PSYC 101 - TEST 2: Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7 - PSYCH 5, Introductory Psychology, 5th Edition. By: Spencer A. Rathus

Learning

(1) according to behaviorists, a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience; (2) according to cognitive theorists, the process by which organisms make relatively permanent changes in the way they represent the environment because of experience

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

recognition

One aspect of forgetting is failure to recognize something we have experienced. One aspect of forgetting is failure to recognize something we have experienced.

Recall vs Recognition

Recall is more difficult than recognition. In a recognition task, one simply indicates whether an item has been seen before or which of a number of items is paired with a stimulus (as in a multiple-choice test). In a recall task, the person must retrieve a syllable, with another syllable serving as a cue.

Law of effect

Thorndike's view that pleasant events stamp in responses, and unpleasant events stamp them out

narcolepsy

a "sleep attack" in which a person falls asleep suddenly and irresistibly

Flooding

a behavioral fear-reduction technique based on principles of classical conditioning; fear-evoking stimuli (CSs) are presented continuously in the absence of actual harm so that fear responses (CRs) are extinguished

systematic desensitization

a behavioral fear-reduction technique in which a hierarchy of fear-evoking stimuli is presented while the person remains relaxed

abstinence syndrome

a characteristic cluster of withdrawal symptoms that results from sudden decease in an addictive drug's level of usage

higher-order conditioning

a classical conditioning procedure in which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit the response brought forth by a CS by being paired repeatedly with that conditioned stimulus

prototype

a concept of a category of objects or events that serves as a good example of the category

consciousness

a concept with many meanings, including sensory awareness of the world outside, direct inner awareness of one's thoughts and feelings, personal unity, and the waking state

circadian rhythm

a cycle that is connected with the 24-hour period of the earth's rotation

availability heuristic

a decision-making heuristic in which our estimates of frequency or probability of events are based on how easy it is to find examples

representativeness heuristic

a decision-making heuristic in which people make judgments about samples according to the populations they appear to represent

stimulant

a drug that increases activity of the nervous system

Depressant

a drug that lowers the rate of activity of the nervous system

counter conditioning

a fear-reduction technique in which pleasant stimuli are associated with fear-evoking stimuli so that the fearevoking stimuli lose their aversive qualities

mindfulness meditation (MM)

a form of meditation that provides clients with techniques they can use to focus on the present moment rather than ruminate about problems

intelligence

a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience

opiates

a group of narcotics derived from the opium poppy that provide a euphoric rush and depress the nervous system

mescaline

a hallucinogen derived from the mescal (peyote) cactus

conditioned response (CR)

a learned response to a conditioned stimulus

method of savings

a measure of retention, in which the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to re-learn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed, is calculated

concept

a mental category that is used to class together objects, relations, events, abstractions, ideas, or qualities that have common properties

Icon

a mental representation of a visual stimulus that is held briefly in sensory memory

Echo

a mental representation of an auditory stimulus (sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory

Cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a previously neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response because it has been paired repeatedly with a stimulus that already elicited that response

Substance use disorder

a problem characterized by loss of control over usage, social impairment, risky use, and tolerance and withdrawal symptoms

Shaping

a procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces approximations of the target behavior

positive reinforcer

a reinforcer that when presented, increases the frequency of an operant

Negative reinforcer

a reinforcer that when removed increases the frequency of an operant

fixed-interval schedule

a schedule in which a fixed amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available

variable-interval schedule

a schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available

Fixed ratio schedule

a schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of correct responses

variable-ratio schedule

a schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a variable number of correct responses

continous reinforcement

a schedule of reinforcement in which every correct response is reinforced

classical conditioning

a simple form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response usually evoked by another stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the other stimulus

operant conditioning

a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior because it is reinforced

Reflex

a simple unlearned response to a stimulus

rapid eye movement (REM) sleep - Stage 5 paradoxical sleep

a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, which have been linked to dreaming

Chunk

a stimulus or group of stimuli that are perceived as a discrete piece of information

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that elicits a response from an organism prior to conditioning

Secondary Reinforcer

a stimulus that gains reinforcement value through association with established reinforcers

Hippocampus

a structure in the limbic system that plays an important role in the formation of new memories

hallucinogenics

a substance that causes hallucinations

role theory

a theory that explains hypnotic events in terms of the person's ability to act as though he or she were hypnotized

divergent thinking

a thought process that attempts to generate multiple solutions to problems

convergent thinking

a thought process that narrows in on the single best solution to a problem

Schema

a way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or an expectation, that can influence perception of persons, objects, and situations

barbiturate

an addictive depressant used to relieve anxiety or induce sleep

Hypnosis

an altered state of consciousness in which people are highly suggestible and behave as though they are in a trance

Memory trace

an assumed change in the nervous system that reflects the impression made by a stimulus

engram

an assumed electrical circuit in the brain that corresponds to a memory trace

Stimulus

an environmental condition that elicits a response

electromyograph (EMG)

an instrument that measures muscle tension

Model

an organism that engages in a response that is then imitated by another organism

Primary reinforcer

an unlearned reinforcer whose effectiveness is based on the biological makeup of the organism and not on learning

Orienting Reflex

an unlearned response in which an organism attends to a stimulus

Unconditioned response (UCR)

an unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus

phencyclidine (PCP)

another hallucinogen whose name is an acronym for its chemical structure

Conditioned Reinforcer

another term for a secondary reinforcer

Working memory

another term for short-term memory

operant behavior

behavior that operates on, or manipulates, the environment

sucessive approximations

behaviors which are progressively closer to a target behavior

hydrocarbons

chemical compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon

opioids

chemicals that act on opiate receptors but are not derived from the opium poppy

nonconscious

descriptive of bodily processes, such as growing hair, of which we cannot become conscious; we may "recognize" that our hair is growing, but we cannot directly experience the biological process

Flashbacks

distorted perceptions or hallucinations that occur days or weeks after LSD usage, but mimic the LSD experience

narcotics

drugs used to relieve pain and induce sleep; the term is usually reserved for opiates

long-term potentiation (LTP)

enhanced efficiency in synaptic transmission that follows brief, rapid stimulation

anterograde amnesia

failure to remember events that occurred after physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma

retrograde amnesia

failure to remember events that occurred prior to physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma

Sleep terrors

frightening, dream-like experiences that occur during the deepest stage of NREM sleep; nightmares, in contrast, occur during REM sleep

sematic memory

general knowledge, as opposed to episodic memory

Tolerance

habituation to a drug, with the result that increasingly higher doses of the drug are needed to achieve similar effects

Repression

in Freud's psychodynamic theory, the ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from conscious awareness

Generalization

in conditioning, the tendency for a CR to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which the response was conditioned

Discrimination

in conditioning, the tendency for an organism to distinguish between a CS and similar stimuli that do not forecast a UCS

Displace

in memory theory, to cause information to be lost from short-term memory by adding new information

discriminative stimulus

in operant conditioning, a stimulus that indicates that reinforcement is available

unconscious

in psychodynamic theory, descriptive of ideas and feelings that are not available to awareness; also: without consciousness

preconscious

in psychodynamic theory, descriptive of material that is not in awareness but can be brought into awareness by focusing one's attention

Repression

in psychodynamic theory, the automatic (unconscious) ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas, impulses, or images from awareness

infantile amnesia

inability to recall events that occur prior to the age of three or so; also termed childhood amnesia

context dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

State-dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

direct inner awareness

knowledge of one's own thoughts, feelings, and memories without the use of sensory organs

Latent learning

learning that is hidden or concealed

Babbling

like crying and cooing, is inborn and prelinguistic.

dissacosiative amnesia

loss of memory of personal information that is thought to stem from psychological conflict or trauma

LSD

lysergic acid diethylamide; a hallucinogen

nonsense syllables

meaningless sets of two consonants, with a vowel sandwiched in between, that are used to study memory

Retrospective memory

memory for past events, activities, and learning experiences, as shown by explicit (episodic and semantic) and implicit memories

Explicit memory

memory that clearly and distinctly expresses (explicates) specific information

implicit memory

memory that is suggested (implied) but not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people do but do not state clearly

Prospective memory

memory to perform an act in the future, as at a certain time or when a certain event occurs

maintenance rehearsal

mental repetition of information to keep it in memory

Encode

modifies information so that it can be placed in memory; encoding is the first stage of information processing

paired associates

nonsense syllables presented in pairs in experiments that measure recall

K complexes and sleep spindles - stage 2 NREM sleep

occur during stage 2 sleep are EEG waves

eposodic memory

of events that happen to a person or that take place in the person's presence

partial reinforcement

one of several reinforcement schedules in which not every correct response is reinforced

thinking

paying attention to information, mentally representing it, reasoning about it, and making decisions about it

alpha waves - before sleep

rapid low-amplitude brain waves that have been linked to feelings of relaxation

biological preparedness

readiness to acquire a certain kind of CR due to the biological makeup of the organism

insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

heuristics

rules of thumb that help us simplify and solve problems

theta waves - stage 1 NREM sleep

slow brain waves produced during the hypnagogic state

secondhand smoke

smoke from the tobacco products and exhalations of other people; also referred to as passive smoking

amphetamines

stimulants derived from alpha-methyl-beta phenyl ethylamine, a colorless liquid consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen

delta waves - stage 3 NREM sleep

strong, slow brain waves usually emitted during stage 3 sleep

psychoactive

substances drugs that have psychological effects such as stimulation or distortion of perceptions

sleep apnea

temporary absence or cessation of breathing while sleeping

creativity

the ability to generate novel and useful solutions to problems

mental age (MA)

the accumulated months of credit that a person earns on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

Observational learning

the acquisition of knowledge and skills through the observation of others (who are called models) rather than by means of direct experience

Priming

the activation of specific associations in memory, often as a result of repetition and without making a conscious effort to access memory

heritability

the degree to which the variations in a trait from one person to another can be attributed to, or explained by, genetic factors

Suppression

the deliberate, or conscious, placing of certain ideas, impulses, or images out of awareness

Savings

the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed

marijuana

the dried vegetable matter of the Cannabis sativa plant

tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon

the feeling that information is stored in memory although it cannot be readily retrieved; also called the feeling-of-knowing experience

non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep

the first four stages of sleep

selective attention

the focus of one's consciousness on a particular stimulus

proactive interference

the interference by old learning with the ability to retrieve material learned recently

retroactive interference

the interference of new learning with the ability to retrieve material learned previously

elaboritive rehearsal

the kind of coding in which new information is related to information that is already known

Retrevial

the location of stored information and its return to consciousness; the third stage of information processing

eidetic memory

the maintenance of detailed visual memories over several minutes

Storage

the maintenance of information over time; the second stage of information processing

Extinction

the process by which stimuli lose their ability to evoke learned responses because the events that had followed the stimuli no longer occur (The learned responses are said to be extinguished.)

Memory

the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

spontaneous recovery

the recurrence of an extinguished response as a function of the passage of time

Operant behavior

the same as an operant behavior

echoic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of auditory stimuli

Iconic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of visual stimuli

transcendental meditation (TM)

the simplified form of meditation brought to the United States by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and used as a method for coping with stress

biofeedback training (BFT)

the systematic feeding back to an organism information about a bodily function so that the organism can gain control of that function

serial position effect

the tendency to recall more accurately the first and last items in a series

long-term memory (LTM)

the type or stage of memory capable of relatively permanent storage

Sensory memory

the type or stage of memory first encountered by a stimulus; sensory memory holds impressions briefly, but long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically continuous

short-term memory

the type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays; also called working memory

activation-synthesis model

the view that dreams reflect activation of cognitive activity by the reticular formation and synthesis of this activity into a pattern

Contingency theory

the view that learning occurs when stimuli provide information about the likelihood of the occurrence of other stimuli

response set theory

the view that response expectancies play a key role in the production of the experiences suggested by the hypnotist

continuity hypothesis

the view that the content of dreams tends to be consistent with previous cognitive activity

Interference theory

the view that we may forget stored material because other learning interferes with it

Reinforce

to follow a response with a stimulus that increases the frequency of the response

increased delta waves - stage 4 NREM sleep

INCREASE strong, slow brain waves usually emitted during stage 3 sleep