Chapter 1 : Discipline of Psychology

1. Psychology: The objective study of the mind

2. Roots of psychology:
● Philosophy: The discipline that systematically examines basic concepts,
including the source of knowledge.
● Natural Sciences: Sciences that study the physical and biological events
that occur in nature.

3. Hub science: most influential science. psychology is one of the seven major hub
sciences, with strong connections to the medical sciences, the social sciences,
and education.

4. Introspection : A personal observation of your own thoughts, feelings, and

behaviour.

5. Voluntarism by wilhelm wundt: Conscious experience can be studied

scientifically.
● An approach that emphasises the role of will and choice in determining
thoughts, perceptions, and behaviours.

6. Structuralism by Edward Titchener : An approach in which the mind is broken

into the smallest elements of mental experience. structuralists were interested
in describing conscious experience

7. Functionalism: An approach that saw behavior as purposeful and contributing

to survival.functionalists were more interested in explaining why we had such
experiences.

8. Behaviorism: An approach that features the study and careful measurement of

observable behaviors.
9. Cognition covers the private and internal mental processes that the behaviourists
avoided studying—information processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem
solving.

10. Biological psychology: The psychological perspective that focuses on the

relationships between mind and behaviour, as well as their underlying biological
processes, including genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology; also
known as behavioural neuroscience.

11. Evolutionary psychology: A psychological perspective that investigates how

physical structure and behaviour have been shaped by their contributions to
survival and reproduction.

12. Cognitive psychology:A psychological perspective that investigates information

processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.

13. Developmental psychology: A psychological perspective that examines the

normal changes in behaviour that occur across the lifespan.

14. Social psychology: A psychological perspective that examines the effects of the
social environment on the behaviour of individuals.

15. Personality psychology: An individual’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and

behaving.

16. Clinical psychology: A psychological perspective that seeks to explain, define,

and treat abnormal behaviours.

17. James Mark Baldwin: James Mark Baldwin (1861–1934) founded the first
psychology laboratory in the British Commonwealth at the University of Toronto in
1891.
18. Brenda Milner: Seeks to understand the link between cognitive processes and
brain activity.psychologist who has been described as the founder of
neuropsychology. The foundational discoveries of Milner set the stage for what is
now the flourishing field of cognitive neuroscience.
 Chapter 2 : Methods

1. Science doesn’t refer to just any type of knowledge, but rather to a special way of
learning about reality through systematic observation and experimentation.

2. How does science differ from everyday observations ?

● Science is based on objectivity where as human observations are based

on subjectivity
● Science uses systematic observations as opposed to hit or miss
observations
● Science relies on observable , objective , repeatable evidence

3. Confirmation bias : The tendency to notice and remember instances that support
your beliefs more than instances that contradict them.

4. Theories : sets of facts and relationships between facts that can be used to
explain and predict phenomena

5. Prediction: usually stated in a rigorous, mathematical form that allows the

scientist to say that under a certain set of circumstances, a certain set of
outcomes are likely to occur (if A, then B).

6. Hypothesis: type of inference, or an educated guess, based on prior evidence

and logical possibilities. Based on theories and makes predictions

7. Constructs : internal attributes that cannot be directly observed but are useful for
describing and explaining behavior. Like anxiety : identified with fidgeting

8. Operationalization: Defining constructs in ways that allow them to be measured.

Ex: how to measure anxiety

9. Method of study:

● Descriptive: Case study, natural observations, Focus group / interview,

Survey
● Correlational: relation between 2 or more variables
● Experimental
10. Descriptive Method:

● include case studies, naturalistic observations, surveys, focus groups, and

interviews
● Eliminate bias due to personal observations
● Allow a researcher to make careful, systematic, real-world observations
● Weakness: cohort effect + observer bias

● Case study:

❖ Provide in depth analysis

❖ When large number of participants are not available or participants
poses unique characteristics
❖ Case studies not only are a useful source of hypotheses, but also
can be used to test hypotheses.
❖ Strength: Can explore new and unusual phenomena + in dept
analysis + can falsify a hypothesis
❖ Weakness: limited generalization

● Naturalistic Observation:

❖ Used to learn about a larger group of people than are possible with
the case study method
❖ Chimpanzees study
❖ Lab observations, participant observation ( active observation )
❖ Used to develop hypothesis
❖ Strength: insight into real world behaviours
❖ Weakness: Participants act different when watched

● Survey :

❖ Allow us to ask large numbers of people questions about attitudes

and behaviour.
❖ Population : The entire group from which a sample is taken.
❖ Surveys use self-reporting, so results can be influenced by people’s
natural tendency
❖ Restricts the type of data collected
❖ Strength: large data at Quick at low expense
❖ Weakness: needs large representative
 ● Focus group and interviews:

❖ Used to gather detailed information

❖ Unlike surveys, the participants are not constrained to some
preselected choice. It gives them a free option to give answers .
❖ Usually researchers first use surveys for initial info and develop
prompts to ask to the focus group/interviews
❖ Strength: Provides in depth qualitative info
❖ Weakness: Time consuming

11. Correlational Methods:

● Measure the direction and strength of the relationship between two

variables, or factors that have values that can change, like a person’s
height and weight.
● First we measure the variable, then find correlations between them. Either
positive or negative or zero
● Correlational research results are frequently misunderstood. Correlations
permit us to discuss the relationships between two variables but tell us
nothing about whether one variable causes changes in the other.
Because directionality problem ( cause we dont what came first/
understand the cause and effect )+ third variable
● Strength: Allows to predict +develop hypothesis + address ethical
situations
● Weakness: can be used to discuss causality

● Why use this method even though it doesn't tell the relation
12. Experimental Methods:

● Most powerful tool for drawing conclusions about research questions

● Unlike descriptive methods, we have control over the situations
● Unlike correlational methods, we can analyze the cause
● Independent variable: An experimental variable controlled and
manipulated by the experimenter; the “if A happens” part of a hypothesis.
● Dependent variable: A measure that demonstrates the effects of an
independent variable; the “result” part of a hypothesis.
● Double blind experiment: A type of clinical trial in which neither the
participants nor the researcher knows which treatment or intervention
participants are receiving until the clinical trial is over.
● Quasi experiment: A memory task with a group of clinically depressed
participants compared to a control group of non-depressed participants
● Strength: Allows control + analyse cause
● Weakness: raises artificiality and ethical concerns

● Come back

13. Techniques to assess normal behaviours associated with age:

● Cross sectional Study:

❖ Gather groups of people of varying ages and assess both their

exposure to violent video games and their levels of physical
aggression.
❖ Cross-sectional method introduces what we refer to as cohort
effects, or the generational effects of having been born at a
particular point in history.
❖ Strength: Quick and inexpensive
❖ Weakness: Cohort effects

● Longitudinal Study:

❖ A group of individuals is observed for a long period

❖ Strength: Reduced the impact of cohort effects
 ❖ Weakness: Expensive + time consuming + dropout

● Mixed Longitudinal design

❖ Combines cross sectional and longitudinal methods

❖ Participants from a range of ages are observed for a limited time
(usually about five years).
❖ Strength: Less expensive and controls cohort effects
❖ Weakness: Still expensive and has dropout problem

14. Measures should be reliable(consistent) and valid(accurate):

● Reliability: Refers to the consistency of a measure.

❖ Interrater reliability : Consistency between 2 or more raters (labs)

❖ Test-retest reliability: same tests with the same person at different
times are consistent with their outcomes.

● Validity: a measure leads to correct conclusions

❖ Construct validity: how valid ( accurate) are the measures used are
➔ Operationalizations:

❖ External validity:
➔ Generalizability:

❖ Internal validity: How well has the study established a cause and
effect relationship between variables
➔ Causality:

15. Descriptive Statistics: Statistical methods that organise data into meaningful
patterns and summaries, such as finding the average value.

● Central Tendency: Mean, Median and Mode

● Variance: Standard deviation
● The Normal Curve: symmetrical and valid probability function
● For two variables: Scatter plot
16. Inferential Statistics: Statistical methods that allow experimenters to extend
conclusions from samples to larger populations.

● Be careful with generalisation

● Null hypothesis
● How to prove a hypothesis is false ? 5 odds out of 100

17. Ethical research:

● Ethical guidelines have been developed for each subject

● Research ethics board (REB)
● Animal Care Committees (ACC)
 Chapter 4 : The Biological Mind

1. Neuron: microscopic building blocks of the nervous system. Supported by gilia

2. Axon - carry info to other neurons. Usually 1

3. Dendrite - receive input from other neurons. Usually 2

4. White matter: have high number of axioms

5. Grey matter: Have high number of blood cells

6. myelin sheath: makes neural signaling fast and energy efficient. Forms from gilia

7. cell body: The large, central mass of a neuron, containing the nucleus.

8. nodes of Ranvier: made of myelin

9. action potential: The electrical signal arising in a neuron’s axon.

10. resting potential: The electrical signal arising in a neuron’s axon.

11. Synapse : where 2 neurons meet

12. synaptic cleft: the gap between a neuron's axon and another neurons dendrite

13. Receptor: A special channel in the membrane of a neuron that interacts with
neurotransmitters released by other neurons.

14. Neurotransmitters : A chemical messenger that communicates across a synapse.

15. Agonist: drugs that enhance the actions of neurotransmitters

16. Antagonist: drugs that inhibit the actions of neurotransmitters.

17. Reuptake: A process in which molecules of neurotransmitter in the synaptic gap

are returned to the axon terminal from which they were released.

18. autonomic nervous system (ANS)

19. basal ganglia: d

20. Pons: Responsible for facial expressions

21. Midbrain: responsible for sensory reflexes

22. Brainstem: The part of the brain containing the midbrain, pons, and medulla.

23. central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord

24. Cerebellum: A structure attached to the brainstem that participates in skilled

movement and, in humans, complex cognitive processing.
25. reticular formation: A collection of structures located along the midline of the
brainstem that participate in mood, arousal, and sleep.

26. somatic nervous system: The part of the peripheral nervous system that brings
sensory information to the central nervous system and transmits commands to
the muscles.

27. Autonomic nervous system: The division of the peripheral nervous system that
directs the activity of glands, organs, and smooth muscles.
28. cerebral cortex: The thin layer of neurons covering the outer surface of the
cerebral hemispheres.

29. cingulate cortex: linking reward and punishment information, which elicit
emotional responses, to behavior, and, in particular, to actions.
30. corpus callosum: d

31. endocrine system: A system responsible for the release of hormones into the
bloodstream.

32. executive functions: d

33. frontal lobe: d

34. GABA
35. glutamate

36. serotonin:
● regulating sleep, appetite, mood, and aggression.
●
37. dopamine:
● govern movement, planning, and reward.
● promote survival and successful reproduction, such as eating a great meal
or having sex.
● Conaine

38. acetylcholine:
● important to behavior
● synapse at which the nervous system commands muscles.
● interference with the action of ACh at the muscles can result in paralysis
and death
● Used for bio weapon

39. epinephrine

40. Norepinephrine:
 ● activity in the brain leads to arousal and vigilance
● released by the sympathetic nervous system
● sympathetic nervous system prepares us to react to emergencies by
providing necessary resources, such as the extra oxygen that
● Abnormalities in norepinephrine activity causes bipolar disorders

41. Hippocampus: d
42. Hypothalamus: regulates pituitary gland
43. HPA-axis
44. Neurogenesis: The generation of new neurons.
45. Neuroplasticity: The ability of neurons to change in structure and function
throughout the lifespan.

46. nucleus accumbens

47. occipital lobe: d
48. orbitofrontal cortex: d
49. parasympathetic nervous system
50. parietal lobe: d
51. peripheral nervous system (PNS)
52. prefrontal cortex: d

53. sympathetic nervous system: The division of the autonomic nervous system that
coordinates arousal.

54. parasympathetic nervous system: The division of the autonomic nervous system
associated with rest, repair, and energy storage

55. temporal lobe: d

56. Thalamus: d
 Chapter 5 : The Perceiving Mind

1. Sensation: The process of detecting environmental stimuli or stimuli arising from

the body.

2. Perception: The process of interpreting sensory information.

3. Transduction: The translation of incoming sensory information into neural signals.

4. Psychophysics : The study of relationships between the physical qualities of

stimuli and the subjective responses they produce.

5. signal detection theory: is a two-step process involving (a) the actual intensity of
the stimulus, which influences the observer’s belief that the stimulus did occur,
and (b) the individual observer’s criteria for deciding whether the stimulus
occurred.

6. absolute threshold: The smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected.

7. difference threshold: The smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

8. sensory adaptation: The tendency to pay less attention to a non changing source
of stimulation.

9. Vision: The sense that allows us to process reflected light.

10. Synesthesia: A condition where the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to
the simultaneous and automatic stimulation of another sensory pathway.
11. Biology of eye:

● Cornea: Outer layering that begins the process of bending light

● Then Iris, muscle controls the Pupil ( an opening on the iris) in response
to the amount of light entering
➔ Arousal = Dilated pupil
➔ Relaxation = Constricted pupil
● Then comes the lens , which becomes flat for distant objects and
spherical for close objects.
● Then comes retina, complex network of neurons specialized for the
processing
● fovea : An area of the retina that is specialized for highly detailed vision.
● Cones: provide the ability to see both sharp images and color.
● rodes : Rods are more sensitive to light than cones, and they excel at
seeing dim light.
● Optic nerve: The nerve exiting the retina of the eye.
● Optic chiasm: where they cross
● Then optic tract sends info to thalamus and hypothalamus resp
● Primary visual cortex processes visual input,
➔ parietal pathway or Dorsal stream: helps us process movement
and localise objects in space.
➔ temporal pathway or Ventral stream: contributes to our ability to
recognize objects and faces.

12. trichromatic theory: human eyes only perceive three colours of light: red, blue,
and green. The wavelengths of these three colours can be combined to create
every color on the visible light spectrum.
13. opponent process theory: A theory of colour vision that suggests we have a
red-green colour channel and a blue-yellow colour channel in which activation of
one colour in each pair inhibits the other colour.

14. gestalt principles:

➔ The principle of Ambiguous pattern: we spontaneously divide a scene
into a main figure and ground.
➔ The principle of Proximity: Objects that are close together tend to be
grouped together.
➔ The principle of similarity states that similar stimuli are grouped together

15. depth perception: The ability to use the two-dimensional image projected on the
retina to perceive three dimensions.
➔ To construct these we use both monocular cues (A depth cue that
requires the use of only one eye.) and binocular cues (A depth cue that
requires the use of both eyes.).
➔ retinal disparity: The difference between the images projected onto each
eye.

16. Audition: The sense of hearing.

17. Biology of ear:

● Pinna, the outer visible structure of the ear, collects and focuses sounds,
● Sounds collected by the pinna are channelled through the auditory
canal, which ends at the tympanic membrane, or eardrum,
● Cochlea: The structure in the inner ear that contains auditory receptors.
Has multiple chambers inside it
➔ Vestibular and tympanic canal. Vibrations transmitted by the bones
of the middle ear to the oval window produce waves in the fluid of
the vestibular canal that travel around the apex and back through
the tympanic canal.

18. Agnosia: a condition in which individuals are unable to recognize and name
objects, despite having intact vision.
19. somatosensory homunculus: little man. The sensory homunculus illustrates the
amount of representation each part of the body has in the sensory cortex. The
human homunculus emphasises the hands and face.

20. gate control theory: The theory that suggests that input from touch fibres
competes with input from pain receptors, possibly preventing pain messages
from reaching the brain.

21. Olfaction: The sense of smell.

22. olfactory nerve: A nerve carrying olfactory information from the olfactory
receptors to the olfactory bulbs.

23. olfactory bulb: One of two structures below the frontal lobes of the brain that
receive input from the olfactory receptors in the nose.

24. Gustation: The sense of taste

25. Papillae: Small bumps on the tongue that contain taste buds.

26. taste bud: Most papillae contain somewhere between 1 and 100 taste buds and
taste buds have receptors cells
27. motion parallax: objects moving at a constant speed across the frame will appear to
move a greater amount if they are closer to an observer (or camera) than they would if
they were at a greater distance.

28. top-down processing

29. mechanoreceptors
30. nociceptors
31. split brain
32. contralateral organisation
 Chapter 8 : The Adaptive Mind

1. Reflexes: An inevitable, involuntary response to stimuli.

2. Instincts: An inborn pattern of behaviour elicited by environmental stimuli; also

known as a fixed action pattern.

3. Learning: A relatively permanent change in behaviour or the capacity for

behaviour due to experience

4. Types of learning:

● Associative learning: The formation of associations, or connections,

among stimuli and behaviours. If A happens then B also may happen.

➔ Classical conditioning: A type of learning in which associations are

formed between two stimuli that occur sequentially in time.eg bee
and kid
➔ Operant learning: A type of learning in which associations are
formed between behaviours and their outcomes.eg illegal parking =
parking ticket

● Non associative learning: Learning that involves changes in the

magnitude of responses to stimuli.

➔ Habituation: A simple form of learning in which reactions to

repeated stimuli that are unchanging and harmless decrease.
➔ Sensitization: An increased reaction to many stimuli following
exposure to one strong stimulus.

● Observational learning : Learning that occurs when one organism watches

the actions of another organism; also known as social learning or
modelling.
 ● Implicit learning:Learning that occurs in the absence of awareness.
● Explicit learning: Learning that involves conscious awareness.

5. Classical conditioning:

● Unconditioned stimulus: innate meaning to the organism.

● Unconditioned response: don’t need to be learned
● Conditioned stimulus: refers to an environmental event whose
significance is learned,
● Conditioned response: learned reactions,
● Acquisition: The development of a learned response.
● Extinction: The reduction of a learned response. In classical conditioning,
extinction occurs when the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) no longer
follows the conditioned stimulus (CS)
● Spontaneous recovery: During extinction training, the reappearance of
conditioned responses (CRs) after periods of rest.
● Generalisation: The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to an
original conditioned stimulus (CS).
● Discrimination: A learned ability to distinguish between stimuli.
● Inhibition: A feature of classical conditioning in which a conditioned
stimulus (CS) predicts the nonoccurrence of an unconditioned stimulus
(UCS)
● Higher-order (or second-order) conditioning: Learning in which stimuli
associated with a conditioned stimulus (CS) also elicit conditioned
responses (CRs).
● Latent Inhibition: The slower learning that occurs when a conditioned
stimulus (CS) is already familiar compared to when the CS is unfamiliar.
● Taste aversion: a learned association between the taste of a particular
food and illness such that the food is considered to be the cause of the
illness
6. Operant Conditioning :

● Positive reinforcement: increases the frequency of its associated

behaviour by providing a desired outcome.
● Negative reinforcement:removal of unpleasant consequences from a
situation to increase the frequency of an associated behaviour
● Positive punishment: A consequence that eliminates or reduces the
frequency of a behaviour by applying an unpleasant stimulus.
● Negative punishment: A method for reducing behaviour by removing
something desirable whenever the target behaviour occurs.
● Premack principle: whatever behaviour an organism spends the most
time and energy doing is likely to be important to that organism
● Primary reinforcers are effective because of their natural roles in
survival, such as food.
● Secondary (or conditioned) reinforcer: that gain their value and ability
to influence behaviour from being associated with other things we value.
● Partial reinforcement: The reinforcement of a desired behaviour on
some occasions, but not others.
● Premack principle: whatever behaviour an organism spends the most
time and energy doing is likely to be important to that organism
● Fixed ratio schedule:
● Fixed interval schedule:
● Variable ratio schedule
● Variable interval schedule
● Shaping: A method for increasing the frequency of behaviours that never
or rarely occur;
● Latent learning: ability to learn in the absence of reinforcement

7. Biological preparedness: Biological preparedness postulates that organisms

are evolutionarily predisposed to developing associations between certain stimuli
and responses. For example, people can be more predisposed to fearing things
(such as heights or snakes) that have historically presented a mortal threat to
humans.
8. Rescorla-Wagner model: model of classical conditioning in which learning
occurs as a function of how surprising the association between the CS and the
UCS appears
9. Law of effect: which suggested that behaviours followed by pleasant or helpful
outcomes would be more likely to occur in the future, whereas behaviours
followed by unpleasant or harmful outcomes would be less likely to occur.
10. Biological constraints: limitations on a species ability to learn new tasks that
are imposed by physical restraints or cognitive (mental) abilities of the species.
11. Instinctive drift: the tendency of some trained animals to revert back to
instinctual behaviours.

Chapter 11 : LifeSpan Development

1. Critical: critical period of brain growth, the first being prenatally up to age 18
months

2. sensitive periods: 6 to 13 years

3. Continuity: proceeds gradually and smoothly over time

vs. discontinuity: changes more abruptly from one stage to the nex
4. Synaptic Pruning : The process in which unused or unnecessary neurons and
synapses are eliminated in order to enable more efficient neural processing.

5. Heredity: concerned with the process of genetically transmitting traits or

characteristics from an ancestor to a descendant
vs heritability: is concerned with how much of the variance seen in a population
can be attributed to genetic variation instead of the environment.

6. Schemas: plan, diagram

7. Accommodation: The incorporation of new learning into an existing schema that

requires revision of the schema.

8. Assimilation: The incorporation of new learning into an existing schema without

the need to revise the schema.

9. Equilibration: The process by which a child engages in assimilation and

accommodation in order to make sense of the world.
10. Stages of cognitive development:

● Sensorimotor stage:
➔ Birth to 2
➔ Object permanence: The ability to form mental representations of
objects that are no longer present.
➔ Circular reactions :Repetitive actions observed in children during
the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.
➔ Primary circular reactions (1 to 4 months of age) are actions that
involve the infants’ own body,
➔ Secondary circular reactions (4 to 8 months of age) involve
objects other than one’s own body.
➔ Tertiary secondary reactions, which begin around the infant’s first
birthday, involve trial-and-error experimentation.

● Preoperational stage:
➔ 2 - 6 years
➔ Conservation: The ability to understand that changing the form or
appearance of an object does not change its quantity
➔ Egocentrism: Limitations on the ability to understand the point of
view of other people.

● Concrete operational stage:

➔ 6 - 12 years
➔ No problem of conservation = logical thinking
➔ Unable to handle abstract concepts

● Formal operational stage:

➔ 12 and older
➔ Can handle abstract concepts
11. Zone of proximal development: tasks that the child can accomplish with the
assistance of more experienced or knowledgeable individuals.

12. Scaffolding: which involves the parent or teacher being responsive to the needs
of the child and providing guidance that matches the learner’s needs.

13. Theory of mind (ToM): the understanding that others have thoughts that are
different from one’s own.

14. Attachment: Emotional bond linking an infant to a parent or caregiver.

15. Secure attachment: A pattern of infant–caregiver bonding in which children

explore confidently and return to the parent or caregiver for reassurance.

16. Insecure attachment: A pattern of infant–caregiver bonding that can take several
forms but is generally characterised as less desirable for the child’s outcomes
than secure attachment.

17. Parenting styles

18. Longitudinal study:you repeatedly collect data from the same sample over an
extended period of time.
19. Cross-sectional study: you collect data from a population at a specific point in
time
20. False belief test
21. Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development
22. Preferential looking technique
23. Orienting reflex