PSY101 Test 1

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Spaced Practice

a practice schedule that alternates study periods with brief rests

Massed Practice

a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption (cramming)

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Wilhelm Wundt

german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879

Mary Whiton Calkins

American psychologist who conducted research on memory, personality, and dreams; first woman president of the American Psychological Association

Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner)

the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

Psychoanalytic psychology (Freud)

emphasized the ways our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior

Humanistic Psychology (Rogers, Maslow)

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth

Cognitive Psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Natural Selection (darwin)

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

Evolutionary Psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Biopsychosocialspiritual approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, social-cultural, and spiritual levels of analysis

Levels of Analysis

Biological (Body), Psychological (Mind), Social (Communal), Spiritual (Soul)

neuroscience perspective

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

evolutionary perspective

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

behavior genetics perspective

how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences

psychodynamic perspective

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

behavioral perspective

how we learn observable responses

cognitive perspective

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Social-cultural perspective

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Curiosity

Does it work? When put to the test, can its predictions be confirmed?

Skepticism

What do you mean? How do you know? Sifting reality from fantasy requires a healthy skepticism-an attitude that is not cynical (doubting everything), but also not gullible (believing everything)

Humility

That was unexpected! Let's explore further. Researchers must be willing to be surprised and follow new ideas. People and other animals don't always behave as our ideas and beliefs would predict.

Critical Thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Positive Psychology (Seligman)

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Perceiving order in random events

Humans want to see a whole rather than parts

we tend to connect the parts to create one logical line of thinking

Misinformation

Untrue or wrong information

Disinformation

false information purposely disseminated, usually by a government, for the purpose of creating a false impression

Illusory truth effect

enhanced probability of evaluating a statement as being true upon repeated presentation

Debunking

exposing false claims or myths

Prebunking

pair the fake information with a correction before it takes hold

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Case Study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

Correlation Coefficient (r)

a statistical measure of the degree of relatedness or association between two sets of data that ranges from -1 to +1

positive correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

correlation vs. causation

correlation does not equal causation

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

placebo

something which has a positive mental effect, but no physical effect

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

mean

average

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

neuroplasticity

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

neuron

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

all-or-none response

a neuron's reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing.

synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

reuptake

a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron

dopamine

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

serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep and arousal. Undersupply linked to depression.

acetylcholine

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

endorphins

"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure.

agonist

a molecule that, by binding to a receptor site, stimulates a response

antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action

sensory (afferent) neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor (efferent) neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

somatic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

sympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

parasympathetic nervous system

the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

reflex

a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee-jerk response

endocrine system

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

hormones

chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.