📚 IGCSE CIE Psychology: Key Terms Quick Memorisation Guide | IGCSE CIE 心理学：词汇术语速记指南
Mastering the specialist vocabulary in IGCSE CIE Psychology is half the battle. Examiners expect you to use accurate psychological terminology, not just everyday language, when explaining concepts, evaluating studies, and discussing applications. This guide groups essential terms by topic, provides clear definitions with examples, and offers memory tricks — all matched to the CIE 0976 / 9990 syllabus. Whether you are revising for Paper 1 or Paper 2, these bite-sized definitions will sharpen your answers and boost your confidence.
掌握 IGCSE CIE 心理学专业词汇，等于赢下了一半的考试。考官期待你用准确的学术术语作答，而不是用日常大白话解释概念、评价研究或讨论应用。这份指南按主题分类核心术语，给出清晰定义和示例，并附上记忆小窍门，完全贴合 CIE 0976 / 9990 考纲。无论你在备战 Paper 1 还是 Paper 2，这些短小精悍的定义都会让你答题更锐利、信心更足。
1. Research Methods: Core Concepts | 研究方法：核心概念
In any psychological study, the independent variable (IV) is the factor the researcher deliberately changes or manipulates. The dependent variable (DV) is what is measured; any change in the DV should be caused by the IV. An extraneous variable (EV) is any other factor that might affect the DV, and when an EV is not controlled it can become a confounding variable, ruining the internal validity of the experiment. A hypothesis is a precise, testable statement predicting the relationship between the IV and DV, often including the term 'significant difference' or 'significant correlation'.
在任何心理学研究中，自变量 (IV) 是研究者有意改变或操纵的那个因素。因变量 (DV) 是所要测量的结果；DV 的任何变化都应由 IV 引致。额外变量 (EV) 是可能影响 DV 的其他因素，一旦 EV 没有得到控制，就可能变成混淆变量，破坏实验的内部效度。假设 是一个精确、可检验的陈述，预测 IV 与 DV 之间的关系，通常含有“显著差异”或“显著相关”这样的字眼。
2. Research Design & Sampling | 研究设计与抽样
Three main experimental designs are independent groups (different participants in each condition), repeated measures (same participants in all conditions), and matched pairs (participants paired on key traits and then split). Each design has strengths and weaknesses regarding participant variables and order effects. Sampling methods include random sampling (every member of the target population has an equal chance of selection), opportunity sampling (using whoever is available), and volunteer sampling (participants self-select). The choice of sampling technique affects how far findings can be generalised.
三种主要的实验设计是独立组设计（每个条件用不同被试）、重复测量设计（同一批被试参加所有条件）和配对组设计（被试按关键特征配对再分开）。每种设计在被试变量和顺序效应上有不同的优缺点。抽样方法包括随机抽样（目标人群每个人都有同等被选中的机会）、机会抽样（用身边最方便找到的人）和志愿者抽样（被试主动报名）。抽样方式会直接影响研究结果能否推广到更广人群。
3. Ethical Guidelines | 伦理准则
Modern psychology follows strict ethical principles. Informed consent means participants know the aims and procedures before they agree to take part. Where full consent is not possible, presumptive consent or retrospective consent may be sought. After the study, researchers must provide a full debrief, revealing the true purpose and offering the right to withdraw data. Confidentiality protects participants' identity, and researchers must avoid physical or psychological harm. Deception is allowed only if it is absolutely necessary and does not cause distress.
现代心理学遵循严格的伦理原则。知情同意意味着被试在同意参与前已了解研究的目的和流程。若无法得到完整同意，可采用假定同意或追溯同意。研究结束后，研究者必须向被试彻底解说，揭示真实目的并赋予其撤回数据的权利。保密保护被试的身份，研究者还要避免身体或心理伤害。欺骗只有在绝对必要时才允许，且不能造成痛苦。
4. Memory: Models and Processes | 记忆：模型与过程
The multi-store model proposes three stores: sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information moves from sensory to STM only if we pay attention; from STM to LTM it requires rehearsal. STM has limited capacity (7 ± 2 chunks) and duration (about 18–30 seconds), while LTM is potentially unlimited. Encoding in STM is often acoustic, in LTM semantic. Forgetting can happen through decay (trace fades) or displacement (new items push out old ones) in STM, and through interference or retrieval failure in LTM.
多重储存模型提出三个记忆储存：感觉登记、短时记忆 (STM) 和长时记忆 (LTM)。只有当我们加以注意时，信息才从感觉进入 STM；从 STM 转入 LTM 则需要复述。STM 容量有限（7 ± 2 个组块），持续时间也短（约 18–30 秒），而 LTM 的容量几乎是无限的。STM 的编码多为听觉编码，LTM 则为语义编码。遗忘可能因为在 STM 中发生痕迹消退或替代，也可能因为 LTM 中的干扰或提取失败。
5. Memory: Studies and Applications | 记忆：研究与运用
Bartlett's 'War of the Ghosts' demonstrated that memory is reconstructive, influenced by schemas (mental frameworks of past experience). Loftus and Palmer's car-crash studies showed how leading questions can distort eyewitness memory, using verbs like 'smashed' versus 'contacted'. The theory of reconstructive memory suggests we piece together fragments and fill gaps with what we expect based on our schemas, which explains false memories and eyewitness inaccuracy.
Bartlett 的“幽灵的战争”证明记忆是重构的，受到图式（基于过去经验的心理框架）的影响。Loftus 和 Palmer 的车祸研究揭示了引导性问题如何扭曲目击者记忆，比如使用“撞碎”和“接触”等不同动词会得到不同的速度估计。重构记忆理论认为我们会把记忆碎片拼接起来，用图式去填补空白，这就解释了虚假记忆和目击者证词为何不可靠。
6. Perception: Sensation vs. Perception | 知觉：感觉与知觉
Sensation is the raw detection of physical stimuli by the sense organs; perception is the brain's active process of interpreting and organising that sensory information. Key theories include Gibson's direct theory (perception is innate, based on optic flow and affordances) and Gregory's constructivist theory (perception is a top-down process guided by past experience and inference). Visual illusions such as the Müller-Lyer or Ponzo illusions support the idea that perception is not always a true copy of reality — context and depth cues fool the brain.
感觉是感觉器官对物理刺激的原始探测；知觉则是大脑主动解释和组织这些感觉信息的过程。主要理论包括Gibson 的直接理论（知觉是先天形成的，依赖于光流和可供性）和Gregory 的建构理论（知觉是自上而下的过程，受过去经验和推断指引）。视错觉，如 Müller-Lyer 错觉或 Ponzo 错觉，支持知觉并不总是对现实的忠实复制——情境和深度线索误导了大脑。
7. Developmental Psychology: Piaget | 发展心理学：皮亚杰
Piaget proposed four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor (birth – 2 years, object permanence), pre-operational (2–7 years, egocentrism, animism, lack of conservation), concrete operational (7–11 years, logical reasoning about concrete objects, conservation achieved), and formal operational (11+ years, abstract thinking, hypothetical reasoning). Two key learning processes are assimilation (fitting new info into existing schemas) and accommodation (changing schemas when new info cannot fit).
皮亚杰提出了认知发展的四个阶段：感知运动阶段（0–2 岁，形成客体永久性）、前运算阶段（2–7 岁，自我中心、泛灵论、缺乏守恒）、具体运算阶段（7–11 岁，能对具体事物进行逻辑思维，掌握守恒）和形式运算阶段（11 岁以上，抽象思维、假设推理）。两个关键学习过程是同化（把新信息纳入已有图式）和顺应（当新信息无法纳入时，改变原有图式）。
8. Social Influence: Conformity & Obedience | 社会影响：从众与服从
Conformity is a change in behaviour or belief to match the majority, driven by normative social influence (desire to be liked) or informational social influence (desire to be right). Asch's line studies revealed high levels of conformity even when the majority answer was obviously wrong. Obedience to authority figures was studied by Milgram, who found that 65% of participants delivered what they believed were lethal shocks, influenced by factors such as proximity of the authority figure, prestige of the setting, and personal responsibility buffers.
从众是指改变行为或信念以与多数人保持一致，其驱动力来自规范性社会影响（想要被喜欢）或信息性社会影响（想要正确）。Asch 的线段判断实验表明，即使多数人的答案明显错误，被试也表现出高度从众。服从权威由 Milgram 研究，他发现 65% 的被试对学习者施加了他们认为致命的电击，影响因素包括权威人物是否在身边、场景的声望以及个人责任的缓冲。
9. Neuropsychology: Brain Areas & Neurons | 神经心理学：脑区与神经元
Key brain regions include the frontal lobe (thinking, decision making, personality), temporal lobe (memory, language, hearing), parietal lobe (sensory integration, spatial awareness), and occipital lobe (vision). Case studies like Phineas Gage show the role of the frontal lobe in personality. Neurons communicate via the synapse: electrical impulse arrives, neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the next neuron, producing either excitation or inhibition. MRI and fMRI scans provide structural and functional images of the living brain.
关键脑区包括额叶（思维、决策、人格）、颞叶（记忆、语言、听觉）、顶叶（感觉整合、空间意识）和枕叶（视觉）。像Phineas Gage 这样的案例研究展示了额叶在人格中的作用。神经元通过突触传递信息：电冲动到达，神经递质释放到突触间隙并与下一个神经元的受体结合，产生兴奋或抑制。MRI 和 fMRI 扫描可提供活体大脑的结构和功能图像。
10. Biopsychology: Stress, Hormones & the Fight-or-Flight Response | 生物心理学：压力、激素与战斗或逃跑反应
The fight-or-flight response is an automatic physiological reaction to a perceived threat. The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, triggering the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline. This increases heart rate, breathing rate, and blood flow to muscles while suppressing non-essential functions like digestion. Chronic stress keeps the HPA axis activated, leading to sustained release of cortisol, which can damage the immune system and hippocampus.
战斗或逃跑反应是面对威胁时自动发生的生理反应。下丘脑激活自主神经系统的交感分支，促使肾上腺髓质释放肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素。这会加快心率、呼吸频率和肌肉血流，同时抑制消化等非必要功能。长期压力会使下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴 (HPA 轴) 持续激活，导致皮质醇持续分泌，可能损害免疫系统和海马体。
11. Psychological Disorders: Key Terminology | 心理障碍：关键词汇
The ICD (International Classification of Diseases) and the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) are the two main classification systems for mental disorders. Depression is characterised by low mood, loss of interest (anhedonia), fatigue, and cognitive symptoms like negative automatic thoughts. The biological explanation links depression to low levels of serotonin. Phobias are intense, irrational fears; the two-process model explains them through classical conditioning (acquisition) and operant conditioning (maintenance via avoidance). Addiction involves dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal, with genetic and environmental influences.
ICD（国际疾病分类）和DSM（精神障碍诊断与统计手册）是两大主要的精神障碍分类系统。抑郁症的特征包括情绪低落、兴趣丧失（快感缺失）、疲倦，以及消极自动想法等认知症状。生物学解释将抑郁症与5-羟色胺水平偏低联系起来。恐惧症是一种强烈、不理性的恐惧；双过程模型用经典条件反射解释其形成，用操作条件反射解释其通过回避行为而持续。成瘾涉及依赖、耐受和戒断症状，同时受遗传与环境影响。
12. Learning: Conditioning Theories | 学习：条件化理论
Classical conditioning, studied by Pavlov, involves learning through association. An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UCR). A neutral stimulus (NS) is paired with the UCS repeatedly until it becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR). Operant conditioning, proposed by Skinner, is learning through consequences. Positive reinforcement adds a pleasant stimulus to increase behaviour, negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour, while punishment decreases behaviour. Schedules of reinforcement (e.g. fixed-ratio, variable-interval) affect response rates and extinction.
经典条件反射由巴甫洛夫研究，是通过联结进行学习。无条件刺激 (UCS) 自然引发无条件反应 (UCR)。中性刺激 (NS) 反复与 UCS 配对，直至变成条件刺激 (CS)，引发条件反应 (CR)。操作条件反射由斯金纳提出，是通过后果进行学习。正强化给予愉快刺激以增加行为，负强化移除厌恶刺激以增加行为，而惩罚则降低行为发生的频率。强化程序（如固定比率、可变间隔）会影响反应速度和消退。
13. Exam Technique: Command Words & Terminology Use | 应考技巧：指令词与术语运用
CIE questions use command words such as 'Describe', 'Explain', 'Discuss', and 'Evaluate'. Use precise terms from the specification: for example, say 'participants were debriefed' rather than 'told afterwards'. When evaluating a study, always link back to the key methodological concepts — mention validity (did the study measure what it intended?), reliability (would the findings be repeatable?), generalisability (can we apply the results to wider populations?), and ecological validity (does the task mirror real life?). A glossary of terms, regularly reviewed, will help you embed specialist vocabulary effortlessly into your essays.
CIE 题目使用的指令词有“描述”“解释”“讨论”和“评估”等。答题时要使用考纲中的精确用语：比如写到“对被试进行了事后解说”就比“后来告诉了被试”更专业。评估一项研究时，务必联系到关键的方法论概念——提及效度（研究是否测到了它想测的东西？）、信度（结果是否可以重复？）、可推广性（结果能否适用于更广人群？）和生态效度（任务是否反映真实生活？）。经常复习术语表，能让你在写作中轻松嵌入专业词汇。
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