/understand behaviour.

Define hypothesis in research.

A specific, testable prediction about how one variable relates to another.

What is the difference between reliability and validity?

Reliability is consistency of measurement; validity is whether the test actually measures what it claims to measure.

Which research design allows determination of cause and effect?

Experimental design.

Explain what a correlation coefficient indicates.

Direction and strength of the relationship between two variables (ranges from –1.0 to +1.0).

Give an example of a descriptive research method.

Case study, naturalistic observation, or survey research.

What is informed consent?

Participants’ understanding and voluntary agreement to the procedures and risks of a study.

State one principle from the ethical guidelines regarding deception.

If deception is used, participants must be debriefed about the true purpose after the study.

What is a p-value and what is the conventional cutoff for statistical significance?

The probability that observed findings occurred by chance; p < .05 is commonly considered significant.

Which inferential test compares means of two groups?

A t-test (special case of ANOVA).

Define Indigenous psychology.

A psychology rooted in a cultural context, using locally appropriate concepts, methods, and values rather than imposed Western models.

Name two health impacts of racism on Indigenous peoples.

Reduced access to resources required for health, increased stress leading to mental health issues (among others).

What is the difference between cultural and cross-cultural psychology?

Cultural psychology studies how culture shapes individuals within one culture; cross-cultural psychology compares behaviours across cultures to identify similarities and differences.

What is consciousness in psychological terms?

Subjective awareness of mental processes, self, and environment.

What distinguishes REM from NREM sleep?

REM features rapid eye movements, brain activity like wakefulness, dreaming, and muscle paralysis; NREM lacks these features and has slower brain waves.

List the three non-REM sleep stages and a key EEG characteristic of each.

N1: theta waves; N2: sleep spindles & K-complexes; N3: delta waves (slow-wave sleep).

Give two major functions proposed for sleep.

Cellular repair (healing) and consolidation of memory (information processing).

What is narcolepsy?

A sleep disorder involving sudden switches from wakefulness to REM sleep.

Briefly explain the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming.

Dreams are the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity; they serve no intrinsic purpose.

Define hypnosis.

A procedure in which a hypnotist guides a subject to experience changes in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behaviour through suggestion.

Name one theory that explains hypnosis as a split in consciousness.

Divided-consciousness (or dissociation) theory.

What class of drug is alcohol and give one behavioural effect.

Depressant; produces relaxation and lowered inhibitions.

Which neurotransmitter is most linked with voluntary movement and reward?

Dopamine.

Describe the ‘all-or-none’ law of the action potential.

An action potential either fires at full strength or not at all once threshold is reached.

What is reuptake in synaptic transmission?

The process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron after release.

Name the two major divisions of the nervous system.

Central nervous system (brain & spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system.

What is the primary role of the sympathetic nervous system?

To activate the body for ‘fight or flight’ responses during stress.

Which endocrine gland is known as the ‘master gland’ and why?

The pituitary gland, because its hormones regulate other endocrine glands.

State one function of the cerebellum.

Coordination of fine muscular movement and balance.

What does the limbic system primarily regulate?

Motivation, emotion, and memory (key structures: hippocampus and amygdala).

Which cortical lobe contains the primary visual cortex?

Occipital lobe.

Damage to Broca’s area results in what type of aphasia?

Expressive (non-fluent) aphasia—difficulty producing speech.

Which brain structure connects the left and right hemispheres?

Corpus callosum.

Define neural plasticity.

The brain’s ability to change its structure and function in response to experience or damage.

What is neurogenesis and where has it been observed in adults?

The creation of new neurons; observed in areas such as the hippocampus.

Differentiate sensation from perception.

Sensation is detecting environmental stimuli; perception is organising and giving meaning to that sensory information.

What is transduction?

Conversion of physical stimulus energy into neural impulses by sensory receptors.

Define absolute threshold.

The minimum stimulus intensity that can be detected 50 % of the time.

Explain Weber’s Law.

The just noticeable difference between stimuli is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.

What is subliminal perception?

Processing of information by sensory systems without conscious awareness when stimuli are below the absolute threshold.

Describe selective attention.

Focusing conscious awareness on certain stimuli while filtering out others.

What is the Stroop effect and what does it demonstrate about consciousness?

Difficulty naming ink colours of incongruent colour words; shows interplay between automatic reading and conscious control.

Identify three components of attention.

Orienting to stimuli, controlling consciousness contents, maintaining alertness.

What does the Gestalt principle ‘figure-ground’ describe?

Tendency to perceive objects (figure) as distinct from their background (ground).

Name two depth cues the brain uses for distance perception.

Binocular disparity and monocular cues such as linear perspective or interposition.

What is perceptual constancy?

Ability to recognise objects as unchanged despite variations in sensory input (e.g., size, shape, brightness).

State the four major taste sensations traditionally recognised.

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter (umami is a fifth modern addition).

Which sensory system transduces mechanical vibrations in air into neural signals?

Auditory (hearing) system.

What is the difference between rods and cones in the retina?

Rods are sensitive to low light and movement; cones detect colour and fine detail.

Define pain ‘gate control’ theory.

Spinal cord contains neurological gates that can block or allow pain signals to pass to the brain.

How do agonist drugs affect neurotransmission?

They increase or mimic the activity of a neurotransmitter.

What endocrine hormones are released by the adrenal medulla during stress?

Adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).

Which hemisphere is typically dominant for language in right-handed individuals?

Left hemisphere.

Give an example of a case study’s main advantage.

Provides in-depth, detailed information about rare or complex phenomena.

Explain random assignment in experiments.

Process of allocating participants to conditions by chance to equalise groups on all variables except the independent variable.

Identify the independent and dependent variables in the question: ‘Does CBT reduce anxiety?’

Independent variable: CBT treatment; Dependent variable: level of anxiety.

What is a double-blind study and why is it used?

Neither participants nor researchers know who is in which condition; used to minimise expectancy biases.

Define standard deviation.

A measure of the average distance of scores from the mean, indicating variability.

Which statistic summarises how often each score occurs?

Frequency distribution.

What sleep disorder involves cessation of breathing during sleep?

Sleep apnoea.

Name two potential negative effects of long-term sleep deprivation.

Impaired cognitive performance and increased risk of heart disease (others: obesity, mood disorders).

What is the function of melatonin and which gland secretes it?

Regulates sleep-wake cycles; secreted by the pineal gland.

Define circadian rhythm.

Biological processes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, regulating sleep, hormone release, body temperature, etc.

Why are opiates classified as depressants?

They reduce neural activity and slow bodily functions while producing analgesia and euphoria.

Explain the term ‘psychological dependence’.

A mental craving or perceived need for a drug’s effects, leading to continued use despite harm.

What is the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)?

Acts as the body’s master circadian clock, regulating sleep-wake cycles based on light input.

Describe a between-subjects experimental design.

Different participants are assigned to separate conditions so each person experiences only one level of the independent variable.

What is inter-rater reliability?

The degree to which different observers give consistent estimates of the same behaviour.

List two qualitative research strategies of inquiry.

Phenomenology and ethnography (others: grounded theory, case study, action research).

Give an example of an argument using the ‘straw man’ fallacy.

Misrepresenting an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack, e.g., ‘Scientists say we evolved from monkeys, so they think monkeys should be our parents.’

Which neurotransmitter’s deficiency is primarily linked to Parkinson’s disease?

Dopamine.

What is the primary auditory cortex and where is it located?

The brain area that processes basic auditory information; located in the temporal lobe.

Define ‘agnosia’.

An inability to recognise familiar objects despite intact sensory function.

What is the purpose of myelin on axons?

Insulates axons and speeds up transmission of electrical impulses.

Explain the concept of ‘receptive field’ in sensory neurons.

The area of sensory space (e.g., skin, retina) in which stimulation influences a specific neuron’s firing.

Which hormone is associated with bonding and social affiliation and where is it produced?

Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary.

What does the term ‘homunculus’ refer to in neuroscience?

A distorted representation of the body on the sensory or motor cortex proportional to cortical area devoted to each part.

Describe the main symptom of REM behaviour disorder.

Acting out dreams due to failure of REM-related muscle paralysis.

What is a K-complex and when does it occur?

A large EEG waveform associated with N2 sleep, often triggered by external stimuli or internal processes.

Why is experimental control of confounding variables important?

To ensure observed effects are due to the independent variable, not extraneous factors.

Give one guideline for engaging respectfully with Aboriginal communities in research.

Allow time for relationship-building and collective decision-making; honour ‘no means no’ from Elders.