Psychology Final

language

a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and that convey meaning

grammar

a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages

phoneme

the smallest unit of sound that is recognizable as speech rather than as random noise

phonological rules

a set of rules that indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds

morphemes

the smallest meaningful units of language

morphological rules

a set of rules that indicate how morphemes can be combined to form words

syntactic rules

a set of rules that indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences

fast mapping

the process whereby children can map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure

telegraphic speech

speech that is devoid of function morphemes and consists mostly of content words

nativist theory

the view that language development is best explained as an innate, biological capacity

universal grammar

a collection of processes that facilitate language learning

genetic dysphasia

a syndrome characterized by an inability to learn the grammatical structure of language despite having otherwise normal intelligence

aphasia

difficulty in producing or comprehending language

linguistic relativity hypothesis

the idea that language shapes the nature of thought

concept

a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli

prototype theory

the concept that we classify new objects by comparing them to the "best" or "most typical" member (the prototype) of a category

exemplar theory

the concept that we make category judgments by comparing a new instance with stored memories of other instances of the category

category-specific deficit

a neurological syndrome characterized by an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, even when the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed

rational choice theory

the classical view that we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two

availability bias

the concept that items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently

heuristic

a fast and efficient strategy that may facilitate decision making but does not guarantee that a solution will be reached

algorithm

a well-defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem

conjunction fallacy

thinking that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event alone

representativeness heuristic

a mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgment by comparing an object or event with a prototype of the object or event

framing effects

a bias whereby people give different answers to the same problems depending on how the problem is phrased (or framed)

sunk-cost fallacy

a framing effect on which people make decisions about a current situation on the basis of what they have previously invested in the situation

optimism bias

a bias whereby people believe that, compared with other individuals, they are more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events in the future

prospect theory

the theory that people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoid risks when evaluating potential gains

means-ends analysis

a process of searching for the means or steps to reduce differences between the current situation and the desired goal

analogical problem solving

the process of solving a problem by finding a similar problem with a known solution and applying that solution to the current problem

functional fixedness

the tendency to perceive the functions of objects as unchanging

reasoning

a mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps in oder to reach conclusions

belief bias

the idea that people's judgments about weather to accept conclusions depend more on how believable the conclusions are than on whether the arguments are logically valid

syllogistic reasoning

determining whether a conclusion follows from two statements that are assumed to be true

illusory truth effect

an error in reasoning that occurs when repeated exposure to a statement increases the likelihood that people will judge that statement to be true

The combining of words to form phrases and sentences is governed by

syntactic rules

Language development as an innate, biological capacity is explained by

nativist theory

Damage to the brain region called Broca's area results in

difficulty in producing grammatical speech

The linguistic relativity hypothesis maintains that

language shapes the nature of thought

The "most typical" member of a category is a(n)

prototype

Which theory of how we form concepts is based on our judgment of features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member?

family resemblance theory

The inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category, even when the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed, is called

category-specific deficit

People give different answers to the same problem, depending on how the problem is phrased, because of

framing effects

Miranda decides on a goal, analyzes her current situation, lists the differences between her current situation and her goal, then settles on strategies to reduce those differences. Miranda is engaging in

means-end analysis

What kind of reasoning is aimed at deciding on a course of action?

practical

intelligence

the ability to use one's mind to solve novel problems and learn from experience

ratio IQ

a statistic obtained by dividing a person's mental age by the person's physical age and then multiplying the quotient by 100

deviation IQ

a statistic obtained by dividing an adult's test score by the average adult's test score and then multiplying the quotient by 100

two-factor theory of intelligence crystallized intelligence

Spearman's theory suggesting that a person's performance on a test is due to a combination of general ability and skills that are specific to the rest

fluid intelligence

the ability to solve and reason about novel problem

emotional intelligence

the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning

fraternal (dizygotic) twins

twins who develop from two different eggs that were fertilized by two different sperm

identical (monozygotic) twins

twins who develop from the splitting of a single egg that was fertilized by a single sperm

heritability coefficient

a statistic (commonly denoted as h2) that describes the proportion of the difference between people's IQ scores that can be explained by differences in their genes

shared environment

features of the environment that are experiences by all relevant members of a household

nonshared environment

features of the environment that are not experienced by all relevant members of a household

stereotype threat

the fear of confirming the negative beliefs that others may hold

cognitive enhancers

drugs that improve the psychological processes that underline intelligent performance

Intelligence tests were originally developed to...

help place children in the most appropriate classroom

Intelligence tests have been shown to be predictors of...

academic performance, mental health, & physical health

People who score well on one test of mental ability usually score well on others, suggesting that...

there is a general ability called intelligence

Most scientists now believe that intelligence is best described...

by a three-level hierarchy

Standard intelligence tests typically measure...

analytic intelligence

Intelligence is influenced by...

genes and environment

The heritability coefficient is a statistic that describes how much of the difference between different people's intelligence scores can be explained by...

differences in their genes

Intelligence changes...

over the life span and across generations

A person's socioeconomic status has a \_______ effect on intelligence

powerful

A broad agreement among scientist surrounding intelligence is...

differences in the intelligence test scores of different ethnic groups are caused in part by factors such as low birth weight, and poor diet, which are more prevalent in some groups than in others

developmental psychology

the study of continuity and change across the life span

germinal stage

the 2-week period of prenatal development that begins at conception

embryonic stage

the period of prenatal development that lasts from the 2nd week until about the 8th week

fetal stage

the period of prenatal development that lasts from the 9th week until birth

myelination

the formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron

teratogen

any substance that passes from mother to unborn child and impairs development

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

a developmental disorder that stems from heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy

infancy

the stage of development that begins and lasts between 18 and 24 months

motor development

the emergence of the ability to execute physical actions

motor reflexes

motor responses that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation

cephalocaudal rule

the "top-top-bottom" rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet

proximodistal rule

the "inside-to-outside" rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery

cognitive development

the process by which infants and children gain the ability to think and understand

sensorimotor stage

a stage of cognitive development that begins at birth and lasts through infancy, during which infants acquire information about the world by sensing it and moving around within it

schemas

theories about the way the world works

assimilation

the prosses by which infants apply their schemas in novel situations

accommodation

the process by which infants revise their schemas in light of new information

object permanence

the fact that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible

childhood

the stage of development that begins at about 18 to 24 months and lasts until about 11 to 14 years

preoperational stage

the stage of cognitive development that begins at about 2 years and ends at about 6 years, during which children develop a preliminary understanding of the physical world

concrete operational stage

the stage of cognitive development that begins at about 6 years and ends at about 11 years, during which children learn how various actions, or operations, can transform the concrete objects of the physical world

conservation

the understanding that the quantitative properties of an objects are invariant despite changes in the object's appearance

formal operational stage

the final stage of cognitive development that begins around the age of 11, during which children learn to reason about abstract concepts

egocentrism

the failure to understand that the world appears different to different people

theory of mind

the understanding that the mind produces representation of the world and that these representations guide behavior

attachment

the emotional bond with a primary caregiver

attachment styles

characteristic patterns of reacting to the absence and presence of one's primary caregiver

temperament

a biologically based pattern of attentional and emotional reactivity

internal working model

a set of beliefs about the way relationships work

preconventional stage

a stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by its consequences for the actor

conventional stage

a stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to which is conforms to social rules

postconventional stage

a stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values