Psychology Lecture Notes: Key Terms and Concepts

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and ideas from the lecture notes on psychology, cognition, Freud, Descartes, genetics, and related concepts.

White rats

Common laboratory rodents used in psychology experiments as standard model organisms to study learning, behavior, and physiology.

Observer effect

The phenomenon where the act of observing or measuring a system changes its behavior (e.g., electrons acting differently when watched).

Seduction theory

Freud's early idea that neuroses stem from repressed childhood sexual abuse; later reconsidered and largely abandoned.

Recovered memory

Memories of past abuse retrieved under therapy that may be inaccurate or implanted, raising concerns about memory reliability.

False memory syndrome

A condition where people have confidently recalled false memories of abuse, often influenced by therapeutic techniques.

Pineal gland (seed of the soul)

Descartes' historical idea that the pineal gland is the seat of the soul; modern science rejects this as the mind's seat.

Cogito, ergo sum

Latin phrase by Descartes meaning 'I think, therefore I am,' asserting the primacy of conscious thought.

Cartesian dualism

Philosophical view that mind and body are distinct substances; the mind is not reducible to physical processes.

Genetics

The study of heredity and genes; genetic makeup influences development and behavior.

Nature versus nurture

Debate about whether genetics (nature) or environment/experiences (nurture) primarily shape behavior.

Psychogenic determinism

Freud's idea that mental processes determine behavior and shape outcomes.

Empiricism

Philosophical view that knowledge comes from sensory experience; associated with Locke and experiential learning.

Identical twins (monozygotic)

Twins formed from a single fertilized egg; genetically identical, key to studies of nature versus nurture.

Anthropomorphism

Attributing human emotions or thoughts to animals or inanimate phenomena.

Hindsight bias

Tendency to see events as having been predictable after they have occurred or after learning the outcome.

Ergo

Latin for 'therefore'; used in reasoning (e.g., 'I think, ergo sum').