Visual guides

People and fields

Find a thinker or a field, then follow the question into psychology.

A tree groups 22 thinkers into eight areas of work, with philosophy and physiology at its roots.

A tree of ideas

Follow the branches to meet contributors and the questions they explored.

Twelve fields branch from a central tree labeled mind and behavior. Research, measurement and ethics appear at the roots.

Branches of psychology

Explore twelve fields through the kinds of questions they investigate.

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What is psychology?

Read the short lesson

Turn an everyday observation into a question about mind and behavior.

Everyday actions and mental processes lead into a notebook used to gather evidence.

What does psychology study?

Connect everyday actions with questions about thoughts, feelings and evidence.

One presentation microphone sits in the center, connected with a heart waveform, a thought-shaped note and a row of audience-chair icons.

Several levels of explanation

Explore how several kinds of explanation can inform the same event.

A connected tabletop holds a study notebook, a key ring, a shared game board and a calendar.

Psychology in everyday questions

Find research questions in familiar objects and activities.

An abstract cloud labeled Attention connects to an instruction card and then to a target-detection task notebook.

From an idea to an observation

Make an abstract idea specific enough to investigate.

Three separate evidence objects, an observation notebook, a speech-note card and a heart-rate trace, connect toward one question folder.

Bringing evidence together

Compare what different methods contribute to one explanation.

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How do we know?

Read the short lesson

Explore the explanations for a relationship between two things.

Five connected stages show a fictional comparison of restudy and recall practice.

How do we test an idea?

Follow a prediction through a fair comparison, measurement and revision.

Warm weather has possible-influence arrows toward ice-cream purchases and sunscreen use, with an undirected association between the outcomes.

What can a correlation tell us?

Look for an explanation connecting two things that vary together.

A sample of twelve numbered participants is allocated into conditions A and B, with six different participant numbers in each condition.

Sampling and assignment

Follow participant selection and allocation as two steps in a study.

Three parallel tool trays show a detailed folder, a set of questionnaires and two matched condition boxes.

Choose a method for the question

Match a research question with a suitable way of gathering evidence.

Two study-instruction cards lead into the same later recall sheet.

What changes and what is measured?

Separate the experimental condition from the outcome recorded.

A two-question inspection desk uses repeated matching ruler readings beside a separate construct-and-task matching board.

Consistency and useful measurement

Ask whether a measure is consistent and supports its intended interpretation.

Two laboratory-method notebooks sit side by side with matching procedure tabs and a central comparison sheet.

Testing a finding again

See what another study can contribute to a research finding.

Two identical response sheets are presented to a scoring clipboard through envelopes marked A and B, with a separate sealed condition key.

Managing expectations in a study

Consider how information about a condition can influence a study.

An open research folder is surrounded by four linked care checkpoints, shown with information card, choice door, privacy shield and explanation notebook.

Care at every research step

Connect a study’s question with the rights and welfare of its participants.

Two lists contain 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 and either 7 or 21; the mean changes from 4 to 6 while the median stays 4.

Mean and median

See what happens when one high value changes.

Two equal-sized sets of points share the same mean on matching axes, with one set more spread out.

The same average, different spread

Compare the variability hidden behind an average.

Two pairs of group plots use the same scale, showing a smaller and a larger gap between group means.

How large is the difference?

Read the magnitude of a group difference on a common scale.

Two identical point estimates have a narrower and a wider confidence interval on one shared scale.

An estimate and its uncertainty

Compare a point estimate with the uncertainty around it.

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Brain and body

Read the short lesson

Follow communication within a neuron and between cells.

A neuron carries a signal toward its terminals; an enlarged chemical synapse shows neurotransmitters crossing the gap.

How a neuron sends a signal

Follow a signal along an axon and across a chemical synapse.

The brain and spinal cord connect with a peripheral network; sensory and motor arrows point in opposite directions.

Brain, body and communication

Connect the central nervous system with pathways throughout the body.

A small schematic network connects several neuron-like nodes between a sensory symbol and a response symbol.

Many cells work together

See how connected neurons contribute to a response.

A schematic hand icon near a warm pan connects through a sensory pathway to spinal circuitry and back to a muscle icon.

A quick protective response

Follow one simplified pathway involved in withdrawing from heat.

A gland icon releases small hormone symbols into a curved blood-vessel channel ending beside a target-cell membrane with matching receptors.

Messages through the bloodstream

Trace a hormone from an endocrine gland to a responsive target.

A long axon strip contains four sequential enlarged membrane segments showing a passing highlight rather than moving electricity particles.

An electrical change travels

Follow a signal as changes in the cell membrane propagate along an axon.

Two schematic versions of the same small neural network show selected connections changing after practice, with an unchanged set of nodes.

Experience and changing connections

Explore how experience can be associated with changes in neural connections.

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Sleep and daily rhythms

Read the short lesson

Explore sleep stages, daily timing and the growing need for sleep.

A time line moves between N1, N2, N3 and REM, with more deep sleep early and longer REM periods later.

A night of changing sleep stages

Follow a schematic night through non-REM and REM sleep.

A clock is divided into day and night colors, with sun and moon symbols. Light cues point toward a body clock, linking environmental timing with a daily sleep-wake rhythm.

Your body keeps daily time

Connect light cues with the timing of a daily rhythm.

Two schematic curves show rising sleep pressure during wakefulness and a changing circadian alerting signal.

Two influences on sleepiness

Compare accumulating sleep pressure with a daily alerting rhythm.

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Sensation and perception

Read the short lesson

Connect sensory detection with interpretation and context.

Odor molecules enter the nose, and the smell is interpreted in a familiar coffee context.

Sensation and perception

Use a familiar smell to connect detecting information with interpreting it.

A visual spotlight moves from a learner’s book toward a conversation while other events stay in the background.

How attention guides us

See how attention selects information and shifts between tasks.

The same diffuser continues releasing scent in two scenes, while its noticeable presence changes.

When a familiar sensation fades

Follow a steady scent as it becomes less noticeable during exposure.

A letter B card receives two converging arrows from visual-feature tiles and the letter-sequence context A, blank, C.

Signals and expectations meet

Connect incoming sensory information with knowledge and context.

Two paired dot-array comparisons demonstrate proximity and similarity with identical object counts within each pair.

How parts form a pattern

Compare how spacing and shared appearance influence grouping.

Three object scenes show overlapping books, equal-size repeated lamps drawn at different apparent distances and a path with converging edges.

Clues to near and far

Use visible relationships to understand depth in a flat picture.

One strawberry on a small plate connects with three equal object-based sensory paths, represented by a tongue icon, odor swirls and texture dots.

Several senses inform one event

Explore how information from different senses contributes to experience.

Repeated presentations of a faint signal show both detected and undetected trials.

Detecting a faint signal

Understand detection as a pattern across repeated trials.

A small and a large starting weight each receive an equal small addition.

Noticing a difference depends on the starting point

Compare the same addition against different starting amounts.

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Learning

Read the short lesson

Compare learning about signals with learning from consequences.

Food and a neutral sound are shown before, during and after repeated pairings, with salivation as the response.

Learning by association

See how a sound can become a useful signal for food.

A four-cell matrix crosses added or removed consequences with increased or decreased behavior.

Behavior and consequences

Read consequences by what is added or removed and how behavior changes.

Four practice units are clustered on one day or distributed across four days.

Give learning some space

Compare the timing of an equal amount of practice.

Two similar sound patterns lead to salivation droplets in the generalization panel; separate learned links lead to food and rain icons below.

Responding to similar signals

Compare a response spreading to similar cues with learning to distinguish them.

Three sequential scenes use the same sound icon and a salivation-response symbol with changing emphasis.

A learned response changes

Follow how responding can change when a familiar cue appears alone.

The same simple bird icon appears beside a response key in three positions: approaching it, touching it and pressing it.

Build a skill in small steps

See how reinforcing successive approximations can support a new action.

An origami video screen, a remembered crease diagram, a practice sheet and a finished paper shape form four related object scenes.

Learning from a demonstration

Connect noticing a model with remembering and attempting an action.

A clearly aligned four-cell table compares fixed and variable response requirements with fixed and variable time intervals.

When reinforcement arrives

Compare schedules based on response counts with schedules based on elapsed time.

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Thinking and language

Read the short lesson

Explore categories, language and strategies for making sense of a question.

A sparrow, penguin and ostrich sit inside a shared birds category. A note defines a prototype as a typical example.

How we form a category

Explore how varied examples can belong to one category.

Two sentences reverse the dog and child: The dog follows the child; The child follows the dog.

Word order changes meaning

See how word order helps convey who does what in English.

One search checks boxes in a fixed sequence; another starts with the place where the key was last used.

Two ways to search for a solution

Compare two strategies for searching for a missing key.

A paper clip appears in its usual role holding papers and in an alternative practical use.

Finding a new use for an object

Explore how a familiar object can serve another purpose.

Two identical jars appear below different starting prompts, More than 10? and More than 50?, each followed by a blank for an estimate.

A starting number can shape an estimate

Explore how an initial number can influence an estimate.

Two identical sets of ten seats show eight occupied and two empty, paired with descriptions emphasizing each count.

One outcome, two descriptions

Compare two descriptions of the same arrangement.

A raw test score connects with a relevant comparison group and then an interpretation.

How norm groups help interpret a score

Explore how a norm group gives a test score a comparison context.

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Memory

Read the short lesson

Follow encoding, storage and retrieval through an everyday example.

A scene is encoded in a notebook, represented as a changing network, and reconstructed with the help of a cue.

How memory works

Explore encoding, storage and retrieval through a picture that is rebuilt.

A name is difficult to recall until familiar classroom objects help bring Alex to mind.

A cue can help a memory return

Use a familiar setting to explore how retrieval cues work.

A small mental-workspace metaphor uses a shopping list, two price tags without numbers and an addition card arranged on one workbench.

Keeping information in use

Explore how information can be held and worked with during a task.

One bicycle object sits above three connected memory illustrations: a trip postcard, a route-fact notebook and a pedaling-gear symbol.

Different forms of long-term memory

Organize memories by the kinds of information and performance they support.

Two matched desk cards show the same fictional name-learning context: an open answer line and a short list of possible names.

Recognizing and recalling

Compare bringing information to mind with identifying it among options.

Two horizontal time strips show fictional old and new password cards using abstract symbol strings, with arrows indicating opposite interference directions.

When memories compete

Compare how earlier and later learning can affect retrieval.

The same twelve travel-object icons appear in a mixed list and then arranged into three labeled purposeful groups.

Give information a structure

Connect meaningful grouping with how information is encoded and retrieved.

A sequence shows examining material, recalling with the book closed and checking the response.

Practice bringing an idea to mind

Use bringing information to mind as part of studying.

A confidence judgment is followed by an explanation attempt and a check against the material.

Check what you can explain

Compare your expectation of remembering with an explanation attempt.

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Emotion

Read the short lesson

Connect bodily changes, interpretation, feeling and expression.

Four components surround a presentation scene and are joined with two-way arrows.

What makes an emotion?

Connect bodily changes, felt experience, appraisal and expression.

One guitar connects intrinsic enjoyment with outside outcomes such as a paid performance.

What draws us to an activity?

Explore enjoyment of an activity alongside the outcomes it can bring.

One identical invitation card leads to two possible meaning cards, an opportunity symbol and a demanding-calendar symbol.

The meaning of a situation

Explore how interpreting an event contributes to an emotional episode.

One unanswered-message card sits beside three adjustable routes: an attention spotlight, an interpretation note and a response draft.

Ways to shape an emotional episode

Explore how changes in attention, interpretation and action can influence an emotional episode.

A presentation calendar card is compared with a tray containing a rehearsal notebook, a time block and a support contact card.

Demands and available resources

Consider how demands and perceived resources contribute to a stress appraisal.

A compact loop links a target talk-outline card, a rehearsal recording, a comparison checklist and a revised outline.

Goals guide the next step

Follow a practical cycle connecting a goal, an attempt and information about progress.

A small talk-outline card sits above a task-specific confidence note, with practice and feedback cards feeding toward the note.

Confidence about a specific task

Distinguish a judgment about carrying out a particular task from a broad description of the self.

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Development

Read the short lesson

Explore change and continuity in bodies, thinking and relationships.

Three colored ribbons weave through scenes of learning and relationships from infancy through older adulthood.

How do we develop?

Follow biology, experience and relationships across a lifetime.

Different age groups appear under one calendar, while the same tokens recur at three longitudinal time points.

Two ways to study change

Compare different age groups or follow the same participants through time.

A cooperative board game sits at the center of three linked objects: a movement-piece track, a rule card and a turn-taking marker.

Connected areas of development

Examine physical, cognitive and social-emotional development together.

A toy map uses a home-base cushion with a support symbol, a nearby exploration path and a return path.

A secure base for exploring

Understand the relationship between access to a responsive caregiver and exploration.

Three versions of the same paper-folding task show a full guide card, a smaller reminder card and an independently completed fold.

Support that changes with skill

See how task support can be adjusted as a learner becomes more able to work independently.

Two equal classroom-tool trays show a paper atlas and a digital map beside a shared map-reading task.

Growing up in different settings

Consider how shared historical circumstances can influence groups born around the same time.

One game connects with keeping its rule in mind, waiting for a turn and adapting to a changed rule.

Three skills help us manage a task

Connect three skills that help manage a game or task.

An observer sees an object in box A, leaves while it moves to box B, and returns with earlier information.

What does each person know?

Track how access to information shapes a person’s belief.

Two rows each contain six tokens; one row is spread out while keeping its six tokens.

Same amount, different arrangement

Explore what remains constant when an arrangement changes.

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Personality

Read the short lesson

Describe traits as dimensions that vary in degree.

Five unscored continua show openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

The Big Five

Read five broad dimensions used to describe personality patterns.

A single quiet meeting is set beside observations across friends, work and home.

A moment and a pattern

Compare a current condition with a tendency observed across situations.

One identical trait card feeds into two context boxes, a quiet exam desk and a celebration game table, producing different action-note cards.

A tendency meets a situation

Consider both a relatively enduring tendency and the demands of a particular setting.

Describing traits with evidence

Compare self-reports, observer reports and repeated observations as sources of information about traits.

One broad folder opens into several smaller labeled tendency cards, with a second inventory folder beside it showing a different organization.

A broad trait has several facets

Explore how broad personality domains can contain more specific tendencies.

Back to the topics

Read the short lesson

Distinguish stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.

Three classroom scenes illustrate conformity, compliance and obedience.

Three kinds of social influence

Compare the influence of a group, a request and an authority’s instruction.

A late-arrival message connects with planning and a delayed bus as two possible explanations.

Look at the person and the situation

Compare possible explanations for an everyday event.

One bicycle is surrounded by a route-fact card, a pleasant-weather card and a planned-trip calendar.

Beliefs, feelings and action tendencies

Distinguish several aspects of an attitude toward the same object.

A dropped bag beside a doorway leads to three teaching-question cards, followed by a practical help-option card.

How a helping decision unfolds

Use a simple teaching model to consider what can influence responding to someone who needs help.

A library table shows speech-volume symbols beside a quiet-zone sign in two matched panels.

Shared expectations shape behavior

Compare perceptions of what people usually do with expectations about what they approve.

Three distinct folders hold a generalization card, an evaluative reaction card and an access-decision card. Use abstract fictional group symbols.

Belief, attitude and treatment

Separate a generalized group belief, an evaluative attitude and differential treatment.

A recycling-belief card and a mixed-waste action card meet at a tension symbol, then branch into a revised-action plan and an explanation note.

When actions and beliefs pull apart

Explore the discomfort that can arise from relevant inconsistency and some possible ways people respond.

Overlapping membership areas link one person with student, neighbor and teammate roles.

The groups we belong to

Explore how several group memberships can be part of one person’s identity.

Opinion markers on matching scales move from an initial shared tendency toward a stronger version after discussion.

Discussion can strengthen a shared view

Explore how discussion can strengthen a group’s initial leaning.

A loop connects an expectation, an approach to another person, their response and an interpretation of that response.

Expectations can shape an interaction

Follow one way an expectation can influence an interaction.

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Mental health

Read the short lesson

Consider persistence, context and effects on everyday life.

Three connected areas of daily life are accompanied by duration, intensity, functioning and context.

Understanding mental health

Look at experience, relationships and living conditions together.

Three overlapping transparent circles contain a health-record icon, an experience journal and a housing-and-support folder.

Several influences on mental health

Consider biological, psychological and social factors as interacting parts of a fuller account.

A small plant grows in a pot supported by three equal base sections with a skills notebook, a contact network and a stable-home resource card.

Conditions that support well-being

Identify personal, relational and wider conditions that can help support mental health.

Four complementary information cards fit around an assessment conversation notebook, with an open next-question tab.

Building a fuller picture

See how a professional assessment can bring together current concerns, history, functioning and context.

A shared planning notebook connects with option cards labeled psychotherapy, medication when appropriate, and other supports, followed by a review calendar.

Finding an appropriate form of support

Understand how support choices can be discussed in relation to a person’s needs, preferences and circumstances.

Three levels connect personal self-understanding, supportive social responses and accessible institutional practices.

Make support easier to reach

Explore ways to make mental health support easier to reach.

Back to the topics

People and fields

What is psychology?

How do we know?

Brain and body

Sleep and daily rhythms

Sensation and perception

Learning

Thinking and language

Memory

Emotion

Development

Personality

Social life

Mental health