Intro to Psychology: Chapter 1 In Class Slides

What is the Seven Touch Theory?

The idea that learning is strengthened by interacting with material in multiple ways.

What are examples of the Seven Touch Theory in action?

Reading textbook chapters, worksheets, class participation, office hours, lecture videos, outside videos, note-taking, asking questions, and practice exams.

What is psychology?

Psychology is both a science and a profession.

What are the two main types of psychological research?

Basic research and applied research.

How does psychology influence society?

It shapes modern culture and transforms how people understand themselves and others.

What is the biopsychosocial approach?

A model that examines how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to affect health and behavior.

Why is the biopsychosocial model considered holistic?

It looks beyond physical symptoms to include mental state and social context.

What are biological factors in the biopsychosocial model?

Gender, disability, physical health, neurochemistry, stress reactivity, genetic vulnerability.

What are psychological factors in the biopsychosocial model?

Behavior, personality, attitudes/beliefs, learning and memory, coping skills, self-esteem, emotions.

What are social factors in the biopsychosocial model?

Education, social support, peer relationships, family background, socioeconomic status.

What is the nature-nurture debate?

The debate over how much genetics (nature) versus environment (nurture) influence behavior.

Why is it hard to separate nature and nurture?

Because behavior usually results from their interaction.

How do researchers study nature vs. nurture?

By studying identical twins, especially those raised apart.

What is dual processing?

The mind processes information simultaneously on conscious and unconscious tracks.

What kind of mental processes happen unconsciously?

Much of everyday thinking, feeling, sensing, and acting.

How is vision an example of dual processing?

One track handles visual perception; the other guides moment-to-moment actions.

What does counseling psychology focus on?

Helping people cope with challenges and improve personal and social functioning.

What does clinical psychology focus on?

Assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

What does psychiatry involve?

Providing psychotherapy and treating physical causes of psychological disorders, often with medication.

What is positive psychology?

The study of traits and emotions that promote thriving and well-being.

What does positive psychology study?

Positive emotions, positive character traits, and positive institutions.

Why do we need psychological science?

Because intuition can be misleading and many mental processes are unconscious.

What is hindsight bias?

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it.

What are common flaws in common-sense thinking?

Hindsight bias, overconfidence, and seeing patterns in random events.

What does hindsight bias make outcomes seem like?

Obvious or unsurprising after the fact.

What is a theory?

An explanation that organizes observations and predicts behavior or events.

What is a hypothesis?

A testable prediction derived from a theory.

What is an operational definition?

A precise description of how a variable is measured.

What is replication?

Repeating a study to see if results can be reproduced.

What is preregistration?

Publicly stating study plans, hypotheses, and methods before conducting research.

What are descriptive methods?

Methods that describe behavior using case studies, observations, or surveys.

What are correlational methods?

Methods that examine relationships between variables.

What are experimental methods?

Methods that manipulate variables to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

What is correlation?

A measure of how two variables vary together.

What is a correlation coefficient?

A number from -1.00 to +1.00 showing the strength and direction of a relationship.

What does a positive correlation mean?

Both variables increase or decrease together.

What does a negative correlation mean?

As one variable increases, the other decreases.

What does a weak correlation indicate?

Little or no relationship between variables.

Why doesn't correlation prove causation?

Because it doesn't show which variable causes the other (or if a third factor is involved).

What ethical guidelines protect research participants?

Informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, and debriefing.

Which organizations set ethical research standards?

The APA and BPS.

What are the main parts of a neuron?

Cell body, dendrites, axon, myelin (glial cells), axon terminals.

How do neurons communicate?

Through action potentials and neurotransmitters across synapses.

What is the role of neurotransmitters?

They influence behavior, emotions, and communication between neurons.

What are the two major divisions of the nervous system?

Central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).

What does the somatic nervous system control?

Skeletal (voluntary) muscles.

What does the autonomic nervous system control?

Glands and internal organs.

What is the sympathetic nervous system responsible for?

Fight-or-flight responses.

What is the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for?

Rest-and-digest functions.

What do sensory neurons do?

Carry information from sensory receptors to the CNS.

What do motor neurons do?

Carry instructions from the CNS to muscles.

What do interneurons do?

Process information within the brain and spinal cord.

What is the endocrine system?

A slow chemical communication system using hormones in the bloodstream.

What does the hypothalamus do?

Controls the pituitary gland and maintains homeostasis.

What is the function of the pituitary gland?

Secretes hormones that regulate other glands.

What do the adrenal glands do?

Trigger the fight-or-flight response.

What does the thyroid gland affect?

Metabolism.

Which brain region affects balance and coordination?

Cerebellum.

Which brain structure relays sensory information (except smell)?

Thalamus.

Which brain structure controls breathing and heartbeat?

Medulla.

What are the three main parts of the limbic system?

Amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus.

What is the function of the amygdala?

Fear and aggression.

What is the function of the hippocampus?

Memory formation.

What is the corpus callosum?

A bridge connecting the two brain hemispheres.

Which brain region most distinguishes humans from other animals?

Cerebral cortex.

Which lobe integrates sensory information and attention?

Parietal lobe.

Which lobe handles memory, emotion, and language comprehension?

Temporal lobe.

What is neuroplasticity?

The brain's ability to reorganize and form new neural connections.

When is neuroplasticity strongest?

Childhood, but it continues throughout life.

What is an action potential?

A brief electrical impulse traveling down a neuron's axon.

What techniques are used to study the brain?

EEG, MEG, PET, MRI, fMRI.

What is split brain?

A condition where the corpus callosum is severed, separating the hemispheres.

What is a circadian rhythm?

The body's internal biological clock.

What are the stages of sleep?

N1, N2, N3, and REM sleep.