CED4007 Introduction to Psychology Revision Flashcards

Vocabulary revision flashcards covering key terms, theories, and concepts from the CED4007 Introduction to Psychology revision pack.

Cell body (soma)

Provides fuel, manufactures chemicals, and maintains the neuron; contains the nucleus and genetic instructions.

Dendrites

Branch-like extensions that receive signals from other neurons, muscles, or sense organs and pass them toward the cell body.

Axon

Carries electrical signals away from the cell body to another neuron, organ, or muscle.

Myelin sheath

Fatty insulating covering around the axon that helps prevent interference between electrical signals.

End bulbs

Small structures at axon endings that store neurotransmitters.

Synapse

The tiny gap between an end bulb and the neighbouring cell/tissue.

Action potential

An electrical impulse travelling down the axon.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Main control centre consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Nerves linked to the brain and spinal cord, including the somatic and autonomic systems.

Somatic nervous system

Subdivision of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary motor responses.

Autonomic nervous system

Subdivision of the peripheral nervous system regulating involuntary functions such as digestion and heartbeat.

Sympathetic nervous system

Branch of the autonomic nervous system that primarily prepares the body for fight-or-flight.

Parasympathetic nervous system

Branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for rest-and-digest functions.

Constructivism

The view that children actively build systems of meaning and understanding through experience and interaction.

Scheme (Schema)

A pattern of behaviour or thinking used to organise and understand information.

Adaptation

Adjusting schemes in response to the environment through assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation

Understanding a new object or event using an existing scheme.

Accommodation

Modifying an existing scheme when new information does not fit.

Equilibration

Reducing imbalance or disequilibrium by developing or adapting schemes until equilibrium is restored.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's stage from birth to age 2 where children explore the world through senses and motor actions, and object permanence develops.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's stage from age 2 to 7 where symbolic thinking increases, centration, limited reversibility, and egocentrism are present, and conservation is not yet understood.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's stage from age 7 to 11 involving logical thinking about familiar or concrete situations, alongside the development of seriation, transitivity, and decentration.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's stage from age 11 to adult where abstract and hypothetical thinking develops.

Bottleneck model

A model of selective attention stating that attention limits how much information can be consciously processed at one time.

Sensation

Passive physical reception of raw sensory information.

Perception

Active organisation and interpretation of sensory information.

Bottom-up processing

Processing that starts with raw sensory data and builds the whole.

Top-down processing

Processing that uses existing knowledge, memories, schemas, and expectations to interpret sensory input.

Algorithm

A step-by-step procedure that will produce the correct solution; accurate but can be time-consuming.

Heuristic

An educated guess or rule of thumb that guides exploration; efficient but can lead to cognitive biases.

Social Identity Theory

Theory developed by Henri Tajfel stating that a person's sense of who they are is based on group membership.

In-group

The group an individual identifies with as 'us'.

Out-group

A group seen as 'them'.

Social categorization

The first stage of social identity where people are sorted into social categories to make the social world easier to understand.

Social identification

The second stage of social identity where a person adopts the identity and norms of a group, connecting self-esteem to group membership.

Social comparison

The third stage of social identity where the in-group is compared with other groups, which can protect self-esteem or contribute to prejudice.

Attention (Bandura)

First mediational process in SLT: noticing the model's behaviour.

Retention (Bandura)

Second mediational process in SLT: remembering the observed behaviour.

Reproduction (Bandura)

Third mediational process in SLT: having the ability to perform the observed behaviour.

Motivation (Bandura)

Fourth mediational process in SLT: having a reason or will to perform the behaviour, considering likely rewards or punishments.

Classical conditioning

Learning by associating a stimulus that naturally produces a response with a new stimulus until the new stimulus produces the response.

Generalization

The extension of a conditioned fear or response to similar objects or stimuli.

Extinction

The weakening of a learned response when the original stimulus association is no longer reinforced or repeated.

Operant conditioning

Learning through consequences such as rewards and punishments.

Reinforcement

A consequence that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behaviour.

Punishment

A consequence that weakens or decreases the likelihood of a behaviour.

Positive (+)

In conditioning context, adding or giving something as a consequence.

Negative (−)

In conditioning context, removing or taking something away as a consequence.

Law of Effect

Thorndike's principle that responses producing satisfying effects become more likely to occur again, whereas responses producing discomforting effects become less likely.

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT)

Therapy created by Albert Ellis aimed at encouraging rational thinking and healthier emotional expression by identifying and disputing irrational beliefs.

ABCDE Model

Ellis's model representing Activating event (A), Beliefs (B), Consequences (C), Disputing (D), and Effective new thinking (E).

Id

Freud's structure of personality present at birth that seeks immediate gratification and follows the pleasure principle.

Ego

Freud's structure of personality acting as an intermediary between the id and superego; described as the conscious decision maker.

Superego

Freud's structure of personality connected with morality and delaying gratification.

Autonomy

Ethical principle of respecting independence and self-determination, allowing freedom of choice and action.

Justice

Ethical principle of fairness; requires a rationale if people are treated differently.

Beneficence

Ethical principle to do good, be proactive, and prevent harm where possible.

Non-maleficence

Ethical principle to do no harm and avoid actions that risk harming others.

Fidelity

Ethical principle of loyalty, faithfulness, and honouring commitments.

Moral sensitivity

First component of Rest's model: identifying the moral problem and understanding consequences for others.

Moral reasoning

Second component of Rest's model: thinking through alternatives and deciding the best course of action.

Moral motivation

Third component of Rest's model: being motivated to follow the ethical choice even when other priorities compete.

Moral character

Fourth component of Rest's model: carrying out the ethical plan using qualities such as compassion, integrity, and moral courage.

Problem-focused coping

Coping strategy directed toward the source of stress, such as changing work conditions or gaining skills.

Emotion-focused coping

Coping strategy directed toward managing the person's emotional reaction to a stressor, such as relaxation or seeking comfort.

Quantitative research

Research involving numerical data useful for describing, predicting, testing relationships, and generalising.

Qualitative research

Research involving non-numerical data (language, text, audio, video) useful for understanding subjective experience and meaning.

Independent variable (IV)

The variable manipulated by the experimenter.

Dependent variable (DV)

The variable measured after the independent variable is changed.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure; a reliable test gives similar results repeatedly.

Validity

How well a test measures what it is intended to measure.

Scattergram

A visual display of paired numerical scores showing the direction and strength of a relationship.