PSY 200

What is psychology?

The study of the mind and behavior.

What are the four goals of psychology?

Describe, explain, predict, and control/change behavior

Who was Francis Cecil Sumner?

First African American to receive a PhD in psychology; studied racism.

Who was Mary Whiton Calkins?

Denied a PhD by Harvard; later became first female APA president.

Who was Margaret Washburn?

First woman in the U.S. to earn a psychology PhD.

What is structuralism?

William Wundt’s approach — used introspection to measure “atoms of the mind.”

What is functionalism?

William James’ approach — studied how mental activities help organisms adapt.

What is psychoanalysis?

Freud’s theory — focused on the unconscious mind’s influence on behavior.

What is Gestalt psychology?

Approach emphasizing that humans are best understood as whole patterns, not parts.

What is behaviorism?

Watson & Skinner’s school — behavior is observable and can be measured/controlled.

What is humanism?

Rogers & Maslow’s view — emphasizes free will and human potential for good.

What are the three core attitudes of scientific thinking?

Curiosity, skepticism, humility.

What is a theory?

A well-developed set of ideas that explain observed phenomena.

What is a hypothesis?

A testable and falsifiable prediction about the relationship between variables.

What are the steps of the scientific method?

Observe → ask question → form hypothesis → collect/analyze data → draw conclusions → refine theory.

What is a case study?

An in-depth analysis of one person or a small group (e.g., Genie).

What is naturalistic observation?

Observing behavior in a natural setting; may be prone to observer bias.

What is inter-rater reliability?

Agreement between two or more observers on what they recorded.

What is a population vs. a sample?

Population = entire group of interest; Sample = subset studied.

What is random sampling?

Everyone in the population has an equal chance of being chosen — creates a representative sample.

What is a correlation?

A measure of how strongly two variables relate (ranges from -1 to +1).

Why doesn’t correlation equal causation?

A third variable or confound may explain the relationship.

What is an independent variable (IV)?

The variable that is manipulated (cause).

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

The variable that is measured (effect).

What is a control group?

Group not exposed to the independent variable — used for comparison.

What is a placebo?

Inactive treatment used to control for participant expectations.

What is a cross-sectional study?

Compares groups of different ages at one point in time.

What is a longitudinal study?

Studies the same group over a long period.

What is informed consent?

Process of informing participants about risks, benefits, and their rights before participation.

What was unethical about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

Participants weren’t told they had syphilis or given a cure after it was discovered.

What does the IRB do?

Reviews research proposals to ensure ethical standards are met.

What is reliability vs. validity?

Reliability = consistency; Validity = accuracy of measurement.

What are mean, median, and mode?

Mean = average, Median = middle value, Mode = most frequent value.

What does p < .05 mean?

There’s less than a 5% chance the results are due to random chance → statistically significant.

What do glial cells do?

Support neurons, guide connections, clean up after neural communication.

What is the myelin sheath?

Fatty coating on axons that speeds up neural transmission; its breakdown causes MS.

What are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

Sympathetic (fight/flight) and parasympathetic (rest/digest).

What is the hippocampus responsible for?

Forming new memories.

What does the amygdala do?

Processes emotions like fear and aggression.

What does plasticity mean?

The brain’s ability to reorganize after damage or through learning.

What is genotype vs. phenotype?

Genotype = genetic code; Phenotype = observable traits.

What is epigenetics?

Study of how environment turns genes on/off without changing DNA sequence.

What are the three stages of memory?

Encoding → storage → retrieval.

What is chunking?

Grouping information into meaningful units to increase STM capacity.

What is the serial position effect?

Better recall for first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a list.

What is proactive vs. retroactive interference?

Proactive = old info blocks new; Retroactive = new info blocks old.

What is a flashbulb memory?

Exceptionally vivid memory tied to an emotional event.

What is the self-reference effect?

Better memory for material connected to yourself.

What is spaced practice and why is it effective?

Studying over time; prevents overload and improves long-term retention.

What is interleaved practice?

Mixing topics during study to strengthen connections and recall.

What is retrieval practice?

Actively recalling information (testing yourself) — strengthens memory better than re-reading.

What is a neurotransmitter?

A chemical messenger that transmits signals between neurons across the synapse

What is Acetylcholine (ACh) responsible for?

Muscle movement, attention, learning, memory.
Linked Disorders: Low levels → Alzheimer’s disease.
Drugs: Botulin blocks release (paralysis), Nicotine mimics ACh (stimulant).

What is Dopamine responsible for?

Reward, motivation, movement, attention.
Linked Disorders: Too much → Schizophrenia; Too little → Parkinson’s disease.
Drugs: Cocaine/amphetamines ↑ dopamine (euphoria), antipsychotics block dopamine receptors.

What is Serotonin responsible for?

Mood, hunger, sleep, arousal.
Linked Disorders: Low levels → Depression.
Drugs: SSRIs (e.g., Prozac) block reuptake → ↑ serotonin.

What is Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline) responsible for?

Alertness, arousal, fight-or-flight response.
Linked Disorders: Low levels → depression, fatigue.
Drugs: Some antidepressants (SNRIs) increase norepinephrine.

What is Epinephrine (Adrenaline) responsible for?

Increases heart rate, blood pressure, energy during stress (fight-or-flight).
Where Released: Adrenal glands + some neurons.

What is GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)?

The main inhibitory neurotransmitter — calms brain activity.
Linked Disorders: Low levels → seizures, anxiety, tremors.
Drugs: Benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax) enhance GABA → reduce anxiety.

What is Glutamate?

The main excitatory neurotransmitter — involved in memory and learning.
Linked Disorders: Too much → migraines, seizures (why some avoid MSG).

What are Endorphins?

Natural painkillers that also boost pleasure.
Linked Disorders: Low endorphins → chronic pain or depression.
Drugs: Opiates (morphine, heroin) mimic endorphins → pain relief + euphoria.

What is the function of Histamine in the brain?

Regulates wakefulness, attention, and immune response.
Drugs: Antihistamines (Benadryl) block histamine → drowsiness.

What are the effects of too much or too little neurotransmitters in general?

Too much = overstimulation (e.g., anxiety, psychosis).
Too little = underactivity (e.g., depression, slow movement).

What is DNA?

Deoxyribonucleic acid — the double-stranded molecule that stores genetic information in the sequence of four bases (A, T, C, G).

What are chromosomes?

Long strands of DNA containing many genes. Humans have 23 pairs (46 total).

What is a gene?

A segment of DNA that codes for a specific protein or trait.

What is a mutation?

A permanent change in the DNA sequence that may affect how a gene works.

What is epigenetics?

The study of how genes are turned on or off by environment and experience — without changing the DNA itself.

What is the relationship between knowledge and creativity?

Knowledge forms the foundation for creativity — without knowledge you cannot analyze, synthesize, or solve problems. Einstein said, “creativity is more important than knowledge,” but knowledge is still needed first.

What is an allele?

A different version of the same gene (e.g., blue vs. brown eye color).

What are dendrites?

Branch-like extensions of a neuron that receive incoming signals and transmit them toward the soma (cell body).

What is the thalamus?

The brain’s sensory relay station — directs all sensory information (except smell) to the correct brain areas.

What is the hippocampus?

A brain structure important for forming and consolidating new memories.

What is the amygdala?

Processes emotions like fear and aggression.

What is Wernicke’s area?

Responsible for language comprehension — damage causes difficulty understanding speech.

What is Broca’s area?

Responsible for speech production — damage causes difficulty forming words.

What is the substantia nigra?

A midbrain structure involved in movement and reward — degeneration is linked to Parkinson’s disease.

What is an SSRI?

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor — increases serotonin by preventing its reabsorption into neurons.

What is an agonist?

A drug or chemical that mimics or enhances the effects of a neurotransmitter.

What is an antagonist?

A drug or chemical that blocks or reduces the effects of a neurotransmitter.

What does the pituitary gland do?

Known as the “master gland” — regulates growth, hormones, and other glands.

What do the adrenal glands do?

Release epinephrine (adrenaline) for the fight-or-flight response.

What does the pancreas do?

Releases insulin (lowers blood sugar) and glucagon (raises blood sugar).

What does the thyroid gland do?

Regulates metabolism, growth, and energy levels.

What is the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory?

Describes memory as three stages: sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory.

What is sensory memory?

Very brief storage of sensory information — iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) memory.

What is short-term memory?

Temporary storage of about 7 ± 2 items, lasting around 30 seconds without rehearsal.

What is working memory?

Active manipulation of information — the brain’s “scratchpad.”

What is long-term memory?

Unlimited capacity storage of information — includes consolidation from STM.

What is explicit (declarative) memory?

Memory you can consciously recall — episodic (events) and semantic (facts).

What is implicit memory?

Unconscious memory — includes procedural memory, classical conditioning, and priming.

What is encoding failure?

When information was never stored in long-term memory.

What is retrieval failure?

When information is stored but cannot be accessed.

What is proactive interference?

Old information interferes with remembering new information.

What is retroactive interference?

New information interferes with remembering old information.

What is an engram?

The physical trace of memory in the brain — a network of neurons that store a memory.

What is egocentric bias?

Remembering events in a way that makes you look better than you were.

What is stereotypical bias?

Distorting memories to fit stereotypes.

What is hindsight bias?

Believing you “knew it all along” after something happens.

What is enhancement bias?

Seeing yourself, your group, or outcomes more positively than is realistic.

What is blocking?

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon — temporary retrieval failure.