• Confirmation bias: The tendency to seek out information that confirms existing beliefs and ignore or downplay information that contradicts them.

• Overconfidence: The tendency to overestimate one's abilities or knowledge.

• Hindsight bias: The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one could have predicted it.

• Experiment: A controlled research method where one or more independent variables are manipulated while controlling for other variables to determine their effect on the dependent variable(s).

• Correlational studies: Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible. These cannot establish causation, only relationships between variables.

• Case studies: In-depth investigations of a single person, group, or event.

• Naturalistic observation: Observing behavior in its natural setting without interfering.

• Meta-analysis: A statistical technique used to combine the results of multiple studies on a specific topic.

• Survey research: Collecting data from a large sample through questionnaires or interviews.

• Correlation: A statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. Correlations range from -1.0 to +1.0. The correlation between the variables is shown through a value that goes from -1.00 to +1.00. This value is called the correlational coefficient. When the correlational coefficient is close to +1.00, there is a positive correlation between the variables. In other words, an increase in X accompanies an increase in Y. When the correlational coefficient is close to -1.00, there is a negative correlation between the variables or an increase in X is followed by a decrease in Y. And when the correlational coefficient is close to 0.00 there is no relationship between the variables. The closer the value is to +1.00 or -1.00, the stronger the relationship is.

• Causation: A cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.

• Statistical Significance: Statistical significance refers to whether any differences observed between groups being studied are "real" or if they’re likely due just to chance. It's often determined by p-values less than 0.05. Note - p values are different than r values!

• Random Sampling: A random sample is when the group of subjects in your experiment accurately depicts the population. This random sample should fairly depict the overall population, covering various ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, gender, and age.

• Random Assignment: The process of placing research participants into different experimental groups (like a control group and experimental group) by chance, ensuring that each participant has an equal likelihood of being placed in any given group, which helps to control for confounding variables and strengthens the validity of the experiment.

• Operational definition: A precise definition of a variable in terms of how it will be measured or manipulated.

• Falsifiable hypothesis: A hypothesis that can be disproven through experimentation or observation.

• Placebo: The placebo effect is a psychological phenomenon where a person experiences an improvement in their condition or symptoms after receiving a treatment that is inactive or doesn't have any therapeutic effect. This happens because they believe the treatment will work.

• Double Blind: The double blind procedure is when neither the participant in the study nor the person giving the study know who is the control group and who is in the experimental group. This allows the study to detect the Placebo Effect. The Placebo Effect is when a group of people feel an effect of a drug when they have actually only ingested a placebo, which is often a sugar pill that has no effect. The double blind procedure keeps as much bias out of the procedure as possible, allowing the psychologists doing the procedure to more accurately determine if the result is accurate.

• Evolutionary: This perspective focuses on how natural selection has shaped human behavior and cognition over time. It emphasizes the role of genetics and biology in understanding human behavior.

• Behavioral: This perspective focuses on how observable behaviors are learned and shaped through experience. It emphasizes the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior.

• Cognitive: This perspective focuses on how mental processes, such as thinking, memory, and problem-solving, influence behavior. It emphasizes the role of internal mental processes in understanding human behavior.

• Psychodynamic: This perspective focuses on how unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences shape personality and behavior. It emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind in understanding human behavior.

• Humanistic: This perspective focuses on the positive aspects of human nature and the potential for personal growth. It emphasizes the role of free will and self-actualization in understanding human behavior.

• Socio-cultural: This perspective focuses on how social and cultural factors influence behavior. It emphasizes the role of social and cultural factors in understanding human behavior.

• EEG (Electroencephalography): Measures brain wave patterns.

• fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.

• Lesioning Studies: Involves damaging specific brain areas to observe the resulting behavioral deficits.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

• Brain: The control center of the body, responsible for thought, emotion, and behavior.

• Spinal Cord: Connects the brain to the rest of the body, transmitting messages between them.

Reflexes: Automatic, involuntary responses to stimuli, often involving the spinal cord and not requiring conscious thought.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The PNS connects the CNS to the rest of the body. It is divided into two parts:

• Somatic Nervous System: Controls voluntary muscle movements.

• Autonomic Nervous System: Controls involuntary bodily functions.

  • Sympathetic Nervous System: Prepares the body for "fight or flight" responses, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and adrenaline.

  • Parasympathetic Nervous System: Calms the body and returns it to a "rest and digest" state, slowing heart rate and promoting digestion.

Serotonin: Mood, sleep

• Dopamine: Reward, movement

• GABA: Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter

• Glutamate: Primary excitatory neurotransmitter

• Agonists: Drugs that mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter. They bind to receptors and trigger a response.

• Antagonists: Drugs that block the effects of a neurotransmitter. They bind to receptors but do not trigger a response, preventing the neurotransmitter from binding.

• Reuptake Inhibitors: Drugs that prevent the reabsorption of a neurotransmitter, increasing its levels in the synapse.

• Stimulants: Increase neural activity, leading to heightened arousal and alertness. Examples include caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines.

• Depressants: Decrease neural activity, leading to relaxation and sedation. Examples include alcohol and benzodiazepines.

• Hallucinogens: Distort sensory perceptions and can alter mood and thought processes. Examples include LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, and marijuana.

• Tolerance: The diminishing effect of a drug with repeated use, requiring larger doses to achieve the same effect.

• Addiction: A compulsive pattern of drug use characterized by a strong craving and the inability to control intake.

• Withdrawal: The physical and psychological symptoms experienced when a person stops using a drug they are addicted to.

A neuron is a nerve cell, the basic building block of the nervous system.

• Glial Cells: These cells support and protect neurons, providing nutrients and insulation.

• Synapse: The junction between two neurons where communication occurs.

• Action Potential: An electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron.

• Dendrites: Branchlike extensions that receive signals from other neurons.

• Cell Body: The main part of the neuron, containing the nucleus.

• Axon: A long, slender fiber that carries the neural impulse away from the cell body.

• Axon Terminal: The end of the axon, where neurotransmitters are released.

• Myelin Sheath: A fatty substance that insulates the axon and speeds up neural transmission.

• All-or-None Principle: A neuron either fires completely or not at all.

• Depolarization: The process of making the membrane potential less negative, triggering an action potential.

• Refractory Period: A brief period after an action potential during which another cannot occur.

• Resting Potential: The electrical charge of a neuron at rest.

• Genes: Units of heredity that determine traits.

• Epigenetics: The study of how environmental factors can influence gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

• Eugenics: A controversial practice of selective breeding aimed at improving the genetic quality of a population.

• Nature vs. Nurture: A debate about the relative importance of genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) factors in determining individual differences.

• Dizygotic Twins (Fraternal Twins): Twins who develop from two separate fertilized eggs. They share about 50% of their genes.

• Monozygotic Twins (Identical Twins): Twins who develop from a single fertilized egg. They share nearly 100% of their genes.

• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, dreaming, and increased brain activity.

• NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: A stage of sleep divided into four stages, characterized by slower brain wave patterns and decreased muscle activity.

  • Stage 1: Light sleep, hypnagogic sensations

  • Stage 2: Deeper than stage 1; bursts of brain activity (spindles and K-complexes)

  • Stages 3 & 4: Deep sleep (delta waves)

Circadian Rhythm

A circadian rhythm is a biological process that repeats approximately every 24 hours. It influences sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, body temperature, and other bodily functions.

Brain Waves

• Alpha Waves: Relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state.

• Delta Waves: Slow brain waves associated with deep sleep.

• Activation-Synthesis Theory: This theory suggests that dreams are the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity during REM sleep. The brain weaves these random signals into coherent stories and images.

• Consolidation Theory: This theory proposes that dreams help consolidate memories and information learned during the day. By replaying experiences, the brain strengthens neural connections and improves memory retention.

• Insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early.

• Narcolepsy: A chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks.

• REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A sleep disorder in which people act out their dreams, often violently.

• Sleep Apnea: A sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep.

• Somnambulism (Sleepwalking): A sleep disorder in which people walk or perform other activities while asleep.

• Hypnagogic Sensations and Hallucinations: Vivid sensory experiences that occur during the transition between wakefulness and sleep.

• REM Rebound is a phenomenon that occurs after a period of sleep deprivation. When someone is deprived of REM sleep, their body will attempt to make up for the lost REM sleep by increasing the amount of REM sleep during subsequent sleep periods. This increased REM sleep is known as REM rebound. It's believed that REM sleep is crucial for cognitive functions, memory consolidation, and emotional regulation, so the body prioritizes it when possible.

• Retina: The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that contains photoreceptor cells.

  • Rods: Photoreceptor cells responsible for vision in dim light & peripheral vision.

  • Cones: Photoreceptor cells responsible for color vision and detailed vision.

• Optic Nerve: The nerve that carries visual information from the retina to the brain.

• Blind Spot: The point on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye, resulting in a lack of visual perception.

• Lens: The transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto the retina.

• Pupil: The opening in the iris that controls the amount of light entering the eye.

• Cornea: The clear outer layer of the eye that protects the eye and helps focus light.

• Iris: The colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil.

• Fovea: The central part of the retina, responsible for sharp, detailed vision.

• Myopia/ Nearsightedness: Difficulty seeing distant objects.

• Hyperopia/Farsightedness: Difficulty seeing close objects.

• Accommodation: The process of adjusting the lens to focus on objects at different distances.

• Transduction: The conversion of physical energy (light waves) into neural signals.

• Trichromatic Theory: Suggests that color vision is based on three types of cones, each sensitive to a different primary color (red, green, blue).

• Opponent-Process Theory: Suggests that color vision is based on opposing pairs of colors (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white).

• Color Vision Deficiencies:

  • Dichromatism: A condition in which individuals are missing one type of cone cell, resulting in difficulty distinguishing certain colors.

  • Monochromatism: A rare condition in which individuals have only one type of cone cell, resulting in limited color vision.

• Afterimages: Visual sensations that persist after the stimulus is removed.

• Prosopagnosia: A condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces.

• Blindsight: A condition in which individuals with damage to the visual cortex can unconsciously perceive visual stimuli.

Sensation and Perception

• Olfaction: Sense of smell.

• Pheromone: Chemical signals that influence behavior.

• Gustation: Sense of taste.

• Kinesthesis: Sense of body position and movement.

• Vestibular Sense: Sense of balance and spatial orientation.

Sensory Processes

• Sensory Receptors: Specialized cells that detect stimuli.

• Transduction: Conversion of sensory stimuli into neural signals.

• Sensory Adaptation: Decreased sensitivity to a constant stimulus.

Hearing

• Sound Waves: Vibrations that travel through a medium.

• Amplitude: Loudness of a sound.

• Frequency: Pitch of a sound.

• Cochlea: Spiral-shaped structure in the inner ear containing hair cells that convert sound waves into neural signals.

• Conductive Hearing Loss: Hearing loss due to problems with the outer or middle ear.

Other Key Terms

• Phantom Limb: Sensation of a limb that has been amputated.

• Gate-Control Theory: Theory that explains how the spinal cord acts as a gate to control pain signals.

• Volley Theory: Theory of how the auditory system encodes sound frequency. The volley principle is the idea that groups of neurons can work together to perceive sounds at frequencies beyond their individual firing rates.

• Place Theory: Theory of how the auditory system encodes sound frequency. This theory proposes that different areas along the basilar membrane of the inner ear are responsible for perceiving different pitches.

• Supertaster: Individual with heightened taste sensitivity.

• Hypogeusia: Reduced sense of taste.

• Ageusia: Loss of sense of taste.

Sensation and Perception

Sensation

Sensation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Absolute Threshold

The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference)

The difference threshold is the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.

Perception

Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Processing Information

• Bottom-Up Processing: Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

• Top-Down Processing: Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, such as expectations and memories.

Attention

• Selective Attention: The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

• Inattentional Blindness: Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

• Change Blindness: Failing to notice changes in the visual environment.

Signal Detection Theory

Signal Detection Theory is a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). It assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Perceptual Processes

Perceptual Set

A perceptual set is a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. It's influenced by our experiences, expectations, and motivations.

Schemas

Schemas are mental frameworks that organize and interpret information. They help us understand the world by providing a framework for our thoughts and expectations.

Gestalt Principles

Gestalt psychologists emphasized that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Here are some key Gestalt principles:

• Proximity: Objects that are close together are perceived as a group.

• Similarity: Objects that share similar characteristics are perceived as a group.

• Closure: We tend to fill in the gaps to complete an incomplete figure.

• Figure-Ground: We perceive objects (figures) as standing out from their surroundings (ground).

• Continuity: We prefer to perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.

Depth Perception

Depth Perception is the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions, even though the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional.

• Binocular Cues: Depth cues that rely on the use of both eyes.

  • Retinal Disparity: The difference in the images that reach the two eyes, which helps us perceive depth.

  • Convergence: The inward turning of the eyes as they focus on a nearby object.

• Monocular Cues: Depth cues that can be perceived with one eye.

  • Relative Size: Objects that appear larger are perceived as closer.

  • Relative Clarity: Objects that appear clearer are perceived as closer.

  • Texture Gradient: Objects that appear coarser and more detailed are perceived as closer.

  • Linear Perspective: Parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.

  • Interposition: Objects that block the view of other objects are perceived as closer.

Visual Perceptual Constancies

These are tendencies to perceive objects as stable and unchanging, even though the sensory input may vary.

• Color Constancy: Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if the lighting conditions change.

• Size Constancy: Perceiving objects as having a consistent size, even when their distance from us changes.

• Shape Constancy: Perceiving objects as having a consistent shape, even when the angle of view changes.

• Lightness/Brightness Constancy: Perceiving objects as having a consistent lightness or brightness, even when the illumination changes.

Perception of Movement

Our brains can perceive motion, even when there is none. This can be influenced by factors like the movement of objects in our visual field and the way our eyes move.

Cognitive Processes

Concepts and Problem-Solving

• Prototypes: Mental images or best examples of a category.

• Assimilation: The process of interpreting new information in terms of existing schemas.

• Accommodation: The process of adjusting existing schemas to incorporate new information.

• Algorithms: Step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution.

• Heuristic: A mental shortcut or rule of thumb used to solve problems efficiently.

Decision-Making Heuristics

• Representativeness Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.

• Availability Heuristic: Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

• Mental Set: A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially a way that has been successful in the past.

• Priming: The activation of particular associations in memory.

Decision-Making Biases

• Framing: The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

• Sunk Cost Fallacy: The tendency to continue investing in a failing endeavor because of past investment.

• Gambler's Fallacy: The belief that future probabilities are influenced by past events.

Higher-Level Cognitive Processes

• Executive Functions: A set of cognitive processes that control and manage other cognitive processes.

• Creativity: The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

• Functional Fixedness: The tendency to think of objects only in terms of their usual functions.