Psychology I
Final Exam Review
Chapter 1: What is Psychology
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Psychology: Scientific study of behavior and mental process
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Behavior: any action that other people can observe or measure
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Cognitive Activities: Includes dreams, perceptions, thoughts
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Psychological construct: we cannot see, touch or measure but we know
they exist
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i.e. emotions and feelings
Types of Psychologists:
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Clinical (majority of psychologists are these), counseling, school, educational,
developmental, experimental
Chapter 1: What is Psychology
History of Psychology and Contemporary
Perspectives
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Psychology has its roots in Ancient Greece:
Socrates used a method of introspection (looking
within)
Wilhelm Wundt: Founded structuralism (theory of
psychology that was concerned with breaking
consciousness into two parts: objective sensations,
subjective feelings)
William James: Wrote The Principles of Psychology,
the first textbook. Founded functionalism
(concerned with how mental processes help
organisms adapt to environment)
John B Watson: School of Behaviorism, defined
psychology as the scientific study of observable
behavior
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Gestalt School
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Freud and Psychoanalysis
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Biological Perspective: emphasizes the influence
of biology on our behavior
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Evolutionary Perspective: Evolution of behavior
and mental processes
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Cognitive Perspective: Emphasizes the role that
thoughts play in determining behavior

Humanistic Perspective: Stresses human
capacity of self-fulfillment and importance of
consciousness, self-awareness, and capacity to
make choices
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Psychoanalytic: Stresses influence of
unconscious on behavior. Modern perspective
stresses conscious choice
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Learning Perspective: emphasizes effect of
experience on behavior
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Sociocultural Perspective: Studies the influence
of gender, ethnicity, culture, and
socioeconomic status
Chapter 2: Research Methods

Psychology is closely related to natural sciences because the scientific method is used when conducting
research
1.
Form research Question
2.
Form a Hypothesis
3.
Test Hypothesis
4.
Analyze the Results
5.
Draw Conclusions
6.
Replicate
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When conducting surveys, you must consider the population and sample size (random vs. stratified sample)
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When conducting experiments, a control group and experimental group must be used, independent and
dependent variables identified
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Single blind vs. Double blind studies
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Utilize different types of observation (case study-Freud, naturalistic, longitudinal/cross sectional, laboratory)
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ETHICS: confidentiality, informed consent, deception (is it really necessary?)
Chapter 3: Biology and Behavior
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Nervous System: consists of the central and peripheral systems.
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Neuron = nerve cell, consists of dendrites, axons, myelin sheath, and synapse
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Central nervous: spinal cord and brain
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Peripheral: Somatic (transmits messages to central nervous system) and Autonomic (regulates body’s vital
functions)
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Within autonomic there are the sympathetic (prepares body for stressful event) and parasympathetic (restores body’s functions
after event)
Brain
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3 parts: Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Forebrain
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Medulla: involved in vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing, located in hindbrain
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Cerebellum: involved in balance and coordination, located in hindbrain
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Thalamus: relay station for sensory info., located in forebrain
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Cerebrum: accounts for 70% of weight of brain
Corpus Callosum: connects right and left hemispheres
Chapter 3: Biology and Behavior
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Endocrine System: consists of glands that secrete hormones into bloodstream
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Pituitary gland: responsible for secreting hormones that effect behavior
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Thyroid gland: produces thyroxin which effects body’s metabolism
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Adrenal glands: produce adrenaline and noradrenaline; plays a part in emotions
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Testosterone and estrogen
Heredity: transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring
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Consists of genes (basic building blocks) which are made of chromosomes
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Nature vs. Nurture debate
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Kinship studies reveal much about influence of heredity on traits
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Twin studies, adoptee studies, twins raised apart
Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception
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Sensation: stimulation of sensory receptors and transmission of sensory info. To central nervous system.
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Absolute Threshold: Weakest amount of stimuli that can be sensed vs. Difference Threshold (minimum
amount of difference that can be detected between two stimuli)
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Eye: consists of pupil, lens, retina, cornea, and optic nerve.
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Photoreceptors are neurons that are sensitive to light
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Rods are sensitive to only black and white, cones allow us to see in color (red, green, blue)
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Hearing: Ear canal  Eardrum Hammer, anvil, stirrup  Cochlea Auditory Nerve
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Smell (olfactory nerves, sends messages about odor to brain)
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Taste: sweet, salty, bitter and umami (savory)
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Vestibular: Tells you if you are upright without using eyes; balance
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Kinesthesis: informs people about the position and motion of their bodies
Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception
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Closure: Tendency to perceive whole before individual parts
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Figure Ground Perception: Perception of figures against a background
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Proximity: perceiving items to be together because they are near each other
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Similarity: Tendency to group items that are similar together
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Continuity: Preference to see smooth continuous patterns
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Common fate: Things that move together belong together
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Stroboscopic Motion: illusion of movement
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Perceptual Constancies:
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Size, color, and brightness
Chapter 5: Consciousness
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Meanings of Consciousness: Sensory Awareness (senses are activated), Direct Inner awareness (aware of
what you are feeling), Sense of Self (“I”)
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Levels of Consciousness: Non-conscious (i.e. breathing), Unconscious (i.e. fears, hidden desires),
Preconscious (i.e. memories), Conscious (i.e. thoughts)
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Altered States of Consciousness: Sense of self or world changes
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Sleep: Necessary to maintain brain function, reduce stress, reduce infection
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Circadian Rhythm: biological clock (tells you when to sleep and wake up)
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5 Stages of Sleep
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Dream Theories (wish fulfillment, information processing)
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Sleep problems (Sleep apnea- trouble breathing, Insomnia- trouble going to sleep, Sleep Walking,
Nightmares/Terrors, Narcolepsy)
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Meditation, Hypnosis, biofeedback
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Drugs
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Stimulants- increase activity of nervous system. Nicotine, Amphetimes (help you stay awake)
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Depressants- slow down activity of nervous system. Alcohol, Narcotics
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Hallucinogens- Produce hallucinations. Marijuana, LSD
Chapter 6: Learning
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Classical Conditioning: When old response becomes attached to a new stimulus. Involves involuntary,
reflexive behaviors.
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Elements of Classical Condition: NS, UCS, UCR, CS, CR
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Ex: Pavlov’s dogs salivate at the sound of a bell after they had been conditioned. Usually food should make a dog drool
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Taste Aversions: avoiding food that made you feel sick
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Extinction: Conditioned response disappears after conditioned stimulus is not presented
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Spontaneous Recovery: Conditioned Response occurs again after a period of time
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Generalization (reacting the same way to similar stimuli) vs. Discrimination (reacting only to the same stimuli)
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Flooding: exposure to harmless stimuli
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Systematic Desensitization: gradual exposure to harmless stimuli to extinguish fear
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I.e. Put into a room full of snakes to extinguish fear of snakes
i.e. People are taught relaxation techniques when presented with the feared stimulus
Counterconditioning: Presenting feared stimulus with something pleasant
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Giving someone a cookie as a snake gets closer to them
Chapter 6: Learning
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Operant Conditioning: Form of learning based on consequences of actions. Voluntary response.
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Positive Reinforcement: Rewards
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Negative Reinforcement: Escape or avoid unpleasant behavior OR punishment to extinguish behavior
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I.e.: Starburst for raising hand
I.e.: Giving into a whining child (escape); squirting your dog in the face with water when she steals a slipper (punish)
Reinforcement schedules
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Continuous (behavior is reinforced all the time) vs. Partial (behavior is reinforced some of the time)
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Interval (time that elapses) vs. Ratio (# of time that behavior occurs)
Primary reinforcers (satisfy biological need- food, water, sleep) vs. Secondary Reinforcers
(learned value- coupons, grades)
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Shaping: Teaching complex behaviors in small steps
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Riding a bike, teaching a dog to drive
Chapter 7: Memory
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3 Kinds of Memory
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Episodic: Memory of specific events. Can include flashbulb memories (quick, vivid memories)
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Semantic: General Knowledge (i.e. facts learned in school)
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Implicit: Consists of skills or procedure (i.e. riding a bike, swimming)
3 Processes of Memory
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Encoding: Translate information into form that it can be stored
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Storage: Maintaining encoded information
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Visual codes (pictures) , Acoustic Codes (sounds), Semantic Codes (making sense of info.)
Elaborative Rehearsal (making meaning), Maintenance Rehearsal (repeating over and over, not meaningful)
Retrieval: Locating stored information and returning it to conscious thought
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Context dependent (place where memory was encoded) vs. State dependent (emotional state when memory was
encoded)
Chapter 7: Memory
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3 Stages of Memory
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Sensory Memory: Immediate, initial recording of information that enters in through the senses.
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Iconic, Eidetic, and Echoic memory
Short Term Memory: “Working Memory”.
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Primacy vs. Recency Effect
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Chunking
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Information only lasts a short time unless we transfer it to long term memory
Long Term Memory
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Capacity is endless
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Steps must be taken in order for information to be stored properly into long term memory (maintenance rehearsal,
elaborative rehearsal, associating pairs, chunking, etc.)
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Memories are reconstructed from bits and pieces of information
Chapter 8/9: Thinking and Intelligence
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Thinking is the mental activity that is involved in the understanding, processing, and
communicating of information.
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Problem Solving
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Convergent Thinking (facts) vs. Divergent Thinking (creativity)
Reasoning
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Overconfidence: result of flimsy evidence, ignoring contradicting examples, and firm, unchanging beliefs
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Language is the communication of ideas through symbols that are arranged according to rules of
grammar
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Intelligence can be defined as the abilities to learn from experience, think rationally, and to deal
effectively with others
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Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, IQ Tests