Introduction to Psychology Midterm Exam Study Prep

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Introduction to Psychology, prepared for midterm exam study.

Wilhelm Wundt

Established the first psychology laboratory and studied the 'atoms of the mind', focusing on fast and simple mental processes.

Sigmund Freud

Founded psychoanalytic psychology, emphasizing the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on behavior.

Edward Bradford Titchener

Pioneered structuralism, aimed to classify and understand the elements of the mind's structure.

William James

Developed functionalism, exploring how organisms adapt, survive, and flourish through cognitive processes.

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female PhD in psychology, known for synthesizing animal behaviors.

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner

Championed the scientific study of behavior, known for the Little Albert experiment.

Amygdala

Two bean-sized neural clusters involved in processing emotions like aggression and fear.

Pituitary gland

Master endocrine gland that regulates various bodily functions.

Hippocampus

Seahorse-shaped neural structure essential for explicit, conscious memory.

Spinal cord

Two-way system of ascending and descending neural fibers connecting the brain with the body.

Corpus callosum

Bundle of axon fibers connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

Cerebral cortex

Ultimate control and information processing center of the brain.

Pons

Part of the brain that coordinates movement and controls sleep.

Reticular formation

Nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus, controlling arousal.

Thalamus

Relays messages between the lower brain and the cerebral cortex.

Cerebellum

Little brain responsible for voluntary movement, balance, and emotions; enables nonverbal learning.

Hypothalamus

Regulates homeostasis and several essential functions.

Medulla

Controls heartbeat and breathing.

Dual processing

Simultaneous information processing on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Blindsight

The ability to respond to visual stimuli without conscious visual experience.

Parallel processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem at the same time.

Sequential processing

Processing one aspect of a stimulus or problem at a time, often used for new or complex tasks.

Schema

A concept or mental mold into which we organize our experiences.

Erikson’s Stages of Development

The theory describing eight psychosocial stages through which a healthy developing individual passes from infancy to late adulthood.

Integrity vs. despair

Late adulthood stage where individuals reflect on their life, feeling either satisfaction or disappointment.

Worldview

A set of beliefs and values regarding marriage, family, and relationships.

Inner ear

Structures that convert sound vibrations into neural impulses for hearing.

Outer ear

Part of the ear that collects sound waves and funnels them to the inner structures.

Middle ear

Contains tiny bones that transmit vibrations from the outer ear to the cochlea.

Retina

Light-sensitive inner surface of the eye that contains receptor cells for vision.

Olfaction

The sensory experience of smell.

Audition

The sense or act of hearing.

Learning

The process of acquiring new information or behavior through experience.

Recall

Retrieving learned information without cues, such as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned items, typically seen in multiple-choice tests.

Relearning

Measures memory by how much faster one can learn material that has been previously learned.

Spacing Effect

Better retention of information when study sessions are spaced out over time.

Testing Effect

The enhanced memory retention that results from repeated self-testing.

Priming

The activation of particular associations in memory, often unconsciously.