Psychology Exam 4

Language

a system for communicating with others using signals that are combined according to rules of grammar and that convey meaning

Grammar

a set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages

phonemes

the smallest unit of speech that distinguish one word from one another

phonological rules

indicate how phonemes can be combines to form words

morphemes

the smallest meaningful units of language

morphological rules

indicate how morphemes can be combined to form words

syntatic rules

indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences

telegraphic speech

devoid of function morphemes and consist mostly of content words

nativist theory

language development is best explained as an innate, biological capacity

universal grammar

a collection of processes that facilitate language learning

aphasia

difficulty in producing or comprehending language

concept

a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli

prototype theory

the concept that we classify new objects by comparing them to the “best” or “most typical” member of a category

exemplar theory

the concept that we make category judgements by comparing a new instance with stored memories of other instances of the category

category-specific deficit

a neurological syndrome characterized by an inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category even when the ability to recognize objects outside the category is undisturbed

rational choice theory

the classical view that we make decisions by determining how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and then multiplying the two

abaliability heuristic

a rule of thumb that items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occurred more frequently

heuristic

fast and efficient strategy that may facilitate decision making but does not guarantee that a solution will be reached

algorithm

a well defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem

representativeness heuristic

a mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgement by comparing an object or event with a prototype of the object or event

conjunction fallacy

people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event

framing effects

bias whereby people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is framed

sunk-cost fallacy

a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation on the basis of what they have previously invested int eh situation

optimism bias

people believe that, compared with other individuals, they are more likely to experience positive events and less likely to experience negative events in the future

prospect theory

people choose to take on risks when evaluating potential losses and to avoid risks when evaluating potential gains

means-ends analysis

a process of searching for the means or steps to reduce the differences between the current situation and the desired goal

reasoning

a mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps in order to reach conclusions

illusory truth effect

an error in reasoning that occurs when people will judge the statement to be true

intelligence

the ability to use one’s mind to solve novel problems and learn from experience

intelligence quotient (IQ)

a measure obtained by dividing a person’s score on an intelligence test by the average person’s score

crystallized intelligence

ability to apply knowledge that was acquired through experience; measured by tests of vocabulary and factual information

fluid intelligence

the ability to solve and reason about novel problems; measured by tests that present people with abstract problems in new domains that must be solved under time pressure

emotional intelligence

the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning

fraternal (or dizygotic) twins

siblings who develop from two different eggs that were fertilized by two different sperm at roughly the same moment

identical (or monozygotic) twins

siblings who develop from the splitting of a single egg that was fertilized by a single sperm

cognitive enhancers

substances that improve the psychological processes that underlie intelligent performance

motivation

the internal causes of purposeful behavior

hedonic principle

the idea that people are primarily motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain

emotion regulation

the strategies peopel use to influence their own emotional experience

reappraisal

changing the way one thinks about the emotion - eliciting stimulus

homeostasis

the tendency for a system to take action to keep itself in equilibrium

binge eating disorder

eating disorder characterized by recurrent and uncontrolled episodes of consuming a large number of calories in a short time

bulimia nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by compensatory behavior

anorexia nervosa

an eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of being overweight and a severe restriction of food intake

evolutionary mismatch

the idea that traits that were adaptive in an ancestral environment may be maladaptive in a modern environment

metabolism

the rate at which the body uses energy

intrinsic motivation

a motivation to take actions that are themselves rewarding

extrinsic motivation

a motivation to take actions that are not themselves rewarding but that lead to reward

overjustification effect

people who are rewarded for their performance may become less intrinsically motivated to perform

conscious motivations

motivations of which people are aware

unconscious motivations

motivations of which people are not aware

achievement motivation

the desire to experience a sense of accomplishment by meeting one’s goals

approach motivation

the motivation to experience positive outcomes

avoidance motivation

the motivation to avoid experiencing negative outcomes

loss aversion

the tendency to care more about avoiding losses than about achieving equal size gains

terror management theory

theory about how knowledge of our own mortality influences our motivation

aggression

the behavior whose purpose is to harm another

frustration-aggression hypothesis

animals aggress when their goals are frustrated

proactive aggression

aggression that is planned and purposeful

reactive aggression

aggression that occurs spontaneously in response to a negative affective state

cooperation

behavior by two or more individuals that leads to mutual benefit

group

collection of people who have something in common that distinguishes them from others

in-group favoritism

the tendency to treat people better when they are members of one’s own gropu than when they are not

common knowledge effect

the tendency for group discussions to focus on information that all members share

group polarization

the tendency of groups to make decisions that are more extreme than any member would have made alone

groupthink

the tendency fro groups to reach consensus in order to facilitate interpersonal harmony

deindividuation

when immersion in a group causes people to become less attentive to their person values

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency to feel diminished responsibility for one’s actions when surrounded by others who are acting the same way

bystander effect

the tendency for people to be less likely to help a stranger in an emergency situation when other bystanders are present

altruism

intentional behavior that benefits another at a potential cost to oneself

kin selection

the process by which evolution selects for individuals who cooperate with their relatives

reciprocal altruism

behavior that benefits another with the exception that those benefits will be returned in the future

mere exposure effect

the tendency for liking of a stimulus to increase with the frequency of exposure to that stimulus

homophily

the tendency for people to like others who are similar to themselves

passionate love

an experience involving feelings of euphoria, intimacy and intense sexual attraction

companionate love

an experience involving affection, trust, and concern for a partner’s well-being

social cognition

the process by which people understand others

category-based inferences

inferences based on information about the categories to which a person belongs

target-based inferences

inferences based on information about an individual’s behavior

stereotyping

the process of drawing inferences about individuals based on their category membership

prejudice

a negative evaluation of another person based solely on their category membership

discrimination

negative behavior toward another person based solely on their category membership

behavioral confirmation

the tendency for targets to behave as observers expect them to behave

stereotype threat

the anxiety associated with the possibility of confirming other people’s stereotypes about one’s group

perceptual confirmation

the tendency for observers to see what they expect to see

attribution

an inference about the cause of a person’s behavior

fundamental attribution error

the tendency to make a dispositional attribution when we should instead make a situational attribution

actor-observer effect

the tendency to make situational attributions for our own behaviors while making dispositional attributions for the identical behavior of others

social influence

the ability to change or direct another person’s behavior

over justification effect

when a reward decreases a person’s intrinsic motivation to perform a behavior

reactance

is an unpleasant feeling that arises when people feel they are being coerced

norms

customary standards for behavior that are widely shared by members of a culture

norm of reciprocity

the unwritten rule that people should benefit those who have benefited them

normative influence

when another person’s behavior provides information about what is appropriate

door-in-the-face technique

an influence strategy that involves getting someone to accept a small request by first getting them to refuse a large request

conformity

the tendency to do what others do; it results in part from normative influence

obedience

the tendency to do what authorities tell us to do

attitude

an enduring positive or negative evaluation of a stimulus

belief

an enduring piece of knowledge about a stimulus

information influence

when another person’s behavior provides information about what is good or true