Psych Exam II

Attention

The internal processes used to set priorities for mental functioning

Consciousness

One's subjective experience and awareness of the world

Selective Attention

Focusing on certain information while ignoring other information

Filter Theory

Attention works like a gate that allows important information through and filters out less important information

Dichotic Listening

A technique where different messages are presented simultaneously to each ear

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to notice personally important information such as your name while focusing on something else

Automaticity

Fast and effortless processing that requires little to no focused attention

Visual Neglect

A disorder usually caused by damage to the right parietal lobe where a person ignores part of their visual world

ADHD

A disorder involving difficulties with attention regulation impulsivity and or hyperactivity

Circadian Rhythm

The body's approximately 24 hour biological cycle regulating sleep and wakefulness

Hypothalamus

Brain structure that controls biological rhythms through the suprachiasmatic nucleus

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

The brain's primary biological clock located in the hypothalamus

Melatonin

A hormone that helps regulate sleep and is influenced by light

N1 Sleep

The lightest stage of sleep and transition between wakefulness and sleep

N2 Sleep

A deeper stage of sleep characterized by sleep spindles and K complexes

N3 Sleep

The deepest stage of NREM sleep also called slow wave sleep

REM Sleep

A sleep stage involving rapid eye movements vivid dreams and brain activity resembling wakefulness

Survival Theory of Sleep

The idea that sleep helps organisms survive by limiting activity during dangerous or less useful times

Restoration Theory of Sleep

The idea that sleep allows the body and brain to recover and restore resources

Learning and Memory Theory of Sleep

The idea that sleep helps consolidate memories and process information

Wish Fulfillment Theory

Dreams reveal unconscious desires according to Freud

Manifest Content

The actual storyline and events of a dream

Latent Content

The hidden symbolic meaning of a dream according to Freud

Activation Synthesis Theory

Dreams result from random brain activity that the brain attempts to interpret

Problem Solving Theory of Dreams

The idea that dreams help people work through problems

Threat Simulation Theory

The idea that dreams allow us to mentally practice responding to threats

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior that results from experience

Non Associative Learning

Changing your response after repeated exposure to a single stimulus

Associative Learning

Learning a connection between two stimuli or events

Observational Learning

Learning by watching another person's behavior

Habituation

A decrease in responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure

Sensitization

An increase in responsiveness after repeated exposure to a stimulus

Classical Conditioning

Learning by forming an association between two stimuli

Ivan Pavlov

Psychologist who studied digestion in dogs and discovered classical conditioning

Unconditioned Stimulus

Something that naturally produces a response without prior learning

Unconditioned Response

A natural automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

A previously neutral stimulus that becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response

A learned response to a conditioned stimulus

Stimulus Generalization

Responding to stimuli that are similar but not identical to the conditioned stimulus

Stimulus Discrimination

Learning to respond differently to similar stimuli when only one is associated with the unconditioned stimulus

Operant Conditioning

Learning through the consequences of behavior

Edward Thorndike

Psychologist who studied animal intelligence using puzzle boxes

Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become stronger while behaviors followed by unsatisfying consequences become weaker

Reinforcement

A consequence that increases the likelihood that a behavior will happen again

Punishment

A consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will happen again

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behavior

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior

Positive Punishment

Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior

Negative Punishment

Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease a behavior

Primary Reinforcer

A reinforcer that naturally satisfies a biological need such as food or water

Secondary Reinforcer

A reinforcer that gains value through learning such as money or compliments

Shaping

Reinforcing behaviors that gradually become closer to a desired behavior

Fixed Ratio

Reinforcement occurs after a set number of responses

Variable Ratio

Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses

Fixed Interval

Reinforcement becomes available after a set amount of time

Variable Interval

Reinforcement becomes available after varying amounts of time

Albert Bandura

Psychologist known for the Bobo doll experiment demonstrating observational learning

Bobo Doll Experiment

An experiment showing that children imitate aggressive behavior they observe in adults

Encoding

The process of initially acquiring information into memory

Storage

The process of maintaining information in memory

Retrieval

The process of recovering stored information

Sensory Memory

A temporary memory system closely connected to the senses with large capacity and very short duration

Iconic Memory

Visual sensory memory

Echoic Memory

Auditory sensory memory

Sperling Experiment

An experiment demonstrating that iconic memory has a large capacity but information fades very quickly

Short Term Memory

A temporary memory system that holds a limited amount of information

Working Memory

An active processing system that temporarily holds and works with information needed for current tasks

Phonological Loop

The working memory component that temporarily stores speech and sound based information

Visuospatial Sketchpad

The working memory component that temporarily stores visual and spatial information

Central Executive

The working memory component that controls attention and coordinates the other components

Chunking

Grouping individual pieces of information into meaningful units to improve working memory

Rehearsal

Repeating information to keep it active in working memory

Interference

When competing information disrupts or replaces other information in memory

Long Term Memory

A relatively permanent memory store with a large capacity and long duration

Episodic Memory

Memory of personal experiences and specific events

Semantic Memory

Memory of facts and general knowledge about the world

Procedural Memory

Memory of how to perform skills and actions

Elaboration

Creating connections between new information and information already stored in memory

Retrieval Cue

Information or an environmental detail that triggers the retrieval of a memory

Free Recall

Remembering information without hints or choices

Cued Recall

Remembering information with the help of hints

Recognition

Identifying information that was previously learned

Encoding Retrieval Match

Memory improves when the conditions during retrieval match the conditions during encoding

Context Dependent Memory

Remembering information better in the same physical environment where it was learned

State Dependent Memory

Remembering information better when your internal state matches the state during learning

Schema

A mental structure in long term memory that organizes information and helps interpret experiences

Forgetting

Losing access to previously stored information

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

A pattern showing rapid initial forgetting followed by a more gradual decline

Retroactive Interference

New information makes it harder to remember old information

Proactive Interference

Old information makes it harder to learn or remember new information

Retrograde Amnesia

Difficulty retrieving memories from before an injury or trauma

Anterograde Amnesia

Difficulty forming new long term memories after brain damage or trauma

Hippocampus

A brain structure important for forming new long term memories

Reconstructive Memory

The process of rebuilding memories during retrieval which can cause memories to change

Memory Misattribution

Assigning a memory or idea to the wrong source

Suggestibility

The tendency to incorporate misleading outside information into personal memories

Elizabeth Loftus

Memory researcher known for studies demonstrating suggestibility and false memories

False Memory

Remembering an event that did not actually occur

Language

A system of communication using sounds and symbols according to grammatical rules

Phonology

The rules governing speech sounds in a language