Psychology/Sociology

absolute poverty

inability to meet a bare minimum of basic necessities, including clean drinking water, food, safe housing, and reliable access to healthcare

acetylcholine (ACh)

the neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular junction, throughout the PNS and by the preganglionic neurons of the SNS

acetylcholinesterase

the enzyme that breaks down ACh in the synaptic cleft

achieved status

statuses that are considered to be due largely to an individual's efforts

acquisition

in classical conditioning, the process of learning the association between a conditioned stimulus and response

action potential

localized change in the neuron's membrane potential that propagates away from its point of origin. All-or-none processes mediated by the opening of voltage gated sodium and potassium channels when the membrane is brought to threshold potential; opening of sodium channels causes characteristic depolarization, while opening sodium channels repolarizes the membrane

activation-synthesis theory

theory that dreams are simply byproducts of brain activation during REM sleep; suggests that the content of dreams is not purposeful or meaningful

actor-observer bias/self-serving bias

tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities

addiction

a compulsion to do an act repeatedly; can consist of a psychological dependence and/or a physical dependence as evidenced by drug addiction withdrawal

adrenal cortex

outer region of the adrenal gland. the adrenal cortex produces cortisol in response to long-term chronic stress and aldosterone in response to low blood pressure and blood osmolarity

adrenal medulla

inner region of the adrenal gland, and part of the sympathetic nervous system; releases epinephrine and norepinephrine into the bloodstream when stimulated, which prolong and enhance the effect of the sympathetic stimulation on the body

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

a tropic hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that targets the adrenal cortex, stimulating it to release cortisol and aldosterone

affect

a person's visible emotion in the moment

affirmative action

policies that take factors like race and sex into consideration to benefit underrepresented groups in admissions or job hiring decisions; these policies have been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims of discrimination

aggregate

people who exist in the same space but do not interact or share a common sense of identity

aggression

behavior that is forceful, hostile, or attacking. in sociology, aggression is considered something that is intended to cause harm or promote social dominance within a group

Mary Ainsworth

famous for her strange situation experiments where mothers would leave their infants in an unfamiliar environment to see how they would react

studies suggested a distinction between securely attached infants and insecurely attached infants

algorithm

a step-by-step detailing the steps that aids with problem solving

alpha waves

low amplitude, high frequency brain waves present in a relaxed state. alpha waves are the first indicator that a person is ready to drift off to sleep

altruism

a behavior that helps ensure the success or survival of the rest of the social group, possibly at the expense of the success or survival of the individual

Alzheimer's disease

most prevalent forms of the dementia, characterized behaviorally by the inability to form new memories, known as anterograde amnesia

amalgamation

occurs when majority and minority groups combine to form a new group

amygdala

almond-shaped structure deep within the brain that orchestrates emotional experiences

anal stage

the second stage of Freud's five psychosexual stages; in this stage the child seeks sensual pleasure through control of elimination

anterior pituitary gland

adenohypophysis and is made of glandular tissue and it makes and secretes six different hormones: FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, prolactin, and growth hormone. it is controlled by releasing and inhibiting factors from the hypothalamus

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new memories

antisocial personality disorder

psychological disorder characterized by a history of serious behavior problems beginning in adolescence, including significant aggression against people or animals, deliberate property destruction, lying or theft, and serious rule violation

anxiety disorder

emotional state of unpleasant physical and mental arousal; a preparation to fight or flee. in a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety is intense, frequent, irrational (out of proportion), and uncontrollable; it causes significant distress or impairment of normal functioning

aqueous humor

thin, watery fluid found in the anterior segment of the eye (between lens and cornea); constantly produced and drained, and helps brings nutrients to the lens and cornea, as well as remove metabolic wastes

Solomon Asch

Conducted research on conformity and group pressure by placing subjects in a room with several confederates and observing behavior of the subject when the confederates provided clearly wrong answers to questions

ascribed status

statuses that are assigned to a person by society regardless of the person's own efforts

assimilation

process in which an individual forsakes aspects of his or her own cultural tradition to adopt those of a different culture. Generally, this individual is a member of a minority group who is attempting to conform to the culture of the dominant group

associative learning

process of learning in which one event, object, or action is directly connected with another; includes classical and operant conditioning

attenuation model of selective attention

model of selective attention in which the mind has an attentuator, like a volume knob, that can tune up inputs to be attended and tune down unattended inputs, rather than totally eliminating them (accounts for the cocktail party effect)

attitude

person's feelings and beliefs about other people or events around him, and his behavioral restrictions based on those underlying evaluations

attribution theory

theory that attempts to explain how individuals view behavior - both our own behavior and the behavior of others - by attributing behavior to either internal or external cues

Hans Eysenck

proposed the PEN model, which describes personality through scores on psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism

Gordon Allport

proposed a theory of personality, which states we all have different traits in the categories cardinal, central and secondary

distress

considered bad stress; difficult and can negatively impact mood, health, and functioning

eustress

positive stress; feels challenging but manageable and can lead to growth

neustress

neutral stress; not considered good or bad stress

auditory cortex

area of the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound information

auditory tube

eustachian tube that connects the middle ear cavity with the pharynx and it functions to equality middle ear pressure with atmospheric pressure so that pressure on both sides of the tympanic membrane is equal

authoritarian parenting

parenting style in which parents impose strict rules that are expected to be followed unconditionally in an attempt to control children; demanding, often relies on punishment

authoritative parenting

parenting style that places limits on behavior and consistently follows through on consequences, but also expresses warmth and nurturing and allows for two-way communication between parents and children

autonomic ANS

division of the PNS that innervates and controls the visceral organs (everything but the skeletal muscles); also known as the involuntary nervous system and can be subdivided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches

availability heuristic

mental shortcut of making judgments on the frequency of something occurring based on how readily it is available in our memories

avoidance learning

process by which one learns to perform a behavior in order to ensure that a negative or aversive stimulus will not be present

avoidant personality disorder

characterized by feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, and undesirability, and a preoccupation with fears of criticism

axon

long projection off the cell body of a neuron down which an action potential can be propagated

Babinski reflex

in response to the sole of the foot being stroked, a baby's big toe moves upward or toward the top surface of the foot and the other toes fan out

back stage

dramaturgical approach where we can let down our guard and be ourselves, as opposed to front stage where we are playing a role for others

Albert Bandura

famous for his Bobo doll studies that demonstrated observational learning; also pioneered the idea of the importance of self-efficacy in promoting learning

baroreceptor

sensory receptor that responds to the changes in pressure (ex. those on the carotid arteries and the aortic arch that monitor blood pressure)

basal nuclei

known as basal ganglia and these structures in the brain help to smooth coordinated movements by inhibiting excess movement

basilar membrane

flexible membrane in the cochlea that supports the organ of Corti (structure that contains the hearing receptors)

fibers are short and stiff near the oval window and long and flexible near the apex of the cochlea, which helps transduce pitch

behavioral genetics

study the role of inheritance in interacting with experience to determine an individual's personality and behaviors

behavioral therapy

type of therapy uses conditioning to shape a client's behaviors in the desired direction

behaviorism

according to this perspective, personality is a result of learned behavior patterns based on a person's environment; deterministic, proposes that people begin as blank slates, and that environmental reinforcement and punishment completely determine an individual's subsequent behavior and personality

beliefs

convictions or principles that people within a culture hold

belief bias

tendency to draw conclusions based on what one already believes rather than sound logic

belief perseverance

maintenance of beliefs in the face of evidence to the contrary

bilateral descent

system of lineage in which the relatives on the mother's side and father's side are considered equally important

biofeedback

means of recording and feeding back information about subtle autonomic responses to an individual in an attempt to train the individual to control previously involuntary responses (for example, muscle tension, heart rate, respiratory rate)

bipolar disorder

cyclic mood episodes at both extremes/poles (depression and mania)

bipolar neuron

a neuron with a single axon and a single dendrite, often projecting from opposite sides of the cell body. bipolar neurons are typically associated with sensory organs

body dysmorphic disorder

characterized with preoccupation with a slight physical anomaly or imagined defect in appearance, often involving the face, hairs, breasts, or genitalia

borderline personality

characterized by enduring or recurrent instability in impulse control, mood, and image of self and others. impulsive and reckless behavior, together with extreme mood swings, reactivity, and anger, can lead to unstable relationships and to damage both of the person with the disorder and of others in his or her life

bottom-up processing

type of sensory processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the complex integration of information occurring in the brain; note that the brain in fact uses a combination of bottom-up processing and top-down processing

Broca's area

region of the brain located in the left-hemisphere of the frontal lobe; involved with speech production and damage to this part of the brain results in Broca's aphasia, where individuals know what they want to say but are unable to express it verbally

bystander effect

fact that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other people around

Cannon-Bard Theory

theory of emotion that asserts that the physiological and cognitive aspects of emotion occur simultaneously and collectively lead to the behavioral reaction

capitalism

an economic system in which resources and production are mainly privately owned and goods/services are produced for profit

caste system

closed social stratification where people can do nothing to change the category that they are born into

catatonic-type schizophrenia

psychological disorder characterized by psychosis in the form of catatonic behavior (including extremely retarded or excited motor activity)

category

people who share similar characteristics but are not otherwise tied together as a group

Raymond Cattell

psychologist interested in personality, who used factor analysis with hundreds of surface traits to identify which traits were related to each other

identified sixteen source traits, and by factor analysis reduced fifteen of these into five global factors: extroversion, anxiety, receptivity, accommodation, and self-control

central executive

part of Alan Baddeley's model of working memory that oversees the visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer. Responsible for shifting and dividing attention

central nervous system

subdivision of the nervous system consisting of the brain and the spinal cord

central route

cognitive route of persuasion based on the content and deeper aspects of an argument

cerebellum

region of the brain that coordinates and smoothes skeletal muscle activity

cerebral cortex

thin (4 mm) layer of gray matter on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres. it is the conscious mind, and is functionally divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

a clear fluid that circulates around and through the brain and spinal cord; helps to physically support the brain and acts as a shock absorber.

exchanges nutrients and wastes with the brain and spinal cord

charismatic authority

form of leadership where devotion is reliant upon an individual with exceptional charisma (persuasiveness, charm, and ability to connect with people)

chemical synapse

type of synapse at which a chemical (NT) is released from the axon of a neuron into the synaptic cleft, where it binds to receptors on the next structure (either another neuron or an organ)

chemoreceptor

sensory receptor that responds to specific chemicals (ex. gustatory, olfactory, and central chemoreceptors which respond to changes in CSF pH)

choroid

darkly-pigmented middle layer of the eyeball, found between the sclera (outer layer) and the retina (inner layer)

chunking

memory technique in which information to be remembered is organized into discrete groups of data; allows more information to be remembered overall

church

in sociology, a type of religious organization that is well-integrated into society and attempts to find an all-encompassing worldview for followers

ciliary muscle

muscle that helps focus light on the retina by controlling the curvature of the lens of the eye

circadian rhythm

waxing and waning of alertness throughout the 24 hour day

class system

social stratification where people are grouped together by similar wealth, income, education, and the like, but the classes are open, meaning that people can strive to reach a higher class or fall into a lower one

classical conditioning

process in which two stimuli are paired in a way that changes a response to one of them

cochlea

curled structure in the inner ear that contains the membranes and hair cells used to transduce sounds waves into action potentials

cocktail party effect

phenomenon of information of personal importance from previously unattended channels "catching" one's attention

ability to hear one conversation in the midst of many

coercive organizations

organization in which members do not have a choice in joining

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

therapy that addresses thoughts and behaviors that are maladaptive by using goal-oriented and systematic techniques

cognitive dissonance theory

explains that we feel tension (dissonance) whenever we hold two thoughts or beliefs (cognition) that are incompatible, or when attitudes and behaviors don't match

when this occurs, we try to reduce this unpleasant feeling of tension by making our views of the world match how we feel or what we've done

cognitive psychology

tradition of psychology that focuses on the brain, cognitions, and thoughts as mediating learning and stimulus-response behaviors

concrete operational stage

Piaget's third stage of his developmental theory where children aged 7-11 learn to think logically and learn the principle of conservation as well as mathematical concepts