Introductory Psychology: Foundations, Biology, Perception, and Consciousness

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering introductory psychology topics including research methods, neurobiology, endocrine regulation, sensation and perception, sleep disorders, psychoactive drugs, and hypnosis.

Science

A systematic approach to gathering knowledge through observation and experimentation.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes that is research-driven and evidence-based.

Critical Thinking

The practice of weighing evidence, evaluating sources, synthesizing information, and maintaining an open-minded and skeptical mindset.

Hindsight Bias

The erroneous feeling or belief that you "knew it all along."

Anecdotal Evidence

Relying on personal stories rather than large-scale scientific studies.

Abstract

A short summary of a scientific article that helps readers decide its relevance.

Nature

Genetic and hereditary influences (DNA) that shape traits such as intelligence, temperament, and appearance.

Nurture

Environmental influences including upbringing, culture, education, and social interactions that shape language, beliefs, and habits.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

A psychological perspective focusing on unconscious conflicts and early experiences (e.g., viewing depression as resulting from repressed emotions).

Behavioral Perspective

A perspective emphasizing learned behavior acquired through reinforcement and punishment (e.g., viewing depression as stemming from a lack of rewards or learned helplessness).

Humanistic Perspective

A psychological approach centered on personal growth and self-actualization (e.g., attributing depression to low self-worth or lack of meaning).

Cognitive Perspective

A psychological framework focusing on thoughts and beliefs (e.g., explaining depression through negative thinking patterns and distorted beliefs).

Evolutionary Perspective

An approach examining adaptation and natural selection (e.g., suggesting depression may serve as an adaptive signal to withdraw after loss or failure).

Biological Perspective

A perspective focusing on genetics, brain chemistry, and hormones (e.g., attributing depression to chemical imbalances or brain structure issues).

Sociocultural Perspective

An approach examining the role of social and cultural contexts (e.g., viewing depression as influenced by isolation, poverty, discrimination, and cultural pressures).

Biopsychosocial Perspective

An integrative approach examining the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors (e.g., depression caused by the interplay of genes, negative thinking, and life stressors).

Hypothesis

A theory-based prediction (not a guess) that guides study design and data collection, which data will either support or refute.

Naturalistic Observation

A research method involving the study of participants in their natural environment requiring operational definitions, non-disturbance of participants, and minimization of observer bias.

Case Study

An in-depth examination of an individual or small group using multiple data sources (such as interviews, logs, and medical records).

Survey Method

A research technique using questionnaires or interviews to gather large amounts of broad data quickly.

Correlational Method

A research method examining relationships between variables using a correlation coefficient ($r$) ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$ to measure strength and direction; cannot prove causation.

Experimental Method

A research method that manipulates one factor while controlling others to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Independent Variable (IV)

The factor in an experiment that is deliberately manipulated by the researcher (e.g., amount of exercise).

Dependent Variable (DV)

The measured outcome in an experiment (e.g., stress level measured via survey, heart rate, or cortisol).

Reliability

The consistency of a measure across repeated tests or over time.

Internal Validity

The degree to which a study accurately measures the intended variable and controls for confounding variables.

External Validity

The extent to which research findings can be generalized to the broader population.

Informed Consent

An ethical procedure reviewed by an IRB ensuring participants understand study procedures, can withdraw at any time, and participate voluntarily.

Nervous System

A communication network conveying messages throughout the body via electrical and chemical processes, composed of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

Neurons

Specialized cells that transmit electrical and chemical signals; the brain contains approximately $100\text{ billion}$ neurons with about $100\text{ trillion}$ links.

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A neurotransmitter that relays messages from neurons to muscles to facilitate movement, memory, and learning; low levels are linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Glutamate

An excitatory neurotransmitter that activates neurons and is involved in learning, memory, and thinking; excess amounts are linked to strokes, while deficiencies are tied to schizophrenia symptoms.

GABA

An inhibitory neurotransmitter that slows neuronal firing and regulates sleep, wakefulness, fear, and anxiety.

Norepinephrine

An excitatory neurotransmitter involved in stress response, arousal, sleep, and attention; imbalances lead to overarousal, hypervigilance, and difficulty focusing.

Endorphins

Natural opioids released in response to pain or exercise that reduce pain and elevate mood.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter regulating mood, appetite, sleep, aggression, and breathing; imbalances are linked to depression and can be boosted by SSRIs.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter regulating attention, learning through rewards, and body movements; deficient levels cause tremors and stiffness in Parkinson's disease.

Somatic Nervous System (SNS)

A division of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary movements and conscious processing, utilizing sensory and motor nerves.

Sympathetic Nervous System

A division of the autonomic nervous system triggering the fight-or-flight response by increasing heart rate and respiration, dilating pupils, and slowing digestion.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

A division of the autonomic nervous system responsible for rest-and-digest functions by decreasing heart rate and respiration, stimulating digestion, and contracting the bladder.

Pons

A hindbrain structure that regulates respiration, sleep-wake cycles, and coordinates left-right body movements.

Medulla

A hindbrain structure controlling automatic vital functions, including breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, and sneezing.

Cerebellum

A hindbrain structure involved in muscle coordination, balance, emotional control, and language processing.

Frontal Lobe

A cerebral cortex lobe responsible for higher-level cognition, decision-making, and personality (exemplified by the case of Phineas Gage).

Parietal Lobe

A cerebral cortex lobe that processes spatial orientation, touch, and visual-spatial reasoning.

Temporal Lobe

A cerebral cortex lobe responsible for hearing, language comprehension, and face recognition.

Occipital Lobe

A cerebral cortex lobe containing the primary visual cortex that processes visual information including color, shape, and motion.

Thalamus

A limbic system structure that functions as a sensory relay station for all incoming sensory information except smell.

Hypothalamus

A limbic system structure that maintains homeostasis, manages sleep-wake cycles, controls appetite, and directs endocrine activity.

Amygdala

A limbic structure regulating fear, aggression, emotional memory, and threat response.

Hippocampus

A limbic structure critical for neurogenesis and the formation of new memories.

Pituitary Gland

Known as the master gland of the endocrine system; secretes growth hormone to stimulate bone/muscle development, metabolism, and tissue repair.

Sensation

The process by which sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin) detect environmental stimuli.

Transduction

The biological conversion of physical sensory stimuli into electrical/neural signals sent to the central nervous system.

Perception

The psychological process of organizing, interpreting, and transforming sensory information into meaningful experiences using past experience.

Absolute Threshold

The smallest stimulus energy detectable $50\%$ of the time (such as seeing a candle flame $30\text{ miles}$ away in total darkness).

Difference Threshold

The smallest detectable change between two stimuli that can be noticed $50\%$ of the time (such as detecting a minimal increase in music volume).

Retina

A thin layer of neurons at the back of the eye that serves as the site of visual transduction.

Rods

Photoreceptors specialized for detecting faint light and enabling black-and-white vision.

Cones

Photoreceptors responsible for color perception and fine visual details that provide vivid, high-definition vision.

Cochlea

A snail-shaped, fluid-filled inner ear structure containing the basilar membrane and $16{,}000\text{ hair cells}$ where auditory transduction occurs.

Anosmia

The total inability to perceive odors or sense smell.

Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization

Principles describing how the human brain organizes sensory stimuli into complete patterns, based on the concept that "the whole is different from the sum of its parts."

Linear Perspective

A monocular depth cue where parallel lines appear to converge in the distance, which the brain interprets as increasing depth.

Interposition

A monocular depth cue in which one object overlapping or blocking another causes the blocked object to be perceived as farther away.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable in shape, color, and size despite changing sensory inputs and retinal images.

Consciousness

The state of awareness of yourself, your internal thoughts, and your external surroundings.

Cocktail Party Effect

A selective attention phenomenon where important stimuli (such as hearing your name or a sudden loud noise) break through focused attention; only $1\text{ in }3$ people notice their name when spoken in the background.

Inattentional Blindness

"Looking without seeing"; completely missing unexpected but visible stimuli because limited brain processing capacity is focused on a demanding task.

Restorative Theory of Sleep

A theory positing that sleep repairs and grows the body and brain; non-REM releases growth hormone for body repair, while REM sleep increases brain protein production and replenishes critical chemicals.

Circadian Rhythms

Natural $24\text{-hour}$ biological cycles influenced by environmental light and darkness.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

The body's "master clock" located in the hypothalamus that regulates alertness and sleep by signaling the pineal gland to release melatonin at night.

Melatonin

A hormone regulating sleep-wake cycles that is released at night by the pineal gland and suppressed by exposure to light, including screen blue light.

Narcolepsy

A neurological disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden, irrepressible sleep attacks during waking hours.

Sleep Paralysis

A temporary condition occurring when REM sleep muscle paralysis persists while a person is awake, leaving them unable to move or speak.

Hypnagogic Hallucinations

Vivid, dream-like, and often frightening sensory images experienced while falling asleep during Stage N1 sleep.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)

A disorder caused by brainstem failure to paralyze the body during REM sleep, resulting in vocalizations and acting out violent dreams; primarily affects men aged $50+$ years.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by breathing repeatedly stopping (apnea) or reducing (hypopnea) for $\ge 10\text{ seconds}$, often caused by obesity, aging, or a narrow throat.

Insomnia

A sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early.

Somnambulism

Sleepwalking; performing activities or routine tasks during deep non-REM sleep (Stage N3) with no subsequent memory upon waking.

Sleep Terrors

Sudden episodes of intense fear, crying, and agitation occurring during non-REM sleep that mostly affect inconsolable children.

Depressants

Sedative-hypnotic psychoactive drugs that slow central nervous system activity and induce calming or sleep-promoting effects.

Benzodiazepines

Depressant drugs used to treat anxiety disorders (e.g., Versed, Valium, Xanax) carrying FDA black box warnings due to high misuse and addiction potential.

Stimulants

Psychoactive substances that increase central nervous system activity to enhance alertness, physical energy, and mood.

Methamphetamine

A potent, fast-acting amphetamine derivative causing rapid dopamine surges, a "binge and crash" cycle, and long-term frontal lobe brain damage.

Hallucinogens

A class of psychoactive drugs that alter sensory perception, mood, and thought patterns, producing vivid hallucinations.

Hypnosis

An altered state of consciousness (not sleep) characterized by intense focused attention, heightened imagination, and increased responsiveness to suggestions.