Living Psych/Soc Vocab Set

Serotonin is involved in

mood disorders

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is involved in

neural activity; stabilizes brain functions such as anxiety, stress, and fear.

Norepinephrine is involved in

wakefulness and alertness. High levels of norepinephrine in the brain leads to alertness, constant fight or flight response, bipolar disorder. Low levels of norepinephrine in the brain lead to depression, lack of energy, less focus

Dopamine is involved in

regulation of the reward system, voluntary movement, memory and focus. Too much dopamine in the brain leads to schizophrenic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech. too little dopamine in the brain leads to depression, lack of motivation/drive, slowed movement/speech.

What are Piaget’s 4 stages of Cognitive Development?

1. Sensorimotor (1-2): gaining physical capabilities where they learn to use their senses to interact with the world: touch, reach for things in their environment. Major achievement: object permanence.

2. Preoperational (3-7): becomes curious of the world, can use symbolism and words/objects to represent objects/concepts, but logical thinking isn’t completely developed. Major achievement: egocentric

3. Concrete Operational (7-11): logical thinking established. Major achievement: concept of conservation: understanding that the physical quantity of a thing remains the same despite change in appearance.

4. Formal Operational (12+): understands hypothetical events, forming own identity, has abstract ideas. Major achievement: reasoning, strategizing, problem solving.

Main difference between Piechet and Vitogsky’s Theories

Piechet believed that there are 4 main steps in cognitive development while Vitogsky believed that our cognitive development is heavily influenced by our environment and parents; sociocultural nurturing.

The Frontal Lobe’s main function is:

processing information, making decisions, emotional control, personality.

Polysynaptic Reflexes vs Monosynaptic Reflexes

polysynaptic reflex arcs contain interneurons that have more than one synapse, while monosynaptic reflex arcs don’t have interneurons and only have one synapse.

How does this make Polysynaptic Reflexes vs Monosynaptic Reflexes different from each other?

polysynaptic reflexes are much complex, slower, and delayed than monosynaptic reflexes. Monosynaptic reflexes happen in less than a second and have movements that are much more simple.

Example of Monosynaptic Reflex

knee-jerk reflex

Example of Polysynaptic Reflex

stepping on a tack

Interneurons connect

efferent and afferent neurons

How does a stimulus travel to and from the spinal cord?

SAME DAVE acronym:

S- Sensory

A- Afferent

M- motor

E- Efferent

D- Dorsal

A- afferent

V- ventral

E- efferent

Cell body & dendrites make up

gray matter

Myelinated Axons make up

white matter

Sensory/Afferent Neurons

bring information to the CNS

Motor/Efferent Neurons

take information from the CNS to the rest of the body

The CNS is made up of the:

brain and spinal cord

The brain is the _____ and the spinal cord is the _____.

head coach, team captain.

Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

Acronym: OAPLG (Old Ah Parrots Love Grapes)

Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latent, Genital

Difference between Freud and Erikson’s Developmental Theories

Freud heavily emphasized that development is set and done in childhood, and if any stages were disturbed, there is significant impact in the individual’s development. On the other hand, Erikson’s theory emphasized development over the course of an individual’s lifetime and is heavily influenced by society & culture.

Life Course Theory

human development is a constant process from birth to death

Activity Theory

successful elderly people keep the same hobbies from when they were young.

Continuity Theory

successful elderly people maintain consistent habits, roles, and identity as they age

Disengagement Theory

elderly people become more self-absorbed and disengaged with society as they age.

Perspectives of Mass Media from different theories

1. Functionalist Theory: mass media provides entertainment, enforces social norms, and are agents of socialization

2. Conflict Theory: to portray the divisions in society with class/race/gender

3. Feminist Theory: mass media is biased towards the stereotypes and dominant ideology.

4. Interactionist Theory: displays the microlevels of everyday behavior

Freud’s Agents of Psyche

1. The Id

2. The Ego

3. The Superego

The Id

parts of our personality that are embedded in our unconscious; the raw, unbridled, instinctive drives that seek immediate gratification and pleasure

The Superego

our learned moral compass and inner critic shaped by societal norms that allows us to feel shame, guilt, and success.

The Ego

the rational decision-making component of the psyche that balances the needs of the Id and the moral conscience of the superego

Symbolic Interactionism

emphasizes that labels we learn affect how we perceive people and create prejudice towards them

Just-world Hypothesis

all good actions are rewarded and bad actions are eventually punished. “you reap what you sow”

Covariation Model

a type of attribution theory that uses multiple observations to come to a conclusion whether something is internally or externally attributed.

Social Stigma

prejudiced and discriminatory behavior towards labeled individuals by society

Attribution Error

thinking that the cause of someone’s actions is due to their personality traits