Concept Bank: What We've Covered This Quarter

Final Project ResourceConcept Bank: What We've Covered This Quarter

Use this to help pick your 2-3 concepts for Assignment 1

Why this page exists: Assignment 1 asks you to name 2-3 psychology concepts and where you learned them. This page collects everything we've covered this quarter, organized by week, so you have one place to look instead of scrolling back through every module.

Week 1 — Introduction to the Class

Orientation week — no psychology concepts covered yet.

Week 2 — Psychology as a Science

Critical Area: Scientific Inquiry & Research Methods

Psychology's Four Goals — describe, explain, predict, and control/influence behavior.

Causation vs. Correlation — the difference between two variables being related and one variable causing a change in another.

Operational Definitions — defining a concept in specific, measurable terms so it can be studied scientifically.

Week 3 — The Brain and the Body

Critical Area: Biological and Cognitive Basis of Behavior

Biological Bases of Behavior — how the body's physical systems influence thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Nervous & Endocrine Systems — how neurons and hormones send signals throughout the body.

Nature, Nurture & Epigenetics — how genes and environment interact to shape behavior.

States of Consciousness & Sleep — including sleep stages and why we dream.

Week 4 — Cognition and Development

Critical Area 2: Biological and Cognitive Basis of Behavior (District Instructional Guide)

Memory — the processes (encoding, storage, retrieval) and systems (sensory, working, long-term) of memory; strategies for improving memory; how memory errors happen.

Thinking & Problem-Solving — how we form concepts and work through problems and decisions, including convergent and divergent thinking.

Perception & Intelligence — how we interpret sensory information, and different views of what intelligence is and how it's measured.

Week 5 — Development & Personality

Critical Area 3: Development and Personality (District Instructional Guide)

Nature, Nurture & Critical Periods in Development — how environment and biology interact, and the role of sensitive/critical periods.

Development Across the Lifespan — key physical, cognitive, and social changes from infancy through older adulthood.

Classical Conditioning — learning through association (e.g., Pavlov's dogs).

Operant Conditioning — learning through reinforcement and punishment (e.g., Skinner).

Week 6 — Psychological Disorders

Critical Area 3: Development and Personality (District Instructional Guide)

Approaches to Personality — biological, environmental, social-cognitive, and trait-based explanations for personality, and how psychologists study it scientifically.

Personality Assessment — how personality tests are evaluated for reliability and validity, and how personality can change or stay stable over time.

Culture, Self & Identity — how culture shapes identity, and the psychological effects of privilege, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination based on cultural identity.

Gender & Sexual Orientation — the difference between sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and the diversity of experience within each.

Week 7 — Mental & Physical Health

Critical Area 4: Mental and Physical Health (District Instructional Guide)

Defining Abnormal Behavior — medical, biopsychosocial, and cross-cultural views of abnormality, and how stigma affects individuals, families, and society.

Classifying Psychological Disorders — symptoms and classification systems, and the challenges of diagnosis and treatment.

Stress & Coping — stress as a psychophysiological response, its sources and consequences, and strategies to regulate it.

Resilience & Wellness — evidence-based strategies that promote happiness and psychological health.

Types of Treatment — biomedical and psychological therapies, appropriate treatment for different populations, and the role of licensed mental health providers.