Introduction to Psychology, Research Methods, and Biopsychology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational theories, research methods, neuroanatomy, biopsychology, and sensory processing from Chapter 1 lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Behavior

Any outward action that is directly observable.

Mental processes

Internal experiences such as perceptions, thoughts, and feelings that cannot be directly observed.

Latent constructs

Phenomena or variables that cannot be directly observed or measured.

Introspection

A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible.

Structuralism

A psychological perspective developed by Edward Titchener focusing on understanding conscious experience through introspection and studying the basic elements of the mind.

Functionalism

A perspective advanced by William James that focuses on how mental activities help an organism adapt to its environment.

Unconscious

The repository in the mind outside of awareness where dark urges and desires are pushed down.

Gestalt psychology

A psychological approach based on the idea that sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, but how those parts relate as a whole is what an individual responds to in perception.

Behaviorism

A major perspective founded by John Watson focusing strictly on observing and controlling observable behavior.

Operant conditioning

B.F. Skinner's framework demonstrating how voluntary behavior is manipulated by changing its consequences through reinforcements and punishments.

Humanistic perspective

A perspective emphasizing conscious, immediate experiences, free will, and individual empowerment to self-actualize.

Client-centered therapy

A therapeutic method developed by Carl Rogers where the patient takes a lead role in therapy, requiring therapist unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

Cognitive revolution

A movement emerging in the 1950s that re-established the mind and mental functioning as the primary focus of psychological inquiry, heavily influenced by Noam Chomsky.

Multicultural psychology

The study and development of theories with diverse populations typically within one specific country.

Cross-cultural psychology

The field comparing psychological traits and behaviors across populations from different countries.

Biopsychological perspective

An approach holding that mental processes and behaviors can be explained by interactions with biological factors such as genes or hormones.

Evolutionary psychology

A perspective arising partly from functionalism that argues human behavior is an adaptation helping individuals function and survive.

Sensation

A physiological process that occurs when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor.

Perception

A psychological process involving the way sensory information is interpreted, organized, and consciously experienced.

Scientific method

A circular process for reducing bias and error in data measurement by forming ideas and testing them against the real world.

Theory

A well-developed set of ideas proposing an explanation for observed phenomena.

Hypothesis

A tentative and testable statement or prediction about the relationship between two or more variables.

Naturalistic observation

A research method involving observing animals or humans in their normal natural environment.

Observer effect

The tendency of subjects to behave differently than normal when they know they are being observed.

Observer bias

The tendency of researchers to see what they expect to see during an observation.

Case study

An in-depth observational research design focused on studying a single individual in great detail.

Cross-sectional research

A research design that compares multiple segments of a population at a single point in time.

Longitudinal research

A study design where the exact same group of individuals is observed repeatedly over an extended period of time.

Positive correlation

A relationship between two variables where both move in the same direction; as one increases, the other also increases.

Negative correlation

A relationship between two variables where they move in opposite directions; as one increases, the other decreases.

Illusory correlation

Perceiving a relationship between two variables when in reality no such relationship exists.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek out evidence that confirms one's belief while ignoring evidence that disproves it.

Independent variable

The variable in an experiment that is directly manipulated by the experimenter.

Dependent variable

The variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior resulting from manipulation.

Operational definition

A clear description of exact actions and operations used to measure dependent variables and manipulate independent variables.

Random assignment

A process of placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance so every participant has an equal likelihood of assignment.

Confounds

Extraneous variables that unexpectedly influence the variables under study.

Demand characteristics

Cues in an experiment that cause participants to alter their behavior based on what they perceive the study to be about.

Placebo effect

A phenomenon where the expectations of participants influence their behavior or experienced results.

Double-blind study

An experimental setup where both the participants and the researchers interacting with them are unaware of group assignments.

Reliability

The consistency and reproducibility of a given research result.

Validity

The accuracy of a given result in measuring what it was designed to measure.

Institutional Review Board

An ethics committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews research proposals involving human participants.

Informed consent

The ethical process of informing a participant about what to expect, potential risks, and confidentiality before obtaining agreement to participate.

Glial cells

Cells in the nervous system that provide scaffolding, support neurons, facilitate neuronal communication, insulate axons, and transport nutrients.

Neuron

The central structural building block of the nervous system responsible for transmitting electrochemical messages.

Dendrites

Branch-like structures of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons.

Soma

The cell body of a neuron responsible for maintaining the cell's life.

Axon

A long fiber extending from the soma that carries neural messages away to terminal buttons.

Myelin sheath

A fatty substance coating the axon to insulate, protect, and speed up the neural impulse.

Synapse

The microscopic fluid-filled space between the terminal button of one neuron and the dendrite of another.

Reuptake

The process by which excess neurotransmitters are pumped back into the synaptic vesicles of the releasing neuron.

Resting potential

The state of electrical readiness when a neuron is not actively firing an impulse.

Threshold of excitation

The specific level of electrical charge in the membrane required to trigger an action potential.

Action potential

An all-or-none electrical nerve impulse that moves down the axon once triggered.

Agonists

Psychotropic drugs or chemicals that mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter.

Antagonists

Psychotropic drugs or chemicals that block or reduce the normal effects of a neurotransmitter.

Somatic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system consisting of nerves that carry sensory information to the CNS and motor signals to voluntary muscles.

Autonomic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system controlling involuntary muscles, internal organs, and glands.

Sympathetic nervous system

The autonomic division responsible for reacting to stressful events and driving bodily fight-or-flight arousal.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The autonomic division responsible for day-to-day organ operations and restoring the body to rest-and-digest status.

Corpus callosum

A thick neural band connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

Lobes of the cerebral cortex

The main anatomical regions of the cerebral cortex, comprising the Frontal lobe, Parietal lobe, Temporal lobe, and Occipital lobe.

Somatosensory cortex

A topographically organized region in the parietal lobe essential for processing touch, temperature, and pain across the body.

Wernicke's area

A region in the temporal lobe critical for speech comprehension.

Broca's area

A region located in the left frontal lobe essential for language production.

Wernicke's aphasia

A condition resulting from damage to Wernicke's area leading to major difficulties understanding language despite fluent speech.

Thalamus

The subcortical structure serving as the sensory relay center where most senses are routed before higher cerebral processing.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in experiencing emotion, processing fear, and tying emotional meaning to memories.

Hypothalamus

A subcortical structure that regulates key homeostatic processes including body temperature, appetite, and blood pressure.

Hippocampus

A essential limbic structure involved in learning and memory formation.

Transduction

The conversion of physical sensory stimulus energy into neural action potentials.

Absolute threshold

The minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present to be detected $50\%$ of the time.

Just noticeable difference

The minimum detectable difference or change in stimulus intensity between two stimuli.

Bottom-up processing

Perceptual processing where perceptions are constructed step-by-step strictly from raw sensory input.

Top-down processing

Perceptual processing where interpretation of sensations is driven by existing knowledge, expectations, and thoughts.

Trichromatic theory

A theory proposing three types of visual cones (red, green, blue) that combine to produce all colors across the visible spectrum.

Opponent-process theory

A theory proposing that color vision is driven by opponent receptor pairs (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white).