Untitled Flashcards Set

Structuralism

A theory of psychology that analyzes consciousness and the mind's structures, created by Wilhelm Wundt.

Functionalism

A psychological perspective that focuses on the purpose of consciousness and behavior, associated with William James.

Feminist Psychology

A branch of psychology that addresses women's issues and gender-related concerns, prominent in the work of Karen Horney.

Tabula Rasa

A theory proposed by John Locke that suggests individuals are born as a blank slate, shaped by experience.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process by which associations are made between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus, associated with Ivan Pavlov.

Behavioralism

A psychological approach emphasizing the study of observable behavior, prominently associated with John B. Watson.

Neobehaviorism

A psychological perspective that incorporates behaviorism with some cognitive elements, important in B.F. Skinner's work.

Law of Effects

Proposed by Edward Thorndike; suggests that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are more likely to be repeated.

Unconscious Mind

The part of the mind that is inaccessible to conscious awareness, a key concept in Sigmund Freud's theories.

Falsifiability

The principle suggested by Karl Popper that a theory must be able to be disproven to be scientifically valid.

Person Schemas

Cognitive structures that represent knowledge about significant others' traits, preferences, and appearances.

Social Schemas

Cognitive frameworks that contain expectations for behaviors and events, such as specific norms for weddings.

Self Schemas

Cognitive representations that encompass beliefs about oneself, including traits and behavior.

Event Schemas

Cognitive scripts for the expected sequence of events in specific situations.

Availability Heuristics

A mental shortcut in which people assess the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.

Anchoring Heuristic

A cognitive bias where individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered.

Representative Heuristic

A mental shortcut in which probabilities are estimated based on how well an instance resembles a typical case.

Conjunction Fallacy

The error of assuming that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one.

Type 1 Error

A statistical error where the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected, also known as a false positive.

Type 2 Error

A statistical error where the null hypothesis fails to be rejected when it is false, known as a false negative.

Higher Order Conditioning

A conditioning process where a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus through association with an established conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for a conditioned response to occur in response to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently.

Garcia Effect

A learned aversion to a specific food or odor, where the neutral stimulus prompts a conditioned response.

Positive Reinforcement

The introduction of a pleasant stimulus after a desired behavior to increase its occurrence.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase the likelihood of a desired behavior.

Positive Punishment

Introducing an unpleasant consequence following an undesired behavior to decrease its occurrence.

Negative Punishment

Removing a pleasant stimulus following an undesired behavior to reduce its occurrence.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where behavior is rewarded after a specific number of responses.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where behavior is rewarded after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where behavior is rewarded after a specific amount of time has passed.

Variable Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule where behavior is rewarded after variable periods of time.

Cognition

The mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension.

Encode

The process of getting information into memory.

Store

The process of maintaining information in memory over time.

Retrieve

The process of accessing information from memory when needed.

Recognition

A form of memory retrieval where a person identifies previously learned information from multiple choices.

Recall

A form of memory retrieval where a person retrieves information without any cues or prompts.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious memories that are not deliberately learned, such as how to ride a bike.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory that involves skills and actions.

Declarative Memory

The ability to consciously recall facts and events.

Episodic Memory

Memory of specific events and experiences.

Semantic Memory

Memory for general knowledge and facts.