Psychology 101:01 Spring 2025 Final Exam Study Guide - Old Material

Research Methods

  • Operational Definition: A specific way to measure or define a concept in a study.
  • Research Methods:
    • Case Study: In-depth analysis of a single individual or group.
    • Survey: Collecting data through questionnaires or interviews.
    • Observation: Observing and recording behavior in a natural setting.
    • Correlational Method: Examines the relationship between two or more variables.
    • Experimental Method: Manipulating one or more variables to determine cause and effect.
  • Random Sampling: Selecting participants randomly from the population.
  • Correlations:
    • Positive Correlation: Variables move in the same direction.
    • Negative Correlation: Variables move in opposite directions.
  • Causation vs. Correlation: Correlation does not equal causation.
  • Random Assignment: Assigning participants to experimental conditions randomly.
  • Variables:
    • Independent Variable (IV): The variable that is manipulated.
    • Dependent Variable (DV): The variable that is measured.
  • Experimental Control: Controlling extraneous variables to isolate the IV's effect.
  • Confound (Confounding Variable): A variable that is not controlled and could affect the DV.
  • Generalizability: The extent to which study findings can be applied to other populations.

The Biology of Behavior

  • Myelin Sheath: Fatty tissue that insulates axons and speeds up neural impulses.
  • Action Potential: A neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
  • Synapse: The junction between two neurons.
  • Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons.
    • Endorphins: Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure.
    • Dopamine: Neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention, and reward.
    • Serotonin: Neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.
    • Epinephrine (Adrenaline): Neurotransmitter associated with the fight-or-flight response.
  • Agonists and Antagonists:
    • Agonists: Mimic the effects of neurotransmitters.
    • Antagonists: Block the effects of neurotransmitters.
  • Nervous Systems:
    • Sympathetic Nervous System: Arouses the body, mobilizing its energy.
    • Parasympathetic Nervous System: Calms the body, conserving its energy.
  • Endocrine System: A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
    • Pituitary Gland: Regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
    • Adrenal Glands: Secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress.
  • Brain Imaging Techniques:
    • EEG (Electroencephalogram): Measures electrical activity in the brain.
    • fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow.
  • Brainstem: Responsible for automatic survival functions.
  • Amygdala: Linked to emotion, particularly fear and aggression.
  • Hippocampus: Involved in memory formation.
  • Cerebral Cortex Lobes:
    • Frontal Lobe: Involved in speaking, motor movements, judgment, and decision-making.
      • Mirror Neurons: Neurons that fire both when performing an action and when observing someone else perform that action.
    • Somatosensory Cortex: Registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
    • Motor Cortex: Controls voluntary movements.
  • Plasticity: The brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.

Brain States and Consciousness

  • Inattentional Blindness: Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
  • Change Blindness: Failing to notice changes in the environment.
  • SCN (Suprachiasmatic Nucleus): Controls the sleep-wake cycle. Light affects the SCN, which then affects the pineal gland and melatonin production.
  • REM Sleep: Rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur.
    • Sleep Paralysis: The experience of being unable to move during REM sleep.
  • N-REM Sleep Stages:
    • Stage 1: Light sleep.
    • Stage 2: Deeper sleep with sleep spindles.
    • Stage 3: Deepest sleep. Growth hormone is released from the pituitary gland during this stage.

Developing Through the Lifespan

  • Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development:
    • Assimilation: Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.
    • Accommodation: Adapting current schemas to incorporate new information.
    • Piaget’s Stages:
      • Sensorimotor Stage: (0-2 years) Experiencing the world through senses and actions.
        • Object Permanence: Awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
      • Preoperational Stage: (2-7 years) Representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning.
        • Egocentrism: Difficulty taking another's point of view.
      • Concrete Operational Stage: (7-11 years) Thinking logically about concrete events.
        • Conservation: Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape.
      • Formal Operational Stage: (12+ years) Abstract reasoning.
  • Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development:
    • Zone of Proximal Development: The gap between what a child can do independently and what they can do with help.
    • Scaffolding: Providing support to help a child learn a new skill.
  • Theory of Mind: Understanding that others have their own thoughts and feelings.
  • Erikson’s Stages of Social Development: Each stage presents a psychosocial crisis to resolve.
    • Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 year)
    • Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-3 years)
    • Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years)
    • Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years)
    • Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-20 years)
    • Intimacy vs. Isolation (20-40 years)
    • Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65 years)
    • Integrity vs. Despair (65+ years)
  • Harlow’s Attachment Studies: Infant monkeys preferred contact comfort over nourishment.
  • Ainsworth’s Attachment Styles:
    • Secure Attachment: Distressed when the caregiver leaves, seeks contact upon return.
    • Insecure-Avoidant Attachment: Not distressed when the caregiver leaves, does not seek contact upon return.
    • Insecure-Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment: Distressed when the caregiver leaves, ambivalent upon return.
  • Baumrind’s Parenting Styles:
    • Authoritarian: High control, low warmth.
    • Authoritative: High control, high warmth.
    • Permissive: Low control, high warmth.
    • Neglectful: Low control, low warmth.
  • Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:
    • Preconventional: Morality is based on self-interest.
    • Conventional: Morality is based on social rules and laws.
    • Postconventional: Morality is based on universal ethical principles.
  • Delay of Gratification: Resisting the temptation for an immediate reward in favor of a later reward.
    • Mischel’s Marshmallow Test (1961): Studied children's ability to delay gratification.

Sensation and Perception

  • Processing:
    • 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.
  • Absolute Thresholds: The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.
  • Difference Thresholds (JND - Just Noticeable Difference): The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time.
  • Signal Detection Theory: Predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise.
  • Sensory Adaptation: Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
  • Gestalt Approach: Emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
  • Perceptual Constancy: Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Classical Conditioning

  • Classical Conditioning: Learning by association.
  • Pavlov's Study: Studied classical conditioning with dogs.
  • Components of Classical Conditioning:
    • Unconditioned Response (UR): An unlearned, natural response to an unconditioned stimulus.
    • Unconditioned Stimulus (US): A stimulus that naturally triggers a response.
    • Conditioned Response (CR): A learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus.
    • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
  • Generalization: The tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.
  • Discrimination: The ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other stimuli.
  • Extinction: The diminishing of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus no longer follows the conditioned stimulus.
  • Watson and Raynor’s Study with Little Albert: Demonstrated how fears can be classically conditioned.
  • Counterconditioning: A behavior therapy procedure that uses classical conditioning to evoke new responses to stimuli that are triggering unwanted behaviors.

Operant Conditioning

  • Operant Conditioning: Learning through consequences.
  • Skinner Box: A chamber with a bar or key that an animal manipulates to obtain a reinforcer.
  • Shaping: Reinforcing successive approximations toward a desired behavior.
  • Reinforcements and Punishments:
    • Reinforcements: Increase the likelihood of a behavior.
    • Punishments: Decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
  • Types of Reinforcement and Punishment:
    • Positive Reinforcement: Adding something desirable to increase a behavior.
    • Negative Reinforcement: Removing something undesirable to increase a behavior.
    • Positive Punishment: Adding something undesirable to decrease a behavior.
    • Negative Punishment: Removing something desirable to decrease a behavior.
  • Generalization: Responding to similar stimuli.
  • Discrimination: Distinguishing between stimuli.
  • Extinction: The weakening of an operant response when reinforcement is no longer available.
  • Reinforcement Schedules:
    • Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. Better for initial learning.
    • Intermittent (Partial) Reinforcement: Reinforcing a response only part of the time. Better for long-term learning.

Schedules of Reinforcement

  • Fixed-Ratio Schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
  • Variable-Ratio Schedule: Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
  • Fixed-Interval Schedule: Reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.
  • Variable-Interval Schedule: Reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.
  • Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation:
    • Intrinsic Motivation: Desire to perform a behavior for its own sake.
    • Extrinsic Motivation: Desire to perform a behavior to receive rewards or avoid punishment.
    • Overjustification Effect: When extrinsic rewards decrease intrinsic motivation.

Observational Learning

  • Observational Learning: Learning by observing others.
  • Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment: Demonstrated that children learn aggressive behaviors by observing others.

Memory

  • Memory Processes:
    • Encoding: Getting information into memory.
    • Storage: Retaining information in memory.
    • Retrieval: Getting information out of memory.
  • Memory Systems:
    • Sensory Memory: Immediate, brief recording of sensory information.
    • Short-Term Memory: Holds a few items briefly.
    • Long-Term Memory: Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse.
  • Types of Long-Term Memory:
    • Explicit Memory (Declarative): Consciously recalled memories.
      • Semantic Memory: Facts and general knowledge.
      • Episodic Memory: Personally experienced events.
    • Implicit Memory (Nondeclarative): Memories that do not require conscious recall.
  • Rehearsal:
    • Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating information to keep it in short-term memory.
    • Elaborative Rehearsal: Connecting new information to existing knowledge to transfer it to long-term memory.
  • Levels of Processing: Deeper processing leads to better memory.
  • Context-Dependent Memory: Recall is better when in the same context as when the memory was encoded.
  • State-Dependent Memory: What is learned in one state (e.g., drunk or sober) is more easily recalled when in that same state.
  • Amnesia:
    • Anterograde Amnesia: Inability to form new memories.
    • Retrograde Amnesia: Inability to recall past memories.
  • Eyewitness Memory: Can be unreliable due to suggestibility and misinformation.

Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

  • 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.
    • Simulation Heuristic (Counterfactual Thinking): The tendency to judge the likelihood of an event by the ease with which one can imagine it.
  • Perseverance Effect (Belief Perseverance): Tendency to cling to initial concepts even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.
  • Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.
  • Stereotype Threat: A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
  • Mindsets:
    • Fixed Mindset: Belief that intelligence is static.
    • Growth Mindset: Belief that intelligence can be developed. Results in more effort and persistence.

Motivation and Emotion

  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
    • Physiological needs
    • Safety needs
    • Love and belonging needs
    • Esteem needs
    • Self-actualization needs
      • Self-Actualization: Fulfilling one's potential.
  • Theories of Emotion:
    • James-Lange Theory: Physiological response precedes emotion.
    • Cannon-Bard Theory: Physiological response and emotion occur simultaneously.
    • Schachter and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory: Emotion requires both physiological arousal and cognitive labeling.

Social Psychology

  • Attributions:
    • Internal (Dispositional) Attributions: Explaining behavior based on internal characteristics.
    • External (Situational) Attributions: Explaining behavior based on external circumstances.
  • Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to overestimate the impact of dispositional factors and underestimate the impact of situational factors when analyzing others' behavior.
  • Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment: Demonstrated the power of social roles and situations on behavior.
  • Cognitive Dissonance: The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.