psych exam #3 term flashcards

Accommodation

Process which new scheme is created or existing scheme is altered.

Adolescent Growth Spurt

Rapid hormonal increase in height/weight.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Loss of all mental capacities.

Assimilation

Process by which new information is placed into an existing scheme.

Attachment

Strong, intimate, emotional connection between people.

Cisgender

Conform to assigned sex.

Concrete Operational Stage

Children begin to understand logical operations.

Conventional Level

Middle stage of moral development where rules are most important.

Crystallized Intelligence

Specific knowledge requiring learning and increases in old age.

Dementia

Progressive deterioration of thought, memory, and behavior.

Developmental Psychology

Study of changes over lifespan.

Dynamic Systems Theory

Development is self-organizing due to interactions with environment.

Egocentric Processing

Can’t take other perspectives besides own until later in preoperational stage.

Embryo

Developing human (organs and systems).

False Belief Tasks

Child must take perspective of other to answer questions based on what other person knows.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Physical/mental deficiency caused by alcohol during pregnancy.

Fetus

Growing infant.

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to process new information and decreases in old age.

Formal Operational Stage

Final stage of Piaget’s theory with abstract/critical thinking.

Gender Expression

How gender is shown.

Gender Identity

Sense of being male, female or nonbinary.

Gender Role

Behavior typically associated with male or female.

Grasping Reflex

Babies grab things that touch their open hand.

Habituation Technique

How infants categorize objects based on how long they look at them.

Imprinting

Species follow an adult shortly after birth.

Individual Principles

Certain principles are above law.

Inequity Aversion

Preference to avoid unfairness.

Infantile Amnesia

Inability to remember early childhood.

Intersexuality

Inconsistent aspects of sex.

Moral Reasoning

Depends on cognitive processes.

Moral Emotions

Depends on societal interest/motivation.

Object Permanence

An object exists even when not seen.

Postconventional Level

Highest stage of moral development where morals are based on well-thought values.

Preconventional Level

Earliest stage of moral development where morals are based on self-interest.

Preferential-Looking Technique

Infant is shown two things, if it looks longer at something then it can distinguish between the two.

Preoperational Stage

Second stage of Piaget’s theory where children understand objects but can’t reason why they think a certain way.

Primary Sex Characteristics

Maturation of genitals and genitals processes.

Puberty

Beginning of adolescence marked by sexual maturity.

Rooting Reflex

Turning/sucking when a nipple touches mouth.

Salient Stimuli

Attention grabbing stimulus.

Schemes

Ways of thinking based on experience.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Body hair, muscle, voice, etc.

Sensorimotor Stage

First stage of Piaget’s theory where perception is based on motor skills and reflexes.

Sexual Orientation

Who you are attracted to.

Social Contract

Rules serving the majority.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

As people grow older they focus on emotional meaning.

Strange-Situation Test

Adult leaves then comes back in 3 stages.

Sucking Reflex

Sucking object touching mouth.

Synaptic Production

Early brain development where a higher rate of synapses are created in response to experiences.

Synaptic Pruning

Preservation of synaptic connections that are used and elimination of unused.

Teratogens

Agents that harm embryo/fetus.

Theory of Mind

Ability to understand other perspectives.

Transgender

Conform to other sex.

Translational Neuroscience

Seeks to identify neural systems that are vulnerable to early life stress.

Visual Acuity

Distinguish differences in shapes, patterns, and colors.

Zygote

Sperm + Egg creates the first cell of new life.

Affect

Physiological response, behavior response, and feeling based on the interpretation of situation/bodily state.

Approach Motivation

Seek out things associated with pleasure.

Avoidance Motivation

Avoid things associated with negative outcomes.

Balance Theory

People are motivated to achieve harmony in their interpersonal relationships.

Basal Metabolic Rate

Minimal amount of energy used during rest.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Information is sent simultaneously to cortex and body resulting in two separate reactions.

Cognitive Dissonance

Unpleasant feeling of holding two conflicting beliefs.

Core Values

Strongly held, enduring beliefs that promote emotion when threatened.

Display Rules

Rules learned through socialization that dictate suitable emotions for specific situations.

Drive

State created by arousal that motivates to satisfy a need.

Emotion

Immediate, negative or positive response to external/internal environment.

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation to perform based on external goal.

Feeling

Subjective experience of emotion.

Ghrelin

Signals hunger.

Grit

Deep passion for goals despite setbacks.

Habit

Behavior that consistently reduces drive.

Hedonism

Desire for pleasantness and avoidance of unpleasantness.

Homeostasis

Body tries to maintain equilibrium.

Homeostatic Set Point

Constant weight with no effort.

Ideal Affect

Emotional states people desire to feel.

Incentives

External things that motivate behavior.

Insulin

Causes excess sugar to store as fat/carbohydrates.

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation to perform based on internal pleasure.

James-Lange Theory

We perceive bodily responses to feel emotion.

Lateral Hypothalamus

Stimulates eating.

Leptin

Signals satiety.

Misattribution of Arousal

When the situation that caused the bodily change is misinterpreted and changes how emotions are felt.

Mood

Long lasting emotional states with no trigger.

Motivation

A process that energizes, guides, and maintains behavior towards a goal.

Need

State of deficiency.

Need Hierarchy

Arrangement of needs in order of how much it relates to survival.

Need to Belong

Need for interpersonal attachment.

Negative-Feedback Loop

Feedback decreases activity.

Pleasure Principle

Encouragement to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Primary Emotions

Innate, adaptive, and universal emotions.

Reappraising

Changing thinking about an emotional reaction by describing it in more neutral terms.

Rebound Effect

Thinking more about what you are trying not to.

Rumination

Elaboration on undesired thoughts/feeling and creates a cycle.

Secondary Emotions

Blends of primary emotions.

Self-Actualization

State that is achieved when one’s personal dreams have been attained.

Self-Affirmation

A need for a sense of self that is stable.

Social Comparison Theory

We compare ourselves to those around us to validate personal behavior.

Self-Determination Theory

People are motivated to satisfy needs for competence.

Self-Distancing

Taking a different perspective to reduce emotion.