Psych exam 1 terms

terms and definitions needed for the midterm exam

dependent variable

the result or effect of the manipulation of the independent variable. Researchers measure the changes in this variable.

independent variable

the variable that is being manipulated in an experiment. The cause of the change in the dependent variable

control group

exactly like the experimental group except there is no manipulation of the variable. This group is used as a comparison group.

descriptive research

a research method that uses no manipulation, but simply measures characteristics or trends within a population.

double-blind experiment

a research study in which neither the participants or the researchers know who is getting the active treatment and manipulation and which group is getting the placebo. this eliminates bias in how the participants are treated.

external validity

measure of confidence that a cause and effect relationship of a study can be generalized to a greater population.

internal validity

measure of confidence that the study suggests a true cause and effect relationship within the study and population.

longitudinal design

research method where scientists study a group over a long period of time to see how they change.

meta-analysis

method used to combine and analyze the results of independent studies on the same topic to reach a single more reliable conclusion. Researchers gather all past quantitative studies that meet a specific criteria.

correlational research

establishing relationships between 2 or more variables

placebo effect

when a person’s health improves after receiving a fake treatment because they believe it is real.

random assignment

Technique in experiments where researchers use chance procedures to place participants into different groups. Everyone has the same probability of being put into each group.

operational definition

a clear description of how a concept or variable is measured, that takes the guesswork out of measuring. Exact, observable actions.

cross-sectional design

case study

an in-depth examination of a single person, group, or event. It helps researchers generate new theories for broader testing.

third variable problem

when an unmeasured factor influences two correlated variables creating a false impression that one causes the other. Example- ice cream sales and drowning rise and fall together, but ice cream does not cause drowning. The third variable is summer heat, which drives people to swim and buy ice cream.

action potential

electrical impulse that forms the foundation of how your brain and nervous system process thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

amygdala

provides emotion response; fight, flight, or freeze response when put in a stressful situation

corpus callosum

Brain part that connects the left and right hemispheres, acting as a bridge that allows nerve signals and information to pass between them.

brain stem

regulates breathing, circulation, digestion, sensory input &output, connects to spinal cord and brain.

frontal lobes

controls voluntary muscles, source of intelligence, personality, planning, reasoning, and self-control.

hippocampus

works on memory and activating bran regions involved in recall.

neural networks

connects the physical structure of the brain to human thought, behavior, and intelligence.

hypothalamus

regulator of the body’s internal state. This includes eating, drinking, sex, and homeostasis of temperature and blood pressure and circadian rhythm.

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another, directlly influencing mood, behavior, and cognition.

neuroplasticity

brains lifelong ability to reorganize, adapt, and change its physical structure and function in response to learning, experience, and injury.

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord, receives sensory info from PNS.

parasympathetic nervous system

rest and digest NS, part of the autonomic NS. slows down heart, aids digestion, narrows pupils, regulates breathing.

sympathetic nervous system

part of the autonomic NS, fight or flight response. Widens pupils, increases heart and breathing rate, slows digestion, etc.

temporal lobe

auditory processing, language comprehension (Wernicke’s area), memory/information retrieval.

peripheral nervous system

nerves going out of your brain and spinal cord, connects CNS and the rest of the body.

synapses

specialized junction or gap where neurons communicate with another cell.

binocular cues

visual depth signals that require info from the eyes to help the brain perceive distance and 3d spaces.

bottom up processing

sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation. ex- you look at an individual jigsaw piece and analyze it before figuring out where it fits in the image. WHAT AM I SEEING?

top down processing

starts as cognitive processing at the brain’s higher levels to provide a framework to interpret the information that is coming in from the external enviornment (how your brain uses prior knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information) (ex reading messy handwriting) I”VE SEEN THIS BEFORE.

cones

receptors in the retina that are responsible for color vision and sharper visual activity. function best in bright light.

rods

receptor cells in retina that are responsible for vision in dim light and detecting motion. This is why in the dark, you cannot see color very well.

gestalt psychology

theory of mind and behavior that shows how the human brain naturally perceives individual parts as a unified whole. Ex- watching a football game and you know that all the people wearing blue are rooting for one team and all people wearing red are rooting for the other team.

figure-ground relationship

human brain organizes sensory input by separating a focal object (the figure) from its surrounding area (the ground). Ex- the old vs young woman illusion. You can shift your focus to make either of the images able to be seen.

opponent-process theory

explains how the human visual and emotional systems process contrasting pairs of signals where the activation of one automatically suppresses its opposite. red v green, black v white, etc.

priming

exposure to one stimulus (the prime) subconsciously influences how a person responds to a related stimulus. ex- if you read the word doctor and then it is followed by the word nurse, you will read the word nurse faster than if it were after an unrelated word like bread.

selective attention

brain has the ability to focus on a specific input or task while filtering out the other competing, irrelevant distractions.

trichromatic theory

human eye perceives color in 3 different cone receptors- blue, green, and red.

sensory adaptation

our sensory receptors become less sensitive to a constant, unchanging stimulus over time- ex- wearing a pair of pants for the whole day.

webers law

the minimum change in a stimulus needed to notice a difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus. Ex- if you’re holding 20 pounds and you add 1 ounce, you probably wouldn’t notice a difference. But, if you were adding 20 more pounds, you would absolutely notice a difference.

latent content

the hidden psychological meaning behind a dream, representing a persons unconscious wishes, fears, or triggers. ex- if you dream about being naked and are embarrassed by it, it may not be the feeling of being naked, its the feeling of vulnerability or a fear of judgement.

reticular activating system

network of neurons in the brainstem that acts as a filter, deciding which sensory inputs reach conscious awareness and which ones get ignored. Your brain gets millions of bits of data every second but your mind can only handle a small fraction.

theory of mind

the ability to understand and attribute mental states- such as beliefs, intents, desires, and emotions, to oneself and others. Ex- predicting how other people feel, think, or act in a given moment.

REM sleep

4th, active stage of sleep characterized by fast eye movements, high brain activity, and temporary muscle paralysis. the most intense and vivid dreams happen during this stage.

circadian rhythms

a natural, 24 hour internal clock that regulates physical, mental, and behavioral changes, including the sleep-wake schedule, and hormone release.

executive function

a high level of cognitive processes controlled by the frontal lobe that helps you plan, focus, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.

meditation

a mental training practice that focuses attention, calms the nervous system, and promotes non-judgmental awareness of the present moment.

emotion-focused coping

managing your emotional distress in response to a stressor rather than changing the actual external problem. ex- regulating feelings like anxiety, anger, or sadness.

general adaptation syndrome

3 stage model that describes the body’s physiological and physical response to stress. 1. Alarm- initial fight or flight response. 2. Resistance stage- body tries to adapt, repair, and calm itself down after the initial shock, but remains at high alert. 3. Exhaustion stage- prolonged, chronic stress depletes the bodies physical, emotional, and mental resources leading to burnout, anxiety, or physical illness.

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA)

part of the biological system that bridges psychological stress with physical reactions in the body. Explains how emotional and mental experiences turn into chemical signals that change how you feel and act.

problem-focused coping

strategy where you actively target and try to fix the root cause of your stress rather than just managing your emotions. ex- falling behind in a class and instead of stressing about it, going to office hours, studying more, and brainstorming other colutions.

positive reappraisal

coping strategy where you change how you think about a stressful event to find a positive meaning or silver lining. You change your view to see failure as useful information.

theory of planned behavior

a person’s behavior is guided by their intention to perform that behavior which is shaped by personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. ex- a high perceived behavioral control could look like having all the resources to go to the gym in the morning so you intend to go to the gym.

social support

physical, informational, and psychological help you get from your friends, family, and community when you deal with stress or hard times.

behavioral medicine

a field that combines psychological, behavioral, and biomedical sciences to prevent, diagnose, and treat physical illness. ex- type 2 diabetes and how lifestyle changes can help a person get rid of it.

confirmation bias

the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that matches what you already believe while ignoring facts that do not fit. ex- you meet a left handed painter who is a good painter after already thinking that left-handed people are more creative, then you ignore it when you meet a creative right-handed person.

availability heuristic

a mental shortcut where you judge how likely an event is based on how easily examples of it come to mind. ex- if you can remember a event quickly, your brain assumes it happens often.

hindsight bias

tendency to view past, unpredictable events as having been obvious or predictable after you already know how they turned out. ex- “i knew it all along”. Will distort their original thoughts to match the final result.

intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder

neurodevelopmental condition marked by significant limits in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that start during childhood.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

numerical measure based on standardized tests that measures a persons cognitive abilities, problem solving, and reasoning skills.

representativeness heuristic

you judge the probability of an event or person belonging to a category based on how closely they match your existing mental prototype or stereotype. ex- you ignore actual numbers or math in favor of how “typical” something looks.

base rate neglect

cognitive error where people ignore general statistical facts (the base rate) and only focus on specific, individual details. ex- you might assume a person is a librarian because they have glasses and are quiet, but in reality, stats people outnumber librarians 10 to 1.

functional fixedness

when someone is stuck on the original, trusted uses for an object and won’t use it for anything besides its intended use.

heuristics

mental shortcuts that allow people to solve problems and decision make quickly when facing limited time, information, or cognitive capacity.

triarchic theory of intelligence

states that intelligence consists of three types- analytical, creative, and practical.

broaden and build model

positive emotions expand our awareness and thinking, which helps us build long-term personal, social and physical resources. Increases our cognitive focus and makes us creative and open to new ideas.

extrinsic motivation

external incentives, such as reward and punishments.

intrinsic motivation

internal feelings of motivation. Organismic needs as well as curiosity, challenge, and fun.

homeostasis

self-regulating processes by which an organism or system maintains internal stability and balance despite changes in the outside environment.

yerkes-dodson law

performance increases with mental or physical arousal like stress or motivation. Up to an optimal/moderate point, after which, too much arousal can cause performance to drop (think bell curve).

heirarchy of needs

ranking human motivation from basic survival to personal growth.

display rules

cultural and social guidelines that tell us how, when, and where it is okay to show our emotions.

facial feedback hypothesis

your facial expressions can directly influence and shape your emotional experience, meaning that smiling can actually make you feel happier and frowning can make you feel sadder.

negative affect

an emotional state characterized by subjective distress, unpleasant feelings, and a general mood of nervousness, anger, guilt, or fear.

self-actualization

ongoing process of realizing and fulfilling your unique potential, creativity, and personal goals rather than just following external expectations.