AP Psychology Exam Review - REVISED, AP Exam Review - 2020
metacognition
"Thinking about thinking," or one's awareness of one's own thought processes or memory.
Karl Wernicke
"Wernicke's area"; discovered area of left temporal lobe that involved language understanding: person damaged in this area uses correct words but they do not make sense
endorphins
"morphine within"; natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure
genital phase
(psychoanalysis) the fifth sexual and social stage in a person's development occurring during adolescence
oral phase
(psychoanalysis) the first sexual and social stage of an infant's development
anal phase
(psychoanalysis) the second sexual and social stage of a child's development during which bowel control is learned
phallic phase
(psychoanalysis) third phase in Freud's model; child experiences pleasurable and conflicting feelings associated with genital organs, unconscious sexual attraction to parent of opposite sex as well as guilt; fixations results in difficulty with sexual identity and authority figures
René Descartes
17t century French philosopher. Famously known for writing "cogito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"). Wrote about concept of dualism.
John Locke
17th century English philosopher. Wrote that the mind was a "blank slate" or "tabula rasa"; that is, people are born without innate ideas. We are completely shaped by our environment .
alarm reaction
1st phase of GAS; body called to action when presented with stressor
trust v. mistrust
1st stage in Erikson's model; infants must learn to view the world as a predictable, safe place or face a future of guarded skepicism
resistance
2nd phase of GAS; body remains activated to cope with the stressor/threat
autonomy v. shame & doubt
2nd stage in Erikson's model; toddlers must be able to exercise some independence or will be ashamed and uncertain of their abilities
human genome
30,000 genes needed to build a human
exhaustion
3rd phase of GAS; if stress continues, body's reserves are depleted and illness or death results
initiative v. guilt
3rd stage in Erikson's model; preschoolers must learn to start and direct creative tasks, or they may feel guilty about asserting themselves
industry v. inferiority
4th stage in Erikson's model; children must master the skills valued by their society or feel inferior
identity v. role confusion
5th stage in Erikson's model; adolescents must develop a sense of identity or suffer lack of direction
intimacy v. isolation
6th stage in Erikson's model; young adults must form close, satisfying relationships or suffer loneliness
generativity v. stagnation
7th stage in Erikson's model; in middle age, adults must discover a sense of contributing to the world or they may feel a lack of purpose
integrity v. despair
8th stage in Erikson's model; when reflecting at the end of life, an older adult must feel a sense of satisfaction or experience despair (feelings of having wasted one's life)
phoneme
A basic or minimum unit of sound in a language.
morpheme
A basic unit of meaning in a language.
Normal curve
A bell-shaped graphic representation of data showing what percentage of the population falls under each part of the curve
counseling psychology
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being
human factors psychology
A branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
psychodynamic perspective
A branch of psychology that studies how internal conflicts and unconscious drives influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders. (Influenced by Sigmund Freud's model of psychoanalysis)
community psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups
developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
episodic memory
A category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations and experiences.
Alzheimer's Disease
A chronic and progressive disorder of the brain that is the most common cause of degeneration dementia
flashbulb memory
A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event.
rational-emotive therapy
A cognitive behavior therapy that emphasizes the importance of logical, rational thought processes.
personal fable
A cognitive distortion experienced by adolescents, in which they believe they are so special and unique that other people cannot understand them and risky behaviors will not harm them
institutional review board (IRB)
A committee organized by a university or other research institution that approves, monitors, and reviews all research that involves human subjects. Its main purpose is to ensure compliance with ethics standards.
split brain
A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them
Down Syndrome
A condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup.
approach-avoidance conflict
A conflict in which there are both appealing and negative aspects to the decision to be made.
aversive counterconditioning/positive punishment?
A counterconditioning technique in which an aversive or noxious stimulus is paired with a stimulus with the undesirable behavior.
external locus of control
A deep seated sense that forces other than the individual are responsible for what happens in his or her life (e.g., fate, God, chance, luck, etc.)
naturalistic observation
A descriptive research method in which researchers study behavior in its natural context.
experimental
A design in which researchers manipulate an independent variable and measure a dependent variable to determine a cause-and-effect relationship
intrinsic motivation
A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
sociobiology
A discipline based on the premise that even day-to-day behaviors are determined by the process of natural selection - that social behaviors that contribute to the survival of a species are passed on via the genes from one generation to the next.
autism spectrum disorder
A disorder characterized by deficits in social relatedness and communication skills that are often accompanied by repetitive, ritualistic behavior.
psychoactive drug
A drug that alters behavior, thought, or perception by altering biochemical reactions in the nervous system, thereby affecting consciousness
stimulant
A drug that increases alertness, reduces fatigue, and elevates mood
creativity
A feature of thought and problem solving that includes the tendency to generate or recognize ideas considered to be high-quality, original, novel, and appropriate.
zygote
A fertilized egg
gender stereotype
A fixed, overly simple, sometimes incorrect idea about traits, attitudes, and behaviors of males or females
figure-ground
A gestalt perceptual phenomenon; the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings
histogram
A graph of vertical bars representing the frequency distribution of a set of data.
cohort
A group of people from a given time period. (For example, longitudinal studies track a particular cohort over time.)
epinephrine
A hormone produced by the adrenal glands that has a vital role in the function of the sympathetic nervous system (and its "fight or flight" response). Also sometimes referred to as a neurotransmitter.
psychoanalysis
A lengthy insight therapy that was developed by Freud and aims at uncovering conflicts and unconscious impulses through special techniques, including free association, dream analysis, and transference.
placenta
A mass of tissue that is attached to the wall f the uterus and connected to the developing fetus by the umbilical cord; it supplies nutrients and eliminates waste products
recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test with no "word bank".
recognition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
blood-brain barrier
A mechanism that prevents certain molecule from entering the brain but allows others to cross
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
A medical condition in which body deformation or facial development or mental ability of a fetus is impaired because the mother drank alcohol while pregnant
relearning
A memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time
elaborative rehearsal
A memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to simply repeating the word to yourself over and over. This facilitates deep processing.
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model
A model for describing memory in which there are three distinguishable kinds of memory storage (sensory, short term, long term) through which info passes in a sequential way as it is processed.
echoic memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.
working memory
A 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.
placebo effect
A nonspecific improvement that occurs as a result of a person's expectations of change rather than as a direct result of any specific therapeutic treatment.
stress
A nonspecific, emotional response to real or imagined challenges or threats; a result of a cognitive appraisal by the individual
adrenal glands
A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress.
personality
A pattern of relatively permanent traits, dispositions, or characteristics that give some consistency to people's behavior.
substance abuser
A person who overuses and relies on drugs to deal with everyday life
temperament
A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.
vulnerability
A person's diminished ability to deal with demanding life events.
gender identity
A person's sense of being male or female
methamphetamine
A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels
sampling bias
A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.
natural selection
A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.
biofeedback
A process through which people receive information about the status of a physical system and use this feedback information to learn to control the activity of that system
cognitive perspective
A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behavior
mutation
A random error in gene replication that leads to a change in nucleotide sequence.
variable-ratio schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer (reward) is delivered after a predetermined but variable number of responses has occurred
fixed-interval schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer (reward) is delivered after a specified interval of time, provided that the required response occurs at least once in the interval
variable-interval schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer (reward) is delivered after predetermined but varying amounts of time, provided that the required response occurs at least once after each interval
fixed-ratio schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which a reinforcer(reward) is delivered after a specified number of responses has occurred
longitudinal study
A research approach that follows a group of people over time to determine change or stability in behavior.
longitudinal study
A research method that focuses on a specific group of individuals at different ages to examine changes that have occurred over time
double-blind procedure
A research technique in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in the control and experimental groups.
refractory period
A resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
regression
A return to a prior stage after a person has progressed through the various stages of development; caused by anxiety.
Representative sample
A sample that reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn
need for achievement
A social need that directs a person to strive constantly for excellence and success
gender
A socially and culturally constructed set of distinctions between masculine and feminine sets of behaviors that is promoted and expected by society
Wernicke's area
A specialised area in the left temporal lobe which is involved with comprehending the sounds of human speech
deviation IQ
A standard IQ test score whose mean and standard deviation remain constant for all ages
intimacy
A state of being or feeling in which each person in a relationship is willing to self-disclose and to express important feelings and information to the other person.
cognitive dissonance
A state of mental discomfort arising from a discrepancy between two or more of a person's beliefs or between a person's beliefs and overt behavior.
nicotine
A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco
discriminative stimulus
A stimulus in the presence of which responses of some type have been reinforced and in the absence of which the same type of responses have occurred and not been reinforced.
experimental group
A subject or group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the factor or condition being tested.
emotion
A subjective response, usually accompanied by a physiological change, which is interpreted n a particular way by the individual and often leads to a change in behavior
insight
A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem (a.k.a. an "aha" moment)
language
A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.
language
A system of symbols, usually words, that convey meaning and a set of rules for combining symbols to generate an infinite number of messages.
algorithm
A systematic, step-by-step series of rules or procedures that guarantees solving a particular problem. Examples: formulas, equations, flowcharts
mental set
A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, especially a way that has been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem
social desirability bias
A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself; a potential challenge in surveys involving self-report
split-half reliability
A test is divided into 2 halves and the scores on the halves are compared to see if the test is cosistant within itself. Odds - Evens is the best way to do this.
raw score
A test score that has not been transformed or converted in any way
behavior therapy
A therapy that is based on the application of learning principles to human behavior and that focuses on changing overt behaviors rather than on understanding subjective feelings, unconscious processes, or motivations; also known as behavior modification.
systematic desensitization
A three-stage counterconditioning procedure in which people are taught to relax when confronting stimuli that forming elicited anxiety.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A treatment for severe mental illness in which an electric current is briefly applied to the head in order to produce a generalized seizure.
procedural memory
A type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits
alternate form reliability
A type of reliability, where different versions of same instrument are used and scores are compared
cross-sectional studies
A type of research design that compares individuals of different ages to determine how they differ
cross-sectional study
A type of research design that compares individuals of different ages to determine how they differ on an important dimension
descriptive Studies
A type of research method that allows researchers to measure variables so that they can develop a description of a situation or phenomenon
sensory memory
A type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.
family therapy
A type of therapy in which two or more people who are committed to one another's well-being are treated at once, in and effort to change the ways the interact.
validity
Ability of a test to measure what it is supposed to measure and to predict what it is supposed to predict
reliability
Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for the same individual over repeated testings
neural plasticity
Ability of the brain to change their experience, both structurally and chemically
size constancy
Ability of the visual perceptual system to recognize that an object remains constant in size regardless of its distance from the observer or the size of its image on the retina.
creativity
Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas; fostered by expertise, imaginative thinking skills, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and creative environments
conservation
Ability to recognize that objects can e transformed in some way, visually or phycially, yet still be the same in number, weight, substance, or volume
myopic
Able to see clearly things that are close but having trouble seeing objects at a distance; nearsighted.
castration anxiety
According to Freud's Stages of Psychosexual Development, the fear a boy in the phallic stage experiences due to a fear that his father will render him powerless if his father finds out about his attraction toward his mother.
preconscious
According to Freud, the level of awareness that contains material just beneath the surface of conscious awareness that can easily be retrieved.
assimilation
According to Piaget, the process by which new ideas and experiences are absorbed and incorporated into existing mental structures and behaviors
arousal
Activation of the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, and the muscles and glands
priming
Activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
alcohol use disorder
Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use; popularly known as alcoholism
genome
All the genetic information in an organism; all of an organism's chromosomes.
coping
Alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods
identical twins
Also known as monozygotic (MZ) twins; twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, resulting in two individuals that share the exact same DNA.
John Watson
American psychologist who founded behaviorism, emphasizing the study of observable behavior and rejecting the study of mental processes
prototype
An abstraction, an idealized pattern of an object or idea that is stored in memory and used to decide whether similar objects or ideas are members of the same class of items.
neurocognitive disorder
An age-related disorder caused by brain dysfunction that affects thinking processes, memory, consciousness, and perception. Formerly called "dementia".
generalized anxiety disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by persistent anxiety occurring on more days than not for at least 6 months, sometimes with increased activity of the autonomic nervous system, apprehension, excessive muscle tension, and difficulty in concentrating
social need
An aroused condition that directs people to behave in ways that allow them to feel good about themselves and others and to establish and maintain relationships
bulimia nervosa
An eating disorder characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating (and a fear of not being able to stop eating) followed by purging
intuition
An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
stressor
An environmental stimulus that affects an organism in physically or psychologically injurious ways, usually producing anxiety, tension, and physiological arousal
fixation
An excessive attachment to some person or object that was appropriate only at an earlier stage of development
humanistic theory
An explanation of behavior that emphasizes the entirety of life rather than individual components of behavior and focuses on human dignity, individual choice, and self-worth
anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new (explicit) memories.
retrograde amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one's past.
long-term potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
biopsychosocial approach
An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
semantic distinctiveness
An item on a list that's memorable because its not like the other items on the list
token economy
An operant conditioning procedure in which individuals who display appropriate behavior receive tokens that they can exchange for desirable items or activities.
habituation
An organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it
defense mechanism
An unconscious way of reducing anxiety by distorting perceptions of reality.
Socrates
Ancient Greek philosopher. Promoted introspection by saying, "Know thyself."
grit
Angela Duckworth's concept of "passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals"
social phobia
Anxiety disorder characterized by fear of, and desire to avoid, situations in which the person might be exposed to scrutiny by others and might behave in an embarrassing or humiliating way.
specific phobia
Anxiety disorder characterized by irrational and persistent fear of a particular object or situation, along with a compelling desire to avoid it.
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Anxiety disorder characterized by persistent and uncontrollable thoughts and irrational beliefs that cause the performance of compulsive rituals that interfere with daily life.
panic attack
Anxiety disorders characterized as acute anxiety, accompanied by sharp increases in autonomic nervous system arousal, that is not triggered by a specific event.
phobic disorders
Anxiety disorders characterized by excessive and irrational fear of, and consequent attempted avoidance of, specific objects or situations.
drug
Any chemical substance that, in small amounts, alters biological or cognitive processes or both
reinforcer
Any event that increases the probability of a recurrence of the response that preceded it
secondary punisher
Any neutral stimulus that initially has no intrinsic negative value for an organism but acquires punishing qualities when linked with a primary punisher
secondary reinforcer
Any neutral stimulus that initially has no intrinsic value for an organism but that becomes rewarding when linked with a primary reinforcer
depressants (AKA sedative-hypnotics)
Any of a class of drugs that relax and calm a user and, in higher doses, induce sleep; also known as a depressant
trait
Any readily identifiable stable quality that characterizes how an individual differs from other individuals.
primary punisher
Any stimulus or event that is naturally painful or unpleasant to an organism
insight therapy
Any therapy that attempts to discover relationships between unconscious motivations and current abnormal behavior.
self-perception Theory
Approach to attitude formation that assumes that people infer their attitudes and emotional states from their behavior.
association areas
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
receptive fields
Areas of the retina that, when stimulated, produce a change in the firing of cells in the visual system.
adoption studies
Assess hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents.
decision making
Assessing and choosing among alternatives.
emotion-focused coping
Attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction
problem-focused coping
Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.
source amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
reflex
Automatic behavior that occurs involuntarily in response to a stimulus and without prior learning and usually shows little variability from instance to instance
abnormal behavior
Behavior characterized as atypical, socially unacceptable, distressing to the individual or others, maladaptive, and/or the result of distorted cognitions
superstitious behavior
Behavior learned through coincidental association with reinforcement
Type A behavior
Behavior pattern characterized by competitiveness, impatience, hostility, and constant efforts to do more in less time
Type B behavior
Behavior pattern exhibited by people who are calmer, more patient, and less hurried than Type A individuals
discrimination
Behavior targeted at individuals or groups and intended to hold them apart and treat them differently.
prosocial behavior
Behavior that benefits someone else or society but that generally offers no obvious benefit to the person performing it and may even involve some personal risk or sacrifice.
altruism
Behaviors that benefit other people and for which there is no discernable extrinsic reward, recognition, or appreciation.
mental retardation
Below-average intellectual functioning, as measured on an IQ test, accompanied by substantial limitations in functioning that originate before age 8
psychosurgery
Brain surgery used in the past to alleviate symptoms of serious mental disorders.
neuroplasticity
Brain's ability to reorganize and change its structure and function throughout the life span, in reponse to injury or new learning
John Locke
British political philosopher & author of "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding"; coined the phrase "blank slate" to describe the state of human knowledge at birth
glial cells (glia)
Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
menopause
Cessation of menstruation; marks end of reproductive capactiy for women, typically occurring around age 50
social facilitation
Change in behavior that occurs when people believe they are in the presence of other people.
androgyny
Combination of culturally determined female and male characteristics in one person.
chunking
Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term memory.
body language
Communication of information through body positions and gestures.
obedience
Compliance with the orders of another person or group of people.
addiction
Compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences. May also occur for certain behaviors (e.g., gambling)
operant conditioning
Conditioning in which an increase or decrease in the probability that a behavior will recur is affected by the delivery of reinforcement or punishment as a consequence of the behavior;
classical conditioning
Conditioning process in which an originally neutral stimulus, by repeated pairing with a stimulus that normally elicits a response, comes to elicit a similar or even identical response; aka Pavlovian conditioning
Martin Seligman
Conducted experiments with dogs that led to the concept of "learned helplessness"
approach-avoidance conflict
Conflict that results from having to choose an alternative that has both attractive and unappealing aspects
approach-approach conflict
Conflict that results from having to choose between two attractive alternatives
avoidance-avoidance conflict
Conflict that results from having to choose between two distasteful alternatives
hallucinogens (AKA psychedelic drugs)
Consciousness-altering drugs that affect moods, thoughts, memory, judgment, and perception and that are consumed for the purpose of producing those results
overlearning
Continued rehearsal of material after one first appears to have mastered it. Improves memory.
Broca's area
Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
social loafing
Decrease in effort and productivity that occurs when an individual works in a group instead of alone.
overjustification effect
Decrease in likelihood that an intrinsically motivated task, after having been extrinsically rewarded, will be performed when the reward is no longer given.
repression
Defense mechanism by which anxiety-provoking thoughts and feelings are forced to the unconscious.
projection
Defense mechanism by which people attribute their own undesirable traits to others.
reaction formation
Defense mechanism by which people behave in a way opposite to what their true but anxiety-provoking feelings would dictate.
displacement
Defense mechanism by which people divert sexual or aggressive feelings for one person onto another person.
sublimation
Defense mechanism by which people redirect socially unacceptable impulses toward acceptable goals.
denial
Defense mechanism by which people refuse to accept reality.
rationalization
Defense mechanism by which people reinterpret undesirable feelings or behaviors in terms that make them appear acceptable.
major depressive disorder
Depressive disorder characterized by loss of interest in almost all of life's usual activities; a sad, hopeless, or discourage mood, sleep disturbance; loss of appetite; loss of energy; and feelings of unworthiness and guilt.
projective tests
Devices or instruments used to assess personality, in which examinees are shown a standard set of ambiguous stimuli and asked to respond to the stimuli in their own way.
dissociative amnesia
Dissociative disorder characterized by the sudden and extensive inability to recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature.
aphasia
Disturbance in language comprehension or production, often as a result of a stroke.
parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
Division of the autonomic nervous system that slows down body functions, activated when you relax or when SNS stimulated too long.
central nervous system (CNS)
Division of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord
lucid dream
Dream in which the dreamer is aware of dreaming while it is happening
opiates (AKA narcotics)
Drugs derived from the opium poppy, including opium, morphine, and heroin
temperament
Early-emerging and long-lasting individual differences in disposition and in the intensity and especially the quality of emotional reactions
demand characteristics
Elements of an experimental situation that might cause a participant to perceive the situation in a certain way or become aware of the purpose of the study and thus bias the participant to behave in a certain way, and in so doing, distort results.
effortful processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
narcissism
Excessive self-love and self-absorption
expectancy theories
Explanations of behavior that focus on people's expectations about reaching a goal and their need for achievement as energizing factors
oedipus complex
Feelings of rivalry with the parent of the same sex and sexual desire for the parent of the other sex, occurring during the phallic stage and ultimately resolved through identification with the parent of the same sex.
Margaret Floy Washburn
First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)
stereotypes
Fixed, overly simple and often erroneous ideas about traits, attitudes, and behaviors of groups of people; stereotypes assume that all members of a given group are alike.
proactive interference
Forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material.
George Miller
Found that short term memory has the capacity of about 7 (+/- 2) items.
G. Stanley Hall
Founded the American Psychological Association (now largest organization of psychologists in the USA) and became first president
non-rapid eye movement sleep
Four distinct stages of sleep during which no rapid eye movements occur.
anal retentive
Freud's characterization of the overly controlled and compulsively neat personality
anal explusive
Freud's characterization of the overly messy and disorganized personality
oral stage
Freud's first stage of personality development, from birth to about age 2, during which the instincts of infants are focused on the mouth as the primary pleasure center.
latency stage
Freud's fourth stage of personality development, from about age 7 until puberty, during which sexual urges are inactive.
genital stage
Freud's last stage of personality development, from the onset of puberty through adulthood, during which the sexual conflicts of childhood resurface (at puberty) and are often resolved during adolescence).
unconscious
Freud's level of mental life that consists of mental activities beyond people's normal awareness.
preconscious
Freud's level of the mind that contains those experiences that are not currently conscious but may become so with varying degrees of difficulty.
thanatos
Freud's name for the "death instinct"; our unconsciuos agressive, destructive drive
anal stage
Freud's second stage of personality development, from about age 2 to about age 3, during which children learn to control the immediate gratification they obtain through defecation and to become responsive to the demands of society.
latency
Freud's term for middle childhood, during which children's emotional drives and psychosocial needs are quiet (latent). Freud thought that sexual conflicts from earlier stages are only temporarily submerged, to burst forth again at puberty.
psychoanalysis
Freud's 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
phallic stage
Freud's third stage of personality development, from about age 4 through age 7, during which children obtain gratification primarily from the genitals.
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people who were more susceptible to heart attacks
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people who had lower heart attack risk
Wilhelm Wundt
German physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879
William Stern
German psychologist who developed the formula for intelligence quotient (IQ); [mental age/chronological age] X 100 = IQ
continuity
Gestalt grouping principle; our tendency to perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones
closure
Gestalt grouping principle; we fill in "gaps" to create a full, complete object
proximity
Gestalt grouping principle; we group nearby figures together
similarity
Gestalt grouping principle; we group similar figures together
connectedness
Gestalt grouping principle; when objects uniform (in color or texture) are linked (no space exists between them) we perceive them as a single unit
electroencephalogram (EEG)
Graphical record of brain-wave activity obtained through electrodes placed on the scalp and forehead
androgynous
Having both stereotypically male and stereotypically female characteristics
Elizabeth Loftus
Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony
means-ends analysis
Heuristic procedure in which the problem solver compares the current situation with the desired goal to determine the most efficient way to get from one to the other.
Edward Tolman
His research on cognitive maps in rats is an example of latent learning
womb envy
Horney's counter to Freud's notion of penis envy
Abraham Maslow
Humanistic psychologist who proposed the hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization as the ultimate psychological need.
social interest
In Adler's theory, a feeling of openness with all humanity.
oral fixation
In Freud's personality theory, an excessive need for oral pleasures (such as eating, gum-chewing, or talking) that results from extreme denial or excessive indulgence of them during the first stage; may also be expressed through excessive dependence
superego
In Freud's theory, the moral aspect of mental functioning comprising the ego ideal (what a person would ideally like to be) and the conscience and taught by parents and society.
ego
In Freud's theory, the part of personality that seeks to satisfy instinctual needs in accordance with reality.
id
In Freud's theory, the source of a person's instinctual energy, which works mainly on the pleasure principle.
collective unconscious
In Jung's theory, a shared storehouse of primitive ideas and images that reside in the unconscious and are inherited from one's ancestors.
archetypes
In Jung's theory, the emotionally charged ideas and images that are rich in meaning and symbolism and exist within the collective unconscious.
penis envy
In Psychoanalytic thought, the desire of girls to posses a penis and therefore have the power that being male represents.
fulfillment
In Roger's theory of personality, an inborn tendency directing people toward actualizing their essential nature and thus attaining their potential.
self
In Roger's theory of personality, the perception an individual has of himself or herself and of his or her relationships to other people and to various aspects of life.
ideal self
In Roger's theory of personality, the self a person would ideally like to be.
More Knowledge Other (MKO)
In Vygotsky's theory, another person who possesses expertise and can help you learn something
zone of proximal development
In Vygotsky's theory, the context in which learning takes place; the gap between when a child can accomplish with assistance and when he can do something independently
convergent thinking
In problem solving, the process of narrowing down choices and alternatives to arrive at a suitable answer.
divergent thinking
In problem solving, the process of widening the range of possibilities and expanding the options for solutions.
resistance
In psychoanalysis, an unwillingness to cooperate, which a patient signals by showing a reluctance to provide the therapist with information or to help the therapist understand or interpret a situation.
repression
In psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism by which anxiety-provoking thoughts and feelings are forced into the unconscious, preventing their conscious recollection.
egocentrism
Inability to perceive a situation or event except in relation to oneself; also know as self-centeredness
functional fixedness
Inability to see that an object can have a function other than its stated or usual one.
misinformation effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
explicit memory
Information or knowledge that can be consciously recollected; also called declarative memory.
debriefing
Informing participants about the true nature of an experiment after its completion
circadian rhythms
Internally generated patterns of body functions, including hormonal signals, sleep, blood pressure, and temperature regulation, which have approximately a 24-hour cycle and occur even in the absence of normal cues about whether it is day or night
collective unconscious
Jung's theory that we all share an inherited memory that contains our culture's most basic elements
latent learning
Learning that occurs in the absence of direct reinforcement and that is not necessarily demonstrated through observable behavior
state-dependent memory
Long-term memory retrieval is best when a person's physiological state at the time of encoding and retrieval of the information is the same (e.g., drug state, level of physiological arousal, etc.)
storage
Maintaining encoded information in memory over time.
homeostasis
Maintenance of a constant state of inner stability or balance
hierarchy of needs
Maslow's pyramid of human needs; at the base are physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs (belongingness, esteem, self-actualization).
mnemonics
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
fraternal birth order effect
Men with older brothers are more likely to demonstrate a homosexual orientation, increasing with the number of older brothers. This is presumed to be the result of changes to the prenatal environment that accompany successive male pregnancies.
concept
Mental category used to classify an event or object according to some distinguishing property or feature.
extrinsic motivation
Motivation supplied by rewards that come from the external environment
intrinsic motivation
Motivation that leads to behaviors engaged in for no apparent reward except the pleasure and satisfaction of the activity itself
Skinner Box
Named for its developer, B.F. Skinner, a box that contains a responding mechanism and a device capable of delivering a consequence to an animal in the box whenever it makes the desired response
prejudice
Negative evaluation of an entire group of people, typically based on unfavorable (and often wrong) stereotypes about groups.
nociceptors
Nerve endings that signal the sensation of pain.
conditioned stimulus
Neutral stimulus that, through repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, begins to elicit a conditioned response
Konrad Lorenz
Nobel Prize-winning researcher famous for his imprinting studies, and for advocating the study of animals in their natural environments
David Hubel & Torsten Wiesel
Nobel-prize-winning researchers who discovered "feature detectors" within the brain
survey
One of the descriptive methods of research; it requires construction of a set of questions to administer to a group of participants
adaptation-level phenomenon
Our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience. For example, a $500 bonus would be exciting if you never got one before, but unappealing if you usually get a $1000 bonus for the same task.
serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
attitudes
Patterns of feelings and beliefs about other people, ideas, or objects that are based on a person's past experiences, shape his or her future behavior, and are evaluative in nature.
trichromats
People who can perceive all three primary colors and thus can distinguish any hue.
monochromats
People who cannot perceive any color, usually because their retinas lack cones.
self-serving bias
People's tendency to ascribe their positive behaviors to their own internal traits, but their failures and shortcomings to external, situational factors.
conformity
People's tendency to change attitudes or behaviors so that they are consistent with those of other people or with social norms.
subliminal perception
Perception below the threshold of awareness.
sleep
Periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness - as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation
types
Personality categories in which broad collections of traits are loosely tied together and interrelated.
antisocial personality disorder
Personality disorder characterized by egocentricity, and behavior that is irresponsible and that violates the rights of other people, a lack of guilt feelings, an inability to understand other people and a lack of fear of punishment.
formal operational stage
Piaget's fourth and final stage of cognitive development (beginning at about age 12), during which the individual can think hypothetically, can consider future possibilites, and can use deductive logic
preoperational stage
Piaget's second stage of cognitive development (lasting from about age 2 to age 6 or 7), during which the child begins to represent the world symbolically
concrete operational stage
Piaget's thrid stage of cognitive development (lasting from approximately age 6 or 7 to age 11 or 12), during which the child develops the ability to understand constant factors in the environment, rules, and higher-order symbolic systems
optic chiasm
Point at which half of the optic nerve fibers from each eye cross over and connect to the other side of the brain.
parietal lobes
Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.
mainstreaming
Practice of placing children with special needs in regular classroom settings, with the support of professionals who provide special education services
positive reinforcement
Presentation of a stimulus after a particular response in order to increase the likelihood that the response will recur
insomnia
Problems in going to sleep or maintaining sleep
algorithm
Procedure for solving a problem by implementing a set of rules over and over again until the solution is found.
stimulus generalization
Process by which a conditioned response becomes associated with a stimulus that is similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus
higher-order conditioning
Process by which a neutral stimulus takes on conditioned properties through pairing with a conditioned stimulus
transduction
Process by which a perceptual system analyzes stimuli and converts them into electrical impulses; also known as coding.
coping
Process by which a person takes some action to manage, master, tolerate, or reduce environmental or internal demands that cause or might cause stress and that tax the individual's inner resources
stimulus discrimination
Process by which an organism learns to respond only to a specific stimulus and not to other stimuli
perception
Process by which an organism selects and interprets sensory input so that it acquires meaning.
sensation
Process in which the sense organs' receptor cells are stimulated and relay initial information to higher brain centers for further processing.
standardization
Process of developing uniform procedures for administering and scoring a test and for establishing norms
assessment
Process of evaluating individual differences among human beings by means of tests interviews, observations, and recordings of physiological.
retrieval
Process of getting information out of memory storage
punishment
Process of presenting an undesirable or noxious stimulus, or removing a desirable stimulus, to decrease the probability that a preceding response will recur
counterconditioning
Process of reconditioning in which a person is taught a new, more adaptive response to a familiar stimulus.
transference
Psychoanalytic phenomenon in which a therapist becomes the object of a patient's emotional attitudes about an important person in the patient's life, such as a parent.
dream analysis
Psychoanalytic technique in which a patient's dreams are described in detail and interpreted so as to provide insight into the individual's unconscious motivations.
free association
Psychoanalytic technique in which a person is asked to report to the therapist his or her thoughts and feelings as they occur, regardless of how trivial, illogical, or objectionable their content may appear.
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Psychological disorder that may become evident after a person has undergone extreme stress caused by some type of disaster; common symptoms include vivid, intrusive recollections or reexperiences of the traumatic event and occasional lapses of normal consciousness
Paul Ekman
Psychologist known for his research on microexpressions
E.B. Titchener
Psychologist who developed structuralism and introspection; student of Wilhelm Wundt.
saccades
Rapid voluntary movements of the eyes.
cones
Receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. They detect fine details and give rise to color sensation.
spontaneous recovery
Recurrence of an extinguished conditioned response, usually following a rest period
Babinski reflex
Reflex in which a newborn fans out the toes when the sole of the foot is touched
Moro reflex
Reflex in which a newborn strectches out the arms and legs and cries in response to a loud noise or an abrupt change in the environment
grasping reflex
Reflex that causes a newborn to grasp vigorously any object touching the palm or fingers or placed in the hand
sucking reflex
Reflex that causes a newborn to make sucking motions when a finger or nipple if placed in the mouth
rooting reflex
Reflex that causes a newborn to turn the head toward a light touch on lips or cheek
lateral hypothalamus
Region of the hypothalamus (the sides of it) that, when activated, produces hunger. Emits the hunger-triggering hormone orexin. Destruction of this area causes animals to lose interest in eating.
primary reinforcer
Reinforcer that has survival value for an organism; this value does not have to be learned
long term memory (LTM)
Relatively permanent and limitless storage of memory.
learning
Relatively permanent change in an organism that occurs as a result of experiences in the environment
prospective memory
Remembering to do things in the future
negative reinforcement
Removal of a stimulus after a particular response to increase the likelihood that the response will recur
John Garcia
Researched taste aversion. Showed that when rats ate a novel substance before being nauseated by a drug or radiation, they developed a conditioned taste aversion for the substance.
deception
Researchers sometimes need to keep details of a research design hidden from participants (or intentionally mislead them about the study's true purpose). Note: must be corrected during debriefing
conditioned response
Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus
implicit memory
Retention independent of conscious recollection; also called nondeclarative memory. Includes procedural memories.
rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond.
triarchic theory of intelligence
Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions
Dmitry Belyaev
Russian geneticist who, through artificial selection, bred tame foxes
Ivan Pavlov
Russian physiologist who described classical conditioning after landmark study with dogs
subjective well-being
Self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases: alarm, resistance, exhaustion
heuristics
Sets of strategies, rather than strict rules, that act as guidelines for discovery-oriented problem solving.
NREM-2
Sleep stage characterized by its periodic sleep spindles, or bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity. About half the night is spent in this phase.
bonding
Special process of emotional attachment that may occur between parents and babies in the minutes and hours immediately after birth
burnout
State of emotional and physical exhaustion, lowered productivity, and feelings of isolation, often caused by work-related pressures
need
State of physiological imbalance usually accompanied by arousal
factor analysis
Statistical procedure designed to discover the independent elements (factors) in any set of data
descriptive statistics
Statistics used to describe only the observed group or sample from which they were derived; summary statistics such as percent, averages, and measures of variability that are computed on a particular group of individuals.
Successful Intelligence
Sternberg's notion that successfully functioning individuals must be 1.) analytical, 2.) creative, 3.) practical; a.k.a. triarchic theory of intelligence
unconditioned stimulus
Stimulus that normally produces a measurable involuntary response
Edward Titchener
Student of Wilhelm Wundt; founder of Structuralist school of psychology.
health psychology
Subfield concerned with the use of psychological ideas and principles to enhance health, prevent illness, diagnose and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation
psychophysics
Subfield of psychology that focuses on the relationship between physical stimuli and people's conscious experiences of them.
teratogen
Substance that can produce developmental malformations (birth defects) during the prenatal period
conditioning
Systematic procedure through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are learned
working memory
Temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use; Information is maintained for 20-30 seconds while active processing (e.g., rehearsal) takes place
deja vu
That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience (i.e., may be triggered by priming).
social identity
The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.
withdrawal symptoms
The Reaction experienced when a substance abuser stops using a drug with dependence properties
prospective memory
The ability to remember to perform actions in the future; declines with age
semantics
The analysis of the meaning of language, especially of individual words.
symptom substitution
The appearance of one overt symptom to replace another that has been eliminated by treatment.
humanistic perspective
The approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior; influenced heavily by ideas of Rogers and Maslow
problem solving
The behavior of individuals when confronted with a situation or task that requires insight or determination of some unknown elements.
self-efficacy
The belief that a person can successfully engage in and execute a specific behavior
tolerance
The characteristic of requiring higher and higher doses of a drug to produce the same effect.
nonverbal communication
The communication of information by cues or actions that include gestures, tone of voice, vocal inflections, and facial expressions.
sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
The component of the autonomic nervous system that responds to stressful situations by initiating the fight-or-flight response.
latent content
The deeper meaning of a dream, usually involving symbolism hidden meaning, and repressed or obscured ideas and wishes
concordance rate
The degree to which a condition or traits shared two or more individuals or groups
saturation
The depth and richness of a hue determined by determined by the homogeneity of the wavelengths contained in the reflected light; also known as purity.
retroactive interference
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
conflict
The emotional state or condition that arises when a person must choose between two or more competing motives, behaviors, or impulses
semantic encoding
The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
visual encoding
The encoding of picture images
acoustic encoding
The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
electromagnetic radiation
The entire spectrum of waves initiated by the movement of charged particles.
resilience
The extent to which people are flexible and respond adaptively to external or internal demands
abnormal psychology
The field of psychology concerned with the assessment, treatment, and prevention of maladaptive behavior
sensorimotor stage
The first of Piaget's four stages of cognitive development (covering roughly the first 2 years of life), during which the child develops some motoer coordination skills and a memory for past events
consciousness
The general state of being aware of and responsive to events in the environment, as well as one's own mental processes; also, Freud's level of mental life that consists of those experiences that we are aware of at any given time.
secondary sex characteristics
The genetically determined physical features that differentiate the sexes but are not directly involved with reproduction
color blindness
The inability to perceive different hues.
dark adaptation
The increase in sensitivity to light that occurs when the illumination level changes from high to low, causing chemicals in the rods and cones to regenerate and return to their inactive state.
contralateral control
The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and the right hemisphere controls the left side.
photoreceptors
The light-sensitive cells in the retina- the rods and cones.
brightness
The lightness or darkness of reflected light, determined in large part by the light's intensity.
grammar
The linguistic description of how a language functions, especially the rules and patterns used for generating appropriate and comprehensible sentences.
THC
The major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations.
visual cortex
The most important area of the brain's occipital lobe, which receives and further processes information from the lateral geniculate nucleus; also known as the striate cortex.
intelligence
The overall capacity of an individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the environment
manifest content
The overt story line, characters, and setting of a dream-the obvious, clearly discernible events of the dream
autonomic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
concordance rates
The percentage of cases where both twins share the same trait or disorder
internal locus of control
The perception that one controls one's own fate
puberty
The period during which the reproductive system matures; it begins with an increase in the production of sex hormones, which signals the end of childhood
adolescence
The period of extending from the onset of puberty to early adulthood
embryo
The prenatal organism from the 5th through the 49th day after conception
fetus
The prenatal organism from the 8th week after conception until birth
dual processing
The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks; also known as "parallel processing"
p-value
The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance).
extinction (classical conditioning)
The procedure of withholding the unconditioned stimulus and presenting the conditioned stimulus alone, which gradually reduces the probability of the conditioned response
attributions
The process by which a person infers other people's motives or intensions by observing their behavior.
impression formation
The process by which a person uses behavior and appearance of others to form attitudes about them.
deindividuation
The process by which individuals lose their self-awareness and distinctive personality in the context of a group, which may lead them to engage in antinormative behavior.
extinction (operant conditioning)
The process by which the probability of an organism's emitting a response is reduced when reinforcement no longer follows the response
social cognition
The process of analyzing and interpreting events, other people, oneself, and the world in general.
parallel processing
The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
hue
The psychological property of light referred to as color, determined by the wavelengths of reflected light.
Reasoning
The purposeful process by which a person generates logical and coherent ideas, evaluates situations, and reaches conclusions.
object permanence
The realization of infants that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight
social psychology
The scientific study of how people think about, interact with, influence, and are influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of other people.
social psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
norms
The scores and corresponding percentile ranks of a large and representative sample of individuals from the population for which a test was designed
X chromosome
The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two; males have one.
dependence
The situation that occurs when the drug becomes part of the body's functioning and produces withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued
light
The small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.
attachment
The strong emotional tie that a person feels toward special other persons in his or her life
Psycholinguistics
The study of how language is acquired, perceived, understood, and produced.
linguistics
The study of language, including speech sounds, meaning, and grammar.
evolutionary psychology
The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.
developmental psychology
The study of the lifelong, often age-related, processes of change in the physical, cognitive, moral, emotional, and social domains of functioning; such changes are rooted in biological mechanisms that are genetically controlled, as well as in social interactions
phonology
The study of the patterns and distributions of speech sounds in a language and the tacit rules for their pronunciation.
thanatology
The study of the psychological and medical aspects of death and dying
predictive validity
The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
logic
The system of principles of reasoning used to reach valid conclusions or make inferences.
halo effect
The tendency for one characteristic of an individual to influence a tester's evaluation of other characteristics
fundamental attribution error
The tendency to attribute other people's behavior to dispositional (internal) causes rather than situational (external) causes.
actor-observer Effect
The tendency to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional causes but to attribute one's own behavior to situational causes.
false consensus effect
The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors
gender schema theory
The theory that children learn from their cultures a (mental) concept of what it means to be male and female and they adjust their behavior accordingly.
social learning theory
The theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished. For example, this may contribute to the acquisition of gender roles.
critical period
The time in to development of an organism when it is especially sensitive to certain environmental influences; outside of that period the same influences will have far less effect
psychotherapy
The treatment of emotional or behavior problems through psychological techniques.
attributional style
The way a person typically explains the things that happen in his or her life; in the social-cognitive perspective, this is an important determinant of behavior. Includes dimensions such as external/internal, stable/unstable, global/local
syntax
The way words and groups of words combine to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.
social influence
The ways people alter the attitudes or behaviors of others, either directly or indirectly.
Herman von Helmholtz
Theorist who both aided in the development of the trichromatic theory of color perception and Place theory of pitch perception.
elaboration likelihood model
Theory suggesting that there are two routes to attitude change: the central route, which focuses on thoughtful consideration of an argument for change, and the peripheral route, which focuses on less careful, more emotional, and even superficial evaluation.
signal detection theory
Theory that holds that an observer's perception depends not only on the intensity of a stimulus but also on the observer's motivation, the criteria he or she sets for determining that a signal is present, and on the background noise.
observational learning theory
Theory that suggests that organisms learn new responses by observing the behavior of a model and then imitating it; aka. Social learning theory
Psychodynamic therapy
Therapy that uses approaches or techniques derived from Freud, but that rejects or modifies some elements of Freud's theory.
hemispheric specialization
This is also called lateralization; refers to the fact that the left and right hemispheres of the brain have some specific functions that exist only in those hemispheres.
Law of Effect
Thorndike's assertion that "rewarded behavior is likely to recur"
chromosomes
Threadlike, gene-carrying structures found in a cell's nucleus (46 in body cells; 23 in sex cells). Each chromosome consists of one very long DNA molecule and associated proteins.
fraternal twins
Twins who develop from separate eggs; dizygotic (DZ) twins. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment.
catatonic schizophrenia
Type of schizophrenia characterized either by displays of excited or violent motor activity or by stupor.
Thomas Bouchard
U of M researcher who studied identical twins separated at birth
unconditioned response
Unlearned or involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus
bystander effect
Unwillingness to help exhibited by witnesses to an event, which increase when there are more observers.
Phineas Gage
Vermont railroad worker who survived a severe brain injury that changed his personality and behavior; his accident gave information on the brain and which parts are involved with emotional reasoning
Opponent-process theory of color vision
Visual theory, proposed by Herring, that color is coded by stimulation of three types of paired receptors; each pair of receptors is assumed to operate in an antagonist way so that stimulation by a given wavelength produces excitation (increased firing) in one receptor of the pair and also inhibits the other receptor.
trichromatic theory
Visual theory, stated by Young and Helmholtz that all colors can be made by mixing the three basic colors: red, green, and blue; a.k.a the Young-Helmholtz theory.
social development theory
Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development which emphasized the importance of other people (more knowledge others) in our mental growth
pruning
When applied to brain development, the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die.
linguistic determinism
Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think. (a.k.a. linguistic relativity or the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)
functionalism
William James's school of thought that stressed the adaptive and survival value of behaviors
American Psychological Association (APA)
World's largest association of psychologists with around 152,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students
Charles Darwin
Wrote "The Origin of Species" proposed idea of natural selection as primary means of species diversity. His influence appears in psychology's evolutionary perspective.
gene
a DNA segment on a chromosome that controls transmission of traits
retinal disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing the images of the retinas of the two eyes, the brain computes distance. The greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object
convergence
a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the more the eyes strain to turn inwards to view an object, the closer the object is (note: only a factor at close ranges)
sympathetic nervous system
a branch of the autonomic nervous system and prepares the body for quick action in emergencies; "fight or flight"
parasympathetic nervous system
a branch of the autonomic nervous system that maintains normal body functions; it calms the body after sympathetic stimulation
trait
a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
psychoactive drugs
a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood
Dunning-Kruger Effect
a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to appreciate their mistakes. Accounts for why low-skilled individuals are prone to greater overconfidence than are higher-skilled persons (in a particular area).
theory
a collection of interrelated ideas and facts put forward to describe, explain, and predict behavior and mental processes
flow
a completely involved, focused state of consciousness with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting in optimal engagement of one's skills
instinct
a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up chromosomes
standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.
standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score; square root of the variance
schema
a conceptual framework that organizes information and allows a person to make sense of the world
savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an expectional specific skills, such as in computation or drawing
intellectual disability
a 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 (previously "mental retardation")
variable
a condition or characteristic of a situation or a person that is subject to change (it varies) within or across situations or individuals
regression
a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state where some psychic energy remains fixated
operational definition
a definition of a variable in terms of the set of methods or procedures used to measure or study that variable
standard deviation
a descriptive statistic that measures the variability of data from the mean of the sample
measure of central tendency
a descriptive statistic that tells which result or score best represents an entire set of scores (e.g., mean, median, and mode)
achievement motivation
a desire for significant accomplishment; for mastery of things, people or ideas; for attaining a high standard
extrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or punishments
intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
cochlear implant
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea
valence
a dimension often used to describe and classify emotions that concerns the extent to which an emotion is pleasant or unpleasant (positive or negative)
autonomic nervous system
a division of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions; made up of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
limbic system
a donut ring-shaped of loosely connected structures located in the forebrain between the central core and cerebral hemispheres; consists of: septum, cingulate gyrus, endowments, hypothalamus, and to campus, and amygdala; associated with emotions and memories
anxiety
a generalized feeling of fear and apprehension that may be related to a particular situation or object and is often accompanied by increased physiological arousal.
scatterplot
a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation.
sample
a group of participants who are assumed to be representative of the population about which an inference is being made
schizophrenic disorders
a group of psychological disorders characterized by a lack of reality testing and by deterioration of social and intellectual functioning and personality beginning before age 45 and lasting at least 6 months
limbic system
a group of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex that are involved in regulating emotions and motivated behaviors
case study
a highly detailed description of a single individual or a vent
insulin
a hormone produced by the pancreas and released in response to high blood glucose following a meal. Insulin promotes the use and storage of glucose by the body's tissues
receptor site
a location on a receptor neurons which is like a key to a lock (with a specific nerve transmitter); allows for orderly pathways
polygraph
a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion
glutamate
a major excitatory neurotransmitter; oversupply can overstimulate brain, producing migraines or seizures
GABA
a major inhibitory neurotransmitter; undersupply linked to seizures, tremors, and insomnia
z-score
a measure of how many standard deviations you are away from the norm (average or mean); calculated for a particular test score by subtracting the mean from the score and dividing the result by the standard deviation.
psychiatrist
a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
psychiatrist
a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders; can prescribe medication
concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
prototype
a mental image or best example of a category
anchoring heuristic
a mental tendency to base estimates on previously presented numbers, even if that information has nothing to do with the case at hand
guilty knowledge test
a modified version of the polygraph test, produces more accurate results by asking questions that should be threatening only to someone who knows the facts of a crime that have not been publicized
antagonist
a molecule (e.g., drug) that blocks or inhibits the operation of a neurotransmitter
agonist
a molecule (e.g., drug) that enhances the operation of a neurotransmitter
motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
motive
a need or want that causes someone to act
neuron
a nerve cell; basic cell of the nervous system
REM Sleep Disorder
a neurological disorder in which the person does not become paralyzed during REM sleep and thus acts out dreams
serotonin
a neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. An undersupply of this neurotransmitter is linked with depression.
norepinephrine
a neurotransmitter that controls alertness and arousal; undersupply can depress mood
acetylcholine (ACh)
a neurotransmitter that enables muscle action, learning and memory; an undersupply is linked with Alzheimer's disease
dopamine
a neurotransmitter that influences movement, learning and attention; overactivity of receptors linked to schizophrenia while an undersupply linked to Parkinson's disease
correlation coefficient
a number that expresses the degree and direction of the relationship between 2 variables, ranging from -1 to +1, p value
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
a pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, it causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, modifying feelings of sleepiness.
overjustification
a paradoxical situation in which rewarding a person's efforts on a task done for primarily intrinsic reasons tends to lead to lower, not higher, performance
gestalt
a perceptual whole; derived from German word meaning "form" or "whole"
self-efficacy
a person's beliefs about his or her own competence or skill (in a particular area)
introspection
a person's description and analysis of what he or she is thinking and feeling or what he or she has just thought about
nurture
a person's experiences in the environment
nature
a person's inherited traits, determined by genetics
projective test
a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics
trait perspective
a perspective on human personality that emphasizes the description of human patterns in thinking and behaving, often through the development of personality tests
incentive
a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior
LSD
a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid
cocaine
a powerfully and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria
sexual dysfunction
a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning
multiple sclerosis
a progressive disease of the nervous system that involves a degeneration of the myelin that surrounds nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cor
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
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; often attributing successes to one's own efforts but failures to external forces
skewed distribution
a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value
experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one of more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experiment controls other relevant factors.
iris
a ring of muscle tissue that forms the color portions of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening.
Residual type of schizophrenia
a schizophrenic disorder in which the person exhibits inappropriate affect, illogical thinking, and/or eccentric behavior but seems generally in touch with reality.
undifferentiated schizophrenia
a schizophrenic disorder that is characterized by a mixture of symptoms and does not meet the diagnostic criteria of any one type.
standard score
a score that expresses an individual's position relative to the mean, based on the standard deviation
stereotype threat
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
human sexual response cycle
a sequence of four stages that characterizes the sexual response in both men and women: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution; described by Masters & Johnson
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
axon
a single long, fiber that carries outgoing messages to other neurons, muscles, or glands
double bind
a situation in which an individual is given two different and inconsistent messages.
night terrors
a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during NREM-3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered
sleep apnea
a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings
narcolepsy
a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times
dissociation
a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others; some believe hyponsis is a state of dissociation (divided consciousness)
operational definition
a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables. (ex: memory may be defined as "number of words correctly recalled from a list").
correlation coefficient
a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that indentifies clusters of related test items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score
statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.
ecstasy (MDMA)
a 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
biofeedback
a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension
survey
a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them.
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
hypothesis
a tentative statement or idea expressing a causal relationship between two events or variables that is to be evaluated in a research study
empirically derived test
a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups
achievement test
a test designed to assess what a person has learned (e.g. final exam in a literature course)
aptitude test
a test designed to predict a person's future performance
aptitude test
a test designed to predict a person's future performance or capacity to learn
hypothesis
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
signal detection theory
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimuli ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that focuses more on the processing of briefly stored information. (e.g. what determines a "hit", "miss," "false alarm" or "correct rejection")
counterconditioning
a therapy procedure based on classical conditioning that replaces a negative response to a stimulus with a positive response
adaptation
a trait or inherited characteristic that has increased in a population because it solved a problem of survival or reproduction
ex post facto study
a type of design that contrasts groups of people who differ on some variable of interest to the researcher
divergent thinking
a type of thinking that is associated with creativity - seeing lots of solutions to a problem
myelin sheath
a white, fatty covering of the axon which speeds transmission of message
selective attention
ability to attend to only a limited amount of sensory information at one time
cocktail party effect
ability to selectively attend to one voice among many
Oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
fixation
according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware
manifest content
according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream
latent content
according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content). Freud believed that a dream's latent content functions as a safety valve.
self-actualization
according to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential
unconditional positive regard
according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person
short term memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten
accommodation
adjusting or changing one's schema's to account for new information according to Piaget
epinephrine
adrenaline; activates a sympathetic nervous system by making the heart beat faster, stopping digestion, enlarging pupils, sending sugar into the bloodstream, preparing a blood clot faster
Francis Galton
advocated use of intelligence tests as a measure of mental "fitness"; proponent of the eugenics movement & cousin of Charles Darwin
sensory neurons
afferent neurons; neurons that carry messages from sensory organs to the brain and spinal cords
refractory period
after firing when a neuron will not fire again no matter how strong the incoming message may be
informed consent
agreement to participate in psychology research, after being informed of the dangers and benefits of the research
population
all of the individuals in the group to which a study applies
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"
population
all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Skinner box
also known as an operant chamber; used to systematically administer rewards and punishments to small animal subjects
model
an analogy or a perspective that uses a structure from one field to help scientists describe data in another field
consciousness
an awareness of ourselves and our environments
structuralism
an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in infants by their seeking closeness with caregivers and displaying distress upon separation
sexual orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)
punishment
an event that decreases the behavior that it follows; opposite of reinforcement
double-blind procedure
an experimental procedure in which both the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or placebo.
drive theory (aka, drive-reduction theory)
an explanation of behavior that assumes that an organism is motivated to act because of a need to attain, reestablish, or maintain some goal that helps with survival
theory
an explanations using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
phi phenomenon
an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in rapid succession
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
an individual test developed especially for school-aged children; it yields verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scores
participant
an individual who takes part in an experiment and whose behavior is observed as part of the data collection process
Personality
an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
genotype
an individual's genetic make-up
drive
an internal aroused condition that directs an organism to satisfy a physiological need
behavior
an observable action
case study
an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
transgender
an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex
norms
an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior
cognitive dissonance
an unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs
pseudoscience
an unscientific system which pretends to discover psychological information that his means are unscientific or deliberately fraudulent
bottom-up processing
analysis that begins with the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.
paradoxical sleep
another term for REM sleep; refers to the constrast between high amounts of brain activity and low amounts of bodily (muscle) activity
agoraphobia
anxiety disorder characterized by marked fear and avoidance of being alone in a place from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing
motivation
any internal condition, although usually an internal one, that initates, activates, or maintains an organism's goal directed behavior
reinforcer
any stimulus, administered after a behavior, that increases the preceding behavior
confounding variable
anything that causes a difference between the IV and the DV other than the independent variable
leptin
appetite-suppressing hormone produced by distended fat cells
industrial-organizational psychology
application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.
industrial-organizational psychology
application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces; includes subfields of human factors psych, personnel psych, and organizational psych
forensic psychologist
applies psychological concepts to legal issues
industrial/organizational psychologist
applies psychological principles to the workplace to improve productivity and the quality of work life
social-cultural perspective
approach that emphasizes how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
Humanistic perspective
approach to personality theory formed by Rogers and Maslow; emphasizes innate goodness and the need for growth
social-cognitive perspective
approach to personality theory that views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context
trial and error
approach to problem solving that involves randomly trying possible solutions and discarding those that fail to solve the problem
normal distribution
approximate distribution of scores expected when a sample is taken from a large population, drawn as a frequency polygon that often takes the form of a bell-shaped curve, called the normal curve
Broca's area
area (usually in the left frontal lobe) that directs the muscle movements involved in speech
hypothalamus
area of the brain that is part of the limbic system and regulates behaviors such as, eating, drinking, sexual behaviors, motivation; also body temperature
blind spot
area on retina with no receptor cells (where optic nerve leaves the eye)
basilar membrane
area within the cochlea where hair cells are located
association areas
areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, rather, they are involved in higher mental processes such as thinking, planning, and communicating
mean
arithmatic average
school psychologist
assesses and counsels students, consults with educators and parents, and performs behavioral intervention when necessary
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.
peg-word system
associating an idea with a visual peg word that rhymes with its position on the list; (ex. one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree...I want to remember to buy carrots at the store, so I image a carrot-flavored bun.)
positively skewed distribution
asymmetric distribution in which the majority of the data is concentrated below (to the left of) the mean
negatively skewed distribution
asymmetric distribution in which the majority of the data is concentrated to the right of the mean
reflex
automatic behavior in response to a specific stimulus; does not involve communication with the brain
variance
average of the squared difference scores for a data set; standard deviation squared
object permanence
awareness that things continue to exist even though they are not perceived; develops at 6-8 months of age
reticular formation
band of nerve fibers that run through the center of the brain stem; important in controlling arousal levels
medulla
base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat & breathing
two-word stage
beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
babbling stage
beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
operant behavior
behavior that "operates" on the environment to produce rewarding or punishing behavior
respondant behavior
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinner's term for behavior learned through classical conditioning (as opposed to "operant behavior")
Edward Thorndike
behaviorism; Law of Effect-relationship between behavior and consequence
John Watson
behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat
B.F. Skinner
behaviorism; pioneer in operant conditioning; behavior is based on an organism's reinforcement history; worked with pigeons
law of effect
behaviors followed by pleasant consequences are strengthened while behaviors followed by unpleasant consequences are weakened (Thorndike)
information processing model (of dreams)
belief by some researchers that the function of dreams is to help us sift, sort, and fix the day's experiences in our memory
animism
belief, often demonstrated by preoperational children, that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings
genes
biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
blow to head or a penetrating head injury that damages brain
vestibular sense
body sense of equilibrium and balance
kinesthesis
body sense that provides information about the position and movement of individual parts of the body
Wernicke's area
brain area involved in language comprehension; usually in left temporal lobe
lesion
brain destruction; can be naturally caused or created for experimentation
levels-of-processing approach
brain encodes information in different ways or on different levels; deeper processing leads to deeper memory
statistics
branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, classifying, and analyzing data
biological psychology
branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior
dendrites
branching extensions of neuron that receives messages from neighboring neurons
microexpressions
brief (1/25 - 1/15 of a second), involuntary facial expression in response to stimulus; Psychologist Paul Ekman studied these extensively as a potential means of detecting lies
action potential
brief electrial charge that travels down the axon; a process also called "depolarization." an electrical current sent down the axon of a neuron and is initiated by the rapid reversal of the polarization of the cell membrane
nerves
bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the CNS to the rest of the body
nerve
bundles of axons
sleep spindles
bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity characteristic of stage 2 sleep
optic nerve
carries impulses from the eye to the brain
soma
cell body of a neuron
interneurons
central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between sensory inputs and motor outputs
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers released by terminal buttons into the synapse
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap between neurons
excitatory neurotransmitter
chemical secreted at terminal button that causes the neuron on the other side of the synapse to fire
inhibitory neurotransmitter
chemical secreted at terminal button that prevents (or reduces ability of) the neuron on the other side of the synapse from firing
endorphins
chemical similar to opiates that relieves pain; may induce feelings of pleasure
hormone
chemical that carries messages that travel through the bloodstream to help regulate bodily functions
agonist
chemical that mimics or facilitates the actions of a neurotransmitter
antagonist
chemical that opposes the actions of a neurotransmitter
hormones
chemicals produced by the glands of the endocrine system that are carried by the bloodstream to other body tissues
Lev Vygotsky
child development; investigated how culture & interpersonal communication guide development; zone of proximal development; play research
belief perseverance
clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Elizabeth Loftus
cognition and memory; studied repressed memories and false memories; showed how easily memories could be changed and falsely created by techniques such as leading questions and illustrating the inaccuracy in eyewitness testimony
fluid intelligence
cognitive abilities requiring speed or rapid learning that tends to diminish with age
magical thinking
cognitive feature of preoperational children; unconstrained by adult understandings of reality, they may believe, for example, that it is possible to turn into a racecar
Jean Piaget
cognitive psychology; created a 4-stage theory of cognitive development, said that two basic processes work in tandem to achieve cognitive growth (assimilation and accommodation)
iris
colored part of the eye that regulates size of pupil
Premack principle
commonly occurring behavior can reinforce a less frequent behavior
schema
concept or framework that organizes and aids in interpretation of information
neuropsychologist
concerned with the relationship between brain/nervous system and behavior
secondary reinforcer
conditioned reinforcer; its pleasantness is learned through association with primary reinforcers (e.g. money)
Solomon Asch
conformity; showed that social pressure can make a person say something that is obviously incorrect ; in a famous study in which participants were shown cards with lines of different lengths and were asked to say which line matched the line on the first card in length
James-Lange theory of emotion
conscious experience of emnotion results from one's awareness of physiological arousal
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
conscious experience of emotion and physiological arousal occur at the same time
explicit memory
conscious memory that a person is aware of
Stanford-Binet intelligence tests
constructed by Lewis Terman, originally used ratio IQ (MA/CA x 100); now based on deviation from mean
id
contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. It operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification
substance use disorder
continued substance craving and use despite significant life disruption and/or physical risk
frontal lobes
control emotional behaviors, make decisions, carry out plans; speech (Broca's area); controls movement of muscles
transduction
conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies into neural impulses.
Jonathon Haidt
countered Kohlberg's theory with "Social Intuitionist" theory; believed we make moral choices based on emotional reactions ("moral feeling") not cold logic
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
creates a computerized image using a magnetic field and pulses of radio waves
computerized axial tomography (CT scan)
creates a computerized image using x-rays passed through the brain
Wolfgang Kohler
credited with founding Gestalt Psychology; also conducted studies of insight learning in chimps
social clock
culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
nature-nurture controversy
deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior
habituation
decreased responsiveness with repeated presentation of the same stimulus
habituation
decreasing responsiveness to an unchanging stimulus; used to assess infant cognition
rationalization
defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions
intellectualization
defense mechanism wherein one approaches a potentially threatening topic without anxiety by studying it in a removed, academic manner
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested, representative, sample group.
anxious attachment
demonstrated by babies who seem constantly afraid of potential separation from the caregiver; they cling to caregivers in strange settings and display intense distress upon separation
avoidant attachment
demonstrated by babies who seem to avoid contact and closeness with caregivers
Mark Rosenzweig
demonstrated the neurological consequences of being raised in an "impoverished" versus and "enriched" environment (in rats).
secure attachment
demonstrated when infants seem to view their caregiver as a "secure base" for exploration, seeking closeness to him/her and being upset at separation.
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid; genetic formation in a double-helix; can replicate or reproduce itself; made of genes
monocular cues
depth cues that are based on one eye
binocular cues
depth cues that are based on two eyes
monocular cues
depth cues that only require input from one eye; often used in 2D art to create illusion of depth
binocular cues
depth cues that require the combined input of both eyes
Stanley Schachter
described Two-Factor Theory and conducted supporting research involving participants who received injections of epinephrine and later experienced emotions dependent on provided context cues
flashbulb memories
detailed memory for events surrounding a dramatic event that is vivid and remembered with confidence
subliminal sensation
detection of stimuli below absolute threshold
Hermann Rorschach
developed one of the first projective tests, the Inkblot test which consists of 10 standardized inkblots where the subject tells a story, the observer then derives aspects of the personality from the subject's commentary
Harry Harlow
development, contact comfort, attachment; experimented with baby rhesus monkeys and presented them with cloth or wire "mothers;" showed that the monkeys became attached to the cloth mothers because of contact comfort
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
developmental psychology; wrote "On Death and Dying": 5 stages the terminally ill go through when facing death (1. denial, 2. anger, 3. bargaining, 4. depression, 5. acceptance)
emerging adulthood
developmental stage proposed by Jeffrey Arnett; period between adolescence and assumption of typical adult roles (18-29, perhaps?)
electroenchephalogram (EEG)
device that monitors and records waves of electric activity within the brain; measured by electrodes placed on the scalp
Robert Sternberg
devised a theory of "successful intelligence" (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative); theory also known as "Triarchic Theory of Intelligence"
Howard Gardner
devised theory of multiple intelligences: logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic
David Rosenhan
did study in which healthy patients were admitted to psychiatric hospitals and diagnoses with schizophrenia; showed that once you are diagnosed with a disorder, the label, even when behavior indicates otherwise, is hard to overcome in a mental health setting
sensory adaptation
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Ancel Keys
director of WWII-era semi-starvation study at U of M; the physical and psychological effects of starvation were systematically studied.
Carl Wernicke
discovered a brain area responsible for interpreting meaning of language
dissociative identity disorder
dissociative disorder characterized by the existence within an individual of two or more distinct personalities, each of which is dominant at different times and directs the individual's behavior at those times; commonly known as multiple personality disorder.
somatic nervous system
division of peripheral nervous system; controls voluntary actions
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
division of the peripheral nervous system involved in the control of (generally unconscious/automatic) bodily functioning through organs and glands; its sympathetic division arouses while the parasympathetic division calms
somatic nervous system
division of the peripheral nervous system that control's the body's skeletal muscles.
peripheral nervous system
division that connects the central nervous system to the rest of the body; includes all sensory and motor neurons; divided into somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
depressants
drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.
stimulants
drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.
barbiturates
drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment
Franz Gall
early comparative brain anatomist; developed phrenology
Ernst Weber
early psychologist who established that the proportion of difference (rather than absolute difference) between two stimuli that is required for distinguishing between them is constant for particular types of sensation (e.g. weight, brightness, etc).
telegraphic speech
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegraph message--'go car'--using mostly nouns and verbs and omitting 'auxiliary' words
phrenology
early, misguided attempt at studying the functions of parts of the brain; held that bumps on the skull revealed the person's personality traits
anorexia nervosa
eating disorder most common in adolescent females characterized by weight less than 85% of normal, restricted eating, and unrealistic body image
motor neurons
efferent neurons; neurons that carry messages from spinal cord/brain to muscles and glands
resting potential
electrical charge (negative) of a neuron when it is not firing
Stanley Schachter
emotion; stated that in order to experience emotions, a person must be physically aroused and know the emotion before you experience it
Daniel Goleman
emotional intelligence
catharsis
emotional release; the catharsis hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges (NOTE: research has NOT uniformly supported this hypothesis)
shallow processing
encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words
deep processing
encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
pituitary gland
endocrine gland that produces a large amount of hormones; it regulates growth and helps control other endocrine glands; located on underside of brain; sometimes called the "master gland"
pineal gland
endocrine gland that produces melatonin that helps regulate sleep/wake cycle
adrenal glands
endocrine glands located above the kidney and secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine, which prepare the body for "fight or flight"
terminal buttons (axon terminals)
ends of axons that secrete neurotransmitters
testing effect
enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
correlational research
establish the relationship between two variables
David Weschler
established an intelligence test especially for adults (WAIS); also WISC and WPPSI
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common
experimenter bias
expectation of the person conducting an experiment which may be affect the outcome
observer bias
expectations of an observer which may distort an authentic observation
just noticeable difference (JND)
experience of the difference threshold
placebo effect
experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance of condition, which is assumed to be an active agent.
hallucinations
false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus
Phineas Gage
famous case study in neuroscience; sustained catastrophic damage to his frontal lobes
Erik Erikson
famous for his 8-stage model of psychosocial development; neo-Freudian
myelin sheath
fatty protein substance that covers some axons, increasing speed of transmission
stranger anxiety
fear of people other than those with whom the infant is familiar; appears around 8 months and peaks at 13 months
Flynn effect
finding that average IQ scores have been rising at a rate of approximately 3 points per decade
hair cells
finger-like projections on the basilar membrane that stimulate activity of the auditory nerve
Mary Whiton Calkins
first female president of the APA (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)
menarche
first menstrual period
The Big Five
five major personality factors indentifed by Costa & McCRae: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion/introversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability (neuroticism)
semicircular canals
fluid filled tubes in inner ear that provide information about movement of the head
selective attention
focused awareness of only a limited amount of all you are capable of experiencing
educational psychologist
focuses on how effective teaching and learning take place
opponent-process theory of emotion
following a strong emotion, an opposing emotion counters the first emotion, lessening the experience of that emotion; on repeated occasions, the opposing emotion becomes stronger
glucose
form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues; when low, we feel hungry
neurogenesis
formation of new neurons
John Watson
founder of behaviorist perspective; conducted "Little Albert" experiments involving fear conditioning
William James
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment
William James
founder of functionalism; studied how humans use their abilities to function in their environments; known for being an early teacher of psychology
G. Stanley Hall
founder of the APA; known for his work in developmental psych, particularly for defining adolescence as a period of "storm and stress"
general intelligence (g)
general ability that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
depressive disorders
general category of mood disorders in which people show extreme and persistent sadness, despair, and loss of interest in life's usual activities.
descriptive statistics
general set of procedures used to summarize, condense, and describe sets of data
debriefing
giving participants in a research study a complete explanation of the study after the study is completed; required by APA ethics guidelines
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
collectivism
giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
pituitary gland
gland located below the thalamus and hypothalamus; called the "master gland" of the endocrine system because it controls many other glands
endocrine system
glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream, which regulate body and behavioral processes
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
group of abnormalities that occur in the babies of mothers who drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy
moral development
growth in the ability to tell right from wrong, control impulses, and act ethically
teratogens
harmful environmental agents that disrupt proper development (e.g. alcohol)
John Garcia
he found that rats learn to avoid the taste of sweetened water when it preceded sickness, even though the sickness was caused by exposure to radiation
conduction hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the (mechanical) middle ear structures that conduct sound waves to the cochlea.
sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptors cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness.
amplitude
height of a wave; influences brightness in visual perception and volume in audition
sports psychologist
helps athletes improve their focus, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure
Robert Rescorla
his work emphasized the importance of cognition in classical conditioning; subjects learn the predictive value of the CS
clinical psychologist
holds an advanced degree in psychology but is not a medical doctor; specializes in identifying and treating persons with mental illness, but does not prescribe medication
short-term storage
holds information for processing; fragile; also called short term memory or working memory
insulin
hormone backpacks in the regulation of blood sugar by acting in the utilization of carbohydrates; released by pancreas; too much-hypoglycemia, too little-diabetes
creativity
human ability believed to be enhanced by expertise, imaginative thinking abilities, venturesome personality type, intrinsic motivation, and a conducive environment
Carl Rogers
humanistic psychologist known for developing client-centered (or "person-centered") therapy; emphasized genuineness, acceptance, and empathy
Carl Rogers
humanistic psychology; Contributions: founded client-centered therapy, theory that emphasizes the unique quality of humans especially their freedom and potential for personal growth, unconditional positive regard,
Abraham Maslow
humanistic psychology; hierarchy of needs-needs at a lower level dominate an individual's motivation as long as they are unsatisfied; self-actualization, transcendence
orexin
hunger-triggering hormone produced by the lateral hypothalamus
strengths-based selection system
identify the most effective people at any role, and compare their strengths with those of a group of the least effective people in that role, then use those findings to shape hiring practices (e.g., if the best accountants are very conscientious, adjust hiring procedures to select conscientious people for accounting positions)
possible selves
images of what we dream of or dread becoming in the future
computed tomography (CT scan)
imaging technique that involves the production of a large number of X-rays interpreted by a computer
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
imaging technique that involves the use of radio waves and a strong magnetic field to produce a signal that can be interpreted by computer
basic trust
in Erikson's model, this attitude develops as a result of secure attachment; babies come to view the world as safe & predictable and believe that others will reliably meet their needs
preoperational
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6/7) during which a child learns to communicate using symbols (language) but does not demonstrate mental operations of concrete logic.
sensorimotor
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to 2) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their impressions and motor activities
concrete operational
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from 6/7 to 11/12) during which children gain the mental operations that allow them to think logically about real or "concrete" events
formal operational
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development which begins about age 12 and is characterized by the ability to think logically about abstact concepts
grammar
in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
phoneme
in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
morpheme
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)
significant difference
in an experiment, a difference that is unlikely to have occurred because of chance alone and is inferred to be most likely due to the systematic manipulations of variables by the researcher
confounding variable
in an experiment, a variable, other than the independent variable, that could influence the dependent variable
experimental group
in an experiment, the group of participants to whom a treatment is given
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
in classical conditioning, an event that elicits a certain predictable response without previous training
conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
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.
positive psychology
in emerging Theo psychology that focuses on positive experiences; includes subjective well-being, self-determination, the relationship between positive emotions and physical health, and the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to boorish
Place Theory
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
frequency theory
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus 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.
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
defense mechanism
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
embodied cognition
in psychological science, the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments
scientific method
in psychology, the techniques used to discover knowledge about human behavior and mental processes
prosopagnosia
inability to recognize or perceive faces
amnesia
inability to remember information (typically, all events within a specific period), usually due to physiological trauma
aphasia
inability to understand or use language
neuron
individual cells that are the smallest unit of the nervous system; it has three functions: receive information, process it, send to rest of body
rooting reflex
infant reflex wherein the baby will, when touched on the cheek, turn its head toward the direction of the touch and search for a nipple
Moro reflex
infant startle response; when alarmed, the baby will fling his limbs outward, then retract them and hold them close to his body
top-down processing
information processing guided by higher-level mental process, as when we construct perceptions drawing out our experience and expectation.
top-down processing
information processing guided by pre-existing knowledge or expectations to construct perceptions
bottom-up processing
information processing that begins at the sensory receptors and works up to perception
instinct
inherited, automatic species-specific behaviors
acquisition
initial learning of associative relationship; in classical conditioning, when the CS is paired with UCS to produce the CR; in operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response
Raymond Cattell
intelligence: fluid & crystal intelligence; personality testing: 16 Personality Factors (16PF personality test)
Robert Sternberg
intelligence; devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative); also Triarchic Theory of Love
Charles Spearman
intelligence; found that specific mental talents were highly correlated, concluded that all cognitive abilities showed a common core which he labeled 'g' (general ability)
assimilation
interpreting new information with the context of existing schemas
structured interviews
interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales
Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky
investigated the use of heuristics in decision-making; studied the availability, anchoring, and representativeness heuristics.
retrospective memory
involves remembering events from the past or previously learned information; not as vulnerable to age-related declines
sample
items (often people) selected at random from a population and used to test hypotheses about the population
representativeness heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information
Martin Seligman
known for his research on learned helplessness and for promoting research in positive psychology
visual cliff
laboratory device for testing depth perception among infants and young animals; its use demonstrated that, among most species, animals have the ability to perceive depth by the time they are mobile
Noam Chomsky
language development; disagreed with Skinner about language acquisition, stated there is an infinite # of sentences in a language, humans have an inborn native ability to develop language
corpus callosum
large band of white neural fibers that connects to to brain hemispheres and carries messages between them; myelinated; involved in intelligence, consciousness, and self-awareness; does it reach full maturity until 20s
forebrain
largest, most complicated, and most advanced of the three divisions of the brain; comprises the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, basal ganglia, corpus callosum, and cortex
crystallized intelligence
learned knowledge and skills such as vocabulary, which tends to increase with age
aversive conditioning
learning involving an unpleasant or harmful stimulus or reinforcer
latent learning
learning that only becomes apparent when the subject is later given an opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge
associative learning
learning that two events occur together; the events may be two stimuli (classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (operant conditioning)
unconscious
level of consciousness that includes unacceptable feelings, wishes, and thoughts not directly available to conscious awareness
retina
light-sensitive surface on back of eye containing rods and cones
subliminal
literally, "below threshold"; stimuli too weak to be consistently detected
Broca's area
located in left frontal lobe; controls production of speech
Wernicke's area
located in left temporal lobe; plays role in understanding language and making meaningful sentences
thyroid gland
located in neck; regulates metabolism by secreting thyroxine
somatosensory cortex
located on the front of the parietal lobes; registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
motor cortex
located on the rear of the frontal lobes; responsible for directing voluntary movement on the opposite side of the body
aphasia
loss of ability to speak or understand written or spoken language
decay
loss of information from memory as a result of disuse and the passage of time
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory for events and experiences occurring from the time of an amnesia-causing event forward
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory of events and experiences that preceded an amnesia-causing event
ventromedial hypothalamus
lower middle area of the hypothalamus that, when stimulated, reduces hunger. Destruction of this area causes overeating & weight gain.
temporal lobes
main area for hearing, understanding language (Wernicke's area), understanding music; smell
testosterone
male sex hormone; both males and females have it, but additional amounts of it in males stimulates growth of male reproductive organs in a fetus and development of male characteristics during puberty
chunks
manageable and meaningful units of information organized in such a way that it can be easily encoded, stored, and retrieved
measures of central tendency
mean, median, & mode
dominant genes
member of a gene terror that controls the appearance of a certain trait
recessive gene
member of the gene terror that controls the appearance of a certain trait only if it is paired with the same gene
implicit memory
memory a person is not aware of possessing
procedural memory
memory for skills, including perceptual, motor, and cognitive skills required to complete tasks
declarative memory
memory for specific information
semantic memory
memory of ideas, rules, words, and general concepts about the world
episodic memory
memory of specific personal events and situations (episodes) tagged with information about time
imagery
mental pictures; can be used to aid effortful processing and often incorporated into mnemonics
perceptual set
mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (for example, due to suggestion or expectations based on prior learning)
cognitive map
mental representation of a location; Edward Tolman demonstrated rats' use of these in running mazes
reuptake
method of clearing a neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft, in which the neurotransmitter is reabsorbed into the terminal buttons
difference threshold
minimum difference between any two stimuli that person can detect 50% of the time
sublimation
modifying the natural expression of an impulse or instinct (especially a sexual or aggressive one) to one that is socially acceptable
texture gradient
monocular cue for depth perception; a gradual change from course, distinct texture to fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance
relative motion
monocular cue for depth perception; as we move, stationary objects seem to "move" as well. Objects above a fixation point move "with" us, objects below the fixation point move "past" us.
interposition
monocular cue for depth perception; if one object partially blocks our view of another object, we perceive it as closer
relative size
monocular cue for depth perception; if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal image to be farther away
light and shadow
monocular cue for depth perception; nearby objects reflect more light to our eyes...thus, given two identical objects, the dimmer one seems farther away. Also, shading produces a sense of depth consistent with our assumption that light comes from above.
relative clarity
monocular cue for depth perception; objects that seem "fuzzier" or less clear are perceived to be farther away.
linear perspective
monocular cue for depth perception; parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance. The more they converge, the greater the perceived distance
relative height
monocular cue for depth perception; we perceive objects higher in our visual field to be farther away. Explanation for why the "bottom" of a figure-ground illusion usually is interpreted as the "figure"
bipolar disorder
mood disorder originally know as manic-depressive disorder because it is characterized by behavior that vacillates between two extremes; mania and depression.
Carol Gilligan
moral development studies to follow up Kohlberg. She studied girls and women and found that they did not score as high on his six stage scale because they focused more on relationships rather than laws and principles. Their reasoning was merely different, not better or worse
Lawrence Kohlberg
moral development; presented boys moral dilemmas and studied their responses and reasoning processes in making moral decisions. Most famous moral dilemma is "Heinz" who has an ill wife and cannot afford the medication. Should he steal the medication and why?
preconventional level of moral development
morality based on consequences to self
conventional level of moral development
morality based on fitting in to the norms of society
postconventional level of moral development
morality based on one's own individual moral principles (i.e., conscience)
Jean Piaget
most famous for his 4-stage model of cognitive development
Lev Vygotsky
most famous for social development theory (of child cognitive development)
optimum arousal
motivation theory that states that the individual will seek a level of arousal that is comfortable; explains curiosity and play behaviors
Clark Hull
motivation theory, drive reduction; maintained that the goal of all motivated behavior is the reduction or alleviation of a drive state, mechanism through which reinforcement operates
Masters & Johnson
motivation; human sexual response—studied how both men and women respond to and in relation to sexual behavior
thalamus
motor sensory relay center for four of the five senses; and with a brain stem and composed of two egg-shaped structures; integrates in shades incoming sensory signals; Mnemonic-"don't smell the llamas because the llamas smell bad"
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian known for his theory of the "collective unconscious," composed of recurring archetypes, and for describing introversion/extroversion as personality traits
Karen Horney
neo-Freudian who emphasized "basic anxiety" as a force in personality development; countered Freud's characterization of the female psyche and proposed concept of "womb envy"
Alfred Adler
neo-Freudian who emphasized feelings of inferiority (e.g. the "inferiority" complex) and birth order effects
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian, analytic psychology; archetypes; collective unconscious; libido is all types of energy, not just sexual; dream studies/interpretation
Erik Erikson
neo-Freudian, humanistic; 8 psychosocial stages of development: theory shows how people evolve through the life span. Each stage is marked by a psychological crisis that involves confronting "Who am I?"
Alfred Adler
neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; Contributions: inferiority complex, organ inferiority; Studies: birth order influences personality
Karen Horney
neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; criticized Freud, stated that personality is molded by current fears and impulses, rather than being determined solely by childhood experiences and instincts, neurotic trends; concept of "basic anxiety"
efferent neuron
nerve cell that send messages from brain and spinal cord to other parts of body; also called motor neurons
afferent neuron
nerve cell that sends messages to brain or spinal cord from other parts of the body; also called sensory neurons
interneurons
nerve cell that transmits messages between sensory and motor neurons
feature detectors
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimuli, such as shape, angle, or movement.
reticular formation
netlike system of neurons that weaves through limbic system and plays an important role in attention, arousal, and alert functions; arouses and alerts higher parts of the brain; anesthetics work by temporary shutting off RF system
all-or-none response
neuron will only fire (if threshold is reached) OR not fire (if stimulation is insufficient)
motor (efferent) neurons
neurons that carry information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles
sensory (afferent) neurons
neurons that carry information from the receptors to the spinal cord and brain
mirror neurons
neurons which fire both during completion of a behavior and during observation of another subject completing the behavior; believed to enable observational learning
serotonin
neurotransmitter that affects sleep, arousal, mood, appetite; lack of it is linked with depression
dopamine
neurotransmitter that influences voluntary movement, attention, alertness; lack of dopamine linked with Parkinson's disease; too much is linked with schizophrenia
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
neurotransmitter that inhibits firing of neurons; linked with Huntington's disease
retroactive interference
newly learned information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information
secondary sex characteristics
nonreproductive sexual characteristics that appear as one reaches puberty, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair
norepinephrine
noradrenaline; chemical which is excitatory, similar to adrenaline, and affects arousal and memory; raises blood pressure by causing blood vessels to become constricted, but also carried by bloodstream to the anterior pituitary which relaxes ACTH thus prolonging stress response
frequency
number of wavelengths that pass a point in a given amount of time; determines hue of light and the pitch of a sound
descriptive statistics
numbers that describe and summarize a set of research data
inferential statistics
numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance (e.g. p-value)
Stanley Milgram
obedience to authority; had participants administer what they believed were dangerous electrical shocks to other participants; wanted to see if Germans were an aberration or if all people were capable of committing evil actions
cohort effect
observed group differences based on the era when people were born and grew up, exposing them to particular experiences that may affect the results of cross-sectional studies
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
halo errors
obstacle to objective performance evaluation wherein one trait (e.g. friendliness) biases ratings of others (e.g. consistency).
dreams
occur most often during REM sleep; may be caused by activation-synthesis, or may be a way of cementing memories
motivated forgetting
occurs when frightening, traumatic events are forgotten because people want to forget them
Von Restorff effect
occurs when recall is better for a distinctive item, even if it occurs in the middle of a list
Gustav Fechner
often credited with founding "psychophysics" as a subfield of psychology; studied afterimages
Francis Bacon
one of the founders of modern science; promoted use of scientific method & wrote about problems with (what was later known as) confirmation bias
psychoanalyst
one who uses psychoanalysis to treat psychological problems
fluid intelligence
one's ability to reason speedily and abstactly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
fluid intelligence
one's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
crystallized intelligence
one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
self-esteem
one's feelings of high or low self-worth
gender identity
one's sense of being male or female
menarche
onset of menstruation; key marker of onset of puberty for females
shaping
operant conditioning technique in which subjects are gradually reinforced for closer and closer approximations of a desired behavior
opiates
opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.
Pancreas
organ lying between the stomach and small intestine; regulates blood sugar by secreting to regulating hormones insulin and glucagon
encoding
organizing sensory information so it can be processed by the nervous system
cognitive-appraisal theory of emotion
our emotional experience depends on our interpretation of the situation we are in
personal control
our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless
spotlight effect
overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders
gate control theory
pain is only experienced in the pain messages can pass through a gate in the spinal cord on their route to the brain
authoritative
parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by high demandingness and high warmth; these parents explain reasons for rules and are open to negotiation (with older children)
permissive
parenting style (in Baumrind's model) characterized by low demandingness and high warmth; they submit to their children's desires, make few rules, and use little punishment
authoritarian
parenting style (in Baumrind's model)characterized by high levels of demandingness and low warmth; they impose rules and expect obedience
authoritative parenting
parenting style characterized by emotional warmth, high standards for behavior, explanation and consistent enforcement of rules, and inclusion of children in decision making
axon
part of a neuron tha transmits information to other neurons and to muscles and glands
pons
part of the brain involved in sleep/wake cycles; also connects cerebellum and medulla to the cerebral cortex
cerebellum
part of the brain that coordinates balance, movement, reflexes
medulla (also medulla oblongata)
part of the brain which controls living functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature
hippocampus
part of the limbic system and is involved in learning and forming new long-term memories
amygdala
part of the limbic system; influences emotions such as aggression, fear, and self-protective behaviors
split brain patients
people whose corpus callosum has been surgically severed
theory of mind
people's ideas about their own and others' mental states (about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict)
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood
cholecystokinin (CCK)
peptide released by upper intestine that signals satiety; provides the initial signal to stop eating
color constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the objects.
perceptual constancy
perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change
sensory memory
performs initial encoding; provides brief storage; also called sensory register
prenatal development
period of development from conception until birth
refractory period
period, after firing, during which the neuron is unable to fire because it is repolarizing
memory
persistence of learning over time; involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
Henry Murray
personality assessment; created the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) with Christina Morgan, stated that the need to achieve varied in strength in different people and influenced their tendency to approach and evaluate their own performances
Hans Eysenck
personality theorist; asserted that personality is largely determined by genes, used introversion/extroversion
sociocultural psychology
perspective concerned with how cultural differences affect behavior
psychoanalytic
perspective developed by freud, which assumes that psychological problems are the result of anxiety resulting from unresolved conflicts and forces of which a person might be unaware
behaviorism
perspective in psychology that emphasizes how subjects learn OBSERVABLE behaviors
behavioral perspective
perspective of psychology that sees psychology as an objective science without reference to mental states; sees behavior as the result of conditioning & reinforcement; dominant perspective from 1920s-1960s (a.k.a. the "learning" perspective)
behaviorism
perspective that defines psychology as the study of behavior that is directly observable or through assessment instruments
humanistic psychology
perspective that emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and the idea that humans have free will
cognitive psychology
perspective that focuses on the mental processes involved in perception, learning, memory, and thinking
evolutionary psychology
perspective that seeks to explain and predict behaviors by analyzing how the human brain developed over time, how it functions, and how input from the environment affects human behaviors
rods
photoreceptors that detect black, white, and gray, and movement; used for vision in dim light
cones
photoreceptors that detect color and fine detail in bright-light conditions; not present in peripheral vision
maturation
physical (or biological) process of growth; believed to occur in mostly universal sequence, though timing varies from individual to individual
Aaron Beck
pioneer in Cognitive Therapy. Suggested negative beliefs cause depression.
Albert Ellis
pioneer in Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET), focuses on altering client's patterns of irrational thinking to reduce maladaptive behavior and emotions
Alfred Binet
pioneer in intelligence (IQ) tests, designed a test to identify slow learners in need of help-not applicable in the U.S. because it was too culture-bound (French)
Albert Bandura
pioneer in observational learning (AKA social learning), stated that people profit from the mistakes/successes of others; Studies: Bobo Dolls-adults demonstrated 'appropriate' play with dolls, children mimicked play
spinal cord
portion of the CNS that carries messages to the PNS; connects brain to the rest of the body
occipital lobes
portion of the cerebral cortex at the "back" of the head; contains the visual cortex
temporal lobes
portion of the cerebral cortex located on the "sides" of the brain lying roughly above the ears; includes auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear
prosocial behavior
positive, constructive, helpful behavior (opposite of antisocial behavior); can be learned through modeling
shaping
positively reinforcing closer and closer approximation of a desired behavior to teach a new behavior
response bias
preconceived notions of a person answering [a survey] which may alter the experiments purpose
Harry Harlow
presented infant monkeys with a choice between two artificial mothers; the monkeys preferred the warm, cloth mothers to cold ones with food
set point
preset natural body weight, determined by the number of fat cells in the body
proactive interference
previously learned information interferes with the ability to learn new information
occipital lobes
primary area for processing visual information
conservation
principle that certain properties of matter (e.g. mass, volume, number) remain the same despite changes in appearance; exhibited during the concrete operational phase
inferential statistics
procedures used to draw conclusions about larger populations from small samples of data
inferential statistics
procedures used to draw conclusions about statistical significance and probability that generalization is warranted
retrieval
process by which stored information is recovered from memory
depolarization
process of neural firing; when action potential is generated and the neuron briefly takes on a positive charge
rehearsal
process of repeatedly verbalizing, thinking about, or otherwise acting on or transforming information in order to keep that information active in memory
parietal lobes
processes sensory information including touch, temperature, and pain from other body parts
neurogenesis
production of new brain cells; November 1988: cancer patients proved that new neurons grew until the end of life
psychologist
professional who studies behavior and uses behavioral principles in scientific research or in applied settings
Alzheimer's disease
progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and physical functioning; linked to deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine
terror-management theory
proposes that faith in one's worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death
hallucinogens
psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input
projection
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
reaction formation
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
displacement
psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet
dissociative disorders
psychological disorders characterized by a sudden but temporary alteration in consciousness, identity, sensorimotor behavior, or memory
personality disorders
psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and longstanding maladaptive behaviors that typically cause stress and/or social or occupational problems.
Alfred Binet
psychologist commissioned by Parisian school system to design intelligence test for educational placement
Gordon Allport
psychologist credited with founding the trait perspective in personality theory
Benjamin Lee Whorf
psychologist famous for describing linguistic determinism
B.F. Skinner
psychologist known for describing and researching operant conditioning
Hans Selye
psychologist who researched a recurring response to stress that he called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
clinical psychologist
psychologist who treats people serious psychological problems or conducts research into the causes of behavior
counseling psychologist
psychologist who treats people with adjustment problems
Albert Bandura
psychologist who's "Bobo doll experiment" demonstrated that aggressive behavior can be learned through observation
basic research
pure research that aims to confirm an existing theory or to learn more about a concept or phenomenon
measures of variation
range, variance, & standard deviation
REM sleep
rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur; also known as paradoxical sleep because muscles are relaxed but body is active
emotion
reactions involving 1.) physiological arousal, 2.) expressive behaviors, and 3.) conscious experience
spontaneous recovery
reappearance, after rest period, of a previously extinguished conditioned response
intersex
refers to persons born with intermediate or atypical combinations of male and female physical characteristics (e.g., both male and female reproductive organs)
Alfred Kinsey
regarded by some as the father of the scientific study of human sexuality. Published a series of reports which described common sexual behaviors in the US.
elaborative rehearsal
rehearsal involving repletion and analysis, in which a stimulus may be associated with (linked to) other information and further processed
fixed ratio schedule
reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded after a set number of correct responses
variable ratio schedule
reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded after an unpredictable/random number of correct responses
fixed interval schedule
reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded for the first correct response after a predetermined time period (e.g. 10 minutes)
variable interval schedule
reinforcement schedule in which a subject is rewarded for the first correct response after varying time periods have elapsed (e.g. 3 minutes, then 25 minutes, then 15 minutes...)
continuous reinforcement
reinforcement schedule in which a subject's correct behavior is reinforced every time it occurs
partial reinforcement schedule
reinforcement schedule in which correct behaviors are reinforced sometimes (but not always)
learning
relatively permanent change in organism's behavior due to experience
replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.
maintenance rehearsal
repetitive review of information with little or no interpretation
gonads
reproductive glands-male, testes; female, ovaries
Carol Dweck
researched the impact of "fixed" mindset (versus "growth" mindset) on student achievement; suggested our views about intelligence matter
Howard Gardner
researcher known for his theory of multiple intelligences
Walter Mischel
researcher who challenged the predictive power of personality testing; argued that identified traits often do not predict behavior in a given situation (Person-Situation Controversy)
Mary Ainsworth
researcher who described attachment styles in infants as measured by the "strange situation" test
Diana Baumrind
researcher who developed a model of parenting styles that included authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive
Charles Spearman
researcher who promoted theory of general intelligence (g) after factor analysis of major intelligence
William Masters & Virginia Johnson
researchers who described the human sexual response cycle and sought to define and treat sexual disorders based on that model
Paul Broca
responsible for discovering the area on the left frontal lobe responsible for coordinating muscle movements involved in spoken language
encoding specificity principle
retrieval cues that match original information work better
Lewis Terman
revised and adapted Binet's test for use in the US; assisted with development of intelligence tests for the army during WWI
primary reinforcer
reward that is naturally satisfying (unlearned); for example, tasty food
imprinting
rigid, inflexible attachments demonstrated by some animal species (e.g. ducks, sheep)
ethics
rules of proper and acceptable conduct that investigators use to guide psychological research
random sample
sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
Gestalt psychology
school of psychological thought that argued that behavior cannot be studied in parts but must be viewed as whole
structuralism
school of psychological thought that considered the structure and elements of conscious experience to be the proper subject matter of psychology
functionalism
school of psychological thought that was concerned with how and why the conscious mind works
applied research
scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
bipolar cells
second layer of neurons in the retina that transmit impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells; rods share these, but cones do not
monism
seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing
dualism
seeing mind and body as two different things that interact
random sample
selection of a part of the population without reason; participation is by chance
olfaction
sense of smell
gustation
sense of taste
role
set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to be behave
gender role
set of expected behaviors for males and females
primary sex characteristics
sex characteristics present at birth; the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
visual acuity
sharpness of vision
dendrites
short, branchlike structures of a neuron that receive information from receptors and other neurons
grit
showing passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals; may be an important component of academic and professional success
functional MRI (fMRI)
shows brain activity at higher reolution than PET scan when changes in oxygen concentration in neurons alters its magnetic qualities
positron emission tomography (PET scan)
shows brain activity when radioactively tagged glucose rushes to active neurons
EEG (electroencephalogram)
shows brain's electrical activity by positioning electrodes over the scalp
parallel processing
simultaneously analyzing different elements of sensory information, such as color, brightness, shape, etc.
synapse
site where two or more neurons interact but do not touch
insomnia
sleep disorder characterized by recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
NREM-3
sleep stage that lasts about 30 minutes and your brain emits large, slow delta waves, and you are hard to awaken.
REM (rapid eye movement) sleep
sleep stage when the eyes move about, during which vivid dreams occur; brain very active but skeletal muscles paralyzed
fovea
small area of retina where image is focused
pupil
small opeing in iris that is smaller in bright light and larger in darkness
synaptic vesicles
small pockets or sacs located in terminal buttons that contain a neurotransmitter
cochlea
snail-shaped fluid-filled tube in the inner ear involved in transduction
cochlea
snail-shaped tube in the inner ear that contains fluid that moves in response to vibrations, stimulating activity on the basilar membrane
Phillip Zimbardo
social psychology; Stanford Prison Study; college students were randomly assigned to roles of prisoners or guards in a study that looked at who social situations influence behavior; showed that peoples' behavior depends to a large extent on the roles they are asked to play
pitch
sound information that depends on frequency (or wavelength) of sound waves
embryo
stage in prenatal development from 2 to 9 weeks, wherein organs and primary sex characteristics begin to develop
fetus
stage in prenatal development from 9 weeks to birth
zygote
stage in prenatal development from conception to 2 weeks
preconventional
stage of moral development in which children seek to avoid punishment or gain reward when determining right from wrong
conventional
stage of moral development wherein individuals seek to gain social approval or maintain the social order (follow rules and laws)
postconventional
stage of moral development wherein individuals use abstract reasoning to determine right from wrong, often by citing agreed-upon rights (e.g. "the right to live") or personal ethical principles
Yerkes-Dodson Law
states that there is an optimal level of arousal for the best performance of any task; the more complex the task, the lower the level of arousal that can be tolerated before performance deteriorates
long-term memory
storage mechanism that keeps a relatively permanent record of memory
positive reinforcement
strengthens a response by presenting a pleasurable stimulus after a desired behavior (e.g. getting paid for doing the dishes)
negative reinforcement
strengthens a response by removing an aversive stimulus afer a desired behavior (e.g. not having to do the dishes if you eat your vegetables)
Wilhelm Wundt
structuralism; in 1879 founded first psychology laboratory in world at University of Leipzig; introspection, basic units of experience
lens
structure behind pupil that changes shape to focus light rays onto the retina
hypothalamus
structure in the limbic system responsible for directing several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temp); helps govern endocrine system via the pituitary gland
pons
structure of the brainstem that allows for communication between the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, & brain stem; has nuclei that are important for sleep and arousal
cerebellum
structure of the hindbrain that coordinates voluntary muscular movements
Edward Thorndike
studied cats in "puzzle boxes" and known for his "Law of Effect"
Roger Sperry & Michael Gazzaniga
studied split brain patients
twin studies
studies as identical and rhetorical twins to determine relative influence of heredity and environment on human behavior
family studies
studies of hereditability on the assumption that if a gene influences a certain trait, close relatives should be more similar on that trait in distant relative
developmental psychologist
studies psychological development across the lifespan
cross-sectional study
study in which people of different ages are compared with one another
behavioral genetics
study of hereditary influences and how it influences behavior and thinking
epigenetics
study of how the environment can alter gene expression or function (e.g. light, nutrition, temperature, presence of other species); example of interaction of nature & nurture
genetics
study of how traits are transmitted from one generation to the next
neuroscience
study of the brain and nervous system; overlaps with psychobiology
psychobiology
study that focuses on biological foundations of behavior and mental processes; overlaps with neuroscience
authoritarian parenting
style of parenting marked by emotional coldness, imposing rules and expecting obedience
thalamus
subcortical structure that relays incoming sensory information to the cerebral cortex and other parts of the brain; a.k.a "sensory switchboard"
parasympathetic nervous system
subdivision of the autonomic nervous system responsible for calming the body
sympathetic nervous system
subdivision of the autonomic nervous system responsible for mobilizing the body in times of stress, and preparing for flight or fight
organizational psychology
subfield of I/O Psych that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change
personnel psychology
subfield of I/O Psych that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, evaluation, etc.
Little Albert
subject in John Watson's experiment, proved classical conditioning principles, especially the generalization of fear
control group
subjects and not exposed to a changing variable in an experiment
insight
sudden realization of a problem's solution; the "aha moment"
psychotic
suffering from a gross impairment in reality testing that interferes with the ability to meet the ordinary demands of life.
glial cells
supportive cells of nervous system that guide growth of new neurons; forms myelin sheath; holds neuron in place; provides nourishment and removes waste
fMRI
technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans; capable of showing BOTH structure and function of the brain
sensory adaptation
temporary decrease in sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs when stimulation is unchanging
hawthorne effect
tendency of some people to work harder and perform better when they are participants in an experiment. Individuals may change their behavior due to the attention they are receiving from researchers rather than because of any manipulation of independent variables.
ethnocentrism
tendency to believe that one's own group is the standard, the reference point by which other people and groups should be judged
next-in-line effect
tendency to forget what was said by the person immediately before you during introductions or saying words
homeostasis
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
generalization
tendency to respond to stimuli similar to the CS; for example, Pavlov's dogs would drooling in response to a variety of tones
axon terminal
terminal button, synaptic knob; the structure at the end of an excellent terminal branch; houses the synaptic vesicles and neurotransmitters
achievement test
test designed to determine a person's level of knowledge in a given subject area
strange situation
test developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment style in infants; involves separation and reunion with a parent
Sigmund Freud
the "father of psychoanalysis"
ghrelin
the "hunger hormone" secreted by the stomach around anticipated mealtimes; accounts for the "empty" feeling when hungry
nucleotides
the "letters" of the DNA alphabet; they appear in pairs on the DNA molecule
perceptual adaptation
the ability to adjust to an altered perceptual reality; in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field (as when wearing visual displacement goggles).
intelligence
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions; "EQ"
memory
the ability to recall past events, images, ideas, or previously learned information or skills; the storage system that allows a person to retain and retrieve previously learned information
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
gender-typing
the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
pupil
the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.
informed consent
the agreement of participants to take part in an experiment and their acknowledgement that they understand the nature of their participation in the research, and have been fully informed about the general nature of the research, its goals, and methods
evolutionary perspective
the application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena.
biological perspective
the approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system, genetics, and other biological functions
mean
the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.
mean
the arithmetic average of a set of scores
criterion
the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity (i.e. it's the "thing" or ability that the test is supposed to measure)
learned helplessness
the behavior of giving up or not responding, exhibited by people and animals exposed to negative consequences or punishment over which they feel they have no control.
circadian rhythm
the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle
endocrine system
the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
basal metabolic rate
the body's resting rate of energy expenditure
nervous system
the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
central nervous system
the brain and spinal cord
stroboscopic movement
the brain's perception of continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images; this is how we perceive motion in film and animation
fovea
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.
menopause
the cessation of the ability to reproduce
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 stages
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
mental age
the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance; used by Binet to characterize early IQ scores
control group
the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment., In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
somnambulism
the condition of walking or performing some other activity without awakening; also known as sleepwalking - occurs during NREM-3
extrasensory perception (ESP)
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition
ESP
the controversial claim that sensation can occur apart from sensory input
imagery
the creation or re-creation of a mental picture of a sensory or perceptual experience
test-retest reliability
the degree to which test scores are similar or stable over time versus the degree to which scores change or fluctuate upon repeated testings
range
the difference between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution.
levels of analysis
the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
hue
the dimension of color that is determine by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
tolerance
the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect
extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when the UCS does not follow a CS and in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced
withdrawal
the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug
wavelength
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next.
facial feedback
the effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness intensifies feelings of anger or happiness.
culture
the enduring behavior, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted (via learning) from one generation to the next
dependent variable
the experimental factor - in psychology, the behavior or mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
independent variable
the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
phenotype
the expression of genes
generalizability
the extent to which a study's findings can be reasonably assumed to apply to the study population (not just the sample); enhanced by having larger, random samples and large differences between (experimental and control) groups
validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
validity
the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to
content validity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).
reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
variability
the extent to which scores differ from one another
Hermann Ebbinghaus
the first person to study memory scientifically and systematically; used nonsense syllables and recorded how many times he had to study a list to remember it well
excitement phase
the first phase of the sexual response cycle during which there are increases in heart rate blood pressure and respiration
convolutions
the folds in the cerebral cortex that increase the surface area of the brain
resolution phase
the fourth phase of the sexual response cycle, following orgasm, during which the body returns to its resting, or normal state
prefrontal cortex
the front-most portion of the frontal lobes; involved in planning and reasoning; one of the last areas of the brain to mature (and sometimes used to explain adolescents' relative lack of impulse control).
pitch
the highness or lowness of a sound
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events.
self-actualization
the human need to fulfill one's potential
drive-reduction theory
the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
activation-synthesis theory
the idea that dreams are the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural activity
Schachter's Two Factor Theory
the idea that people use two things to identify emotion; physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation; people search the environment for an explanation for reactions & look for external cues to help label emotions
multiple intelligences
the idea that there may be several specific "intelligences" that can exist in a individual independently of one another (e.g. visual-spatial, kinesthetic, verbal, etc.)
categorization inability
the inability of preoperational children to group items according to rules or criteria
egocentrism
the inability of preoperational children to take the perspective of another
fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving
inner ear
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
eros
the instinct toward life, posited by Freud; a loving, constructive drive
reciprocal determinism
the interacting influences between internal personal (cognitive) factors, behavior, and the environment
cognitive neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
interaction
the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).
delta waves
the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep
ego
the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. It operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
all-or-none principle/all or nothing
the law that the neuron either fires at 100% or not at all
nonconscious
the level of consciousness devoted to processes completely unavailable to conscious awareness (e.g., fingernails growing)
threshold
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
retina
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.
nature-nurture issue
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
median
the measure of central tendency that is the data point with 50% of the scores above it and 50% below it
survey research
the measurement of public opinion through the use of sampling and questioning
descriptive
the method used to observe and record behavior without manipulation (survey, case study, naturalistic observation)
midbrain
the middle division of brain responsible for hearing and sight; location where pain is registered; includes temporal lobe, occipital lobe, and most of the parietal lobe
median
the middle score in a data set; best measure of central tendency in a skewed distribution
median
the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.
difference threshold
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time; also referred to as just noticeable difference (JND)
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
primacy effect
the more accurate recall of items presented at the beginning of a series
recency effect
the more accurate recall of items presented at the end of a series
mode
the most frequently occurring score
mode
the most frequently occurring score in a distribution.
mode
the most frequently occurring score in a set of data
hindbrain
the most primitive of the three functional divisions of the brain, which includes the cerebellum, Pons, and medulla; responsible for involuntary processes: blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, breathing, sleep cycles
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests
Rorschach inkblot test
the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
optic nerve
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
frequency
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time; determines perception of hue in light and of pitch in sound
memory span
the number of items a person can reproduce from short-term memory, usually consisting of one or two chunks
brainstem
the oldest part and central core of the brain; responsible for automatic survival functions and composed of medulla, pons, and reticular formation.
superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
forgetting curve
the pattern of storage decay described by Ebbinghaus; retention of information drops off quickly, then stabilizes, as time passes after learning
prevalence
the percentage of a population displaying a disorder during any specified period.
percentile score
the percentage of scores at or below a certain score
illusory correlation
the perception of a relationship where none exists; the basis for many superstitions
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate
internal locus of control
the perception that one controls one's own fate
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself; also works in reverse (happiness increases if you realize you are better off than some comparison group)
grouping
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
visual capture
the phenomenon that occurs when vision overtakes some other, conflicting sensory input
set point
the point at which an individual's "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.
blind spot
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye; no receptors cells are located there. Creates a gap in our vision that is "filled" by the brain.
frontal lobes
the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments
sensory interaction
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences taste
natural selection
the principle that those characteristics and behaviors that help organisms adapt, be fit, and survive will be passed on to successive generations, because flexible, fit individuals have a greater chance of reproduction
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).
sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.
accommodation
the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
sound localization
the process by which the location of sound is determined
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
storage
the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available; the locations where information is held
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information; enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
encoding
the processing of information into the memory system (for example, by extracting meaning)
parallel processing
the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrast with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
heritability
the proportion of variation among individuals that is due to genetic causes
heritability
the proportion of variation among individuals that is related to genetic variation; estimates may vary depending on the range of populations and environments studied
timbre
the quality of a sound determined by the purity of a waveform
zone of proximal development
the range between the level at which a child can solve a problem working alone with difficulty, and the level at which a child can solve a problem with the assistance of adults or children with more skill
alpha waves
the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state
replication
the repetition of an experiment to test the validity of its conclusion
syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language
McGurk effect
the same sound (e.g. "ba") can be perceived differently (e.g. "pa" or "fa") when the visual image of the mouth pronouncing it is changed; a classic example of "visual capture"
psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
positive psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
psychometrics
the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits; also sometimes called "quantitative psychology"
midbrain
the second level of the three organizational structures of the brain that receives signals from other parts of the brain or spinal cord and either relays the information to other parts of the brain or causes the body to act immediately; involved in movement
plateau phase
the second phase of the sexual response cycle, during which physical arousal continues to increase as the partners bodies prepare for orgasm
vestibular sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance; enabled by feedback from semicircular canals in inner ear
audition
the sense of hearing
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language
Y chromosome
the sex chromosome found only in males.
synapse
the space between two neurons where neurotransmitters are secreted by terminal buttons and received by dendrites
range
the spread between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution
one-word stage
the stage in speech development from about age 1 to 2 during which a child speaks mostly in single words.
nervous system
the structures and organs that facilitate electrical and chemical communication in the body and allow all behavior and mental processes to take place
personality psychology
the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting
experimental psychology
the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
educational psychology
the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
parapsychology
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis
psychophysics
the study of relationship between the physical characteristic of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
behavior genetics
the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
molecular genetics
the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes
interference
the suppression of one bit of information by another
normal curve
the 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.
kinesthesia
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts; enabled by feedback from proprioceptors (which provide info about the movement of muscles, tendons, joints); also called "proprioception"
REM rebound
the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)
spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct--to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments
overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.
hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
false consensus effect
the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.
mood-congruent memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood
state-dependent learning
the tendency to recall information learned while in a particular physiological state most accurately when one is in that physiological state again
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
Cannon-Bard Theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion
Opponent-Process theory
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision; useful for explaining the phenomenon of "after-images"
James-Lange Theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic theory
the theory that the retina contains three different colors 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 neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is open by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming form the brain.
retinal ganglion cells
the third layer of retinal neurons whose axons leave the eyeball and form the optic nerve.
orgasm phase
the third phase of the sexual response cycle, during which autonomic nervous system activity reaches its peak and muscle contractions occur in spasms throughout the body, but especially in the genital area
NREM-1
the transition into sleep, marked by slowed breathing and irregular brain waves; hypnagogic sensations/hallucinations, and myclonic jerks may occur
lens
the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.
amygdala
the two almond-shaped nerve clusters in the limbic system believed to be responsible for fear and aggressive responses
dependent variable
the variable in a controlled experiment that is expected to change due to the manipulation of the independent variable
independent variable
the variable in a controlled experiment that the experimenter directly and purposefully manipulates to see how the other variables under study will be affected
empiricism
the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment.
empiricism
the view that knowledge should be acquired through observation and often an experiment
framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is presented can significantly affect decisions and judgments
Stanford-Binet
the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test
Noam Chomsky
theorist who believed that humans have an inborn or "native" propensity to develop language. (Native = Nature).
Raymond Cattell
theorist who created a 16 Factor model of personality
APA Ethical Guidelines
these rules specify that researchers avoid procedures that might cause serious physical or mental harm to human subjects, protect confidentiality of the data, respect a subject's right to refuse at any time during the study; includes Informed Consent, Freedom to Withdraw, Debriefing, No Harm, and Confidentiality
convergent thinking
thinking that brings together information focussed on solving a problem (especially solving problems that have a single correct solution)
critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumption, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidences, and assesses conclusions
Wechsler intelligence tests
three age individual IQ tests: WPPSI (children), WISC (children), WAIS (adults)
Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome
three-stage process which describes the body's reaction to stress: 1) alarm reaction, 2) resistance, 3) exahaustion
critical period
time frame during which exposure to a particular stimulus must take place in order for proper development to occur
synaptic vesicles
tiny oval-shaped sacs in a terminal of one neuron; assist in transferring mineral impulse from one neuron to another neuron by releasing specific neurotransmitters
forebrain
top of the brain which includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, and cerebral cortex; responsible for emotional regulation, complex thought, memory aspect of personality
brainstem
top of the spinal column
Gordon Allport
trait theory of personality; 3 levels of traits: cardinal, central, and secondary
angular gyrus
transforms visual representations into an auditory code; damage to this leaves the person unable to speak and understand, but able to read
cornea
transparent covering of the eye
identical twins
twins from a single fertilized egg (zygote) with the same genetic makeup; also called monozygotic (MZ) twins
fraternal twins
twins from two separate fertilized eggs (zygotes); share half of the same genes
PYY & GLP-1
two hormones produced by the lower intestine that slow digestion and signal satiety. They are longer acting than CCK. GLP-1 also stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin.
operant conditioning
type of associative learning in which the subject learns a relationship between its behavior and a subsequent reward or punishment; described by B.F. Skinner
classical conditioning
type of associative learning in which the subject learns to respond to a previously neutral stimulus after it is repeatedly paired with an important one; described by Pavlov
observational learning
type of learning in which the subject imitates behavior demonstrated by a model; Albert Bandura showed its role in creating aggressive behaviors in children
loci
type of mnemonic that exploits the ease with which we recall layouts of familiar locations; remembering items on a list by visualizing them placed in familiar locations
paranoid schizophrenia
type of schizophrenia characterized by hallucinations and delusions of persecution or grandeur (or both), and sometimes irrational jealousy.
disorganized schizophrenia
type of schizophrenia characterized by severely disturbed thought processes, frequent incoherence, disorganized behavior, and inappropriate affect.
placebo
typically a pill that is used as a control in the experiment; a sugar pill
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
tend-and-befriend
under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)
mutation
unexpected changes in the gene replication process that are not always evident in phenotype and create unusual and sometimes harmful characteristics of body or behavior
archetypes
universal, symbolic images that appear in myths, art, stories, and dreams; to Jungians, they reflect the collective unconscious (examples: mother figure, hero/villian, shadow, etc.)
avoidance conditioning
use of classical conditioning procedures to get subjects to avoid a particular stimulus (e.g. use of nauseating chemicals to get coyotes to avoid sheep); in people = "aversion therapy"
eclectic
use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches
Lawrence Kohlberg
used moral dilemmas to assess moral thinking in children; most well-known for his description of levels of morality (preconventional, conventional, postconventional)
positron emission tomography (PET scan)
visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
science
way of getting knowledge about the world based on observation
Schachter-Singer theory of emotion
we determine our emotion based on our physiological arousal, then label that emotion according to our explanation for that arousal
higher order learning
when CS regularly creates CR, it can be paired with another stimulus for additional conditioning
resting potential
when a neuron is in polarization; more negative ions are inside the neuron cell membrane with a positive ions on the outside, causing a small electrical charge; release of this charge generates a neuron's impulse (signal/message)
self-fulfilling prophecy
when a researcher's expectations unknowingly create a situation that affects the results
wording effects
when a specific word used in a question affects how respondents answer the question or the order of the questions
sucking reflex
when an object is placed in the baby's mouth, he will begin to suck on it
spillover effect
when arousal from one emotion is transfered into the experience of a different emotion; more happy about getting job after running as opposed to just waking up
synaesthesia
when one sort of sensation (such as hearing a sound) produces another (such as seeing color)
change blindness
when paying attention to a specific aspect of a visual scene, we may fail to notice other fairly obvious changes or presentations of stimuli; demonstrated by the door study and the gorilla illusion
Babinski reflex
when stroked on the bottom of the foot, a baby will spread its toes
polarization
when the neuron is at rest; condition of neuron when the inside of the neuron is negatively charged relative to the outside of Enron; is necessary to generate the neuron signal in release of this polarization
grasping reflex
when touched on the palm of the hand, a baby will wrap his fingers tightly around the stimulus
corpus callosum
wide band of neural fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain
cerebral cortex
wrinkled outer portion of brain; center for higher order brain functions such as thinking, planning, judgment; processes sensory information and directs movement
cerebral cortex
wrinkled, gray covering of the brain that accounts for 80% of brain weight is responsible for complex processing of information, planning, learning, memory storage, etc.