AP Psych Vocab 31-60

Broaden-and-Build Theory

A theory suggesting that positive emotions broaden one's thinking and build lasting resources

Case Study

An in-depth analysis of a single individual or group

Central Executive

The component of working memory responsible for controlling attention and coordinating tasks.

Cerebellum

Controls coordination of muscle movement, balance, and some forms of procedural learning

Cerebral Cortex

Divided into two hemispheres and includes the limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, hippocampus, amygdala), corpus callosum, and the lobes of the cortex

Change Blindness

A failure to notice large changes in the environment when focusing elsewhere.

Chronosystem

Considers the individual's current life stage and how historical events shape their development: growing up during a recession and experiencing a major world event

Chunking

increasing the amount of information that can be held in short term memory by grouping related items into a single unit

Circadian Rhythm

The body's internal biological clock regulating sleep and wakefulness

Classical Conditioning

the basic learning process that involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus gets the same response

Closure

In the realm of Gestaltism, it is believed that we cannot accept incompleteness. Our sensory information is taken over by perception to see a "whole" object even when none exists

Cluster A

A cluster of personality disorders characterized by odd or eccentric behavior (e.g., paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal).

Cluster B

A cluster of personality disorders characterized by dramatic, emotional, or erratic behavior (e.g., borderline, narcissistic, antisocial).

Cluster C

A cluster of personality disorders characterized by anxious or fearful behavior (e.g., avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive).

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on one conversation in a noisy environment.

Cognitive Appraisal

The process of evaluating the significance and potential impact of an event or situation

Cognitive Dissonance

The mental discomfort experienced when actions and attitudes are inconsistent

Cognitive Restructuring

A therapeutic technique that helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns

Cognitive Triad

A concept in cognitive therapy that involves the relationship between negative thoughts about oneself, the world, and the future.

Cold Receptors

Sensory receptors in the skin that respond to cold

Collectivism

A cultural orientation that emphasizes group goals, relationships, and interdependence.

Concepts

Mental categories or groups used to organize objects, events, or ideas based on shared characteristics.

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Confounding Variable

An extraneous factor that could influence results alongside the independent variable

Continuous Development

Views growth as a gradual, incremental process without distinct stages

Constructive Memory

Fills in memory gaps with imagined details, creating false memories

Context-Dependent Memory

Enhances retrieval when in the same environmental setting as during encoding

Control group

in an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to all the experimental conditions, except the independent variable or treatment of interest, the group against which the experimental group is compared

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test accurately measures the concept or construct it is intended to assess

Convenience Sampling

Choosing participants based on availability and ease of access