PSYCH 2 FINAL

ch 1,2,9,10,11,12,13,14,15

behaviorism

A psychological approach that emphasizes environmental influences on observable behaviors. (nurture)

Epigenetic

The study of biological or environmental influences on gene expression that are not part of inherited genes.

Functionalism

An approach to psychology concerned with the adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior.

open science movement

A social movement among scientists to improve methods, increase research transparency, and promote data sharing.

bayesian stat

A class of statistics that combines existing beliefs ("priors") with new data to update the estimated likelihood that a belief is true ("posterior").

construct validity

The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure.

dependent

The variable that is measured in a research study.

descriptive research

Research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically.

external validity

The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations.

HARKing

"Hypothesizing after the results are known" instead of generating a theory before running the study and analyzing the results.

inferential stat

A set of procedures that enable researchers to decide whether differences between two or more groups are probably just chance variations or whether they reflect true differences in the populations being compared.

preregistration

Documenting a study‘s hypotheses, methods, and analysis plan ahead of time and publishing it on a time-stamped website.

Scientific Method

A systematic and dynamic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena, used to achieve the goals of description, prediction, control, and explanation; it involves an interaction among research, theories, and hypotheses.

allostatic load

The cumulative "wear and tear" on biological systems, including the stress, digestive, immune, cardiovascular, and hormonal systems, among others, after repeated or chronic stressful events.

buffering hypothesis

The idea that other people can provide direct emotional support in helping individuals cope with stressful events.

coping response

Any attempt made to avoid, escape from, or minimize a stressor.

emotion- focus coping

A type of coping in which people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor.

general adaptation syndrome

A consistent pattern of responses to stress that consists of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

health behavior

Actions people can take, such as eating a plant-based diet and being physically active, that promote well-being, prevent the onset of disease, and slow disease progression.

lymphocytes

Specialized white blood cells that make up the immune system; the three types are B cells, T cells, and natural killer cells.

primal appraisal

Part of the coping process that involves making decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful, benign, or irrelevant.

secondary appraisal

Part of the coping process during which people evaluate their response options and choose coping behaviors.

actor/ observer discrepancy

The tendency to focus on situations to explain one‘s own behavior but to focus on dispositions to explain other people‘s behavior.

elaboration likelihood model

The idea that persuasive messages lead to attitude changes in either of two ways: via the central route or via the peripheral route.

inclusive fitness

An explanation for altruism that focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes, such as through kin selection, rather than focusing on individual survival.

personal attributions

Explanations of people‘s behavior that refer to their internal characteristics, such as abilities, traits, moods, or efforts.

situational attributions

Explanations of people‘s behavior that refer to external events, such as the weather, luck, accidents, or other people‘s actions.

stereotype threat

Fear or concern about confirming negative stereotypes related to one‘s own group, which in turn impairs performance on a task.

accomodation

The process by which a new scheme is created or an existing scheme is drastically altered to include new information that otherwise would not fit into the scheme. (change)

assimilation

The process by which new information is placed into an existing scheme (same)

concrete operational stage

The third stage in Piaget‘s theory of cognitive development; during this stage, children begin to think about and understand logical operations, and they are no longer fooled by appearances.

pre operational stage

The second stage in Piaget‘s theory of cognitive development; during this stage, children think symbolically about objects, but they reason based on intuition and superficial appearance rather than logic.

formal operational

The final stage in Piaget‘s theory of cognitive development; in this stage, people can think abstractly, and they can formulate and test hypotheses through deductive logic.

preconventional level

The earliest stage of moral development; at this level, self-interest and event outcomes determine what is moral. (consequences for self)

conventional level

Middle stage of moral development; at this level, strict adherence to societal rules and the approval of others determine what is moral.

postconventional level

Highest stage of moral development; at this level, decisions about morality depend on abstract principles and the value of all life.(higher ideas)

dynamic systems theory

The view that development is a self-organizing process, in which new forms of behavior emerge through consistent interactions between a person and cultural and environmental contexts.

inequity aversion

A preference to avoid unfairness when making decisions about the distribution of resources. (discomfort when one receives more or less then another)

habituation technique

A way to study how infants categorize a series of objects, such as faces, based on the principle that after looking at objects that are all from the same category, babies will look for a longer time at objects from a new category.

balance theory

The idea that people are motivated to achieve harmony in their interpersonal relationships. A triad is balanced when the relationships are all the same direction or if two relationships are negative and one is positive.

ideal affect

Emotional and affective states that people want to feel or that cultures especially value.

self- actualization

A state that is achieved when one‘s personal dreams and aspirations have been attained.

self- efficacy

The belief that efforts toward a goal will result in success.

self- regulation

The process by which people direct their behavior toward the attainment of goals.

two- factor theory

A theory of emotion stating that the label applied to physiological arousal results in the experience of an emotion.

behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

The brain system that monitors for threats in the environment and therefore slows or inhibits behavior in order to be vigilant for danger or pain.

humanistic approach

Approaches to studying personality that emphasize how people seek to fulfill their potential through greater self-understanding.

interactionism

The theory that behavior is determined jointly by situations and underlying dispositions.

need for cognition

The tendency to engage in and enjoy thinking about difficult questions or problems. (doing puzzles)

projective measures

Personality tests that examine tendencies to respond in a particular way by having people interpret ambiguous stimuli.

reciprocal determinism

The theory that the expression of personality can be explained by the interaction of environment, person factors, and behavior itself.

super ego

In psychodynamic theory, the internalization of societal and parental standards of conduct.

agoraphobia

An anxiety disorder marked by fear of being in situations in which escape may be difficult or impossible.

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which people engage in socially undesirable behavior, are hedonistic and impulsive, and lack empathy.

borderline personality disorder

A personality disorder characterized by disturbances in identity, in affect, and in impulse control.

diathesis- stress model

A diagnostic model proposing that a disorder may develop when an underlying vulnerability is coupled with a precipitating event.

schizophrenia

A psychological disorder characterized by alterations in thoughts, in perceptions, or in consciousness, resulting in psychosis.

antipsychotics

A class of psychotropic medications used for the treatment of schizophrenia and other disorders that involve psychosis.

applied behavioral analysis

An intensive treatment for autism based on operant conditioning.

behavior therapy

Treatment based on the premise that behavior is learned and therefore can be unlearned through the use of classical and operant conditioning.

biological theraipies

Treatments of psychological disorders based on medical approaches to disease (what is wrong with the body) and to illness (what a person feels as a result).

cognitive- behavior therapy

A therapy that incorporates techniques from cognitive therapy and behavior therapy to correct faulty thinking and change maladaptive behaviors.

dialectal behavior therapy

A form of therapy used to treat borderline personality disorder that combines elements of the behavioral and cognitive treatments with a mindfulness approach based on Eastern meditative practices.