Foundations of Psychology
Fill in the blank: Psychology is often defined as the study of _____ and ________.
Psychology is often defined as the study of behavior and mental processes.
What is the most commonly used research method?
Surveys
What is the “all-or-none” principle of action potentials?
A neuron either fires completely or not at all; the strength of the action potential does not change
True or False: Many psychologists believe that moral development is different than moral reasoning.
True. Sometimes what we say we would do in a situation is not what we actually do in that situation.
True or False: Taste is a chemical sense while smell is a wave sense.
False. They are both chemical senses.
Which perspective in psychology emphasizes the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences?
Psychoanalytic Theory (Sigmund Freud)
A detailed observation of one individual or a small group is called a ______.
A detailed observation of one individual or a small group is called a case study.
The chemical messengers that cross the synapse are called
Name the three domains of development:
1. Physical domain
2. Cognitive domain
3. Psychosocial domain
(there are multiple ways you can fill in the blanks)
Sensation is physical, while perception is psychological.
Which psychological perspective focuses on observing and controlling behavior instead of the unconscious mind?
Behaviorism
Why do researchers use random assignment?
To evenly distribute participants' characteristics across groups
A phenotype is:
the set of observable characteristics or traits a person has
Stage theories/discontinuity theories argue that:
Developmental change often occurs in distinct stages that differ qualitatively from one another and follow a set, universal sequence.
Fill in the blank: _____ deafness is a type of deafness that some people are born with.
Congenital deafness is a type of deafness that some people are born with.
What does the acronym WEIRD stand for?
Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic
What is the main difference between a correlation study and an experiment?
Experiments manipulate variables to determine cause and effect, while correlation can't determine causality
What is the function of the corpus callosum?
To allow the left and right hemispheres of the brain to communicate
What did John Locke believe about a child's mind at birth?
The mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) that we fill with ‘ideas’ as we experience the world through the five senses.
What is the function of the pupil?
To control how much light passes through
Name the three features Carl Rogers argued that a therapist needs to display to maximize the effectiveness of client-centered therapy.
1. Unconditional positive regard
2. Genuineness
3. Empathy
Students who study less get worse grades. What type of correlation is this?
Positive correlation
During an action potential, what happens when positive ions rush into the neuron?
Depolarization
Fill in the blank: According to Piaget, a child who can use words and images to represent things but lacks logical reasoning is considered to be in the ________ stage.
Fill in the blank: According to Piaget, a child who can use words and images to represent things but lacks logical reasoning is considered to be in the preoperational stage.
Solving a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what it looks like would require which type of processing?
Bottom-up. When you look at a jigsaw puzzle piece, bottom-up processing will involve focusing explicitly on the details of the pieces – the colors, the shape, and the patterns. You’ll then try to find other pieces that it could fit into.