Foundational Intro Psych vocabulary and concepts across major subfields.
45 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is a hypothesis?
- A testable prediction about the relationship between variables
- What is an independent variable?
- The variable manipulated by the researcher
- What is a dependent variable?
- The variable measured as the study outcome
- What is a control group?
- The group that does not receive the treatment being tested
- Define reliability in research
- Consistency of measurement across repeated tests
- Define validity in research
- Whether a study actually measures what it claims to measure
- What is a neuron?
- The basic cell of the nervous system that transmits information
- What is a neurotransmitter?
- A chemical messenger that transmits signals between neurons
- What does the hippocampus do?
- Forms new memories, especially episodic memories
- What does the amygdala do?
- Processes emotions, especially fear and threat responses
- What is neural plasticity?
- The brain's ability to change and form new neural connections
- What is brain lateralization?
- Hemispheric specialization where different brain regions handle different functions
- Distinguish sensation from perception
- Sensation is raw sensory input; perception is the interpretation of that input
- What is an absolute threshold?
- The minimum stimulus intensity needed to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time
- What is sensory adaptation?
- Decreased sensitivity to a constant stimulus over time