Psychology Midterm Review

• This is a review for a midterm, covering topics in psychology.

Key Figures and Locations

• Wilhelm Wundt opened one of the first psychology labs in Leipzig, Germany.
• Edward L. Thorndike (1898) studied operant conditioning with hungry cats.

Psychological Concepts and Definitions

• Individual Differences: Variations in physical and psychological traits among people.
• Metacognition: The ability to assess one's own knowledge adequately.
• Hindsight Bias: The tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted it.
• Facts: Objective and accurate statements.
• Values: Personal statements of what is important.
• Spacing Effect: A fundamental principle of learning where information is better retained when studied over a longer period.
• Scientific Method: A set of assumptions, rules, and procedures scientists use to conduct research.
• Health Psychology: The study of how biology, behavior, and social factors impact health and illness.
• Psychology: The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Brain and Neuroscience

• Motor Cortex Function: Responsible for voluntary muscle movement.
• fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Brain scan using magnetic fields to image brain activity.
• Temporal Lobe Function: Important for hearing, smell, and facial recognition.
• Dendrites: Parts of a neuron that collect information from other cells and transmit it to the cell body.
• Neurotransmitters: Chemical messengers enabling neurons to communicate.
• Retinal Image Disparity: The difference in what each retina sees due to the eyes being a few inches apart.
• Retina: Layer of tissue at the back of the eye containing photoreceptor cells.
• Cochlea: Snail-shaped, liquid-filled tube in the inner ear containing cilia.

Sensation and Perception

• Electromagnetic Energy: Pulses of energy waves carrying information from place to place.
• McGurk Effect: An error in sound perception due to mismatched audio and visual speech cues.
• Decibel: A unit of relative loudness.
• Weber's Law: The just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original intensity of the stimulus.

States of Consciousness

• Circadian Rhythms: Biological cycles guiding daily sleep and wakefulness.
• Sleep Terrors: Episodes of abrupt awakening from NREM sleep with disorientation, panic, and anxiety.
• Sleep Apnea: A sleep disorder with breathing pauses lasting at least 10 seconds.
• Latent Content of a Dream: The hidden psychological meaning of the dream.

Conditioning and Learning

• Reuptake: Process where neurotransmitters in the synapse are transported back into axon terminals.
• Placebo Effect: Expectations of treatment impacting how one feels, regardless of actual treatment.
• Reflexes: Involuntary, rapid movements in response to a stimulus.
• Stimulants: Psychoactive drugs blocking the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. Examples: Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines.
• Habituation: Decreased response to a repeated stimulus.
• Conditioned Stimulus: A neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, evokes a learned response.
• Second-Order Conditioning: A new neutral stimulus predicts an established conditioned stimulus, causing an involuntary response.
• Latent Learning: Learning which is not reinforced or demonstrated until there is motivation.
• Primary Reinforcers: Naturally preferred or enjoyed stimuli like food, water, and pain relief.

Social Psychology

• Social Dilemma: A situation where behaviors most rewarding to the individual can lead to negative consequences for the group.

Development

• Zygote: The product of an egg and sperm merging during conception.
• Teratogen: Harmful substances that can pass from mother to fetus via the placenta.
• Longitudinal Research Design: Studying individuals over an extended period.
• Cross-Sectional Research Design: Comparing different people at different ages at the same time.
• Authoritarian Parenting: Bossy and strict parenting with no flexibility.
• Authoritative Parenting: Firm but kind parenting with rules and understanding.

Psychological Disorders

• Alzheimer's Disease: A neurocognitive disorder causing loss of emotions, cognitions, and physical functioning.
• Phobia: A specific fear of an object, situation, or activity.
• Dependence: Needing a drug or other substance regularly.
• Withdrawals: Negative experiences when reducing or stopping drug use.

Additional Terms

• Gestalt Principle of Proximity: Tendency to group nearby figures together.
• Meditation: Techniques to focus on something specific to achieve relaxation and well-being.
• Variable-Ratio Schedule: Providing reinforcers after a specific but average number of responses.
• Cisgendered: Gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth.
• Transgendered: Gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth.