CHSE Odisha Elective Psychology cheat sheet

Definition: psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes; 'science' requires systematic observation, measurement and testable inference.

Scope spans behaviour (observable) and cognition/affect (inferred); applied branches include clinical, educational, industrial, forensic and health psychology.

Structuralism (Wundt, Titchener): introspection of conscious experience into elements; criticised for subjectivity and poor reliability.

Functionalism (James, Angell): asked what consciousness does - adaptive functions; influenced educational and applied psychology.

Psychoanalysis (Freud): unconscious conflict, psychosexual stages, defence mechanisms; idiographic, low falsifiability.

Behaviourism (Watson, Skinner): psychology studies observable behaviour; stimulus-response and reinforcement; rejects introspection.

Gestalt (Wertheimer, Köhler): perception and learning are organised wholes; 'the whole differs from the sum of parts'.

Humanistic (Maslow, Rogers): self-actualisation, unconditional positive regard; phenomenological, rejects determinism.

Cognitive and biological approaches: information processing and neural/endocrine explanation; today's mainstream is eclectic integration.

Methods: experiment (causal, IV manipulated, controls), correlation (predicts, no causation), case study (depth, poor generalisation), survey, observation, psychometrics.

Neuron parts: dendrites receive, soma integrates, axon conducts, myelin sheaths speed conduction, terminal buttons release neurotransmitter into the synapse.

Resting potential about −70 mV; depolarisation to threshold triggers an action potential; refractory period limits firing rate; all-or-none law applies to the axon.

Synaptic transmission: neurotransmitter crosses the cleft and binds receptor sites; reuptake and enzymatic breakdown terminate the signal.

Key transmitters: acetylcholine (muscle, memory), dopamine (reward, motor control), serotonin (mood, sleep), GABA (inhibitory), noradrenaline (arousal).

CNS = brain + spinal cord; PNS = somatic (voluntary, sensory/motor) and autonomic (sympathetic arousal, parasympathetic restoration).

Brain: medulla (vital reflexes), cerebellum (balance, motor learning), thalamus (sensory relay), hypothalamus (hunger, temperature, endocrine control), limbic system (emotion, memory), cerebral cortex with four lobes.

Endocrine glands secrete hormones into blood: pituitary (master gland), thyroid (metabolism), adrenal (cortisol, adrenaline), pancreas (insulin), gonads (sex hormones).

Genotype = genetic constitution; phenotype = observable expression; dominant/recessive alleles, polygenic traits, and epigenetics (environment alters gene expression).

Twin studies compare monozygotic and dizygotic concordance to estimate heritability; adoption studies separate genetic from shared environmental influence.

Sensation is detection by receptors; perception is interpretation and organisation of that sensory input.

Absolute threshold: weakest stimulus detected 50% of the time; difference threshold (JND) is the smallest detectable change (Weber's law: ΔI/I constant).

Signal detection theory separates sensitivity (d′) from response bias (criterion); hit, miss, false alarm, correct rejection.

Vision: rods (dim light, no colour) and cones (colour, acuity); trichromatic theory plus opponent-process theory explain colour vision and afterimages.

Audition: frequency encodes pitch, amplitude encodes loudness; place theory and frequency theory jointly explain pitch perception.

Gestalt laws: proximity, similarity, closure, continuity, figure-ground; perceptual constancies (size, shape, brightness) maintain stable perception.

Depth cues: binocular (retinal disparity, convergence) and monocular (linear perspective, relative size, interposition, texture gradient, motion parallax).

Attention is selective and limited; divided attention costs increase with task similarity; Stroop task shows automatic processing interference.

Perceptual set and top-down processing show expectation shaping perception; subliminal effects on complex behaviour are weak.

Classical conditioning (Pavlov): neutral CS paired with UCS elicits CR; acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalisation, discrimination.

Higher-order conditioning: a well-established CS can reinforce a new neutral stimulus; timing and contiguity determine strength.

Operant conditioning (Skinner): behaviour controlled by consequences; positive/negative reinforcement increase behaviour, punishment decreases it.

Schedules: fixed and variable ratio (ratio = number of responses) and interval (interval = time); variable ratio resists extinction most.

Shaping = reinforcing successive approximations; chaining links responses; discrimination training tightens stimulus control.

Thorndike's law of effect: satisfying consequences strengthen S-R bonds; latent learning (Tolman) shows learning without performance.

Observational learning (Bandura): attention, retention, reproduction, motivation; vicarious reinforcement and self-efficacy; BoBo doll studies on modelling aggression.

Cognitive learning: insight (Köhler), cognitive maps, learned helplessness (uncontrollable outcomes impair later escape learning).

Punishment limits: suppresses behaviour temporarily, no alternative response taught, may create fear and aggression.

Three stages: sensory memory (iconic ~0.5 s, echoic ~2–4 s), short-term/working memory (~7±2 items, ~18–30 s), long-term memory (unlimited capacity).

Encoding types: acoustic, visual, semantic; semantic encoding gives best long-term retention; maintenance vs elaborative rehearsal.

Long-term memory systems: explicit/declarative (episodic, semantic) versus implicit/nondeclarative (procedural, priming, conditioning).

Serial position effect: primacy (long-term store) and recency (short-term store) curves in free recall.

Forgetting theories: trace decay, interference (proactive = old disrupts new; retroactive = new disrupts old), retrieval failure, motivated forgetting.

Ebbinghaus forgetting curve: rapid initial loss then flattening; spaced practice and overlearning reduce forgetting.

Memory failures: encoding failure, distortion (schema, reconstructive memory), misattribution, suggestibility, source amnesia.

Amnesia: anterograde (cannot form new memories, e.g. hippocampal damage) vs retrograde (loss of prior memories).

Improvement: chunking, mnemonic devices, method of loci, distributed practice, testing effect, state- and context-dependent retrieval.

Motivation = internal process directing behaviour toward goals; intrinsic (interest) vs extrinsic (reward) motivation; overjustification effect reduces intrinsic interest.

Instinct theory and drive-reduction (homeostasis, need → drive → behaviour) explain biological motives; arousal theory posits an optimal level (Yerkes-Dodson).

Maslow's hierarchy: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualisation; order is flexible, not strictly sequential.

Achievement motivation (McClelland): high need for achievement favours moderate-risk tasks; Atkinson's model weighs hope of success against fear of failure.

Hunger regulated by hypothalamus (ventromedial = satiety, lateral = feeding), glucose, leptin, ghrelin; eating also socially learned.

Emotion components: subjective feeling, physiological arousal, cognitive appraisal, expressive behaviour.

James-Lange: arousal precedes and constitutes feeling; Cannon-Bard: arousal and feeling occur simultaneously; Schachter-Singer two-factor: arousal plus cognitive label.

Facial feedback and universal facial expressions (Ekman) support biological bases; display rules vary by culture.

Stress and emotion: Selye's general adaptation syndrome (alarm, resistance, exhaustion); Lazarus's appraisal model.

Intelligence = ability to reason, solve problems, learn and adapt; aptitude = potential to acquire a specific skill with training.

Spearman's g plus specific s factors; Thurstone's primary mental abilities; Cattell-Horn fluid (Gf, declines) vs crystallised (Gc, grows) intelligence.

Gardner's multiple intelligences and Sternberg's triarchic theory (analytical, creative, practical) are influential but psychometrically contested.

IQ formula: original ratio IQ = mental age / chronological age × 100; modern deviation IQ uses standard scores (mean 100, SD 15).

Wechsler scales (WISC, WAIS) yield verbal and performance indices plus full-scale IQ; standardised, norm-referenced, individually administered.

Reliability = consistency; validity = measures what it claims; predictive validity of aptitude tests is moderate for job and academic performance.

Normal distribution: about 68% within ±1 SD, 95% within ±2 SD, 99.7% within ±3 SD of the mean.

Mental retardation/intellectual disability: IQ roughly below 70 with adaptive deficits; giftedness roughly IQ 130 and above.

Heredity and environment: heritability rises with age; twin and adoption studies; Flynn effect shows generational IQ gains; test bias concerns.

Personality = relatively stable patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour distinguishing individuals.

Freud's structure: id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), superego (morality); psychosexual stages and fixation effects.

Defence mechanisms: repression, projection, displacement, rationalisation, reaction formation, sublimation; unconscious coping distortions.

Trait theories: Allport (cardinal, central, secondary), Eysenck (extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism), Cattell's 16PF, Big Five (OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism).

Humanistic: Rogers's self-concept, congruence, unconditional positive regard; Maslow's self-actualising person.

Social-cognitive (Bandura, Mischel): reciprocal determinism, locus of control (Rotter), self-efficacy, person-situation interaction.

Projective tests (Rorschach, TAT) have low reliability/validity; self-report inventories (MMPI, 16PF, NEO-PI) are standardised and objective.

Assessment criteria: reliability, validity, standardisation, norms; behavioural assessment uses observation and rating scales.

Type vs trait vs psychodynamic approaches differ in assumptions about consistency and unconscious determinants.

Attitude = evaluative disposition (cognitive, affective, behavioural components) toward an object; attitudes predict behaviour best when specific and accessible.

Attitude change: persuasive communication depends on source credibility, message content, channel and audience; central vs peripheral routes (elaboration likelihood model).

Cognitive dissonance (Festinger): inconsistency motivates attitude change; insufficient justification increases dissonance.

Attribution: internal vs external; fundamental attribution error (over-weighting dispositions), actor-observer bias, self-serving bias.

Conformity (Asch): line-judgement studies show majority pressure; obedience (Milgram) shows authority effects; compliance techniques include foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face.

Group processes: social facilitation (arousal on simple tasks), social loafing (reduced effort in groups), deindividuation, group polarisation, groupthink.

Prejudice and discrimination: in-group/out-group bias, stereotypes, scapegoating; contact hypothesis reduces prejudice under equal-status cooperation.

Prosocial behaviour: bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility; helping increases with clear need, similarity, mood and small groups.

Aggression: frustration-aggression hypothesis, social learning of aggression, media modelling effects.

Abnormality criteria: statistical deviation, violation of norms, personal distress, dysfunction, danger; no single criterion is sufficient.

Classification: DSM and ICD systems; multiaxial/descriptive diagnosis; reliability and validity issues, labelling and stigma effects.

Anxiety disorders: generalised anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder; symptoms of excessive fear, avoidance and physiological arousal.

Mood disorders: major depression (low mood, anhedonia, sleep/appetite change, worthlessness, suicidal ideation) and bipolar disorder (manic plus depressive episodes).

Schizophrenia: positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganised speech) and negative symptoms (flat affect, avolition); genetic and dopamine hypotheses.

Somatoform and dissociative disorders: physical symptoms without medical basis; dissociative identity and amnesia involve disrupted identity or memory.

Personality disorders: enduring inflexible patterns (e.g. antisocial, borderline) causing distress or impairment.

Treatment: biological (drugs, ECT), psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive-behavioural therapy, humanistic/client-centred, family and group therapy.

Mental health promotion: early intervention, social support, stress management; community mental health reduces institutionalisation.