Psychology Vocabulary Quiz
12 multiple-choice questions on common psychology terms: cognition, behaviour, memory, perception and conditioning. B1–B2 level.
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Psychology Vocabulary — FAQ
Cognition refers to all the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and understanding, including thinking, perceiving, remembering, reasoning and problem-solving. Cognitive psychology studies how people process information and make decisions.
Classical conditioning is learning by association, where a neutral stimulus becomes linked to a natural response (as in Pavlov's dogs). Operant conditioning is learning through consequences, where behaviour is strengthened by rewards or weakened by punishments, as studied by B. F. Skinner.
Perception is the process by which the brain organises and interprets sensory information so that we can recognise and understand the world around us. It is more than just sensing: it involves making sense of what the senses detect, and it can be influenced by expectations and context.
A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rational judgement. Biases are mental shortcuts that help us make quick decisions but can lead to errors. Examples include confirmation bias, where we favour information that supports what we already believe.
Psychologists often distinguish sensory memory (very brief), short-term or working memory (a small amount of information held for seconds), and long-term memory (a vast store that can last a lifetime). Information may move from short-term to long-term memory through rehearsal and meaning.
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist famous for his experiments on classical conditioning. He showed that dogs could learn to salivate at the sound of a bell when the bell was repeatedly paired with food. His work became foundational in the study of learning and behaviour.
A personality trait is a relatively stable and consistent characteristic that influences how a person thinks, feels and behaves across different situations. Examples include extraversion, conscientiousness and openness, which are part of widely used models of personality.
In Sigmund Freud's model of the mind, the id is the primitive part driven by basic instincts and desires; the superego represents internalised morals and ideals; and the ego mediates between the two and reality, trying to satisfy desires in acceptable ways.
A heuristic is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that allows people to make decisions and judgements quickly and efficiently. Heuristics are useful but can sometimes lead to cognitive biases and errors when the shortcut does not fit the situation.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory by Abraham Maslow that arranges human needs in levels, from basic physiological needs at the bottom, through safety, belonging and esteem, up to self-actualisation at the top. People generally meet lower needs before pursuing higher ones.