What is psychology the study of?
How people think, process information, and experience emotions.
Name one common psychological myth about attraction.
Opposites attract.
What is one myth about learning styles in psychology?
People learn better when taught in their preferred learning style.
What is a common misconception about psychology's age?
Psychology is a new field.
What does a theory provide in psychology?
Broad principles that guide research and understanding.
What is a hypothesis in psychology?
A specific prediction derived from a theory.
What is the first step in the scientific method?
Formulating a research question.
What does a correlational study examine?
Naturally occurring relationships among variables.
What does an experiment manipulate to investigate cause and effect?
Variables.
What is random assignment in experiments?
Placing participants into conditions by chance.
Why is random assignment essential in experiments?
It reduces preexisting group differences.
What does a correlation coefficient indicate?
The direction and strength of a relationship between two variables.
What does a positive correlation mean?
Variables tend to increase together.
What is the independent variable in an experiment?
The variable manipulated by the researcher.
What are the three core ethical principles in the Belmont Report?
Respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.
What four requirements does ethical research include?
Informed consent, confidentiality, freedom from coercion, and debriefing when deception is used.
What is sampling in research?
Selecting a representative group from the population under study.
How do descriptive and inferential statistics differ?
Descriptive statistics summarize data; inferential statistics draw conclusions about populations.
Which measures are central tendency, and which is most affected by extreme values?
Mean, median, and mode are measures; the mean is most affected by extremes.
What does the null hypothesis state?
That an observed effect or relationship is absent.
What does the alternative hypothesis state?
That an effect or relationship exists.
What does a lower p-value indicate in hypothesis testing?
The result is less likely due to chance and may reject the null hypothesis.
What is a neuron?
A cell that communicates information through electrical and chemical signals.
What are the major parts of a neuron?
Dendrites, cell body, axon, myelin sheath, and axon terminals.
What triggers neural communication?
An action potential traveling along an axon.
How do neurotransmitters cross to the next neuron?
They cross the synaptic cleft.
What happens to neurotransmitters after receptor response?
They are removed by reuptake.
What do endorphins do?
They act as natural opiates released in response to pain and exercise.
How does GABA affect neurons?
It reduces neuronal excitability and slows nerve signals.
What is the difference between an agonist and an antagonist?
An agonist increases neurotransmitter action; an antagonist blocks or inhibits it without activating the receptor.
What do sensory neurons carry and to where?
Sensory neurons carry information from the body to the spinal cord and brain.
What do motor neurons carry and from where?
Motor neurons carry information from the central nervous system to muscles and glands.
What does the central nervous system consist of?
The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?
The peripheral nervous system consists of sensory and motor neurons connecting the CNS to the body.
What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system?
The sympathetic nervous system arouses the body and expends energy during fight-or-flight responses.
What is the role of the parasympathetic nervous system?
The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body and conserves energy during rest-and-digest responses.
What does neuroplasticity refer to in the brain?
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change or rewire.
What does neurogenesis mean?
Neurogenesis is the production of new neurons.
What does dual processing mean in consciousness?
Information is processed on separate tracks.
What is selective attention in information processing?
It focuses processing on some information.
What is inattentional blindness?
Failing to see an object because attention is elsewhere.
What is change blindness?
Failing to notice a change in the environment.
What is blindsight?
Unconscious visual processing after visual awareness is lost.
What is the typical progression of a sleep cycle?
N1 light sleep, N2 bursts of brain-wave activity, N3 deep slow-wave sleep, then REM sleep.
What is insomnia?
Ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep.
What is drug tolerance?
Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effect.
Test your knowledge with 22 questions on Psychological Science Fundamentals.
1. A person experiences a rapid threat and shows increased arousal and energy expenditure; which division is most active?
2. Which statement best distinguishes a theory from a hypothesis in psychological research?
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