Psychology Flashcards: Master Theories, Disorders, and Key Concepts

Psychology is organized around several major theoretical perspectives. Each lens offers a different way to understand behavior and mental processes. These cards cover the foundational theories that form the backbone of any psychology course.

Core Theoretical Frameworks

These perspectives shape how psychologists explain human behavior across all subfields. Understanding their key assumptions helps you organize dozens of individual concepts.

• Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud): Behavior driven by unconscious conflicts between id, ego, and superego. Personality develops through psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital). Defense mechanisms protect the ego from anxiety.
• Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner): Focuses only on observable, measurable behavior. B.F. Skinner demonstrated how reinforcement and punishment shape actions. Rejects internal mental states as the primary cause of behavior.
• Humanistic Psychology (Maslow, Rogers): Emphasizes free will, personal growth, and self-actualization. Carl Rogers developed client-centered therapy based on unconditional positive regard and genuine empathy.
• Cognitive Psychology: Studies internal processes like perception, memory, thinking, and language. Emerged in the 1950s-60s as a reaction against behaviorism. Uses the computer metaphor of input, processing, and output.
• Biological Approach: Explains behavior through neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structures, and genetics. Includes neural communication, brain localization, and heritability research.
• Social Learning Theory (Bandura): People learn by observing others (observational learning). The Bobo doll experiment showed children imitate aggressive behavior. Key concepts include self-efficacy and reciprocal determinism.
• Evolutionary Psychology: Applies natural selection to psychological traits. Explains fears, mate preferences, and parental investment through adaptive value to survival and reproduction.
• Gestalt Psychology: The whole is different from the sum of its parts. Studies how the brain organizes sensory information into patterns using proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and figure-ground principles.

Developmental and Learning Theories

These theories explain how people grow, learn, and change across the lifespan. They're heavily tested on exams and essential for understanding human development.

Piaget's Cognitive Development identifies four stages: Sensorimotor (0-2 years, object permanence), Preoperational (2-7, egocentrism), Concrete Operational (7-11, logical thinking), and Formal Operational (12+, abstract reasoning). Children construct knowledge through schemas, assimilation, and accommodation.

Erikson's Psychosocial Development spans eight lifespan stages, each with a central crisis. Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy) progresses through Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence) to Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood).

Kohlberg's Moral Development has three levels: Preconventional (obedience, self-interest), Conventional (social approval, law and order), and Postconventional (social contract, universal principles). Carol Gilligan criticized it for gender bias.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory emphasizes social interaction and culture in development. The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) describes tasks a child can do with guidance. Scaffolding provides support from a knowledgeable other.

Memory and Learning Mechanisms

These theories explain how people acquire, store, and retrieve information. They're central to understanding cognition and behavior change.

Classical Conditioning (Pavlov) shows a neutral stimulus paired with an unconditioned stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a response. Includes acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

Operant Conditioning (Skinner) shapes behavior through consequences. Positive reinforcement adds a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior. Negative reinforcement removes an aversive stimulus. Punishment (positive or negative) decreases behavior. Reinforcement schedules vary by ratio or interval.

Attachment Theory (Bowlby and Ainsworth) shows infants have an innate need for close emotional bonds with caregivers. Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation identified four attachment styles: secure (65%), anxious-ambivalent (10%), anxious-avoidant (20%), and disorganized (5%).

Information Processing Model describes how information flows: Sensory Memory (iconic: 0.5 seconds, echoic: 3-4 seconds), Short-Term/Working Memory (7 plus or minus 2 items, 20-30 seconds), and Long-Term Memory (unlimited, relatively permanent). Elaborative rehearsal is more effective than maintenance rehearsal.

Abnormal psychology is one of the most heavily tested areas in psychology courses. Understanding symptoms, causes, and treatments of major psychological disorders is essential for exams and clinical training.

Mood and Anxiety Disorders

These conditions affect how people feel and manage worry. They're among the most common mental health diagnoses.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) requires at least 2 weeks of depressed mood or anhedonia (loss of pleasure) plus 4 or more symptoms: weight changes, sleep changes, fatigue, worthlessness, guilt, concentration problems, or thoughts of death. SSRIs and CBT are primary treatments. It's the leading cause of disability worldwide.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) involves excessive worry about multiple life areas lasting 6+ months. Three or more symptoms accompany the worry: restlessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, or sleep problems. SSRIs, SNRIs, and CBT help manage it.

Specific Phobia involves marked fear about a specific object or situation (animals, heights, blood, storms) that's out of proportion to actual danger. The person avoids the trigger or endures it with intense anxiety. Exposure therapy and systematic desensitization are effective treatments.

Social Anxiety Disorder is fear of being scrutinized in social situations. The person worries about embarrassment, humiliation, or rejection. CBT, especially exposure and cognitive restructuring, helps alongside SSRIs.

Panic Disorder features recurrent, unexpected panic attacks with 4+ sudden symptoms: racing heart, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, or fear of dying. The person develops persistent concern about future attacks. CBT and SSRIs are standard treatments.

Psychotic and Severe Disorders

These conditions significantly distort reality or functioning and require professional intervention.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychotic disorder with positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech) and negative symptoms (flat affect, reduced motivation, social withdrawal). The dopamine hypothesis suggests excess dopaminergic activity. Antipsychotics (typical: haloperidol; atypical: clozapine) treat it. Lifetime prevalence is about 1%.

Bipolar I Disorder includes at least one manic episode: 7+ days of elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with 3+ symptoms like inflated self-esteem, decreased sleep need, pressured speech, or risky behavior. Mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate) and atypical antipsychotics manage it.

Trauma and Obsessive Disorders

These conditions develop from specific triggers or involve unwanted, intrusive patterns.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Four symptom clusters last 1+ months: intrusion (flashbacks), avoidance, negative mood changes, and heightened arousal. Trauma-focused CBT, EMDR, and SSRIs are effective.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involves obsessions (intrusive, unwanted thoughts causing anxiety) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors to reduce anxiety). Common themes include contamination, symmetry, forbidden thoughts, or harm concerns. Higher-dose SSRIs and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy help.

Personality and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

These conditions reflect persistent patterns in personality, development, or self-regulation.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) involves unstable relationships, self-image, and emotions plus marked impulsivity. Features include fear of abandonment, intense relationships (idealization then devaluation), identity disturbance, and chronic emptiness. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is specifically designed to treat it.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) shows a pervasive pattern of disregard for others' rights starting by age 15. The person repeatedly violates laws, lies, acts impulsively, and shows no remorse. Requires evidence of conduct disorder before age 15. Only diagnosed in those 18 and older.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with persistent inattention (difficulty sustaining focus, careless errors) and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity (fidgeting, talking excessively). Onset is before age 12. Stimulant medications (methylphenidate, amphetamines) and behavioral therapy help.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has persistent deficits in social communication (reduced sharing of interests, difficulty with conversation) and restricted, repetitive behavior patterns (stereotyped movements, fixated interests, sensory sensitivities). Early intervention improves outcomes significantly.

Other Important Disorders

These conditions appear frequently on exams and have distinct presentations.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly called multiple personality disorder, involves two or more distinct personality states with discontinuities in self-sense and agency. It's strongly linked to severe childhood trauma. Long-term psychotherapy focuses on integrating personality states.

Anorexia Nervosa involves restricting food intake, resulting in significantly low body weight, plus intense fear of weight gain and body image disturbance. Two subtypes exist: restricting and binge-eating/purging. It has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder. Treatments include nutritional rehabilitation, CBT, and family-based therapy (FBT).

Substance Use Disorder is a problematic pattern of use causing significant impairment. Diagnosis requires 2+ of 11 criteria within 12 months, including using more than intended, unsuccessful attempts to cut down, continued use despite problems, and withdrawal. Behavioral therapies, medications, and 12-step programs treat it.

Psychology courses expect you to know major researchers, their contributions, and the experiments that shaped the field. These cards pair each psychologist with their most important work.

Social Psychology Experiments

These experiments revealed how situations and social pressure influence human behavior in surprising ways.

Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study (1961) ordered participants to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to a confederate learner. Sixty-five percent continued to the maximum 450-volt shock despite protests. It demonstrated authority's power to produce obedience, even when it conflicts with conscience. The study raised significant ethical concerns about deception.

Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) assigned college students randomly to be guards or prisoners in a simulated prison. Guards became abusive; prisoners showed extreme stress and helplessness. The study ended after 6 days instead of 14. It demonstrated how situational forces and roles powerfully influence behavior but faced criticism for ethical issues.

Solomon Asch's Conformity Experiments (1951) had participants judge line lengths in groups where confederates gave incorrect answers unanimously. About 75% conformed at least once; average conformity was 37%. Conformity increased with group size but decreased when one dissenter was present.

Leon Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Study (1957) found that contradictory beliefs create psychological discomfort. In the $1/$20 experiment, participants paid only $1 to lie later rated a boring task as more enjoyable than those paid $20. Insufficient justification led to attitude change to reduce dissonance.

Memory and Learning Research

These studies explain how people learn and remember information.

Elizabeth Loftus and the Misinformation Effect demonstrated that post-event information distorts eyewitness memory. In the 'smashed/hit' study, verb choice in questions significantly altered speed estimates and later false memories of broken glass. Memories are reconstructive, not reproductive, with major implications for legal testimony.

Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment (1961) showed children who watched an adult behave aggressively toward an inflatable doll later imitated the aggression significantly more. It demonstrated observational learning as a behavior acquisition mechanism.

Martin Seligman's Learned Helplessness Study (1967) exposed dogs to inescapable electric shocks, and they later failed to escape when escape was possible. They had learned to be helpless. Extended to humans, it shows that uncontrollable negative events create passivity and depression. It influenced cognitive theories of depression.

Attachment and Development Research

These studies explain how early experiences shape behavior and relationships.

Harry Harlow's Contact Comfort Study (1958) gave infant rhesus monkeys a choice between a wire mother with food or a cloth mother without food. Monkeys overwhelmingly preferred the cloth mother, spending most time clinging to it. It demonstrated that attachment is based on contact comfort, not food alone.

Lawrence Kohlberg's Moral Development Research (1958) presented moral dilemmas like the Heinz dilemma and analyzed reasoning behind responses. Kohlberg identified three levels with six stages of moral development. He found moral reasoning progresses sequentially, though Carol Gilligan criticized it for gender bias.

Cognitive and Therapeutic Research

These researchers developed theories and treatments that transformed psychology.

Carl Rogers and Client-Centered Therapy developed a humanistic approach emphasizing the therapeutic relationship. Three core conditions promote client growth: unconditional positive regard (acceptance without judgment), empathic understanding (seeing the world from the client's perspective), and congruence (therapist authenticity).

Aaron Beck and Cognitive Therapy developed CBT for depression based on the cognitive triad: negative views of self, world, and future. He identified cognitive distortions (all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing, overgeneralization) that maintain depression. Treatment challenges distorted automatic thoughts.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs proposed a five-level hierarchy: physiological (food, water, sleep), safety (security, stability), belongingness (relationships, community), esteem (respect, achievement), and self-actualization (realizing potential). Lower needs must be substantially met before higher needs become motivating.

Noam Chomsky and Universal Grammar argued against Skinner's behaviorist account of language. Chomsky proposed humans are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD) containing universal grammar. Children acquire language rapidly, produce novel sentences, and make predictable errors reflecting rule application.

Daniel Kahneman and Heuristics and Biases (with Amos Tversky) demonstrated systematic cognitive biases in judgment and decision-making. Key heuristics include availability (judging probability by ease of recall), representativeness (judging by prototype resemblance), and anchoring (over-relying on initial information). Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in Economics (2002).

Ivan Pavlov and Classical Conditioning (1897) discovered dogs salivate in response to stimuli associated with food, not just food itself. He systematically demonstrated classical conditioning by pairing neutral stimuli with unconditioned stimuli. He identified acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis founded the first comprehensive personality theory and therapeutic system. Key contributions include the unconscious mind, the id/ego/superego model, defense mechanisms, psychosexual stages, dream interpretation, and free association. While many specific claims have been challenged, Freud's influence remains enormous.

Mastering psychology requires the right study approach, not just more hours. Research in cognitive science shows three techniques produce the best learning: active recall (testing yourself rather than re-reading), spaced repetition (reviewing at scientifically-optimized intervals), and interleaving (mixing related topics rather than studying one in isolation). FluentFlash is built around all three.

Why These Methods Work

When you study psychology with the FSRS algorithm, every term is scheduled for review at exactly the moment you're about to forget it. This maximizes retention while minimizing study time. Re-reading your notes, highlighting passages, or watching lectures feels productive but produces only 10-20% of the retention that active recall achieves. Flashcards force your brain to retrieve information, which strengthens memory pathways far more than recognition alone.

Pair active recall with spaced repetition scheduling, and you can learn in 20 minutes daily what would take hours of passive review. A practical study plan for psychology starts with creating 15-25 flashcards covering your highest-priority concepts. Review them daily for the first week using FSRS scheduling.

Building Your Study Routine

As cards become easier, intervals automatically expand from minutes to days to weeks. You're always working on material at the edge of your knowledge. After 2-3 weeks of consistent practice, psychology concepts become automatic rather than effortful to recall.

1. Generate flashcards using FluentFlash AI or create them from your notes
2. Study 15-20 new cards per day, plus scheduled reviews
3. Use multiple study modes (flip, multiple choice, written) to strengthen recall
4. Track your progress and identify weak topics for focused review
5. Review consistently: daily practice beats marathon sessions

Flashcards aren't just for vocabulary. They're one of the most research-backed study tools for any subject, including psychology. The reason comes down to how memory works. When you read a textbook passage, your brain stores information in short-term memory, but without retrieval practice, it fades within hours. Flashcards force retrieval, which transfers information from short-term to long-term memory.

The Testing Effect

The testing effect, documented in hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, shows that flashcard students consistently outperform re-readers by 30-60% on delayed tests. This isn't because flashcards contain more information. It's because retrieval strengthens neural pathways in ways passive exposure cannot. Every time you recall a psychology concept from a flashcard, you make that concept easier to recall next time.

FluentFlash amplifies this effect with the FSRS algorithm, a modern spaced repetition system. It schedules reviews at mathematically-optimal intervals based on your actual performance. Cards you find easy get pushed further ahead. Cards you struggle with come back sooner. Over time, this builds remarkable retention with minimal time investment.

Expected Retention Rates

Students using FSRS-based systems typically retain 85-95% of material after 30 days. Compare this to roughly 20% retention from passive review alone. For psychology, which requires mastering hundreds of definitions, theories, and researcher names, this difference is transformative. You'll move from scattered, fragmented knowledge to integrated, retrievable expertise.