exam 3 Study guide Psychology Modules 19-28 Review

Set of flashcards covering key concepts from modules 19 to 28 on psychology, including learning theories, memory processes, problem-solving, language acquisition, and intelligence.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process that involves associating an initially neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior.

Cognitive Learning

A style of learning that involves understanding, knowing, anticipating, or otherwise making use of higher mental processes.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior conditioning.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

The unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

An originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has become a conditioned stimulus.

Generalization

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses.

Discrimination

The learned ability to distinguish between different stimuli.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus no longer follows the conditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response.

Shaping

The process of reinforcements used to guide behavior toward the desired target behavior.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an aversive stimulus to increase the probability of a behavior.

Positive Punishment

Adding an aversive consequence to decrease a behavior.

Negative Punishment

Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior.

Primary Reinforcer

An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.

Conditioned Reinforcer

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.

Reinforcement Schedules

Rules that determine how and when a behavior will be reinforced.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others and imitating their behavior.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.

Prosocial Modeling

Observing and imitating behavior that is beneficial, constructive, and helpful to others.

Antisocial Modeling

Observing and imitating behavior that is harmful, negative, or detrimental to others.

Encoding

The process of transforming information into a format that can be stored in memory.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

Chunking

Grouping information into manageable units to aid memory.

Three Stages of Memory

The process of memory consisting of encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to recall items at the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle.

Primacy Effect

Better recall for items at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

Better recall for items at the end of a list.

Proactive Interference

When old information hinders the recall of newly learned information.

Retroactive Interference

When new information hinders the recall of old information.

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

Source Amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

Spacing Effect

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than massed study or practice.

Concepts

Mental categories that group objects, events, or ideas based on common features.

Prototypes

Mental images or best examples that incorporate all the features we associate with a category.

Representativeness Heuristic

A cognitive bias that involves judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.

Availability Heuristic

A cognitive bias that involves estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs even after receiving new information that contradicts them.

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Receptive Language

The ability to understand information.

Productive Language

The ability to produce language.

Critical Period for Language Acquisition

A specific time frame during which language acquisition must occur to develop normally.

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences

Analytical, Creative, and Practical intelligences defined by Robert Sternberg.

IQ

A measure of intelligence that is derived from standardized tests.

Gender Differences in IQ

Potential disparities in average IQ scores influenced by gender.

Ethnic Differences in IQ

Potential disparities in average IQ scores influenced by ethnicity.