AP Psychology Exam

zajonc/ledoux

-cognition may not precede emotion -instant, before cognitive appraisal -ex: we automatically react to a sound in the forest before appraising it

big five

-consciousness -agreeableness -neuroticism -openness -extroversion

transduction

-conversion of one form of energy into another -in sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sight, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

sexual response cycle

-the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson -excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution

ego

-the largely conscious "executive" part of personality that, according to freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality -operates on the reality principle

difference threshold

-the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time -we experience this as a just noticeable difference

Intrinsic Motivation (Sternberg)

Being driven more by interest, satisfaction, and challenge than by external pressures; creative focus less on meeting deadlines, impressing people, making money, than on pleasure/stimulation of work itself (Ex: Newton answered solved problem by thinking about it all the time)

Smart Use Less Energy To Solve Problems . .

Better functioning, more efficient

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Better job performance, can delay gratification, emotionally in tune with others, succeed more in career/marriage

Memory of Young

Better than memory of the older, and can multitask better

Genes

Biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes; segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

Circadian Rhythm

Biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (such as temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

Purpose of Conditioning

Biologically adaptive; allows animals to prepare for good/bad events (Ex: find food, avoid dangers, locate mates, reproduce)

Intelligence test performance of today's better-fed, better-educated, and more test-prepared population exceeds that of the 1930s population--by a greater margin than the intelligence test score of the average White today exceeds that of the average Black

Blacks' average IQ as high as British's in 1948

Who is the Greatest of ALL TIME?

Blair Horning

Endocrine System

Body's "slow" chemical communication system; set of glands that secrete hormones into bloodstream

Nervous System

Body's speedy electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of peripheral and central nervous systems

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Lewis Terman

Adapted Binet's IQ test and added some items; established new age norms; teens with scores on higher end "superior adults"; believed in eugenics

Overlearning

Additional rehearsal of verbal information which increases retention, esp. when practice is distributed over time

When Should I Workout?

Afternoon workouts don't disrupt sleep and there is less risk of injury; evening workouts keep you awake

General Aptitude Tests Most Effective . . .

Ages 6 to 12, where correlation is +.6; correlates even more with achievement tests at +.81

Alcohol Dependence (Alcoholism)

Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal if suspended, and drive to continue use

Universal Grammar

All languages have nouns, verbs, adjectives, and grammar learned naturally as child

Noam Chomscky

All languages share universal grammar and children have innate predisposition to acquire and produce language (language acquisition device)

Can Anyone Experience Hypnosis?(Questions of Hypnosis)

All people are open to suggesting, but some are more hypnotizable than other (20% carry out suggestion w/ total focus)

Cerebellum

Allows certain conditioned reflexes, such as associating a tone with an impending puff of air

Near-Death Experience

Altered state of consciousness reported after close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often like drug-induced hallucinations; caused by brain under stress

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Amplified recording of waves of electrical activity that sweep across brain's surface; waves measured by electrodes placed on scalp

Biopsychosocial Approach

Analysis considering influences of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors

Two-word Stage

Beginning about age 2, is stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements

Babbling Stage

Beginning at about 4 months, is stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

Respondent Behavior

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Operant Behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment, producing (rewarding or punishing) consequences (controllable by individual)

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

Hypnagogic Sensation

Experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep (Ex: Those reporting being abducted by aliens after getting into bed recall being floated off of or pinned down on their bed)

Cognitive Psychologists

Experiment with how we perceive, think, and problem-solve

Independent Variable

Experimental factor that's manipulated; variable whose effect is being studied

Double-Blind Procedure

Experimental procedure in which both research participants and research staff are ignorant about whether research participants have received treatment or placebo

Placebo Effect

Experimental results caused by expectation alone; any effect caused by administration of inert substance/condition, which recipient assumes is active agent (higher cost, more believable)

Theory

Explanation using integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors/events

Amnesia Causes Loss of . . .

Explicit memories but NOT implicit memories

Biological Psychologists

Explore links between brain/mind

Reliability

Extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting

Validity

Extent to which test measures or predicts what it is supposed to (includes content validity and predictive validity)

Content Validity

Extent to which test samples behavior that is of interest

Confounding Variable

Factor other than independent variable that might produce an effect in experiment

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment (Ex: Magician put on dramatic act with left hand so audience doesn't notice what they are doing with their right hand)

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere

Hallucinations

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Myelin Sheath

Fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next

Binet's Fear

Feared his IQ test would label kids and limit opportunities (happened)

Exposure to Testosterone

Fetus develops to be more aggressive and have more masculine-appearing genitalia; also improves athletic success and encourages male-play

John Watson

Focused on behaviorism; famous for Little Albert study

Selective Attention

Focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Neurogenesis

Formation of new neurons by reorganizing existing tissues

Evolution of Brain

Formative nurture conspires with nature at conception, then continues outside; in enriched environment, brain cortexes grow bigger; better environment means better brain development; stimulation by touch and massage helps brain development

Morphemes

In language, are smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word (such as a prefix, like pre- in "preview")

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

Left vs. Right Frontal Lobe

Left frontal lobe recalls password and holding it in memory while right frontal lobe recalls visual party scene

Left vs. Right Hippocampus

Left-hippocampal damage leads to not recalling verbal information; right-hippocampal damage leads to not recalling visual designs/locations

Threshold

Level of stimulation needed to trigger neural impulse (all-or-none response)

Biological/Social Influences Affect . . .

Life priorities, (women greater interest in people while men in money/things) risk-taking, (men more reckless) and in math reasoning and spatial abilities

Working-Memory vs. IQ

More one can remember in working-memory, the higher their IQ and ability to focus tends to be

Frontal Lobe

Most active on left for verbal questions and both sides for spatial questions; frontal lobe global workspace for organizing and coordinating info

Mode

Most frequently occurring score(s) in distribution

Opiates

Opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety; Methadone (synthetic opiate) is substitute for heroin but can create tolerance too

Chunking (Definition)

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically (enables us to recall it more easily)

Paradoxical Sleep

Other name for REM sleep, because muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

Fluid Intelligence

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Crystallized Intelligence

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment; helps to see long-term

Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities

Our intelligence can be broken down into seven factors: word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, and memory

Gender Identity

Our sense of being male or female

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the way we combine them to communicate meaning (allows human connection)

Dependent Variable

Outcome factor; variable that may change in response to manipulations of independent variable

23rd Chromosome

Pair of chromosomes that affects biological sex

Adrenal Glands

Pair of endocrine glands just above kidneys that secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that arous body in times of stress (Ex: Increase heart rate)

Processing Method

Parallel processing; pruning process

Sympathetic Division

Part of autonomic nervous system that arouses body (Ex: Increase heartbeat)

Parasympathetic Division

Part of autonomic nervous system that calms body, conserving its energy (Ex: Decreases heartbeat and blood sugar)

Autonomic Nervous System

Part of peripheral nervous system that controls glands/muscles of internal organs

Reinforcement Schedules

Patterns that define how often a desired response will be reinforced

Passwords

People tend to duplicate passwords or use retrieval cues like name/date in birthday; best to rehearse password w/ mix of letters of numbers to encode it into long-term memory

Woah, Evolutionary Science is Scary

People worry evolutionary science would destroy sense of beauty, mystery, and spiritual significance of human creature

Role

Set of expectations (norms) about social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Gender Role

Set of expected behaviors for males or for females (Ex: Men pay and drive, women care for children and select wedding gifts); smooth social relations (less argument)

How Many Items Can We Remember in Short-Term Memory?

Seven Items

X Chromosome

Sex chromosome found in both men and women; females have two X chromosomes while men have one; An X chromosome from each parent produces female child

Y Chromosome

Sex chromosome found only in men; When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Shock that leads to no memories of events just before knockout

Haber Experiment

Showed 2500 slides with faces and places for 10 seconds each; shown side by side with never before seen picture; recognized which was shown most of the time (90%) and with 3 seconds each recognized 82% of the time

Humanistic Psychologists

Showed ways current environmental influences can nurture/limit our growth potential, and importance of having needs for love satisfied

When Blacks and Whites have or receive the same pertinent knowledge, they exhibit similar info-processing skill

Shown IQ differences, self-fulfilling

Heuristics

Simple thinking strategies that often allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

Reflex

Simple, automatic responses to sensory stimulus (Ex: Touch flame and flinch)

Bilingual Advantage

Skilled at inhibiting one language while using another; also better at inhibiting attention to irrelevant info

Natural Aids to Memory

Sleep and effective study techniques

Hypersomnia

Sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness; irresistible drowsiness, daytime napping, difficult to wake

Night Terrors

Sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, these occur during NREM-3 sleep, within two/three hours of falling sleep, and are seldom remembered, but when awakened may be dazed/groggy

REM Behavior Disorder

Sleep disorder characterized by loss of paralysis during REM sleep; "act" out dream activity; can endanger self

Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings (affects 1/20); associated with obesity, loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, irritability, high blood pressure; unaware of condition; unaware of condition; mask-like device helps

Narcolepsy

Sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks; sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at unfortunate times (affects 1/2000); involves sudden loss of muscle control; triggered by intense emotions

Restless Leg Syndrome (PLMS)

Sleep disorder of the part of the nervous system that causes an urge to move the legs

Sleep Helps Us Recuperate (Sleep Theories)

Sleep helps restore and repair brain tissue; neurons repair themselves

Sleep Protects (Sleep Theories)

Sleep pattern tends to follow ecological niche (those who need to graze and not hide for as long sleep less)

State-Dependent Memory

Sober may learn something, but when drunk might not remember it

Hypnosis

Social interaction in which one person suggests to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Creative Environment (Sternberg)

Sparks, supports, refines creative ideas; emotional intelligence needed to network effectively with peers; such environments support innovation, team-building, communication, contemplation (Ex: Work without interruption, but allow communication among peers if needed)

Specific Language

Specific grammar and vocabulary by language

Quick-wittedness

Speed of perception and speed of neural processing

Girls Better At . . .

Spelling, more verbally fluent, better at locating objects, better at detecting emotions, more sensitive to touch, taste, color

Dissociation

Split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others; hypnosis affects selective attention by making brain focus on certain things (Ex: When in pain, don't focus on pain)

One-word Stage

Stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words (usually brief, one syllable)

Reinforcing Own Behavior

State your goal in measurable terms and announce it, Monitor how often you engage in your desired behavior, Reinforce the desired behavior, Reduce the rewards gradually

Operational Definitions

Statements of procedures used to define research variables (Ex: human intelligence is "what IQ test measures)

Correlation Coefficient

Statistical index of relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Factor Analysis

Statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score

Statistical Significance

Statistical statement of how likely it is obtained result occurred by chance

Nicotine

Stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco; releases dopamine, opioids, epinephrine, norepinephrine; most people want to quit

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

Stimulus in classical conditioning that elicits no response before conditioning

Conditioned Reinforcer

Stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer

Sleep Helps Restore and Rebuild Our Fading Memories of Day's Experiences (Sleep Theories)

Strengthens and stabilizes neural memory traces; more sleep, better memory recall

Amygdala

Stress hormones provoke amygdala to initiate memory trace in frontal lobes/basal ganglia to boost activity in memory-forming areas

Psychodynamic (Analysis)

Studies how behavior springs from unconscious drives/conflicts

Social-Cultural (Analysis)

Studies how behavior/thinking vary across situations/cultures

Neuroscience (Analysis)

Studies how body/brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

Behavior Genetics (Analysis)

Studies how genes/environment influence individual differences

Evolutionary (Analysis)

Studies how natural selection of traits has promoted survival of genes

Cognitive (Analysis)

Studies how we encode, process, store, retrieve information

Behavioral (Analysis)

Studies how we learn from observable responses

Applied Research

Study aiming to solve practical problems

LIttle Albert Study

Study by John Watson and Reyner (1920), in which a little boy (11 months) became afraid of white fuzzy objects, especially white rats because he associated them with a loud clang after seeing a bunny and hearing a loud clang at the same time

Developmental Psychologists

Study changing abilities from life to death

Social Psychologists

Study how we view/affect each other

Cross-Sectional Study

Study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Cognitive Neuroscience

Study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, language)

Evolutionary Psychology

Study of evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection

Community Psychology

Study of how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals/groups, and creates environments healthy for all

Positive Psychology

Study of human functioning to discover/promote strengths/virtues to help individuals/communities to thrive

Epigenetics

Study of influences on gene expression that occur without DNA change; epigenetic mark is methyl molecule on DNA that tells cell to ignore gene present on DNA stretch; diet, drugs, stress affect gene expression

Behavior Genetics

Study of relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Personality Psychologists

Study persistent traits

Sleep for Memory

Studying SECONDS before sleep won't remember, but studying HOUR before sleep helps you to remember more

Molecular Genetics

Subfield of biology that studies molecular structure and function of genes; Genes predict risk

Predictive Validity

Success with which test predicts behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and criterion behavior (Also called criterion-related validity)

Insight

Sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Posthypnotic Suggestions

Suggestions made during hypnosis session to be carried out after subject is no longer hypnotized, used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms/behaviors; helps recovery and pain tolerance

Normal Curve

Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near mean

Normal Curve

Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

habituates

with repeated exposure, the emotional response to any erotic stimulus often lessens

engaged employees

working with passion and feeling a profound connection to their company or organization

exhaustion (phase three)

you become more vulnerable to illness or collapse and death

360 degree feedback

you will rate yourself, your other colleagues, and you will be rated by your manager, other colleagues, and customers

Binet's Goals

• Enable schools to recognize who might need early intervention to prosper • Remain alert that intelligence test scores may be seen as literal measures of person's worth and potential • Remember competence that general intelligence tests sample is important; helps enable success in some life paths, but only reflects one aspect of competence o Practical intelligence and emotional intelligence matter too, as do other forms of creativity, talent, character; many ways to be successful Differences variations of human adaptability • COMPETENCE + DILIGENCE --> ACCOMPLISHMENT o "Can do" abilities and "will do" motivation

Intuition's Uses

• Intuition is huge: deliberate, conscious thought is part of smart thinking, but those who processed info subconsciously made smarter decision; best option is to gather all info and then "sleep on it" while unconscious mind works • Intuition is usually adaptive: enables quick reactions and understanding; can even predict future decisions before consciously making up mind • Intuition is recognition born of experience: implicit knowledge; ability to size up situation in moment (ex: chess masters playing "blitz chess")

Information Processing Model

Theoretical perspective that focuses on how learners mentally think about (process) new information and events and how such processes change with development.

Empathy

Theory of mind; brain activity underlies our social nature; when someone feels pain, yawns, etc. brain region literally feels that pain and wants to yawn too

Social Learning Theory

Theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions; instead examines assumptions/assesses conclusions

Law of Effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Behaviorists

Those who study observable aspects of behavior and exclude subjective phenomena, like emotions/motives

Chromosomes

Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Critical Period

Time period for mastering language; later in life, harder to learn language

Lesion

Tissue destruction; brain lesion is naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

Language Development (10 months)

Trained ear can identify household language; discrimination between certain sounds in other language gone

Gender Based on Culture or Genes?

Traits cannot be attributed to only genes or culture

Fraternal Twins

Twins who develop from separate (dizygotic) fertilized eggs; genetically no closer than brothers/sisters, but share fetal environment; share genetic risk though

Identifical Twins

Twins who develop from single (monozygotic) fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms; don't always have same number of copies of genes (1/3 don't share placenta)

Amygdala

Two lima-bean sized neural clusters in limbic system, linked to emotion and perception of emotional events and processing emotional memories

Convergent Thinking

Type of critical thinking in which one evaluates existing possible solutions to a problem to choose the best one

Operant Conditioning

Type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Classical Conditioning

Type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Transgender (Transexual)

Umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex; live like other gender, sometimes get surgery

Automatic Processing (Definition)

Unconscious encoding of incidental info, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learning info, such as word meanings

Norms

Understood rules for accepted and expected behavior; "proper" behavior

Overimitation

Unnecessarily imitating another person, like using stick to press button, when could easily use hand

Pruning Process

Used neural connections are strengthened while unused ones are weakened; puberty involves massive loss of unused connections; "Use it or lose it"

Behaviorism

View that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes; most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2)

Functional Fixedness

Viewing / Using an object only in the way it's traditionally used

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan

Visual display of brain activity that detects where radioactive form of glucose goes while brain performs task

Framing

Way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

Expertise (Sternberg)

Well-developed base of knowledge that furnishes ideas, images, phrases we use as mental building blocks; more blocks, more we can use

Web of Memories

When encode something into memory, it becomes stored in "web" of associations (associate it with surroundings, mood, seating position, etc.)

White vs. Black vs. Hispanic IQ

White: 100; Black: 85; Hispanics: 85-100

Linguistic Determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

Language Development (18 months)

Word learning explodes from word learned per week to word learned per day

Preservation of Innovation

Write down knowledge, we have it for later

Do Other Animals Have Cognitive Skills?

Yes -- sheep can recognize and remember faces; chimps can read intent; dolphins show self-awareness; elephants can learn, remember, discriminate smells, empathize, cooperate, teach, and use tools

Can Hypnosis Help People Heal or Relieve Their Pain? (Questions of Hypnosis)

Yes, it can help patients harness their own healing powers

autonomy

a sense of personal control

oxytocin

a stress moderating hormone associated with pair bonding in animals and released by cuddling, massage, and breast feeding (in humans)

cross sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

organizational psychology

a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change

human factors psychology

a subfield of I/O psychology that explores how people and machines interact and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use

personnel psychology

a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development

health psyschology

a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavior medicine

biofeedback

a system of recording, amplifying, and feeding back information about subtle physiological responses, many controlled by the autonomic nervous system

empirically derived test

a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups

signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid backgrounds stimulation (noise)

eardrum

a tight membrane

structured interviews

interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales

interviewer illusion

interviewers overrating their discernment

secure self esteem

less fragile, it is less contingent on external evaluations

gender and expressiveness

male and female film viewers did not differ dramatically in self reported emotions or physiological responses but the womens faces showed much more emotion

self transcendence

meaning, purpose, and communication beyond self

fraternal birth order effect

men who have older brothers are more likely to be gay (1/3 more likely with each additional brother

biofeedback instuments

mirror the result of a persons own efforts, enabling the person to learn which techniques do (or do not) control a particular physiological response

transformational leadership

motivates others to identify with and commit themselves to the groups mission

secondary sex characteristics

non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

cyber ostracism

not being put in a group chat or having a text go unanswered

Chunking (Example)

o DON'T TAKE ANY WOODEN NICKELS FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO o Much easier to remember if you remember it line by line instead of at once

cornea

protects the eye and bends light to provide focus

neutral levels

points at which sounds seem neither loud nor soft, temperatures neither hot nor cold, events neither pleasant nor unpleasant

unstructured interviews

provide a sense of someones personality, their expressiveness, warmth, and verbal ability

natural killer cells

pursue diseased cells (such as those infected by viruses or cancer)

not engaged employees

putting in the time but investing little passion or energy into their work

leniency and severity errors

reflect evaluations tendencies to be either to easy or too harsh on everyone

denial

refusing to believe or even perceive painful realities

faith factor

religiously active people tend to live longer than those who are not religiously active

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied ad retested over a long period

male or female?

researchers manipulated a gender neutral face and people were more likely to see it as a male when it wore and angry expression and as a female when it wore a smile

regression

retreating to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated

tinnitus

ringing in the ears (phantom sounds)

two dimensions of emotion

russell, watson, tellegen, and others have described emotions as variations on two dimensions: arousal (high/low) and valence (pleasant/unpleasant feeling)

reality principle

satisfying the ids desire in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain

general adaption system

selye's concept of the bodys adaptive response to stress in three phases: alarm, resistance, exhaustion

auditory nerve

sends neural messages to the auditory cortex

nociceptors

sensory receptors that detect harmful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals

light and shadow

shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from above

displacement

shifting sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person

ostracism

social exclusion

permissive parents

submit to their children's desires

reaction formation

switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites

social identity

the "we" aspect of our self concept

personnel psychology

the I/O subfield that focuses on employee selection, placement, appraisal, and development

organizational psychology

the I/O subfield that focuses on worker satisfaction and productivity, and organizational change

self control

the ability to control impulses and delay short term gratification for greater long term rewards

intimacy

the ability to form close, loving relationships

relative luminance

the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings

industrial organizational psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist when not perceived

resolution phase

the body gradually returns to its unaroused state as the engorged genital blood vessels release their accumulated blood-relatively quickly if orgasm has occurred, relatively slowly otherwise

primary sex characteristics

the body of structures that make sexual reproduction possible

basal metabolic rate

the body's resting rate of energy expenditure

stroboscopic movement

the brains perceiving continuous movement in a rapid series slightly varying images

fovea

the central focal point in the retina around which the eyes cones cluster

middle ear

the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

psychosexual

the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to freud, the id's pleasure seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

hue

the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light (blue, green...)

employee engagement

the extent of workers involvement, enthusiasm, and identification with their organisms

personal control

the extent to which we perceive control over our environment

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

menarche

the first menstrual period

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

inner ear

the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs

reciprocal determinism

the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment

retina

the light sensitive inner surface of the eye that contains the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

superego

the part of personality that, according to freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations

external locus of control

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine out fate

relative deprivation

the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself

internal locus of control

the perception that you control your own fate

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

puberty

the period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

ego-centrism

the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

conservation

the principle (which piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

sensory interactions

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

weber's law

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage rather than a constant amount

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

sensation

the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

accommodation (vision)

the process by which the eyes lends changes shape to focus hear or far objects on the retina

stress

the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

identification

the process by which, according to freud, children incorporate their parents values into their developing superegos

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

manifest content

the remembered content if dreams

two factor theory

the schachter/singer theory that to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

vestibular sense

the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance

psychological contract

the sense of mutual obligations between workers and employees

audition

the sense or act of hearing

pupil

the small adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters

preoperational stage

the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

sensorimotor stage

the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

concrete operational stage

the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

factor analysis

the statistical procedure described to identify clusters of test items that tap basic components of intelligence (such as spatial ability or verbal skills)

psychoneuroimmunology

the study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health

parapsychology

the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

psychophysics

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

kinesthesis

the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

facial feedback effect

the tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness

false consensus effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

helmholtz trichromatic (three color) theory

the theory that the retina contains 3 different color receptors, one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue, which when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

gate control theory

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. the "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

lens

the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

lymphocytes

the two types of white blood cells that are part of the bodys immune system: B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes

sensation seekers

those who are most likely to seek out intense music, novel foods, and risky behaviors

what determines our perceptual set

through experience we form concepts that organize ans interpret unfamiliar information

orexin

triggers hunger

individualism

trusting and acting on ones feelings, being true to oneself, fulfilling oneself

adaptation and comparison

two psychological principles that explain why, for those who are not poor, more money buys little more than a temporary surge of happiness and why our emotions seem attached to elastic bands that pull us back from highs or lows

tend and befriend

under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with an seek support from others (befriend)

actively disengaged employees

unhappy workers undermining what their colleagues accomplish

catastrophes

unpredictable large scale events

humanistic theories

view personality with a focus on the potential for healthy personal growth

pschodynamic theories

view personality with a focus on the unconscious and the importance of childhood experiences

experience influences how we perceive emotions

viewing the morphed middle face, evenly mixing fear with anger, physically abused children were more likely than non-abused children to perceive the face as angry

social cognitive perspective

views behavior as influenced by the interaction between peoples traits (including their thinking) and their social context

closure

we fill in the gaps to create a complete, whole object

proximity

we group nearby figures together

assumptions of trait theory

we have certain stable and enduring characteristics, influenced by genetic predispositions (big five)

person situation controversy

we look for genuine personality traits that persist over time and across situations

brightness constancy/lightness constancy

we perceive an object as having a constant brightness even while its illumination varies

relative height

we perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away

continuity

we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

shape constancy

we perceive the form of familiar objects as constant even while our retinas receive changing images of them

phantom limb sensations

when it misinterprets the spontaneous central nervous system activity that occurs in the absence of normal sensory input

acceptance

when people are accepting they offer unconditional positive regard

empathy

when people are empathetic, they share and mirror others feelings and reflect their meanings

genuineness

when people are genuine, they are open with their own feelings, drop their facades, and are transparent and self disclosing

empathy

when you identify with others and imagine what it must be like to walk in their shoes

curse of knowledge

when you know a thing, its hard to mentally simulate what its like not to know

Cerebellum

"Little brain" at rear of brainstem; functions are processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance

Endorphins

"Morphine within" - natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure

Somatic Nervous System

"Skeletal nervous system" - part of peripheral nervous system that enables voluntary control of skeletal muscles

Peg-Word System

"one is bun, two is shoe, three is tree . . ." will be able to count using new word system

Manifest Content

(According to Freud) is remembered story line of a dream

Latent Content

(According to Freud) is underlying meaning of a dream

Different Kinds of Psychologists

(Biological Psychologists - Explore links between brain/mind Developmental Psychologists - Study changing abilities from life to death Cognitive Psychologists - Experiment with how we perceive, think, and problem-solve Personality Psychologists - Study persistent traits Social Psychologists - Study how we view/affect each other)

Humans Are Best At . . . (Thinking)

(From worst to best) decision making, problem solving, quick heuristics, learning/using language

IQ Score and Speed of Taking in Perceptual Info Correlation . . .

+.3 to +.5

Brain Size vs. IQ

+.33 correlation between brain size and IQ

Problems with Evolutionary Theory

- Could affect gender equality movement - Does not explain same-sex attraction and suicide - Favors people who share genes or who can return favors

Influences of Twins

- Divorce highest among twins (esp. identical twins) - Tend to have same voice inflections, intelligence, heart rate, brain waves - Treated alike in general

Influences of Adopted

- Environment shared by family's children has virtually no discernable impact on personalities of children - Parents influence attitudes, manners, faith, politics - Adopted kids are overall abused less, have less psychological disorders, are more altruistic and intelligent

Alcohol Symptoms

- In low doses is depressant; equal opportunity drug (increases helpful and unhelpful tendencies) - In high doses, slows reactions, slurs speech, lowers skilled performance skills, can kill - In all doses, can disrupt memory formation, through killing nerve cells, and can reduce self-awareness ("myopia")

Influences of Drug Use

- Marijuana use fell, rose, then tapered off - Adopted more susceptible to alcohol dependence if parents have history of it - Having identical twin with it increases risk - 6 yr-old impulsive boys have increased risk - Certain genes contribute to addiction; deficiencies in brain's natural dopamine reward system - Users of drugs have experienced failure, stress, depression, or loss of identity - Marriage decreases drug use -Western Europe higher drug use; religious and African-Americans use less drugs - Parental monitoring and rural areas help lower risk - Peer influence affects teens; parties have alcohol because overestimate desire for it

Woah, Evolutionary Science is NOT Scary

- New understanding usually brings more questions - Theories are just things that make sense; simply for organization - Religion can be incorporated into scientific discovery

Environmental Effects on Gender Roles

- Nomadic societies have minimal gender roles while agricultural societies have them - Australia/Scandinavian countries have high gender equity while North African/Middle Eastern countries have low gender equity - Growing jobs are ones women gravitated towards (ones needing IQ, open communication, and ability to sit still)

Sperling Experiment

- People viewed three rows of three letters for 1/20 of second; could only remember half of them - However, people could see and recall all of them, as shown by them hardly missing a letter with tone indicating to read top, middle, or bottom row

Peer Influence

- Preschoolers eat food they don't like if people at table like it - Children will use accent of language used by peers over one used by parents - Teens smoke if peers smoke - Parents choose neighborhood/school, so influence peer group

Consequences of Punishment

- Teaches discrimination among situations - Teaches fear - Increases aggression by modeling aggression as a way to cope with problems

Trends in Culture

- Western culture focuses on independence now, used to be focused on obedience - Asian families encourage "family self" - what shames child shames family, and what honors family honors child - Upper-class Brits put children in daycare to succeed while African Gusii society nurses babies on backs and give child to eldest child when rear new one - Stereotypes hold truth: Canadians agreeable, Australians outgoing

Positive Punishment

Punishment involving administration of aversive stimulus

Negative Punishment

Punishment involving withdrawal of rewarding stimulus

latent content

-censored expression of the dreamers unconscious wishes -why you had a dream and the meaning behind it

performance appraisal methods

-checklists -graphic rating scales -behavior rating scales

agreeableness

-low score: ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative -high score: soft hearted, trusting, helpful

zygote

-the fertilized egg -it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

glucose

-the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues -When level is low, we feel hunger

2 big questions regarding emotion

-chicken and egg debate: does your bodily arousal come before or after your emotional feelings -how do thinking and feeling interact

lazarus

-cognition may not precede emotion -appraisal sometimes without our awareness defines our emotion -ex: the sound is "just the wind"

Differences Between Men and Women

- Women are more relational while men are more recreational; women must pair smartly and men must spread widely - Men attracted to younger, fertile women in 20's while women are attracted to mature, dominant, bold, affluent stick-around men - Men are more sexual beings than women - Men feel better about appearance, women feel better about behavior/ethics - Women enter puberty sooner, live longer, have more fat, less muscle, are shorter, are re-aroused after orgasm, express emotions freely, smell faint odors, offer more help, more vulnerable to depression/anxiety, and have greater risk of eating disorder - Men more likely to commit suicide, suffer alcoholism, be diagnosed with autism, color-blindness, ADHD, and have an antisocial personality - Men commit more physical aggression while women commit more relational aggression - Men place emphasis on power and achievement while women are more democratic and welcome subordinate's input - Men's power hunger is accepted - Females more interdependent than males - Females talk as much as men, but text and call longer - Men like things, women like people - Women are more emotionally understanding than men - Women tend and befriend, so have stronger bonds with people and seek intimacy throughout their lives - Men value freedom/self-reliance - Men are less religious - Teenage girls are less assertive and more flirtatious while teenage boys are more domineering and less expressive - By 50, men are less domineering and more empathetic while women become more assertive and self-confident - Both genders value honesty, kindness, IQ - Males have bigger parietal cortex; females have bigger frontal lobes

macrophage

-"big eater" -identifies, pursues, and ingests harmful invaders and worn out cells

cochlea

-a coiled, bony, fluid filled tube in the inner ear -sound waves travel through the cochlear fluid triggers nerve impulses

achievement motivation

-a desire for significant accomplishment, for mastery of skills or ideas -for rapidly attaining a high standard

perceptual set

-a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another -can influence what we hear, taste, feel, and see

motivations

-a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior -arise from the interplay between nature (the bodily "push") and nature ( the "pulls" from out thought process and culture)

sexual disorder

-a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning -erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, pain, orgasmic dysfunction

personality inventory

-a questionnaire (often with true/false or agree/disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors -used to assess selected personality traits

self serving bias

-a readiness to perceive oneself favorably -people accept more responsibility for good deeds than for bad, and for successes than for failures -most people see themselves as better than average

id

-a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives -operates on the pleasure principle

iris

-a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening -each is unique -a colored muscle that dilates or constricts in response to light intensity and even to inner emotion

basic trust

-a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy -said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

homeostasis

-a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state -the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level

terror management theory

-a theory of death related anxiety -explores peoples emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death

pitch

-a tones experienced highness or lowness -depends on frequency

Oedipus complex

-according to freud, a boys sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father -parallel in females: electra complex

self actualization

-according to maslow, one of the ultimate psychological needs that arise after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self esteem is achieved -the motivation to fufill ones potential

key proponents of psychodynamic theory

-adler -hornet -jung

key proponents of trait theory

-allport -eysenck -mccrae -costa

5 domains of complementary and alternative medicine

-alternative medical system -mind-body interventions -biologically based therapies -manipulative and body based methods -energy therapies

cannon bard theory

-arousal and emotion occur simultaneously -the theory that an emotion arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experience of emotion -pounding heart does not cause fear and fear does not cause a pounding heart

james lange theory

-arousal comes before emotion -the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion arousing stimuli -ex: we feel sad because we cry

sympathetic division

-arousing -division of your autonomic nervous system that mobilizes your body stress hormones epinephrine and non-epinephrine

maturation

-biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior -relatively uninfluenced by experience

hans and sybil eysenck

-british psychologists -believed that we can reduce many of our normal individual variations to two or three dimensions including extroversion-introversion and emotional stability-instability

parasympathetic division

-calming -part of your autonomic nervous system that gradually calms your body, as stress hormones slowly leave your bloodstream

3 main types of stressors

-catastrophes -significant life changes -daily hassles

two basic ways to study the effect of personal control

-correlate peoples feelings of control with their behaviors and achievements -experiment by raising or lowering peoples sense of control and noting the effects

habituation

-decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation -as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest waned and they look away sooner

six defense mechanisms

-defense mechanism -regression -reaction formation -projection -rationalization -displacement -denial

clinical obesity

-defined by WHO as a body mass index of 30 or more -linked to depression

three specific ways in which individuals and environment interact

-different people choose different environments -our personalities shape how we interpret and react to events -our personalities help create situations to which we react

sensory adaptation

-diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation -going "noes blind"

emotional arousal

-elated excitement and panicky fear involve similar physiological arousal which allows us to flip rapidly between the two emotions

catharsis

-emotional release -in psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that releasing aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges

3 types of employees

-engaged -not engaged -actively disengaged

optimists

-expect the best outcome -have more control and can better cope with stressful events and to enjoy better health

sympathetic vs parasympathetic division

-eyes: pupils dilate vs pupils contract -salivation: decreases vs increases -skin: perspires vs dries -respiration: increases vs decreases -heart: accelerates vs slows -digestion: inhibits vs activates -adrenal glands: secrete stress hormones vs decrease secretion of stress hormones -immune system functioning: reduces vs enhanced

diminishing returns phenomenon

-familiar to economists as diminishing marginal utility -experiencing luxury diminishes our savoring of lifes simpler pleasures -more money does allow us to enjoy more things and feel more control over our lives but it does less to increase our feelings of happiness

drive-reduction theory

-focuses on how our inner pushes and external pulls interact -the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (or drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

personality assessment methods of psychoanalytic theory

-free association -projective tests -tests -dream analysis

rogers believed that a growth promoting climate required what three conditions

-genuineness -acceptance -empathy

sori neural hearing loss

-hearing loss caused by damage to the cochleas receptor cells or to the auditory nerves -AKA nerve deafness

predictors of sexual restraint

-high intelligence -religious engagement -father presence -participation in service learning programs

big five research has explored these various questions

-how stable are these traits -music preferences -dorm rooms and offices -personal websites -email

three interacting systems in personality structure proposed by freud

-id -ego -superego

path to organizational success

-identify strengths -match to work -positive managing -engaged employees -loyal customers, growth, and profits

repression

-in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness -underlies all the other defense mechanisms

defense mechanism

-in psychoanalytic theory, the egos protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality -all function indirectly and unconsciously -unconscious process employed to avoid anxiety arousing thoughts or feelings

insulin

-increases in this hormone diminishes blood glucose, partly by converting stored fat -secreted by the pancreas

four perspectives for viewing motivated behaviors

-instinct theory -drive reduction theory -arousal theory

4 factors explaining the gap between interviewers overconfidence

-interviewers disclose the interviewees good intentions, which are less revealing than habitual behaviors -interviewers more often follow the successful careers of those they have hired than the successful careers of those they have rejected and lost track of -interviewers presume that people are what they seem to be in the interview situation -interviewers preconceptions and moods color how they perceive interviewees responses

carroll izard

-isolated 10 basic emotions: joy, interest/excitement, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust ,contempt, fear, shame, and guilt -other emotions are combinations of those 10

polygraph

-lie detector -a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies -measures several of the physiological responses (such as perspiration and cardiovascular and breathing changes) accompanying emotion

psychophysiology illness

-literally, "mind body" illness -any stress related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches

neuroticism

-low score: calm, secure, self satisfied -high score: anxious, insecure, self pitying

consciousness

-low score: disorganized, careless, impulsive -high score: organized, careful, disciplined

openness

-low score: practical, prefers routine conforming -high score: imaginative, prefers variety independent

extroversion

-low score: retiring sober reserved -high score: sociable, fun loving, affectionate

hierarchy of needs (definition)

-maslow -describes how some of our needs take priority over others -maslow's pyramid of human needs, beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher level safety needs and then psychological needs become active

teratogens

-monster maker -agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

unstable + introverted

-moody -rigid -sober -pessimistic -reserved -unsociable -quiet

transformational leaders

-natural extroverts -articulate high standards -inspire people to share their vision -offer personal attention

three major issues of developmental psychology

-nature and nurture -continuity and stages -stability and change

feature detectors

-nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus such as shape, angle, or movement -pass information to other cortical areas, where teams of sells (supercell clusters) respond to more complex patterns

instinct theory

-now replaced by the evolutionary perspective -focuses on genetically predisposed behaviors

frequency

-or length -determines the pitch -the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

identity

-our sense of self -the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

stable + introverted

-passive -careful -thoughtful -peaceful -controlled -reliable -even tempered -calm

assumptions of psychoanalytic theory

-personality consists of pleasure seeking impulses (the id), a reality oriented executive (the ego), and an internalized set of ideals (the superego) -emotional disorders spring from unconscious dynamics -defense mechanisms fend off anxiety

fetal alcohol syndrome

-physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking -in severe cases symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions

hierarchy of needs (diagram)

-physiological needs (need to satisfy hunger and thirst) -safety needs (need to feel that the world is organized and predictable; the need to feel safe) -belongingness and love needs (need to love and be loved, to belong and be accepted; need to avoid loneliness and separation) -esteem needs (need for self esteem, achievement, competence, an independence; need for recognition and respect from others) -self actualization needs (need to live up to our fullest and unique potential) -self transcendence (need to find meaning and identity beyond the self)

telomeres

-pieces of DNA at the end of chromosomes -shortened in women who suffered enduring stress as caregivers for children with serious disorders

personality assessment methods of psychodynamic theory

-projective tests -therapy sessions

personality assessment methods of humanistic theory

-questionnaires -therapy sessions

assumptions of humanistic theory

-rather than examining the struggles of sick people, it is better to focus on the ways healthy people strive for self realization -if all our needs are met we will strive toward self actualization

rods

-retina receptors that detect black, white, and grey -necessary for peripheral and twilight vision when cones dont respond

cones

-retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well lit conditions -detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

key proponents of humanistic theory

-rogers -maslow

subjective well being

-self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life -used along with measures of well being (physical and economic indicators) to evaluate peoples quality of life

estrogen

-sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females than by males and contributing to female sex characteristics -in nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promoting sexual receptivity

stable + extroverted

-sociable -outgoing -talkative -responsive -easygoing -lively -carefree -leadership

effective managers...

-start by helping people identify and measure their talents -match tasks to talents and then give people freedom to do what they do best -care how people feel about their work -reinforce positive behaviors through recognition and reward

aerobic exercise

-sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness -may also alleviate depression and anxiety

depth perception

-the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional -allows us to judge distance

priming

-the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing ones perception, memory, or response -an unnoticed image or word can reach you visual cortex and briefly prime you response to a later question

intensity

-the amount of energy in a light or sound wave (brightness/loudness) -determined by amplitude

coronary heart disease

-the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle -the leading cause of death in many developed countries

extrasensory perception (ESP)

-the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input -includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition

wave length

-the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next -electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission

stress appraisal

-the events of our lives flow through a psychological filter -how we appraise an event influences how much stress we experience and how effectively we respond

testosterone

-the most important of the male sex hormones -both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI)

-the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests -originally developed to identify emotional disorder (still considered its most appropriate use) -now used for many other screening purposes

Rorschach inkblot test

-the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by hermann rorschach -seeks to identify peoples inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

set point

-the point at which an individuals "weight thermostat" is supposedly set -when the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight

parallel processing

-the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously -the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions

positive psychology

-the scientific study of optimal human functioning -aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

monopause

-the time of natural cessation of menstruation -also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

assumptions of psychodynamic theory

-the unconscious and conscious minds interact -childhood experiences and defense mechanisms are important -the dynamic interplay of conscious motives and conflicts shape our personality

spine injuries effect on emotion

-those with lower spine injuries who had lost sensation only in their legs reported little change in their emotions intensity -high spinal cord injury and could feel nothing below the neck, DID report changes

unstable + extroverted

-touchy -restless -aggressive -excitable -changeable -impulsive -optimistic -active

outer ear

-visible -channels the waves through the auditory canal to the eardrum causing it to vibrate

alarm reaction (phase one)

-your sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated -your heart rate zooms -blood is diverted to your skeletal muscles -you feel the faintness of shock

resistance (phase two)

-your temperature, blood pressure, and respiration remain high -your adrenal glands pump hormones into your bloodstream -you are fully engaged

Words Influence Our Thinking . . .

. . . But do not determine it

Thinking Affects Language, which . . .

. . . then affects our thoughts

Language Features

1) Semanticity - sounds convey meaning (doesn't mean all sounds have meaning) 2) Arbitrariness - no connection between symbols and objects (ex: symbol "dog" has no literal connection to the animal) 3) Flexibility of Symbols - changeable / inventable (ex: automobile vs. car) 4) Naming - assigned to everything 5) Displacement - past / present 6) Productivity / Generativity - infinite possibilities for words

Why Intelligent Live Longer . . .

1. Intelligence facilitates more education, better jobs, healthier environment 2. Intelligence favors healthy living: less smoking, better diet, more exercise 3. Prenatal events/early childhood illnesses might have influences both IQ/health 4. Well-wired body as shown by fast reaction speeds might foster IQ/longevity

Why We Fear Things

1. We fear what our ancestral history has prepared us to fear (ex: fear confinement / heights) 2. We fear what we cannot control (ex: cannot control flying) 3. We fear what's immediate (ex: w/ planes, focus on takeoff/landing; w/ cars, danger spread out) 4. Thanks to the availability, we fear what is most readily available in memory (ex: powerful, vivid image of planes crashing into Twin Towers, although rare event and few deaths)

Atkinson's and Shiffrin's Information Processing Model

1. We first record to-be-remembered info as sensory memory, or immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system 2. We process info into short-term memory (activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as 7 digits of a phone number while dialing, before the info is stored or forgotten) where we encode it through rehearsal 3. Info moves into long-term memory (relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences) for later retrieval

10-year Rule

10 years of intense, daily practice yields peak expertise in skill

Priming ("Memory-Less Memory")

Activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory (Ex: smells, tastes, sights)

Short-Term Memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as 7 digits of a phone number while dialing, before the info is stored or forgotten; encoded through rehearsal

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to attend to only one voice among many, effectively ignoring all other voices

Emotional Intelligence

Ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Productive Language

Ability to produce words (matures after receptive language) (7 months)

Replication

Ability to repeat original observations with different participants, materials, situations

Fitness

Ability to survive and reproduce

Receptive Language

Ability to understand what is said to and about them (4 months)

Pons

Above medulla; coordinates movement

Cognitive Learning

Acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Gender Typing

Acquisition of traditional masculine or feminine role; As child, form gender schema for organizing characteristics through hearing different voices (grouping by gender); also in English you use "he" and "she" to identify gender; 3 yr-old seeks out gender while 5/6 yr-old adapts to gender's expected behavior

Major Conditioning Processes

Acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination

Punisher

Any consequence(s) that decreases the frequency of a preceding behavior

Ape's Language

Ape vocabulary and sentences simple, and have difficulty learning them; might be nothing more than aping trainers' signs and learning certain arm movements produce rewards; perceptual set of trainers; lack human syntax; however, used word-combos that were creative and were able to teach sign language to kids

Sensory Cortex

Area at front of parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Motor Cortex

Area at rear of frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements; cognitive neural prosthetics allows paralyzed to operate devices (Ex: Turn on TV)

Association Areas

Areas of cerebral cortex that aren't involved in primary motor/sensory functions; rather, they're involved in higher mental functions like learning, remembering, thinking, speaking (not observable)

Mean

Arithmetic average of distribution

Clinical Psychologists

Assess/treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders

Analytical (Academic Problem-Solving) Intelligence (Triarchic Theory)

Assessed by IQ tests, which present defined right answer; predict school grades/vocational success

Random Assignment

Assignment of participants to experimental/control groups by chance, minimizing differences between those assigned to different groups

Source Amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (also called source misattribution); source amnesia, along with misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

Social Influence Theory

Authoritative person in legitimate context can induce people--hypnotized or not--to perform some unlikely acts

Genetics research reveals that under the skin, the races are remarkably alike

Average genetic difference between two Icelanders exceeds group differences between Icelander and Kenyan

Predictability/Expectation

Awareness of how likely an unconditioned stimulus will occur

Medulla

Base of brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

REM Sleep (Details)

Brain waves become rapid like NREM-1 (heart rate rises, breathing rapid and irregular, eyes dart every half minute); Genitals become aroused; Motor cortex active, but brainstem blocks messages so body relaxed

Plasticity

Brain's ability to change, especially during childhood by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience (tissue reorganizes); constraint-induced therapy rewires brain by using damaged limb, having brain adjust to allow limb to recover skills

Thalamus

Brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of brainstem; directs messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex and transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla; deals with seeing, hearing, tasting, touching

Nerves

Bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

Sleep Spindles

Bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity associated with NREM-2 sleep

Language Development (7 months)

Can learn simple sentence structure and recognize which syllables most often go together; built in readiness for grammatical rules

Emotional Arousal Effect

Can sear certain events in brain while disrupting memory for neutral events around the same time; stronger the emotion, the stronger the memory

Deafness Disadvantages

Can't hear . . . but also may be socially excluded and/or fall behind in school; low self-confidence unless grow up with deaf people; older deaf lower capacity to remember words; end up sadder, less socially engaged, and experiencing others' irritation

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others

Limitations of Heritability

Cannot know how much trait comes from genes, just variation; hard to measure, varies from studies, need to exclude other factors; as environments differ more, heritability increases; genes not always cause

Antisocial Effects

Caused by observational learning (Ex: Abusive parents breed aggressive children)

Sleep Deprivation

Causes difficulty studying, lower productivity, tendency to make mistakes, irritability, fatigue, increased risk of depression, production of ghrelin (which increases fat), suppresses immune cells that fight infections/cancer, slows reactions/increases errors in visual attention

Neurotransmitter

Chemical messenger that crosses synaptic gaps between neurons; when released by sending neuron, travel across synapse and bind to receptor sites on receiving neuron, influencing whether that neuron will generate neural impulse

Hormones

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by endocrine glands; travel through bloodstream; affect other tissues

Psychoactive Drugs

Chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods; effect depends on biological effect and psychological expectation

B.F. Skinner

Children learn language based on behaviorist reinforcement principles, modeling and imitation; correct utterances are positively reinforced

Language Development (Elementary School Age)

Children understand complex sentences and enjoy double meanings (if learning delayed, learn faster)

WISC

Children version of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Violence-Viewing Effect (What is it)

Children watch many murders on TV, many not showing victim's pain or bad consequence; perpetrator usually attractive and violence usually "justified"

Washoe

Chimp taught 132 signs by 4 years, 245 by end

Flashbulb Memories

Clear memories of an emotionally significant moment or event (clearer if experienced it rather than heard about it) Ex: Knowing exactly where you were when 9/11 happened

Belief Perseverance

Clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Genome

Complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

Complex molecule containing genetic information that makes up chromosomes

Hierarchies

Composed of few broad concept divided into narrower concepts; organizing concepts helps to remember

Addiction

Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences

Standard Deviation

Computed measure of how much scores vary around mean score

Biological Perspective

Concerned with links between biology and behavior, including neuroscience, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology

Blindsight

Condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

Savant Syndrome

Condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Intellectual Disability

Condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound (formerly referred to as mental retardation) o American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities defines it as two standard deviations below average • Special education, Social Security, & less death penalty for intellectually disabled

Down Syndrome

Condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

Split Brain

Condition resulting from surgery isolating brain's two hemispheres by cutting fibers (mainly those of corpus callosum) connecting them (HE'ART Experiment)

Infantile Amnesia Cause

Conscious memory of first years blank, because hippocampus one of last brain structures to mature and index much of explicit memory using words that nonspeaking children have not learned; but still remember implicit skills

Nature-Nurture Issue

Controversy over relative contributions that genes/experience make to development of psychological traits/behaviors

Division of Labor

Coordination and commitment of team of people to create something

Eugenics

Criticized 19th century movement that proposed measuring human traits and using results to encourage only smart and fit people to reproduce

In different eras, different ethic groups have experienced golden ages--periods of remarkable achievement

Cultures rise and fall; Greeks/Egyptians had their time, now it's Jews (2% of population, 21% of Ivy League students)

Practical Skills

Daily personal care, occupational skill, and travel and health care

Natural Selection

Darwin stated among range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction/survival will be passed on to succeeding generations

Standardization

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group (basis for comparison of scores)

Creative Intelligence (Triarchic Theory)

Demonstrated in reacting adaptively to novel situations/generating novel ideas

Intrinsic Motivation

Desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Extrinsic Motivation

Desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

Excessive Rewards

Destroys intrinsic motivation; interest becomes solely the reward given

Range

Difference between highest and lowest scores in distribution

Human Genome

Differences between 2 people in Kenya and 2 people in Iceland are less than differences between 1 Kenyan and 1 Icelandic

Level of Analysis

Differing complementary views from biological to psychological to social-cultural (Ex: Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience, etc.)

Tolerance

Diminishing effect with regular use of same dose of drug, requiring user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing drug's effect (Neuroadaptation, or brain adjusting chemistry, results)

Extinction

Diminishing of conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

To Increase Skill . . .

Disciplined effort, sustained practice, and believing in oneself

Withdrawal

Discomfort and distress following discontinuation of use of an addictive drug

Retroactive (backward-acting) Interference

Disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information (Ex: Sing new lyrics to tune of old song, harder to remember old song's words)

Proactive (forward-acting) Interference

Disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information (Ex: remember combo of new lock w/ memory of old one)

To Reflect Cognitive Development (Why We Dream)

Dreams are part of brain maturation and cognitive development; early age, stimulate reality by drawing on concepts and knowledge; does not address neuroscience of the dream

To Make Sense of Neural Static (Why We Dream)

Dreams erupt from neural activation spreading upward from brainstem; make sense of neural activity

Sleep Feeds Creative Thinking (Sleep Theories)

Dreams inspire noteworthy artistic and scientific achievement; gives boost to thinking and learning; easier to make connections too

To File Away Memories (Why We Dream)

Dreams may help sort or fix day's experiences in memory; sleep more, remember more; does not explain why we dream about things we haven't experienced

To Develop and Preserve Neural Pathways (Why We Dream)

Dreams provide brain with periodic stimulation, developing, expanding neural pathways; does not explain why we have meaningful dreams

To Satisfy Our Own Wishes (Why We Dream)

Dreams provide safety valve that discharges unacceptable feelings (Freud theory; critics say no scientific evidence)

Cocaine

Drug that causes euphoria then quick aggressive depression; leads to emotional disturbances, suspiciousness, convulsions, cardiac arrest, or respiratory failure; crack is higher euphoria and crash

Stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Depressants

Drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates (tranquilizers), and opiates that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Barbiturates

Drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgement

Amphetamines

Drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Divided Consciousness Theory

During hypnosis, our consciousness splits, so that one aspect of consciousness is not aware of the role other parts are playing.

Temporary Storage

During sleep, hippocampus transfers day's memories to cortex for long-term storage; Learn location of treasure, have hippocampus removed 3 hours later will forget; removed 48 hours later will remember

Functionalism

Early school of psychology that focused on how our mental/behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish

Structuralism

Early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech stage in which child speaks like a telegram--"go car"--using mostly nouns and verbs

Early Childhood

Easiest time to master grammar/language; lack of vision during this time causes vision to never be normal

What Affects Conditioning's Effectiveness?

Ecological relevance (related to natural selection)

Treating Drug Use

Educate young about long-term costs, help them find other ways to boost self-esteem, attempt to modify peer associations or "inoculate" youths against peer pressures

Déjà vu

Eerie sense that "I've experienced this before"; cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Intuition

Effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Eight Intelligences: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Musical, Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, Naturalist

Cerebrum

Enables perception, thinking, speaking with cerebral cortex around

Visual Perception Track

Enables recognition of things and planning actions

Shallow Processing

Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Deep Processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of words; tends to yield the best retention o Ex: CHAIR (capital letters) (shallowest), brain (rhymes with train) (shallower), doll (the girl plays with the ____ (meaning)) (deepest)

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Pituitary Gland

Endocrine system's most influential gland; under influence of hypothalamus, regulates growth and controls endocrine glands

Culture

Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Culture

Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by group of people and transmitted from one generation to next

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information; also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhancing learning

Deafness Advantages

Enhances vision and touch

Differences in Behavior and Cognition in Males and Females

Environment, sex-related genes, physiology results in such differences

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

Informed Consent

Ethical principle that research participants participants be told enough enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Flynn Effect

Even though scores going down for aptitude test, it's because it's re-standardized; someone from 1920 would probably get a 76 on average

Stimulus

Event or situation that evokes response

Punishment

Event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

Environment

Every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us

Broca's Area

Found after damage to left frontal lobe of patient by Paul Broca, controls language expression--an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke's Area

Found after damage to left temporal lobe of victim by Carl Wernicke, controls language reception--brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Ivan Pavlov

Founder of classical conditioning

Mirror Neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so; brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitations and empathy

Social Expectations and Divergent Opportunities Shape Interests and Abilities

Gender-equal cultures like Sweden exhibit little of gender math gap found in gender-unequal cultures, like Korea

General Intelligence (g)

General intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

Formation of Gender

Genes and hormones predispose traits, but culture magnifies gender difference through norms; expectations form behaviors; in male role, one becomes masculine, in female role, one becomes feminine; as gender roles change, we change with them

Punishment Strongest When . . .

Given swiftly, independent of severity

Collectivism

Giving priority to goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

Individualism

Giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Study Motivation/Skills Better Predictor of Academic Achievement than . . .

Grades / Aptitude

Scatterplots

Graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents values of two variables; slope suggests direction of relationship; amount of scatter suggests strength of correlation

Lost Your Penis? Raised as a Girl?

Grew up to determine he felt more like a male, and acted as such

Population

Group being studied, from which samples can be drawn

Experimental Group

Group in experiment that's exposed to treatment, that is, to one version of independent variable

Cohort

Group of people from given time period

Control Group

Group that's exposed to no or neutral treatment; contrasts with experimental group for evaluating effects

Visual Action Track

Guides moment-to-moment movements

Right Hemisphere

Half of brain adept at making inferences, helping us to modulate our speech, and orchestrate our sense of self

Left Hemisphere

Half of brain adept at making quick, literal interpretations of language

Colors (Linguistic Determinism)

Having words for different shades of blue allows one to remember differences between them better

Longitudinal Study Weakness

Healthier live longer, usually more intelligent

Counseling Psychologists

Help people to cope with challenges and to improve their personal/social functioning

Cochlear Implants

Helps proficiency in oral communication if not delayed until children's age of consent (controversial concept)

Test Bias

If questions require cultural knowledge, not a valid test

Social Influence of Gender

If treated like a gender, will act more like that gender over time

Outcome Simulation vs. Process Simulation

Imagining the outcome of an action rather than the process of getting there; process simulation has greater effect

Violence-Viewing Effect (Cause)

Imitation of acts on TV and desensitization from prolonged exposure to violence; more indifferent to violence & express less sympathy for victims

Sensory Memory

Immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Aphasia

Impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Blacks score worse in high school, but . . .

Improve in college, since in high school given differing education quality, but in college comparable quality

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally--naturally and automatically--triggers a response (UR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

Unconditioned Response (UR)

In classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (Ex: Salivation in presence of tasty food)

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, is initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response; in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Conditioned Response (CR)

In classical conditioning, is learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

Phonemes

In language, are smallest distinctive sound units (ex: ch, a, t in the word "chat")

Grammar

In language, is system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others; in given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

Reinforcement

In operant conditioning is any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Variable-Ratio Schedule

In operant conditioning is reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Variable-Interval Schedule

In operant conditioning is reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

In operant conditioning is reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

Fixed-Interval Schedule

In operant conditioning is reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Operant Chamber

In operant conditioning research is chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to retrieve information from one's past

Fixation

Inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event; can influence later attitudes and behaviors (Ex: Tell students got sick eating salad as child -> less likely to eat salad now)

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believe to be neural basis for learning and memory

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by presenting positive reinforcers; a positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

Negative Reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli; a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response (Note: this is not punishment)

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Individualism: Self: Independent (identity from individual traits) Life Task: Discover and express one's uniqueness What Matters: Personal achievement/fulfillment; rights/liberties; self-esteem Coping Method: Change reality Morality: Defined by individuals (self-based) Relationships: Many, often temporary or casual; confrontation acceptable Attributing Behavior: Behavior reflects one's personality and attitudes Collectivism: Self: Interdependent (identity from belonging) Life Task: Maintain connections, fit in, perform role What Matters: Group goals/solidarity; social responsibilities/relationships/family Coping Method: Accommodate to reality Morality: Defined by social networks (duty-based) Relationships: Few, close and enduring; harmony valued Attributing Behavior: Behavior reflects social norms and roles

Course of Forgetting

Initially rapid, then levels off with time

Primary Reinforcer

Innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

Cognitive Neuroscience

Interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Interaction

Interplay that occurs when effect of one factor (ex: environment) depends on another factor (ex: heredity); environment triggers genes, which evokes responses

Cerebral Cortex

Intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering cerebral hemispheres, body's ultimate control and info-processing center; the larger it is, the higher capacity the animal has for learning/thinking

Basal Ganglia

Involved in motor movement; facilitates formation of procedural memories (like riding bike)

Representative Heuristic

Judging likelihood of an event based on how well they (represent) match particular prototypes (*may ignore other relevant info)

Synapse

Junction between axon tip of sending neuron and dendrite/cell body of receiving neuron; tiny gap at junction called synaptic gap/cleft

Mental Training

Just watching activity will activate internal simulation of it

Social Intelligence

Know-how involved in successfully comprehending social situations (Thorndike)

Conceptual Skills

Language, literacy, and concepts of money, time, and numbers

Corpus Callosum

Large band of neural fibers connecting two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Delta Waves

Large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Biological Constraints of Conditioning

Learn associations that are naturally adaptive (i.e. for pigeon, cannot reinforce flying behavior with food reward; not usually associated, so won't work)

Discrimination (Classical Conditioning)

Learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

With Age . . .

Lose recall memory and processing speed, gain vocab/knowledge, decisions less distorted by negative emotions, increased social reasoning (like taking multiple perspectives, valuing knowledge limits, offering helpful wisdom w/ social conflict)

THC

Major active ingredient in marijuana, that triggers variety of effects, including mild hallucinations; causes euphoria, impairs motor/perceptual/reactionary skills, stays in body for week, amplifies current emotions; can be used in medicine to relieve pain

orgasm `

Masters and Johnson observed muscle contractions all over the body accompanied by further increases in breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates

Schooling Helps Intelligence . . .

Meanwhile, malnutrition, social isolation, sensory deprivation hurt cognitive development

Correlation

Measure of extent to which two factors vary together, and how well either factor predicts the other (Positive, Negative)

Mental Age

Measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; chronological age that most typically

Recall

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

Recognition

Measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Relearning

Measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Psychiatrists

Medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs/treat physical causes of psychological disorders

Explicit Memories

Memories of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (Also called declarative memory)

Mnemonics

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

excitement phase

Men's and Woman's genital areas become engorged and secretes lubricant, and her breasts and nipples may enlarge

Cognition

Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Concepts

Mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Prototypes

Mental images or best examples of a category; matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

Nondeclarative (Procedural) Memory

Mental picture of how you do it (ex: Liu Chi Kung practiced piano in prison by practicing with images in his mind)

Intelligence

Mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Cognitive Map

Mental representation of the layout of one's environment; for example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

Intelligence Test

Method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, suing numerical scores

SQ3R Study Method

Method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review

Algorithms

Methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantees solving a particular problem; contrasts with the usually speedier--but also more error-prone--use of heuristics

Median

Middle score in distribution

Acronyms

Mnemonics that use letters to represent words (Ex: ROY G BIV)

Echoic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds/words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Iconic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Cause of False Information

Mood, circumstances, and wording affect memory; remember first impressions of girlfriend/boyfriend as "love at first sight" if happily married and "wasn't meant to be" if divorced

Cruel Cycle of Mood

Moods persist; happiness breeds happy memory, which breeds good mood

Testosterone

Most important male sex hormone; both males and females have it, but additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of male sex organs in the fetus and development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Reality of Repression

Most likely, victims don't repress abuse, but rather stop devoting thought and emotion to it

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests; yields separate scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, processing speed; striking differences can show problems

Punished Behavior Gone?

NO! Punished Behavior is suppressed, NOT forgotten. When punished, don't think "I shouldn't do this," but rather "I shouldn't do this around this person."

How Does Sleep Help?

NREM-2 and REM strengthen connections that build muscle memory while NREM-1 produces human growth hormone

Sleepwalking/Sleeptalking

NREM-3 disorder (20% of people have one incident; 5% have more than one); young sleep in NREM-3 longest, so most at risk

Neurons

Nerve cells; basic building block of nervous system

Reticular Formation

Nerve network that travels through brainstem and plays important role in controlling arousal; enables arousal, filters incoming stimuli

Interneurons

Nerves within brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and mediate between sensory inputs and motor outputs

Glial Cells

Nervous system that supports, nourishes, protects neurons; may also play role in learning/thinking

Hippocampus

Neural center located in limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage (brain's "save" button for explicit memories)

Action Potential

Neural impulse; brief electrical charge that travels down axon; can be excitatory (go) or inhibitory (stop); if excitatory minus inhibitory signals exceeds threshold, action potential triggers

Reconsolidation

Neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for later retrieval; each time recalled, replace original with modified version

Hypothalamus

Neural structure lying below thalamus; directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp.); helps govern endocrine system via pituitary gland, and linked to emotion/reward; stimulating it can allow one to control animals' actions

Limbic System

Neural system (including hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus) located below cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

Axon

Neuron extension that passes messages through branches to other neurons or to muscles/glands (speaks)

Dendrite

Neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward cell body (listens)

Sensory Neurons

Neurons that carry incoming info from sensory receptors to brain and spinal cord

Motor Neurons

Neurons that carry outgoing info from brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands

Reuptake

Neurotransmitter's reabsorption

Working Memory

Newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

One Part of Brain For Memory?

No - Despite brain's vast storage capacity, we do not store information as libraries store their books, ink discrete, precise locations; instead, many parts of brain interact as we encode, store, and retrieve info that forms our memories o Ex: Rats that remember how to go through maze will still partially remember even if any small section of brain is removed

Does Damage to Language Part of Brain Stop All Language?

No -- brain divides its mental functions --speaking, perceiving, thinking, remembering -- into subfunctions; localized trauma might prevent one form of processing, but not all

Can Animals Form Complex Sentences

No -- they can exhibit insight, family loyalty, communication, care, and cultural patterns though

Can Hypnosis Force People to Act Against Their Will? (Questions of Hypnosis)

No, as shown by unhypnotized (control) group doing dangerous acts because other group pretending they were hypnotized were doing them

Can Hypnosis Enhance Recall of Forgotten Events? (Questions of Hypnosis)

No, but hypnosis can create pseudomemories

Emotionally Intelligent High Self-Esteem?

Not necessarily; socially and self-aware, but not always optimistic and have high self-esteem; know how to comfort others though

So Are White People Just Better?

Not whatsoever -- environment affects IQ to a huge extent, so cannot make claims about whole group (race) without evidence

Case Study

Observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in hope of revealing universal principle

Naturalistic Observation

Observing/Recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate the situation

Brainstem

Oldest part and central core of brain, beginning where spinal cord swells as it enters skull; responsible for automatic survival functions

Different Parts of Hippocampus

One associates names with faces, one engages in spatial mnemonics; one processes spatial memory

Shaping

Operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Gender

Psychology is the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female (Biological sex)

Emotional Tests Measure . . .

Perceiving emotions (recognize in faces, music, etc.) understanding emotions (predict them and how they change) managing emotions (know how to express them in varied situations) using emotions to enable adaptive / creative thinking

Sleep

Periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness (unlike coma, general anesthesia, and hibernation)

Memory

Persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Temperament

Person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity; "slow-to-warm-up" infants resist new situations; genes regulate serotonin that make someone fearful, and unsupportive care-giving leads to inhibited children

Culture Shock

Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life

Physical Dependence

Physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

Albert Bandura

Pioneer in observational learning; Conducted Bobo Dolls Experiment where adults demonstrated 'appropriate' play with dolls, children mimicked play

Sleep Supports Growth (Sleep Theories)

Pituitary gland releases growth hormone; develops muscles and athletic ability

Occipital Lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying at back of head; includes areas that receive info from visual fields

Parietal Lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying at top of head and toward rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

Frontal Lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying just behind forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans/judgements

Temporal Lobes

Portion of cerebral cortex lying roughly above ears; includes auditory areas, each receiving info mainly from opposite ear

Prosocial Behavior

Positive, constructive, helpful behavior; opposite of antisocial behavior (Ex: Watching coworkers do job well)

Debriefing

Post-experimental explanation of study, including purpose and deceptions, to participitants

LSD (Acid)

Powerful hallucinogenic drug; begins with geometric forms, then images, then past emotional experiences, then feel separated from body (like near-death experience)

Methamphetamine

Powerfully addictive drug that stimulates central nervous system with sped-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, reduces baseline dopamine levels; causes irritability, insomnia, hypertension, seizures, social isolation, depression, occasional violent outbursts

Dual Processing

Principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

Natural Selection

Principle that, among range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Higher-Order Conditioning

Procedure in which conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus; for example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone (second-order conditioning)

Familiarity

Process in temporal lobe before hippocampus/frontal lobe so feel familiar but don't recall

Learning

Process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Retrieval

Process of getting information out of memory system

Modeling

Process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Hippocampus

Processes conscious memories; without it, cannot form new memories

Broca's Area's Processing

Processes language through series of neural computations; different networks for nouns, verbs, objects, actions, languages, etc.

Encoding

Processing of information into the memory system; for example, by extracting meaning

Appropriate Developmental Placement

Promotes equity and excellence for all

Heritability

Proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes; heritability of a trait may vary, depending on range of populations and environments studied

Heritability

Proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes; heritability of trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied

Imaginative Thinking Skills (Sternberg)

Provide ability to see things in novel ways, recognize patterns, make connections; having basic elements, redefine or explore it in new way (Ex: Earth revolves around Sun, not other way around)

Hallucinogens

Psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in absence of sensory input

Repression

Psychoanalytic theory is basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories (Ex: Remember ate less cookies from the cookie jar than actually did)

Psychological Dependence

Psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions

Nightmares

REM sleep disorder characterized by long, movie-like frightening dreams

Mutations

Random errors in gene replication that lead to a change

REM Sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca x 100); on contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

Spontaneous Recovery

Reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Primacy Effect

Recall first items better than last items after a while

Recency Effect

Recall last items very well

Recognition vs. Recall

Recognition memory longer than recall memory

Insomnia

Recurring problems in falling or staying asleep (1/10 adults; 1/4 older adults); worrying about insomnia worsens it; Sleeping pills reduce REM sleep and lead to tolerance (instead, try relaxing before bed, exercising early, and hiding clock face); causes include diet, exercise, sleep environment, and anxiety

Choice Blindness

Refers to ways in which people are blind to their own choices and preferences (Ex: Asked to pick favorite jam and given other kind of jam with same label, say the other jam is their favorite)

Punishment tells you what NOT to do . . .

Reinforcement tells you what TO do

Partial (Intermittent) 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

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing desired response every time it occurs

Long-Term Memory

Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

Alpha Waves

Relatively slow brain waves of relaxed, awake state, at the beginning of sleep when you are awake with your eyes closed

Sleep Cycle

Repeats every 90 minutes: NREM-1: 1-10 minutes NREM-2: 20 minutes NREM-3: 35-45 minutes REM: 10 minutes (20-25% of sleep) Over time, NREM-3 grows shorter and REM/NREM-2 grow longer

Practical Intelligence (Triarchic Theory)

Required for everyday tasks; multiple solutions; Sternberg and Wagner offer test of practical managerial intelligence that measures skill at writing, motivating, delegating, reading people, etc.; business executives who score high on test tend to earn high salaries/receive high performance ratings

Experiment

Research method where investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe effect on some behavior/mental process (dependent variable)

Implicit Memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection (nondeclarative memory)

Storage

Retention of encoded information over time

Instinctive Drift

Reverting to biologically predisposed patterns/behaviors

Triarchic Theory (Sternberg)

Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions

sexually transmitted infections

STIs also called STDs for sexually transmitted diseases

Random Sampling

Sample that fairly represents population because each member has equal chance of inclusion

Psychology

Science of behavior/mental processes

Basic Research

Science that aims to increase scientific knowledge base

A Venturesome Personality (Sternberg)

Seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles (Ex: trying countless substances before finding right one for light bulb filament)

Stereotype Threat

Self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype; why women perform worse against male opponents in chess

"Gifted" Programs Controversy

Self-fulfilling prophecy (told are gifted, will act gifted); denying lower-ability kids access with widen gap in education and increase social isolation; since minorities/low-income often placed in ungifted, prejudice can occur

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Sensory and motor neurons that connect central nervous system to rest of body

Dreams

Sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through sleeping person's mind; notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for dreams's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it; most negative

Successive Approximations

Series of behaviors that gradually become more similar to target behavior

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen; produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition; causes overheating, increased blood pressure, death, suppresses immune system, impairs memory, slows thought, disrupts sleep

Developmental Similarities

Tastes vary, but show hunger; cross-cultural research shows cultural diversity and human likeness

Functional MRI (fMRI)

Technique for revealing blood flow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans; shows brain function

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create computer-generated images of soft tissue; shows brain anatomy; atoms of brain scattered then reform to make image

Survey

Technique to ascertain self-reported attitudes/behaviors of particular group, usually by questioning representative, random sample of group

Memory Work and Guided Imagery

Techniques used to restore memory, but create false, aggressive memories

To Improve Performance of Women and Minorities . . .

Tell them they will succeed, and make them believe it

REM Rebound

Tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeating awakenings during REM sleep); occurs in mammals, not animals who don't need learning (like fish)

Spacing Effect

Tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Mental Set

Tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct--to over-estimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Serial Position Effect

Tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Mood Congruent Memory

Tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood (Ex: Currently depressed remember parents as rejecting/punishing, but formerly depressed remember parents as normal person would)

Self-Reference Effect

Tendency to remember things better when relate to oneself (Ex: asked what words describe others, won't remember as well as words said when asked what words describe themself)

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Generalization

Tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

Hypotheses

Testable predictions, often implied by theory (careful: if think is true, experiment's results will be biased)

Achievement Tests

Tests designed to assess what a person has learned (reflects what you have learned)

Aptitude Tests

Tests designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn (predict your ability to learn a new skill) (SAT test correlates +.82 with general intelligence)

Boys Better At . . .

Tests of spatial ability and complex math problems although in math computation and overall math performance hardly differ from girls

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance, the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

trait

a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self report inventories and peer reports

flow

a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, wit diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of ones skill

instinct

a complex behavior that is rapidly patterned throughout a species and in unlearned

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

cochlear implants

a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea

autism

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others states of mind

ghrelin

a hunger arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach

visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

arcuate nucleus

a neural arc that has a center that secretes appetite stimulating hormones, and another center that secretes appetite suppressing hormones

insula

a neural center deep inside the brain

emerging adulthood

a period from the late teens to mid twenties bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

projective test

a personality test, such as the rorschach, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of ones inner dynamics

incentive

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

unconscious according to freud

a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories

emotion

a response of the whole organism, involving physiological arousal (heart pounding), expressive behaviors (quickened pace), and conscious experiences (thoughts and feelings)

refractory period

a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm

fixation

according to freud, a lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved

behavior feedback research

acting angry can make us feel angrier

subgoalss and implementation intentions

action plans that specify when, where, and how they will march toward achieving those goals

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

manage by objectives

agree on target dates for the completion and editing of each chapter draft

great person theory of leadership

all great leaders share common traits

self concept

all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question "who am i?"

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

coping

alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods

unconditional positive regard

an attitude of total acceptance toward another person

attachment

an emotional tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

sexual orientation

an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either ones own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)

phi phenomenon

an illustration of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

personality

an individuals characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

gestalt

an organized whole

bottom up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brains integration of sensory information

spillover effect

arousal spills over from one event to the next

relative motion

as we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move

complementary and alternative medicine

as yet unproven health care treatments intended to supplement or serve as alternatives to conventional medicine, and which typically are not widely taught in medical schools, used in hospitals, or reimbursed by insurance companies

emotion focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress b y avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one stress reaction

problem focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor

unconscious according to contemporary psychologists

information processing of which we are unaware

key proponents of social cognitive theory

bandura

subliminal

below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness (stimuli you cannot detect 50% of the time)

authoritative parents

both demanding and responsive

sonar

bouncing echoing sound off objects

tyranny of choice

brings information overload and a greater likelihood that we will feel regret over some of the unchosen opinion

loop systems

broadcast customized sound directly through a persons own hearing aid

collective unconscious

carl jungs concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species history

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

autonomic nervous system

controls physiological arousal

personality assessment methods of trait theory

personal inventories

leptin and PYY

decrease hunger

pleasure principle

demanding immediate gratification

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes

psychosomatic

described psychologically caused physical symptoms

myers briggs type indicator

describes important personality differences, it sorts people according to carl jungs personality types

amplitude

determines loudness

neophobia

dislike of things unfamiliar

erogenous zone

distinct pleasure sensitive areas of the body

projection

distinguishing ones own threatening impulses by attributing them to others

place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochleas membrane is stimulated

frequencey theory

in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses travelling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, enabling us to sense its pitch

free association

in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing

embodied cognition

in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and states on cognitive preferences and judgement

gestalt psychologists

emphasize d our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

settling point

indicate the level at which a person's weight settles in response to caloric intake and expenditure

top down processing

information processing guided by higher level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectations

narcissism

excessive self love and self absorption

plateau phase

excitement peaks as breathing, pulse, and blood pressure rates continue to increase

pessimists

expect things to go badly

social facilitation

explains why, after a celebration, we may realize we have overeaten

human factors psychology

explores the human machine interface

happiness is relative to our own experience

feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, success and failure are judgments we make based on our prior experience

arousal theory

focuses on finding the right level of stimulation

repress

forcibly block from our consciousness because they would be to unsettling to acknowledge

B lymphocytes

form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections

T lymphocytes

form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances

defensive self esteem

fragile, it focuses on sustaining itself, which makes failures and criticism feel threatening

benefits of sensory adaptation

freedom to focus on informative changes in our environment without being distracted by background character

key proponents of psychoanalytic theory

freud

psychoanalysis

freuds theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

type A

friedman and rosenmans term for competitive, hard driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger prone people

type B

friedman and rosenmans term for easygoing, relaxed people

task leadership

goal oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals

obvious emotions

graphic novel authors use facial expressions and other design elements to express emotion, reducing the need to explain how the characters are feeling

social leadership

group oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support

assistive listening

headphones, speakers......

conduction hearing loss

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

decibles

how we measure sound

Sleep Stages

http://blog.withings.com/2015/03/17/the-4-different-stages-of-sleep/

voice effect

if given a chance to voice their opinion during a decision making process, people will respond more positively to the decision

interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer

relative size

if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image as farther away

authoritarian parents

impose rules and experts obedience

self

in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions

To Boost Creative Process

o Develop your expertise - ask yourself what care about and most enjoy o Allow time for incubation - given enough knowledge available for novel connections, period of inattention to problem allows unconscious processing to form associations o Set aside time for mind to roam freely - take time away from attention-absorbing TV, social networking, video gaming (Ex: long walk) o Experience other cultures and ways of thinking - living abroad sets creative juices flowing; multicultural experiences expose us to multiple perspectives and facilitate flexible thinking; helps find creative solution

Race is not a neatly defined biological category

o Race primarily social construction w/o well-defined physical boundaries; people w/ varying ancestry may categorize themselves as same race; mixed ancestries deny racial categorization and call themselves multiracial o However, biological components (medical conditions, genetic markers like continent, behavioral traits like running) present too

Debate over race differences in intellect divided into 3 camps

o There are genetically disposed race differences in intelligence o There are socially influenced race differences in intelligence o There are race differences in test scores, but the tests are biased

Schools and culture matter

o Wealth gaps result in differences between IQ; educational policies like kindergarten attendance predict difference in intelligence o Asians students outperform North American students; result of conscientiousness maybe not competence (spend more time in class and more time studying)

Automatic Processing (Examples)

o space - when reading page, encode place you are on page; when want info, may visualize location of that info on the page o time - might unintentionally note sequence of events; later when lost something, might "retrace your steps" by remembering sequence of events of what you did at the time o frequency - keep track of how many times things happen, like when realize, "I've run into her three times today!"

halo errors

occur when ones overall evaluation of an employee, or of a personal trait such as their friendliness, biases ratings of their specific work related behaviors, such as their reliability

recency errors

occur when raters focus only on easily remembered recent behavior

sexualization

occurs when girls... -are led to value themselves in terms of their sexual appeal -compare themselves to narrowly defined beauty standards -see themselves as sexual beings for others use

rationalization

offering self justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening unconscious reasons for ones actions

self esteem

ones feelings of high or low self worth

personality assessment methods of social cognitive theory

our behavior in one situation is best predicted by considering our past behavior in similar situations

gender identity

our sense of being male of female

adaptation level phenomenon

our tendency to form judgments (of sound, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience

assumptions of social cognitive theory

our traits and the social context interact to produce our behaviors

self concept

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

spotlight effect

overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)

linear perspective

parallel lines appear to meet in the distance

phantom sex partners

past partner of partners

culture specific or culturally universal expressions

people of all different cultures and races have the same universally known facial expressions

transpersonal

people strive for meaning, purpose, and communication that is beyond the self

interdependence

people who see anger as a threat to group harmony

theory of mind

peoples ideas about their own and others mental states-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

feel good, do good phenomenon

peoples tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood

size constancy

perceive objects as having a constant size, even while our distance from them varies

color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

perceptual consistency

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, brightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change

arousal and performance

performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for different tasks, and at higher levels for easy or well learned tasks

signal detecting theorist

person who seeks to understand why people respond differently to the same stimuli and why the same persons reactions vary as circumstances change

Drugs on Memory

• Memory-altering drugs targeted to help Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment, and those wanting memory to decline slower o Could boost LTP-enhancing glutamate o Could boost production of CREB, protein that enhances LTP Help increase production of other proteins that help reshape synapses and transfer short-term memory into long-term

Using Operant Conditioning

• School: Computers that go at individual students' paces, giving immediate feedback, finding gaps in understanding, and keeping flawless records • Sports: Small increases in challenges (Ex: Putting from 1 foot away, then 3 feet, then 5 feet, etc.) - as confidence builds, they increase difficulty • Work: Reward employees for specific, achievable behaviors, not vaguely defined "merit" - and make reinforcement as immediate as possible • Home: Notice people doing something right and affirm them for it; target specific behavior, reward it, and watch it increase; explain punishment when needed, and only give time-out (no yelling/hitting)

Sexual Abuse Protocol

• Sexual Abuse Happens: no characteristic "survivor syndrome" (symptoms) • Injustice Happens: innocent people falsely convicted; some guilty people evade punishment • Forgetting Happens: Many of abused might not remember or understood meaning of experience; natural to forget • Recovered Memories are Commonplace: We all recover memories of long-forgotten events, but can therapist-aided techniques bring them back? • Memories of Thing Happening Before Age 3 are Unreliable: Infantile amnesia; doubt "recovered" memories; older the more reliable the memory • Memories "Recovered" Under Hypnosis or the Influence of Drugs are Especially Unreliable: People incorporate suggestions, even "past lives" • Memories, Whether Real or False, can be Emotionally Upsetting: Memories, even if false, can still give people stress from the memory

WAIS Consists of . . .

• Similarities - reasoning commonality of two objects or concepts • Block design - visual abstract processing (ex: using four blocks to make this) • Vocabulary - naming pictured objects, or defining words • Letter-number sequencing - on hearing series of numbers/letters, repeat the numbers in ascending order and then letters in alphabetical order

SQ3R Method Strategies

• Study repeatedly: Use distributed (spaced) practice; take advantage of life's little intervals, and space out study sessions; rehearsal and critical reflection better than simply reading without rehearsal • Make the material meaningful: Take text/class notes in own words; relate material to your experiences; restate concepts in own words • Activate retrieval cues: Mentally recreate situation and mood in which original learning occurred • Use mnemonic devices: Associate items with peg-words; make up story to incorporate vivid images of items; acronyms; rhythmic rhymes • Minimize interference: Study before sleep; don't study things together that interfere (lang.) • Sleep more: During sleep, brain reorganizes and consolidates info for long-term memory • Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and find out what you don't know yet: Outline notes, define terms/concepts on own before looking for actual definition; take practice tests; study with guides