Comprehensive Psychology Review: Learning, Memory, Cognition, Intelligence, Evolutionary Psychology, and Development

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental concepts in conditioning, memory, cognition, intelligence psychometrics, evolutionary psychology, and attachment theory.

Learning

A relatively enduring change in behavior resulting from experience.

Classical Conditioning

Learning in which a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a reflexive response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

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

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

An automatic, unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that triggers a learned response after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Extinction

The weakening of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest.

Generalization

The tendency to respond to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.

Discrimination

The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that do not predict the unconditioned stimulus.

Little Albert Experiment

Watson and Rayner’s demonstration that fear could be conditioned by pairing a neutral stimulus with a frightening noise.

Operant Conditioning

Learning in which the consequences of a behavior influence the likelihood of that behavior occurring again.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus after a behavior to increase that behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior to increase that behavior.

Positive Punishment

Adding an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior to decrease that behavior.

Negative Punishment

Removing a desirable stimulus after a behavior to decrease that behavior.

Shaping

Reinforcing successive approximations of a desired behavior until the target behavior is learned.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement occurs after a specific, predictable number of responses.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement becomes available after a fixed amount of time has passed.

Variable-Interval Schedule

Reinforcement becomes available after unpredictable amounts of time.

Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect

Behaviors learned through intermittent reinforcement tend to resist extinction longer than behaviors learned through continuous reinforcement.

Taste Aversion

A learned avoidance of a food or flavor after it has been associated with illness.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without immediate reinforcement and becomes apparent when there is an incentive to demonstrate it.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of the spatial layout of an environment.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Bandura’s experiment demonstrating that children can learn aggressive behaviors by observing adult models.

Vicarious Reinforcement

An increased likelihood of imitating a behavior after observing someone else being rewarded for it.

Working Memory

An active memory system that temporarily holds and manipulates information during cognitive tasks.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that can be consciously recalled.

Implicit Memory

Memory that influences behavior without requiring conscious awareness.

Testing Effect

Improved long-term retention resulting from practicing retrieval of information.

Serial Position Effect

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

Semantic Memory

Explicit memory for facts, concepts, and general knowledge.

Episodic Memory

Explicit memory for personally experienced events.

Procedural Memory

Implicit memory for skills and procedures, such as riding a bicycle.

Hippocampus

A brain structure important for forming and consolidating new explicit memories.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A lasting strengthening of synaptic connections following repeated activation, believed to contribute to learning and memory.

Context-Dependent Memory

Improved recall when the external environment during retrieval matches the environment during encoding.

State-Dependent Memory

Improved recall when a person’s internal physiological or psychological state matches the state during encoding.

Proactive Interference

Older information interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer information.

Retroactive Interference

Newer information interferes with the retrieval of previously learned information.

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to form new long-term explicit memories following an injury or neurological condition.

Retrograde Amnesia

The loss of memories formed before an injury or neurological condition.

Misinformation Effect

The incorporation of misleading information into a memory after an event has occurred.

Reconsolidation

The process through which a retrieved memory may become temporarily changeable before being stored again.

System 1 Thinking

Fast, automatic, intuitive, and relatively effortless processing.

System 2 Thinking

Slow, conscious, deliberate, and effortful reasoning.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the probability that something belongs to a category based on how closely it resembles a typical example.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that supports existing beliefs while overlooking contradictory evidence.

Anchoring Effect

Relying too heavily on an initial piece of information when making subsequent judgments.

Framing Effect

The tendency for decisions to change depending on how the same information is presented.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to perceive objects only in terms of their usual functions, limiting creative problem-solving.

Divergent Thinking

Generating multiple possible solutions or ideas for a problem.

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing down possible solutions to identify the single best answer.

General Intelligence (g)

A general mental ability proposed to underlie performance across many different intellectual tasks.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason, solve novel problems, and think abstractly without relying heavily on previously acquired knowledge.

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge, vocabulary, and skills acquired through education and experience.

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory

A theory proposing that intelligence consists of analytical, creative, and practical abilities.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

The theory that intelligence consists of several relatively independent abilities rather than a single general ability.

Deliberate Practice

Purposeful, structured practice designed to improve performance through focused effort and feedback.

Reliability

The consistency of a measurement across repeated administrations or different parts of a test.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

Heritability

The proportion of variation in a trait within a particular population that is statistically associated with genetic differences.

Flynn Effect

The historical increase in average intelligence test scores across generations.

Natural Selection

The evolutionary process through which inherited characteristics that improve survival or reproduction tend to become more common across generations.

Psychological Adaptation

An evolved information-processing system in the brain that helped ancestors solve recurring challenges related to survival or reproduction.

Parental Investment

Time, energy, and resources devoted to offspring that increase their chances of survival and development.

Paternity Uncertainty

The evolutionary problem of uncertainty about biological fatherhood, proposed to influence male jealousy.

Buss et al. (1989)

Cross-cultural study of mate preferences involving more than 10,000 participants from 37 cultures.

Attachment Theory

The theory that humans are biologically predisposed to form emotional bonds with caregivers because these relationships promote survival.

Contact Comfort

The emotional security and comfort provided by physical contact with a caregiver.

Strange Situation

A laboratory procedure developed by Ainsworth that assesses infant attachment through separations and reunions with a caregiver.

Secure Attachment

An attachment pattern in which children trust their caregiver’s availability, use them as a secure base, and are comforted by their return.

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

An attachment pattern in which children show relatively little outward distress during separation and tend to avoid or ignore their caregiver upon reunion.

Internal Working Model (IWM)

A mental representation of oneself and others that develops through attachment experiences and shapes expectations in future relationships.

Anxious-Preoccupied Attachment

An adult attachment pattern involving a negative view of self, a positive view of others, and heightened concern about abandonment.

Dismissive-Avoidant Attachment

An adult attachment pattern involving a positive view of self, a negative view of others, and a preference for independence over intimacy.

Fearful-Avoidant Attachment

An adult attachment pattern involving negative views of both self and others, resulting in a desire for closeness combined with fear of rejection.

Authoritarian Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high control, strict rules, and relatively low responsiveness.

Authoritative Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high expectations combined with warmth, responsiveness, explanations, and open communication.

Permissive Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high responsiveness but few demands, rules, or limits.

Neglectful Parenting

A parenting style characterized by low control and low responsiveness, with limited involvement in the child’s life.