Exam Review for PSY 100: Introduction to Psychology

A set of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the PSY 100 lecture notes, including terminology from psychology related to biology, behavior, consciousness, and sensory perception.

Synapse

The gap between a sending neuron’s terminal button and a receiving neuron’s dendrites, the site of chemical communication between neurons.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synapse and bind to receptors on the receiving neuron.

Neocortex

Part of the brain responsible for higher-order thinking, reasoning, and language.

Limbic system

A brain structure involved in emotion, motivation, and memory.

Reptilian Brain

The part of the brain that manages basic survival functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and reproduction.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Comprises the brain and spinal cord, responsible for processing information and coordinating activity.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Consists of all the nerves outside the CNS; includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

Somatic Nervous System

Transmits sensory and motor signals between the CNS and the body, controlling voluntary movement.

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls involuntary functions such as heartbeat and digestion; comprises sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

fMRI

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; technique that tracks changes in blood flow and oxygen levels in the brain.

Consciousness

Subjective awareness of one’s internal mental state and external environment; limited due to selective attention.

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere.

Change Blindness

The inability to detect changes in a scene, even when actively looking for them.

Deja vu

A phenomenon where the observer feels an eerie sense of familiarity with a new situation.

Endogenous Attention

Voluntary attention that is intentionally directed and controlled.

Exogenous Attention

Involuntary attention that is captured by a stimulus.

REM Stage

Rapid-Eye Movement stage of sleep associated with vivid dreaming and increased brain activity.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

The theory that dreams are primarily the result of random neural activity and the brain’s interpretation of it.

Depressants

Substances that reduce neural activity and bodily functions, such as alcohol.

Stimulants

Substances that excite the central nervous system and speed up bodily functions, such as caffeine.

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs that distort perception and trigger sensory images in absence of sensory input.

Bottom-Up Processing

Perceptual processing that starts with sensory input and works upward to construct perceptions.

Top-Down Processing

Perceptual processing that starts with higher-level cognitive functions and prior knowledge to interpret stimuli.

Visual Processing

The process by which the brain interprets visual information, including features like color and motion.

Amygdala

A brain region critical for emotion and fear processing.

Hypothalamus

Regulates body functions and basic motivated behaviors, such as hunger and thirst.

Thalamus

Serves as the sensory relay station for transmitting information to the cerebral cortex.