Chapter 1-3 Psychology Flashcards (Introduction to Psychology and Biopsychology)

A comprehensive set of practice flashcards covering Psychology’s history, major perspectives, research methods, ethics, and foundational Biopsychology concepts.

What is psychology?

The scientific study of mind (mental processes) and behavior.

What are mind/mental processes?

Internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, feelings).

Who argued that the mind and body are separable and that ideas are innate?

Socrates and Plato.

What did Aristotle believe about the mind?

The mind and body are connected; the mind was not located in the heart; knowledge grows from experience.

What was Descartes' view about the mind and body?

The mind is distinct from the body and can survive bodily death; inborn ideas.

Who are the founders of behaviorism?

John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, and Ivan Pavlov.

What is behaviorism?

The scientific study of observable behavior; emphasizes learning through rewards and punishments.

What is psychoanalysis?

Freud's theory focusing on unconscious drives, unresolved conflicts, and the treatment of abnormal behavior; techniques include free association and dream analysis.

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Basic needs (food, water, shelter) must be met before higher needs; self-actualization is the top level.

What is cognitive psychology?

The study of thought processes and brain functions; cognition includes thinking, knowing, remembering.

What is nature vs. nurture about?

The debate over the relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) to psychological traits and behaviors.

nature = genetics/ genes

nurture = environment

What is the biopsychosocial model?

A framework that posits biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors all influence health and behavior.

What are the 3 main levels of analysis in biopsychology?

Biological/genetic, psychological, and social-cultural influences.

What is the Neuroscience Perspective?

Studies how the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences.

What is Biopsychology (or Biological Psychology)?

The study of the structure and function of the nervous system and how it generates behavior.

What is the Behavior Genetics Perspective?

Studies the relative influences of genes and environment on individual differences.

What is Sensation and Perception?

The study of physiological sensory systems and the psychological experience of sensory information.

What is Personality Psychology?

Study of patterns of thought and behavior that make individuals unique.

What is Psychodynamic Perspective?

Views behavior as arising from unconscious drives and conflicts.

What is Behavioral Perspective?

Examines how observable responses are learned and modified.

What is Cognitive Perspective?

Studies how we process, store, and retrieve information.

What is Socio-Cultural Perspective?

Examines how behavior and thinking vary with the situation and culture.

What is Industrial-Organizational Psychology?

A subfield applying psychology to workplace settings, including personnel and organizational problems.

What is Clinical Psychology?

Branch that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

What is an Operational Definition?

Clear procedures used to define research variables and how they are measured.

What is Replication?

Repeating a study to see if the basic finding generalizes to other people and settings.

What are Basic vs Applied Research?

Basic research aims to increase knowledge; applied research aims to solve practical problems.

What is Inductive Reasoning?

Conclusions drawn from observations.

What is Deductive Reasoning?

Predictions or conclusions derived from general premises.

What is Descriptive Research?

Systematically describing behavior without inferring causes.

What is the Case Study?

In-depth study of a single individual or a small group.

What is the Survey?

Technique for measuring self-reported attitudes/behaviors of a sample of people.

What is Random Sampling?

A sample that fairly represents a population; each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

What is the Placebo Effect?

Improvement due to participants’ expectations rather than the treatment.

What is a Placebo?

An inert substance or condition used to compare against an active treatment.

What is the Double-Blind Procedure?

Both participants and researchers are unaware of group assignments.

What is External Validity (Generalizability)?

The extent to which results generalize beyond the study.

What is Validity?

A measure actually assesses what it claims to measure.

What is Reliability?

A measure produces consistent results over time.

What is Replicability?

The ability to reproduce results in a different study with different participants.

What is IRB?

Institutional Review Board; reviews research proposals involving human participants to protect rights and welfare.

What is IACUC?

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; oversees humane treatment of non-human animals.

What is a Reflex?

An automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus (often spinal cord–mediated).

What is the Blood-Brain Barrier?

A barrier that prevents many chemicals from entering the brain.

What are the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) components?

Sensory and motor neurons; includes Somatic (voluntary controls) and Autonomic (involuntary; sympathetic and parasympathetic).

What is the Autonomic Nervous System?

Controls glands and internal organs; divided into sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming) divisions.

What is the Spinal Cord’s role?

The main pathway for information between the brain and the body; also mediates reflexes.

What is the Central Nervous System (CNS)?

Brain and spinal cord.

What is a Neuron?

The basic building block of the nervous system; processes information.

What are the main parts of a neuron?

Dendrites, cell body, axon, myelin sheath, and terminal buttons forming synapses.

What is the Synapse?

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the receiving neuron's dendrite or cell body.

What is an Action Potential?

A neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels down the axon.

What is a Threshold?

Minimum stimulation needed to trigger an action potential.

What are the Major Neurotransmitters and their roles?

Acetylcholine (learning/memory, muscle contraction); Dopamine (movement, attention, emotion; linked to schizophrenia if overactive); Serotonin (mood, hunger, sleep); Norepinephrine (alertness, arousal); Endorphins (pain relief, mood); GABA (inhibitory, reduces anxiety); Glutamate (excitatory, learning/memory).

What is the role of the Endocrine System?

Slow chemical communication through hormones released by glands into the bloodstream.

What do Adrenal Glands secrete?

Epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) for arousal in stress.

What is the Pituitary Gland?

The endocrine system’s master gland; regulates growth and other glands; controlled by the hypothalamus.

What is the Hypothalamus’ role?

Maintains homeostasis (eating, drinking, body temperature, sexual behavior) and links the nervous and endocrine systems via the pituitary.

What is the Hippocampus responsible for?

Memory processing and retention.

What is the Amygdala involved in?

Emotion (fear, aggression) and processing emotional responses.

What is the Cerebral Cortex?

The brain’s outer layer of neural tissue; responsible for information processing; divided into lobes.

What are the four lobes of the Cerebral Cortex?

Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal.

What is the Frontal Lobe responsible for?

Speaking and muscle movements; planning and judgment; contains the Motor Cortex and Broca’s Area.

Where is the Primary Motor Cortex located and what does it do?

Rear of the frontal lobe; controls voluntary movements; space allocation is related to precision (e.g., fingers, mouth).

What is Broca’s Area responsible for?

Speech production; usually in the left frontal lobe.

What is the Parietal Lobe responsible for?

Includes the Sensory Cortex; involved in sensory perception.

What is the Primary Sensory Cortex?

Front of the parietal lobe; processes body sensations.

What is the Occipital Lobe responsible for?

Visual processing; visual areas in the back of the brain.

What is the Temporal Lobe responsible for?

Auditory processing; language comprehension (Wernicke’s area).

What is Wernicke’s Area?

Left temporal lobe area involved in language comprehension.

What is Aphasia?

Impairment of language, usually due to left-hemisphere damage to Broca’s or Wernicke’s areas.

What is the Angular Gyrus?

Transforms words into an auditory code; involved in language processing and reading.

What is the Left vs Right Hemisphere specializations?

Left: language and logic; Right: spatial, perceptual, and emotional processing; left tends to be more analytical, right more holistic.

What is Split-Brain?

A condition where the corpus callosum is severed, isolating the two hemispheres.

What is the Corpus Callosum?

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres, enabling communication between them.

What is Brain Plasticity?

The brain’s ability to modify itself; rewire or reuse areas after damage, especially in children.

What is a Lesion in neuroscience?

Tissue destruction; can be natural or experimentally induced to study brain function.

What are the 6 major brain imaging methods listed?

EEG, CT/CAT scan, PET scan, MRI, fMRI, and lesion studies.

What is EEG?

Electroencephalogram; amplified recording of brain waves via scalp electrodes.

What is CT/CAT Scan?

Computed tomography; series of x-ray images combined into a 3D-like slice.

What is PET Scan?

Positron emission tomography; shows brain activity by tracing radioactive glucose.

What is MRI?

Magnetic resonance imaging; uses magnetic fields to produce detailed brain structures.

What is fMRI?

Functional MRI; measures brain activity by detecting blood flow changes.

What are the Brainstem components?

Medulla (breathing/heartbeat), Reticular Formation (arousal), Thalamus (sensory switchboard), Cerebellum (coordination and balance).

What is the Hippocampus’ role?

Memory formation and retention.

What is the Amygdala’s role?

Emotion processing (fear, aggression) and recognizing emotions in others.

What is the Hypothalamus’ role?

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual behavior; controls endocrine system via pituitary.

What is the Limbic System associated with?

Emotion and drives; includes hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus; reward centers linked to dopamine.

What is the Baseline concept of the 3 Levels of Analysis summary?

Biological/genetic, psychological, and social-cultural influences together shape behavior and experience.

What is Illusory Correlation?

Perceiving a relationship where none exists.

What is a Confounding Variable?

An outside factor that affects both variables, possibly creating a false impression of causation.

What is the difference between Descriptive, Correlational, and Experimental Research?

Descriptive describes behavior; Correlational examines relationships; Experimental manipulates an IV to determine causation.

What is the significance of Random Sampling vs Random Assignment?

Random sampling aims for a representative sample; random assignment aims to equalize participant differences across conditions.

What does Statistical Significance indicate?

The likelihood that observed differences are not due to chance; does not always imply practical importance.