Final Exam Study Guide
Chapter 1
1. What is psychology?
2. Know the steps of the scientific method – Theory, hypothesis, operational definitions, gather data, draw conclusions, replicate. Know how a hypothesis and a theory differ. 3. Know the elements of an experiment:
o Independent variable o Dependent variable
o Extraneous/confounding variable o Experimental group
o Control group o Random sampling o Random assignment
4. Know the terms associated with research ethics, such as: o Informed consent
o Confidentiality o Avoiding harm o Debriefing
5. Be able to identify and define all measures of central tendency and variation: o Mean
o Mode o Median o Range
o Standard deviation 6. What is a normal curve?
7. What is statistical significance?
Chapter 2
1. What is phrenology?
2. What is the biological perspective? 3. What is plasticity?
4. What is a neuron?
5. Name the parts of a neuron and describe their function.
6. Know about the firing of the neuron (action potential) and the general steps of what occurs (all or none law, polarization, depolarization).
7. Know some of the more common neurotransmitters and their function (i.e., acetylcholine, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, glutamate).
8. Know the divisions of the nervous system (CNS, PNS, autonomic, somatic, sympathetic, parasympathetic). See Figure 2.7 in your book for reference.
9. Know general functions of the different parts of the nervous system. 10. What are nerves?
13. Know some general information about endocrine system. What is it? What is its purpose?
14. What do the adrenals glands do? 15. What does the pituitary gland do?
16. Know the difference between an EEG, PET, MRI, and fMRI.
17. What makes up the brainstem and what are the functions of its different parts?
18. Know the parts of the brain, what they do, what system they are a part of, and where they are found. This video will help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xnMLr-sF7o. 19. Know the different divisions of the brain (hindbrain, midbrain (limbic system), and
forebrain (cerebrum)) and their general functions/what they do. 20. What is the cerebral cortex? Be familiar with structure and functions.
21. Who was Phineas Gage and what did we learn from his accident? This video would be useful to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFO6ts6vZic.
22. What is neurogenesis?
23. What is the corpus callosum? Know that the corpus callosum is sometimes cut to stop seizures that cannot be controlled with medication.
Chapter 4
1. What is temperament? Is it genetic? 2. What is heritability?
3. What is epigenetics?
4. What is evolutionary psychology? What is the focus? 5. What is a mutation?
6. What is a social script? 7. What is the pruning process? 8. What is behavior genetics? 9. Be familiar with these terms:
o Chromosome o DNA
o Environment o Genes
o Genome
10.Know the difference between identical and fraternal twins. 11.What is puberty?
12.What is a gender role? What is gender identity? 13.What is social learning theory?
14.What is androgyny? What is transgender?
15.Be familiar with the role of parents and peers on the development of personality and traits.
16.What is culture?
17.Know the difference between an individualist & collectivist culture, and their values. 18.Know the difference between a person’s sex and their gender.
19.Know the difference between physical and relational aggression. 20.What is the chromosomal makeup of a male? A female?
1. What is developmental psychology?
2. Know the stages of prenatal development and what can occur during that time. o Zygote
o Embryo o Fetus
3. What is a teratogen?
4. Be able to explain physical development during infancy. 5. Who is Jean Piaget?
6. Know the difference between assimilation and accommodation.
7. Understand and be familiar with each of Piaget’s stages of development: o Sensorimotor
o Preoperational
o Concrete Operational o Formal Operational 8. What is conservation? 9. What is egocentrism?
10. What is autism spectrum disorder? 11. Be able to define the types of attachment:
o Secure attachment o Insecure attachment 12. What is self-concept?
13. Be familiar with, and able to identify, the four parenting styles: o Authoritarian
o Permissive o Authoritative o Negligent
14. Be able to explain physical development during adolescence. 15. Be familiar with Kohlberg’s Levels of moral thinking:
o Preconventional morality o Conventional morality o Postconventional morality
16. Understand and be familiar with each of Erickson’s psychosocial stages. 17. What is significant during adolescent social development?
18. Be familiar with what significant changes occur in adulthood (i.e., physical and cognitive).
19. What is Alzheimer’s disease? 20. What is a social clock?
Chapter 7
1. Who was Ivan Pavlov and what did he discover? Also, what about his dogs? 2. What is operant conditioning?
3. What did B.F. Skinner do? What is a Skinner box? 4. What is shaping?
7. What is a continuous reinforcement schedule? What is a partial reinforcement schedule?
8. Know the difference between the various types of reinforcement schedules: o Fixed-ratio
o Fixed-interval o Variable-ratio o Variable-interval 9. What is learning?
10. What is classical conditioning?
11. Be familiar with the terms associated with classical conditioning, and understand what makes them different from one another:
o Unconditioned stimulus o Unconditioned response o Conditioned stimulus o Conditioned response o Neutral stimulus
12. In relation to classical conditioning, what do the following terms mean? o Generalization
o Spontaneous recovery o Acquisition
o Extinction o Discrimination
13. Know the difference between positive and negative punishment/punishers. 14. What are the four major drawbacks of physical punishment?
15. What is preparedness? 16. What is a cognitive map?
17. Know the difference between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. 18. What is observational learning?
19. What are mirror neurons? 20. What is prosocial behavior?
Chapter 13
1. What is social psychology?
2. What is the fundamental attribution error?
3. Know the difference between central and peripheral route persuasion. 4. What is cognitive dissonance?
5. What is the conformity?
6. How can obedience be increased?
7. What is social facilitation? Social loafing? Deindividuation? Group polarization? 8. Know the difference between prejudice, stereotype, and discrimination.
9. What is the just-world phenomenon?
10. Know the difference between an ingroup and outgroup. 11. What is an ingroup bias?
14. Know the difference between passionate love and companionate love. 15. What is altruism?
16. What is the bystander effect? 17. What is social exchange theory? 18. What are superordinate goals?
Chapter 14
1. What is personality?
2. What is the focus of psychodynamic theories? 3. What is the focus of psychoanalysis?
4. Be familiar with Freud’s three personality structures: o The id - Do “it;” Strives for immediate gratification
o The ego - Makes the final decisions; Remains in the conscious mind
o The superego - Strict judge; Flows between the conscious and the unconscious 5. Recognize and understand the six defense mechanisms.
6. What Freudian ideas did neo-Freudians tend to disagree with? 7. What is a projective test?
8. What is the focus of humanistic theories?
9. Know Carl Rogers’ conditions of positive growth. 10.What is a trait?
11.What is the most widely used and researched personality inventory? 12.What are the “big five” personality factors?
13.What is social cognitive perspective? 14.What is a self-serving bias?
Chapter 15
1. What is a psychological disorder?
2. What is the DSM? Why do we have it? What are the drawbacks of the DSM? 3. Know the definition of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
4. Know the definition of anxiety disorders. What does it look like?
5. Know the symptoms of: Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias. 6. What is agoraphobia? Social phobia? Specific phobia? Give an example of each. 7. Know the definition of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
8. What are obsessions? What are compulsions? Give an example of each. 9. Know the definition of posttraumatic stress disorder. What does it look like? 10. Know the definition of major depressive disorder. What does it look like? 11. Know the definition of bipolar disorder. Define depression and mania. 12. What is nonsuicidal self-injury?
13. Known the definition of schizophrenia? What are proposed causes? 14. What are hallucinations? What are delusions?
15. Known the definition of dissociative disorders.
16. What is dissociative identity disorder? Dissociative amnesia? Dissociative fugue? 17. Know the definition of personality disorders. Which personality disorder is
characterized by odd/eccentric behaviors? Dramatic/emotional/erratic? Anxious/fearful? 18. Know the definition of eating disorders.
Chapter 16
1. What is psychotherapy? 2. Who was Sigmund Freud?
3. Be familiar with the various theories of psychology (i.e., psychoanalysis, humanistic, behavioral, cognitive). Know how they are different. Know their goals and focus.
4. What is exposure therapy? Systematic desensitization? Aversive conditioning? 5. What is operant conditioning? How is it used?
6. What is a therapeutic alliance? 7. What is psychopharmacology?
8. Know the difference between antipsychotic, antianxiety, and antidepressant drugs. 9. What is electroconvulsive therapy?
10. What is a lobotomy?
