Exam 2 Review - Intro to Psychology

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from Chapters 6, 7, 8.4, and 8.5 of an Intro to Psychology course.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience.

Classical Conditioning

When a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

Behavior is strengthened by reinforcement or weakened by punishment.

Observational Learning

Occurs by watching others and imitating them.

Contiguity

Events close together in time become linked.

Contingency

How reliably one event predicts another.

Stimulus Generalization

Reacting the same way to similar stimuli.

Stimulus Discrimination

Reacting only to the specific stimulus trained with.

Extinction

Learned reaction weakens when the expected outcome doesn't occur.

Spontaneous Recovery

Reaction comes back after extinction.

Counterconditioning

Replacing an unwanted response with a better one.

Taste Aversion

Learning to avoid foods after illness.

Law of Effect

States that rewarded behaviors are repeated.

Shaping

Rewarding small steps toward a desired behavior.

Token Economy

A system using physical rewards to encourage behavior.

Vicarious Reinforcement/Punishment

More likely to imitate if the model is rewarded, less likely if punished.

Orienting Reflex

Automatic tendency to pay attention to something new.

Habituation

Response decreases after repeated exposure.

Sensory Memory

Holds information for only a few seconds.

Working Memory

Holds and works with information briefly.

Long-Term Memory

Has unlimited capacity.

Procedural Memory

Memory for skills and habits.

Declarative Memory

Memory for facts and events.

Semantic Memory

General knowledge.

Episodic Memory

Personal experiences.

Level of Processing Theory

Deeper thinking about the meaning improves memory.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information to keep it in short-term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Linking new information with existing knowledge.

Retrograde Amnesia

Can't remember old memories.

Anterograde Amnesia

Can't form new memories.

Primacy Effect

Better recall for first items.

Recency Effect

Better recall for last items.

Cue-Dependent Forgetting

Missing the cue to trigger memory.

Context-Dependent Memory

Recall improves in the same situation where you learned.

Stages of Language Development

Crying, cooing, babbling, first words, two-word speech.

Overextension

Using a word for too many things.

Underextension

Using a word for too few things.

Overregulation

Overapplying grammar rules.

Pragmatics

Social rules for language use.

Broca's Area

Controls speech production.

Wernicke's Area

Controls speech comprehension.

Linguistic Determinism

Language determines what we can think about.

Linguistic Relativity

Language influences thought but doesn't control it.

Binet's Mental Age

What we expect a child to do at a certain age.

Terman's IQ Formula

(Mental Age + Chronological Age) x 100.

Reliability

The consistency of results.

Validity

Whether a test measures what it claims to measure.

Cultural Bias

When a test favors certain groups over others.

Spearman's g

One general mental ability that underlies all forms of intelligent behavior.

Thurstone

Identified 7 primary mental abilities

Fluid

Problem solving, decreases with age

Crystallized

Knowledge, increases with age

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

There are many kinds of intelligence, not just one measured by IQ.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

Includes analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence

Ability to understand and manage emotions.

Flynn Effect

Average IQs have risen about 3 points per decade.

Nature vs Nurture

The debate on the effects of genetics and environment on intelligence.

Interactionionism

Intelligence results from both genetic and environmental factors

The bell curve

Claimed IQ is mostly genetic