QCE psychology units 3 & 4

cognitive dissonance

unpleasant feelings when beliefs are inconsistent with behaviours

ways to reduce prejudice

-education, interaction, sustained contact, mutual interdependence

fundamental attribution error

tendency to attribute others' behavior to their dispositions and our own behaviors to our situations

stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

explicit racism

overt racism, e.g slurs

implicit racism

racism that operates unconsciously and unintentionally, e.g pulling over a black person

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

Racism

Belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

xenophobia

dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Culture shock

personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life/culture

Assimilation

completely adapting to another culture

Acculturation

the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture whilst retaining previous cultures

Multiculturalism

multiple cultures coexisting collectively; some aspects removed for collectivism.

Community

group of people with common characteristics

Pluralism

Multiple cultures coexisting separately

Scapegoating

The tendency for individuals, when frustrated or unhappy, to displace aggression onto groups that are disliked, visible, and relatively powerless

Ageism

Discrimination based on age

Sexism

prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.

Tokenism

the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce.

self-serving bias

the tendency to perceive oneself favorably

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our beliefs

Bias

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

attribution

the process of explaining one's own behavior and the behavior of others

dispositional attribution

attributing behavior to the person's disposition and traits

situational attribution

attributing behavior to the environment

social identity

person's sense of whom they are based on their group memberships. The central hypothesis is that group members of an in-group will seek to find negative aspects of an out-group, thus enhancing their self-image.

social identity theory

theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison

hazing

requiring a person to do humiliating acts in order to join a group

explicit attitude

an attitude that a person is consciously aware of and can report

implicit attitude

an attitude, such as prejudice, that one is not aware of having

General Aggression Model

a modern theory of aggression suggesting that aggression is triggered by a wide range of input variables that influence arousal, affective stages, and cognitions

hostile aggression

aggression stemming from feelings of anger and aimed at inflicting pain or injury

instrumental aggression

aggression motivated by the desire to obtain a concrete goal

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

bystander effect

the tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present

Cerebrum

Area of the brain responsible for all voluntary activities of the body; largest part of the brain

Thalamus

the brain's sensory control center

Hypothalamus

maintains homeostasis

Hippocampus

regulation and expression of emotion, spatial awareness, consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory

Amygdala

involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

basal ganglia

structures in the forebrain that help to control movement

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination; coordinates motor skills required for muscle contraction

primary motor cortex

the section of the frontal lobe responsible for voluntary movement

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that affects hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction

Parkinson's disease

Breakdown of substantia nigra which stops production of dopamine, affecting movement, often including tremors in arms/legs etc.

Alzheimer's disease

a progressive and irreversible brain disorder caused by Acetylcholine deficit, characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

gender schema

a set of behaviors organized around how either a male or female should think and behave

primary socialisation

the process of learning that begins at birth and occurs in the home and family

secondary socialisation

process of learning appropriate behavior within smaller sections of the larger society

Ames room illusion

shape constancy > size constancy

Muller-Lyer Illusion

two vertical lines of the same length appear different due to inverted arrow heads

Ponzo illusion

railroad track, horizontal lines look different

floaters

caused by age, gel clumps that speck our vision

age-related macular degeneration

ARMD; griany deposits in macula

Congenital Visual Disorders

inherited, present at birth

photoreceptors

Cones = interpret color and bright light; Rods = Interpret dim light and greys

frontal lobe

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

parietal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch and spatial awareness.

occipital lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information

temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

Broca's area

speech production (left frontal lobe)

Broca's aphasia

inability to produce speech

Wernicke's area

language comprehension (temporal lobe)

Wernicke's aphasia

inability to comprehend speech

autonomic nervous system

The part of the PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs.

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest

somatic nervous system

Division of the PNS that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

central nervous system

consists of the brain and spinal cord, controls most functions of the body and mind, connects brain to body

spinal reflexes

simple, automatic behaviours that are processed in the spinal cord independent of the brain for quick reflexes e.g stepping on something sharp

reflex arc

the nerve pathway involved in a reflex action including at its simplest a sensory nerve and a motor nerve with a synapse between.

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old info

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

social learning

Learning through observing others.

context-dependent retrieval

the improved ability to retrieve information when the conditions of the original learning are reproduced

state-dependent retrieval

the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval

levels of processing

a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory: sensory stores, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM)

Working model of Memory

Baddeley and Hitch 1974
Split into three stores:
Central Executive function, visuo-spatial sketchboard and phonological loop. (Episodic buffer added in 2000)

procedural memory

implicit LTM: the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things

declarative memory

It refers to memories which can be consciously recalled such as facts and events.

episodic memory

type of explicit long term memory for declarative, personal information

semantic memory

type of explicit long term memory for knowledge about the world

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, 12-30 seconds, 5-9 capacity

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Epinephrine

Excitatory neurotransmitter, another term for adrenaline; raises heart rate and cardiac output

Norepinephrine

Excitatory neurotransmitter helps control alertness and arousal; undersupply can depress mood; maintains BP

limitations of social identity theory

limited explanatory power for prejudice formation toward out-groups

monosynaptic reflex

Reflex pathway with only one synapse between the sensory and motor neurons (ex: knee-jerk).

polysynaptic reflex

at least one interneuron between sensory neuron and motor neuron

axon terminal

The endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

receptors

parts of the cell membrane that receive the neurotransmitter and initiate or prevent a new electric signal

subordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people and require their cooperation

central executive

the part of working memory that directs attention and processing