Exam 2 Vocabulary

Zygote

the fertilized cell

conception

sperm and egg unite to bring genetic material together and form the zygote

embyro

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

placenta

the life-link that transfers nutrients and oxygen from mother to embryo

fetus

(“offspring”) the developing human organisms from 9 weeks after conception to birth

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregant woman’s heavy drinking

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

reflexes

responses that are inborn and do not have to be learned

the rooting reflex

when something touches a newborn’s cheek, the infant turns toward that side with an open mouth

crying when hungry

the newborn talent of using just the right sounds to motivate parents to end the noise and feed the baby

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

association areas

areas linked with thinking, memory, and language

synaptic pruning

a process in which the brain removes neurons and synapses that it doesn’t need

infantile amnesia

the inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories (memories of situations or events) before the age of 2-4 years

cognition

all the mental molds into which we pour our experiences

schemas

concepts or mental molds into which we pour or experiences

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

sensorimotor stage

(from birth to nearly 2 years of age)

at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

object permanence

the idea that things continue to exist even when not perceived

preoperational stage

(from about 2 or 6 to 7 years of age)

at whic ha child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

conservation

the ability to understand that a quantity is conserved (does not change) even when it is arranged in a different shape

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states — about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

concrete operational stage

(from about 7-11 years old)

at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

(normally beginning about age 12)

at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

concrete operations

includes analogies such as “my brain is like a computer:

• includes arithmetic transformations (if 4+8=12, 12-4=?)

formal operations

includes allegorical thinking such as “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” (understanding that this is a comment on hypocrisy)

• includes algebra (if x=3y and x-2y=4, what is x?)

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

attachment

an emotional tie with others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce normal development

origins of attachment

experiments with monkeys suggest that:

attachment is based on physical affection and comfortable body contact, and not based on being rewarded with food

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organisms when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce normal development

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

secure attachment

most children (60%) feel distress when mother leaves, and seek contact with her when she returns

insecure attachment (anxious)

clinging to mother, less likely to explore environment, and may get loudly upset with mother’s departure and remain upset when she returns

insecure attachment (avoidant)

seeming indifferent to mother’s departure and return

authoritative parenting

“too hard”

parents impose rules “because I said so” and expect obedience

permissive parenting

“too soft”

parents submit to kids’ desires, not enforcing limits or standards for child behavior

authoritative parenting

“just right”

parents enforce rules, limits, and standards but also explain, discuss, listen, and express respect for child’s ideas and wishes

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood

• the period of development ranging from puberty to independence

puberty

the time of sexual maturation

• becoming physically able to reproduce

primary sex characteristics

reproductive organs

secondary sex characteristics

body hair, changing voice

menarche

the first menstrual cycle

spermarche

the first male ejaculation

preconventional morality

(up to age 9)

“follow the rules because if you don’t, you’ll get in trouble; if you do, you might get a treat”

conventional morality

(early adolescence)

“follow the rules because we get along better if everyone does the right thing”

postconventional morality

(later adolescence and adulthood)

“sometimes rules need to be set aside and pursue higher principles”

identity

sense of self

role confusion

“which of those selves, or what combination, is really me?”

telomeres

the tips at the end of chromosomes

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

midlife crisis

re-evaluating one’s life plan and success

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

neurocognitive disorders (NCDs)

acquired (not lifelong) disorders marked by cognitive deficits

• often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse

Alzheimer’s Disease

a neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory

cross-sectional studies

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longidtudinal studies

research that follows and retests the same people over time

reality

what’s actually out there

sensation

physical energy (stimulus) from the environment that is detected and turned into neural signals

perception

out interpretation, organization, and selection of these signals

bottom-up processing

taking sensory information and then assembling and integrating it

• what am i seeing?

top-down processing

using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory information (may start to see things once brain has some concepts to apply)

• what do i expect to see?

reception

the stimulation of sensory receptor cells by energy (sound, light, heat, etc.)

transduction

transforming this cell stimulation into neural impulses

transmission

delivering this neural information to the brain to be processed

absolute thresholds

refers to the minimum level of stimulus intensity needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

• anything below this threshold is considered “subliminal”

subliminal

below our threshold for being able to consciously detect a stimulus

difference threshold (“just noticeable difference”)

the minimal difference (in color, pitch, weight, temp, etc.) for a person to be able to detect the difference half the time

Weber’s Law

the principle that for two stimuli to be perceived as different, they must differ by a constant minimum percentage and not a constant amount

• example — price of a car goes up $1, you don’t notice, but if the price of your lunch goes up by $1, you notice

perceptual set

what we expect to see, which influences what we do see

• an example of top-down processing

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

signal detection theory

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise)

• assumes there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

subliminal stimulation

happens when, without your awareness, your sensory system processes a sound that is below your absolute threshold

accommodation

changing shape to focus on near ot far objects

hue

the dimension of color (the color we experience) that is determined by the wavelength of light

intensity

the amount of energy the wave contains

• intensity influences brightness

cornea

bends light to help provide focus

• light enters the eye through the cornea

pupil

a small adjustable opening

• light passes through the pupil

iris

a colored muscle that dilates or constricts in response to light intensity

• constricts the size of the pupil

retina

the multilayered tissue on the eyeball’s sensitive inner surface

• the retina receives upside-down images of the world

rods

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement

• necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t responsd

cones

retinal receptors that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions

• detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

optic nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

blind spot

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there

fovea

the retina’s area of central focus

• cones cluster in and around the fovea

paralel processing

building perceptions out of sensory details processed in different areas of the brain

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (3-color) Theory

the theory that the retina contains three different types of color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color

opponent-process theory

the neural process of perceiving white as the opposite of perceiving black

• yellow vs. blue, red vs. green, are opponent processes

classical conditioning

learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate an event to which we have a reaction

operant conditioning

changing behavior choices in response to consequences

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together

• the events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning)

behaviorism

the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

acquisition

the initial stage of learning/conditioning

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response

spontaneous recovery

a return of the conditioned response despite a lack of further conditioning

generalization

refers to the tendency to have conditioned responses triggered by related stimuli

discrimination

refers to the learned ability to only response to a specific stimuli, preventing generalization