The Foundations of Psychology: Mind, Brain, and Behavior

1. What is the scientific definition of psychology?

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, using scientific methods to observe, describe, and predict behavior.

2. What is the difference between 'behavior' and 'mental processes'?

Behavior is everything a person does that can be directly observed, while mental processes are private thoughts, feelings, and motives not directly observable.

3. Name four core attitudes central to the scientific approach in psychology.

The four core attitudes are critical thinking, curiosity, skepticism, and objectivity.

4. What is the empirical method in psychological research?

The empirical method is gaining knowledge through observation of events, collecting data, and logical reasoning.

5. List four important characteristics of the brain and nervous system.

The four characteristics are complexity, integration, adaptability (plasticity), and electrochemical transmission.

6. What are the two main divisions of the nervous system?

The two main divisions are the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).

7. What are the primary functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?

The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for stress ('fight or flight'), while the parasympathetic nervous system calms the body down after stress.

8. What is an action potential in a neuron?

An action potential is a brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon, enabling neural communication.

9. Explain the 'all-or-nothing principle' in neural firing.

It states that an electrical impulse, once it reaches a certain intensity (threshold), fires completely down the axon without losing any intensity.

10. Distinguish between genotype and phenotype.

Genotype is a person's actual genetic material, while phenotype is their observable physical and psychological characteristics, influenced by both genes and environment.

11. Define sensation and perception.

Sensation is receiving stimulus energies and transforming them into neural energy. Perception is organizing and interpreting sensory information to make sense of it.

12. What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?

Bottom-up processing occurs with new information, registering it and sending it to the brain. Top-down processing uses existing knowledge and expectations for familiar information.

13. What is an absolute threshold?

An absolute threshold is the minimum amount of energy needed for a person to detect a stimulus.

14. What is a circadian rhythm?

A circadian rhythm is a daily behavioral or physiological cycle, such as the sleep/wake cycle, body temperature, and blood pressure.

15. What is REM sleep characterized by?

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is an active stage of sleep where most vivid dreams occur, characterized by fast brain waves and rapid eye movements.

16. Define classical conditioning.

Classical conditioning is a learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an innately meaningful stimulus, acquiring the capacity to elicit a similar response.

17. What is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is a form of associative learning where the consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of that behavior's occurrence.

18. Explain the difference between positive and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement increases a behavior by presenting a pleasant stimulus, while negative reinforcement increases a behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus.

19. What is observational learning?

Observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, is learning that occurs when a person observes and then imitates another's behavior.

20. What are the three main processes involved in memory?

The three main processes involved in memory are encoding (taking in information), storage (retaining information), and retrieval (recalling information).

21. According to the levels of processing theory, which level produces better memory?

Deeper processing, which involves semantic, meaningful, and symbolic characteristics, produces better memory than shallow or intermediate processing.

22. What is the typical capacity of short-term memory?

Most people can hold about seven, plus or minus two, items in short-term memory, a concept known as memory span.

23. Differentiate between explicit and implicit memory.

Explicit memory is the conscious recollection of facts or events, while implicit memory affects behavior without conscious recollection, such as skills or classical conditioning.

24. What is the serial position effect in memory retrieval?

The serial position effect is the tendency to recall items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list more easily than those in the middle.

25. What is prospective memory?

Prospective memory is remembering to do something in the future, involving both timing and content, such as remembering an appointment.