General Psychology Exam 1 Master Study Pack

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, historical figures, research methods, and memory models from Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 of General Psychology Exam 1 study materials.

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes.

Behavior

Observable actions.

Mental Processes

Thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, memories, dreams, and motives.

Aristotle

An early thinker described as the 'First Psychologist' who wrote about sleep, dreams, senses, and memory, using logic plus empirical observations.

Interactive Dualism

René Descartes' idea that mind and body are separate but interact to produce conscious experience.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's 'blank slate' idea that experience molds us.

Wilhelm Wundt

Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig and used laboratory techniques to study the mind.

Edward Titchener

A psychologist associated with structuralism.

Structuralism

Breaking conscious processes into basic elements, using introspection.

Introspection

Examining and reporting one's own conscious experiences.

William James

A major figure associated with functionalism.

Functionalism

An approach focused on what behavior and mental processes do and how they help adaptation to the environment.

Mary Whiton Calkins

A pioneer who completed doctoral requirements but was denied the degree because she was a woman; became the first female APA president and studied dreams, memory, and personality.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first American woman to officially earn a PhD in psychology.

Francis C. Sumner

The first Black American to receive a PhD in psychology, at Clark University in 1920.

Kenneth and Mamie Clark

Researched the negative effects of racial discrimination; their work was instrumental in the 1954 Supreme Court school-segregation decision.

Sigmund Freud

A neurologist who developed psychoanalysis and emphasized unconscious mental forces, early experiences, free association, and dream interpretation.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's approach emphasizing unconscious mental forces and early experiences.

Behaviorism

An approach emphasizing observable behavior and learning rather than consciousness or psychoanalytic unconscious forces.

Ivan Pavlov

A researcher who contributed classical conditioning.

John B. Watson

Emphasized that behavior is acquired and can be modified through the environment.

B.F. Skinner

Contributed operant conditioning, involving reinforcement and punishment.

Humanistic Psychology

The 'third force' emphasizing conscious experiences, choices, growth, self-determination, and self-direction.

Carl Rogers

A major humanistic psychologist who emphasized conscious experience, growth, self-concept, and self-direction.

Abraham Maslow

A humanistic psychologist known for motivation and the hierarchy of needs.

Biological Perspective

Focuses on the physical basis of behavior and mental processes, including nervous/endocrine/immune systems and genetics.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Focuses on unconscious influences, early life, and interpersonal relationships.

Behavioral Perspective

Focuses on behavior acquired and modified through environmental consequences.

Humanistic Perspective

Focuses on motivation to grow, self-concept, choice, and self-direction.

Positive Psychology

The study of positive emotions/states, positive traits, and social institutions that foster them.

Cognitive Perspective

Focuses on mental processes such as information processing, language, problem solving, and thinking.

Cross-Cultural Perspective

Focuses on how cultural factors influence behavior patterns.

Multicultural Perspective

Focuses on cultural diversity within society, including social justice and equity.

Evolutionary Perspective

Uses evolution and natural selection to explain psychological processes.

Hypothesis

A tentative, testable statement or prediction about a relationship between variables.

Theory

A tentative explanation integrating accumulated findings and generating testable hypotheses; it can be modified or replaced.

Operational Definition

A precise description of how a variable is measured or observed.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in its natural setting.

Case Study

A detailed investigation of one individual, family, or social unit; useful for rare/extreme conditions but limited in generalizability.

Survey

Collecting information about opinions, behaviors, or characteristics through self-report, questionnaires, or interviews.

Population

The larger group a researcher wants to understand.

Sample

A smaller group selected from a population.

Representative Sample

A sample reflecting important characteristics of the population.

Random Selection

A way of selecting participants so members of the population have a chance to be included.

Correlational Study

A study measuring the strength and direction of an association between variables.

Correlation Coefficient

A number from -1 to +1 describing the strength and direction of a correlation.

Positive Correlation

Variables tend to move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

Variables tend to move in opposite directions.

Experimental Research

A method that directly tests cause-and-effect by manipulating a variable and measuring its effects.

Independent Variable

The variable the researcher deliberately changes or manipulates.

Dependent Variable

The variable the researcher observes or measures.

Random Assignment

Giving participants an equal chance of being placed in different experimental groups to reduce confounds from participant differences.

Placebo

A fake or control treatment.

Placebo Effect

A change in the dependent variable caused by expectations.

Demand Characteristics

Subtle cues from the research situation that can influence participants' behavior.

Double-Blind Study

A study in which neither the participant nor the experimenter knows group assignment during the study.

Critical Thinking

Carefully evaluating claims and evidence rather than automatically accepting them.

Hindsight Bias

After learning an outcome, thinking you knew it all along.

Overconfidence Effect

Confidence in an answer or belief exceeds its actual accuracy.

Memory

The processes involved in acquiring, storing, and retrieving information.

Encoding

Transforming information into a form that can be entered and retained in memory.

Storage

Retaining information in memory.

Retrieval

Recovering stored information.

Stage Model of Memory

Sensory memory → short-term/working memory → long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

Very brief storage of sensory impressions; large capacity but very short duration.

Iconic Memory

Visual sensory memory, lasting about 1/4–1/2 second.

Echoic Memory

Auditory sensory memory, lasting about 3–4 seconds.

Short-Term Memory

Limited-capacity conscious processing; about 20 seconds without rehearsal.

Working Memory

Active processing/manipulation of information.

Chunking

Grouping bits of information into larger meaningful units.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information to keep it active; can increase short-term memory duration.

Long-Term Memory

A system that organizes and stores information over extended periods; capacity is essentially unlimited.

Automatic Processing

Encoding without conscious effort.

Effortful Processing

Encoding requiring attention and conscious effort.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Focusing on meaning and connecting new information to what you already know; more effective than maintenance rehearsal for long-term retention.

Self-Reference Effect

Information related to yourself is remembered especially well.

Explicit Memory

Conscious/declarative memory involving awareness and recollection.

Implicit Memory

Memory that affects behavior without conscious recollection.

Episodic Memory

Memory for personal experiences/events.

Semantic Memory

Memory for facts and general knowledge.

Procedural Memory

Memory for skills and procedures.

Anterograde Amnesia

Difficulty forming new memories after the onset of amnesia.

Hippocampus

Brain structure important for encoding new explicit episodic and semantic memories and transferring information from short-term to long-term memory.

Clustering

Grouping related information together.

Schema

Organized information about a topic that influences encoding and can contribute to memory distortions.

Script

A schema involving a typical sequence of events.

Semantic Network Model

Long-term memories are organized as interconnected concepts; shorter paths indicate stronger associations and activation can spread.

Retrieval Cue

Information that helps you access a stored memory.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Experience

Feeling that you know information but temporarily cannot retrieve it.

Recall

Generating previously learned information without being shown the answer.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned information when it is presented.

Encoding Specificity

Retrieval improves when cues at retrieval match important aspects of the original encoding situation.

Context Effect

Memory can improve when retrieval context matches the learning context.

Mood Congruence

Memory tends to be easier to retrieve when current mood matches the mood associated with the memory.

Serial Position Effect

Remembering beginning and end items of a list better than middle items.

Primacy Effect

Better memory for items near the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

Better memory for items near the end of a list.

Decay Theory

The idea that a memory trace can weaken/erode when unused.

Proactive Interference

OLD information interferes with NEW information.

Retroactive Interference

NEW information interferes with OLD information.