Task 8: UNIT 1 AND 2- Psychology Full Year Exam Flashcards

Attitude

A long‑standing evaluation of people, objects, issues, or yourself.

Tripartite model components

Affective (feelings), Behavioural (actions), Cognitive (beliefs).

Affective component

Look for emotions or feelings expressed.

Behavioural component

Look for actions or behaviours influenced by the attitude.

Cognitive component

Look for beliefs, thoughts, or assumptions.

Implicit attitude

An automatic, unconscious attitude that influences behaviour.

Explicit attitude

A conscious attitude that can be stated clearly.

Spotting implicit attitudes

Behaviour contradicts what the person says they believe.

Spotting explicit attitudes

The person openly states their attitude.

Stereotype

A generalised belief about a group.

Prejudice

A negative feeling toward a group.

Discrimination

Unfair behaviour toward a group.

Identifying stereotypes

Look for generalised statements about groups.

Identifying prejudice

Look for negative emotions toward a group.

Identifying discrimination

Look for actions that treat groups differently.

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological tension from holding conflicting beliefs or behaviours.

Responses to cognitive dissonance

Change beliefs, change behaviour, change perception of the action.

Identifying dissonance

Look for conflict between values and behaviour.

Rationalisation

Justifying behaviour to reduce dissonance.

Identifying ethical issues

Look for pressure, lack of information, or exposed identities.

Frontal Lobe

Higher-order thinking, planning, decision-making, problem-solving; voluntary movement via the primary motor cortex; speech production (Broca's area).

What are fMRI scans?

Uses magnetic fields to measure changes in blood flow.

Shows which brain areas are active during tasks.

Used to study brain function and identify abnormalities.

Dynamic

Strengths and Limitations of fMRI scans

Strengths: Non‑invasive, no radiation, produces detailed images of brain activity, good for studying function in real time.

Limitations: Expensive, sensitive to movement, not suitable for people with metal implants or severe claustrophobia.

What are CT scans?

Uses X‑ray images taken from multiple angles to create a 3D structural image of the brain. Shows physical abnormalities such as tumours, bleeding or injury. Still.

Strengths and Limitations of CT scans

Strengths: Quick and non‑invasive. Useful for detecting structural damage.

Limitations: Uses radiation. Less detailed than MRI.

Define: Neuron

A specialised cell that transmits information through electrochemical signals.

How to neurons work?

Dendrites receive information. An electrical impulse (action potential) travels down the axon. Neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminals into the synapse.

Define: Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synapse to the next neuron.

Define: Synapse

The gap between two neurons where neurotransmission occurs

Label a synapse.

Axon terminal

Vesicles containing neurotransmitters

Synaptic cleft

Neurotransmitter

Receptor

Dendrite

How to synapses work?

Action potential reaches axon terminal.

Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft.

They bind to receptors on the next neuron.

Excess neurotransmitter is reabsorbed

What are the 4 main brain scanning techniques?

EEG, CT, MRI, fMRI

What is the role of the CNS?

Central processing and control point for all human behaviour. Processes all information from the senses and is responsible for controlling behaviour.

What is the role of the spinal cord in the CNS?

Connects the brain to the rest of the body, and allows messages to be passed from body to brain and from brain to other parts of the body

Synaptic transmission

Process of communication between neurons using neurotransmitters.

How is a synaptic transmission generated?

1. Electrical impulse down the axon triggers release of neurotransmitters from axon terminals.

2. Released into synaptic gap to be picked up by the receptors on dendrites or to be taken up again for re-use

Neurotransmitters in synaptic transmission

- Released from vesicles when action potential arrives.

- Bind to receptors on the next neuron.

Receptors in synaptic transmission

- Bind to specific neurotransmitters.

- Trigger response in the post‑synaptic neuron.

3 common neurotransmitters

Noradrenaline

Dopamine

Serotonin

Noradrenaline

Arousal, alertness, attention.

Dopamine

Movement, motivation, reward.

Serotonin

Mood regulation, sleep, appetite.

The brain is in two halves, called...

Hemispheres, which is lateralisation.

Pre-frontal cortex

The front part of the frontal lobe, located behind the forehead, and is responsible for executive functions like decision-making, planning, personality expression, emotional regulation, and social behavior.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

All nerves outside the CNS that carry sensory information to the brain and motor commands back to the body, allowing communication between the CNS and organs, muscles and glands.

Somatic Nervous System

Controls voluntary movement by sending sensory messages to the CNS and motor signals to skeletal muscles, enabling actions like walking, writing and speaking

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, breathing and digestion, automatically regulating internal processes to maintain balance and survival.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates the fight‑or‑flight response by increasing heart rate, widening pupils and slowing digestion, preparing the body for immediate action during stress.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Returns the body to a calm resting state by slowing heart rate, increasing digestion and conserving energy once danger or stress has passed.

Sensory Neuron

Carries information from sensory receptors to the CNS, allowing the brain to detect environmental changes like touch, temperature and pain.

Motor Neuron

Carries commands from the CNS to muscles and glands, producing movement and physical responses based on brain and spinal cord signals.

Interneuron

Connects sensory and motor neurons within the CNS and processes information, playing a key role in reflexes, decision‑making and complex thinking.

Medulla

Controls vital survival functions such as breathing, heart rate and swallowing, operating automatically to keep the body alive without conscious effort.

Reticular Formation

Regulates alertness, arousal and the sleep-wake cycle, filtering incoming sensory information to help maintain attention and consciousness

Thalamus

Relay station that directs all sensory information except smell to the correct cortical areas, helping the brain organise and interpret incoming signals.

Primary Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary movement of skeletal muscles and is organised by body part, allowing precise, coordinated and intentional physical actions.

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Processes touch, pressure, temperature and pain signals from the body, creating a detailed sensory map that helps us interpret physical sensations.

Primary Auditory Cortex

Processes sound information such as pitch, volume and speech patterns, allowing us to recognise and understand auditory signals.

Primary Visual Cortex

Processes visual information including colour, shape and motion, enabling recognition, interpretation and understanding of what we see.

Phineas Gage

- Survived an 1848 accident where an iron rod blasted through his left frontal lobe.

- Before the accident he was responsible and polite; afterwards he became impulsive, aggressive and unreliable.

- Memory, intelligence and language stayed intact, showing the damage was specific to personality and executive functioning.

- Demonstrates the frontal lobe's role in planning, impulse control, emotional regulation and socially appropriate behaviour.

Roger Sperry Split‑Brain

- Studied patients whose corpus callosum was severed to treat severe epilepsy.

- Found the left hemisphere specialises in language, logic and analytical tasks, while the right hemisphere specialises in spatial, visual and creative processing.

- When information was presented to the left visual field (right hemisphere), patients could not verbally describe it but could draw or identify it.

- Demonstrated hemispheric specialisation and the importance of the corpus callosum for communication between the two hemispheres.

Walter Freeman Lobotomy

- Performed frontal lobotomies by inserting an ice‑pick‑like tool through the eye socket to sever connections in the prefrontal cortex.

- Patients often became emotionally flat, passive, childlike or unable to plan, make decisions or control impulses.

- Showed the prefrontal cortex is essential for personality, judgement, emotional regulation and executive functioning.

- Procedure was later abandoned due to severe side effects and ethical concerns, highlighting the dangers of early psychosurgery.

EEG (electroencephalogram)

Measures electrical activity in the brain to study sleep, consciousness and abnormal activity, excellent for tracking timing of brain activity but cannot pinpoint exact locations. Dynamic pictures

EEG Strengths and Limitations

Strengths: non‑invasive, inexpensive, excellent temporal resolution.

Limitations: poor spatial resolution, cannot locate exact brain areas, only measures surface activity

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Produces detailed structural images of the brain without radiation; excellent for detecting tumours and injuries but expensive and unsuitable for people with metal implants. Still.

MRI Strengths and Limitations

Strengths: highly detailed structural images, no radiation, good for detecting tumours and injury.

Limitations: expensive, slow, unsuitable for metal implants or claustrophobic patients.

Developmental Plasticity

Brain changes that occur naturally during growth, including synaptogenesis, pruning and myelination, most active in childhood when learning is rapid.

Adaptive Plasticity

Brain changes in response to experience or injury that support learning or recovery, occurring throughout life but strongest in younger brains.

Proliferation

Rapid creation of new neurons during prenatal development, forming the basic structure needed for later brain growth and functioning.

Migration

Movement of new neurons to their final location in the brain, creating the layered structure of the cortex and enabling organised brain development.

Synaptogenesis

Formation of new synapses that support learning, memory and skill development, especially active in early childhood when experiences shape the brain.

Synaptic Pruning

Removal of unused synapses to strengthen important neural pathways, making the brain more efficient, especially during adolescence.

Myelination

Formation of the myelin sheath around axons to speed up neural transmission, improving thinking speed, coordination and reaction time.

Adolescent Brain Development: Cerebellum, Amygdala, Corpus Callosum, Frontal lobe and pre-frontal cortex

• Cerebellum: still maturing, so coordination and reaction time improve. Supports new physical and cognitive skills

• Amygdala: more active, leading to strong emotions like anger, fear and excitement. Can result in more impulsive and emotionally driven behaviour

• Corpus Callosum: continues developing, so planning, problem solving and multitasking improve

• Frontal lobe: still developing so problem solving, planning and judgement are not fully mature

• Pre-frontal cortex: last areas to develop so they have weak impulse control and emotional regulation.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into existing schemas when experiences match what we already know, helping us learn without major mental change.

Accommodation

Changing existing schemas to fit new information when experiences don't match current understanding, allowing more accurate thinking.

Equilibrium

Mental balance when schemas match new experiences, making learning feel smooth and stable until new information disrupts it.

Disequilibrium

Mental imbalance when new information doesn't fit schemas, creating confusion that motivates learning and leads to accommodation.

Sensorimotor Stage

Learning through senses and movement; development of object permanence and basic cause‑and‑effect understanding in infants.

Pre‑operational Stage

Egocentrism, animism and symbolic thinking dominate; children struggle with conservation and logical reasoning despite rapid language growth.

Concrete Operational Stage

Logical thinking develops for concrete situations; children understand conservation, classification and reversibility.

Formal Operational Stage

Abstract, hypothetical and scientific thinking develops, allowing reasoning about possibilities, future events and complex problems.

Invisible Displacement Task

Tests object permanence by hiding and moving an object out of sight to see if the child can mentally track its location.

Three Mountains Task

Tests egocentrism by asking children to describe a scene from another person's viewpoint; young children choose their own view instead.

Conservation Tasks

Tests understanding that quantity stays the same despite changes in appearance, showing development of logical thinking in older children.

Pendulum Problem

Tests scientific reasoning by isolating variables to determine what affects pendulum speed, showing abstract thinking in adolescents.

Harlow (1958)

• Harlow aimed to test whether attachment is based on food or comfort. He also wanted to understand how early attachment affects later emotional and social development.

• Infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers and raised with a wire mother and a cloth mother. Their behaviour toward each surrogate was observed in controlled conditions.

• The independent variable was the type of surrogate mother provided (wire with food vs cloth with comfort). This was the condition that Harlow manipulated.

• The dependent variable was the monkeys’ attachment behaviour, such as time spent with each mother and who they ran to when scared. Exploration confidence was also measured.

• Monkeys consistently preferred the cloth mother, even when the wire mother provided food. They used the cloth mother as a secure base and showed distress without real attachment.

• The study proved that comfort and security, not food, are the foundation of attachment. It influenced childcare practices and supported later theories like Bowlby’s.

Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Attachment is innate, forms one main bond and creates an internal working model that shapes future relationships and emotional development.

What is bowlby critical period?

Bowlby proposed a critical period from birth to 2.5 years where an infant must form an attachment. Failure to attach can lead to permanent emotional, social and cognitive difficulties, known as maternal deprivation.

What is bowlby sensitive period?

Later research suggests attachment forms during a sensitive period rather than a strict critical period; attachment is easiest in the first 0-2.5 years but can still form later, though it may be less secure. Negative effects of early deprivation can improve with positive later care, showing more flexibility than Bowlby originally proposed.

Ainsworth Strange Situation

Identified secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant attachment based on infant reactions to separation, reunion and caregiver sensitivity.

van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg

Meta‑analysis showing secure attachment is most common worldwide but cultural differences exist in avoidant and resistant attachment patterns.

The case of Genie Wiley

- Extreme deprivation for 13 years caused severe language, social and physical delays.

- Had no speech, poor motor skills, no eye contact and could not form attachments.

- After rescue she learned some words but never developed full language.

- Strong evidence for a critical/sensitive period in language and social development.

- Shows long‑term, often irreversible effects of extreme neglect and isolation.

Ethics Committee

A group responsible for approving, monitoring and reviewing psychological research to ensure it meets ethical standards and protects participant welfare.

Protection From Harm

Participants must not experience physical or psychological harm; researchers must minimise risk and stop the study if harm is likely.

Informed Consent

Participants must be fully informed about the nature, purpose and procedures of the study and agree to participate voluntarily.

Withdrawal Rights

Participants can leave the study at any time and withdraw their data without penalty.

Deception

Intentionally withholding information or misleading participants; only permitted when necessary and must be explained during debriefing.

Confidentiality

Participant data must be kept private, stored securely and only reported in a way that does not identify individuals.