2. Structuralism
Structuralism is “an early school
of psychology that used
introspection to explore the
structural elements of the
human mind.” In this picture, I
am “looking inward”
(introspection) at myself through
the mirror. I am engaging in self-
reflection.
3. Dendrite
A dendrite is the
“bushy, branching
extensions of a neuron that
receive messages and
conduct impulses toward the
cell body.” Like the
dendrite, the answering
machine in this picture also
receives messages.
5. Parasympathetic Nervous
System
The parasympathetic nervous
system is the “division of the
autonomic nervous system that
calms the body, conserving its
energy.” Taking a bath calms
and soothes the body similar to
parasympathetic nervous
system.
6. Endocrine System
The endocrine system is
the body‟s “slow”
chemical communication
system.” It is a “set of
glands that secrete
hormones into the
bloodstream.” Hormones
control our menstrual
cycle, two of which are
estrogen and progesterone.
7. Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus
“directs several
maintenance activities
(eating, drinking, body
temperature), helps
govern the endocrine
system via the pituitary
gland, and is linked to
emotion and reward.” A
slice of pizza can satisfy
our hunger, which the
hypothalamus controls.
8. Frontal Lobes
The frontal lobes are “involved in
speaking and muscle movements
and in making plans and
judgments.” This calendar also
assists in making future
plans, including
appointments, birthdays, and
holidays.
9. Occipital Lobes
The occipital lobes “include areas
that receive information from the
visual fields.” This information is
seen with the eye, like the one in
this picture, and is transported to
the occipital lobes, where it is
interpreted.
10. Cerebellum
The functions of the cerebellum
include “processing sensory
input and coordinating
movement output and
balance. This is a picture of a
yoga mat. One would need their
cerebellum to assist him/her in
achieving balance during a yoga
session.
11. Circadian Rhythm
Circadian rhythm is our
“biological clock.” It is our
“regular bodily rhythms that
occur on a 24-hour cycle.” The
clock in this picture represents
the 24-hour cycle of day and
night with which our bodies
roughly synchronize.
12. Dissociation
Dissociation is a “split in
consciousness, which allows
some thoughts and behaviors to
occur simultaneously with
others.” There is a split down
the middle of this orange, just
as our consciousness is split.
13. Schema
Schema is a “concept or
framework that organizes and
interprets information.” This
agenda, like schema, organizes
information, such as homework
and one‟s schedule of tests and
quizzes.
14. Recall
Recall is a “measure of
memory in which the person
must retrieve information
learned earlier.” This is a
picture of a fill-in-the-blank
test. Instead of being able to
identify these items, such as
in a multiple choice test, the
student must retrieve that
information from their brain.
15. Recognition
Recognition is a “measure of
memory in which the person
need only identify items
previously learned.” This is a
picture of a multiple choice
test, where the student has
various answers to choose from.
16. Hippocampus
The hippocampus is a
“neural center that is located
in the limbic system and
helps process explicit
memories for storage.” Just
as the hippocampus
processes memories for
storage, one can sort through
paper and cat products for
storage (as in this picture).
17. Chunking
Chunking is “organizing
items into
familiar, manageable
units.” One can chunk
his/her different subjects
together in a folder. The tabs
are labeled
English, Religion, Biology, Alg
ebra, and History.
18. I/O Psychology
I/O psychology is the
“application of psychological
concepts and methods to
optimizing human behavior
in workplaces.” This is a
picture of an office, which is a
workplace that could be
optimized by I/O psychology.
19. Spotlight Effect
The spotlight effect is
“overestimating others‟
noticing and evaluating our
appearance, performance, an
d blunders.” This is a picture
of a large pimple in the middle
of my forehead. I feel that
everyone is looking at it, when
in reality no one can even
notice it.
20. MMPI
MMPI is the “most widely
researched and clinically used of
all personality tests.” This is a
picture of a “Work Out World” job
application. Some form of the
MMPI appears in many job
applications.
21. Manifest Content
Manifest content is the
“remembered story line of a
dream.” Just like the books in
this bookshelf, a dream has a
plot that can be recalled.
22. Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a “type of
learning in which one learns to link
two or more stimuli and anticipate
events.” Every morning my mom
gives my cat (Ruby) cheese. Ruby
has now linked the opening of the
fridge to her getting a piece. Each
time my mom opens the
fridge, whether it‟s to get cheese or
not, Ruby comes running.
23. Attachment
Attachment is an
“emotional tie with
another person.” Opal
(bottom) is older and acts
as the caregiver. Ruby
seeks closeness to Opal.
When we first brought
them home, Ruby cried
every time she became
separated from Opal.
24. Teratogens
Teratogens are “agents, such as
chemicals and viruses, that
can reach the embryo or fetus
during prenatal development
and cause harm.” This is a
picture of a wine rack. Alcohol
is an example of a teratogen
and can cause fetal alcohol
syndrome.
25. Concrete Operational
The concrete operational stage
in Piaget‟s theory is the “stage
of cognitive development
during which children gain
the mental operations that
enable them to think logically
about concrete events. This
stage is from about 6 to 11.
Children are able to think
logically to complete a puzzle.
26. Rods
Rods are “retinal receptors
that detect
black, white, and gray.”
One can use his/her rods to
view these white shoes.
27. Cones
Cones are “retinal receptors
that detect fine detail and give
rise to color sensations.” One
can use his/her cones to see
these colorful beach towels.
28. Set Point
The set point is the “point at
which the individual‟s „weight
thermostat‟ is supposedly set. “
A scale, like the one in this
picture, can be used to
measure this set point.
29. Homeostasis
Homeostasis is a “tendency to
maintain a balanced or
constant internal state.” It is
the “regulation of any aspect of
body chemistry.” When the
body temperature increases, as
with a fever, a thermometer can
measure this change in one‟s
internal state.
30. Incentive
Incentive is a “positive or
negative environmental
stimulus that motivates
behavior.” Many times, money
is this stimulus that motivates
behavior. Some will do anything
for money.
31. Cannon-Bard TOE
The Cannon-Bard Theory of
Emotion states that an “emotion-
arousing stimulus simultaneously
triggers physiological responses and
the subjective experience of
emotion. The perception of
stimulus is this oncoming car and
then one simultaneously
experiences a pounding heart and
fear.
32. James-Lange TOE
The James-Lange Theory of
Emotion states that “our
experience of emotion is our
awareness of our physiological
responses to emotion-arousing
stimulus.” One sees a man
coming towards them with a
knife. He/she experiences a
pounding heart and then
experience fear.
33. Paul Ekman
Paul Ekman has run training
seminars to teach law
enforcement officers to detect the
presumed fleeting signals of
deceit in facial expressions. This
is a police sticker for one‟s car
which represents the law
enforcement taught by Ekman.
34. Schachter-2 Factor TOE
The Schachter-2 Factor Theory of
Emotion states that “to
experience emotion one must be
physically aroused and
cognitively label the arousal.
One gets back a test and sees
he/she has received a failing
grade. His/her heart begins to
pound and they cognitively label
that as anxiety. He/she then
experiences the emotion of fear
because of their dropping
calculus grade.
35. General Adaptation Syndrome
The general adaptation syndrome is
Selye‟s concept of the body‟s response
to stress in three states-
alarm, resistance, exhaustion. This
alarm clock in the picture represents
the first state, alarm.
36. Type A
Type A is Friedman and
Rosenman‟s term for
competitive, hard-
driving, impatient, verbally
aggressive, and anger-prone
people. The clutter of
homework and books
represents the competitive and
hard-driving personality of a
type A person.
37. Type B
Type B is “Friedman and
Rosenman‟s term for
easygoing, relaxed people.”
A type B person might sit in
the recliner and watch TV all
afternoon instead of doing
his/her homework.
38. Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a “system for
electronically
recording, amplifying, and
feeding back information
regarding a subtle physiological
state.” An example of this is the
blood pressure cuff, which
measures the pressure exerted
by the blood against the walls of
blood vessels.
39. Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation is
“observing and recording
behavior in naturally occurring
situations without trying to
manipulate and control the
situation.” This represents
naturalistic observation in the way
I am observing my father without
attempting to change or control
the situation.
40. Mirror Neurons
Mirror neurons are “frontal lobe
neurons that fire when performing
certain actions or when observing
another doing so.” An example of
this is when one sees someone else
crying and he/she then begins to
cry. It is as if a person is looking in
a mirror because his/her actions
may be performed by someone
else.
41. Amphetamines
Amphetamines are “drugs that
stimulate neural activity, causing
speeded-up body functions and
associated energy and mood
changes.” Caffeine in coffee
produces similar effects to the
body.
42. Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is
“increasing behaviors by
stopping or reducing negative
stimuli.” An example of this is
taking Advil in order to get rid of
a headache.
43. Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is
“increasing behaviors by
presenting positive stimuli, such
as food.” An example of this is a
mother giving her son candy for
cleaning up his toys.
44. Fixed-Ratio Schedule
The fixed-ratio schedule is a
“reinforcement schedule that
reinforces a response only after a
specified number of responses.”
At Delia‟s, one receives a punch
card. After every ten
purchases, one receives 25% off
their next purchase.
45. Fixed-Interval Schedule
The fixed-interval schedule is a
“reinforcement schedule that
reinforces a response only after a
specified time has elapsed.” An
example of this is people
checking more frequently to see
whether or not Jell-O has set.
46. Variable-Ratio Schedule
The variable-ratio schedule is a
“reinforcement schedule that
reinforces a response after an
unpredictable number of
responses.” An example of this is
scratch tickets. One never knows
when he/she is going to win.
Therefore, he/she continues to play.
47. Variable-Interval Schedule
The variable-interval schedule is
a “reinforcement schedule that
reinforces a response at
unpredictable time intervals.”
Like the “You‟ve got mail” that
finally rewards persistence in
rechecking for email, variable-
interval schedules tend to
produce slow, steady responding.
48. Savant Syndrome
Savant Syndrome is a “condition
in which a person otherwise
limited in mental ability has an
exceptional specific skill.” Often
times, this exceptional skill is
drawing or painting.
49. Basic Research
Basic Research is “pure science
that aims to increase the
scientific knowledge base.”
This picture is of my sister‟s
science fair project from this
year, where she attempted to
study the effects of negative
graphic displays on the
consumption of alcohol.
50. Case Study
Case study is an “observation
technique in which one person
is studied in depth in the hope
of revealing universal
principles.” One of the most
famous case studies was
Genie, who had been held in
solitary confinement by her
parents with very little food or
resources. When Genie was
found, she was barely able to
speak, but over time, she was
able to learn over 200
vocabulary words.
51. Reliability
Reliability is the “extent to
which a test yields consistent
results.” The three times I took
the SATs, my scores were
consistent and did not vary by
much.
52. Standardization
Standardization is “defining
meaningful scores by
comparison with the
performance of a pretested
group.” For some of the AP
courses, a pilot test is sent out to
schools so that the exam
questions can be compared and
those that are too hard can be
taken out.
53. Gardner
Gardner argued that we
have multiple
intelligences. One of
these is linguistic. An
example of this
linguistic intelligence
can be seen in the
poetry of T.S. Elliot. This
is a picture of Elliot‟s
“Mr. Mistoffelees.”
54. Absolute Threshold
Absolute Threshold is the
“minimum stimulation
needed to detect a
particular stimulus 50
percent of the time.” This is
a picture of a particular
light. Our absolute
thresholds are the
minimum stimulation
necessary to detect this
light.
55. Bottom-Up Processing
Bottom-up processing is the
“analysis that begins with sensory
receptors and works up to the
brain‟s integration of sensory
information.” For example, as
our brain deciphers the
information in this
image, bottom-up processing
enables our sensory systems to
detect lines, angles, and colors
that form this painting.
56. General Intelligence (g)
General intelligence is a
“general intelligence
factor, that, according to
Spearman and
others, underlies specific
mental abilities and is
therefore measured by
every task on an
intelligence test.” The
core is to an apple as
general intelligence is to
mental abilities.
57. Content Validity
Content validity is the “extent
to which a test samples the
behavior that is of interest.”
The road test for a driver‟s
license has content validity
because it samples the tasks a
driver routinely faces.
58. Validity
Validity is the “extent to which
at test measures or predicts
what it is supposed to.” For
example, if one uses an
inaccurate tape measure to
measure people‟s heights, the
height report would have high
reliability but low validity.
59. External Locus of Control
The external locus of control is
the “perception that chance or
outside forces beyond your
personal control determine
your fate.” Many times, people
believe that God determines
their fate and future.
60. TAT
The TAT is a “projective test
in which people express
their inner feelings and
interests through the stories
they make up about
ambiguous scenes.” This is
a picture for which
someone would make up a
story.
61. Priming Priming is the “activation, often
unconsciously, of certain
associations, thus predisposing one‟s
perception, memory, or response.”
For example, in one
experiment, people were
subliminally flashed a positive scene
of kittens and a negative scene of a
werewolf. The participants
consciously perceived either scene as
only a flash of light. The people
somehow looked nicer if their image
immediately followed unperceived
kittens rather than an unperceived
werewolf.
62. Top-Down Processing
Top-down processing is
“information processing
guided by higher-level mental
processes.” Using top-down
processing we consider this
book‟s title, notice its
pictures, and then direct our
attention to reading what‟s
actually inside of it.
63. Accommodation
Accommodation is the
“process by which the eye‟s
lens changed shape to focus
near or far objects on the
retina.” My contact lenses
are similar to my eyes‟
actual lenses. Light is
reflected off of the
contacts, which allows for
better sight.
64. Gate-Control Theory
The gate-control theory states that
“the spinal cord contains a
neurological „gate‟ that blocks
pain signals or allows them to
pass on to the brain.” My
neighbors‟ pool gate is designed to
block the pool for unwanted
guests. When the gate is opened
people are allowed to enter the
pool area.
65. Sternberg
Sternberg proposed the
triarchic theory of three
intelligences, which include
analytical, creative, and
practical intelligence.
Creativity involves producing
novel ideas. This is a picture of
one of my kindergarten
projects, where we had to
creatively recreate the twelve
days of Christmas.
