AP Psychology 2024-2025 Flashcards

Flashcards from AP Psychology lecture notes for exam review.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate over the relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) to behavior and mental processes.

Evolutionary Perspective

Explains behavior and mental processes as adaptations for survival and reproduction.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord, responsible for processing information.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Connects the CNS to the body, including somatic (voluntary control) and autonomic (automatic functions) divisions.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that activates fight-or-flight responses.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy.

Neurons

Nerve cells that transmit information through electrical impulses and chemical signals.

All-or-Nothing Principle

A neuron either fires completely or not at all.

Action Potential

The electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron.

Depolarization

The process where the cell's interior becomes less negative during an action potential.

Refractory Period

The period after firing when a neuron cannot fire again immediately.

Reuptake

The process where neurotransmitters in the synapse are reabsorbed by the sending neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross synapses to carry signals between neurons.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter influencing movement and pleasure. Undersupply is linked to Parkinson's, oversupply to schizophrenia.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter affecting mood and sleep; undersupply is linked to depression.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter controlling alertness and arousal; imbalances contribute to mood disorders and blood pressure issues.

Glutamate

The major excitatory neurotransmitter for learning and memory.

GABA

The main inhibitory neurotransmitter, contributing to calming effects; undersupply can cause seizures or anxiety.

Endorphins

Natural painkillers producing euphoria; released during exercise.

Agonists

Chemicals or drugs that mimic or enhance a neurotransmitter's effect.

Antagonists

Chemicals or drugs that block or dampen a neurotransmitter's action.

Endocrine System

A network of glands that uses hormones (chemical messengers) to regulate bodily functions.

Hormones

Chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands that travel through the bloodstream.

Adrenaline (Epinephrine)

A hormone that triggers fight-or-flight arousal during stress.

Leptin

A hormone that signals fullness and regulates hunger.

Ghrelin

A hormone that stimulates appetite.

Melatonin

A hormone that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles.

Oxytocin

A hormone involved in bonding, trust, and social connection.

Pituitary Gland

A 'master gland' controlled by the hypothalamus, releasing hormones influencing growth and other glands.

Brainstem

The brain's oldest part, responsible for vital life functions.

Hindbrain

Includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

Medulla

At the base of the brainstem, controls heartbeat and breathing.

Pons

Helps coordinate movements and is involved in sleep regulation.

Reticular Activating System (RAS)

Runs through the brainstem and regulates arousal and attention; damage can cause coma.

Cerebellum

At the back of the brain, controls balance, coordination, and implicit procedural learning.

Limbic System

A network of structures associated with emotions, drives, and memory.

Thalamus

The brain’s sensory relay station that directs incoming sensory signals (except smell) to the appropriate cortical areas.

Hypothalamus

Regulates bodily maintenance like hunger, thirst, body temperature, and controls the pituitary gland's hormone release.

Amygdala

An almond-shaped cluster linked to emotion, especially fear and aggression, and emotional memories.

Hippocampus

Helps process and consolidate new explicit memories into long-term storage.

Cerebral Cortex

The thin layer of neurons covering the cerebral hemispheres, responsible for complex thinking, perception, and decision-making.

Brain Plasticity

The brain’s ability to reorganize and form new connections, especially during childhood or after injury.

Occipital Lobes

Located at the back of the head; handle visual processing.

Temporal Lobes

Above the ears on each side; involved in auditory processing and language comprehension.

Wernicke's Area

Crucial for understanding language, located in the left temporal lobe.

Parietal Lobes

At the top rear; process sensory input for touch and body position, and are involved in spatial reasoning.

Frontal Lobes

Behind the forehead; responsible for higher-order thinking, planning, judgment, impulse control, and movement.

Prefrontal Cortex

Handles executive functions like decision making, located in the front part of frontal lobes.

Broca's Area

Essential for speech production, located in the left frontal lobe.

Hemispheric Specialization

The two hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum. The left typically handles language and analytical tasks, the right excels in spatial, creative, and facial recognition tasks.

Corpus Callosum

A band of fibers that allows communication between the brain's two hemispheres.

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

Measures electrical brain wave activity via electrodes on the scalp.

fMRI (functional MRI)

Reveals both brain structure and activity by tracking blood flow changes in real time.

Circadian Rhythm

Our internal 24-hour biological clock that regulates cycles of alertness and sleepiness.

NREM-1

Light sleep as you drift off; theta waves appear.

NREM-2

Deeper relaxation (~50% of the night). Sleep spindles occur.

NREM-3 (and 4)

Deep slow-wave sleep (delta waves). Important for physical growth and tissue repair.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep

A recurring stage where vivid dreaming usually occurs. Brain waves resemble waking, but the body is in temporary paralysis.

REM Rebound

After sleep deprivation, you enter REM faster and spend more time in it to 'catch up'.

Activation-Synthesis Theory

Dreams result from the brain trying to make sense of random neural firing in REM.

Information-Processing Theory

REM dreams help sort and cement the day's experiences into memory.

Insomnia

Persistent trouble falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

Sudden uncontrollable 'sleep attacks' directly into REM during the day.

Sleep Apnea

Temporary cessations of breathing during sleep causing frequent awakenings.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Muscle paralysis in REM doesn't occur, so people act out dreams.

Night Terrors

Episodes of high arousal and terrified appearance in NREM-3; the child often doesn’t recall it.

Sleepwalking (Somnambulism)

Typically occurs in deep NREM sleep.

Psychoactive Drugs

Substances that alter perceptions, mood, or behavior by affecting neurotransmission.

Stimulants

Increase neural activity and arouse body functions (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines).

Depressants

Slow nervous system activity, leading to relaxation or drowsiness (e.g., alcohol, benzodiazepines).

Hallucinogens

Distort perceptions and can evoke sensory images without sensory input (e.g., LSD, psilocybin, marijuana).

Opioids

Pain relievers that also induce euphoria (e.g., morphine, heroin, prescription painkillers).

Tolerance

With repeated use, the user needs larger doses to achieve the same effect.

Addiction

Compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences.

Withdrawal

Physical and psychological distress when stopping a drug.

Psychopharmacology

The study of how drugs affect the brain and behavior and the use of medications in mental health treatment.

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

Antidepressants that block reuptake of serotonin to elevate mood.

Sensation

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimuli from the environment.

Transduction

Converting physical energy (like light or sound waves) into neural signals the brain can understand.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

The smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.

Weber's Law

Two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion (not a fixed amount) for the difference to be perceptible.

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus.

Accommodation

The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Rods

Retinal receptor cells that are very light-sensitive (for dim vision) and detect black/white and motion but not color.

Cones

Retinal receptor cells concentrated in the fovea that enable color vision and fine detail in bright light.

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Trichromatic Theory

Three types of cones (red, green, blue) combine to produce all colors.

Opponent-Process Theory

We have opposing retinal processes (red–green, blue–yellow, black–white).

Binocular Disparity

A depth cue that uses the difference in images between the two eyes.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Prosopagnosia

'Face blindness,' an inability to recognize faces despite normal vision.

Blindsight

People with visual cortex damage respond to visual stimuli without conscious awareness of seeing.

Place Theory

We hear different pitches because different sound frequencies activate different places on the cochlea's basilar membrane.

Frequency Theory

The whole basilar membrane vibrates at the frequency of the sound, and the brain reads pitch from the frequency of neural impulses.

Sound Localization

Locating sounds by the slight differences in timing and intensity that each ear receives

Conduction Deafness

Problems with the ear's mechanics—e.g. damaged eardrum or ossicles—interfering with sound conduction to the cochlea

Sensorineural Deafness

Damage to cochlear hair cells or auditory nerve, often permanent

Cochlear Implants

Restore some hearing by directly stimulating the auditory nerve