Study Guide for Exam One – Psychology 2301
Week 1 and 2
Lecture topics - Introducing Psychology, Psychology’s History, Perspectives, and Enduring Issues
Myers Psychology 9e Readings– Prologue, Chapter 4 – Nature, Nurture and Human Diversity
Videos
Key terms and concepts:
What is psychology?
Recognize differences between behavior and mental processes.
From which established fields did psychology develop?
Establishment of the first psychology lab-- Who, when, where ?
Distinguish between structuralism and functionalism. What was the main focus of functionalism?
What is introspection?
Define and recognize the following perspectives in psychology:
Humanistic (and the potential for healthy growth)
Neuroscience
Behavioral genetics(and the focus on human differences)
Evolutionary Psychology( and its focus on human adaptivenss/reproductive success)
Cognitive (and its focus on thinking and interpretations)
Socio-cultural (and its focus on differences between groups)
Behavioral (and its focus on learning)
Psychodynamic (and its focus on unconscious conflicts)
What is meant by the “Biopsychosocial” approach?
What types of psychologists are connected to applied research? Basic research? How do applied and basic research differ?
Describe the following enduring issues and be able to recognize examples of each:
Nature and nurture
Stability and change
Person and situation
What is hereditability?
Week 3
Lecture topics: Psychological Science and Research Methods (also thinking errors and biases)
Myers Psychology 9e Reading – Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
Key Terms and Concepts:
Hindsight bias
Overconfidence
Illusory Correlation
What is the scientific attitude? Why is it important to have a sense of humility?
What is a hypothesis?
What is an operational definition?
What are some strengths and weaknesses of case studies?
What are “wording effects”?
What is a population? A representative sample? Random sampling? Random assignment?
What is naturalistic observation?
What do correlation studies measure?
What is the most useful purpose of correlation studies?
What is the difference between positive and negative correlation?
What is a correlation coefficient? How can you tell if one is stronger than the other?
Does correlation help us understand causation? (Why or why not?)
What is an experiment? (elaborate)
What is a double blind experiment?
What is the difference between dependent and independent variables?
What is the difference between experimental and control groups?
Week 4
Be able to draw and label a neuron (bonus)
What is the role of dendrites? Axon?
What is the benefit of myelin sheath?
What is an action potential?
What is a threshold (in regards to neural communication)?
What is a synapse?
What are neurotransmitters?
Recognize some relationships with serotonin.
What is dopamine?
What is an agonist? An antagonist?
What is reuptake?
What are hormones? What do hormones affect?
What are the divisions of the nervous system and what is their “job”?
What is the difference between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?
Compare and contrast EEG, PET scan, fMRI scan.
What type of behaviors may be affected if the cerebellum is damaged?
What is the role (and location) of the thalamus?
What is the role and location of amygdala?
Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when someone nearby mentions your name?
What part of the brainstem controls heartbeat and breathing ?
What is the limbic system?
What role does the hypothalamus play?
What role does the hippocampus play?
What are ‘reward centers’? How are they involved in ‘addiction’?
Which area of the brain enables you to be aware of your name and helps create a sense of self identity?
What is the role of the ‘association areas’ of the brain?
Distinguish between the different lobes of the brain ---which lobe plays big role in visual perception? In hearing? In planning and reasoning? In tactile perceptions?
What is the corpus collusum? Which hemisphere of the brain is more likely to have increased activity when a person is speaking? What is brain plasticity?