Psychology 101 Exam 1 Flashcards

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Questions and Answers

What is psychology?

The scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior

Where did psychology branch out from?

Physiology and Philosophy

What does structuralism focus on?

The structure of consciousness and the mind

Name two structuralists.

Wundt and Titchener Signup and view all the answers

What does functionalism focus on?

The function of the mind in helping people adapt to their environment Signup and view all the answers

Name two functionalists.

Darwin and James Signup and view all the answers

What are the three broad ways of understanding psychological phenomena?

Theoretical propositions, Shared metaphors, Accepted methods of observation Signup and view all the answers

What are the modern perspectives in psychology?

Psychodynamic, Behaviorist, Cognitive, Evolutionary Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of psychodynamic psychology?

Started by Sigmund Freud; case studies, not easy to test or prove because of small sample size Signup and view all the answers

What does behaviorist psychology study?

Mental processes are byproducts of environmental events; experiment Signup and view all the answers

What metaphor is used in behaviorism?

People are like machines Signup and view all the answers

What does cognitive psychology focus on?

How people perceive, process, and retrieve information Signup and view all the answers

What metaphor is used in cognitive psychology?

Brain like a computer Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of evolutionary psychology?

Behaviors have come about because they helped our ancestors survive Signup and view all the answers

What metaphor is associated with evolutionary psychology?

Runners in a race Signup and view all the answers

What is biopsychology?

Physical bases of psychological phenomena Signup and view all the answers

What does developmental psychology examine?

How thought, feeling, and behavior develops through life span Signup and view all the answers

What is social psychology concerned with?

Influence of real or imagined others' influence on the individual Signup and view all the answers

What does industrial/organizational psychology study?

Human behavior within an organization as well as organizational problems Signup and view all the answers

What does educational psychology focus on?

Psychological processes in learning environments Signup and view all the answers

What is health psychology concerned with?

Psychological factors involved in health and disease Signup and view all the answers

What does clinical psychology address?

Nature and treatment of psychological processes leading to emotional distress Signup and view all the answers

What does cognitive psychology investigate?

Nature of mental processes such as thought, memory, language Signup and view all the answers

What does personality psychology study?

Enduring patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior for types of people or individuals Signup and view all the answers

What is a theory in psychology?

Systematic way of organizing and explaining observations Signup and view all the answers

What is a variable in psychological research?

Changes across circumstances or varies among individuals Signup and view all the answers

What is a hypothesis?

A tentative belief or guess predicting or explaining the relationship between 2 or more variables Signup and view all the answers

What is a continuous variable?

A variable rated from none to much Signup and view all the answers

What is a categorical variable?

A variable rated in groups or categories Signup and view all the answers

What is a standardized procedure in research?

Doing the same thing with each participant in the same way Signup and view all the answers

What is a population in research?

The group you want to be able to generalize to Signup and view all the answers

What is a sample in research?

The group participating in the experiment Signup and view all the answers

What is generalizability in research?

How much the findings apply to your population Signup and view all the answers

What is internal validity?

The methods are valid Signup and view all the answers

What is external validity?

Generalizable outside of the lab Signup and view all the answers

What is a measure in psychology?

A concrete way of assessing a variable Signup and view all the answers

What is reliability in research?

Produces consistent results Signup and view all the answers

What is test-retest reliability?

Being able to test the participants again over time and getting the same results Signup and view all the answers

What is internal consistency?

Do all of the items in a test measure the same thing Signup and view all the answers

What is interrater reliability?

Do different people rate the behaviors in the same way Signup and view all the answers

What is face validity?

Does it look like it measures what it says it measures Signup and view all the answers

What is construct validity?

Does it measure what it is supposed to Signup and view all the answers

What is criterion validity?

Does it relate to other measures like it should Signup and view all the answers

What is an error in research?

The part of a score that is unrelated to the person's true score Signup and view all the answers

What are some types of descriptive research?

Case Studies, Naturalistic Observation, Survey Research, and Correlational Signup and view all the answers

What is a case study?

In depth observation of a small group of participants Signup and view all the answers

What are some drawbacks to case studies?

Small sample, not very generalizable, researcher bias Signup and view all the answers

What is naturalistic observation?

In depth observation in the participant's natural setting Signup and view all the answers

What are some drawbacks to naturalistic observation?

Researcher bias, only descriptive so we can't know what causes what Signup and view all the answers

What is survey research?

Large sample, uses interviews and questionnaires, focused on an attitude or behavior Signup and view all the answers

What is a random sample?

Random people from your sample Signup and view all the answers

What is a stratified random sample?

Decides how many people from each subgroup of the population there should be Signup and view all the answers

What are the drawbacks of survey research?

Participants have to report truthfully and accurately Signup and view all the answers

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Change in behavior because of the attention of being studied Signup and view all the answers

What is the mean?

Average of scores Signup and view all the answers

What is the median?

Middle score Signup and view all the answers

What is the mode?

Most common score Signup and view all the answers

What is the range?

Lowest to highest score Signup and view all the answers

What is standard deviation?

Amount that the average participant differs from the mean Signup and view all the answers

What is correlation?

One number that shows the relationship between two variables Signup and view all the answers

What is a positive correlation?

Variables increase together Signup and view all the answers

What is a negative correlation?

Variables have an inverse relationship Signup and view all the answers

What is the nervous system?

The interacting network of nerve cells that underlies all psychological activity Signup and view all the answers

What is a neuron?

Fundamental unit of the nervous system Signup and view all the answers

What do sensory (afferent) neurons do?

Carry information from the sensory cells to the brain Signup and view all the answers

What do motor (efferent) neurons do?

Carry information from the brain to the muscles and organs Signup and view all the answers

What do interneurons do?

Pass information between sensory and motor neurons Signup and view all the answers

What are dendrites?

Receiving end of a neuron Signup and view all the answers

What is the cell body in a neuron?

Neuron part that processes information from dendrites Signup and view all the answers

What does the axon do?

Sends information out of a neuron Signup and view all the answers

What is the myelin sheath?

Lipid coating from glial cells that surrounds most axons Signup and view all the answers

What is resting potential?

Charge when a neuron is not firing Signup and view all the answers

What is depolarization?

Influx of Na ions that makes the neuron more likely to fire Signup and view all the answers

What is hyperpolarization?

Outflow of K ions making the neuron less likely to fire Signup and view all the answers

What is action potential?

All or none triggering of nerve that passes along already created information Signup and view all the answers

What is a neurotransmitter?

Chemical signal that travels through the synaptic cleft Signup and view all the answers

What is the synaptic cleft?

Actual connection point between the axon and next dendrite Signup and view all the answers

What are excitatory signals?

Increase action potential Signup and view all the answers

What are inhibitory signals?

Decrease action potential Signup and view all the answers

What is glutamate?

Excites neurons; important in learning (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What is GABA?

Inhibits neurons; important for anxiety regulation (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What is dopamine?

Emotional arousal, pleasure, voluntary movement, and attention (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What is serotonin?

Inhibits neurons; mood, depression, emotional arousal (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What is acetylcholine?

Learning and memory (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What are endorphins?

Pain relief and elevation of mood (neurotransmitter) Signup and view all the answers

What is the endocrine system?

A collection of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream Signup and view all the answers

What is the pituitary gland?

Master gland; releases hormones that stimulate other glands Signup and view all the answers

What does the thyroid gland do?

Releases growth and metabolic hormones Signup and view all the answers

What do adrenal glands release?

Adrenaline; fight or flight response Signup and view all the answers

What do gonads release?

Hormones for sexual development and behavior Signup and view all the answers

What is the central nervous system (CNS)?

Brain and spinal cord Signup and view all the answers

What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

Made of neurons in the rest of the body that transmit signals to and from the CNS Signup and view all the answers

What is the somatic nervous system?

Regulates automatic behaviors; transmits signals to and from the PNS and CNS Signup and view all the answers

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Serves internal body structures connected with basic life processes Signup and view all the answers

What is the sympathetic nervous system?

Fight or flight; responds to threats Signup and view all the answers

What is the parasympathetic nervous system?

Brings the body back to normal; regulates routine duties Signup and view all the answers

What is an electroencephalogram?

Measures electrical activity on the surface of the brain Signup and view all the answers

What are neuroimaging techniques?

PET scans show active parts of the brain; fMRI shows the brain as an individual solves tasks Signup and view all the answers

What is the spinal cord?

Transmits information from the brain to motor neurons and from sensory neurons to the brain Signup and view all the answers

What is the hindbrain?

Medulla Oblongata, Cerebellum, Parts of the reticular formation, Pons Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Psychology Overview

Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.
Originated from physiology and philosophy.

Key Psychological Schools of Thought

Structuralism: Analyzes the structure of consciousness (not widely recognized today); founded by Wundt and Titchener.
Functionalism: Focuses on mental processes that help individuals adapt to environments (not widely recognized today); associated with Darwin and James.

Modern Psychological Perspectives

Psychodynamic: Founded by Freud; relies on case studies; challenges in testing due to small sample sizes.
Behaviorist: Pioneered by Pavlov and Skinner; emphasizes that mental processes are outcomes of environmental events; utilizes experimental methods.
Cognitive: Embraces how individuals perceive, process, and recall information; likened to a computer.
Evolutionary: Inspired by Darwin; investigates behaviors that contributed to survival in ancestors.

Key Areas of Psychology

Biopsychology: Explores physical foundations of behavior.
Developmental Psychology: Studies changes in thought, emotion, and behavior across the lifespan.
Social Psychology: Examines how individuals are affected by real or perceived social influences.
Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Investigates human behaviors in work settings.
Educational Psychology: Focuses on learning processes within educational contexts.
Health Psychology: Studies psychological factors in health and illness.
Clinical Psychology: Addresses emotional distress and psychological disorders.
Cognitive Psychology: Examines mental processes like thought, memory, and language.
Personality Psychology: Concerns enduring traits of individuals or personality types.

Research Methodology

Theory: A structured way of interpreting observations.
Variable: Characteristics that can change or vary.
Hypothesis: A predictive statement about the relationship between variables.
Measurement Types:
- Continuous Variable: Rated on a scale.
- Categorical Variable: Grouped into categories.

Validity and Reliability

Internal Validity: Validity of the methods used in an experiment.
External Validity: Generalizability of findings beyond the study.
Reliability: Consistency in measurement results.
- Test-Retest Reliability: Consistency over time.
- Internal Consistency: Items should measure the same construct.
- Interrater Reliability: Consistency across different assessors.

Research Types

Descriptive Research: Includes case studies, naturalistic observation, survey research, and correlational studies.
Case Study: In-depth analysis of a small participant group; limited generalizability.
Naturalistic Observation: Study of individuals in their natural environments; potential for bias.
Survey Research: Involves large samples via interviews or questionnaires; focuses on attitudes or behaviors.

Statistical Concepts

Mean: Average score.
Median: Middle value in a dataset.
Mode: Most frequently occurring score.
Range: Difference between the highest and lowest scores.
Standard Deviation: Variation of scores around the mean.

Neuroscience Foundations

Nervous System: Integral network of nerve cells for psychological activity.
Neuron: Basic unit for communication using chemical and electrical signals.
- Dendrites: Receive signals.
- Cell Body: Processes incoming information.
- Axon: Transmits signals outward.
Action Potential: All-or-nothing nerve impulse signaling.

Neurotransmitters

Glutamate: Promotes neuron excitation; critical for learning.
GABA: Inhibitory; regulates anxiety.
Dopamine: Involved in pleasure, motivation, and motor control.
Serotonin: Inhibitory; linked to mood and emotional regulation.
Acetylcholine: Essential for learning and memory.
Endorphins: Associated with pain relief and mood enhancement.

Endocrine System

Pituitary Gland: Master gland controlling other glands.
Thyroid Gland: Regulates metabolism and growth.
Adrenal Glands: Produce adrenaline for the body’s stress response.
Gonads: Responsible for sexual hormones influencing development.

Nervous System Structure

Central Nervous System (CNS): Comprises the brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Connects the CNS to the body’s neurons.
Somatic Nervous System: Controls voluntary movements.
Autonomic Nervous System: Manages involuntary life functions.
Sympathetic Nervous System: Prepares the body for fight or flight response.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: Restores the body to a state of calm.

Research Technologies

Electroencephalogram (EEG): Measures brain's electrical activity.
Neuroimaging: Techniques like PET and fMRI visualize brain activity during tasks.

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Test your knowledge of the fundamental concepts in Psychology 101 with these flashcards. This quiz covers key terms and definitions related to the origins and main theories within the field, including Structuralism. Perfect for exam preparation or review.