Ap Psych- Unit 5 Vocab Quiz Cumulative Review

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

Grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

One-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

Telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram - go car"- using mostly nouns and verbs

Aphasia

a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others.

Linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

Linguistic influence

the idea that language affects thought

Intelligence

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

General intelligence

according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

Availability heuristic

estimating term-the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

Representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or math, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

Language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

Savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

Emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

Intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

Achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

Aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

Standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

Normal curve

A symmetrical, bell-shape that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

Predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

Cohort

a group of people sharing a common characteristic

Crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

Intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

Down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

Heritability

the genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring

Stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

dependent variable

In an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the IV is manipulated

operational definition

A clear and detailed statement about how exactly data collected from the variables will be measured; allows for accurate replication

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors are related to each other, and thus how well either factor predicts the other; often shown by naturalistic observation or surveys

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between groups (equalizes groups)

Random Sample

A sample that fairly represent a population because each member of a target population has an equal chance of inclusion

Experimental Group

In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment (to one version of the independent variable)

Control group

In an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Hypothalamus

Neural structure lying below the thalamus in the limbic system; it plays a direct role in drives (eating, drinking, body temperature, sex drive), helps govern the endocrine system through the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion, pleasure, and reward

Thalamus

Located at the top of the brainstem, it is the brain's sensory control center ("sensory switchboard"); it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

sympathetic nervous system

Division of the ANS that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy ("fight or flight")

parasympathetic nervous system

Division of the ANS that calms the body, conserving its energy ("rest and digest")

Agonist

A molecule (drug or other chemical) that increases a neurotransmitter's action; may increase the production of a neurotransmitter or block reuptake

Antagonist

A molecule (drug or other chemical) that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter's action; may block the receptor site on the dendrite

implicit memory

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection (also called nondeclarative memory)

explicit memory

Retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (also called declarative memory)

proactive interference

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information (old interferes with new)

retroactive interference

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information (new interferes with old)

iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Fundamental attribution error

Our tendency, when we are an observer analyzing other's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition

Deindividuation

The loss of self- awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives

Group Polarization

The tendency for group views to become more extreme than the individuals in the group following discussion within the group

Broca's area

Helps control language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke's area

A brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Attribution theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either either the situation or the person's disposition