For each topic or chapter, make sure you understand the general issues and basic principles covered. A thorough comprehension of the material and concepts is more important than memorizing facts and figures. If there are any specific facts, dates, etc. that you should know, they will be listed in this study guide.

As you read the textbook, make sure you make use of the "Before you go on" questions throughout the text. Don't go on unless you have a pretty good grasp of what you have already read. Also, use the question-and-answer format of the summary to help in your studying.

The definitions of terms in the margins may also be helpful. However, you should not memorize these definitions. Instead, see if you can come up with your own definitions, in your own words, based on your readings. This is a good way to see if you really have understood the concepts. You may find it helpful to jot down a few notes - again, in your own words - about each of the topics or concepts. Most of the questions I will ask on the exam will be "conceptual"-type items, which assess your understanding of concepts, rather than memorization-type items.

Unless I tell you otherwise, the boxes and illustrations in the book, as well as the films and tapes shown in class, are there mainly to enhance your knowledge, and you will not be tested on them specifically. Listed below are the things that you most likely will be tested on, and to which you should pay particular attention.

Chapter 1

1. The definition of psychology (the science that studies behavior and mental processes) - but read the whole section explaining this definition.

2. The subject matter of psychology

a. The ABCs: Affects, Behavior, & Cognitions

b. What are operational definitions?

3. Psychology as a science

a. What qualifies a field of study, such as psychology, as a science?

b. What are scientific methods?

c. What is a hypothesis, and how is one formed?

d. Why can't we "prove" hypotheses?

e. What are the goals of psychology?

4. Psychology's history & roots. Just know generally what the following are, and which people are connected with them. You only need to know the people named here.

1. The mind/body issue: interactive dualism (Descartes)
2. Empiricism; tabula rasa (John Locke)
3. Darwin: adaptation of species to their environment
4. Influence of physics & physiology - Fechner and Helmholtz
5. Structuralism (Wundt - founder of the first psychology lab - in Germany)
6. Functionalism (William James - first American course & text in psychology)
7. Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner)
8. Psychoanalysis (Freud)
9. Humanistic psychology
10. Gestalt psychology
11. Read the "Spotlight on Diversity" section.
    

5. Contemporary approaches to psychology. Some of this is an update of the above. You should also note the following approaches, which are important in current psychology:

Biological; Cognitive; Cross-cultural; Positive psychology, Women in psychology

 

Research methods in psychology.

You should be able to define or at least recognize what the major types of research are, and also the good and bad points of each (in general).

1. Observational Studies

a. naturalistic observation and the problems with it

b. surveys; choice of a sample for survey research

c. case histories

2. Correlational Research

1. the general definition, and what it is used for
2. correlation coefficient
3. positive vs. negative correlations
4. limits on correlational research (lack of causality; lack of individual prediction)
   
   

3. Experimental Research

1. what distinguishes the experiment from other types of studies
2. independent & dependent variables
3. experimental and control group(s)
4. placebo control
5. extraneous and confounding variables
6. random assignment to groups
7. baseline designs
8. generalization
9. field experiments vs. lab experiments
10. meta-analysis
    

4. Ethical issues. You should know that the American Psychological Association (APA) has ethical guidelines for research and clinical practice in psychology. There are ethical principles for research with animals as well as human participants. Just get a general idea of these issues.

1. Make sure you know about neurons and how they operate.
   

a. Structure: cell body, dendrites, axon, myelin (& its function), nodes, axon terminals

b. Function: neural impulse (what happens to create it), chemical ions (positive & negative), resting potential & action potential, all-or-none principle, neural threshold

c. What do we mean when we say an impulse "travels down the axon"?

 

2. What happens between one neuron and another?

1. the space between neurons: the synapse/ synaptic cleft
2. transmission across the synapse
3. neurotransmitters. You don't have to know the specific ones (we'll study those later), but read the section on them to make sure you understand neurotransmitters and their functions.
4. vesicles
5. receptor sites
6. excitatory & inhibitory neurotransmitters
   
   

3. The nervous system: note the chart on p. 52, and know generally what the major divisions of the nervous system do.

4. Endocrine system (just a general idea of the role of hormones and the major glands)

5.Behavior genetics (just the basics)


In the next section, I suggest that you make yourself some kind of chart noting the major parts of the CNS (central nervous system) and their general functions. Don't get bogged down in too much detail. If I don't cover all of this in class, you should get the information from the book.

1. The spinal cord
   
   1. types of neurons: sensory, motor, & interneurons
   2. transmission & integration functions
   3. spinal reflexes
      
      
2. The lower brain centers - you should know the basic function of these:
   
   1. brain stem (medulla & pons)
   2. cerebellum
   3. reticular formation
   4. basal ganglia
   5. limbic system
   6. hypothalamus
   7. thalamus
      
      
3. The cerebral cortex. I won't ask for specifics about where the different parts are.
   
   1. Techniques for studying the brain
   2. 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex: frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
   3. sensory, motor, and association areas
   4. The two hemispheres; corpus callosum; split-brain procedures
   5. the main differences between male and female brains, if any