Final Exam Study Guide

Know the definition of psychology.

Be able to define and contrast rationalism and empiricism. Know which philosophers were behind
these movements.
Be able to define and contrast monism and dualism. Know which figures were behind these
movements.
Know about the contributions of and schools of thought associated with Wilheim Wundt, Edward
Titchener (structuralism), Sigmund Freud (psychoanalysis), William James (functionalism), B.F.
Skinner (behaviorism), and Abraham Maslow (humanism).
Know the underpinnings of the biopsychosocial perspective.
Know the different elements of the scientific method.
Know about operational definitions and replication.
Be able to distinguish between independent and dependent variables as well as control and
experimental groups.
Be able to identify methods (e.g., correlational studies, naturalistic observation) associated with each
category of research.
Know why correlation cannot prove causality.
Know how to interpret the strength and direction of a correlation.
Know the definition of memory.
Know the three types of explicit memories (semantic, episodic, and flashbulb) and the primary type of
implicit memory (procedural).
Know the three functions of memory (encoding, storage, and retrieval).
Know the three types of memory (sensory, working, and long-term).
Know the difference between short-term and working memory.
Know methods we use to move memory from short-term to long-term (i.e., rehearsal and
elaboration).
Know the encoding specificity theory, as well as the difference between state-dependent and context-
dependent memories.
Know about the primacy and recency effects.
Know about the lability of memories.
Know why eyewitness testimony is not trustworthy.
Know about rich false memories.
Know the definitions of neuroscience and biological psychology.
Be able to identify parts of a neuron and know their functions (dendrites, cell bodies, axons, myelin
sheaths, Nodes of Ranvier, and synapses).
Know the process of the action potential.
Know the functions and locations of the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.
Know the roles of the amygdala, pons, reticular formation, thalamus, and medulla oblongata.
Know the difference between sensation and perception, and how sensation becomes perception
through transduction.
Know the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing.
Be able to distinguish absolute thresholds and difference thresholds.
Know Weber’s law.
Know how hue, saturation, and brightness contribute to our perception of color.
Know the physical properties associated with loudness, pitch, and timbre, and how each of these
contributes to our perception of sound.
Be able to distinguish among place theory, frequency theory, and volley principle.
Know the Gestalt principles (and about the overall Gestalt approach).
Know different forms of perceptual constancy.
Know the figure-ground principle and Muller-Lyer illusion.
Know about the circadian rhythm.
Know the function of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in regulating alertness.
Know the waves seen within each stage of sleep.
Know the features of each wave of sleep (e.g., stage 1 is the lightest stage and is when hallucinations
occur).
Know when sleep spindles and K-complexes occur.
Know the different theories of dreams (Freudian theories, the activation synthesis model, and
the neurocognitive theory).
Know the effects of drugs discussed in class (i.e., alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana).
Know about classical conditioning.
You will be given a scenario and asked to identify the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned
response, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response.
Know about stimulus generalization, extinction, and spontaneous recovery.
Know the law of effect.
Know about operant condioning.
You will be given a scenario that will test your ability to distinguish among positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.
Know about shaping (i.e., use of successive approximations to teach complex behaviors).
Know the different schedules of reinforcement (i.e., fixed vs. variable, interval vs. ratio).
Know the difference between primary and secondary reinforcers.
Know about Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment.
Know about the link between media violence exposure and antisocial behavior and different factors
that might explain why this link exists (i.e., know social learning theory).
Know about latent learning and cognitive maps.
Know about the representativeness and availability heuristics.
Know about the framing effect.
Know about anchor and adjustment.
Know the definition of language.
Know about phonemes, morphemes, grammar, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
Know the history of the IQ tests.
Know the definition of functional fixedness.
Know classifications determined by IQ scores (i.e., know cutoffs for giftedness and intellectual
disability).
Know the differences among cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential study designs. Know
the strengths and weaknesses of each study design.
Know Piaget’s stages of development.
Know about object permanence, theory of mind, and conservation of matter. Know when Piaget said
children mastered these tasks.
Know about the zone of proximal development.
Know the concept of scaffolding.
Know the concept of "good enough" parenting (i.e., the idea that there is a point of "diminishing
returns" for environmental enrichment)
Be able to compare and contrast Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories of child development.
Know Bronfenbrenner's socioecological model of development.
Know the iceberg theory and roles of the id, ego, and superego.
Know the psychosexual stages.
Know reasons why modern psychologists put little stock in Freud’s theories.
Know the defense mechanisms.
Know principles of humanistic psychology, such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; Rogers’ concepts
of unconditional positive regard and congruence; and Erickson’s psychosocial stages.
Know the Barnum effect.
Know the difference between gender and sex.
Know the definitions of puberty, primary sex characteristics, and secondary sex characteristics.
Know the basic facts of the David Reimer case (i.e., who was David Reimer, why was his case
important for gender researchers, what did his physician recommend, what was the outcome?).
Know the gender schema theory and social learning theory of gender development.
Know the definitions of modeling, enactive experience, and direct tuition.
Know the gender intensification hypothesis.
Know the difference between social psychology and sociology.
Know the definition of confederates.
Know about social cognition.
Know the difference between situational and dispositional attributions.
Know the fundamental attribution error, the just world hypothesis, and the self-serving bias.
Know the definitions of social facilitation, social loafing, deindividuation, and risky shift.
Know the details of the Milgram experiment.
Know about cognitive dissonance.
Know how the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face techniques work.
Know the definition of motivation.
Be able to differentiate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Know the features of instincts, drive-reduction theory, and arousal theory.
Know Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (have a general idea of the order and the definition of each item).
Know how the HPA axis works.
Know the Yerkes-Dodson model.
Know the definition of a psychological disorder.
Know the three criteria psychologists use to define abnormal behavior (i.e., deviance, distress, and
dysfunction).
Know the definition and implications of insanity.
Know the definition and implications of stigma.
Know how psychological disorders are diagnosed (i.e., what manual do psychologists use to make
diagnoses, and who maintains this manual?).
Know the definition of
Know the different models used to explain the etiology of psychological disorders.
Know the features of anxiety disorders.
Know the signs of a panic attack and panic disorder.
Know about
Know about social anxiety disorder.
Know the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Know the signs of major depressive disorder.
Know the neurotransmitters associated with depression.
Know the diathesis-stress model.
Know learned helplessness.
Know the features of a manic episode.
Know the difference between bipolar I and bipolar II.
Know the definition of a hypomanic episode.
Know the features of schizophrenia.
Know the difference between positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Know the difference between delusions and hallucinations.
Know the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia.
Know the features of antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.
Know the difference between antisocial personality disorder and conduct disorder.
Know about dissociative disorders, including dissociative identity disorder, dissociative amnesia, and
dissociative fugues.
Know the four types of therapy commonly used today.
Know the defining features of psychoanalytic theory.
Know why psychoanalytic theory is controversial.
Know about behavioral therapy.
Know the difference between the two forms of exposure therapy (flooding and systematic
desensitization).
Know about cognitive therapy.
Know about the kinds of automatic thoughts Aaron Beck sought to eliminate in cognitive therapy.
Know about rational emotive behavioral therapy.
Know the four types of psychopharmalogical treatments.
Know the differences among monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), tricyclic antidepressants; and
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Know the consequences of prescribing an antidepressant to a bipolar sufferer.
Know the different types of antipsychotic drugs and how they work.
Know about antianxiety drugs.
KNOW THAT VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM.