Hamburg Abitur Psychology gA cheat sheet
Hamburg Abitur Psychology gA · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Research, biological explanations and evidence
Dendrites receive, axons transmit, myelin supports conduction, and axon terminals release neurotransmitters into a synaptic gap.
Agonist mimics/enhances a neurotransmitter; antagonist blocks it.
Sympathetic = arousal (fight-or-flight); parasympathetic = calming/restoration.
Classic models associate Broca-related networks with speech production and Wernicke-related networks with comprehension; real language function is distributed.
Hippocampus consolidates memory; amygdala handles fear and emotional salience.
Hypothalamus regulates internal state; thalamus relays sensory information.
Perception, cognition and information processing
Distinguish sensory/short-term/long-term storage models from working-memory accounts.
Memory capacity depends on task and measurement; classic 7±2 immediate-span estimates are not a universal working-memory limit.
Explicit memory (episodic, semantic) vs. implicit (procedural, priming).
Proactive interference: old disrupts new; retroactive: new disrupts old.
Heuristics: availability (ease of recall), representativeness (prototype match), anchoring.
Phonemes are sounds; morphemes are smallest units of meaning.
Personality, motivation and social processes
Fundamental attribution error: overemphasize disposition, underemphasize situation when judging others.
Cognitive dissonance: tension from conflicting cognitions, reduced by changing beliefs or behavior.
Asch studied conformity; Milgram studied obedience to authority.
Diffusion of responsibility can reduce helping in some group situations; it is not a universal outcome for every group.
Big Five: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.
Prejudice = attitude; discrimination = behavior.