Your FREE EPPP Flashcards 2026 – 300+ Cards

The brief electrical impulse that travels down a neuron's axon when it fires, triggering neurotransmitter release at the synapse.

The junction between two neurons where a neurotransmitter is released to communicate a signal.

Reabsorption of a neurotransmitter back into the presynaptic neuron after it has acted; SSRIs block serotonin reuptake.

A chemical messenger released by a neuron that crosses the synapse to excite or inhibit the next cell.

A neurotransmitter for reward, motivation, and movement; excess is linked to psychosis, deficiency to Parkinson's disease.

A neurotransmitter regulating mood, sleep, and appetite; low activity is linked to depression and targeted by SSRIs.

The main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; enhanced by benzodiazepines and alcohol, producing calming and sedation.

The main excitatory neurotransmitter; central to learning and memory, but excess is excitotoxic.

A neurotransmitter for memory and muscle activation; markedly depleted in Alzheimer's disease.

A neurotransmitter for arousal and the fight-or-flight response; implicated in mood and anxiety disorders.

A region in the left frontal lobe governing speech production; damage causes nonfluent (expressive) aphasia with intact comprehension.

A region in the left temporal lobe governing language comprehension; damage causes fluent but meaningless (receptive) aphasia.

Nonfluent, effortful, telegraphic speech with relatively preserved comprehension, from damage near Broca's area.

Fluent but meaningless speech with impaired comprehension, from damage near Wernicke's area.

Brain region for executive function, planning, judgment, personality, and voluntary movement (motor cortex).

The brain's posterior region, responsible for visual processing.

Brain region for hearing, language comprehension, and memory (contains the hippocampus and Wernicke's area).

Brain region for somatosensory processing, spatial awareness, and integration of sensory information.

A set of structures (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus) central to emotion, memory, and motivation.

A limbic structure that processes fear and emotional salience; central to threat detection and conditioning.

A limbic structure essential for forming new long-term (declarative) memories.

A brain structure regulating homeostasis — hunger, thirst, temperature, and the endocrine system via the pituitary.

Subcortical structures coordinating voluntary movement and habit learning; dysfunction underlies Parkinson's and Huntington's.

A hindbrain structure coordinating balance, posture, and the timing of fine motor movements.

The structure (midbrain, pons, medulla) controlling vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, and arousal.

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes the body for fight-or-flight.

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body and conserves energy (rest-and-digest).

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system that governs the stress response, ending in cortisol release from the adrenal glands.

Rapid eye movement sleep, marked by vivid dreaming, brain activity resembling wakefulness, and muscle atonia.

Sleep cycles through NREM stages N1–N3 (deepest, slow-wave) and REM, repeating roughly every 90 minutes.

The study of how genes and environment jointly influence behavior, using twin, family, and adoption studies.

The proportion of variation in a trait within a population that is attributable to genetic differences.

The brain's ability to reorganize by forming new neural connections in response to learning or injury.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g., fluoxetine, sertraline); first-line drugs for depression and anxiety disorders.

Medications that reduce psychotic symptoms; typical agents block dopamine D2 receptors, atypicals affect serotonin too.

Anxiolytic and sedative drugs (e.g., diazepam, lorazepam) that enhance GABA; risk of dependence with long-term use.

A first-line mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder; requires blood-level monitoring due to a narrow therapeutic window.

Involuntary repetitive movements that can result from long-term use of typical antipsychotics.

The system of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream to regulate body processes and behavior.

Removing an aversive stimulus after a behavior to increase it — not the same as punishment, which decreases behavior.

Pavlovian learning in which a neutral stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response.

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without learning (e.g., food causing salivation).

A previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with a UCS, comes to elicit a conditioned response.

The learned response elicited by a conditioned stimulus after conditioning.

The weakening of a conditioned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS.

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period.

Responding to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Learning to respond only to the specific conditioned stimulus and not to similar ones.

Learning in which behavior is shaped by its consequences — reinforcement increases it, punishment decreases it (Skinner).

Adding a pleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase its frequency.

Adding an aversive stimulus after a behavior to decrease its frequency.

Removing a pleasant stimulus after a behavior to decrease its frequency.

Reinforcement after a set number of responses; produces high response rates with a brief post-reinforcement pause.

Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses; produces the highest, most extinction-resistant responding (e.g., slot machines).

Reinforcement for the first response after a set time; produces a scalloped pattern of responding.

Reinforcement for the first response after an unpredictable time; produces steady, moderate responding.

Reinforcing successive approximations toward a target behavior.

Bandura's theory that people learn by observing and imitating others (modeling), as in the Bobo doll study.

Acquiring new behaviors by watching others, without direct reinforcement.

The brief, large-capacity store that holds sensory information for a fraction of a second.

A limited store (about 7 ± 2 items) holding information for seconds unless rehearsed.

Baddeley's model of the limited system that temporarily holds and manipulates information for cognitive tasks.

The relatively permanent, large-capacity store of knowledge and experiences.

The process of getting information into memory by converting it to a usable form.

The process of accessing and bringing stored information into conscious awareness.

The tendency to best recall the first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a list.

When older memories disrupt the recall of newly learned information.

When newly learned information disrupts the recall of older memories.

Judging the likelihood of an event by how easily examples come to mind.

Judging probability by how well something matches a prototype, often ignoring base rates.

The theory that emotion results from our perception of bodily arousal (we feel afraid because we tremble).

The theory that physiological arousal and the emotional experience occur simultaneously and independently.

The two-factor theory that emotion requires physiological arousal plus a cognitive label for that arousal.

The theory that cognitive appraisal of a situation precedes and determines the emotional response.

Performance is best at a moderate level of arousal; too little or too much arousal impairs it.

A pyramid of needs from physiological and safety up to self-actualization, with lower needs met first.

Engaging in a behavior for its own inherent satisfaction rather than for an external reward.

Engaging in a behavior to obtain an external reward or avoid punishment.

When an external reward reduces a person's intrinsic motivation for a previously enjoyable activity.

Overattributing others' behavior to internal traits while underweighting situational causes.

Attributing our own behavior to the situation but others' behavior to their character.

Attributing our successes to internal factors and our failures to external ones.

Festinger's concept: the discomfort of holding inconsistent cognitions, which motivates attitude or behavior change.

A study showing people conform to a unanimous majority's clearly wrong answer about line lengths.

Adjusting one's behavior or beliefs to match those of a group.

A study showing ordinary people will obey an authority figure's orders to deliver apparently harmful shocks.

Complying with the direct commands of an authority figure.

The tendency for individuals to be less likely to help when others are present (diffusion of responsibility).

The reduced sense of personal responsibility to act when others are present.

Improved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others.

The tendency to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

A mode of group decision-making in which the desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.

The tendency for group discussion to strengthen the members' initial attitudes toward an extreme.

A loss of self-awareness and personal responsibility in groups, which can lead to impulsive behavior.

A model of persuasion with a central route (careful thought) and a peripheral route (superficial cues).

Persuasion through careful consideration of the strength of an argument; produces lasting attitude change.

Persuasion through superficial cues such as attractiveness or source credibility; less durable change.

Gaining compliance with a large request by first securing agreement to a small one.

A negative attitude toward members of a group based on their group membership.

A generalized belief about the characteristics of a group, applied to its individual members.

Unjustified negative behavior toward members of a group.

The tendency to favor one's own group over out-groups.

The belief that people get what they deserve, which can lead to blaming victims.

The tendency to develop a preference for stimuli simply because they are familiar.

The study of how people explain the causes of behavior, as internal (dispositional) or external (situational).

The process of cultural and psychological change from contact between cultures; can be assimilation, integration, separation, or marginalization.

A cultural orientation emphasizing personal goals, autonomy, and independence.

A cultural orientation emphasizing group goals, interdependence, and harmony.

The knowledge, awareness, and skills to work effectively with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.

An ongoing, self-reflective stance of openness and respect toward clients' cultural identities and experiences.

The theory that people derive part of their self-concept from membership in social groups.

Overattributing others' actions to disposition and underestimating situational influences.

The understanding that objects continue to exist when out of view; develops in Piaget's sensorimotor stage.

Birth to about age 2; infants learn through senses and actions, achieving object permanence.

Ages 2–7; symbolic thought and language emerge, but children are egocentric and lack conservation.

Ages 7–11; logical thought about concrete events, including conservation and reversibility.

Age 11 and up; abstract, hypothetical, and systematic reasoning develop.

Understanding that quantity stays the same despite changes in shape or arrangement; emerges in the concrete operational stage.

The preoperational child's difficulty taking another person's point of view.

Incorporating new experiences into existing mental schemas.

Modifying existing schemas to fit new information that does not fit.

A mental framework that organizes and interprets information.

Erikson's first stage (infancy): developing trust through reliable care; virtue is hope.

Erikson's stage (toddlerhood): developing independence; virtue is will.

Erikson's stage (preschool): asserting purpose through play and planning; virtue is purpose.

Erikson's stage (school age): developing competence through achievement; virtue is competence.

Erikson's adolescent stage: forming a coherent sense of self; virtue is fidelity.

Erikson's young-adult stage: forming close relationships; virtue is love.

Erikson's middle-adult stage: contributing to the next generation; virtue is care.

Erikson's late-life stage: reflecting on a meaningful life; virtue is wisdom.

Moral reasoning based on avoiding punishment and gaining rewards (self-interest).

Moral reasoning based on social approval and maintaining law and order.

Moral reasoning based on abstract principles and universal ethics.

Vygotsky's range between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance.

Providing temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as a learner becomes more competent.

Bowlby's theory that infants form an emotional bond with caregivers that shapes later relationships.

Ainsworth's procedure classifying infant attachment by reactions to caregiver separation and reunion.

An attachment style marked by distress at separation and comfort on reunion; linked to responsive caregiving.

An insecure style in which the infant shows little distress at separation and avoids the caregiver.

An insecure (ambivalent) style with intense distress at separation and difficulty being soothed.

An insecure style with contradictory, confused behavior, often linked to frightening caregiving.

Studies showing infant monkeys prefer a soft surrogate for comfort over a wire one that provides food.

Biologically based individual differences in emotional and behavioral style, present from early infancy.

Any agent (e.g., alcohol, certain drugs, infections) that can cause harm during prenatal development.

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — a model of responses to loss.

The capacity to reason and solve novel problems; tends to decline with age.

Accumulated knowledge and vocabulary; tends to remain stable or grow with age.

A warm, responsive parenting style with firm but reasonable demands; linked to the best child outcomes.

The ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, typically developing around age 4.

The consistency of a measurement across time, items, or raters.

The consistency of test scores when the same test is given on two occasions.

The degree to which items on a test measure the same construct (e.g., Cronbach's alpha).

A statistic estimating internal-consistency reliability; values above about 0.70 are generally acceptable.

The degree to which different scorers or observers agree.

The consistency of scores across two equivalent versions of a test.

Reliability estimated by correlating scores on two halves of a single test.

The degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

The extent to which a test's items adequately cover the full domain being measured.

The extent to which a test correlates with an outcome (concurrent if measured now, predictive if later).

Criterion validity established when the test and criterion are measured at the same time.

Criterion validity established when the test predicts a future criterion.

Evidence that a test measures the theoretical trait it targets, supported by convergent and discriminant data.

Evidence that a test correlates with measures of the same or related constructs.

Evidence that a test does not correlate with measures of unrelated constructs.

Whether a test merely appears, on the surface, to measure what it intends to.

A test can be reliable without being valid, but it cannot be valid unless it is also reliable.

An estimate of how much an observed score would vary across repeated testings; smaller when reliability is higher.

A test that interprets a score by comparing it to a representative norm group (e.g., IQ tests).

A test that interprets a score against a fixed standard of mastery rather than a peer group.

Administering and scoring a test in a uniform way and establishing norms from a representative sample.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, an individually administered IQ test (mean 100, SD 15).

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, an individually administered IQ test for ages 6–16.

An individually administered intelligence test usable across a wide age range.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, an objective, empirically keyed personality test with validity scales.

MMPI scales (e.g., L, F, K) that detect response distortion such as faking good or faking bad.

A projective personality test in which a person interprets inkblots.

A projective test in which a person tells stories about ambiguous pictures.

An assessment using ambiguous stimuli to reveal underlying motives and conflicts (e.g., Rorschach, TAT).

A widely used self-report scale measuring the severity of depressive symptoms.

A symmetric, bell-shaped distribution in which about 68% of scores fall within 1 SD of the mean and 95% within 2 SD.

A standardized score expressing how many standard deviations a value is from the mean (mean 0, SD 1).

A standardized score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10, used on tests like the MMPI.

The percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a given score.

The naturally occurring frequency of a condition in a population; ignoring it leads to diagnostic error.

A test's ability to correctly identify those who have a condition (true positive rate).

A test's ability to correctly identify those who do not have a condition (true negative rate).

A test result indicating a condition is present when it is actually absent.

A test result indicating a condition is absent when it is actually present.

The American Psychiatric Association's current diagnostic manual, classifying mental disorders by formal criteria.

The process of distinguishing a disorder from others with overlapping symptoms.

A structured assessment of a client's current cognitive and emotional functioning.

A fixed neuropsychological battery assessing brain function across multiple domains.

A standardized neuropsychological battery assessing functions based on Luria's theory.

A test of visual-motor integration in which a person copies geometric designs.

The extent to which a new test adds predictive power beyond existing measures.

Therapy rooted in Freud that explores unconscious conflict, defenses, and transference to produce insight.

In psychoanalytic theory, the reservoir of thoughts, wishes, and memories outside conscious awareness.

A client's redirection of feelings about important figures onto the therapist.

A therapist's emotional reactions to a client rooted in the therapist's own experiences.

A psychoanalytic technique of saying whatever comes to mind without censorship.

An unconscious strategy the ego uses to reduce anxiety (e.g., repression, projection, denial).

A defense mechanism that pushes anxiety-provoking thoughts out of conscious awareness.

A defense mechanism that attributes one's own unacceptable impulses to others.

A defense mechanism that redirects an impulse from a threatening target to a safer one.

A defense mechanism that channels unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

A defense mechanism that expresses the opposite of one's true (anxiety-provoking) feelings.

Carl Rogers's humanistic therapy emphasizing empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness.

A Rogerian therapist's nonjudgmental acceptance and warmth toward the client.

Genuineness — the therapist being authentic and transparent in the relationship (Rogers).

Wolpe's behavioral technique pairing relaxation with a graded fear hierarchy to reduce a phobia.

A behavioral treatment that confronts feared stimuli to extinguish the fear response.

An exposure technique using prolonged, intense confrontation with the feared stimulus.

A behavioral system reinforcing desired behaviors with tokens exchangeable for rewards.

An evidence-based therapy that restructures distorted thoughts and changes maladaptive behaviors.

Beck's systematic errors in thinking (e.g., all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing) targeted in CBT.

Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, which disputes irrational beliefs using the ABC model.

Ellis's framework: an Activating event leads to Beliefs that produce emotional Consequences.

Minuchin's model that maps and reorganizes family boundaries, subsystems, and hierarchy.

Linehan's therapy combining acceptance and change skills; effective for borderline personality disorder.

Hayes's therapy promoting psychological flexibility through acceptance and values-based action.

A client-centered, directive method for resolving ambivalence and strengthening motivation to change.

Prochaska's model: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.

The collaborative bond and agreement on goals between therapist and client; a strong predictor of outcome.

Curative elements of group therapy such as universality, instillation of hope, and cohesiveness.

The group-therapy factor of realizing one is not alone in one's problems.

Integrating the best available research with clinical expertise and patient values and characteristics.

Elements shared across therapies (alliance, empathy, hope) that contribute to outcomes.

A somatic treatment using brief electrical stimulation of the brain; effective for severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Intervention that reduces the incidence of a disorder before it starts, in a whole population.

Early screening and intervention to reduce the prevalence and duration of a disorder.

Reducing the disability and relapse associated with an already-established disorder through rehabilitation.

Indirect service in which a psychologist helps a consultee improve their work with a third party.

An evaluative, hierarchical relationship developing a supervisee's competence; the supervisor retains responsibility for client care.

A supervisor's duty to protect the public by ensuring only competent trainees advance in the profession.

Desensitization uses gradual exposure with relaxation; flooding uses prolonged, intense exposure without it.

A brief therapy focusing on clients' strengths and preferred future rather than problem analysis.

A specific intervention shown to be effective for a specific disorder in controlled research.

Rejecting a true null hypothesis — a false positive. Its probability is alpha.

The variable a researcher manipulates to observe its effect.

The variable measured to see whether it is affected by the independent variable.

The degree to which a study supports a causal claim, free of confounds; protected by random assignment.

The degree to which findings generalize to other people, settings, and times.

An extraneous variable that varies with the independent variable and offers an alternative explanation.

Allocating participants to conditions by chance, which controls confounds and supports causal inference.

Selecting participants so each member of the population has an equal chance, supporting generalizability.

A study that manipulates an independent variable and uses random assignment to test cause and effect.

A study comparing groups without random assignment, limiting causal conclusions.

A study measuring the relationship between variables without manipulation; cannot establish causation.

An outside event during a study that affects the outcome, threatening internal validity.

Natural changes in participants over time that threaten internal validity.

The tendency for extreme scores to move toward the average on retesting, mimicking an effect.

Systematic differences between groups before treatment, threatening internal validity.

The loss of participants over a study, which can bias results if dropout is nonrandom.

The arithmetic average of a set of scores.

The middle value in an ordered set of scores; robust to outliers.

The most frequently occurring value in a set of scores.

A measure of how spread out scores are around the mean.

The average of the squared deviations from the mean; the square of the standard deviation.

A distribution with a long right tail, where the mean is greater than the median.

The hypothesis of no effect or no difference, which a study tries to reject.

The hypothesis that there is an effect or difference.

Failing to reject a false null hypothesis — a false negative. Its probability is beta.

The probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis (1 − beta); rises with sample size and effect size.

The probability of obtaining results at least as extreme as observed if the null hypothesis were true.

The threshold (commonly 0.05) for statistical significance and the probability of a Type I error.

A statistic from −1 to +1 describing the strength and direction of a linear relationship.

A correlation shows that variables are related, but does not establish that one causes the other.

A statistical technique that predicts a continuous outcome from one or more predictor variables.

An inferential test comparing the means of two groups.

Analysis of variance; an inferential test comparing means across three or more groups.

An inferential test of association between categorical variables.

A standardized measure of the magnitude of an effect, independent of sample size (e.g., Cohen's d).

A range of values, computed from data, likely to contain the true population parameter.

A measurement scale of unordered categories (e.g., gender, diagnosis).

A measurement scale with ordered categories but unequal intervals (e.g., rankings).

A measurement scale with equal intervals but no true zero (e.g., temperature in Celsius).

A measurement scale with equal intervals and a true zero (e.g., reaction time, weight).

A statistical method that combines results across many studies to estimate an overall effect.

The American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.

The APA principle of striving to benefit clients and to do no harm.

The APA principle of establishing trust and being aware of professional responsibilities to the community.

The APA principle of promoting accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in psychology.

The APA principle that all persons are entitled to fair access to and benefit from psychology.

The APA principle of respecting clients' privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination.

A client's voluntary agreement to services after disclosure of their nature, risks, fees, and the limits of confidentiality.

The psychologist's duty to protect client information, subject to legal limits.

A legal protection that prevents disclosure of confidential client information in legal proceedings.

The Tarasoff obligation to protect an identifiable victim from a client's serious, imminent threat of violence.

The court case establishing that therapists may have a duty to protect identifiable third parties from a client's threats.

The legal duty to report reasonable suspicion of child, elder, or dependent-adult abuse, overriding confidentiality.

A second role with a client beyond the professional one that risks impaired judgment or exploitation.

Prohibited with current clients always; with former clients only after at least 2 years and with strong safeguards.

Practicing only within the boundaries of one's education, training, and experience.

The limit of areas in which a psychologist is qualified to provide services.

The range of activities a psychologist is legally and ethically permitted to perform.

The federal law setting standards for the privacy and security of protected health information.

The ethical and legal duty to create, maintain, and securely store accurate client records.

The ethical problem of mixing the treating-therapist role with the objective forensic-evaluator role.

A forensic assessment of parenting capacity to inform custody decisions, performed by an impartial evaluator.

An assessment of whether a person is psychologically able to perform a job's essential functions.

Professional negligence; the four Ds are duty, dereliction of duty, damages, and direct causation.

The professional relationship that creates an obligation of care to the client.

State-granted authorization to practice psychology, regulated by a licensing board.

Ongoing training required to maintain a license and current competence.

The ethical obligation to provide services sensitive to clients' cultural backgrounds.

Ethically ending services when the client no longer benefits or is harmed; with notice and referrals.

Unethically discontinuing needed services without arranging for the client's continued care.

Accepting goods or services as payment; allowed only if not clinically contraindicated or exploitative.

The ethical duty to protect the integrity of test materials and answers from improper disclosure.

A minor's or limited-capacity client's agreement to services, obtained alongside a guardian's consent.

Notifying an identifiable potential victim of a client's credible, serious threat, as part of the duty to protect.

Situations where confidentiality must yield: duty to protect, mandated reporting, and court orders.

A client's right to control the disclosure of personal information.

A multiple relationship is unethical when it could reasonably impair objectivity or risk exploitation or harm.

The Ethics Code's General Principles are aspirational; the Ethical Standards are enforceable rules.

A supervisor's legal responsibility for the professional acts of a supervisee.

Obtaining a client's permission before audio or video recording a session.

When the Ethics Code conflicts with law, psychologists clarify the conflict and seek to resolve it responsibly.

The standard requiring psychologists to take reasonable steps to avoid harming clients and others.

A boundary crossing may be benign or helpful; a boundary violation is harmful or exploitative.

Members are asked to maintain confidentiality, but the therapist cannot guarantee other members will.

The level of care a reasonably prudent psychologist would provide under similar circumstances.

Psychologists may provide services outside their competence in an emergency when no other help is available.