Intro to Psych
Reinforcement
any outcome/response that increases the future probability of most recent behavior
secondary reinforcer
any reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars
Mood Disorders
diagnosed in individuals that have extreme fluctuations or extended experiences of strong positive or negative emotions that have a noticeable impact on a person's life
Traits
distinguishing character/quality that can be used to describe consistent behaviors
Procedural Memories (Implicit)
mental and behavioral
States
momentary reactions to situations that are a direct result of the social environment
Jean Piaget
1st developmental Psychologist
Franz Mesmer
1st person to practice hypnotism. Discovered the "Magnet Institute" in Vienna
Leo Vygotsky
Argued against Piaget's idea that cognitive development is set, and cannot be sped up
the afterimage effect
By looking at a flag for an extended period of time and then turning our attention to a white wall, we were able to experience something called
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
Humanistic psychologist who developed client-centered therapy and stressed the importance of acceptance, genuineness, and empathy in fostering human growth
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Humanistic psychologist who proposed the hierarchy of needs, and that pursuit of self-actualization is important in personality as long as all other needs are met
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
Learning how to pair stimuli
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Like depression, but milder extent; sxs are linked to the change of seasons -best treatment is "light therapy", which does not work for depression
IQ over 130
People with extremely high in intelligence are described as gifted when?
Elaborative Encoding
Process of relating new info to previous or other info
DSM Axis 2
Psychosocial/Environment Problems; environment or social stressors playing a role in development
Psychological intervention
Psychotherapy -Psychoanalysis -Behavioral approach -Humanistic approach -Cognitive Behavioral Approach
instinct
The act of imprinting is an example of a(n)
Central Nervous System
The brain and spinal cord are both part of our
axon
The exchange of ions during the action potential occurs along the _____ of the neuron
Frontal Lobe
The last lobe of our brain to fully develop is our
mnemonic device
The method of loci is one example of
variable-ratio
You attend every new movie that appears at your local theater. You find that most of them are dull (not reinforcing) but really enjoy an average of about one-fourth of them, even though you can't really guess which one will be enjoyable. This is an example of a __________ schedule of reinforcement
cued recall
Your friend asks, "What's the name of our chemistry lab instructor? I think it starts with a J." This is which type of memory test?
encoding specificity principle
Your memory will be more reliable if you use the same cue when you try to retrieve a memory that you used when you stored it. This is a statement of which of the following?
developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Disequilibrium
a cognitive state of mind caused when new information contradicts current schemas
Equilibrium
a cognitive state of mind that comes from harmony btwn a child's environment and present schema
Schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Hypnosis
a condition of increased suggestibility that occurs in the context of a special hypnotist-subject relationship; hypnotized ppl give off a perception of being in a sleep-like state
rational emotive behavior therapy
a confrontational cognitive therapy, developed by Albert Ellis, that vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and assumptions
Ego
a conscious force we develop in the social world and operates on the reality principle
Persistant Depressive Disorder (PDD)
a form of depression that is milder in intensity but longer in duration than major depressive disorder
Schizophrenia
a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions
Libido (psychosexual energy)
a insatiable sexual drive that comes in different forms during our lifetime -Oral Stage (0-18mo) -Anal Stage (18-36mo) -Phallic Stage (3-6yrs) -Latency (6 to puberty) -Genital Stage (puberty onwards)
PET scan
a neuroimaging technique that utilizes radioactive tracers to determine locations of neural activity.
Superego
a preconscious part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
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
Catharsis
a release of emotional tension
Negative reinforcement
a response is strengthened because it removes an unfavorable stimulus
pluralistic ignorance
a situation where the group members don't want to do something, yet the group still does it because they assume it's what everyone wants to do
Neutral Stimulus
a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
a treatment approach that incorporates basic principles of changing a person's thoughts, emotions, and/or behaviors that are linked to a disorder/stressful experience
Synapse
the microscopic gap between two neurons
Law of Recency (Thorndike)
the most recent response is likely to reoccur
iris
the structure in the eye that controls how much light gets through our pupil
MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)
widely used (personnel and legal) structured personality test designed to assess symptoms of mental disorders; involves 567 true/false questions
conservation
the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects
self-actualization
the process by which people achieve their full potential, and alignment of their actual self with their ideal self
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage; i.e. Recall, Recognition, Recollection/Rebuilding
operant conditioning
the process of learning to associate a behavior w/ a consequence A-B-C -> Antecedents-Behavior-Consequence
Storage
the process of retaining encoded information over time *debate on how this process works
long-term memory
the relatively permanent storage of information -susceptible to distortions/complete fabrications
negative punishment
the removal of a pleasurable stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring
Jean Piaget
worked w/ Alfred Binet in his administration of intelligence tests. Became interested in cognitive development in children while studying intelligence tests.
Implicit (Projective) Measures of Personality
tests that use actions, responses, and performance on ambiguous information to determine personality (i.e. Rorschach Test)
Explicit Measures of Personality
tests that use self-identified responses about perceptions, action, or attitudes to determine personality (i.e. Meyers-Briggs, NEO-PI)
positive punishment
the administration of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring
propinquity effect
the finding that the more we see and interact with people, or at least expect to see a lot, the more likely they are to become our friends
Sensory Memory
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system ->Researched by George Sperling
EEGs
measure of the brain that gives us the best temporal resolution
Metacognition
"Thinking about thinking" or the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task
Reconstruction Effect
- though our memory can improve when we can find a way to tie topics together, we also tend to include inaccurate information into our memories in an attempt to "fill in the gaps" or "fix the ratios" (i.e. reconstructing stories & adding details) - can also cause us to recall things that never occurred (i.e. Elizabeth Loftus's Mall Study) - it has been linked to us altering our memory of our past thinking
Issues with the Big 5 Personality traits
-Based on the english language -Might have too few variables (i.e. religiocity and humor) -Might have too many variables -Might not be a good predicator of specific behaviors
Benefits of Freud
-Clinical psychology transitioned from examining airborne illness to one that examined mental-social impact on abnormal thoughts/behaviors -People have conflicting desires and motives -Childhood experiences contribute to development of adult behavior/personality -Sexual encounters have an impact on psychological/personality development -Started to explore the topic of unconscious
different types of touch
-For our sense of balance, we have sensors found on our internal organs -Most of our touch sensors are activated through chemical or mechanical stimulation -Most of our touch sensors are located in the epidermis and dermis
Schzophrenia Treatment
-Hospitalization -CBT; for hallucinations, delusions, flat affect, Anhedonia (increase activities to coax out emotional response) -Medication; Antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs
Research Studies on Heritability
-Minnesota Twin Registry (Thomas Bouchard) -Research on Aging Twins *esp. w/ monozygotic twins
Factors that impact conformity
-Presence of an ally -The number of people in the majority -The social situation's requirement to conform (quick response = inc. conformity, unanimous answer = inc. conformity, incentive for being correct = dec. conformity) -The importance of the group
Behaviorism
-Study of psychology that gained traction in the 1930s -In part, a response to Freud -Studied concepts of the mind through looking at only the observable
Depression
-family linked; atypical neurotransmitter levels; life events typically contribute to emergence of depression -Sxs: Negative mood, lethargic behavior, can involve little interest in pursuing anything and little pleasure derived from any activity -Treatment: regular sleep and exercise and diet can help mild to moderate
hypnotism
-makes people more suggestible -can cause hallucinations and other tricks of the sense -can reduce emotional or physical reactions CANNOT -improve memories -enhance our ability to learn information -allow us to have supernatural physical abilities -force us to do something that we wouldn't already do
Social Cognitive & Trait research is focused on these assumptions
1) Numerous social behaviors are consistent w/ individuals and there are differences btwn individuals 2) Individuals are not controlled entirely by social situations
DSM Axis 1
1) Psychological and developmental disorders: ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety disorders 2) Personality disorders and intellectual disabilities; low IQ, antisocial personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder 3) General Medical Conditions; medical problems might interact w/ treatment options
Psychobiological interventions
1) Psychosurgery 2) Medication 3) Genetics?
Human Genome
23 pairs of Chromosomes per person, which consist of protein strands called genes. The avg. human cell contains 20,500 genes.
Encoding, Storage, Retrieval
3 stages of memory
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
A computer-driven assessment of implicit attitudes. The test uses reaction times to measure people's automatic associations between attitude objects and evaluative words. Easier pairings (and faster responses) are taken to indicate stronger unconscious associations.
Stereotypes
A generalized belief about a group of people
Bi-Polar Disorder
A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. *Different types: Type 1, Type 2, Cyclothymic -Treatment: Antidepressants for depressive phases and mood stabilizers for manic phases
Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
A widely used personality test based on Jungian types. Observes 4 dichotomies: -Extraversion/Introversion -Sensing/Intuition -Thinking/Feeling -Judgement/Perception
Lawrence Kohlberg
Famous for his theory of moral development in children; made use of moral dilemmas in assessment
Scaffolding
Adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child's current level of performance. Teaching slightly above the current level of cognitive development to help the learner better understand a cognitive concept.
inferiority complex
Adler's conception of a basic feeling of inadequacy stemming from childhood experiences
Humanistic approach
An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny.
humanistic approach
An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny. Assumes that "clients" are the ones that can fix themselves. Typically uses client-centered therapy.
behavioral approach
An approach to psychology emphasizing that human behavior is determined mainly by what a person has learned, especially from rewards and punishments -uses either classical or operant conditioning
Prejudice
An attitude toward a person or group of people formed without adequate information
Punishment
Any outcome/response that decreases frequency of preceding behavior
Piaget's explanation of when children encounter disequilibrium
Assimilation- interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schema Accommodation- adapting one's current schemas to incorporate new info Equilibration- shifting from one frame of mind to the next
Sigmund Freud
Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis/psychodynamic theory
Piaget
Believed that the development stages of development could not be sped up through adult help
Yes, but only if their training in their PhD program was focused on clinical work
Can someone that earns their PhD at a research oriented program practice as a clinician?
implicit memory; explicit memory
Case studies like HM showed us that _____________ might persist even if __________ is obliterated due to trauma to the brain
DSM
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM Axis 3
Disability assessment Schedule; cognition, mobility, self-care, etc.
free recall test
Ebbinghaus's test of memory
reinforcements that increase the probabilities of certain behaviors.
Edward Thorndike, a pioneer in the study of cats escaping from puzzle boxes, argued that animal learning depends on
electrophysiology
Event related potential measurements utilize _______ measures to determine the reaction time of general regions of the brain.
Albert Bandura
Focused on how we learn to develop personality related to behavior -> Modeling: Bobo doll experiment
psychodynamic theory
Freudian theory that unconscious forces determine behavior Our conscious and unconscious consist of the Id, Ego and Superego
Semantic Encoding
How we decide to store the information that we are encoding
savings test
If something has been in your head before, you can learn it again quicker
For each item, think about how to use it in a life or death situation.
If you have a short time to memorize a long list of words, which study method works best?
How much longer it takes to learn a long list than a short list.
In Ebbinghaus's pioneering studies of memory, which of these did he measure?
extinction
In classical conditioning, the opposite of acquisition is
positive reinforcement
Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. When presented after a response, strengthens the response.
negative reinforcement
Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. when removed after a response, strengthens the response.
Interference Effect
Info can be lost or less accurate due to an overlap of similar info
reflexes, taxis, instincts
Instincts, reflexes, an taxis in order from simplest to most complex.
sensory memory stage
Most memory researchers argue that the first temporal stage of memory is our
recognition test
Multiple choice tests or matching test
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Neo-Freudian; formed a branch of psychology called individual psychology. Also introduced concept of "inferiority complex", striving for superiority, and stressed the importance of birth order
neurons; central nervous system
Nuclei are defined as clusters of ________ in the _________.
Big 5 Personality Traits
Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
seven items
Research in the 1950's suggested that the capacity of short-term memory is
Stress-Diathesis Model
Says that while genetic inheritance provides biological predisposition for schizophrenia, stressors elicit the onset of the disease
Event, Sensory, Short-Term, Long Term
Temporal Stages of Memory
Rorschach Test
Test takers look at random ink stains on a sheet of paper, and are asked to identify whole/parts of the stains
55
The Lizard Lick State Fighting Nematodes scored 50, 50, 55, 60, and 85 points in their first five basketball games. What was their median score?
100...15
The Wechsler and the Stanford-Binet tests were both devised to have a mean score around __________ and a standard deviation around __________.
smell.
The one sense that does not pass through our thalamus before reaching the brain is the sense of
Camillo Golgi
The person credited for first discovering/creating images of the neuron
Behaviorists
The psychologists who argue that psychologists should only study observable actions are called
primacy...recency
The tendency to remember the first items on a list is the ____ effect. The tendency to remember the last items is the __________ effect
case studies (lesions)
Transcranial magnetic stimulation studies are similar to ______, in that they can determine the same information about the brain, necessity of regions.
The person being tested has just recently begun to learn English.
Under which of these circumstances would it be important for a psychologist to use Raven's Progressive Matrices (or a similar test) instead of, say, the WAIS-III or WISC-IV?
Energy goes from the object to your eyes
What happens during vision?
An experiment can demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.
What is the advantage of the experimental method as opposed to correlational studies?
Information from the left side of our visual field
What visual information is the right side of our brain responsible for?
Predicted school performance
What was originally, and still is, the main purpose of IQ tests?
general
When Spearman described the "g" factor in intelligence, what did the "g" stand for?
Storage
When researchers relate our mind to a library, story, or connection of strings when discussing memory, they are debating the way that the process of __________ works
Gestaltists
Which group of perceptual psychologists coined the phrase "the whole is different, and often greater, than the sum of its parts"?
Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
Which of the following theories holds that intelligence includes unrelated (or poorly correlated) abilities such as language, music, logic, body movement, and social sensitivity?
correlation tests
Which type of experimentation involves the calculation of a value of r?
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 -Baddeley's added theory
NEO-PI (Big 5 Test)
all questions ask people to identify the truth of statement on a 1 to 5 scale. Breaks down 5 factors into 6 facets (8 q's per facet)
Personality
all the consistent ways in which the behavior of one person differs from and is similar to that of others, especially in social situations
primacy effect
an effect that suggests that the first info learned about someone is remembered most and it influences us more than later information we learn about that someone.
Heritability
an estimate of the variance within a population that is due to heredity
External Attribution
an explanation for behavior focusing on the surrounding situation
Internal Attribution
an explanation of behaviors based on internal characteristics
primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
Id
an unconscious force that constantly seeks satisfaction of basic needs
George Alexander Kelly (1905-1967)
attempted to study personality thru whole person examination
Psychoanalysis
attempts to identify unconscious thoughts, memories, and emotions that are disturbing explores past and present and uses free associations, dreams, hypnosis, and talk therapy
Law of Effect (Thorndike)
behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Conditional reflex
conditional stimulus (CS) elicits a conditional response (CR)
Private acceptance
conforming to other people's behavior out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right
public compliance
conforming to other people's behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what the other people are doing or saying
Law of use (Thorndike)
connections become strengthened w/ practice
Mnemonic Devices
encoding/storage techniques that aid in the process of information retrieval
Declarative Memories (Explicit)
episodic (event or episode in ones life) and semantic (fact or piece of information)
Wilhelm Wundt
established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. First to call himself a 'psychologist'
Ramon Y Cajal
father of modern neuroscience
primacy effect v. recency effect
first items remembered v. last items remembered
preconventional morality
first level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is governed by the consequences of the behavior
Walter Mischel
focused on cognitions that we develop that form our personality -> popularized thru marshmallow study on delayed gratification
By physical changes in their structure.
hair cells in our ear able to detect sounds thru
biopsycho-social model
holds that physical illness is caused by a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
preoperational stage
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic *Overcoming egocentrism, learn pretend play, overcoming animism, learning symbolism
sensorimotor stage
in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities *learning object permanence and sense of self (mirror test)
concrete operational stage
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events *metacognition
formal operational stage
in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 11 or 12 to 15) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts *Imaginary audience *Personal fable
Discrimination
in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus
variable-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
variable-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
fixed-ratio schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
fixed-interval schedule
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed
normatice social influence
increased influence of other people because we wish to be liked and accepted by them
Fluid Intelligence
intelligence based on ability to learn across all areas of interest
crystallized intelligence
intelligence that is obtained thru experience over lifespan
Conformity
maintaining or changing one's behavior due to real/imagined actions of others
Obedience
maintaining or changing one's behavior due to real/imagined influence of an authority figure
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?"
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
neo-freudian who believed that humans share a collective unconscious *Proposed a new theory of personality, looking toward the future and striving for goals; *Archetypes
proactive interference
new material is lost due to old material
Myelination
occurs at/along axons in order to help neuron communication.
retroactive interference
old material is lost due to new material
Clinical Psychology
originally defined as abnormal psychology ... current focus on assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior, and psychiatric problems
constructivist approach
our expectations of the world around us, what we focus on, and our manipulations of the information presented to us shapes what we perceive (top-down processing)
fundamental attribution error
our tendency to make internal attributions when explaining behaviors of others (not typical in all eastern cultures, but typical in western culture)
Lens
part of eye that lets one focus on each object without problem
Rogers Q-sort
participants are given a collection of cards that describe personality characteristics, and told to sort them in "like me" or "not like me" and then rank the "like me" -can be done for ideal and actual self
Constructs
personality structures, perceptions of behaviors and events, and other concepts of the environment that come from experience and are used to interpret/interact w/ the world
zone of proximal development
points in development where a learner can learn new cognitive tasks with the correct guidance
Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
presented theories of personality to his colleagues and rejected; become known as a rogue psychologist; 1st trait psychologist
Attribution
process of assigning causes to behavior
Modeling
process of developing behaviors based on observation of others and the outcomes that they experience
attraction factors
proximity, physical attractiveness, and similarity
Situation Dependency
recalling depends on environment and technology together can also be taken into (i.e. classroom) i.e. Mood dependency, State Dependency
reflexes, instincts, and taxis
responses to stimuli that do not require learning
Serial Order Effect
retention of information/items is easier or more difficult due to when it is presented
Shaping
rewarding successive approximations of a desired behavior
conventional morality
second level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is governed by conforming to the society's norms of behavior
Competencies
skill sets that we have available to deal w/ social situations
traits
stable behaviors that occur across situations and time
nomothetic approach
studying personality by examining large groups + tendencies of these groups -> social-cognitive model ad trait research
idiographic approach
studying personality by using detailed examinations of individuals
Levels of Processing
successful conversion of information from STM to LTM is highly impacted by your approach to make sense of the information -Deep= broad connection, thoughtful assessment, attempt to explain -Shallow= narrow/no connection, rote learning, no assessment or attempt to explain
Encoding
taking sensory information and encoding it to store
bystander effect
the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
Diffusion of Responsibility
the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way
self-fulfilling prophecy
the tendency for people to behave as they are expected to behave (i.e. the phone conversation study)
self-serving attribution bias
the tendency to attribute personal failures to the situation, while attributing personal successes to ourselves *this effect changes in east/asian cultures
actor-observer effect
the tendency to make external attributions for our own behaviors while making internal attributions for the identical behavior of others
Generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses
postconventional morality
third level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the person's behavior is governed by moral principles that have been decided on by the individual and that may be in disagreement with accepted social norms
central traits
traits that cover a number of behaviors, but are overly dominant
Cardinal traits
traits that dominate who you are
Secondary dispositions
traits that manifest themselves rarely, and play a minimal role
Unconditional reflex
unconditional stimulus (UCS) elicits an unconditional response (UCR)
Discrimination
unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice
Archetypes
vague images that have always been part of the human experience
ecological approach
what we perceive in our environment can be explained entirely through the characteristics of the stimuli in our environment that our sensory organs are processing (bottom-up processing)