PSYC 101 - TEST 2: Chapter 4, 5, 6, 7 - PSYCH 5, Introductory Psychology, 5th Edition. By: Spencer A. Rathus
Learning
(1) according to behaviorists, a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience; (2) according to cognitive theorists, the process by which organisms make relatively permanent changes in the way they represent the environment because of experience
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
recognition
One aspect of forgetting is failure to recognize something we have experienced. One aspect of forgetting is failure to recognize something we have experienced.
Recall vs Recognition
Recall is more difficult than recognition. In a recognition task, one simply indicates whether an item has been seen before or which of a number of items is paired with a stimulus (as in a multiple-choice test). In a recall task, the person must retrieve a syllable, with another syllable serving as a cue.
Law of effect
Thorndike's view that pleasant events stamp in responses, and unpleasant events stamp them out
narcolepsy
a "sleep attack" in which a person falls asleep suddenly and irresistibly
Flooding
a behavioral fear-reduction technique based on principles of classical conditioning; fear-evoking stimuli (CSs) are presented continuously in the absence of actual harm so that fear responses (CRs) are extinguished
systematic desensitization
a behavioral fear-reduction technique in which a hierarchy of fear-evoking stimuli is presented while the person remains relaxed
abstinence syndrome
a characteristic cluster of withdrawal symptoms that results from sudden decease in an addictive drug's level of usage
higher-order conditioning
a classical conditioning procedure in which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit the response brought forth by a CS by being paired repeatedly with that conditioned stimulus
prototype
a concept of a category of objects or events that serves as a good example of the category
consciousness
a concept with many meanings, including sensory awareness of the world outside, direct inner awareness of one's thoughts and feelings, personal unity, and the waking state
circadian rhythm
a cycle that is connected with the 24-hour period of the earth's rotation
availability heuristic
a decision-making heuristic in which our estimates of frequency or probability of events are based on how easy it is to find examples
representativeness heuristic
a decision-making heuristic in which people make judgments about samples according to the populations they appear to represent
stimulant
a drug that increases activity of the nervous system
Depressant
a drug that lowers the rate of activity of the nervous system
counter conditioning
a fear-reduction technique in which pleasant stimuli are associated with fear-evoking stimuli so that the fearevoking stimuli lose their aversive qualities
mindfulness meditation (MM)
a form of meditation that provides clients with techniques they can use to focus on the present moment rather than ruminate about problems
intelligence
a general mental capability that involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience
opiates
a group of narcotics derived from the opium poppy that provide a euphoric rush and depress the nervous system
mescaline
a hallucinogen derived from the mescal (peyote) cactus
conditioned response (CR)
a learned response to a conditioned stimulus
method of savings
a measure of retention, in which the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to re-learn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed, is calculated
concept
a mental category that is used to class together objects, relations, events, abstractions, ideas, or qualities that have common properties
Icon
a mental representation of a visual stimulus that is held briefly in sensory memory
Echo
a mental representation of an auditory stimulus (sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory
Cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one's environment
conditioned stimulus (CS)
a previously neutral stimulus that elicits a conditioned response because it has been paired repeatedly with a stimulus that already elicited that response
Substance use disorder
a problem characterized by loss of control over usage, social impairment, risky use, and tolerance and withdrawal symptoms
Shaping
a procedure for teaching complex behaviors that at first reinforces approximations of the target behavior
positive reinforcer
a reinforcer that when presented, increases the frequency of an operant
Negative reinforcer
a reinforcer that when removed increases the frequency of an operant
fixed-interval schedule
a schedule in which a fixed amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available
variable-interval schedule
a schedule in which a variable amount of time must elapse between the previous and subsequent times that reinforcement is available
Fixed ratio schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of correct responses
variable-ratio schedule
a schedule in which reinforcement is provided after a variable number of correct responses
continous reinforcement
a schedule of reinforcement in which every correct response is reinforced
classical conditioning
a simple form of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to evoke the response usually evoked by another stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the other stimulus
operant conditioning
a simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior because it is reinforced
Reflex
a simple unlearned response to a stimulus
rapid eye movement (REM) sleep - Stage 5 paradoxical sleep
a stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, which have been linked to dreaming
Chunk
a stimulus or group of stimuli that are perceived as a discrete piece of information
unconditioned stimulus (US)
a stimulus that elicits a response from an organism prior to conditioning
Secondary Reinforcer
a stimulus that gains reinforcement value through association with established reinforcers
Hippocampus
a structure in the limbic system that plays an important role in the formation of new memories
hallucinogenics
a substance that causes hallucinations
role theory
a theory that explains hypnotic events in terms of the person's ability to act as though he or she were hypnotized
divergent thinking
a thought process that attempts to generate multiple solutions to problems
convergent thinking
a thought process that narrows in on the single best solution to a problem
Schema
a way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or an expectation, that can influence perception of persons, objects, and situations
barbiturate
an addictive depressant used to relieve anxiety or induce sleep
Hypnosis
an altered state of consciousness in which people are highly suggestible and behave as though they are in a trance
Memory trace
an assumed change in the nervous system that reflects the impression made by a stimulus
engram
an assumed electrical circuit in the brain that corresponds to a memory trace
Stimulus
an environmental condition that elicits a response
electromyograph (EMG)
an instrument that measures muscle tension
Model
an organism that engages in a response that is then imitated by another organism
Primary reinforcer
an unlearned reinforcer whose effectiveness is based on the biological makeup of the organism and not on learning
Orienting Reflex
an unlearned response in which an organism attends to a stimulus
Unconditioned response (UCR)
an unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus
phencyclidine (PCP)
another hallucinogen whose name is an acronym for its chemical structure
Conditioned Reinforcer
another term for a secondary reinforcer
Working memory
another term for short-term memory
operant behavior
behavior that operates on, or manipulates, the environment
sucessive approximations
behaviors which are progressively closer to a target behavior
hydrocarbons
chemical compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon
opioids
chemicals that act on opiate receptors but are not derived from the opium poppy
nonconscious
descriptive of bodily processes, such as growing hair, of which we cannot become conscious; we may "recognize" that our hair is growing, but we cannot directly experience the biological process
Flashbacks
distorted perceptions or hallucinations that occur days or weeks after LSD usage, but mimic the LSD experience
narcotics
drugs used to relieve pain and induce sleep; the term is usually reserved for opiates
long-term potentiation (LTP)
enhanced efficiency in synaptic transmission that follows brief, rapid stimulation
anterograde amnesia
failure to remember events that occurred after physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma
retrograde amnesia
failure to remember events that occurred prior to physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma
Sleep terrors
frightening, dream-like experiences that occur during the deepest stage of NREM sleep; nightmares, in contrast, occur during REM sleep
sematic memory
general knowledge, as opposed to episodic memory
Tolerance
habituation to a drug, with the result that increasingly higher doses of the drug are needed to achieve similar effects
Repression
in Freud's psychodynamic theory, the ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from conscious awareness
Generalization
in conditioning, the tendency for a CR to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which the response was conditioned
Discrimination
in conditioning, the tendency for an organism to distinguish between a CS and similar stimuli that do not forecast a UCS
Displace
in memory theory, to cause information to be lost from short-term memory by adding new information
discriminative stimulus
in operant conditioning, a stimulus that indicates that reinforcement is available
unconscious
in psychodynamic theory, descriptive of ideas and feelings that are not available to awareness; also: without consciousness
preconscious
in psychodynamic theory, descriptive of material that is not in awareness but can be brought into awareness by focusing one's attention
Repression
in psychodynamic theory, the automatic (unconscious) ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas, impulses, or images from awareness
infantile amnesia
inability to recall events that occur prior to the age of three or so; also termed childhood amnesia
context dependent memory
information that is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and stored, or learned
State-dependent memory
information that is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it was encoded and stored, or learned
direct inner awareness
knowledge of one's own thoughts, feelings, and memories without the use of sensory organs
Latent learning
learning that is hidden or concealed
Babbling
like crying and cooing, is inborn and prelinguistic.
dissacosiative amnesia
loss of memory of personal information that is thought to stem from psychological conflict or trauma
LSD
lysergic acid diethylamide; a hallucinogen
nonsense syllables
meaningless sets of two consonants, with a vowel sandwiched in between, that are used to study memory
Retrospective memory
memory for past events, activities, and learning experiences, as shown by explicit (episodic and semantic) and implicit memories
Explicit memory
memory that clearly and distinctly expresses (explicates) specific information
implicit memory
memory that is suggested (implied) but not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people do but do not state clearly
Prospective memory
memory to perform an act in the future, as at a certain time or when a certain event occurs
maintenance rehearsal
mental repetition of information to keep it in memory
Encode
modifies information so that it can be placed in memory; encoding is the first stage of information processing
paired associates
nonsense syllables presented in pairs in experiments that measure recall
K complexes and sleep spindles - stage 2 NREM sleep
occur during stage 2 sleep are EEG waves
eposodic memory
of events that happen to a person or that take place in the person's presence
partial reinforcement
one of several reinforcement schedules in which not every correct response is reinforced
thinking
paying attention to information, mentally representing it, reasoning about it, and making decisions about it
alpha waves - before sleep
rapid low-amplitude brain waves that have been linked to feelings of relaxation
biological preparedness
readiness to acquire a certain kind of CR due to the biological makeup of the organism
insomnia
recurring problems in falling or staying asleep
heuristics
rules of thumb that help us simplify and solve problems
theta waves - stage 1 NREM sleep
slow brain waves produced during the hypnagogic state
secondhand smoke
smoke from the tobacco products and exhalations of other people; also referred to as passive smoking
amphetamines
stimulants derived from alpha-methyl-beta phenyl ethylamine, a colorless liquid consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen
delta waves - stage 3 NREM sleep
strong, slow brain waves usually emitted during stage 3 sleep
psychoactive
substances drugs that have psychological effects such as stimulation or distortion of perceptions
sleep apnea
temporary absence or cessation of breathing while sleeping
creativity
the ability to generate novel and useful solutions to problems
mental age (MA)
the accumulated months of credit that a person earns on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
Observational learning
the acquisition of knowledge and skills through the observation of others (who are called models) rather than by means of direct experience
Priming
the activation of specific associations in memory, often as a result of repetition and without making a conscious effort to access memory
heritability
the degree to which the variations in a trait from one person to another can be attributed to, or explained by, genetic factors
Suppression
the deliberate, or conscious, placing of certain ideas, impulses, or images out of awareness
Savings
the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed
marijuana
the dried vegetable matter of the Cannabis sativa plant
tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon
the feeling that information is stored in memory although it cannot be readily retrieved; also called the feeling-of-knowing experience
non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep
the first four stages of sleep
selective attention
the focus of one's consciousness on a particular stimulus
proactive interference
the interference by old learning with the ability to retrieve material learned recently
retroactive interference
the interference of new learning with the ability to retrieve material learned previously
elaboritive rehearsal
the kind of coding in which new information is related to information that is already known
Retrevial
the location of stored information and its return to consciousness; the third stage of information processing
eidetic memory
the maintenance of detailed visual memories over several minutes
Storage
the maintenance of information over time; the second stage of information processing
Extinction
the process by which stimuli lose their ability to evoke learned responses because the events that had followed the stimuli no longer occur (The learned responses are said to be extinguished.)
Memory
the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved
spontaneous recovery
the recurrence of an extinguished response as a function of the passage of time
Operant behavior
the same as an operant behavior
echoic memory
the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of auditory stimuli
Iconic memory
the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of visual stimuli
transcendental meditation (TM)
the simplified form of meditation brought to the United States by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and used as a method for coping with stress
biofeedback training (BFT)
the systematic feeding back to an organism information about a bodily function so that the organism can gain control of that function
serial position effect
the tendency to recall more accurately the first and last items in a series
long-term memory (LTM)
the type or stage of memory capable of relatively permanent storage
Sensory memory
the type or stage of memory first encountered by a stimulus; sensory memory holds impressions briefly, but long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically continuous
short-term memory
the type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays; also called working memory
activation-synthesis model
the view that dreams reflect activation of cognitive activity by the reticular formation and synthesis of this activity into a pattern
Contingency theory
the view that learning occurs when stimuli provide information about the likelihood of the occurrence of other stimuli
response set theory
the view that response expectancies play a key role in the production of the experiences suggested by the hypnotist
continuity hypothesis
the view that the content of dreams tends to be consistent with previous cognitive activity
Interference theory
the view that we may forget stored material because other learning interferes with it
Reinforce
to follow a response with a stimulus that increases the frequency of the response
increased delta waves - stage 4 NREM sleep
INCREASE strong, slow brain waves usually emitted during stage 3 sleep
