Psychology 101 exam 3 study guide

Postitive reinforcement

Presentation of a pleasant stimulus after a behavior → increases the probability of behavior. 

What is an example of positive reinforcement?

giving a treat to a dog who sits

Negative reinforcement

Removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior → increases the probability of behavior

What is an example of Negative reinforcement ?

When a teacher reinforces students for being quiet, she might remove their HW.

Positive punishment

Unpleasant stimulus follows behavior – Decreases probability of behavior 

What is an example of Positive punishment?

Giving students detention

Negative punishment

Removal of pleasant stimulus after a behavior → decreases the probability of behavior. 

What is an example of negative punishment?

Removing something that the student might want, taking away recess. 

Generalization

After a behavior is reinforced in one situation, it is performed in a different situation 

What is an example of generalization?

Someone can have a negative or traumatic experience with a dog and then fear other dogs

Discrimination

A behavior that is reinforced in one situation is not performed in a different situation 

What is extinction?

After the reinforcement is withdrawn, the behavior decreases 

Spontaneous recovery

After extinction, the behavior reappears 

Continuous reinforcement

Every instance of a desired behavior is reinforced ( more prone to extinction)

What is an example of continous reinforcement?

Giving a dog a treat every time it sits in command

Intermittent (partial)reinforcement

reinforcing a desired behavior only sometimes, not every time it occurs

What is an example of Intermittent (partial)reinforcement?

Gambling

Fixed-ratio

Provides reinforcement after a set number of responses

What is an example of fixed-ratio?

A factory worker might get paid for every ten items they assemble (high rates of response)

Variable-ratio

Reinforcement is given after an unpredictable number of responses

What is an example of variable-ratio

Door-to-door sales

Fixed-interval

Provides reinforcement for the first response after a fixed amount of time has passed

What is an example of fixed-interval?

Getting a weekly paycheck

Variable-interval

Provides reinforcement at unpredictable time intervals

What is an example of variable-interval?

When someone waits for the elevator

Intrinsic motivation

your motivation to accomplish your goal comes from within you

What is an example of intrinsic motivation?

A student learning a new language because they find it fascinating, not because they need it for a job

Extrinsic motivation 

Pursuit of goal for external reward 

What is an example of extrinsic motivation?

working extra hours to get a raise or bonus

Overjustification effect

Too much reward → undermines intrinsic motivation 

What is an example of overjustification effect?

If children are rewarded for drawing, they are less likely to want to draw for fun in the future.

Observational learning

Learning by observing the behavior of other

Modeling

Imitation others behavior

Encoding

Getting information into memory

Storage

Maintaining endowed information over time

Retrieval

Pulling previously encoded and stored information from memory

Sensory memory

a quick collection of information from your senses

Short-term memory

For information that is available to consciousness for about 20-30 seconds

Long-term memory

Relatively permanent memory

Iconic memory

Visual sensory memory

Echoic memory

Auditory sensory memory

Explicit memory

Conscious recollection of material from long-term memory (declarative)

Implicit memory

a type of long-term memory that operates unconsciously, influencing behavior and performance without conscious recollection of the past experience

Semantic memory

a type of long-term memory involving the capacity to recall words, concepts, or numbers, which is essential for the use and understanding of language.

Episodic memory

The memory of personally experienced events

Procedural memory

Memory for the performance of skills

Priming

Prior exposure to a stimulus affects responses to a late stimulus

Classically conditioned associations

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

Recognition

A measure of memory in which the person needs only identify items previously learned

Relearning

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Chucking

Organizing information into smaller meaningful pieces to facilitate memory

Mnemonics

Strategies and tricks for improving memory

Maintenance rehearsal

a memory technique where you repeatedly verbalize or think about information to keep it in short-term memory for a brief period, without deeply processing or associating it with existing knowledge

Elaborative rehearsal

A technique to help the short-term memory store thoughts or ideas and pass them into the long-term memory

Shallow processing

focusing on the superficial, perceptual characteristics of information rather than its meaning, leading to less effective long-term retention

Deep processing

Encoding based on its meaning or association with other knowledge.

Testing effect

highlights that actively recalling information through testing improves long-term retention more effectively than simply studying or reviewing

Spacing effect

demonstrates that learning is more effective when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed together, leading to better long-term retention

Representativeness heuristic

When we judge a person based on how close they are to a typical person in that category

Base rate

The frequency with which given events or cases occur in the population

Base-rate fallacy

The frequency with which given events or cases occur in the population 

Availability heuristic

When we judge the occurrence of something based on how easily available or memorable the information about it is.

Simulation heuristic (counterfactual thinking)

Imagining alternative versions of actual events shapes the emotional response 

Perseverance effect (belief perseverance)

The maintaining of a belief even when the information that originated the belief has been refuted

Confirmation bias

The tendency to focus on information that confirms your pre-existing view

Stereotype threat

Occurs when members of a group fear their behaviors may contribute to a stereotype about their social group

Fixed mindset

Performance is assumed to reflect an unchangeable ability

Growth mindsets 

Performance is assumed to reflect effort that is modifiable 

What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

A theory in psychology that proposes human motivation stems from a hierarchy of five fundamental categories: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization

Self-actualization

Need to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential 

James-Lange theory of emotion

1. First, we experience physical arousal or behavior in response to stimuli 

2. Due to the physiological response or behavior, we experience emotion 

3. Physiological arousal or behavior →emotion 

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

1. Emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously 

2. Physiological arousal-emotion 

Angry/Happy Man study (Schachter & singer,1962)

• Participants injected with epinephrine (or placebo)

• Participants told or not told that injection would cause arousal 

• Confederates behaved in an angry or happy way 

• Participants labeled emotion 

Misattribution of arousal

It occurs when someone incorrectly identifies the cause of their emotional or physical arousal, potentially misinterpreting a feeling as steaming from one source when it is caused by something else.

What was found in Dutton and Aron’s (1974) study of the wobbly bridge?

Participants who crossed a wobbly bridge were more likely to misattribute their arousal (from the fear of crossing) to attraction to a female interview, leading them to contact her more often than those who crossed a stable bridge 

 facial feedback hypothesis

Suggests that our emotional experiences are influenced by the facial expressions we project, meaning that facial expressions can reflect and shape our emotions.

Internal (dispositional) attributions 

Explains behavior by attributing it to a person’s internal characteristics (like personality, abilities, or effort) rather than external or situational factors. 

External (situational) attributions

Explains an event or behavior by attributing it to external factors or the situation rather than internal characteristics or personality traits 

Fundamental attribution error

There is a tendency to overemphasize personality or dispositional factors and underestimate situational or environmental factors when explaining someone else's behavior.

What is the actor-observer effect?

Tendency to attribute our own mistakes mainly to situational causes but the mistake of others mainly to disposition causes

What is the self-serving attribution?

Tendency to attribute one’s positive outcomes to internal causes but negative outcomes to external causes

Cognitive dissonance

An unpleasant psychological state that results from inconsistencies between one’s attitudes and behavior 

Counterattitudinal behavior

Behavior that is inconsistent with a person’s attitudes

Insufficient justification

When people perform a counter-attitudinal behavior with inadequate reason, they may develop more positive attitudes toward that behavior

1. What is the life change approach to measuring stress?  Is life change associated with health?

1. Life change:

   1. Brings changes that require considerable adaptation 

   2. Social readjustment rating scale(SRRS; Holmes and Rahe, 1967)

      1. Positive or negative events 

   3. Life changes →illness

1. What is the daily hassles approach to measuring stress?  Are daily hassles associated with health?

1. Minor annoying events that require some degree of adjustment

2. Daily hassles → poorer health 

1. What is perceived stress?  Is it associated with health?

1. Subjective interpretations of events or life circumstances as stressful 

   1. Negatively correlated with health 

What is Cannon’s fight-or-flight mechanism?

1. When animals perceive threatening situations, they respond with physiological reactions to prepare for fighting or running away 

2. Stress response 

What is Selye’s general adaptation syndrome?  What are the 3 stages?

1. Alarm- body mobilizes to respond to stress 

2. Resistance - The body adapts to a stressor, but becomes weakened 

3. Exhaustion- physical resources are depleted in the process of trying to overcome or adjust to a threat 

→ Vulnerability to illness 

What is the tend-and-befriend hypothesis?

1. Females’ responses to stress may be different than males’(Taylor et al., 2000)

2. “Tending”- caring for offspring

3. “Befriending”-affiliating in response to stress 

indirect effect model

Stress leads to unhealthy behaviors in an attempt to cope with stress

Direct effect model

Stress leads to physiological reactions that lead to disease

Type A behavior pattern (Type A personality

1. competitive, hostile, tense 

   1. Link between “Type A” behavior pattern and heart disease 

Type B behavior pattern

relaxed, less competitive

Problem-focused coping 

1. Actions taken to change a stressful situation or reduce its effects 

2. Doing something about the stress

Emotion-focused coping

1. Attempts to reduce distress 

2. Addressing emotions but not the source of stress

How is control related to health?  What was Rodin and Langer’s (1976) “plant” study?

1. Greater control —> lower stress response, better health 

   1. Rodin & Langer, 1976- plant study 

   2. Gave a plant and made people either take care of it or have someone take care of it; people who had someone take care of it lived longer

What is perceived control?

1. Beliefs about the ability to affect one’s outcomes 

2. Perceived control → better health 

How is optimism related to health?  What are unrealistic optimism and defensive pessimism?

1. Tendency to believe that one will generally experience good vs. bad outcomes 

2. Generally associated with positive health outcomes 

3. Exceptions 

   1. Unrealistic optimism 

   2. Example: Excellent drivers do not need to wear a seatbelt 

   3. Defensive pessimism