Research
This is the first step of the scientific method, where psychologists identify something they want to study.
Forming a research question
He is considered the “father of psychology” and established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879.
Wilhelm Wundt
This organ is the main focus of psychology because it controls thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
The brain
This part of the neuron receives messages from other cells.
This lobe of the brain, behind your forehead, is involved in decision-making, planning, and personality.
Frontal Lobe
This term describes a testable prediction about the relationship between two or more variables.
Hypothesis
This early perspective in psychology, led by William James, focused on how mental and behavioral processes help us adapt and survive.
Functionalism
When you dream at night, it usually happens during this stage of sleep.
REM sleep (rapid eye movement)
Neurons communicate with each other across tiny gaps called these.
Synapse
This lobe, near your ears, is involved in hearing and memory.
Temporal Lobe
This variable is deliberately manipulated in an experiment.
Independent Variable
This humanistic psychologist is best known for developing a hierarchy of needs culminating in self-actualization.
Abraham Maslow
This “fight or flight” hormone gets your body ready to respond to danger.
Adrenaline
This electrical signal travels down the axon, allowing neurons to communicate.
Action Potential
This almond-shaped structure deep in the brain is involved in strong emotional response, especially fear and aggression.
Amygdala
This group in an experiment does not receive the independent variable and serves as a baseline for comparison.
Control group
This psychologist pioneered research on classical conditioning after noticing dogs salivate at the sound of a bell.
Ivan Pavlov
This common memory mistake makes you believe you’ve experienced something before when you really haven’t.
déjà vu
This calming branch of the autonomic nervous system helps your body rest and digest.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
This structure, nicknamed the “little brain,” helps control balance and coordination.
Cerebellum
This four-part method—standing for Timeliness, Relevance, Authority, and Purpose—helps psychologists evaluate whether a source is credible for research.
TRAP test
This psychologist introduced the theory of the unconscious mind and developed psychoanalysis, emphasizing the role of early childhood experiences.
This railroad worker survived an iron rod passing through his skull in 1848, providing early evidence that the frontal lobe is involved in personality and decision-making.
Phineas Gage
The “fight or flight” response is triggered by this branch of the autonomic nervous system.
Sympathetic Nervous System
This area of the frontal lobe controls speech production, and damage to it can cause difficulty speaking.
Broca's Area