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Psychology 101 Final Exam Terms: Definitions and Explanations, Exams of Psychology

A comprehensive list of key terms and definitions from a psychology 101 final exam. It covers fundamental concepts in psychology, including variables, research methods, sensation and perception, the nervous system, sleep, learning, and memory. Each term is defined clearly and concisely, making it a valuable resource for students preparing for exams or reviewing course material.

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2024/2025

Available from 04/16/2025

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1. Variables
Ans>> the events, characteristics, behaviors, or conditions that researchers
measure and study.
2. subject or participant
Ans>> an individual person or animal a researcher studies.
3. Sample
Ans>> a collection of subjects researchers study. Researchers use samples because they
cannot study the entire population.
4. Population
Ans>> the collection of people or animals from which researchers draw a sample.
PSYC
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Final
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1. Variables

Ans>> the events, characteristics, behaviors, or conditions that researchers measure and study.

2. subject or participant

Ans>> an individual person or animal a researcher studies.

3. Sample

Ans>> a collection of subjects researchers study. Researchers use samples because they cannot study the entire population.

4. Population

Ans>> the collection of people or animals from which researchers draw a sample.

PSYC 101 Final Exam Terms

Researchers study the sample and generalize their results to the population.

5. The Purpose of Research

Ans>> -To find ways to measure and describe behavior -To understand why, when, and how events occur -To apply this knowledge to solving real-world problems

6. The scientific method

Ans>> a standardized way of making observations, gathering data, forming theories, testing predictions, and interpreting results.

7. A theory

Ans>> an explanation that organizes separate pieces of information in a coherent way.

8. replicable

Ans>> when others can repeat an experiment and get the same results.

13. experiment

Ans>> a researcher manipulates or changes a particular variable under controlled conditions while observing resulting changes in another variable or vari- ables.

14. Occam's razor

Ans>> maintains that researchers should apply the simplest explana- tion possible to any set of observations.

15. correlation

Ans>> measurement of the strength of the relationship between two vari- ables

16. reliability

Ans>> if a test produces the same result when researchers administer it to the same group of people at different times, it has reliability.

17. Validity

Ans>> A test is valid if it actually measures the quality it claims to measure.

18. Bias

Ans>> the distortion of results by a variable. Common types of bias include sampling bias, subject bias, and experimenter bias.

19. Sensation

Ans>> the process by which physical energy from objects in the world or in the body stimulates the sense organs

people to see in color. Remember (C)ones, (C)olor.

27. papillae

Ans>> receptors that are inside taste buds, which in turn are inside little bumps on the skin called Papillae. Used to taste

28. Kinesthesis

Ans>> the sense of the position and movement of body parts.

29. Gate-control theory

Ans>> states that pain signals traveling from the body to the brain must go through a gate in the spinal cord. If the gate is closed, pain signals can't reach the brain. The gate isn't a physical structure like a fence gate, but rather a pattern of neural activity that either stops pain signals or allows them to pass. Signals from the brain can open or shut the gate. For example, focusing on pain tends to increase it, whereas ignoring the pain tends to decrease it.

30. nervous system

Ans>> a complex, highly coordinated network of tissues that commu- nicate via electro chemical signals

31. cerebrospinal fluid

Ans>> cushions and nourishes the brain

32. blood-brain barrier

Ans>> protects the cerebrospinal fluid by blocking many drugs and toxins.

33. spinal cord

Ans>> connects the brain to the rest of the body

34. spinal reflexes

Ans>> which are automatic behaviors that require no input from the brain.

35. peripheral nervous system.

Ans>> The peripheral nervous system has two parts the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

36. somatic nervous system

Ans>> consists of nerves that connect the central nervous system to voluntary skeletal muscles and sense organs.

37. autonomic nervous system

Ans>> consists of nerves that connect the central ner- vous system to the heart, blood vessels, glands, and smooth muscles

38. Glial cells

Ans>> make up the support structure of the nervous system, perform four functions

Ans>> For a limited time, there are more positively charged ions inside than in the resting state. This creates an action potential, which is a short-lived change in electric charge inside the neuron.

46. medulla

Ans>> lies next to the spinal cord and controls functions outside conscious.

47. thalamus

Ans>> a sensory way station. All sensory information except smell-related data must go through the thalamus on the way to the cerebrum.

48. hypothalamus

Ans>> lies under the thalamus and helps to control the pituitary gland and the autonomic nervous system.

49. limbic system

Ans>> includes the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the septum

50. cerebrum

Ans>> the biggest part of the brain, controls complex processes such as abstract thought and learning.

51. endocrine system

Ans>> made up of hormone-secreting glands, also affects commu- nication inside the body

52. Hormones

Ans>> chemicals that help to regulate bodily functions.

53. Circadian rhythms

Ans>> biological cycles that occur about every twenty-four hours. Sleep follows a circadian rhythm. Hormone secretion, blood pressure, body temper- ature, and urine production also have circadian rhythms.

54. Sleep Stages

Ans>> There are five distinct stages of sleep in each cycle 1, 2, 3, 4, and REM

55. sleep apnea

Ans>> People who have sleep apnea stop breathing many times during a night's sleep, and each time they stop breathing, they wake up briefly and gasp for air.

56. classical conditioning

Ans>> also called "respondent conditioning" or "Pavlovian conditioning," a subject comes to respond to a neutral stimulus as he would to another, nonneutral stimulus by learning to associate the two stimuli.

64. Positive reinforcement

Ans>> the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often

65. Negative reinforcement

Ans>> the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur more often.

66. Punishment

Ans>> the delivery of a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a response will occur

67. Positive punishment

Ans>> the presentation of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often

68. Negative punishment

Ans>> is the removal of a stimulus after a response so that the response will occur less often.

69. fixed-ratio schedule

Ans>> reinforcement happens after a set number of responses, such as when a car salesman earns a bonus after every three cars he sells.

70. variable-ratio schedule

Ans>> reinforcement happens after a particular average number of responses.

71. fixed-interval schedule

Ans>> reinforcement happens after a set amount of time

72. variable-interval schedule

Ans>> reinforcement happens after a particular average amount of time.

73. Observational learning

Ans>> the process of learning to respond in a particular way by watching others, who are called models.

74. encoding

Ans>> Processing information into memory

75. Structural encoding

Ans>> focuses on what words look like. For instance, one might note whether words are long or short, in uppercase or lowercase, or handwritten or typed.

76. Phonemic encoding

Ans>> focuses on how words sound.

life.

84. Retrieval

Ans>> the process of getting information out of memory.

85. priming

Ans>> recalling a particular word becomes easier if another, related word is recalled first.

86. implicit memory

Ans>> unconscious retention of information

87. Explicit memory

Ans>> conscious, intentional remembering of information.

88. Declarative memory

Ans>> recall of factual information such as dates, words, faces, events, and concepts.

89. Procedural memory

Ans>> recall of how to do things such as swimming or driving a car.

90. Semantic memory

Ans>> recall of general facts

91. episodic memory

Ans>> recall of personal facts

92. Retention

Ans>> is the proportion of learned information that is retained or remem- bered—the flip

side of forgetting

93. Recall

Ans>> remembering without any external cues

94. Recognition

Ans>> identifying learned information using external cues.

95. decay theory

Ans>> memory fades with time.

96. Interference theory

Ans>> has a better account of why people lose long-term memo- ries. According to this theory, people forget information because of interference from other learned information.

97. Retroactive interference

Ans>> happens when newly learned information makes people forget old information.

98. Proactive interference

Ans>> happens when old information makes people forget newly learned information.

99. repression

Ans>> pushing unpleasant or intolerable thoughts and feelings deep into their unconscious

Ans>> theorizes that psychological disorders result from the rein- forcement of abnormal behavior.

107. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Ans>> A person with generalized anxiety disorder experiences persistent and excessive anxiety or worry that lasts at least six months.

108. Specific Phobia

Ans>> A person who has specific phobia experiences intense anx- iety when exposed to a particular object or situation

109. Social Phobia

Ans>> A person who has social phobia experiences intense anxiety when exposed to certain kinds of social or performance situations.

110. Panic Disorder

Ans>> A person with panic disorder experiences recurrent, unex- pected panic attacks, which cause worry or anxiety

111. Agoraphobia

Ans>> involves anxiety about losing control in public places, being in situations from which escape would be difficult or embarrassing, or being in places where there might be no one to help if a panic attack occurred.

112. Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Ans>> A person with obsessive-compulsive disor- der experiences obsessions, compulsions, or both.

113. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Ans>> A person with this disorder persistently re-experiences a highly traumatic event and avoids stimuli associated with the trauma.

114. Bipolar disorder

Ans>> involves at least one distinct period when a person exhibits manic symptoms. Manic symptoms include any or all of the following Irritability Feelings of being high Decreased need for sleep Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity