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Introduction to Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide

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Termini in questo insieme (20)

  • Definition of psychology

    Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

  • Three elements of the scientific attitude

    Curiosity, skepticism, and humility are the three elements of the scientific attitude.

  • Definition and example of critical thinking

    Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating evidence before accepting conclusions. Example: questioning the validity of a study's results.

  • Basic focus of positive psychology

    Positive psychology studies human strengths and flourishing to promote well-being.

  • Basic focus of humanistic psychology

    Humanistic psychology emphasizes personal growth and self-actualization.

  • Basic focus of behaviorism

    Behaviorism studies observable behavior and its environmental determinants.

  • Basic focus of evolutionary psychology

    Evolutionary psychology examines how natural selection shapes behavior and mental processes.

  • Positive, negative, and zero correlations

    Positive correlation: variables increase together; negative correlation: one increases as the other decreases; zero correlation: no relationship.

  • Hindsight bias

    Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have predicted it.

  • Case study, naturalistic observation, experiment, and survey

    Case study: in-depth analysis of one individual; naturalistic observation: observing behavior in natural settings; experiment: manipulating variables to determine cause; survey: collecting self-reported data from many people.

  • Types of variables in experimental studies

    Independent variable is manipulated; dependent variable is measured; confounding variables are controlled.

  • Double-blind procedure and placebo effect

    Double-blind procedure: neither participants nor researchers know who receives treatment; placebo effect: improvement due to expectations, not treatment.

  • Basic premise of the normal curve/bell curve

    The normal curve is a symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution where most scores cluster around the mean.

  • Difference between inferential and descriptive statistics

    Descriptive statistics summarize data; inferential statistics make predictions or inferences about a population based on a sample.

  • Mean, median, and mode definitions

    Mean: average; median: middle score; mode: most frequent score.

  • Range and standard deviation definitions

    Range: difference between highest and lowest scores; standard deviation: average distance of scores from the mean.

  • Definition and purpose of neurotransmitters

    Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses between neurons.

  • Threshold for an action potential

    The threshold is the minimum level of stimulation required to trigger an action potential in a neuron.

  • Definitions of axon, dendrites, and myelin sheath

    Dendrites receive signals; axon transmits signals; myelin sheath insulates axons to speed transmission.

  • Difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

    Sympathetic activates fight-or-flight responses; parasympathetic promotes rest and digestion.