Psych Exam 2 Review

what is gender

socially influenced characteristics of how men and women are defined

what is sex

biologically influenced characteristics by which female and males are defined

how are males and females alike

creativity and intelligence

how are males and females different

self-esteem, puberty age, emotional expression

what contributes to gender bias in the workplace

how do altered prenatal influences affect sexual orientation

may lead to homosexuality in humans and other animals

what is gender identity

personal sense of gender

what is the human sexual response cycle

excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution

what are sexual dysfunctions

impair sexual arousal or functioning

what are paraphilias

sexual arousal from fantasies (bad version)

how does external stimuli contribute to sexual arousal

desensitization, reduced satisfaction, finding inappropriate things acceptable

how does imagined stimuli contribute to sexual arousal

sexual desire and arousal can be imagined; male fantasies are more frequent and more physical

what is a gender role

set expectations of a social position

what are the male preference for mating

women with signs of fertility

what are female preference for mating

men with loyal behavior and power

what are criticisms of the evolutionary perspective

evolutionary psychology starts with effect and works backwards

what is social psychology

how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

how do attitudes and actions interact

attitudes affect behavior when external influences are minimal and attitude is stable

what is cognitive dissonance theory

people can act themselves into a way of thinking or think of acting a certain way

what is peripheral route persuasion

uses attention-getting cues to trigger speedy emotion-based judgements

what is central route persuasion

offers evidence and arguments to trigger careful thinking

what is normative social influence

conform to avoid rejection or gain social approval

what is informational social influence

accept others’ opinions of reality

how is social contagion a form of conformity

social behaviors and emotions are spread

what did Milgram’s obedience experience teach about the power of social influence

people are victim to authority and become compliant

how does group interaction enable group polarization

link-minded individuals share more

how does the internet affect group polarization

provides a means to connect and share

what is explicit prejudice

clear awareness

what is implicit awareness

unthinking response

what is hindsight bias

tendency to perceive events as more predictable than they were

what are biological influences on aggressive behavior

heredity, neural factors such as head injury

what is deindividuation

loss of self-awareness and self-restraint

what is passionate love

aroused state of intense positive absorption in another

what is companionate love

deep, affectionate attachment

what is altruism

unselfish concern for welfare of others

what are social traps

involve the right to pursue personal well-being versus responsibility for well-being of all

what are mirror-image perceptions

mutual views held by conflicting parties

what are self-fulfilling prophecies

belief that leads to its own fulfillment

how can peace be made

contact, cooperation, communication, conciliation

what are superordinate goals

shared goals that override differences among people

what is sensation

sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

what is perception

process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, allow the ability to recognize meaningful things

what is bottom-up processing

sensory analysis begins with entry level, info flows from sensory receptors to brain

what is top-down processing

info processing guided by high-level mental processes; filtering info through experience and expectations

what are the three steps basic to the sensory systems

receive, transform, deliver

what is absolute threshold

minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time

what is difference threshold

minimum difference that a person can detect between 2 stimuli

how are we affected by subliminal stimuli

too weak to detect 50% of the time; below absolute threshold

what is sensory adaptation and its function

diminished sensitivity as consequence to constant stimulation; aids in focus by reducing background stimulus

what are perceptual sets

mental tendencies and assumptions that affect what we hear, taste, feel, see (top down)

how does motivation influence perception

example: slopes look steeper when wearing a heavy backpack

how do emotions influence perceptions

example: slopes look steeper when listening to sad music

what do rods process

detect black, white, and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

what do cones process

detect fine detail and color

how does information travel from the eye to the brain

from optic nerve

how does context affect perception

stimulus may trigger perception because of immediate context

what is the cornea responsible for

light passes through and is bent to provide focus

what is the pupil responsible for

small adjustable opening that light passes through

what is the iris responsible for

controls pupil size

what are the lens responsible for

focus incoming light rays onto retina

what are feature detectors

nerve cells that respond to specific features of stimulus, ex: shape, angle, movement

how does the brain use parallel processing

ability to do many things at once by dividing into subdimensions

how do Gestalt psychologists understand perceptual organization

brain perceives stimulus as a whole

how do we use binocular cues to perceive the world in 3D

2 eyes help with depth perception

how do we use monocular cues to perceive the world in 3D

linear perspective available to either eye alone

what are perceptual constancy

objects are perceived as unchanging

what are the effects of restored vision and sensory restriction

suggest there is critical period for normal sensory and perceptual development

what are the effects of perceptual adaptation

ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field

what are characteristics of short wavelengths

high frequency

what are characteristics of long wavelengths

low frequency

what does amplitude determine

loudness and height/intensity of waves

what is place theory

links pitch heard with the place where cochlea membrane is stimulated; explains high pitches

what is frequency theory (temporal theory)

nerve impulses travelling up match frequency of tone and allow pitch to be sensed; explains low tones

what makes up sense of touch

pressure, warmth, cold, pain

how is pain sensed through the pain circuit

nociceptors send impulse to spinal cord, which sends impulse to brain

how are taste and smell similar

chemical sense

how are taste and smell different

taste buds in tongue, nerves in nose

how does placebo affect pain

reduces CNS attention and responses

how does distraction reduce pain

draws attention away

how does sensory interaction influence perception

one sense may influence another, like how smell influences taste of food

what is embodied cognition

influence of body sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgements

what are the conclusions of ESP

skeptical but some participants could anticipate the future

what is learning

process of acquiring through experience or behaviors

what is associative learning

2 events occur together

what is acquisition

neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus links so that neutral stimulus triggers conditioned response

what is extinction

unconditioned stimulus does not follow conditioned stimulus

what is spontaneous recovery

reappearance of extinguished conditioned response after a pause

what is generalization

tendency for stimuli similar to conditioned stimulus to give same responses (ex: dog salivates on seeing dog food, dog salivates from seeing meat)

what is discrimination

ability to distinguish between conditioned stimulus (predicts unconditioned stimulus)

how did Watson apply Pavlov’s work to fear

conditioned babies to be scared of rat by showing rat with loud noise in Little Albert experiment (eventually showing rat made babies scared)

what is operant conditioning

behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcer or diminished if followed by punisher

how is operant behavior reinforced and shaped

certain behaviors occurred because there were rewards or punishment

what is positive reinforcement

increases behavior by presenting positive reinforcers (ex: getting a good grade on the test is rewarded with ice cream)

what is negative reinforcement

increases behavior by stopping/reducing negative stimuli (ex: if in pain, take painkillers)

what are the basic types of reinforcers

primary enforcer (innate reinforcing stimulus) and conditioned/secondary (stimulus gains power through primary), immediate, delayed

what is cognitive learning

acquisition of mental info by observing or through language (form of observational learning)

how does a fixed-ratio schedule affect behavior

reinforced after nth behavior (ex: buy 10, get 1 free)

how does a fixed-interval schedule affect behavior

every so often, after a fixed time (discounts this Tuesday)

how does a variable-ratio schedule affect behavior

reinforcement after random number of behaviors (ex: winning slot machines)

how does a variable-interval schedule affect behavior

unpredictably often; random amount of time (ex: checking phone for messages)