Psych 100 final

Abnormal or Atypical behavior

behavior that may be considered maladaptive, self destructive, causes distress to the individual, threaten or harms others, impairs social relationships, deviates from culture norms

typical or normal behavior

behavior generally accepted and adaptive

Yerkes-Dodson Law

a psychological principal stating that performance improves as arousal or stress increases, but only up to a certain point. After that point, too much arousal causes performance to decline

Development of anxiety disorders

inhibited temperament, biased thinking, observational learning

treatments for anxiety disorders

cognitive behavioral therapy

CBT

targets changing perceptions related to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

cognitive model

maladaptive behavior is the result of distorted thoughts

behavioral model

maladaptive behavior is the result of learned behavior

exposure

introducing the phobia stimulus to the person

escape prevention

preventing the "running away” from stimulus

systematic desensitizaton

becoming less sensitive to the stimulus using the above two strategies

Fear Hierarchy

a ranked list of situations related to a fear, ordered from least anxiety provoking to most anxiety provoking

what is the most important as to whether or not a client remains using CBT

the amount of trust between client and therapist

maladaptive pattern

my text was not returned after first date - no one will ever love me and I will be alone forever

cognitive restructuring

my text was not returned after a first date - this person is just not the right one for me

Acquisition - classical conditioning

a neutral stimulus comes to elicit to a fear/anxiety response

maintenance - operant conditioning

negative reinforcement

negative reinforcement

partaking in an action to remove an undesirable stimulus

categorical understanding of a disorder

either has or does not have the disorder

dimensional understanding of a disorder

individuals vary on a continuum and differ in degree rather than kind

Diathesis stress model

a theory explaining how psychological disorders develop through the interaction of a predisposition and environmental pressure

stress in DSM

environmental pressures or life events: trauma, chronic stress, loss, illness, academic pressure, family conflict, etc.

Diathesis in DSM

 a predisposition or vulnerability, can be genetic, biological, cognitive, or psychological; examples: inherited risk for depression, anxious temperament, low serotonin function

specific phobia

fear against a specific stressor (like arachnophobia)

what part of the brain is most active with a specific phobia

amygdala

Biopsychosocial model

Health and wellness revolves around the interdependence of biological, psychological, and social factors

Psychological factor example

mental health or wellbeing

Placebo Effect

fake treatment can make a person feel better because they expect it to help

Nocebo Effect

a person experiences negative symptoms or side effects because they expect something harmful or unpleasant to happe

Stress

body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response 

HPA Axis

 hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex 

Hippocampus

stores memories

Prefrontal cortex

working memory

Amygdala

 emotional salience, emotional memories, fear memories

Emotion focused coping

preventing the emotional response to the stressor 

Problem Focused coping

taking steps to solve the problem creating stress 

first stage in general adaptation syndrome

Alarm stage

This is the immediate “fight-or-flight” response.

When a stressor is detected:

• the sympathetic nervous system activates,

• adrenaline and cortisol are released,

• heart rate and blood pressure increase,

• energy becomes mobilized.

Second stage in general adaptation syndrome

Resistance Stage

If the stress continues, the body enters the resistance stage.

• the body tries to adapt to the stressor,

• cortisol levels may remain elevated,

• physiological arousal stays above normal,

• but the body attempts to maintain functioning.

The person may appear to cope normally even though the body is under strain

Third stage in general adaptation syndrome

 Exhaustion Stage

If stress continues too long, the body’s resources become depleted.

This can lead to:

• Fatigue and burnout 

The body can no longer effectively resist the stressor.

Reappraisal

reinterpret an event differently

fixed mindset

belief that abilites, intelligence, and talents are static and cannot change much

growth mindset

belief that abilities and intelligence can improve through effort, learning and persistence

metacognition

Thinking about and monitoring your own thinking and learning processes.

retrieval practice

Actively recalling information from memory to strengthen learning and improve long-term retention

space practice

Studying material over multiple shorter sessions spread out over time instead of cramming all at once

dual coding

Combining verbal information with visuals (such as diagrams, charts, or images) to improve understanding and memory.

interleaving

Mixing different topics or types of problems during study sessions rather than focusing on only one topic at a time

concrete examples

Using specific, real-world examples to help explain and understand abstract ideas or concepts

elaboration

Expanding on information by explaining it in your own words and connecting it to prior knowledge or experiences.

confirmation bias

tendency to seek or favor information that supports existing beliefs

hindsight bias

believing after an event that you knew it all along

self serving bias

attributing success to yourself and failures to outside factor

availability heuristic

judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind

descriptive study

research method used to observe and describe behavior without changing or manipulating anything.

correlational study

research method that examines the relationship between two variables to see if they are related. it does not prove causation

experimental study

research method where researchers manipulate an independent variable to determine its effect on a dependent variable and establish cause and effect relationship

construct validity

How well a test or study actually measures the concept it claims to measure

internal validity

The extent to which a study shows that the independent variable caused changes in the dependent variable, without influence from confounding variables

external validity

The extent to which results of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations

dendrites

Receive incoming signals/messages from other neurons.

cell body (soma)

Contains the nucleus and keeps the neuron functioning

nucleus

Controls the cell’s activities and contains genetic material.

axon

Long fiber that carries electrical impulses away from the cell body

myelin sheath

Fatty covering around the axon that speeds up signal transmission

nodes of ranvier

Small gaps in the myelin sheath that help speed neural impulses

axon terminals (terminal buttons)

Release neurotransmitters to communicate with other neurons.

synapse

Tiny gap between neurons where communication occurs

neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synapse.

Cerebrum

thinking, learning memory, interprets senses, controls voluntary movements, language and problem solving

pituitary gland

master glad that releases hormones to control other glands and body functions

hypothalamus

controls autonomic nervous system (heart rate, breathing, digestion, etc)

brainstem

controls automatic functions vital for survival, breathing, heart rate, swallowing, alertness, sleep cycles

cerebellum

coordinates voluntary movements, maintains balance and posture, involved in motor learning

hippocampus

Formation and storage of memories; learning

thalamus

Sensory relay station; sends sensory information to the cortex

frontal lobe

Decision-making, planning, personality, speaking, voluntary movemen

parietal lobe

top middle area, Processes touch, temperature, pain, and spatial awareness

temporal lobe

side of the brain, Hearing, language comprehension, memory, emotion

occipital lobe

back of brain, vision and visual processes

brain plasticity

the brain’s ability to change, adapt, and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.

genotype

An individual’s genetic makeup; the genes inherited from parents (Having genes associated with brown eyes)

phenotype

Observable traits or characteristics produced by genes and environment (actually having brown eyes)

monozygotic twins

dentical twins formed when one fertilized egg splits into two embryos; share nearly 100% of genes

dizygotic twins

Fraternal twins formed from two different eggs fertilized by two different sperm cells; share about 50% of genes

genetics

Study of heredity and how traits are passed from parents to offspring

epigenetics

Study of how environmental factors influence whether genes are turned on or off without changing DNA sequence

sensation

detection of physical stimuli by sensory receptors (light enters the eyes and is detected by photoreceptors in the retina)

transduction

conversion of sensory stimuli into neural impulses (Rods and cones convert light into electrical signals)

perception

brains interpretation and organization of sensory information (the brain recognizes a face, object, or color)

absolute threshold

The minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time (Hearing a faint whisper in a quiet room)

difference threshold (JND)

The minimum difference between two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time (Noticing the difference between two weights)

sensory adaptation

Reduced sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus over time (No longer noticing the smell of perfume after a few minutes)

habituation

Decreased psychological or behavioral response after repeated exposure to a stimulus (Ignoring the sound of a ticking clock after hearing it for a while)

binocular depth perception

Depth perception that requires the use of both eyes

monocular depth perception

Depth perception using cues available to one eye alone

retinal disparity

Each eye sees a slightly different image.
The brain compares the differences to judge depth.

• Greater difference = object is closer

• Smaller difference = object is farther away

convergence

The closer an object is, the more the eyes turn inward.

The brain uses muscle tension to estimate distance

linear perspective

Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance.

Example:

• Railroad tracks seeming to connect far away

relative size

Smaller-looking objects are perceived as farther away

forgetting

Failure to retrieve or retain information from memory