UWORLD Psych/Soc

Conversion disorder

"Neurological symptoms" (eg, paralysis, blindness) that are not explainable by a medical condition

central fovea vision

: Cones are sensitive to certain wavelengths (colors) and high-intensity (bright) light. Cones are more densely packed at the fovea, the central portion of the retina that receives information from the central visual field, producing the highest visual acuity (image sharpness and clarity).

ecclesia

A dominant religious organization that includes most members of society, is recognized as the national or official religion, and tolerates no other religions

Stimulants

Amphetamines, cocaines

Comorbitity

Comorbidity refers to the simultaneous presentation of two or more psychological disorders.

Escape Learning

Current undesirable stimulus removed

Disassociate disorders

Dissociative identity disorder: presence of two or more distinct personalities; amnesia Dissociative amnesia :inability to recall important autobiographically information disruptions to memory and identity

Defining features of bureaucracy

Division of labor: Specialized employees increase efficiency Hierarchical organization: Centralized authority & clear chain of command Standardization: Formal procedures & rules increase uniformity & continuity Impersonal: Same impersonal criteria applied to all increase equality

social functionalism

From the structural functionalist perspective, social institutions have manifest functions, which are expected, and latent functions, which are unintended.

error bars

Graphical representation of the variability of data

intersectionality

Intersectionality describes the multiple, interconnected social identities (eg, gender, age, race, class) that intersect to impact individuals' lives, perspectives, and treatment in society.

Instinctive drift

Learned behavior replaced by innate behavior

implicit (nondeclarative) memory

Long-term memory for procedural tasks, classical conditioning, and primary effects. This type of memory does not require conscious awareness or the need to make declarations about the information remembered.

Hallucinogens

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

Utilitarian

Membership is driven by compensation (money of certification/diplomas) members are compensated for their involvement, typically through money (paid employment) or certification/diploma (university students)

Coercive

Membership is not freely chosen and/or maintained In corersive organizations, membership is not freely chosen (prisoners) and or maintained (military, until they are dishcharged)

Painkillers

Morphine, codeine, heroin

Schizophernia symptoms

Positive: Hallucinations Delusions Disorganized/incoherent speech Disorganized/agitated behavior Negative: Apathy:lack of emotion Social withdrawal Flat affect: emotional flattening/monotone Poverty :(lack) of speech Anhedonia: inability to experience pleasure Schizophrenia is often treated with neuroleptic (conventional, typical, or first-generation) or atypical (second-generation) antipsychotic medication; both are generally effective in reducing positive symptoms.

Psychoanalytic theory: major defense mechanisms

Projection: Attributing unacceptable thoughts/behaviors to someone or something else (calling the sidewalk stupid after tripping) Rationalization: Making excuses for unacceptable thoughts/behaviors (justifying cheating because "the course is impossible") Regression: Behaving as if much younger to avoid unacceptable thoughts/behaviors (moving back in with parents to avoid personal responsibilities) repression (blocking unacceptable thoughts/behaviors from consciousness) ex: being unaware of a traumatic past experience Sublimation: Transforming unacceptable thoughts/behaviors into acceptable thoughts behaviors--> taking up boxing as a way to channel one's anger) Reaction formation: Behaving in a manner opposite unacceptable thoughts/behaviors (expressing love for a person one despises) Displacement: Taking out unacceptable thoughts/behaviors on a safe target (ex punching a pillow when angry at parents)

Peripheral vision

Rods, present primarily in the periphery of the retina, are much more sensitive to light than cones. Rods do not transmit information about color but are well suited to detect motion and low-intensity (dim) light, producing high visual sensitivity.

corpus callosum

The corpus callosum allows communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which are specialized for certain functions (cortical lateralization). Each hemisphere contralaterally controls the opposite side of the body. Language centers are located in the left hemisphere. The left hemisphere is specialized for language functions, including speech production (Broca area) and language comprehension (Wernicke area).

r-values

The correlation coefficient (r value) describes a linear relationship between two variables. The r value ranges from −1 to 1 and reflects the strength and direction (positive or negative) of the linear association between these two variables. Comorbidity refers to the simultaneous presentation of two or more psychological disorders.

division of labor

The division of labor refers to the specialization of employment into interdependent jobs. The division of labor has positive consequences (eg, increased specialization, efficiency, reduced costs) and negative consequences (eg, labor exploitation, increased boredom, reduced quality).

Formal vs. hidden cirriculum

The formal curriculum includes the explicit, official content taught to students (eg, how to solve algebra equations). The hidden curriculum includes the implied, informal mechanisms by which certain values and behaviors are promoted; for example, an algebra teacher who calls mainly on male students is reinforcing a stereotype that boys are better at math than girls.

Life course approach

The life course approach is a holistic, multidisciplinary framework for understanding how psychological, biological, and sociocultural factors across a lifetime have a cumulative effect on health outcomes

Null hypothesis & Alternative hypothesis

The null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference or relationship between the variables measured. Reject the H0 , is based on prior evidence and assumes that a significant relationship or difference exists between variables (and often predicts the nature of that relationship or difference).

Functionalism

a macrosociological perspective that analyzes how social structures work together in society to maintain equilibrium.

Conflict Theory

a macrosociological perspective that examines how inequalities between social classes cause conflict.

Social exchange theory

a microsociological perspective that asserts that individuals interact with each other to maximize personal gain and minimize personal cost, does not deal with the creation of agreed-on, shared meaning

signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Depressants

alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazephines

looking-glass self

an image of yourself based on what you believe others think of you

Cognitive dissonance

cognitive dissonance (mental conflict) results from beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors that are contradictory or incompatible. Cognitive dissonance causes a state of discomfort that results in motivation to reduce the conflict by aligning thoughts and/or behaviors.

McDonaldization

describes when social structures (eg, health care, education) increase efficiency, quantity, standardization, and automation at the expense of individuality, quality, and a skilled workforce.

Avoidance learning

future undesirable stimulus prevented

feauture detection

involves the perceptual discrimination of specific aspects of a given stimulus via feature detectors. Feature detectors are specific neurons that preferentially fire in response to very specific stimuli

social constructionism

is a sociological theory suggesting that "reality" is created through interactions, resulting in agreed-on, shared meanings. Objects (eg, money), behaviors (eg, hand shaking), and categories (eg, gender) have meaning only because individuals in society have agreed on that meaning. For example, money has value in society only because everyone has agreed that it has value; this makes money a social construct.

Obedience

is a type of conformity in which an individual carries out orders given by an authority figure

Somatic symptom disorder

is characterized by extreme concern regarding one or more actual physical symptoms (eg, fatigue, pain). Individuals with SSD typically have a high level of anxiety about their health and devote significant time and energy to their symptoms (eg, repeated doctor visits, researching symptoms online). Extreme concern regarding one or more physical symptoms (eg, fatigue, pain)

conflict theory

is concerned with the class conflict that arises when resources (eg, wealth, power) are unevenly distributed across social groups (eg, rich vs. poor).

Vicarious learning

means learning by observation

Normative

membership is based off shared goals and/or values in normative organizations, people voluntarily unite based on shared valued and/or goals

explicit (declarative) memory

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

procedural memory (implicit)

motor skills, habits, classically conditioned reflexes

Autocommunication

occurs when a message sender is also the receiver. For example, dolphins echolocate by perceiving how the click sounds they have emitted echo back to them.

token economy

positively reinforces certain behaviors through the use of tokens, which are secondary reinforcers that can be exchanged for a desirable reward. For example, a teacher gives each child a gold star (ie, token) for completing homework, and 5 gold stars can be exchanged for candy.

Secularization

reduced power of religion as religious involvement declines

Religiosity

refers to the extent to which a religious doctrine is internalized and incorporated into an individuals life

flashbulb memory

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events Once thought to be extremely accurate snapshots (hence the term "flashbulb") of emotionally arousing events, studies suggest that flashbulb memories may be less accurate/consistent than individuals believe. People tend to be extremely confident of their recollections, even though their flashbulb memories are not 100% accurate or consistent over time.

absolute threshold

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

parallel processing

the processing of many 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.

Latent functions

the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern

source monitoring errors

which occur when a memory is attributed to the wrong source (eg, a cousin's funny story is mistakenly attributed to an aunt).