Psych C1000 Handmade Notes

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior. Its primary goals are to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes.

Structuralism

An early school of thought (Wundt, Titchener) that aimed to identify the basic structures or elements of conscious experience using introspection.

Functionalism

An early school of thought (James) that focused on how mental activities and behaviors serve to help an organism adapt to its environment.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory (Freud) that focuses on the role of a person's unconscious mind and early childhood experiences in determining behavior.

Behaviorism

A perspective (Watson, Skinner) that focuses on observable behavior and how it is learned through environmental interactions, rejecting the study of internal mental states.

Humanism

A perspective (Maslow, Rogers) that emphasizes the inherent goodness of people, personal control, and the potential for self-actualization.

Cognitive Psychology

A major perspective that focuses on internal mental processes such as thinking, memory, problem-solving, and language.

Biopsychology

A major perspective that studies how the biological basis of behavior, including the nervous system and genetics, influences psychological processes.

Evolutionary Psychology

A major perspective that studies behavior and mental processes in the context of evolution and natural selection.

Scientific Method

The structured process of research involving forming a hypothesis, collecting data through experimentation/observation, and drawing a conclusion.

Scientific Research Process

The cyclic process that begins with a hypothesis, is tested through an experiment or observation, and leads to a conclusion which may support or modify the overarching theory.

Study Design Hierarchy

A ranking of research methodologies based on their ability to establish causality and minimize bias (e.g., RCTs, Cohort Studies, Systematic Reviews).

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that is measured in an experiment

the outcome that is hypothesized to be affected by the independent variable.

Confounding Variable

A factor that is not the independent variable but could affect the results of the experiment, potentially leading to a misleading conclusion.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or the manipulation of the independent variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment

it serves as a baseline for comparison.

Induction

A type of reasoning that uses specific observations to form broader, general principles or theories.

Deduction

A type of reasoning that uses general principles or theories to make predictions about specific observations or cases.

Causation

A relationship where a change in one variable (A) directly and demonstrably leads to a change in another variable (B). Established only by true experiments.

Correlation

A relationship between two variables where they change together (e.g., both increase or both decrease), but does not imply that one causes the other.

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

A committee that reviews research proposals involving human participants to ensure they are ethical and meet institutional standards.

Informed Consent

An ethical requirement where potential participants are given all necessary information about the study's purpose, risks, and procedures so they can voluntarily decide whether to participate.

Confidentiality

An ethical requirement to protect the privacy of participants by ensuring their personal identifying information and data are kept secure and are not disclosed.

Debriefing

An ethical procedure that occurs after the study where participants are fully informed about the true purpose of the research, especially if any deception was used.

Reliability

A measure of data analysis referring to the consistency of a research study or measuring tool (i.e., it produces the same results under the same conditions).

Validity

A measure of data analysis referring to the accuracy of a measure, ensuring the study or tool is measuring what it is intended to measure.

Punnett Square

A square diagram used in genetics to predict the probability of an offspring inheriting a particular genotype based on the parents' genetic makeup.

Genotype

An organism's underlying genetic makeup (the combination of alleles) for a particular trait.

Phenotype

The organism's observable physical or behavioral characteristics, which result from the interaction of its genotype and the environment.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate concerning the relative contributions of heredity/genes (nature) and environment/experience (nurture) in shaping behavior and mental processes.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The nervous system division composed of the brain and the spinal cord, responsible for processing sensory information and directing motor responses.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The nervous system division that includes all the nerves that extend from the CNS to the rest of the body, including the somatic and autonomic systems.

Sympathetic System

The part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations, initiating the "fight or flight" response.

Parasympathetic System

The part of the autonomic nervous system that returns the body to a normal, resting state after a stress response, promoting "rest and digest" functions.

Glial Cells

Non-neuronal cells in the nervous system that provide support and insulation for neurons, clear waste, and help maintain the chemical environment.

Neurons

The fundamental nerve cells that serve as the basic building blocks of the nervous system, responsible for receiving, processing, and transmitting information via electrochemical signals.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers released from a neuron's terminal button into the synapse, which bind to receptors on another neuron to either excite or inhibit it, thus influencing behavior and emotions.

Endocrine System

A chemical communication system that uses a network of glands to secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream to regulate body and behavior functions.

Glands/Hormones

Glands are organs (like the pituitary or adrenal) that produce and secrete hormones, which are chemical substances that travel through the bloodstream to affect other tissues and organs in the body.

Hippocampus

A key brain structure (part of the limbic system) primarily involved in the formation of new long-term memories (explicit memories).

Amygdala

A key brain structure (part of the limbic system) involved in processing and regulating emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Prefrontal Cortex

The most forward part of the frontal lobe, associated with high-level cognitive functions like planning, decision-making, personality expression, and social behavior.

Sensation

The process by which our sensory receptors receive and convert physical energy (stimulus) from the environment into a neural signal (input).

Perception

The process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets sensory information, allowing us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

The Five Senses

The traditional sensory systems: Vision (sight), Hearing (audition), Taste (gustation), Smell (olfaction), and Touch (somatosensation).

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions (3D) and judge the distance of objects, even though the image on the retina is two-dimensional.

Hearing Loss

A partial or total inability to hear, often categorized as conductive (sound transmission issue) or sensorineural (inner ear or nerve damage).

Taste Groupings

The 6 main qualities of taste detected by the tongue: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami (savory), and potentially fat.

Pain Perception

The body's sensory and emotional experience of discomfort, which involves both a physical signal (nociception) and the brain's interpretation of it.

Amplitude

The height of a wave (light or sound), which determines the brightness of light and the loudness of sound.

Wavelength

The distance between successive peaks of a wave, which determines the color/hue of light and the pitch of sound.

Frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time, which is directly related to a sound's pitch.

Bottom-Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information (data-driven).

Top-Down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, such as experience, expectations, thoughts, and context (knowledge-driven).

Gestalt Principles

Rules that describe how the human mind organizes sensory inputs into meaningful whole figures (e.g., proximity, similarity, closure) rather than separate parts.

Attention

The mechanism for selectively focusing on specific stimuli or information in the environment while filtering out others, essential for perception.

Sensory Adaptation

A decrease in sensitivity to a stimulus that is constant and unchanging over time, allowing the sensory system to focus on new, relevant information (e.g., getting used to a smell).

Absolute Threshold

The minimum amount of stimulus energy required for a stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (JND)

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for a person to detect that difference 50% of the time (Just Noticeable Difference).

Cultural Differences in Perception

Variations in how people from different cultures interpret sensory information, often due to learned experiences and environmental context.

Individual Differences in Perception

Variations among people in their sensory experiences and interpretations, influenced by factors like genetics, personal history, or attention levels.

Encoding

The initial processing of information into a format that the memory system can store

the brain converts sensory input into a neural code.

Storage

The process of maintaining encoded information in memory over time, which involves strengthening the connections between neurons (synaptic plasticity).

Retrieval

The process of accessing and bringing stored information back into conscious awareness (recalling a memory).

Sensory Memory

The shortest stage of memory that holds a brief, immediate recording of sensory information (like a flash of light or a quick sound) for only a few seconds or less.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

A temporary stage of memory with a limited capacity (around 7 items) and duration (about 20-30 seconds) where information is actively held and processed (often called working memory).

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The continuous and vast repository of information that has a seemingly unlimited capacity and can be stored from minutes to an entire lifetime.

Brain Regions Involved in Memory

Key structures like the hippocampus (explicit memory formation), amygdala (emotional memory), and prefrontal cortex (working memory) that work together to encode, store, and retrieve information.

Interference

A common cause of Forgetting where certain memories are blocked or impaired by other memories, either previously learned (proactive) or newly acquired (retroactive).

Reconstruction

A cause of Forgetting and memory error where memories are not retrieved perfectly but are rebuilt at the time of recall, often being altered or influenced by new information, suggestion, or expectations.

Memory Strategies

Techniques used to improve memory encoding and retrieval, such as chunking, mnemonic devices, distributed practice, and elaborative rehearsal