PSY 101 STRAIGHTERLINE FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE | COMPLETE EXAM
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
psychology - ✔✔the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
science - ✔✔psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions
behavior - ✔✔everything we do that can be directly observed
mental process - ✔✔The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that
cannot be observed directly
critical thinking - ✔✔thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it
examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
empirical method - ✔✔gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data,
and logical reasoning
structuralism - ✔✔focus on identifying the elemental parts or structures of the human mind; William
Wundt
functionalism - ✔✔A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes
function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish; William James
natural selection - ✔✔A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive
and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits; Charles Darwin
neurons - ✔✔a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
glial cells - ✔✔cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
cell body - ✔✔Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm
dendrites - ✔✔Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
axon - ✔✔the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass
to other neurons or to muscles or glands
myelin sheath - ✔✔fatty layer that covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
resting potential - ✔✔The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's
cell membrane; neg inside, pos outisde
action potential - ✔✔a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
, all or nothing principle - ✔✔The principle that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain level of
intensity (its threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any intensity.
synapses - ✔✔tiny gaps between dentrites and axons of different neurons
Neuraltransmitters - ✔✔transmit, or carry, information across the synaptic gap to the next neuron
Acetylcholine (ACh) - ✔✔stimulates the firing of neurons and is involved in the action of muscles,
learning, and memory
Alzheimer's disease - ✔✔degenerative brain disorder that involves a decline in memory, have an
acetylcholine deficiency
GABA - ✔✔a major inhibitory neurotransmitter
decreased GABA levels - ✔✔lead to anxiety
glutamate - ✔✔exciting many neurons to fire and is especially involved in learning and memory
norepinephrine - ✔✔inhibits the firing of neurons in the central nervous system, but it excites the heart
muscle, intestines, and urogenital tract
dopamine - ✔✔control voluntary movement and affects sleep, mood, attention, learning, and the
ability to recognize rewards in the environment
seratonin - ✔✔involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, attention, and learning
endorphins - ✔✔natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of neurons; block pain & increase
pleasure
oxytocin - ✔✔hormone and neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the experience of love and
social bonding
agonist - ✔✔A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
antagonist - ✔✔drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects
brain lesioning - ✔✔abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain resulting from injury or disease
Electroencephalogram (EEG) - ✔✔records the brain's electrical activity
hindbrain - ✔✔medulla, pons, cerebellum; located at skull's rear
thalamus - ✔✔relays info b/w lower and higher brain centers
hypothalamus - ✔✔governs eating, drinking, and sex; plays a role in emotion and stress
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
psychology - ✔✔the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
science - ✔✔psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions
behavior - ✔✔everything we do that can be directly observed
mental process - ✔✔The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that
cannot be observed directly
critical thinking - ✔✔thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it
examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
empirical method - ✔✔gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data,
and logical reasoning
structuralism - ✔✔focus on identifying the elemental parts or structures of the human mind; William
Wundt
functionalism - ✔✔A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes
function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish; William James
natural selection - ✔✔A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive
and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits; Charles Darwin
neurons - ✔✔a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
glial cells - ✔✔cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons
cell body - ✔✔Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm
dendrites - ✔✔Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
axon - ✔✔the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass
to other neurons or to muscles or glands
myelin sheath - ✔✔fatty layer that covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses
resting potential - ✔✔The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's
cell membrane; neg inside, pos outisde
action potential - ✔✔a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
, all or nothing principle - ✔✔The principle that once the electrical impulse reaches a certain level of
intensity (its threshold), it fires and moves all the way down the axon without losing any intensity.
synapses - ✔✔tiny gaps between dentrites and axons of different neurons
Neuraltransmitters - ✔✔transmit, or carry, information across the synaptic gap to the next neuron
Acetylcholine (ACh) - ✔✔stimulates the firing of neurons and is involved in the action of muscles,
learning, and memory
Alzheimer's disease - ✔✔degenerative brain disorder that involves a decline in memory, have an
acetylcholine deficiency
GABA - ✔✔a major inhibitory neurotransmitter
decreased GABA levels - ✔✔lead to anxiety
glutamate - ✔✔exciting many neurons to fire and is especially involved in learning and memory
norepinephrine - ✔✔inhibits the firing of neurons in the central nervous system, but it excites the heart
muscle, intestines, and urogenital tract
dopamine - ✔✔control voluntary movement and affects sleep, mood, attention, learning, and the
ability to recognize rewards in the environment
seratonin - ✔✔involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, attention, and learning
endorphins - ✔✔natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of neurons; block pain & increase
pleasure
oxytocin - ✔✔hormone and neurotransmitter that plays an important role in the experience of love and
social bonding
agonist - ✔✔A chemical that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter.
antagonist - ✔✔drug that blocks a neurotransmitter's effects
brain lesioning - ✔✔abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain resulting from injury or disease
Electroencephalogram (EEG) - ✔✔records the brain's electrical activity
hindbrain - ✔✔medulla, pons, cerebellum; located at skull's rear
thalamus - ✔✔relays info b/w lower and higher brain centers
hypothalamus - ✔✔governs eating, drinking, and sex; plays a role in emotion and stress
