Introduction to Psychology Lecture Notes

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing major terms, theories, researchers, physiological structures, developmental stages, and psychological concepts presented in the lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Scientific Inquiry

The systematic five-step process used to investigate research problems and construct conclusions.

Behavior

An individual’s observable actions and reactions in a given situation.

Mental Processes

Internal experiences such as perception, memory, reasoning, dreams, and fantasies.

Overt Behavior

Outward, visible actions that can be directly observed.

Covert Behavior

Hidden or internal activities, such as thoughts and feelings, not directly observable.

Conscious Acts

Behaviors performed within a person’s awareness.

Unconscious Acts

Behaviors performed outside a person’s awareness.

Rational Acts

Actions guided by logic and reason.

Irrational Acts

Actions performed with no apparent logical explanation.

Voluntary Acts

Behaviors carried out with deliberate intent or will.

Involuntary Acts

Automatic bodily processes or reflexes occurring without conscious control.

Structuralism

Early school of psychology (Wundt & Titchener) focused on analyzing the structure of conscious experience with introspection.

Functionalism

School of psychology (James & Dewey) that emphasized the purpose of consciousness and behavior in adapting to the environment.

Behaviorism

Perspective (Watson, Pavlov, Skinner) stating that psychology should study only observable behavior shaped by the environment.

Gestalt Psychology

View (Wertheimer) that perception is organized into wholes that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory and therapy focusing on unconscious motives and conflicts.

Cognitive Psychology

Perspective emphasizing mental processes such as thinking, memory, and problem solving.

Humanistic Psychology

Approach (Maslow, Rogers) stressing free will, self-actualization, and human potential.

Existentialist Psychology

Orientation that highlights personal freedom, choice, and responsibility for creating meaning.

Animism

Ancient belief attributing events to the actions of gods and spirits.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke’s idea that the mind is a blank slate molded by experience.

Dualism

Descartes’ view that mind (spiritual) and body (physical) are separate but interact.

Reflex Action

Automatic response linking stimulus to movement without conscious thought, central to Descartes’ theory.

Free Association

Psychoanalytic technique in which patients say whatever comes to mind to uncover unconscious material.

Collective Unconscious

Jung’s concept of inherited, shared reservoir of memory traces from humanity’s history.

Basic Need for Love and Security

Karen Horney’s idea that anxiety arises when this fundamental social need is unmet.

Factor Analysis

Statistical method (Spearman, Cattell) that identifies clusters of related traits or test items.

Classical Conditioning

Learning process (Pavlov) in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

Skinner’s learning process in which behavior is strengthened or weakened by consequences.

Law of Effect

Thorndike’s principle that responses followed by satisfaction are more likely to recur.

Hormic Psychology

McDougall’s view that purposive instincts drive behavior toward goals.

Instrumental Learning

Another term for operant conditioning where behavior operates on the environment to produce outcomes.

Trial (Conditioning)

Each pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli during acquisition.

Acquisition

Phase in classical conditioning when a response is first learned and reinforced.

Extinction (Conditioning)

Weakening of a conditioned response when reinforcement is withheld.

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period.

Generalization (Conditioning)

Tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke the conditioned response.

Discrimination (Conditioning)

Learning to respond only to a specific stimulus and not to similar ones.

Higher-Order Conditioning

Process where a conditioned stimulus becomes a basis for conditioning a new neutral stimulus.

Shaping

Gradual reinforcement of successive approximations toward a desired operant response.

Partial Reinforcement

Schedule in which a response is reinforced only some of the time, increasing resistance to extinction.

Secondary Reinforcer

Learned reinforcer (e.g., money, praise) that gains power through association with primary reinforcers.

Sensation

The detection of physical energy by sense organs which send information to the brain.

Perception

The organization and interpretation of sensory information to form meaningful experience.

Absolute Threshold

Smallest amount of stimulus energy needed for detection 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (JND)

Minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

Sensory Adaptation

Reduced sensitivity due to constant stimulation.

Retina

Light-sensitive inner surface of the eye containing rods and cones.

Fovea

Central retinal area with only cones; provides sharp vision.

Rods

Retinal receptors for dim-light, black-and-white vision.

Cones

Retinal receptors responsible for color vision and fine detail in daylight.

Trichromatic Theory

Young-Helmholtz idea that three cone types (red, green, blue) combine to produce all colors.

Opponent Process Theory

Hering’s theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white) enable color vision.

Cochlea

Snail-shaped, fluid-filled inner-ear structure that transforms sound vibrations into neural impulses.

Basilar Membrane

Structure inside the cochlea that vibrates and holds the hair cells.

Organ of Corti

Sensory organ of hearing located on the basilar membrane containing hair cells.

Pitch

Perceptual experience of sound frequency (highness or lowness).

Loudness

Perception of sound intensity determined by wave amplitude; measured in decibels.

Olfactory Epithelium

Nasal tissue containing receptor cells for smell.

Taste Buds

Clusters of gustatory receptor cells located primarily on the tongue.

Kinesthesia

Sense of body part position and movement provided by receptors in muscles and joints.

Vestibular Sense

Sense of balance, position, and acceleration originating in inner-ear semicircular canals.

Figure-Ground Perception

Tendency to organize visual fields into main figure and background.

Gestalt Law of Proximity

Principle that stimuli near each other are perceived as belonging together.

Gestalt Law of Similarity

Principle that similar elements are grouped together perceptually.

Gestalt Law of Closure

Tendency to fill in gaps and perceive incomplete figures as complete.

Size Constancy

Perception of an object’s size as constant despite changes in distance.

Depth Perception

Ability to judge distance and three-dimensional relationships.

Convergence

Binocular cue: inward turning of the eyes provides depth information for nearby objects.

Retinal Disparity

Binocular cue: slight difference between images in each eye helps judge distance.

Müller-Lyer Illusion

Optical illusion where arrow-headed lines appear longer or shorter than identical lines.

Autokinetic Effect

Perceived motion of a stationary light in a dark room.

Phi Phenomenon

Apparent motion created by successive blinking lights, basis for motion pictures.

Homeostasis

State of physiological balance maintained by regulatory processes.

Drive

Internal aroused state that motivates behavior to satisfy a need.

Incentive

External stimulus that motivates behavior by promising a reward.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s ordered levels of human needs from physiological to self-transcendence.

Self-Actualization

Maslow’s highest need: fulfilling one’s potential and seeking personal growth.

Intrinsic Motivation

Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and personal satisfaction.

Extrinsic Motivation

Desire to perform behavior to obtain external rewards or avoid punishment.

Emotion

Complex pattern of arousal, feelings, and expressive behaviors.

James-Lange Theory

Theory that emotions result from awareness of physiological responses to stimuli.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Theory that emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological response and conscious emotion.

Two-Factor Theory

Schachter-Singer idea that emotion requires physiological arousal and cognitive labeling.

Primary Emotions

Innate, universal feelings such as joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, contempt.

Secondary Emotions

Learned, culturally influenced feelings like guilt, pride, and shame.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Principle that performance increases with arousal up to an optimal point, then declines.

Personality

Unique, relatively stable patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Trait

Enduring personal characteristic that influences behavior across situations.

Id

Primitive, pleasure-seeking part of personality operating on the pleasure principle.

Ego

Rational part of personality that mediates between id, superego, and reality.

Superego

Moral component of personality containing internalized ideals and conscience.

Defense Mechanism

Unconscious tactic the ego uses to reduce anxiety by distorting reality.

Archetypes

Universal symbolic images residing in the collective unconscious (Jung).

Inferiority Complex

Adler’s concept of deep feelings of inadequacy driving compensation and striving for superiority.

Self-Efficacy

Belief in one’s ability to succeed at specific tasks (Bandura).

Locus of Control

Individual’s belief about whether outcomes are controlled internally or externally (Rotter).

Big Five

Five-factor model of personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.

Openness to Experience

Curiosity, imagination, and preference for novelty and variety.