OpenStax Psychology 2e - Comprehensive Examination Flashcards

Essential vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, researchers, and diagrams across all chapters of OpenStax Psychology 2e.

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior.

Introspection

A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, breaking mental processes down into component parts.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology developed by Edward Titchener that focused on the contents and individual components of mental processes rather than their function.

Functionalism

A psychological perspective championed by William James that focused on how mental activities and behaviors help an organism fit into and adapt to its environment.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach founded by John B. Watson focused strictly on observing and controlling outward, measurable behavior while rejecting the study of unobservable conscious experience.

Humanism

A psychological perspective championed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers that emphasizes the inherent potential for good that is innate to all humans.

Empirical Method

A method for acquiring knowledge based on direct observation, including experimentation, rather than relying exclusively on logical argument or prior authorities.

Operational Definition

A precise description of the exact variables, actions, and operations that will be used to measure dependent variables and manipulate independent variables in a study.

Confounding Variable

An unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often producing the false appearance of a direct causal relationship between them.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter to assess its effect on another variable.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is measured by the researcher to determine how much effect the independent variable had.

Double-Blind Study

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the researchers interacting with them are unaware of group assignments in order to prevent bias.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship between two variables when in reality no such relationship exists.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A committee composed of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews and approves experimental research proposals involving human participants.

Genotype

The underlying genetic makeup of an individual organism.

Phenotype

An individual's observable, inherited physical and behavioral characteristics resulting from the interaction of genotype and environment.

Action Potential

An electrical signal that moves down the neuron's axon in an all-or-none fashion when the membrane potential reaches the threshold of excitation.

Myelin Sheath

A fatty substance formed by glial cells that insulates the axon and increases the speed at which electrical signals travel.

Reuptake

The reabsorption process by which excess neurotransmitters released into the synaptic cleft are pumped back into the axon terminal that released them.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system involved in preparing the body for stress-related activities via the fight-or-flight response.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system associated with routine, day-to-day bodily operations and restoring the body to a state of relaxed equilibrium (homeostasis).

Gyri and Sulci

Prominent surface landmarks of the cerebral cortex, where gyri are the raised folds or bumps and sulci are the shallow grooves, separated down the midline by the deep longitudinal fissure.

Somatosensory Cortex Organization

A topographical mapping of the body's sensations along the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe, wherein body parts with greater sensitivity and innervation (such as fingers, lips, and tongue) occupy disproportionately larger areas of cortical space.

Hindbrain

The posterior brain structure containing the medulla, pons, and cerebellum, which governs vital automatic functions such as respiration and heart rate, sleep activity regulation, and motor coordination.

Circadian Rhythm

A biological cycle of physiological activity that repeats approximately once every $24$ hours, such as the natural sleep-wake cycle.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

The brain's master biological clock mechanism located in the hypothalamus that synchronizes bodily cycles using light information received from the retina.

Sleep Spindles and K-Complexes

Distinctive brainwave patterns characteristic of Stage 2 NREM sleep, consisting of rapid bursts of higher-frequency electrical activity (sleep spindles) and large, high-amplitude spikes (K-complexes) that may respond to environmental stimuli.

Insomnia

A persistent sleep disorder characterized by difficulty in falling or staying asleep for at least three nights a week over the course of at least one month.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by recurrent episodes where breathing repeatedly stops for $10$ to $20$ seconds or longer during sleep.

Narcolepsy

A chronic sleep disorder marked by an irresistible urge to fall asleep at inappropriate times, often accompanied by cataplexy and hallucinations.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum intensity of stimulus energy that must be present in order for the stimulus to be detected $50\%$ of the time.

Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processing

The two directions of perceptual interpretation: bottom-up processing builds perceptions from raw environmental sensory inputs, whereas top-down processing interprets sensory information based on prior knowledge, context, and expectations.

Gestalt Principle of Proximity

A visual organizing principle stating that stimuli or objects positioned close to one another tend to be perceptually grouped together.

Gestalt Principle of Closure

A visual perceptual law stating that humans tend to perceive broken or incomplete figures as whole, complete objects.

Olfactory Receptors and Olfactory Bulb

The primary sensory apparatus of smell, wherein small hair-like extensions in the nasal cavity bind airborne chemical molecules and transmit neural signals directly to the olfactory bulb at the base of the frontal lobe.

Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision

Theory of color perception stating that all colors in the spectrum can be produced through the combined stimulation of three distinct cone types tuned to red, green, and blue.

Opponent-Process Theory

Theory stating that color is processed by visual cells in opposing pairs: black-white, yellow-blue, and green-red, which explains the occurrence of negative afterimages.

Classical Conditioning

A form of associative learning in which a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits a conditioned reflexive response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that elicits a natural, reflexive, and unlearned response in an organism.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that eventually elicits a conditioned response after being repeatedly associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

A form of learning in which behaviors are strengthened or weakened by the consequences (reinforcements or punishments) that follow them.

Shaping

An operant conditioning technique that involves rewarding successive approximations toward a complex target behavior.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs in the absence of obvious reinforcement and remains unexpressed until there is a motivation or reason to demonstrate it.

Observational Learning

A type of learning proposed by Albert Bandura where individuals acquire new behaviors and knowledge by watching models and imitating their actions.

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Robert Sternberg's intelligence model dividing cognitive capacity into three distinct domains: analytical intelligence (academic problem solving), creative intelligence (inventive and novel solutions), and practical intelligence ('street smarts' and common sense).

Prototype

The best, representative, or most typical example of a given concept.

Algorithm

A step-by-step problem-solving formula that provides exact instructions to guarantee a specific outcome when followed properly.

Heuristic

A general rule-of-thumb or mental shortcut used to solve problems and make decisions efficiently.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive limitation and form of mental set where an individual is unable to envision using an object in any way other than its intended purpose.

Confirmation Bias

The cognitive tendency to seek out, notice, and remember information that confirms preexisting beliefs while ignoring contrary evidence.

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

A graphical representation of memory decay across time demonstrating that newly learned information fades rapidly within the first hours ($50\%$ lost within $20$ minutes; $70\%$ after $24$ hours) before the rate of loss stabilizes.

Episodic Memory

A subcategory of explicit declarative memory containing personally experienced autobiographical events, including details of what, where, and when they happened.

Semantic Memory

A subcategory of explicit declarative memory storing general factual knowledge, words, concepts, and language-based rules.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit long-term memory that stores information about how to execute motor skills and actions, such as riding a bike or driving.

Proactive Interference

A retrieval failure that occurs when older, previously stored information hinders the recall of newly learned information.

Retroactive Interference

A retrieval failure that occurs when newly acquired information hinders the ability to recall older, previously learned information.

Object Permanence

The cognitive realization, emerging in infancy, that physical objects continue to exist even when they are hidden from direct view.

Conservation

The understanding that altering the physical presentation or shape of a substance does not change its volume, mass, or quantity if nothing has been added or removed.

Secure Base

A dependable parental presence described by John Bowlby that provides an infant or child with safety and comfort from which to explore the environment.

Teratogen

Any biological, chemical, or physical environmental agent that causes developmental damage to an embryo or fetus during pregnancy.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchical motivational model proposing that basic survival needs (physiological and safety) must be satisfied before higher-level needs (social, esteem, and self-actualization) can motivate behavior.

Sexual Response Cycle

A four-phase model of physiological changes during sexual arousal documented by Masters and Johnson, comprising excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.

Limbic System

A collection of subcortical brain structures including the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus that regulates emotion, appetite, and memory consolidation.

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

A theory of emotion asserting that subjective emotional feelings arise as a direct consequence of physiological arousal.

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

A theory asserting that physiological arousal and subjective emotional experiences occur simultaneously and independently when encountering a stimulus.

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

A theory asserting that emotions are produced through a combination of general physiological arousal followed by cognitive appraisal and labeling in context.

Phrenology

An early discredited pseudoscience proposed by Franz Gall asserting that measurements of bumps on a person's skull revealed their character, personality traits, and mental capacities.

Eysencks' Personality Dimensions

A biological trait model proposed by Hans and Sybil Eysenck organizing personality along two orthogonal axes—extroversion/introversion and neuroticism/stability—corresponding to the four ancient bodily temperaments.

Id

The unconscious structural component of personality present from birth that operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification of biological drives.

Superego

The moral aspect of personality that internalizes social rules, ideals, and prohibitions, functioning as a conscience to induce pride or guilt.

Ego

The rational, realistic component of personality that operates on the reality principle, seeking to balance the competing demands of the id, superego, and external reality.

Reciprocal Determinism

Albert Bandura's concept stating that personal/cognitive factors, behavior, and situational environment all interact and influence each other simultaneously.

Locus of Control

Julian Rotter's cognitive construct describing an individual's belief regarding whether control over life outcomes resides internally (effort and ability) or externally (luck, chance, or powerful others).

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overemphasize internal dispositional traits when explaining other people's behaviors while failing to recognize the influence of situational factors.

Cognitive Dissonance

The psychological and physiological discomfort experienced when holding contradictory cognitions, beliefs, or behaviors that threaten an individual's positive self-concept.

Groupthink

A faulty group decision-making process where members suppress dissenting viewpoints to prioritize consensus, conformity, and cohesion.

Social Loafing

The tendency for people to exert less effort on a task when working in a group whose members pool their performance, compared to when working individually.

Bystander Effect

The social phenomenon whereby individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in an emergency when other passive onlookers are present, largely due to diffusion of responsibility.

Hawthorne Effect

The observed increase in worker performance and productivity caused simply by being watched, noticed, and given attention by researchers or supervisors.

Job Analysis

The process of systematically determining, detailing, and listing the specific tasks of a job (task-oriented) or the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of the worker (worker-oriented).

Human Factors Psychology

The branch of I-O psychology (also known as ergonomics) that studies human-machine interactions to design workstations, tools, and environments that optimize safety and performance.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis

The physiological neuroendocrine feedback system that regulates the body's extended stress response by triggering the sequential release of corticotropin-releasing factor from the hypothalamus, ACTH from the pituitary gland, and cortisol from the adrenal cortex.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selye's three-stage model of the body's nonspecific physiological response to prolonged stress, progressing from alarm reaction to resistance and eventually exhaustion.

Problem-Focused Coping

A proactive stress management approach that addresses the root cause of stress by analyzing the problem, generating options, and implementing direct solutions.

Emotion-Focused Coping

A coping approach aimed at reducing or managing the negative emotional distress provoked by a stressor, particularly useful when facing uncontrollable events.

Diathesis-Stress Model

A framework proposing that psychopathology results from the interaction of an underlying vulnerability (diathesis) and triggering adverse life events (stress).

Agoraphobia

An anxiety disorder defined by intense fear, dread, and avoidance of situations (such as open spaces, crowds, or public transport) where escape might be difficult if panic occurs.

Deinstitutionalization

The mid-20th-century public health reform process of closing large mental asylums in favor of treating individuals with psychological disorders locally within community mental health centers.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A widely validated form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and modifying cognitive distortions and maladaptive behaviors to relieve psychological distress.

Systematic Desensitization

A counterconditioning exposure technique developed by Joseph Wolpe that couples a hierarchy of anxiety-provoking stimuli with progressive relaxation techniques to eliminate phobias.

Transference

A psychoanalytic phenomenon wherein a client unconsciously transfers positive or negative feelings, expectations, and attitudes from past relationships onto the therapist.