PSY 101 Midterm Study Guide

What is Psychology

Psychology scientifically studies behavior and mental processes

Clinical Psychology

Assesses, diagnoses, and treats psychological disorders and serious mental health concerns

Counseling Psychology

Helps people manage adjustment, relationships, stress, and other life challenges

Cognitive Psychology

Studies mental processes such as thinking, memory, attention, language, and problem-solving

Developmental Psychology

Studies psychological and behavioral changes throughout the lifespan

Social Psychology

Studies how other people and social situations influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior

Biological Psychology / Behavioral Neuroscience

Studies relationships among the brain, nervous system, biological processes, and behavior

Personality Psychology

Studies individual differences and characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

Educational Psychology

Studies learning, teaching, motivation, and other psychological processes in education

School Psychology

Works with students' academic, behavioral, and emotional needs in school settings

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

Applies psychological principles to workplaces, employees, hiring, leadership, and organizations

Health Psychology

Studies relationships between psychological/behavioral factors and physical health and illness

Forensic Psychology

Applies psychological principles to legal and criminal justice settings

Experimental Psychology

Uses controlled research methods to investigate psychological processes and behavior

Evolutionary Psychology

Examines how natural selection and evolutionary pressures may have shaped psychological traits and behavior

What is a major difference between a psychologist (Ph.D.) and a medical doctor/psychiatrist (M.D.)?

Psychologists receive doctoral training in psychology, while psychiatrists are physicians trained in medicine and psychiatry

Wilhelm Wundt

Established an early psychology laboratory and helped develop experimental psychology

Structuralism

Attempts to identify the basic components or structures of conscious experience

William James / Functionalism

Focused on how mental processes and behaviors help organisms adapt and function

Gestalt Psychology

Perception is organized into meaningful wholes rather than simply being the sum of separate parts

Free Will

People have some ability to make choices that influence their behavior

Determinism

Behavior has causes and is influenced or determined by prior biological, psychological, or environmental factors

Scientific Method

A systematic process of developing and testing explanations using observations and evidence

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction about variables or outcomes

Theory

A broad explanation supported by evidence that can generate testable predictions

Operational Definition

A precise description of how a variable is measured or manipulated in a study

Archival Research

Examining existing records, documents, or previously collected data

Naturalistic Observation

Observing behavior in its natural environment without manipulating the situation

Survey Research

Collecting self-reported information by asking participants questions

Correlational Research

Examines relationships between variables without necessarily manipulating them

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable researchers manipulate to examine its effect

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome researchers measure to determine the effect of the IV

Confounding Variable

An outside variable that varies with the IV and provides an alternative explanation for the results

Experimental Group

The group that receives the treatment or manipulation being tested

Control Group

Serves as a comparison group and does not receive the experimental treatment or receives a comparison/placebo condition

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental conditions by chance

Statistically Significant Outcome

A result unlikely enough under the statistical null model to meet the study's chosen significance criterion

Informed Consent

Participants agree to participate after receiving relevant information about procedures, risks, and rights

Experimenter Bias

Researchers' expectations unintentionally influence procedures, observations, or interpretations

Dendrites

Receive incoming signals from other neurons

Cell Body / Soma

Contains the nucleus and supports the neuron's basic functioning

Axon

Carries neural impulses away from the cell body toward other cells

Myelin Sheath

Insulates the axon and helps neural impulses travel more efficiently

Terminal Buttons

Release neurotransmitters that communicate with other cells

All-or-None Law

Once threshold is reached, an action potential fires at its characteristic full strength

Action Potential

A brief electrical impulse traveling along a neuron's axon

Mirror Neurons

Neurons active when performing certain actions and when observing similar actions

Synapse

The junction where one neuron communicates with another cell

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord

Somatic Nervous System

Controls communication with skeletal muscles and carries sensory information

Autonomic Nervous System

Primarily regulates involuntary functions of internal organs and glands

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates the body during stress or emergencies

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Calms the body and promotes rest, digestion, and energy conservation

Endocrine System

System of glands that releases hormones into the bloodstream

Pituitary Gland

Releases hormones that regulate several other endocrine glands

EEG

Records electrical activity of the brain using electrodes

CT/CAT Scan

Uses multiple X-ray images to create structural images of the brain

PET Scan

Uses radioactive tracers to examine metabolic activity

MRI

Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed structural images

fMRI

Measures brain activity indirectly through changes in blood oxygen

Frontal Lobe

Involved in planning, decision-making, voluntary movement, and aspects of personality

Parietal Lobe

Involved in bodily sensations such as touch and spatial processing

Temporal Lobe

Primarily involved in hearing, with important roles in language and memory

Occipital Lobe

Primarily processes visual information

Cerebellum

Helps coordinate balance, movement, and motor learning

Reticular Formation

Helps regulate arousal, alertness, and sleep-wake states

Thalamus

Acts as a major relay station for most sensory information traveling toward the cortex

Hypothalamus

Regulates functions including hunger, thirst, body temperature, and homeostasis

Limbic System

Group of structures strongly involved in emotion, motivation, and memory

Cerebral Cortex

Involved in higher-level perception, thought, language, and voluntary behavior

Motor Cortex

Controls voluntary skeletal movement

Somatosensory Cortex

Processes sensations from the body such as touch

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change and reorganize because of experience, learning, or injury

Cerebral Hemispheres

The left and right halves of the cerebrum

Corpus Callosum

Connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and allows communication between them

Sensation

Detecting physical stimulation through sensory receptors

Perception

Organizing and interpreting sensory information

Stimulus

A physical event or energy capable of activating sensory receptors

Psychophysics

Study of relationships between physical stimuli and psychological sensory experiences

Absolute Threshold

Minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected about 50% of the time

Difference Threshold

Smallest detectable difference between two stimuli about half the time

Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

Another name for difference threshold

Weber's Law

The detectable difference between two stimuli generally depends on a proportion of the original stimulus intensity

Sensory Adaptation

Reduced sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus over time

Cornea

Transparent outer surface that begins focusing incoming light

Iris

Colored muscular structure that controls pupil size

Pupil

Opening in the iris through which light enters

Lens

Changes shape to focus incoming light onto the retina

Retina

Light-sensitive layer containing rods and cones

Rods

Photoreceptors particularly important for dim-light and peripheral vision

Cones

Photoreceptors important for color vision and fine detail in brighter light

Feature Detectors

Specialized neurons responding to visual features such as edges, orientation, or movement

Trichromatic Theory

Color vision begins with three types of cones sensitive to different wavelength ranges

Opponent-Process Theory

Color is processed through opposing channels such as red-green and blue-yellow

Sound

Pressure waves/vibrations traveling through a medium and detected by the auditory system

Eardrum

Membrane that vibrates in response to incoming sound waves

Three Middle-Ear Bones

Hammer, anvil, stirrup

Cochlea

Spiral-shaped, fluid-filled inner-ear structure involved in hearing

Basilar Membrane

Structure within the cochlea whose movement helps stimulate auditory receptor cells