Exam 2 Psychology

norming

conflicts are resolved, close relationships develop, and unity and harmony emerge

egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

neutral stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.

unconditioned response (UCR)

in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

cognitive psychology

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

semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

recall

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

trial and error

A problem-solving strategy that involves attempting different solutions and eliminating those that do not work.

arousal theory

A theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation.

analytical intelligence

According to Sternberg, the ability measured by most IQ tests; includes the ability to analyze problems and find correct answers.

psychosocial development (know all the stages)

Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.

Multiple Intelligences Theory

Gardner's theory that each person possesses at least eight types of intelligence

implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

vicarious punishment

Phenomenon in which a response decreases in frequency when another person is observed being punished for that response.

reconstruction

Reconstructive memory is a theory of memory recall, in which the act of remembering is influenced by various other cognitive processes including perception, imagination, semantic memory and beliefs, amongst others.

triarchic theory of intelligence

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

short-term memory (STM), also called, working memory

Short-term memory is the information that a person is currently thinking about or is aware of

creativity

The ability to make or bring a new concept or idea into existence; marked by the ability or power to create.

syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

Atkinson-Shiffrin storehouse stage model (A-S)

The multistore model of memory (also known as the modal model) was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structural model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

language structure

The organization of words (both spoken and written) into meaningful segments (phrases or sentences) using conventions of grammar and syntax.

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

instinct

a complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species

lexicon

a dictionary; a specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place

stimulus discrimination

a differentiation between two similar stimuli when only one of them is consistently associated with the unconditioned stimulus

recognition

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

semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

emerging adulthood

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

reflex

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus

mental set

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

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions

divergent thinking

a type of creative thinking in which one generates new solutions to problems

convergent thinking

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

operant conditioning

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

generative

allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways

attachment

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

higher-order conditioning

an established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus so that eventually the new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response, without the initial conditioned stimulus present

punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

variable ratio reinforcement schedule

an intermittent schedule in which consequences are delivered following a different number of behaviors, sometimes more and sometimes less, that vary around a specified average number of behaviors

shaping

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

developmental milestone

approximate ages at which children reach specific normative events

fixed interval reinforcement schedule

behavior is rewarded after a set amount of time

variable interval reinforcement schedule

behavior is rewarded after unpredictable amounts of time have passed

extinction

decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with conditioned stimulus

intelligence quotient

defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100

observational learning

learning by observing others

habituation

learning not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

normative approach

measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

mnemonic device

method of improving memory by associating new information with previously learned information

vicarious reinforcement

observing someone else receive a reward or punishment

crystallized intelligence

one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units

fluid intelligence

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

bias

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

classical conditioning

process by which we learn to associate stimuli and consequently anticipate events

psychosexual development

process proposed by Freud in which pleasure-seeking urges focus on different erogenous zones of the body as humans move through five stages of life

partial reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

practical intelligence

the ability to use information to get along in life and become successful

symbolic

serving as a visible symbol for something abstract

fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

set number of responses must occur before a behavior is rewarded

phoneme

smallest unit of sound

negative reinforcement

something Is removed to increase the likelihood of the behavior

positive punishment

something is added to decrease the likelihood of the behavior

negative punishment

something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior

positive reinforcement

something that is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior

self-reference effect

tendency to better remember information relevant to ourselves

conditioned response (CR)

the behavior caused by conditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

the behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus

declarative memory

the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory; knowledge that can be declared

episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

discontinuous development (stage theory)

the discontinuity theory says that development occurs in a series of distinct stages

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

cognitive development

the emergence of the ability to think and understand

semantic encoding

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

acoustic encoding

the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

procedural memory

the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things

continuous development

the idea that changes with age occur gradually, in small increments, like that of a pine tree growing taller and taller

sensory memory

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

model

the indivual preforming the imitated behavior

nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

acquisition

the initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

persistence

the intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

standardization (of tests)

the process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind of people for whom the test is designed

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

long-term memory (LTM)

the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently

spontaneous recovery

the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period

suggestibility

the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections

stimulus generalization

the tendency to respond to a stimulus that is only similar to the original conditioned stimulus with the conditioned response

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

adolescence

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

primary reinforcer

those that have innate reinforcing qualities (food, water, sleep, pleasure). the value of these does not need to be learned

secondary reinforcer

those that have no inherent value. their value is learned and becomes reinforcing when linked with a primary reinforcer.

nurture

to care for

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

continuous reinforcement

when an organism receives a reinforcer each time it displays a behavior