Intro to Psych vocab (Lecture 11-)

Critical period

Specific time period an experience must occur for normal development to proceed

Sensitive period

Age range in which if experience occurs, development becomes optimized

Monozygotic twins

Identical twins; same genetic makeup

Dizygotic twins

Non-identical twins

Synaptic proliferation

Increase in synaptic connections between neurons

Synaptic pruning

Decrease in unused connections to increase efficiency

Schemas

Organized patterns of thought and action; the building blocks of cognition

Assimilation

Process by which new experiences are incorporated into existing schemas

Accommodation

Process by which new experiences cause existing schemas to change

Operations

Mental actions or logical processes that children apply to their schemas

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor - 0-2 years

Pre-operational - 2-7 years

Concrete operational - 7-11 years

Formal operational - 12+ years

Object permanence

Understanding an object continues to exist even when it is hidden (developed by 8 months)

Animism

Attributing thoughts and feeling inanimate objects

Egocentrism

Tendency to see only from one’s perspective; inability to see the other person’s POV

Theory of Mind

The knowledge that other people have different ideas and beliefs

Conservation

Idea that the amount of substance remains the same even when appearance changes

Socio-cultural theory

Cognitive growth happens through social interactions within the zone of proximal development

Zone of proximal development

The tasks in which children can accomplish with guidance

Gap between potential learning and actual learning

Scaffolding

Methods used to teach children new skills, learning from people who are more informed

Social referencing

Using others’ emotional responses to guide actions

Erikson’s psychosocial theory/stages

Infancy - trust vs mistrust

Early childhood - autonomy vs shame & doubt

Preschool - initiative vs guilt

School age - industry vs inferiority

Adolescence - identity vs role confusion

Young adulthood - intimacy vs isolation

Middle adulthood - generativity vs stagnation

Maturity - age integrity vs despair

Attachment

A strong emotional bond that develops between children and their primary caregivers

Attachment theory

Formed by John Bowlby; framework that explains how bonds between child and caregiver influences social and emotional patterns throughout life

Considered attachment in an evolutionary context

Secure attachment

Demonstrated through comfort in exploring environments with caregiver, and shows temporary signs of distress when caregiver leaves, but returns to happiness when caregiver returns

Anxious-resistant attachment

Demonstrated in demanding caregiver’s attention and showing signs of distress in caregiver’s absence AND return

Anxious-avoidant attachment

Characterized by desire to be independent and avoid intimacy; does not cry when caregiver leaves and does not seek contact with return

Disorganized attachment

Characterized by inconsistent behaviours in separations and reunions with caregivers; disoriented and uncertain

Social psychology

Scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, intentions, and goals are constructed within a social context

Attributions

Judgments about the cause of our own and others’ behaviour and its outcomes

Social role

Set of attributes and characteristic behaviours expected of an individual who occupies a specific position or performs a particular function in social context

Stanford Prison experiment

Conducted by Philip Zimbardo

Purpose was to understand the development of norms and effects of roles, labels, and social expectations in a simulated environment

Internal attributions

Explaining behaviour in terms of an individual’s characteristics

Situational attributions

Explaining behaviour in terms of contextual/environmental factors

Fundamental attribution error/bias

The tendency to underestimate the situational impact and overestimate personal characteristics

Actor-observer bias

Tendency to use situational attributions to explain our own behaviour and personal attributions to explain others’ behaviour

Ultimate attribution error

Self-serving bias where one attributes negative out-group behaviour to internal factors and negative in-group behaviour to situational factors

Health

State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Health psychology

Study of psychological and behavioural processes in health, illness, and healthcare

Aetiology

The study of origins or causes of diseases and disorders

Biopsychosocial model

A model that addresses the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence health and wellbeing

Stress

Psychological and physical strain or tension generated by physical, emotional, social, economical, or occupational circumstances

Stressors

Events or situations that are physical or psychological in nature and they cause stress; requires adaptation in some way

Endocrine system

Network of hormone-secreting glands throughout the body

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis

Body’s main system that controls reaction to stress and regulates immune response and mood; activated during acute stress

Transactional stress model

Model of stress as a transaction rather than it being something an individual has/experiences

Stress is evaluated in terms of nature & demands, available resources, consequences, and personal meaning

Problem-focused coping

Coping with stress by fixing the situation logically (eg. finding alternatives, planning, etc)

Emotion-focused coping

Coping with stress through managing emotions (eg. therapy, regulation, etc)

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)

Medical condition that cannot be spread directly from one person to another (ex. heart attack, diabetes, mental health disorder, etc)

Theory of planned behaviour

Proposes that health behaviour is the direct result of intention

Intentions are determined by personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control

Health belief model

Likelihood of health behaviour is dependent on the perception of health threat, cost-benefit analysis, self-efficacy, and cues to action

Transtheoretical model

Analyzes stages and processes that individuals go through for bringing about behaviour; illustrates the process of behavioural change as cyclical, not linear

Psychopathology

Scientific study of mental disorders, including the causes, diagnosis, and treatments; sometimes called abnormal psychology

Symptomatology

Scientific study of the markers/indicators of diseases and disorders

Diathesis-stress model

Framework that considers that everyone has a degree of diathesis (vulnerability) for developing a mental health condition given sufficient stress

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

Manual for diagnosing health diseases and disorders developed by the World Health Organization

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)

Manual for the criteria of mental disorders developed by the American Psychiatric Association; most widely-used internationally

Anxiety

State of tension and apprehension that is a natural response to perceived threat; avoidance behaviours

Fear

Emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat; escape behaviours

Specific phobias criteria (DSM-V)

Marked fear or anxiety about specific object/situation, almost always provoked

Phobic object/situation is actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety

Fear/anxiety is out or proportion to actual danger, and is persistent, lasting 6 months or more

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (DSM-V)

Excessive worry and anxiety occurring more days than not for at least 6 months about a number of events/activities

Individual finds it difficult to control the worry

Anxiety and worry are associated with 3 or more of the following 6 traits: restlessness, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance, etc

Anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms causes clinically significant distress or impairment

Emotional Stroop task

Psychological experiment using colours and words to test cognitive flexibility and, in this case, emotions

Participants were slower to name colours of threat-related words than neutral words

Social influence

Processes whereby attitudes and behaviours are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others, including influence of peers and authority figures

Compliance

Changes in behaviour in response to requests, coercion, or group pressure

Reciprocity norm - principle of influence

Expectation that when someone treats us well, we should respond similarly, and vice versa

Scarcity - principle of influence

More limited supply is more valuable, leading to more compliance

Authority - principle of influence

People who are perceived as having authority or being experts have more influence

Commitment and consistency - principle of influence

People want to be seen as consistent in terms of beliefs, identity, and past behaviours; once committed, more likely to go through with it

Liking - principle of influence

People we like have more influence on us

Consensus/social proof - principle of influence

When uncertain, people look to the group for how to act (adherence to social norms)

Foot-in-the-door phenomenon

Persuading another person by making a small initial request, then following it up with larger request

Door-in-the-face phenomenon

Persuasion by starting with large, unreasonable request, then giving a smaller, more reasonable request after first one is rejected

Low-balling

Getting someone to commit to an initially appealing request or offer, then increasing the cost of commitment

Obedience

Behaviour in compliance with a direct command, often issued by a person in a position of authority; influencer’s power must exceed competing influences

Milgram experiment

Participants were forced to give an unknown person electric shocks, enforced by a researcher (authority figure)

Purpose was to see whether participants would obey the authority even when clear distress was shown by receiver

Conformity

Adjustment of opinions, judgments, or actions to be more consistent with other people or to fit normative standards of a social group/situation

Informational social influence

Following opinions or behaviour of others because one believes they have accurate knowledge that what they are doing is right

Normative social influence

Conformity stemming from person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval socially