Psych 160 Exam 2 Textbook Terms

Alzheimers Disease

progressive brain disorder that produces loss of memory and confusion

Defensive coping

unconscious strategies that distort or deny the true nature of a situation

dementia

most common mental disorder of the elderly, covering several diseases, each of which includes serious memory loss accompanied by declines in other mental functioning

female climacteric

the period that marks the transition from being able to bear children to being unable to do so

hardiness

a personality characteristic associated with a lower rate of stress-related illness

male climacteric

the period of physical and psychological change relating to the male reproductive system that occurs during late middle age

menopause

the cessation of menstruation

nonorganic failure to thrive

a disorder in which infants stop growing due to a lack of stimulation and attention as the result of inadequate parenting

obesity

a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age or sex

Osteoporosis

a condition in which the bones become brittle, fragile, and thin, often brought about by a lack of calcium in the diet

primary appraisal

an individual’s assessment of an event to determine whether its implications are positive, negative, or neutral

psychoneuroimmunology

PNI; study of the relationship among the brain, the immune system, and psychological factors

Psychosomatic disorders

medical problems caused by the interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties

secondary appraisal

a person’s answer to the question, “Can I handle it?”, an assessment of whether the coping abilities and resources on hand are adequate

Sexually transmitted infection

STI; A disease that is spread through sexual contact

Sudden infant death syndrome

SIDS; the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby

Type A behavior pattern

behavior is characterized by competitiveness, impatience, and a tendency toward frustration and hostility

Type B Behavior Pattern

Behavior characterized by non-competitiveness, patience, and a lack of aggression

accommodation

changes in existing ways of thinking that occur in response to encounters with new stimuli or events

achieving stage

Schaie; the point reached by young adults in which intelligence is applied to specific situations involving that attainment of long-term goals regarding careers, family, and societal contributions

acquisitive stage

according to Schaie, the first stage of cognitive development, encompassing all of childhood and adolescence, in which the main developmental task is to acquire information

assimilation

the process in which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking

centration

the process of concentration on one limited aspect of a stimulus and ignoring other aspects

concrete operational stage

the period of cognitive development between ages 7-12, which is characterized by the active, and appropriate, use of logic

conservation

the knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects

deferred imitation

an act in which a person who is no longer present is imitated by children who have witnessed a similar act

egocentric thought

thinking that does not take into account the viewpoints of others

executive stage

Schaie; the period in middle adulthood when people take a broader perspective than they had previously, including concerns about the world

executive stage

the period in middle adulthood when people take a broader perspective than they had previously, including concerns about the world

formal operational stage

the stage at which people develop the ability to think abstractly

goal directed behavior

behavior in which several schemas are combined and coordinated to generate a single act to solve a problem

intuitive thought

thinking that reflects preschooler’s use of primitive reasoning and their avid acquisition of knowledge about the world

mental representation

an internal image of a past event or object

object permanence

the realization that people and objects exist even when they cannot be seen

operations

organized, formal, logical mental processes

postformal thought

thinking that acknowledges that adult predicaments must sometimes be solved in relativistic terms

preoperational stage

according to Piaget, the stage from approximately age 2-7 in which children’s use of symbolic thinking grows, mental reasoning emerges, and the use of concepts increases

reintegrative stage

Schaie; the period of late adulthood during which the focus is on tasks that have personal meaning

responsible stage

Scahie; the stage where the major concerns of middle aged adults relate to their personal situations, including protecting and nourishing their spouses, families, and careers

scaffolding

the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth

schema

an organized pattern of sensorimotor functioning

sensorimotor stage

Piaget’s initial major stage of cognitive development, which can be broken down into 6 substages

symbolic function

the ability to use a mental symbol, a word, or an object to stand for or represent something that is not physically present

transformation

the process in which on stage is changed into another

zone of proximal development

Vygotsky; the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, perform a task independently, but can do so with the assistance of someone more competent

acceleration

the provision of special programs that allow gifted students to move ahead at their own pace, even if this means skipping to higher grade levels

achievement test

a test designed to determine a person’s level of knowledge in a given subject area

aptitude test

test designed to predict a person’s ability in a particular area or line of work

Bayley Scales of Infant Development

measure that evaluates an infant’s development from 2 to 42 months

Cross modal transference

the ability to identify, using another sense, a stimulus that has previously been experienced only through one sense

crystallized intelligence

the store of information, skills, and strategies that people have acquired through education and prior experiences and through their previous use of fluid intelligence

developmental quotient

overall developmental score that related to performance in four domains: motor skills, language use, adaptive behavior, and personal and social skills

emotional intelligence

set of skills that underlies the accurate assessments valuations expression, and regulation of emotions

enrichment

an approach whereby gifted students are kept at grade level but are enrolled in special programs and given individual actives to allow greater depth of study

fluid intelligence

intelligence that reflects information processing capabilities, reasoning, and memory

full inclusion

the integration of all students, even those with the most severe disabilities, into regular classes and all other aspects of school and community life

intellectual disability

disability characterized by significant limitation both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills

intelligence

the capacity to understand the world, think with rationality, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges

intelligence quotient

IQ; score that takes into account a student’s mental and chronological age

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

children’s intelligence test permitting unusual flexibility in its administration

least restrictive environment

the setting most similar to that of children without special needs

mainstreaming

an education approach in which exceptional children are integrated as much as possible into the traditional educational system and are provided with a broad range of educational alternatives

mild intellectual disability

intellectual disability in which IQ scores fall in the range of 50 or 55 to 70

moderate intelligence disability

intellectual disability in which IQ scores fall in the range of 30 to 40 to 50 to 55

practical intelligence

Sternberg; intelligence that is learned primarily by observing others and modeling their behavior

profound intellectual disability

intellectual disability in which IQ scores fall below 20 to 25

reliability

quality of tests that measure consistently what they are trying to measure

severe intellectual disability

intellectual disability in which IQ scores range from around 20 to 25 to 35 or 40

specific learning disorders

difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities

Standard Binet Intelligence Scale

5th Edition; test that consists of a series of items that vary according to the age of the person being tested

triarchic theory of intelligence

the belief that intelligence consists of three aspects of information processing: componential, experiential, and contextual

validity

quality of tests that actually measure that they are supposed to measure

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

IV; test for adults that provide operate measure of verbal and performance (nonverbal) skills, as well as total score

Wechsler Intelligente scale for children

IV; test for children that provides separate measures of verbal and performance (nonverbal) skills, as well as total score.

labouvie vief

believed there was more than just logical thinking; **post formal thought**

Perry

believed in dualism, relativism, and commitment

\-There is progress from thinking in absolutes to realizing there are multiple and equally valid perspectives to evaluating strengths and weaknesses

dualism

right and wrong way of thinking

relativism

many perspectives, all equally valid

commitment

Perry; some perspectives have stronger evidence

Schaie

was interested in how we think

metacognition

ability

sensory memory

holds sensory information for short period of time; large capacity; decays rapidly

Working memory

conscious processing of info; prep for LTM; Capacity: 7+/- 15 seconds of info

Long term memory

semi-permanent storage; unlimited capacity; 3 types (procedural, episodic, declarative)

procedural memory

skills/habits; stored in cerebellum (you don’t think about it; muscle memory)

episodic memory

events; stored and formed in amygdala (ex. graduation)

Declarative Memory

facts; stored in hippocampus (EX. George Washington is 1st president)

encoding strategies

repetition, elaboration, organization, distribution, healthy, excercise

Retrieval Errors

flashbulb memories and association mistake

flashbulb memory

highly emotional memory (DOESN’T always mean remembered better)

association mistake

you have neutral structures that are connected and there is a overlap

encoding

how we get things into LTM

chunking

group info into meaningful units (ex. learning a song)

Charles Spearman

believed that there is an underline thing that affects our ability to think (g factor); IQ score alone is sufficient enough to accurately predict performance

g factor

general intelligence

Raymond Cattell

Fluid and crystalized intelligence

stereotype threat

fulfilling social expectation; often don’t realize we are performing differently

stress

the process of appraising a stressor that results in a stress reaction

General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selye; our stress response system defends, then fatigues

problem focused coping

reduce stressors by working out a conflict, tackling a different project