Exam 2 Psychology
norming
conflicts are resolved, close relationships develop, and unity and harmony emerge
egocentrism
in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view
morpheme
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)
neutral stimulus (NS)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
unconditioned response (UCR)
in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.
reinforcement
in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
cognitive psychology
the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
trial and error
A problem-solving strategy that involves attempting different solutions and eliminating those that do not work.
arousal theory
A theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation.
analytical intelligence
According to Sternberg, the ability measured by most IQ tests; includes the ability to analyze problems and find correct answers.
psychosocial development (know all the stages)
Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.
Multiple Intelligences Theory
Gardner's theory that each person possesses at least eight types of intelligence
implicit memory
Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously
vicarious punishment
Phenomenon in which a response decreases in frequency when another person is observed being punished for that response.
reconstruction
Reconstructive memory is a theory of memory recall, in which the act of remembering is influenced by various other cognitive processes including perception, imagination, semantic memory and beliefs, amongst others.
triarchic theory of intelligence
Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions
short-term memory (STM), also called, working memory
Short-term memory is the information that a person is currently thinking about or is aware of
creativity
The ability to make or bring a new concept or idea into existence; marked by the ability or power to create.
syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one's environment
Atkinson-Shiffrin storehouse stage model (A-S)
The multistore model of memory (also known as the modal model) was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structural model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
language structure
The organization of words (both spoken and written) into meaningful segments (phrases or sentences) using conventions of grammar and syntax.
flashbulb memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
instinct
a complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species
lexicon
a dictionary; a specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place
stimulus discrimination
a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus
recognition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
semantic memory
a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world
emerging adulthood
a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults
heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
reflex
a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions
divergent thinking
a type of creative thinking in which one generates new solutions to problems
convergent thinking
a type of critical thinking in which one evaluates existing possible solutions to a problem to choose the best one
operant conditioning
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher
generative
allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation
higher-order conditioning
an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus so that eventually the new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response, without the initial conditioned stimulus present
punishment
an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows
retrograde amnesia
an inability to retrieve information from one's past
variable ratio reinforcement schedule
an intermittent schedule in which consequences are delivered following a different number of behaviors, sometimes more and sometimes less, that vary around a specified average number of behaviors
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
developmental milestone
approximate ages at which children reach specific normative events
fixed interval reinforcement schedule
behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time
variable interval reinforcement schedule
behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed
extinction
decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with conditioned stimulus
intelligence quotient
defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100
observational learning
learning by observing others
habituation
learning not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change
associative learning
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
latent learning
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it
normative approach
measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
explicit memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"
mnemonic device
method of improving memory by associating new information with previously learned information
vicarious reinforcement
observing someone else receive a reward or punishment
crystallized intelligence
one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units
fluid intelligence
our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
bias
prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
classical conditioning
process by which we learn to associate stimuli and consequently anticipate events
psychosexual development
process proposed by Freud in which pleasure-seeking urges focus on different erogenous zones of the body as humans move through five stages of life
partial reinforcement
reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement
practical intelligence
the ability to use information to get along in life and become successful
symbolic
serving as a visible symbol for something abstract
fixed ratio reinforcement schedule
set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded
phoneme
smallest unit of sound
negative reinforcement
something Is removed to increase the likelihood of the behavior
positive punishment
something is added to decrease the likelihood of the behavior
negative punishment
something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior
positive reinforcement
something that is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior
self-reference effect
tendency to better remember information relevant to ourselves
conditioned response (CR)
the behavior caused by conditioned stimulus
conditioned stimulus (CS)
the behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus
declarative memory
the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory; knowledge that can be declared
episodic memory
the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place
rehearsal
the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
discontinuous development (stage theory)
the discontinuity theory says that development occurs in a series of distinct stages
retroactive interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
proactive interference
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
cognitive development
the emergence of the ability to think and understand
semantic encoding
the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
acoustic encoding
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
procedural memory
the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things
continuous development
the idea that changes with age occur gradually, in small increments, like that of a pine tree growing taller and taller
sensory memory
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
model
the indivual preforming the imitated behavior
nature
the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions
acquisition
the initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.
persistence
the intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget
memory consolidation
the neural storage of a long-term memory
retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
standardization (of tests)
the process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind of people for whom the test is designed
encoding
the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
storage
the retention of encoded information over time
long-term memory (LTM)
the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently
spontaneous recovery
the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period
suggestibility
the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections
stimulus generalization
the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
adolescence
the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
primary reinforcer
those that have innate reinforcing qualities (food, water, sleep, pleasure). the value of these does not need to be learned
secondary reinforcer
those that have no inherent value. their value is learned and becomes reinforcing when linked with a primary reinforcer.
nurture
to care for
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
continuous reinforcement
when an organism receives a reinforcer each time it displays a behavior