Approaches and biopsychology Key Terms

Classical Conditioning

A learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus, producing a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process where the frequency of a behaviour is altered by its consequences, such as reinforcement or punishment.

Imitation

The act of copying another person’s behaviour after observing it.

Identification

A process where the observer sees themselves in the model and adopts the model’s behaviour to align with that identity.

Cognitive processes

Mental activities such as thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving.

Model of memory

A theoretical representation of how memory works, often illustrated through diagrams like the multi-store model.

Evolutionary psychology

A subfield that applies evolutionary theory to explain psychological traits as adaptations that enhanced survival or reproduction.

Cognitive neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of how brain structures and functions give rise to mental processes such as perception, memory and decision‑making.

Id

The unconscious component of personality that operates on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of instinctual drives.

Ego

The rational, conscious part of personality that mediates between the Id, Superego and external reality, using the reality principle.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A five‑tier model outlining human motivation, from basic physiological needs to the pursuit of self‑actualisation.

Rogers’ Person‑Centered Therapy

A therapeutic approach that emphasises unconditional positive regard, empathy, and the client’s capacity for self‑direction.

Behavioural approach

A psychological perspective that explains behaviour as a response to environmental stimuli, emphasising learning through conditioning.

Cognitive approach

A perspective that focuses on internal mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem‑solving to explain how people learn and behave.

Central Nervous System

The part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord, responsible for processing and integrating information.

Autonomic Nervous System

The division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary bodily functions, comprising sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.

Sensory neuron

A neuron that receives stimuli from sensory receptors and transmits impulses toward the central nervous system; typically unmyelinated with a cell body in the dorsal root ganglion.

Relay neuron

A neuron situated within the central nervous system that relays impulses between sensory and motor neurons, often located in the spinal cord or brainstem.

Neurotransmitter

A chemical messenger released by a neuron that binds to receptors on a target cell to modulate its activity.

Synaptic Cleft

The narrow extracellular space between the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes across which neurotransmitters diffuse.

Endocrine system

A network of glands that produce and secrete hormones to regulate various bodily functions.

Hormones

Chemical substances released into the bloodstream by glands that regulate physiological processes.

Adrenaline

A hormone released by the adrenal glands that prepares the body for fight or flight.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Part of the autonomic nervous system that activates the fight or flight response.

Blood‑oxygen‑level‑dependent (BOLD) signal

A change in the magnetic properties of blood caused by variations in oxygenation, used by fMRI to infer neural activity.

Event‑Related Potential (ERP)

A component of the EEG that is time‑locked to a specific stimulus or event, extracted by averaging across multiple trials.

Lateralisation

The tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be more dominant in one hemisphere than the other.

Corpus Callosum

The large bundle of nerve fibres that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres, facilitating inter‑hemispheric communication.

Broca’s area

A region in the left frontal lobe, specifically the posterior inferior frontal gyrus, responsible for speech production.

Wernicke’s area

A region in the left temporal lobe, specifically the posterior superior temporal gyrus, responsible for language comprehension.