AR

Outline flashcard for psych(chatgpt) saturday

  • Q: What is the mind-body problem?
    A: Whether the mind and body are separate (dualism) or one integrated system.

  • Q: What is the nature vs. nurture debate?
    A: Whether abilities/traits are determined by genetics (nature) or environment/experience (nurture).

  • Q: What is the free will vs. determinism debate?
    A: Whether human actions are freely chosen or determined by biological/environmental factors.

Perspectives

  • Q: What does structuralism focus on, and what is its weakness?
    A: Breaking mental processes into basic elements; relied on introspection, too subjective.

  • Q: What does functionalism focus on, and what is its weakness?
    A: Purpose of mental processes; less precise measurement, not as scientific.

  • Q: What is the key idea of the psychodynamic perspective?
    A: Unconscious drives and conflicts shape behavior.

  • Q: What is the key idea of the evolutionary perspective?
    A: Behavior is shaped by natural selection for survival and reproduction.

  • Q: What is the key idea of behaviorism?
    A: Psychology should study observable behavior, not internal mental states.

2. Research Methods

Terminology

  • Q: Define empiricism.
    A: Knowledge comes from observation and experience.

  • Q: Difference between hypothesis and theory?
    A: Hypothesis = testable prediction; theory = broader explanation of findings.

  • Q: Difference between internal and external validity?
    A: Internal = ability to show cause-effect; external = ability to generalize results.

  • Q: Difference between continuous and categorical variables?
    A: Continuous can take any value (height, time); categorical = distinct groups (gender, yes/no).

  • Q: What are the three types of reliability?
    A: Test-retest, internal consistency, interrater.

  • Q: What is a confounding variable?
    A: An uncontrolled factor that affects results.

  • Q: What are demand characteristics?
    A: Participants change behavior because they know they’re being studied.

Designs

  • Q: What is a descriptive design’s strength and weakness?
    A: Strength = describes behavior naturally; weakness = no causal inference.

  • Q: What is a correlational design’s main limitation?
    A: Cannot infer causation (correlation ≠ causation).

  • Q: What is the main advantage of an experimental design?
    A: Can infer causality by manipulating IV and measuring DV.

  • Q: Difference between between-subjects and within-subjects design?
    A: Between-subjects = different participants per group; within-subjects = same participants in all conditions.

  • Q: What is a double-blind study?
    A: Neither participants nor researchers know which group participants are in.

Ethics

  • Q: What does the IRB look for in human research?
    A: Informed consent, confidentiality, harm minimization, justification for deception, debriefing.

  • Q: What does IACUC focus on in animal research?
    A: Replace, Refine, Reduce animal use.

3. Nervous System

PNS

  • Q: Difference between afferent and efferent nerves?
    A: Afferent = sensory to CNS; efferent = motor from CNS to body.

  • Q: Difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?
    A: Sympathetic = fight/flight; parasympathetic = rest/digest.

CNS

  • Q: What are the major parts of the hindbrain?
    A: Medulla, pons, cerebellum.

  • Q: What does the thalamus do?
    A: Relays sensory information to the cortex (except smell).

  • Q: What does the hypothalamus regulate?
    A: Homeostasis: hunger, thirst, body temperature, hormones.

  • Q: What does the basal ganglia control?
    A: Movement and motor learning.

  • Q: What is the role of Broca’s area vs Wernicke’s area?
    A: Broca = speech production; Wernicke = speech comprehension.

Neuron

  • Q: Name the parts of a neuron.
    A: Dendrites, soma, axon hillock, axon, myelin sheath, axon terminals.

  • Q: What ions are involved in action potential?
    A: Na⁺ flows in (depolarization), K⁺ flows out (repolarization).

  • Q: What happens in the refractory period?
    A: Neuron cannot fire again until reset to resting potential.

  • Q: What are the main neurotransmitters and their roles?
    A:

    • Glutamate = excitatory

    • GABA = inhibitory

    • Dopamine = reward/movement

    • Serotonin = mood

    • Acetylcholine = muscle activation

    • Opioids = pain relief

4. Sensation & Perception

Basics

  • Q: Difference between sensation and perception?
    A: Sensation = detecting stimulus; perception = interpreting it.

  • Q: What is sensory adaptation?
    A: Reduced sensitivity after constant stimulation.

Vision

  • Q: What is the site of transduction in vision?
    A: Retina (rods and cones).

  • Q: What lobe processes visual information?
    A: Occipital lobe.

Audition

  • Q: What is the site of transduction in hearing?
    A: Cochlea hair cells.

  • Q: What lobe processes auditory information?
    A: Temporal lobe.

Perception

  • Q: What is Weber’s Law?
    A: Just-noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the stimulus.

  • Q: Difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?
    A: Bottom-up = data-driven; top-down = prior knowledge/expectations-driven.

  • Q: What is inattentional blindness?
    A: Failure to notice visible stimuli because attention is focused elsewhere.

  • Q: What is the cocktail party phenomenon?
    A: Ability to focus on one conversation while filtering out others.