Untitled Flashcards Set

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology 

• Psychology – The study of behavior and mental processes.

• Developmental Psychology – The Study of human growth and change from prenatal to old age.

• Physiological Psychology –  investigates the basis of behavior, thought, and emotions. How the brain and body affect behavior: Brain & Body → Focuses on the biological reasons behind behavior.

• Experimental Psychology –  Investigate basic psychological mental processes. Mental Processes → Focuses on how people think, learn, and remember through controlled experiments.

• Personality Psychology – The study of personality traits and how they develop.

• Clinical Psychology – A branch of psychology that assesses and treats mental illness and behavioral/ psychological disorders. Focus on diagnosis, causes and treatments.

• Counseling Psychology – Helps people cope with life challenges and improve their well-being.

• Social Psychology – The study of how individuals are influenced by thoughts, feelings, and behavior by society and other people.

• I/O Psychology (Industrial-Organizational Psychology) – The study of workplace behavior to improve productivity and job satisfaction.

Key Issues in Psychology:

• Person-Situation – The debate over whether behavior is determined more by personality or situational factors.

• Example: If someone is naturally kind, will they always help others, or does it depend on the situation (e.g., if they are in a hurry, will they ignore someone in need)?

Person = Personality traits (consistent behavior across situations).

Situation = Environment and circumstances (behavior changes based on context).

• Nature-Nurture – The ongoing debate over the influence of genetics (nature) vs. environment (nurture) on behavior.

        Example: Are we born intelligent, or does our upbringing and education shape our intelligence?

Nature = Genetics and biology (traits you’re born with).

Nurture = Environment and experiences (how you’re raised).

• Stability-Change – The debate over whether traits persist or change over time.

Example: If a child is shy, will they always be shy, or can life experiences make them more outgoing?

 Stability = Personality traits stay the same throughout life.
Change = Personality traits evolve due to experiences and development.

• Diversity-Universality – The extent to which psychological principles apply universally or are culture-specific.

Example: Basic emotions like happiness, sadness, and fear are expressed similarly across all cultures (universality). However, cultural differences shape how emotions are displayed—Western cultures may encourage openly expressing emotions, while some Eastern cultures promote emotional restraint (diversity).

Universality = Everyone behaves in similar ways, no matter where they're from.
Diversity = People behave differently depending on their culture or background.

Scientific Concepts:

• The Scientific Method – process for testing hypotheses and developing theories. ( a way to figure out answers to questions or solve problems) 

• Scientific Theory – A well-tested explanation for a broad range of observations.

 collecting data, generating a theory to explain the data, producing testable hypotheses (has been proven by research and evidence)

• Theory – A general principle that explains a set of facts or phenomena. (an idea or guess)

• Hypotheses – Testable predictions derived from a theory.

Historical Figures in Psychology:

• Critical Thinking – (THINKING LIKE A SCIENTIST) The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgment.    involves carefully analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information

• Three Greek Philosophers Discussed 

• Thomas Hobbes-his ideas influenced areas like social psychology and behaviorism. He believed that human behavior is driven by self-interest and the desire to avoid pain, which later influenced theories about motivation and human nature.

• John Locke – Proposed the idea of the Tabula Rasa (blank slate), suggesting that humans are shaped by experience.

• Charles Darwin – Introduced the theory of evolution, which influenced evolutionary psychology.

Psychological Approaches:

• Structuralism – The study of the structure of the mind, associated with Edward Titchener. Stresses basic units of experience

• Functionalism – The study of how mental processes help individuals adapt, associated with William James. Focused on how individuals use their abilities to adapt and function in their environment

• Psychodynamic Psychology – Founded by Sigmund Freud. Contents behavior results from psychological factors that interact within the individual.

• Behaviorism – Founded by John Watson and expanded by B.F. Skinner (the concept of reinforcement), emphasizes observable behavior.

• Gestalt Psychology – Studies perception and how the mind organizes information as a whole. Studies how people perceive and experience objects as whole patterns

• Humanistic Psychology – Focuses on personal growth and self-fulfillment. Emphasizes nonverbal experience and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full human potential, personal growth 

• Cognitive Psychology – The study of mental processes like thinking, memory, and language.

Culture and Psychology:

• Gender – The characteristics and behaviors that society associates with male and female roles.

• Gender Stereotypes – beliefs about “typical” male or female behaviors and roles, Culture – Shared beliefs, values, and traditions of a group.

• Individualistic Culture – Values independence and personal achievements (e.g., American culture).

• Collectivist Culture – Values  independence, fitting in, and a harmonious relationship

• Cross-Cultural Research – Studies differences and similarities between cultures.

Ethics in Psychology:

• APA Ethical Guidelines (Human Subjects) – Informed consent, no harm, confidentiality, and debriefing.

-Participants must be informed of the nature of the research in clearly understandable language

–Informed consent must be documented

–Risks, possible adverse effects, and limitations on confidentiality must be spelled out in advance

-If participation is a condition of course credit, equitable alternative activities must be offered

–Participants cannot be deceived about aspects of the research that would affect their willingness to participate

–Deception about the goals of the research can be used only when necessary to the integrity of the research

APA Ethical Guidelines for Human Subjects:

1. Informed Consent – Participants must be told about the study and agree to take part willingly.

2. Protection from Harm – Researchers must protect participants from physical or emotional harm.

3. Confidentiality – Personal information must be kept private.

4. Right to Withdraw – Participants can leave the study at any time without consequences.

5. Debriefing – After the study, researchers must explain the purpose and any deception used.

• APA Ethical Guidelines (Animal Subjects) – Humane treatment, minimizing pain, and necessity of research.

–Researchers must ensure “appropriate consideration on the animal’s comfort, health, and humane treatment”

–Animals may not be subjected to “pain, stress, or privation” when an alternative procedure is available

The APA Ethical Guidelines for Animal Subjects:

1. Justification of Research – Studies using animals must have a clear scientific purpose and benefit.

2. Qualified Researchers – Only trained professionals should handle and care for the animals.

3. Minimization of Pain and Distress – Pain or discomfort must be minimized as much as possible.

4. Use of Alternatives – If possible, researchers should use methods that do not involve animals.

Psychology Professions:

• Psychiatrist vs. Psychologist – 

• Psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.) who can prescribe medication; 

• psychologists (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) provide therapy and research behavior.

Chapter 2: Neuroscience and the Brain

• Neuroscience – The study of the nervous system and brain function.

• Neuron – The basic unit of the nervous system that transmits information. Individual cells are the smallest unit of the nervous system They use electrical and chemical signals to send information between different areas of the brain, as well as between the brain, the spinal cord, and the entire body.

Parts of a Neuron:

• Dendrites – Receive signals from other neurons, and pick up incoming messages. Passes information along 

EX: if you touch something hot, dendrites receive the pain signal from another neuron and send it to the brain to react quickly. 

• Axon –A single long fubar extending from the cell body. Sends signals away from the neuron. carries messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands

EX: When you decide to move your hand, an axon carries the signal from your brain to your hand muscles, making them move.

• Myelin Sheath – White Fatty layer found in some axons that speed up electrical signals, protects the axon from damage,and improves communication between neurons

EX:Think of the myelin sheath like the insulation on a wire—it helps signals travel faster and more efficiently. Without it, signals slow down, which can lead to problems like multiple sclerosis (MS), where nerve communication is disrupted.

• Afferent Neurons – Carry sensory information to the brain. Send information about touch, pain, temperature, and senses (like sight and smell) from the body to the brain for processing. FEELING 

            EX If you touch a hot stove, afferent neurons send a pain signal from your       nnnnnnhand to your brain, making you react.

• Efferent Neurons – Carry motor signals from the brain to the body. Send information from the brain top the body MOVING

EX:When you decide to wave your hand, efferent neurons send signals from your brain to your arm muscles to make them move.

• Synaptic Space – The gap between neurons where communication occurs.

• Terminal Button – The structure at the end of the axon terminal branch. Releases neurotransmitters. Sending signals to the next neuron or muscle 

• Receptor Sites – locations on receptor neurons into which pacific neurotransmitters fit the key into a lock.  Areas on neurons that receive neurotransmitters.

• Synaptic Vesicles – Tiny sacs in a terminal button that release chemicals into the synapse. Contain neurotransmitters.

• Neurotransmitters – Chemicals released by synaptic vesicles that travel across synthetic space and affect adjacent neurons. Chemical messengers in the brain.

• Neuroplasticity – The brain’s ability to change in response to experience. It allows different parts of the brain to take over functions if another part is damaged.

EX:After a stroke, a person can relearn how to walk because the brain rewires itself. Learning a new language or skill strengthens brain connections.

• Neurogenesis – growth of new neurons.

Brain Structure and Function:

• CNS (Central Nervous System) – is the control center of the body, made up of the brain and spinal cord

• PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) – Linking all of body parts to CNS. Nerves outside the CNS.  the network of all nerves

• Four Lobes of the Brain:

  • Frontal Lobe – Decision-making, problem-solving. Helps with thinking, moving and how actions 

  • Parietal Lobe – Sensory processing. like touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. 

  • Occipital Lobe – Vision.

  • Temporal Lobe – Hearing, memory.

• Limbic System – Regulates emotions, memory and motivation .

• Hippocampus – Memory formation new memory (Patient HM lost memory due to damage).

• Amygdala – Processes emotions, especially fear. amygdala helps you experience and respond to emotions, especially fear, and stress

• Corpus Callosum – a thick band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right brain hemispheres.

• Broca’s Aphasia – Language production impairment.

• Wernicke’s Aphasia – Language comprehension impairment.

Brain Imaging & Nervous System:

• CT Scan – X-ray imaging of the brain.

• MRI Scan – Uses magnetic fields to image the brain.

• Spinal Cord – Transmits messages between brain and body.

• PNS Subsystems:

  • Somatic Nervous System – Controls voluntary movements.

  • Autonomic Nervous System – Controls involuntary functions.

• Sympathetic Nervous System – Activates fight-or-flight response.

Other Key Concepts:

• Phineas Gage – A man whose personality changed after a brain injury. 

• What part of the head was injured? 

• Endocrine glands-

• Endocrine System – works in conjunction with the nervous system. Releases hormones to regulate bodily functions. Endocrine glands 

• Four Glands of the Endocrine System:Here’s a simpler definition with locations:

1. Pituitary Gland (Brain)

• The "boss" of other glands.

• Controls growth, hormones, and body functions.

2. Thyroid Gland (Neck)

• Controls how fast the body uses energy (metabolism).

• Affects weight, body temperature, and energy levels.

3. Adrenal Glands (On top of the kidneys)

• Helps the body handle stress (fight-or-flight). 

• Controls blood pressure, metabolism, and immune response.

4. Gonads (Testes in males, Ovaries in females)

• Produces sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen).

• Controls growth, puberty, and reproduction.

these glands help with growth, energy, stress, and reproduction! 

• Evolutionary Psychology – Studies how natural selection shapes behavior.

• Genetics:

  • Chromosomes – Structures that carry genetic material.

  • Dominant/Recessive Genes – Traits determined by inherited genes.

  • Genotype – Genetic makeup.

  • Phenotype – Expressed traits.

  • Identical Twins – Twins with identical genetic material.

Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception

• Sensation –receiving information of the brain raw data from sensory receptors in the different senses Sensation uses the five senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) to gather information from the environment

• Stimulus- is anything that causes a reaction in your body or mind. It can be something you see, hear, feel, taste, or smell.

Vision (Visual)

Hearing (Auditory)

Touch (Cutaneous)

Taste (Gustatory)

Smell (Olfactory)

• Perception – takes that sensory data and interprets it, helping you understand what you’re experiencing when sensation is active. 

What we perceive is not always correct 

      Perception=/Stimulus 

• Absolute Threshold – The minimum stimulus intensity required to detect a stimulus 50% of the time. The smallest sense you can pick up 

-If I'm close to the TV on volume 3 I can start healing but my grandma can start at 53

The Eye and Vision: light activates your visual system 

• Parts of the Eye: Includes the cornea, pupil, iris, lens, retina, and optic nerve.

• Visual system 

1. Cornea

• The clear, outer layer of the eye.

• Helps focus light into the eye.

• Acts as a protective shield against dust and germs.

2. Iris

• The colored part of the eye (blue, brown, green, etc.).

• Controls the size of the pupil to adjust how much light enters the eye.

3. Pupil

• The black hole in the center of the iris.

• Expands in the dark to let in more light and shrinks in bright light to protect the eye.

4. Lens

• A clear, flexible structure behind the pupil.

• Focuses light onto the retina for clear vision.

• Changes shape to help us see things close up or far away.

5. Retina

• The thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye.

• Contains light-sensitive cells (rods & cones) that detect light and color.

• Converts images into electrical signals for the brain.

6. Optic Nerve

• The "cable" that connects the eye to the brain.

• Sends visual information from the retina to the brain, where it is processed into what we see.

Light enters through the cornea and pupil, gets focused by the lens, is detected by the retina, and sent to the brain via the optic nerve to create an image!

• Rods – Photoreceptors in the retina that detect black, white, and gray; function well in low light.

• Cones – Photoreceptors in the retina that detect color and detail; function best in bright light.

• Trichromatic Theory – Suggests that color vision is based on three types of cones sensitive to red, green, and blue light.

• Opponent-Process Theory – Suggests that color perception is controlled by opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white).

Light enters the eye through the cornea, passes through the pupil, and is focused by the lens onto the retina

Layers of the retina 

The Receptor Cells - Rods and Cones

•Wavelengths- different energies represented in the elecromagnic spectrum 

•Bipolar cells- neurons that have only ne axon and one dendrite. Connect the rods and cones to the ganglion cells

•Ganglion Cells- neurons whose axons bundle together to form the optic nerve that leave the eye 

•Visual- acuity the ability to distinguish fine details 

Hearing and Sound:

• Sound – Vibrations that travel through air or another medium and can be heard when they reach the ear.

• Frequency – The number of sound waves per second, determining pitch.

• Frequency (Hertz) (Hz) – The unit of frequency measurement. The pitch is deep or low, sharp and high

• Amplitude (Decibel) (dB) – A measure of sound intensity. How loud 

• Timbre – The quality of a sound that distinguishes it from others.   Assuming what the sound is 

• Cochlea – A spiral-shaped, fluid-filled structure in the inner ear that processes sound. A part of the inner ear that helps you hear and signals it to the brain 

• Organ of Corti – The structure inside the cochlea contains hair cells that detect sound.

• Place Theory – This suggests that different frequencies are detected at different locations on the cochlea. how we perceive pitch (how high or low a sound is). According to this theory, different pitches stimulate different parts (locations) of the cochlea.

• Volley Principle – Suggests that groups of neurons take turns firing to process high-frequency sounds. Focuses on how groups of hair cells work together to handle high-frequency sounds.

Other Senses:

• Olfactory Bulb – The brain structure that processes smell. 

• Pheromones – detected by a special sense called the vomeronasal system (VNO), which is part of the smell system. pheromones are very small chemicals. They're so tiny that we can't usually smell them consciously, but our bodies can still sense and react to them without us realizing it.

EX-Bonding between mothers and their babies through scent. Attraction to a partner's scent, which may subconsciously signal genetic compatibility.

• Taste Buds – Sensory receptors on the tongue that detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors.

• Kinesthetic Senses – The ability to sense body position and movement.

• Vestibular Senses – The sense of balance and spatial orientation. Like whether you are standing, tilting or spinning 

Pain and Perception:

• Gate-Control Theory – Suggests the spinal cord has a neurological "gate" that blocks or allows pain signals. Mental if you rub your burn if you feel the gate will be close no pain if you think about the pain the gate will open

• Placebo Effect – When a person experiences a benefit from an inactive substance due to belief in its effectiveness. Mental taking “Advil”b with a headache and your head hurts no more after you swallow 

 your brain tricks your body into feeling better just because you believe a treatment will work, even if it's fake (like a sugar pill).

• Gestalt Psychology – Emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in perception. the idea that we see things as a whole rather than just individual parts. 

• Perceptual Illusions – Misinterpretations of sensory information, leading to distorted perceptions.Your brain tries to make sense of things, but sometimes it gets tricked

Synaptic neuron-

Chapter 4: Consciousness and Altered States

• Consciousness – Awareness of oneself and the environment. Mind being aware of whats happening Being aware (includes being awake, dreaming, or making decision 

  • Waking Consciousness –Mental state that encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that occur when we are awake and reasonably alert. Normal, alert awareness. Being awake and alert (your normal thinking state during the day).

  • Altered Consciousness – A state different from normal awareness, such as sleep, hypnosis, drugs, meditation .

Sleep and Circadian Rhythms:

• Sleep – A periodic, natural state of rest characterized by reduced awareness.necessary for physical and mental restoration

• Circadian Rhythm – The body's 24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep and other functions.

• Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) –Cluster of neurons in the hypothalamus that receives input from the retina regarding light and dark cycles and is involved in regulating the biological cloc

• REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) – A sleep stage characterized by vivid dreams and rapid eye movements.

• Sleep Deprivation – The condition of not getting enough sleep, leading to cognitive impairment.

Sleep Disorders:

• Insomnia – Difficulty falling or staying asleep.

• Narcolepsy – Sudden, uncontrollable sleep attacks.

• Sleep Apnea – Repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep.

• Night Terrors – Intense fear during sleep, mostly in children.

Dreams and Psychoactive Substances:

• Dreams – Sequences of images and thoughts occurring during sleep.

• Psychoactive Drugs – Substances that alter brain function, causing changes in perception, mood, or behavior.  

• Substance Abuse –Pattern of drug use that diminishes the ability to fulfill responsibilities at home, work, or school Results in repeated use of a drug in dangerous situations or that leads to legal difficulties.

• Substance Dependence – A condition where a person is physically or psychologically addicted to a drug. Repeated use of drug Pattern of compulsive drug taking that results in tolerance, withdrawal symptoms or other specific symptoms for at least a year

Categories of Psychoactive Drugs: 

• Depressants – chemicals that Slow down the nervous system (e.g., alcohol, benzodiazepines and opiates).

• Barbiturates – A type of depressant that induces relaxation and sleepiness.

• Opiates – Pain-relieving drugs (e.g., morphine, heroin).

• Stimulants – Increase brain activity and alertness (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, cocaine).

• Hallucinogens – Cause altered perceptions (e.g., LSD, psilocybin).

• Marijuana – A mild hallucinogen that alters mood and perception.

Altered States of Consciousness: 

• Meditation – A practice that focuses attention and promotes relaxation.

• Hypnosis – A trance-like state in which a person becomes highly suggestible.