PSYC 1 Midterm Flashcards

What do psychologist study?

Psychologists study the mind and behavior, exploring mental processes, emotions, and social interactions to understand how individuals think, feel, and act.

Describe active processing

Active processing refers to the engagement of cognitive resources in analyzing, organizing, and integrating new information with existing knowledge to enhance understanding and retention.

Describe the inevitability of tradeoffs

Mental processes that serve us well in one situation may be detrimental in another due to limited cognitive resources and the need to prioritize certain decisions over others.

Describe how the mind and body are connected

The mind influences the body and the body influences the mind

Describe complex outcomes have multiple causes

Complex outcomes arise from the interplay of various factors, where multiple causes interact and contribute to a single effect, making it difficult to attribute outcomes to any single source.

Describe how psychological studies are not about you

Psychological studies are meant to generalize situations in the population rather than focus on individual experiences, emphasizing broader trends and patterns in behavior.

Describe experiments related to depth of processing: What is it? How is it studied? What implications does it have for how we remember things?

Depth of processing refers to the cognitive approach that suggests that the more deeply information is processed. An example of a study related to this is uppercase or lowercase when flashed with a set of words. The implications of depth of processing suggest that deeper engagement with material, such as semantic processing, enhances memory retention and recall.

What is an independent variable?

Independent Variable: the variable the researcher controls and manipulates during an experiment.

What is an operational definition?

An operational definition is a clear and precise statement that specifies how a variable is measured or manipulated in a study, allowing for consistent and replicable research.

What is a dependent variable?

Dependent Variable: the variable a researcher measures and does not manipulate on the experiment.

What is a correlational study?

A research method used to examine the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them. It assesses how changes in one variable relate to changes in another.

What is an experimental study? How does it differ from a correlational study?

An experimental study is a research method that involves manipulating one or more independent variables to observe the effect on a dependent variable, allowing for causal inferences. Unlike a correlational study, it establishes cause-and-effect relationships by controlling variables and randomly assigning participants to different conditions.

What is a quasi-experimental study?

A research method that resembles an experimental study but lacks random assignment of participants to conditions. The participants in the experiment have predetermined variables but cannot determine causality.

What is the difference between a causal explanation and a “third variable” explanation?

A causal explanation attributes a direct cause-and-effect relationship between two variables, while a "third variable" explanation suggests that an unobserved variable may influence both variables, creating a false impression of a direct relationship.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of correlational studies? Experimental studies?

Correlational studies allow researchers to identify relationships between variables without manipulation, making them easier and less expensive to conduct. However, they cannot establish causation. Experimental studies, on the other hand, can determine causal relationships but may be more costly and time-consuming due to the need for controlled conditions and random assignment.

What is the benefit of random assignment?

Random assignment helps ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any condition, reducing bias and increasing the internal validity of the study's findings.

How can we tell whether we have a causal relationship?

We can identify a causal relationship by establishing that changes in one variable directly lead to changes in another, demonstrating temporal precedence, ruling out alternative explanations, and ensuring that the relationship is not due to a third variable.

Describe research on age-related priming. What did the original study find? What did the replication attempt find?

Research on age-related priming examines how age influences cognitive processes. The original study had people work on a word scramble task that included age-related words, leading them to walk more slowly afterwards. However, the replication attempt failed to produce the same results, suggesting that the effects may not be sound.

What are some reasons a study might not replicate?

A study might not replicate due to factors such as differences in sample size, variations in methodology, changes in participant demographics, or contextual differences that affect the results. Additionally, original findings may have been due to chance or specific conditions not present in the replication.

What is attention? Why is it important?

Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on specific information while ignoring other stimuli. It is important because it enables individuals to process relevant information efficiently, facilitating learning, memory, and decision-making.

Describe the invisible gorilla experiment? What did researchers do? What were the (general) results?

The invisible gorilla experiment demonstrated selective attention by having participants watch a video of people passing a basketball and counting the passes. During the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked through the scene, yet many viewers failed to notice the gorilla, illustrating how focused attention can lead to missed stimuli.

What is inattentional blindness?

When we attend to one thing we tend to miss others. Even if they are unexpected Our intuitions about this are very wrong: we tend to believe that we notice everything, especially something unexpected.

Why is selective attention and inattentional blindness important?

Selective attention and inattentional blindness are important because they highlight the limits of our cognitive processing. Understanding these concepts helps explain how we can miss significant information in our environment, impacting perception, awareness, and decision-making.

Describe research about participants running by a simulated fight. What was the task? What were the results? What were the conclusions?

Participants were instructed to run by a simulated fight while completing a secondary task. Results showed that many failed to notice the fight, reinforcing the concept of inattentional blindness and the limits of selective attention.

Distinguish between overt and covert attention. Give examples of each.

Overt attention involves directly focusing on a stimulus, such as looking at a person speaking. Covert attention refers to focusing on a stimulus without directly looking at it.

Overt: Reading a book

Covert: Hearing your name in a crowd of people

Describe the Posner cueing paradigm

A test that evaluates a persons ability to shirt their attention through visual images.

Distinguish between voluntary and involuntary attention

Voluntary Attention: Choosing to direct attention somewhere (can be overt or covert)

Involuntary Attention: You're not choosing to focus on the stimulus, it just captures your attention

The difference between the two is voluntary are choosing to pay attention while involuntary is not choosing to pay attention.

How does attention relate to the themes of the inevitability of tradeoffs? Active processing?

Attention relates to tradeoffs by focusing on certain stimuli while neglecting others, enhancing active processing of attended information but risking omission of relevant details.

Define the following memory stores and distinguish between them: sensory memory, working memory, long-term memory

Sensory: Almost everything we sense gets into sensory memory so capacity is HIGH. But we can keep it there for a few seconds at most so the duration is short

Working Memory: Very limited (but capacity is bigger for meaningful items). Limited duration unless you keep rehearsing. Only attend things make it into working memory. Once items are in working memory you need to rehearse them or they will be gone

Long-Term Memory: Everything that you know or have learned. Includes things you consciously know (can explicitly recall) (how to ride a bike, classical conditioning). Capacity is indefinite. Duration can be lifelong but isnt always

What are the different capacities and durations of sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory?

Sensory: High but short duration (maybe a few seconds)

Working Memory: Very limited (limited duration unless rehearsed)

Long-Term: Infinite (duration can be lifelong)

Describe how attention, maintenance rehearsal, encoding, and retrieval work in the context of memory

Attention focuses on specific stimuli, maintenance rehearsal keeps information active in working memory, encoding converts information into a usable form for storage, and retrieval accesses stored information for recall.

Why is sensory memory important?

Sensory memory is how we observe the world and is the beginning of the memory process

How does auditory sensory memory differ from visual sensory memory?

Auditory sensory memory retains sounds for a few seconds, while visual sensory memory holds images briefly.

What is chunking? How does it affect working memory capacity?

Chunking organizes information into manageable groups, enhancing working memory capacity.

Explain what predicts successful encoding 

Successful encoding is predicted by factors such as attention, meaningfulness of information, and organization.

Explain what predicts successful retrieval

Successful retrieval is influenced by attention, meaningfulness, and organization of information.

Describe the baker/baker paradox

Its easier to remember someone’s profession then their name because you imply stuff about them.

Explain the testing effect

The testing effect refers to improved memory retention from retrieving information through testing rather than passive study.

Define encoding specificity

Encoding specificity is the principle that memory is improved when the retrieval context matches the encoding context.

What did the months of the year challenge tell us about encoding specificity and memory?

The challenge illustrates that memory improves when retrieval context aligns with encoding context.

What did a study involving on-land and underwater memorization tell us about encoding specificity and memory?

Memory is better when retrieval occurs in the same context as encoding.

Describe the role of the hippocampus in memory

The hippocampus is crucial for forming and organizing memories.

What is anterograde amnesia? What kinds of memories are impaired, and what kinds of memories are NOT impaired?

Anterograde amnesia impairs the ability to form new memories after injury, while past memories remain intact.

Describe how schematic knowledge affects our memory. 

Schematic knowledge influences memory by shaping how we encode and recall information, often filling in gaps.

In a study, participants falsely reported seeing books in an office. Explain these results using schematic memory

People often associates books being in an office thus the participants assumed there were books in the office.

Describe the results of Loftus & Palmer (1974) involving participants watching a video of a car accident. What does it tell us about memory?

The way you ask questions and frame them influences the memory of the video or event.

Describe how memory researchers’ perceptions of memory differs from the public’s perception of memory

Researchers view memory as reconstructive and fallible, while the public often sees it as accurate and reliable,

Describe classical conditioning

Classical Conditioning: learned associated between a neutral stimulus and a stimulus that elicits an automatic response

Describe the results of Pavlov’s experiments with dogs

Pavlov's experiments demonstrated classical conditioning by associating a neutral stimulus (bell) with an automatic response (salivation) in dogs.

Define the unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response. If I were to give a hypothetical example, be able to define each one

Unconditional Response: an automatic response to a stimulus 

Conditioned Stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus (i.e. does not produce unconditional response) used in classical conditioning (i.e. sound, light, location) 

Conditioned Response: an automatic response to a stimulus (usually same as unconditioned response) 

Describe latent inhibition

Latent Inhibition: Familiar stimulus are harder to turn into a conditioned stimulus

Describe conditioned taste aversions

Conditioned taste aversions are learned associations where an individual develops a dislike for a food after a negative experience, such as nausea.

What is the benefit of scapegoat treatments in conditioned taste aversions?

Scapegoat treatments use alternative foods to mitigate conditioned taste aversions by redirecting negative associations.

Describe the pinprick experiment

A test that assesses a person's ability to feel a pinprick and to differentiate between sharp and dull sensations.

Patients encoded new implicit memory despite anterograde amnesia. Similar to HM and mirror drawing task 

Describe operant conditioning

Conditioning that involves uses of rewards and punishment to modify voluntary behavior.

How is operant conditioning different from classical conditioning?

Operant conditioning focuses on voluntary behavior effected by reward or punishment. Classical conditioning involves stimulus and responses.

Define reinforcement and punishment

Reinforcement encourages behavior while punishment discourages behavior.

How does the timing of reinforcement affect operant conditioning?

Timing of reinforcement over long periods of time make a lasting effect on behavior.

Describe the relationship between operant conditioning and superstitions

People learn to associate behavior with positive or negative outcomes even if there is not casual link between them.

Define System 1 and System 2 thinking

System 1:  fast, automatic, no sense of voluntary control 

System 2:  Attentive, methodological, slow

Explain why we use System 1 thinking

It allows us to make fast, automatic decisions.

Define and give examples of the default heuristic

Choosing the default option (first that comes to mind) when faced with uncertainty

Define and give examples of the availability heuristic

Events that are easy to bring to mind (available) are judged to occur more frequently. Used to judge frequency.

Define and give examples of the framing heuristic 

How words or questions are framed effect memory.

Define and give examples of the anchoring heuristic 

When people rely on a piece of information they receive first. The following are then influenced by this anchor.

Define and give examples of confirmation bias  

A bias where people tend to seek information that supports their claim.

Define and give examples of the representativeness heuristic 

A shortcut where people judge the likelihood of something belonging to a category based on how closely they resemble the typical stereotype.