UWorld Psych/Soc Terms
(Piaget) sensorimotor stage
<2 yrs -Experiencing the environment via senses & actions -developmental hallmark: object performance; stranger anxiety
(Piaget) formal operational
>12 yrs -Thinking about hypothetical scenarious; grasping abstract thoughts -developmental hallmark: abstract logic; moral reasoning develops
Positive punishment
occurs when undesirable stimulus is applied
Identity development theory
(James Marcia); identity diffusion (low commitment, low exploration), identity foreclosure (high commitment, low exploration), identity moratorium (low commitment, high exploration), and identity achievement (high commitment, high exploration)
conflict theory
(Karl Marx, Max Weber) A macro-level (large-scale) sociological perspective, is concerned with the class conflict that arises when resources (e.g. wealth, power) are unevenly distributed across social groups (e.g. rich vs. poor)
Psychoanalytic theory
(Sigmund Freud); proposes that personality is composed of the id (pleasure principle), the ego (reality principle), and the superego (morality/perfection principle). The rational ego functions to mediate between external reality and the unconscious self, negotiating the desires of the primitive, impulsive id and the moralistic superego
Demographic transition model
-high birth/death rates, small population (Stage 1) -declining death rate, increasing population (Stage 2) -declining birth rate, slower population growth (Stage 3) -low birth/death rates, stable population (Stage 4) -very low birth rate, declining population (Stage 5)
Intragenerational downward mobility
1 generation; decrease in social status; doctor loses license to practice medicine
Intragenerational upward mobility
1 generation; increase in social status; i.e. after 10 years, nurse goes back to school to earn MD
Intragenerational horizontal mobility
1 generation; no change in social status; i.e. doctor moves her practice from Atlanta to Chicago
Intergenerational downward mobility
2+ generations; decrease in social status; i.e. son of doctors becomes a high school drop-out
Intergenerational upward mobility
2+ generations; increase in social status; i.e. son of high school drop-outs becomes a doctor
Intergenerational horizontal mobility
2+ generations; no change in social status; i.e. son of doctors becomes a doctor
Discrimination
the unequal treatment of individuals or groups on the basis of group membership
(Erikson ) 3. Play age (3-6 years)
Conflict: Initiative vs. guilt Successful resolution: Ability to take initiative with peers
(Erikson ) 8. Old age (>65)
Conflict: Integrity vs. despair Successful resolution: Sense of accomplishment & fulfillment
(Erikson ) 6. Early adulthood (20-40)
Conflict: Intimacy vs. isolation Successful resolution: Ability to commit to & love others
(Erikson ) 1. Infancy (0-1 years)
Conflict: trust vs. mistrust Successful resolution: ability to have faith in others
Sick role theory
A functionalist approach describing how disruption to typical social acitivity (e.g. work) caused by illness is minimized through the sick role, which legitimizies illness as socially acceptable deviance. A sick person has the obligation to attempt to get well as soon as possible, and to seek and comply with the advice of medical professionals.
dopamine
A neurotransmitter with widespread targets throughout the brain, specifically in the basal ganglia (motor function), mesolimbic pathway (pleasure, reward), and prefrontal cortex (motivation, emotional regulation)
Internal locus of control
A person has the ability to influence outcomes of events
Ethnography
A qualitative method for the scientific study of human social phenomena. Using observation and interviews, ethnographies study people in their natural environments (within their own communities) and provide descriptive information about the cultures, behaviors, norms, and values in a given geographic location
Aggregate
A collection of individuals who share a common location but do not identify as a group (e.g. all the people at a given store at 11:00 AM)
Optimum population
A demographic theory regarding the ideal population size, which is the number of people yielding the highest per capita income given the country's level of wealth, knowledge, and technical resources
Content analysis
A qualitative technique used to examine the text and images involved in human communication. It is used to assess one-on-one verbal communication, such as interview transcripts, or more widespread forms of communication, such as online content.
Blind spot
A small region between the central and peripheral visual fields where there are no photoreceptors because the optic nerve exits the retina at this location.
Linguistic determinism
A stronger version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that language controls/limits cognition and perception
Illness experience perspective
A symbolic interactionist approach to understanding how people incorporate and make sense of illness as part of their self-identity and daily routines.
Sensitization
A type of learning in which repeated exposure to a stimulus results in an increase in the strength of a response (e.g. instead of becoming accustomed to a flickering overhead light, one becomes extremely irritated)
General adaptation syndrome
According to the general adaptation syndrome, the body's response to stress involves an alarm stage (initial flight-or-flight response), resistance stage (increased resistance to stress), and exhaustion stage (eventual decreased resistance to stress) that may lead to the development of mental and physical health issues. Although most stressors elicit similar physiologic stress response course over time, not all individuals experience negative mental outcomes
Theory of universal emotions
According to the theory of universal emotions, certain emotions are expressed and detected by everyone, regardless of culture
Life course approach to aging
Aging viewed holistically in terms of social, biological, cultural & psychological contexts
Self-serving bias
An attributional bias that occurs when individuals credit their successes to internal factors but blame their failures on external factors
Social network analysis
An epidemiological technique mapping connections between individuals to study the spread of communicable disease in a population. Chronic diseases are more complex and do not lend themselves to social network analysis.
antipsychotic drugs
Antipsychotic drugs are dopamine antagonists that work in part by blocking the action of dopamine, an excess of which in certain areas of the brain has been linked to psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations), such as those seen in schizophrenia. These medications can have side effects that resemble the motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (e.g. tremors, muscle rigidity)
Intersectionality
Argues that people hold several statuses (group memberships) simultaneously, which must be considered together in understanding an individual's overall perspective and experience.
Ascribed status
Assigned social position (e.g. race)
Achieved status
Attained social position (e.g. doctor)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Attempts to change negative thoughts/beliefs (cognitions) & maladaptive behaviors. Various techniques (e.g. desensitization, self-talk) used to replace destructive thoughts/behaviors with healthy ones
Humanistic therapy (person-centered therapy)
Attempts to empower individual to move toward self-actualization. Unconditional positive regard & empathy used to encourage client to reach full potential
Psychoanalytic therapy ("talk therapy")
Attempts to uncover how unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood shape behaviors. Various techniques (e.g. free association, dream analysis) used to analyze unconscious
Projection
Attributing one's unacceptable thoughts/behaviors to someone or something else (e.g. calling the sidewalk "stupid" after tripping)
Interactionist perspective of language acquisition
Biological (due to normal brain development) AND social (due to interaction, reinforcement, desire/motivation to communicate)
Serial processing
Refers to processing one piece of information at a time, such as memorizing a list item by item
linguistic isolation
Communities who are isolated may develop own language, even in same city. May limit jobs
Reference group
Comparison group to which an individual compares self; individual may or may not belong to this group
Utilitarian organizations
Compensate members for their involvement (e.g. money, certification/diploma).
Role strain
Competing expectations within a single role create tension (e.g. a student struggles to find enough time to complete homework (expecation 1) and attend student government meetings (expectation 2) )
Internal validity
Concerned with causality, the extent to which changes in the dependent variable can be attributed to changes in the independent variable. Refers to the extent to which a measure or experiment produces a true result.
Central (foveal) vision
Cones are more densely packed at the fovea, the central portion of the retina that receives information from the central visual field, producing the highest visual acuity (image sharpness and clarity)
(Erikson ) 2. Early childhood (1-3 years)
Conflict: Autonomy vs. shame/doubt Successful resolution: Sense of self-control & independence
(Erikson ) 7. Middle age (40-65)
Conflict: Generativity vs. stagnation Successful resolution: Concern for others & society
(Erikson ) 5. Adolescence (12-20)
Conflict: Identity vs. confusion Successful resolution: Sense of self-identity
(Erikson ) 4. School age (6-12)
Conflict: Industry vs. inferiority Successful resolution: Sense of confidence in skills & abilities
Looking-glass self
Charles Cooley; proposed the concept of the looking-glass self, suggesting that beliefs about oneself are derived through social interactions with others throughout one's lifetime
Actor-observer bias
Common errors in thinking that occur when people attempt to explain behavior (their own or someone else's). The actor-observer bias occurs when individuals attribute their own behavior to external factors but attribute the behavior of others to internal factors
Political isolation
Communities segregated are politically weak because their political interests don't overlap with other communities - become political vulnerable, don't have the political influence to keep their own needs addressed
Reliability
Refers to the ability of an experiment or measure to produce similar results every time
Secondary group
Group of individuals who come together to accomplish something; larger in size, more impersonal (e.g. coworkers)
Out-group
Group to which an individual does not identify or belong; out-group members viewed unfavorably
In-group
Group to which an individual identifies & belongs; other in-group members viewed favorably
Cultural capital
Describes the nonfinancial and nonsocial network assets that confer advantage in society (e.g. a degree from a well-respected university)
Cultural transmission
Describes the passing of cultural elements (material, nonmaterial, or both) from one generation to the next (i.e. when parents expose children to music
McDonaldization
Describes the process by which extreme efficiency and rationalization produce negative consequences in society (e.g. reduced quality of products)
Chemoreceptors
Detects: chemicals Stimuli: molecules, solutes ex. taste buds (tongue)
Photoreceptor
Detects: light waves Stimuli: visible light ex. rods, cones (retina)
Mechanoreceptors
Detects: movement Stimuli: sound waves, touch ex. hair cells (ear)
Thermoreceptor
Detects: temperature Stimuli: heat, cold ex. skin
Master status
Dominant social position (e.g. ex-convict)
Push factors
Drive emigration (i.e. unemployment, war)
Elaboration likelihood model
Elaboration likelihood model of persuasion proposes that when an individual is uninterested in a message, superficial factors (e.g. an attractive celebrity spokesperson) might be most persuasive. Therefore, the elaboration likelihood model is concerned with how nonverbal cues can influence the behavior of individuals; defines two routes of persuasion: the central route (focusing on the logical content of the message) is most effective when the audience is motivated by the message, whereas the peripheral route (focusing on superficial characteristics of the message) is more effective when people are not motivated by the same message
Schachter-Singer Theory
Emotion results from physiological arousal followed by cognitive appraisal (i.e. sensory information and interpretation of environmental cues are required)
structural functionalism
Emphasizes how social structures maintain dynamic equilibrium (i.e. homeostasis) in society
Biomedical approach to mental illness
Emphasizes the diagnosis of physiological causes (abnormal brain chemistry) by physicians and the treatment of symptoms using drugs
Dramaturgical perpective
Erving Goffman; explains social behavior using a theater metaphor; the front-stage self involves individuals behaving as "actors" in an "audience," whereas the backstage self includes the behavior in which an individual engages more privately
Feminist theory
Explains differences in power between males/masculinity and females/femininity (gender inequality).
External validity
External validity is concerned with generalizability, or the extent to which results can be applies to other situations (e.g. outside the laboratory) or people (e.g. to the population).
Type II error
False negative: falsely conclude there is no difference
Type I error
False positive: falsely conclude there is a true difference
Common fate
Gestalt principle that describes our perception that things moving together (e.g. a flock of birds flying in a V-formation is perceived as a unit)
Continuity
Gestalt principle that describes our tendency to perceive elements as continuing on a smooth path (e.g. "X" is perceived as two crossing lines, rather than two "V" shapes touching)
Proximity
Gestalt principle that describes our tendency to perceive things that are physically closer to one another as a group (e.g. letters that are closer together are grouped as a word)
Similarity
Gestalt principle that refers to our tendency to group together objects that share similar features (e.g. shape, color)
Role exit
Individual disengages from a social role, often replacing it with a new social role (e.g. a college student (old role) graduates & begins full-time employment (new role)
Arousal theory of motivation
Individuals are motivated to maintain an optimum level of arousal; when underaroused, people seek activities to increase stimulation (e.g. if bored at home, one will go out dancing). When overaroused, people seek to decrease stimulation (e.g. if overwhelmed at a party, one will step outside for quiet)
Nativist perspective of language acquisition
Innate & biologically predetermined; occurs during a critical (time-sensitive) period early in life
Manifest functions
Intended, obvious purpose of a social structure (e.g. teaching facts and skills is a manifest function of the education system)
Episodic memory
Involves personally relevant information (e.g. names of former high school classmates)
Impression management
Involves trying to influence how one is perceived by others by employing certain behaviors (e.g. covering one's tattoos for a medical school interview), often with the goal of being perceived favorably
Kohlberg Moral development theory
Lawrence Kohlberg; proposes that humans progress through stages of moral and ethical reasoning throughout their lifetime, starting with basic moral reasoning during childhood and progressing to more abstract reasoning in adulthood. At the pre-conventional level, morality is externally controlled by punishment (stage 1) and reciprocity with others (stage 2). At the conventional level, morality is based on conforming to norms (stage 3) and obeying the law (stage 4). At the post-conventional level, which few people achieve, morality is based on a social contract (stage 5) and a personal code of ethics (stage 6)
Dominant culture
Learned values, beliefs, & behaviors shared by most in society
Learning perspective of language acquisition
Learned via: operant conditioning, language imitation & practice
Folkways
Least deviant; e.g. wearing clothes backward; minor punishments (e.g. staring)
Fertility rate
Measure of the number of people being added to a given population through birth, as opposed to immigration
Normative organizations
Membership based on shared values
Mirror neuron system
Mirror neurons are specialized neurons that fire both while observing and performing a behavior. Mirror neurons are hypothesized to play a central role in observation learning
Mores
More deviant; e.g. wearing no clothes in public; more serious punishment (e.g. arrest)
Taboos
Most deviant; e.g. incest, suicide; most serious punishment (e.g. incarceration)
Conditioned response (CR)
Occur when a neutral stimulus (e.g. chemotherapy equipment) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. cytotoxic medication)
Conformity
Occurs individual group members align their thoughts or actions with the group
Groupthink
Occurs when a desire for group cohesion or consensus results in poor decision-making; fewer options will be discussed and considered; more likely to occur in groups that have strong, well-liked leaders
Group polarization
Occurs when group members' average attitudes/opinions become more extreme after group discussion.
Retroactive interference
Occurs when more recently learned information interferes with the learning of older information
Proactive interference
Occurs when older information interferes with the recall of newer information
Stereotype boost (stereotype lift)
Occurs when positive stereotypes about social groups cause improved performance
Experimenter bias
Occurs when researchers deliberately or inadvertently influence their study, often leading to results that confirm what the researcher was expecting.
Continuity approach to aging
Older adults attempt to maintain the habits & behaviors from their youth
Disengagement approach to aging
Older adults withdraw from social relationships/society as society withdraw from them
External locus of control
Outcomes are determined by luck, fate, or powerful others
Overlapping confidence intervals
Overlapping confidence intervals indicate that the difference between groups may or may not be statistically significant
Parkinson disease
Parkinson disease is associated with the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra ( a structure in the basal ganglia that inhibits excess movement). A dopamine deficit in the basal ganglia causes motor symptoms such as resting tremors (e.g. shaky hands), muscle rigidity, and shuffling gait
Cannon-Bard Theory
Physiological arousal and emotion are independent processes that occur simultaneously (i.e. the experience of emotion is not tied to sensory information from the body)
Door-in-the-face phenomenon
Predicts that an individual declining a big request (taking a hepatitis C blood test) will be more likely to comply with a subsequent request that is much smaller (participating in the research study)
Medicalization
Process of defining human behaviors or characteristics as medical conditions, often results from shifting attitudes, new scientific evidence, or new treatments
Linguistic relativity theory (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
Proposes that cognition is influenced and/or shaped by language; in its stronger version, this perspective would suggest that children are unable to think about concepts for which they have not yet learned the words
Rational choice theory
Proposes that humans make rational decisions to maximize gain and minimize loss
Social exchange theory
Proposes that interactions between people are based on each person's calculation of benefits and costs; human interaction as resulting from people's perceptions of what they invest in a relationship and what they get out of it
Expectancy theory of motivation
Proposes that motivation results from expectancy (believing one is capable of achieving an outcome), instrumentality (believing one has control over the outcome), and valence (believing the outcome is desirable)
Semantic memory
Recall of facts (e.g. names of state capitals)
Deindividuation
Reduction in self-awareness when one is a member of a large group. Factors contributing to deindividuation include emotionally arousing activities, large group size, diffusion of responsibility, and anonymity; can result in negative crowd behavior (rioting, looting) that is usually uncharacteristic for those individuals
Hidden curriculum
Refers to all of the messages transmitted to students in an academic setting that are not based on content (e.g. norms, attitudes, beliefs)
Parallel processing
Refers to processing multiple sources of information that occur simultaneously, such as perceiving auditory and visual events together when watching someone talk
Social reproduction
Refers to the transmission of society's values, norms, and practices, including social inequality, from one generation to the next (e.g. the child of wealthy parents tends to be wealthy as an adult)
Exchange-rational choice
Refers to two micro-level (small-scale) sociological perspectives. Social exchange theory and rational choice theory
Immigration
Relocation of individuals into an area
Emigration
Relocation out of an area
Activity approach to aging
Remaining physically & socially active improves quality of life for older adults
Peripheral vision
Rods, present primarily in the periphery of the retina, are much more sensitive to light than cones. Rods do not transmit information about color but are well suited to detect motion and low-intensity (dim) light, producing high visual sensitivity
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder characterized by positive symptoms (e.g. hallucinations, delusions, incoherent speech), and negative symptoms (e.g. apathy, emotional flattening, social withdrawal)
Neuroleptics
Schizophrenia is often treated with either neuroleptic (conventional, typical, or first-generation) or atypical (second-generation) antipsychotics. Neuroleptics however may exacerbate negative symptoms through sedation or cognitive dulling, and they can carry the risk of movement (e.g. tremors) and other side effects
Sensory adaptation
Sensory adaptation occurs when an individual's sensory receptors adapt to the presence of a stimulus
Serial position effect
Serial position effect is the selective recall of items presented at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a series or list
Signal detection theory
Signal detection theory quantifies how decisions are made amid noise (distractions). The theory includes four possible outcomes: correct detection (signal present and correctly detected), false negative (signal present but not detected), false positive (signal absent but incorrectly detected), or correct rejection (signal absent and correctly determined to be absent)
Social loafing
Social loafing occurs when an individual expends less effort when working as part of a group than when working alone (e.g. people tend to clap less loudly as part of a group than when no one else is clapping)
Social networks
Social networks are informal, nonhierarchical webs of nodes (e.g. individuals) connected by ties, which can be weak (e.g. acquaintances) or strong (e.g. family). Social networks confer social capital through connections that can be converted into economic gain (e.g. new job), which can improve one's social statues, resulting in social mobility
Division of labor
Specialization of employment into interdependent jobs. The division of labor has positive consequences (e.g. increased specialization, efficiency, reduced costs) and negative consequences (e.g. labor exploitation, increased boredom, reduced quality)
Monoamine hypothesis
States that a depletion of monoamine neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) in the CNS causes depression symptoms
Appraisal theory
States that one's evaluation of a stimulus determines one's emotional response. In a primary appraisal, an individual determines whether a stimulus is a threat, positive, or irrelevant. If it is deemed a threat, the individual evaluates whether their resources are sufficient to cope with the stressor in the secondary appraisal.
null hypothesis (Ho)
States that there is no significant difference or relationship between the variables measured.
Differential association theory
Suggests that deviance is learned through interaction (i.e. someone goes to prison for drug possession and learns from incarcerated sellers how to efficiently sell drugs)
Labeling theory
Suggests that deviance lies not in the act but in the social response of applying a label to individuals. Labeling individuals as deviant has consequences, such as stigmatization, that lead to further deviance
social constructionism
Suggests that reality is created through shared meanings and definitions arising from social interactions
law of common fate
The Gestalt principle that we tend to group similar objects together that share a common motion or destination
James-Lange Theory
The James-Lange theory suggests that specific emotions result from stimuli eliciting specific physiological reactions, which are transmitted to the brain via the spinal cord white matter (afferent axonal tracts, which carry sensory information from the body to the brain)
Malthusian theory of population growth
The Malthusian theory of population growth suggests that human populations increase exponentially but the resources needed to sustain those populations (e.g. food) increase much more slowly, resulting in preventative checks that voluntarily decrease the birth rate and positive checks that involuntarily increase the death rate in society
alternative hypothesis
The alternative hypothesis is based on prior evidence and assumes that a significant relationship or difference exists between variables (and often predicts the nature of that relationship or difference)
Cognitive component of attitude
The cognitive component relates to a person's beliefs and opinions about something
corpus callosum
The corpus callosum allows communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which are specialized for certain functions (cortical lateralization). Each hemisphere contralaterally controls the opposite side of the body
Proprioception
The cumulative sensory input to the central nervous system from all mechanoreceptors that sense body position and limb movement.
Dependency ratio
The dependency ratio is the proportion of unproductive (i.e. too old or too young to work) to productive (i.e. working-age) members in a society. [(# of child dependents) + (# retired dependents)/ (#people in workfroce)] x 100
Effects of anxiety
The hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex demonstrate structural changes in response to chronic stress. Atrophy of the hippocampus inhibits learning and changes emotional responses. Changes in the dendrites of the amygdala are associated with increased anger, fear, and anxiety. Hypervigilance and poor coping skills are linked to changes in the dendritic branching of the prefrontal cortex.
absolute threshold
The intensity value at which an individual is able to detect the stimulus 50% of the time
left hemisphere of brain
The left hemisphere is specialized for language functions, including speech production (Broca area) and language comprehension (Wernicke area)
Life course approach to illness
The life course approach to illness is holistic and multidisciplinary, examining the cumulative effect of psychological, biological, and sociocultural factors across a lifetime on health outcomes
Nucleus accumbens
The nucleus accumbens is a structure that is part of the reward pathway in the brain. The reward pathway also includes the ventral tegmental area (which produces dopamine) and portions of the prefrontal cortex
pupil
The pupil modulates the amount of light able to enter the eyeball
Sampling bias
The result of nonrandom study sampling techniques (e.g. convenience sampling) that produce nonrepresentative samples from which conclusions about the larger population cannot be drawn
Right hemisphere
The right hemisphere is specialized for visuospatial, emotional, and artistic/musical processing
just noticeable difference (difference threshold)
The smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time is called the difference threshold, or just noticeable difference
Fundamental attribution error (attributional bias)
The tendency to blame others' behavior on internal (e.g. "they are lazy") instead of external factors.
Spatial inequality
The unequal geographical distribution of wealth resulting in the concentration of health-compromising factors (e.g. pollution, crime) in lower-income neighborhoods
trichromatic theory of color vision
This theory states that you have cones that are receptive to 3 colors: red, green, and blue. These three colors are mixed together and you perceive color
Researchers noticed that participants were more likely to erroneously report hearing a tone when viewing a picture of an object that produces a tone-like sound, such as a telephone or a bell. What type of processing best explains why this mistake might occur?
Top-down processing
Latent functions
Unintended result of a social structure (e.g. contributing to social inequality is a latent function of the education system)
Otolithic Organs
Utricle and saccule. Detect linear acceleration and head positioning
Subculture
Values & norms do not oppose the dominant culture, although group is characteristically distinct
Counterculture
Values & norms oppose the dominant culture
Hindsight bias
a cognitive bias in which an event is perceived as being likely or predictable after it has occurred, even if it was not likely to happen
Functional fixedness
a cognitive bias restricting the way one thinks of an object's uses to only typical or traditional uses
Posterior pituitary
a collection of hypothalamic axonal projections, releases the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin
Oxytocin
a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, is involved in pair bonding, reproductive behavior, labor, and lactation
Motion parallax
a monocular cue whereby objects in the foreground are perceived as moving faster than objects in the background
Interposition
a monocular depth cue that refers to one object partially blocking another (the fully visible object is perceived as being closer)
McGurk Effect
a perceptual phenomenon that demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception. The illusion occurs when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of another sound, leading to the perception of a third sound.
State-dependent memory
a phenomenon whereby memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual's internal state at the time of retrieval is the same as when the memory was encoded; ie. memories encoded while an individual is intoxicated are less easily recalled when sober than when intoxicated at a later time
Wernicke area
a portion of the temporal lobe that is responsible for language comprehension
implicit association test (IAT)
a psychometric technique designed to measure unconscious attitudes, including prejudice; test requires participants to match words or images to one of two opposite categories as quickly as possible
Social constructionism
a sociological theory suggesting that "reality" is created through interactions, resulting in agreed-on, shared meanings (social constructs); social constructs (e.g. gender) are defined and maintained through the process of social interaction
Confirmation bias
a type of cognitive bias (common error in thinking) in which individuals tend to embrace evidence supporting their beliefs, dismiss or ignore evidence refuting their beliefs, and interpret ambiguous evidence as support
Belief perseverance
a type of cognitive bias in which a person steadfastly holds a belief even when confronting strong evidence
Procedural memory
a type of implicit memory; memory for motor skills
Habituation
a type of learning in which repeated exposure to a stimulus results in a decrease in the strength of a response (e.g. after a few minutes one becomes accustomed to a flickering overheard light and no longer notices it)
Fluid intelligence
ability to use logic and creativity to solve novel problems and identify patterns in new situations; is thought to peak in early adulthood and decline with age, whereas crystallized intelligence is thought to increase with age
top-down processing
aka. conceptually driven processing, is guided by information, beliefs, or ideas already stored in our brain
bottom-up processing
aka. stimulus driven processing, which is guided by incoming data, often sensory information
Class consciousness
an awareness of one's social status in society (which is necessary for social classes to unit in revolution); Marx's term for awareness of a common identity based on one's position in the means of production
World systems theory
an economic theory of globalization that views the world as a global economy where some countries benefit at the expense of others
Cross-sectional study
an observational study that measures a variable in a population at one time point
Prefrontal cortex
anterior portion of the frontal lobe; regulates executive functions, including working memory, reasoning, planning, impulse inhibition, attention, making decisions, and solving problems; continues to develop during teens and does not reach full maturity until mid-twenties. Plays a role in what is thought to be a uniquely human capability: the modulation of emotions
Semi-periphery nations
are between core and periphery nations, with economies that are relatively more diversified than those of periphery nations
Vygotsky Language & Cognition
asserted that cognition and language develop independently but are both influenced by social interaction: cognition is the product of socialization, and language arises out of a necessity for social communication
Dispositional attributions
assume that behavior is caused by personal traits such as temperament or intelligence
Pull factors
attract people to immigrate (e.g. job opportunities)
Just world phenomenon
attributional bias that occurs when one believes that the world is fair and good things happen to people who are hard working and good and that bad things happen to people who are bad or lazy
Halo effect
attributional error that occurs when a physically attractive individual is also assumed to have other positive qualities (e.g. intelligence, kindness)
Consanguineal kinship
based on genetic relationship (e.g. biological parents)
Affinal kinship
based on marriage (e.g. spouses)
Role-playing effects
behaving according to a role causes attitudes to align with behaviors
Regression
behaving as if much younger to avoid unacceptable thoughts/behaviors (e.g. moving back in with parents to avoid adulthood stress)
Ethnocentrism
belief that other cultures are inferior to the dominant culture
lens
bends the lights so it goes to back of eyeball-focuses light specifically on the fovea of the retina
Hippocampus
controls memory consolidation; ablation of the hippocampus produces anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories
Somatic symptom disorder (SSD)
characterized by extreme distress and concern regarding one or more actual bodily/physical symptoms (e.g. fatigue, pain)
Rem sleep
characterized by rapid closed-eye movements, body paralysis, and brain activity resembling a waking state; dreaming is most common during REM sleep but can occur in other stages as well. REM sleep deprivation for one night results in REM rebound (more REM sleep than usual the next night)
SSRIs
class of antidepressants that selectively block the reabsorption (reuptake) of serotonin into the presynaptic neuron, thereby prolonging the presence of serotonin in the synaptic cleft
monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
class of antidepressants; inhibit the enzyme monoamine oxidase, decreasing the breakdown of serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine
Primary group
composed of members who have frequent contact and are emotionally connected (e.g. close friends, family members)
Secondary group
composed of members who interact for a common goal (e.g. colleagues)
Peer pressure
defined as the influence peers exert on other peers to conform to group norms
Globalization
defined in sociology as the process by which tangibles (e.g. products) and intangibles (e.g. values, ideas) spread across the world, primarily as a result of advances in technology and communication
Learned helplessness
describes feelings of powerlessness and loss of control, often occurring after a series of failures or trauma; learned helplessness is ties to low self-efficacy (personal beliefs about one's abilities) and an external locus of control (personal beliefs about whether one can influence the outcome of a situation)
Evolutionary game theory (EGT)
describes how complex social behaviors (e.g. mating, aggression, altruism) persist in populations. By applying mathematical model, EGT predicts how organisms will interact and how their behaviors confer evolutionary advantage and are passed on to offspring
Hawthorne effect
describes research subjects acting different from how they would normally behave as a result of knowing that they are being observed
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
describes the neural changes responsible for learning, memory, and associations; occurs when a neuron's firing rate increases after repeated stimulation or simultaneous stimulation by multiple inputs (association); results from an increase in neurotransmitter release and postsynaptic receptors
Optimism bias
describes the tendency for people to underestimate the probability that bad things (e.g. cancer, car accident) will happen to them
Social desirability bias
describes the tendency of research subjects to respond to experimental questions in a way that makes them look better in the eyes of the experimenter, such as overestimating positive behaviors (e.g. exercising) and underestimating negative behaviors (e.g. drinking alcohol)
cocktail party effect
describes when attention quickly shifts from an attended stimulus to an unattended stimulus when something significant occurs. At a crowded party you tune out all competing noise to focus on the person you are talking to (attended stimulus), but if you hear your name in another conversation, your attention quickly shifts to that unattended stimulus. This is a selective attention process
(Kohlberg) Pre-conventional
direct consequences to the individual -Stage 1. Obedience & punishment Avoiding punishment by authority (e.g. I'm not going to steal because I'' get spanked) -Stage 2. Self-interest Expecting equal exchange to further own self-interest (e.g. I'll help you if you help me)
Illness experience
discusses how chronically ill individuals make sense of and manage their illness in daily life and what effect illness has on their sense of self-identity; chronically ill individuals employ strategies that involve illness work (e.g. taking medications), everyday work (e.g. maintaining a household), and biographical work (e.g. explaining the illness to others) to cope with and make sense of their illness
Evolutionary theory
emotions evolved just like physical traits for the purpose of adapting to the environment
phonological loop
employed when manipulating spoken and written information (e.g. reading a book)
visuospatial sketchpad
employed when manipulating visual and/or spatial information (i.e. reading a map)
Cognitive appraisal
evaluation of the situation (appraisal) precedes emotional and physiological reactions and determines what emotion will be experienced
Stereotype threat
evokes feelings of anxiety, which are mediated by the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system
Biological perspective
explains behavior in terms of development, structure, and function of the brain and central nervous system
Formal curriculum
explicit, official content taught through the educational system (e.g. algebra, physics, chemistry)
Primary kinship
first-degree family members (e.g. mother)
Tetrad
four members; up to six social ties; tends to be the least stable; will usually split into 2 groups of 2
The increase of medicalization in society will result in medical professionals having:
greater power and authority
short-term memory
has a short duration and a storage capacity of about seven items (plus or minus two); maintenance rehearsal (mentally repeating something over and over) can prolong the duration of short-term memory
sensory memory
has the shortest duration and smallest capacity; it is a very temporary store for perceived sensations. A majority of sensory information is not transmitted to short-term memory and is lost immediately
REM sleep
high-frequency, low-amplitude waves that appear similar to beta waves; procedural memories are consolidated here
Availability heuristic
how easily something comes to memory (e.g. assuming shark attacks are common after seeing one reported on the news)
Representative heuristic
how well something matches a mental prototype (e.g. assuming a woman dressed in scrubs is a nurse rather than a surgeon)
Antidepressants
increase the function of one or more neurotransmitters within the synaptic cleft; this is often done by increasing the production of neurotransmitters, promoting their release, blocking their reuptake, or decreasing the breakdown within the presynaptic neuron.
Social exclusion
individuals are marginalized to the point of being unable to participate in society economically, socially, and civically
Primary punisher
innately desirable (e.g. electric shock)
Primary reinforcers
innately desirable (e.g. food)
Feature detection
involves feature detector neurons that preferentially fire in response to specific stimuli (e.g. a right angle causes feature detectors in the visual system to respond)
working memory
involves the manipulation and processing of information while short-term memory does not; conceptualized as consisting of a central executive, which regulated attention and task switching, and three subsystems, which are controlled by the central executive
Encoding strategy
involves the transfer of information into long-term memory; information that is attended to and processed more deeply tends to be remembered better
Cerebellum
is central to motor learning, maintaining balance and posture, coordinating complex movements, and controlling precision of fine motor movements; does not initiate voluntary movement, which occurs in the primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe; however, the cerebellum is critical for most other aspects of motor planning and execution
Cultural diffusion
is the spread of culture (material, nonmaterial, or both) from one group to another
Anhedonia
lack of pleasure; symptom associated with depression; stimulation of the nucleus accumbens in the brain's reward pathway may help alleviate anhedonia, allowing depressed individuals to feel pleasure again
Narcotic analgesics
lessens sensation of pain; i.e. morphine, codeine, heroin
Temporal lobe
located at either side of the brain; is responsible for hearing, language processing, and memory (wernicke's area and broca's area located here)
Occipital lobe
located at the back of the brain; responsible for processing visual information
Somatosensory cortex
located in parietal lobe; receives sensory input from the body about touch sensation and position of limbs in space
Secondary reinforcers
made desirable through learning (e.g. good grades)
Secondary punisher
made undesirable through learning (e.g. bad grades)
Vestibular system
maintains balance & orientation, detects gravity/acceleration (otolith organs) & head rotation (semicircular canals); motion sickness arises from conflict between vestibular system and visual input
Explicit/declarative memory
memory for facts and events that can be consciously or intentionally recalled
Implicit/nondeclarative memory
memory for things that cannot be consciously recalled, such as skills, tasks, emotions, and reflexes
Schemas
mental frameworks that organize old information and allow quick processing of new information
Heuristics
mental shortcuts that save time but are often less accurate
Social impairment
occurs when the presence of others hinders performance on difficult or unfamiliar tasks
Compared to women's social networks, men's social networks tend to be larger, have more weak ties, and provide more information about work-related topics; therefore, men's social networks most likely confer:
more social capital and more social mobility
Phi phenomenon
motion picture effect; an optical illusion in which a series of still photographs presented in rapid succession appear to be moving
Limbic system
network of brain regions involved in emotion, learning, and memory; includes amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and cingulate gyrus
Computer tomography (CT)
neuroimaging method; computer combines multiple x-rays taken at different angles; measures detailed structure of internal organs & tissues at a single point in time
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
neuroimaging method; electrodes placed on scalp & connected to an amplifier; measures voltage fluctuations in the brain over time
Positron emission tomography (PET)
neuroimaging method; scanner detects radioactive tracer attached to a glucose analog; changes in glucose metabolism in the brain over time
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
neuroimaging method; scanner detects the differential properties of oxyhemoglobin & deoxyhemoglobin; measures changes in blood oxygenation in the brain over time
Crude birth rate (CBR)
number of live births per year for every 1000 members of a population, regardless of sex or age
Age-specific fertility rate (ASFR)
number of live births per year per 1000 women in a certain age group in a population
Retinal disparity
occurs because each eye transmits a lightly different image to the brain, which infers distance from the disparity
Self-fulfilling prophecy
occurs when a belief about something (that may nor may not be true) influences the behavior of the person who believes it, resulting in an outcome that may validate the belief as true
Extinction
occurs when a conditioned response gradually stops occurring in the absence of the conditioned stimulus
Negative punishment
occurs when a desirable stimulus is removed
Source monitoring error
occurs when a memory is attributed to the wrong source (e.g. information from a television commercial is attributed to one's physician)
Teacher expectancy
occurs when a teacher's beliefs about a student (e.g. "she is smart," "he is lazy") result in the student meeting those expectations (e.g. excelling or performing poorly). This is thought to occur as a result of the teacher's behavior toward the student
Spontaneous recovery
occurs when an extinct response reappears after a period of time
Avoidance learning
occurs when an individual figures out how to prevent experiencing the unpleasant stimulus in the future
Escape learning
occurs when an individual learns how to terminate a current unpleasant stimulus; escape learning becomes avoidance learning when an organism prevents coming into contact with an unpleasant stimulus
Stimulus discrimination
occurs when an organism distinguishes between two similar stimuli
Negative reinforcement
occurs when an undesirable stimulus is withdrawn, which encourages a behavior to happen again
Bystander effect
occurs when individual in need is less likely to receive help when more people are present; can be partly explained by the diffusion of responsibility, whereby onlookers assume action will be taken by someone else
Obedience
occurs when individuals behave according to the requests or demands of an authority figure
Reaction formation
occurs when individuals outwardly express the opposite of how they actually feel when those thoughts and feelings are distressing
Overconfidence bias
occurs when one's confidence in knowledge or abilities exceeds accuracy (e.g. an individual who is sure of acing a test but actually receives an average grade)
Informational social influence
occurs when people assume others have more information and know what to do
Stimulus generalization
occurs when the conditioned response is elicited by stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus. i.e. a dog that has been conditioned to salivate in response to a bell may also salivate to a phone alert
Social facilitation effect
occurs when the presence of others enhances performance on easy, well-rehearsed tasks;
parvo pathway
one of two visual processing pathways; processes color and form
magno pathway
one of two visual processing pathways; processes motion and depth
spatial mismatch
opportunities for low-income people in segregated communities may be present but farther away, and harder to access. Gap between where people live and where opportunities are.
(Kohlberg) Post-conventional
own ethical principles -Stage 5. Social contract Maximizing benefit for the largest number of people (e.g. It's okay to break a law if it saves a life) -Stage 6. Universal ethical principles Following own ethical principle of justice above all else (e.g. I take action against violating basic human rights)
choroid
pigmented black in humans, is a network of blood vessels that helps nourish the retina
Periphery nations
poor and have weak governments and economies; rely on the export of their resources to wealthier countries, making them dependent on (and exploited by) core nations
Social cognitive theory
posits that people learn by observing others; vicarious learning takes place through watching other people behave in a certain way and then get rewarded or punished for it. Depending on the outcome, the observer may or may not choose to behave in the same way as the model
Prejudice
preconceived ideas and beliefs about people or groups based on their group membership
Thomas theorem
predicts that an individual's response or reaction to a situation is the result of her interpretation of the situation
Cognitive dissonance theory
predicts that contradictory or incompatible beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors cause a state of mental discomfort (cognitive dissonance) that results in motivation to reduce the conflict by aligning thoughts and/or behaviors
Foot-in-the-door phenomenon
predicts that people who are more likely to comply with a big request after they have already complied with a small request; this can be explained by a change in attitude: people tend to have more favorable attitudes toward those they have just helped, increasing the likelihood they will agree to the larger request
Secondary kinship
primary kin of first-degree family members (e.g. mother's brother)
interference effect
process describing when old information prevents recollection of new information (proactive interference) or new information prevents the recollection of old information (retroactive interference)
Parietal lobe
processes spatial information (proprioception) and is responsible for cognitive mapping, our ability to represent mentally the spatial relationships concerning things in our environment
Ventral tegmental area
produces dopamine
Mead theory of identity development
proposed that identity formation is the result of social interactions, particularly with significant others, early in life; -during the preparatory stage, babies/toddlers imitate others without comprehension of "self" -during the play stage, children begin understanding the perspectives of specific others (role-taking); when children understand themselves as individuals separate from others, the "I" component of the self has developed. Children then begin to imagine how others perceive them, which is the beginning of the development of the "me" -during the game stage, children understanding the perspective of others in society (generalized other) and social interaction rules
Maslow hierarchy of needs
proposes that basic needs (physiological and safety) must be met before psychological needs (love and belonging, esteem) can be attained. All lower needs must be addressed before one can reach the pinnacle of the hierarchy: self-actualization (physiological needs --> safety needs --> belongingness and love needs --> esteem needs --> self-actualization)
Frustration-aggression theory
proposes that individuals exhibit aggression as a result of frustration (i.e. having a goal or effort blocked or defeated)
Pragnanz
reality is reduced to the simplest form possible (eg Olympic rings)
Positive reinforcement
refers to a desirable stimulus being applied, encouraging a behavior to happen again
False consciousness
refers to an inaccurate assessment of one's own status; Karl Marx; situation in which people in the lower classes come to accept a belief system that harms them; the primary means by which powerful classes in society prevent protest and revolution
Locus of control (LOC)
refers to an individual's beliefs about who or what controls the outcome of a situation
Institutional discrimination
refers to differential treatment of specific social groups (e.g. racial/ethnic minorities) at the organizational or system level, resulting in negative consequences for those affected
Self-concept
refers to the beliefs about oneself, including beliefs about race/ethnicity, gender, ability, talent, and so on
Negative priming
refers to the impaired processing (i.e. slower response or reduced accuracy) that occurs when a stimulus is initially ignored and then later attended to (e.g. first being asked to pick a red pen and ignore other colored pens in a cup, and then when asked to pick a blue pen, response time is slower)
Acquisition
refers to the learning that takes place as an association is formed between the unconditioned stimulus (e.g. food) and the neutral stimulus (e.g. bell)
Culture lag
refers to the social problems created by the time delay between rapid changes in material culture (technology, fashion) and slower changes in nonmaterial culture (ideas, beliefs, laws)
Regression to the mean
refers to the tendency of extreme data points in a distribution to regress toward the mean value of the distribution upon repeated measurements
Circadian rhythms
regulated endogenously by a circadian pacemaker (master clock), are cycles in physiological activity (e.g. hormone release) that occur over 24-hour intervals. Biomarkers include: -Core body temperature, which fluctuates between 38 degrees Celsius (in the daytime) and 36 degrees Celsius (just before waking) -Plasma melatonin level, which peaks during sleep but remains relatively low during waking hours -Cortisol, which under normal conditions peaks immediately after waking and is lowest just before sleep
central executive
regulates attention and task switching, and controls the three lower subsystems of working memory including the visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer
Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
regulates the circadian pacemaker that controls circadian rhythms. When light levels are low, the SCN downregulates melatonin production by the pineal gland. When light levels are low, the SCN upregulates melatonin production by the pineal gland
Hypothalamus
regulates the pituitary gland and the autonomic nervous system
Fixed interval
reinforcement after consistent amount of time passes; tends to produce increased behavior just before the reward and decrease behavior just after
Fixed ratio
reinforcement after consistent number of behaviors
Variable interval
reinforcement after inconsistent amount of time passes
Variable ratio
reinforcement after inconsistent number of behaviors
Behavioral component of attitude
relates to how a person acts toward something. In the above examples, voting for or against a candidate reflect the behavioral component of attitude
Affective component of attitude
relates to how a person feels about something, including positive or negative evaluations or emotions (e.g. anger, excitement)
Triad
relationship among three people; can have three potential social ties, making triadic relationship more stable but less intimate than dyads
Dyad
relationship between two people; has only one social ties, making dyadic relationships the most intimate (e.g. romantic couples, business partners); however, dyads are also less stable than larger groups because if either person leaves, the group ceases to exist
Frontal lobe
responsible for many functions, including the active manipulation of information involved in reasoning and problem solving (known as working memory) and the initiation of voluntary motor movements
Thalamus
responsible for relaying sensory information to the cerebral cortex
episodic buffer
responsible for temporal processing (understanding the timeline of events) and integrating information from long-term memory into working memory (e.g. remembering how to multiply when figuring out a tip at a restaurant)
Tertiary kinship
secondary kin of first-degree family members (e.g. mother's uncle)
speech shadowing
selective attention process used in dichotic listening tasks (competing information presented in each ear) that involves repeating information presented in one ear while tuning out the competing information in the other ear
Cultural relativism
there are no "right" or "wrong" cultural practices; most inclusive of cultural differences; less likely to occur in a health care situation that is culturally relativistic
Motor cortex
sends motor commands from the brain to the muscles of the body
Tonic receptors
sensory receptors that continue to produce action potentials throughout the duration of a stimulus; tonic receptors are limited to the peripheral nervous system and are not found in the brain
(sleep) Stage 3/4
slow-wave sleep (delta waves); declarative memories are consolidated here
Depressants
slows down CNS function; i.e. alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines; depressants exert their primary anxiolytic effect through binding at the GABA receptor, enhancing the effect of GABA, the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system
Fictive kinship
social ties that are not consanguineal or affinal (e.g. adopted children)
(Kohlberg) Conventional
society's norms & values -Stage 3. Conformity & interpersonal accord Wanting to be "good" to secure the approval of others (e.g. I'll do my homework so the teacher likes me) -Stage 4. Law & order Obeying laws of society (e.g. I'm not going to speed because it's against the law)
macula
special part of retina rich in cones
Taste aversion
specific and powerful type of classical conditioning that occurs after just one instance of becoming ill following food/beverage consumption; long lasting and can develop despite many hours passing between consumption and illness
Stimulants
speeds up CNS function, elevates mood; i.e. amphetamines, cocaine
Young-Helmholtz theory (trichromatic theory)
states that all the colors we see are the result of the combined activity of three types of photoreceptors: Those that respond to short (blue), medium (green), and long (red) wavelengths of light
Opponent-process theory
states that color vision occurs because of the opposing responses of three sensory receptor complexes (red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white)
Psychosexual theory of development
states that personality develops through five psychosexual stages that begin in childhood; conflict in any of these stages can lead to psychological issues (e.g. anxiety) in adulthood
Place theory
states that specific wavelength frequencies generate vibrations at specific loci on the basilar membrane of the cochlea. Hair cells located at the base of the basilar membrane are activated by high frequency sounds, and hair cells located at the apex of the basilar membrane are activated by low frequency sounds
Weber law
states that the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be perceived (called the just-noticeable difference) is based on the original stimulus intensity, not on a constant value. If you can barely perceive the difference between 10 lb and 11 lb (a 10% difference), you can also just barely detect a difference between 50 lb and 55 lb (a 10% difference)
(sleep) Stage 1
theta waves
(sleep) Stage 2
theta waves still predominate but are interrupted by occasional sleep spindles (bursts in frequency) and K-complexes (increase in wavelength)
Drive reduction theory
suggest that motivation results from the desire to maintain homeostasis
Yerkes-Dodson law
suggest that there is an optimal level of physiological or mental arousal at which performance is maximized; performance will decline with too little or too much arousal
Incentive theory
suggests behavior is primarily motivated by extrinsic (external) rewards, rather than internal rewards or biological drives
Incentive theory of motivation
suggests that individuals are motivated according to external rewards. Therefore, people engage in behavior that results in the most desirable outcomes. For example, people are motivated to go to work to make money
Trait theory
suggests that personality is the result of a combination of traits that are relatively stable over time; does not account for external influences on personality or for the reasons underlying personality traits
Spreading activation
suggests that when a node in the semantic network is activated, the nodes directly connected to the node are then activated as well (i.e. priming)
Strain theory
suggests that when individuals are unable to attain socially acceptable goals (e.g. having a nice car) through legitimate means (e.g. a job), the resulting strain may lead to deviant behavior (e.g. stealing)
Humanistic theory of motivation
suggests that, assuming more basic needs (like hunger) have been met, individuals are ultimately motivated to seek self-actualization, the ultimate fulfillment of their own potential. The motivation to pursue a medical degree is an example of wanting to fulfill one's potential.
Meritocracy
system in which individuals with the most merit (e.g. talent, ability, effort) progress and earn rewards. In other words, factors such as prestige or social connections do not count in meritocracy
Normative social influence
takes place when people attempt to fit in
Displacement
taking out unacceptable thoughts/behaviors to acceptable thoughts/behaviors (e.g. punching a pillow when angry about being fired)
Crystallized intelligence
the ability to apply skills and knowledge that have already been learned; thought to increase with age
Glass escalator
the accelerated promotion of men to the top of a work organization, especially in feminized jobs; Exemplifies institutional discrimination because it involves systemic actions or policies that benefit one group (males) at the expense of another (females) based on group stereotypes (i.e. men are better leaders than women)
Total fertility rate (TFR)
the average number of children born per woman during her lifetime
Universalism
the belief that cognition controls language, posits that certain cognitive processes are universal, so all human languages also possess certain universals (e.g. noun)
Convergence
the extent to which the eyes turn inward (converge) to focus on an object; closer objects require more convergence, which helps the brain infer distance; things far away - muscle of eyes relaxed, things close to us - muscles of eyes contract
Absolute poverty
the inability to secure basic necessities of life, such as food and shelter
glass ceiling
the mostly invisible barrier that keeps women from advancing to the top levels at work
Optic disc
the region of the retina where both the optic nerve (ganglion cell axons) exits the artery that vascularizes (supplies blood to) the retina enters. The optic disc is known a the "blind spot" because there are no photoreceptors in this area
opponent-process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green
General fertility rate (GFR)
the total number of live births per year for every 1000 women of childbearing age in a population , which is a better measure of fertility than the CBR b/c it accounts for the age distribution and sex ratio of the population
long-term memory
thought to be a permanent store with an infinite storage capacity consisting of two branches: explicit memory and implicit memory
Semantic long-term memory
thought to be stored as a network of interconnected concepts (nodes) in a semantic (meaning-based) network
Sublimation
transforming unacceptable thoughts/behaviors to acceptable thoughts/behaviors (e.g. taking up boxing as a hobby to vent anger)
Hallucinogens
triggers mind-altering effects; lysergic acid diethylamide
Compliance
type of conformity whereby an individual publicly goes along with the group but privately maintains his or her own stance
Unconditioned response (UR)
unconditioned responses occur naturally, without learning (e.g. nausea in response to cytotoxic medication)
Token economy
uses tokens (e.g. gold stars) as secondary reinforcers to encourage certain desired behaviors; tokens can be exchanged for something the individual wants (e.g. candy)
Core nations
wealthy with strong, diversified economies and centralized governments; take resources from (exploit) poorer countries and lead the global economic market through the export of goods around the world
sclera
white of the eye
(Piaget) preoperational stage
~2-7 yrs -Representing real things with words & images -developmental hallmark: pretend play; egocentrism; language development
(Piaget) concrete operational stage
~7-11 -Thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies; performing arithmetic -developmental hallmark: conservation; mathematical transformation