PSYC 100 · Flashcards

PSYC 100 Exam Review: Research Methods, Brain, Learning, Memory and Personality

31 termsUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaignby @studyboardUpdated October 2026

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A study set written by the Studyboard team for the topics in this course's published outline. It isn't official course material from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and doesn't contain real exam questions.

Terms in this set (31)

  1. Independent variable vs dependent variableThe independent variable is what the experimenter manipulates; the dependent variable is the outcome that is measured to see whether it changed.
  2. Why does correlation not imply causation?Two correlated variables may both be driven by a third variable, or the causal direction may run the other way. Only a controlled experiment with random assignment supports causal claims.
  3. Random sampling vs random assignmentRandom sampling picks participants from a population so results generalize. Random assignment places participants into conditions by chance so groups are equivalent and causal conclusions are possible.
  4. What is a double-blind study and why use it?Neither participants nor the researchers collecting data know who is in which condition. It reduces placebo effects and experimenter bias.
  5. What does a correlation coefficient of r = -0.80 tell you?A strong negative linear relationship: as one variable increases, the other tends to decrease. The sign gives direction and the absolute value gives strength.
  6. Operational definitionA precise statement of how a variable will be measured or manipulated in a study, e.g. defining aggression as the number of times a child hits a doll in 10 minutes.
  7. Parts of a neuron and the direction a signal travelsDendrites receive signals, the cell body integrates them, the axon carries the action potential away, and axon terminals release neurotransmitter into the synapse.
  8. What is an action potential?A brief all-or-none electrical impulse that travels down the axon when the neuron's membrane reaches threshold, caused by sodium ions rushing in and potassium ions flowing out.
  9. Role of the myelin sheathA fatty insulating layer around many axons that speeds signal conduction. Its breakdown is the hallmark of multiple sclerosis.
  10. Dopamine vs serotonin: main associationsDopamine: reward, motivation and movement (low levels in Parkinson's disease). Serotonin: mood, sleep and appetite (low levels linked to depression).
  11. Functions of the four cerebral lobesFrontal: planning, decision making and motor control. Parietal: touch and spatial processing. Temporal: hearing and language comprehension. Occipital: vision.
  12. Broca's area vs Wernicke's areaBroca's area (left frontal lobe) supports speech production; damage gives halting, effortful speech. Wernicke's area (left temporal lobe) supports comprehension; damage gives fluent but meaningless speech.
  13. Functions of the hippocampus and amygdalaThe hippocampus is key for forming new explicit long-term memories. The amygdala processes emotion, especially fear.
  14. Sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous systemSympathetic: fight-or-flight arousal (faster heart rate, dilated pupils). Parasympathetic: rest-and-digest calming that conserves energy.
  15. Sensation vs perceptionSensation is detecting physical energy with sense receptors. Perception is the brain organizing and interpreting that input into meaningful experience.
  16. Classical conditioning: define US, UR, CS and CR using Pavlov's dogsUS = food, UR = salivation to food, CS = the tone after pairing with food, CR = salivation to the tone alone.
  17. Extinction vs spontaneous recoveryExtinction is the weakening of a conditioned response when the CS is presented without the US. Spontaneous recovery is the return of the weakened CR after a rest period.
  18. Negative reinforcement vs punishmentNegative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior (taking aspirin to remove a headache). Punishment decreases a behavior. They are not the same.
  19. Which reinforcement schedule produces the most extinction-resistant behavior?Variable-ratio schedules, where reinforcement comes after an unpredictable number of responses (like slot machines), produce high steady responding that resists extinction.
  20. What did Bandura's Bobo doll study show?Children who watched an adult act aggressively toward a doll were more likely to imitate that aggression, showing observational learning without direct reinforcement.
  21. Three stages of the multi-store (Atkinson-Shiffrin) memory modelSensory memory (very brief), short-term or working memory (about 7 plus or minus 2 items, seconds without rehearsal), and long-term memory (large capacity, long lasting).
  22. Explicit vs implicit memoryExplicit (declarative) memory is consciously recalled facts and events. Implicit (nondeclarative) memory is unconscious, such as skills, priming and conditioned responses.
  23. Proactive vs retroactive interferenceProactive: old learning disrupts recall of new information. Retroactive: new learning disrupts recall of old information.
  24. Serial position effectItems at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list are recalled better than items in the middle.
  25. Availability heuristicJudging how likely an event is by how easily examples come to mind, which can make vivid events like plane crashes seem more common than they are.
  26. Confirmation biasThe tendency to search for and favor information that supports what you already believe while ignoring evidence against it.
  27. Reliability vs validity of a testReliability is consistency of scores across time or forms. Validity is whether the test measures what it claims to measure. A test can be reliable without being valid.
  28. Fluid vs crystallized intelligenceFluid intelligence is reasoning and solving novel problems quickly; it tends to decline with age. Crystallized intelligence is accumulated knowledge and vocabulary; it tends to hold steady or grow.
  29. The Big Five personality traitsOpenness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (OCEAN).
  30. James-Lange vs Cannon-Bard theory of emotionJames-Lange: we feel emotion because we perceive our body's physiological response. Cannon-Bard: physiological arousal and emotional experience occur at the same time, independently.
  31. Fundamental attribution errorOverestimating personality and underestimating the situation when explaining other people's behavior.

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