North Rhine-Westphalia Zentralabitur Psychology cheat sheet

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.

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.

Piaget: sensorimotor (object permanence), preoperational (egocentrism), concrete operational (conservation), formal operational (abstract).

Assimilation fits new info into existing schema; accommodation changes the schema.

Classical conditioning: neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus through pairing.

Reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it; positive adds, negative removes.

Variable-ratio schedules can show strong extinction resistance under thecompared conditions.

Parenting-style outcome associations vary by context and do not establish a universal causal beststyle.

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.

Distinguish an observation of distress from a complete diagnosis.

Use biopsychosocial/contextual explanations rather than one universal cause.

Support traumatized learners within appropriate educational roles andpathways.

Diverse identities are not evidence of mental illness.

Compare intervention theories without prescribing treatment from a school vignette.