PSYC 100 Final Exam Vocabulary

Flashcards for PSYC 100 Final Exam Review

Consciousness

Your moment-to-moment awareness of your environment, body, and mental experiences.

Automaticity

Doing things without focused attention (e.g., walking, familiar driving routes).

Cocktail Party Effect

Your ability to focus on one voice in a noisy room but still notice personally relevant info (like your name).

Visual Neglect

Brain damage (often to the right hemisphere) causing people to ignore the left visual field.

ADHD

Disorder marked by trouble sustaining attention, sometimes with hyperactivity; linked to low dopamine.

Circadian Rhythms

Internal biological clocks tied to the 24-hour day (e.g., sleep-wake cycle).

N1 (Theta)

Light sleep, twitching

N2

Deeper sleep, sleep spindles and K-complexes help protect sleep

N3 (Delta)

Deepest sleep, restorative; sleepwalking can occur.

REM

Rapid eye movement, vivid dreams, brain active but body paralyzed.

Restorative (Sleep Theory)

Sleep restores the body/brain.

Survival Value (Sleep Theory)

Staying inactive at night keeps us safer.

Insomnia

Trouble falling/staying asleep.

Sleep Apnea

Breathing stops during sleep.

Narcolepsy

Sudden sleep attacks.

Parasomnias

Night terrors and sleepwalking during N3 sleep.

Freud's Dream Theory

Dreams have manifest content (what you remember) and latent content (hidden meaning).

Activation-Synthesis (Dream Theory)

Brain tries to make sense of random activity during REM.

Hypnosis

Altered state of attention; debated whether it’s dissociation or role play.

Meditation

Focused relaxation; improves awareness, reduces stress.

Depressants

Slows brain.

Stimulants

Speeds up CNS.

Hallucinogens

Distort perception.

Opiates

Pain relief, high addiction risk.

Tolerance

Need more for the same effect.

Withdrawal

Symptoms when stopping.

Physical vs. Psychological Dependence

Body vs. mental craving.

Habituation

Reduced response to repeated, harmless stimulus.

Sensitization

Increased response to a strong/repeated stimulus.

US (Unconditioned Stimulus)

Natural trigger that causes a response without learning (e.g., food).

UR (Unconditioned Response)

Unlearned response to the US (e.g., salivating to food).

CS (Conditioned Stimulus)

Previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with a US, triggers a response.

CR (Conditioned Response)

Learned response to the CS.

Acquisition

The phase where the CS and US are paired and learning occurs.

Extinction

CR weakens when CS is presented without the US repeatedly.

Spontaneous Recovery

CR suddenly reappears after a pause.

Stimulus Generalization

Similar stimuli elicit the same CR.

Discrimination

Ability to respond only to the specific CS and not similar ones.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by pleasant outcomes are strengthened.

Reinforcement

Increases behavior

Positive Reinforcement

Add something pleasant (e.g., give candy)

Negative Reinforcement

Remove something unpleasant (e.g., stop a loud noise).

Punishment

Decreases behavior

Positive Punishment

add something unpleasant (e.g. extra chores)

Negative Punishment

Take away something pleasant (e.g., phone privileges).

Fixed Ratio

Reward after a set number of responses.

Variable Ratio

Reward after an unpredictable number of responses (most resistant to extinction).

Fixed Interval

Reward after a fixed amount of time.

Variable Interval

Reward after varying time intervals.

Shaping

Reinforcing successive steps toward a desired behavior (used to teach complex behaviors).

Observational Learning

Learn by watching others; includes modeling and imitation.

Encoding

Transforming information into a memory code.

Storage

Maintaining encoded info over time.

Retrieval

Accessing stored info for use.

Sensory Memory

Immediate, brief recording of sensory input (iconic = visual, echoic = auditory).

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Holds limited info briefly (about 7±2 items); maintained via rehearsal.

Working Memory

Active processing system.

Phonological Loop

Holds verbal info.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Holds visual/spatial info.

Central Executive

Directs attention and coordination.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Stores info for extended time; potentially unlimited.

Episodic Memory

Personal experiences.

Semantic Memory

General knowledge and facts.

Procedural Memory

How-to skills, often implicit.

Decay Theory

Memory fades over time.

Retroactive Interference

New info interferes with old.

Proactive Interference

Old info interferes with new.

Retrograde Amnesia

Can’t remember past.

Anterograde Amnesia

Can’t form new memories.

Elaboration

Linking new info with existing knowledge.

Chunking

Grouping items into meaningful units.

Mnemonic Devices

Memory aids (e.g., acronyms).

Spacing Effect

Distributed study is better than cramming.

Recall

Retrieving info without cues (e.g., essay).

Cued Recall

Aided by hints.

Recognition

Identifying correct info (e.g., multiple choice).

Context-Dependent Memory

Better recall in same environment.

State-Dependent Memory

Better recall in same mood/state.

Schemas

Mental frameworks; can distort memory.

False Memories

People can confidently recall events that never occurred.

Phonemes

Smallest sound units.

Morphemes

Smallest meaningful units.

Syntax

Grammar rules for sentence structure.

Semantics

Meaning of words and sentences.

Surface Structure

Literal wording

Deep Structure

Underlying meaning

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

Language influences thought.

Language Development Stages

Cooing → Babbling → First words → Telegraphic speech → Full sentences

Overgeneralization

Applying grammar rules too broadly (I goed).

Broca’s Area

Speech production.

Wernicke’s Area

Language comprehension.

Algorithms

Step-by-step strategies that guarantee solutions.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts; faster but prone to error.

Insight

Sudden realization of a solution.

Functional Fixedness

Inability to see alternative uses for objects.

Mental Set

Sticking to familiar solutions.

Confirmation Bias

Seek evidence that confirms beliefs.

Availability Heuristic

Estimate likelihood based on ease of recall.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging based on how typical something seems.

Anchoring Heuristic

Rely too heavily on the first piece of info.