General Psychology Exam I Study Guide Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from General Psychology Exam I study guide covering scientific methods, brain structures, nervous and endocrine systems, and human development.

Scientific Method

A research process that generally involves identifying a question or problem, developing a hypothesis, operationally defining variables, collecting data through a suitable research method, analyzing the results, drawing conclusions, and communicating or replicating the findings.

Milgram's Obedience Study

A classic psychological study that demonstrated why research involving stress, deception, and potential emotional harm requires strong ethical safeguards, including informed consent, protection from harm, debriefing, and the right to withdraw.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The major division of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The division of the nervous system consisting of nerves outside the central nervous system, comprising the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

Resting Potential

The electrical state of a neuron at rest, characterized by a relatively negative charge inside the cell compared with the outside.

Action Potential

A neural impulse produced when a neuron is sufficiently stimulated, causing sodium ions to enter and the membrane to become more positive, followed by repolarization as potassium ions leave.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the brain involved in complex functions such as perception, language, thinking, memory, and voluntary movement.

Subcortex

Structures lying beneath the cerebral cortex that support functions such as emotion, motivation, memory, and basic regulation.

Cerebellum

A brain structure that helps coordinate movement, balance, posture, and motor learning.

Aphasia

An impairment of language ability caused by brain damage, often involving areas of the left cerebral hemisphere, affecting speaking, understanding, reading, or writing.

Agnosia

A difficulty recognizing or identifying a familiar object, person, sound, or other sensory information despite relatively intact basic sensation.

Myelin

A fatty insulating substance surrounding many axons that increases the speed and efficiency of neural communication by helping action potentials travel rapidly.

Amygdala

A brain structure involved in processing emotions, especially fear and threat, and in forming emotional memories.

Hypothalamus

A brain structure that helps maintain homeostasis by regulating hunger, thirst, body temperature, sleep, and sexual behavior, while linking the nervous and endocrine systems via the pituitary gland.

Limbic System

A neural system broadly involved in emotion, motivation, memory, and homeostasis, commonly including the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and related cortical and subcortical regions.

Endocrine System

A system consisting of glands that release hormones into the bloodstream to regulate growth, metabolism, reproduction, stress responses, and long-lasting body processes.

Endorphins

Naturally occurring opioid-like chemicals released during situations like exercise, stress, or pain that help reduce pain and contribute to feelings of pleasure or well-being.

Prenatal Development

The study of human growth and developmental processes from conception to birth.

Nature and Nurture

The dynamic interaction between genetic and biological influences (nature) and environmental influences such as family, culture, learning, nutrition, and experiences (nurture).

Cephalocaudal Development

Developmental progression that proceeds pattern-wise from the head downward toward the rest of the body.

Proximodistal Development

Developmental progression that proceeds pattern-wise from the center of the body outward toward the extremities.

Goodness of Fit

The match between a child's temperament and the expectations and environment provided by caregivers.

Sensitive Period

A time in development when a person is especially responsive to certain experiences or environmental influences, exerting strong but non-absolute effects on development.

Deprivation

A lack of normal sensory or social stimulation or interaction that interferes with healthy development.

Stranger Anxiety

Anxiety shown by infants when they become wary or distressed around unfamiliar people.

Separation Anxiety

Anxiety experienced by infants when separated from a familiar caregiver.

Secure Attachment

An attachment style identified by Mary Ainsworth in which a child uses the caregiver as a secure base and is comforted by reunion.

Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment

An attachment style identified by Mary Ainsworth in which a child is distressed by separation and may resist comfort upon reunion.

Avoidant Attachment

An attachment style identified by Mary Ainsworth in which a child tends to avoid or show little response to the caregiver upon reunion.

Authoritative Parenting

A parenting style described by Diana Baumrind characterized by warmth and responsiveness while maintaining clear expectations and limits.

Authoritarian Parenting

A parenting style described by Diana Baumrind that emphasizes obedience and strict rules with less warmth or flexibility.

Permissive Parenting

A parenting style described by Diana Baumrind that is warm and accepting but provides relatively few rules or limits.

Uninvolved / Neglectful Parenting

A parenting style characterized by low responsiveness and low demandingness.

Infant-Directed Speech

The speech style adults commonly use with infants (often called baby talk), characterized by a higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, shorter phrases, and simpler vocabulary.

Adolescence

The developmental period between childhood and adulthood characterized by puberty, increasing independence, cognitive and social changes, and development of identity.

Intimacy versus Isolation

According to Erikson, the major psychosocial task of young adulthood focused on developing close, committed relationships while maintaining a stable sense of self.

Emerging Adulthood

A developmental period, often described as roughly ages $18$ to $25$, in which people explore identity, relationships, education, and work before settling into enduring adult roles.