Quicksheet: behavioral sciences

Habituation

process of becoming used to a stimulus

dishabitutation

second stimulus intervenes, causing a resensitization to the origional stimulus

associative learning

way of pairing together stimuli and repsonses, or behaviors and consequences

calssical conditioning

an unconditional stimulus that produces an instinctive, unconditioned response is paired with a neutral stimulus. With repetition, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that produces and conditioned repones

operant conditioning; two aspects

behavior is changed through the use of consequences; reinforcement and punishment

reinforcement

increases likelihood of behavior

punishment

decreases the likelihood of a behavior

positive reinfircmente

added stimulus; behavior continues

negative reingforcement

removed stimulus; behavior continues

positive punishment

added stimulus; behavior stops

negative punishment

stimulus removed; behavior stops

depressants; function

• alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines

• sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety

stimulants

• amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy

• increased arousal

opiates/opioids

• heroin, morphine, opium, pain pills

• decreased reaction to pain; euphoria

hallucigens

• LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, psilocybin containing mushrooms

• distortions of reality and fantasy introspection

marijuana

has some features of depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens (in very high doses)

Piaget’s stages of congnitive development

• sensorimotor: object permanence

• preoperational: symbolic thinking, egocentrism, centration

• concrete operational: understand others feelings, manipulating physical objects

• formal operational: abstract through/problem solving

selective attention

allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli require attention in the background

divided attention

automatic processings to pay attention to multiple activities at one time

Wernicke’s area

language comprehension; speak fluently but have difficulty understanding language

• word salad

Borca’s area

motor function of speech; speak comprehensibly in short sentences with great effort

• bad speech

social facilitation

tendency to perform at a different level (better or worse) when others are around

deindividuation

loss of self-awareness in alrge groups; cna lead to drastic changes in behavior

bystander effect

in groups, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need

peer preesure

social influence placed on an individual by another individuals they consider equals

group polarization

tendency towards making decisions in a group that are more extreme than thoughts of individual members

groupthink

tendency to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside ideas

assimilation

one culture begins to melt into another

multiculturalism

encouragement of multiple cultures within a community to enhance diversity

subculture

a groups that distinguishes itself from the primary culture to which it belongs

socialization

process of developing and spreading norms, customs and beliefs

norms

boundaries of acceptable behavior within society

stigma

extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences

deviance

any violation of norms, rules, or expectations within a society

conformity

changing beliefs or behaviors in order to fit into a group or society

compliance; techniques

individual change behavior based on the request of others

• foot in the door, door in the face, lowball, that’s not all

obedience

change in behavior based on a command from someone seen as an authority figure

stereotypes

attitudes and impressions that are made based on limited and superficial information

self-fulfilling prophecy

stereotype creating the expectation of a particular group, which creates conditions that lead to confirmation of the stereotype

stereotype threat

a feeling of anxiety about confirming a negative stereogytpe

prejudice

irrationally based attitude prior to actual experience

ethnocentrism

practice of making judgments about others cultures based on the values and beliefs of one’s own culture (in-group vs out-group)

cultural relativism

studying the social groups and cultures on their own terms

discrimination

when prejudicial attitudes cause differences in treatment of a group