Studied by 58 people
hindsight bias
“I knew it all along” phenomenon; after learning the outcome, people believe they predicted it
psych science
scientific study of mind and behavior; the use of the scientific method to create, test and improve hypotheses concerning behavior and the factors and processes underlying behavior
biopsychosocial
systematically considers biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery; behavior or mental process
naturalistic observation
research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment
survey
asking questions of a carefully selected group of people
correlation
when one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate
experimentation
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
ethical guidelines
do not harm, tell subjects risks, informed consent, minimized discomfort, confidentiality, no invasion of privacy, debrief, provide results
central tendency
mean, median, mode
neurons
a nerve cell that is the basic building block of the nervous system; the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between
neurotransmitters
chemical messengers that travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron
nervous system
fast, electrical and chemical communication through the neurons
endocrine system
slower, chemical communication through hormones in the blood
brainstem
oldest part of the brain beginning where the spinal chord swells; connects cerebrum and spinal chord
limbic system
the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses; amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus
amygdala
linked to emotion
cerebral cortex
ultimate control and information processing center
association areas
areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions. They are involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
splitting brains
a brain in which the two cerebral hemispheres have been separated by partial or complete destruction of the corpus callosum
natural selection
the way that any genetically determined behaviour that enhances the ability to survive and reproduce will continue in future generations
circadian rhythym
physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle; impacts our sleep-wake cycles, temperature, hormonal, and digestive systems
NREM-1
fantastic images resembling hallucinations, falling or floating sensation or a bodily jerk
NREM-2
you relax more deeply and begin 20 minutes of this sleep; sleep spindles
NREM-3
slow wave sleep (30 min) where your brain emits large, slow delta and you are hard to awaken
depressants
substances that reduce arousal and stimulation; alcohol, barbiturate, opiates
sensation
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment
perception
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events
inattentional blindness
failing to see visible objects when our attention or focus is directed elsewhere
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
color processing
the retina’s red, green, and blue cones respond in varying degrees to different color stimuli; the cones responses are then processed by opponent process cells
parallel processing
thinking about many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions such as vision
perceptual organization
the process by which the elements of visual and other sensory information are structured into a coherent whole; for example, two people can look at the same image and have different interpretations of it
depth perception
the ability to see objects in 3D although the images are in 2D; allows us to judge distance
hearing
sound waves striking the outer ear; cochlear hair cells in the inner ear; temporal lobes
auditory canal
the channel located in the outer ear that funnels sound waves from the pinna to the tympanic membrane
ear drum
also called the tympanic membrane, is a thin layer of tissue that vibrates in response to sound waves
ossicles
hammer, anvil, and stirrup; transfer sound wave vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the oval window of the cochlea
oval window
membrane covered opening of the cochlea; vibrates when it receives the sound waves and causes the fluid inside the cochlea to move
cochlea
coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear. sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger wave impulses
transduction
the motion of the sound vibration against the oval window of the cochlea causes ripples in the basilar membrane bending the hair cells lining its surface
how do we locate sounds?
sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. from this info, our nimble brain can compute the sounds location
nociceptors
detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemiclas
gate control theory
spinal chord has a neurological gate that blocks pain signals
taste
also called gustation
5 basic tastes
sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami
taste buds
over 200 on the top and sides of your tongue, each have a pore that catches food chemicals
kinesthetic sense
position and motion detectors in muscles
vestibular sense
located in ears and monitors the head’s and body’s movements
synesthesia
stimulation of one sense triggers another
classical conditioning
learning associations between events we do not control
shaping
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcement guides behavior toward closer approximations to the desired behavior
positive reinforcement
adding a desirable stimulus; for example, getting a hug or paycheck
negative reinforcement
removing an aversive stimulus; for example, fastening seat belt to turn off beeping
fixed ratio
every so many; reinforcement after every nth behavior, such as buy 10 coffees get 1 free
fixed interval
every so often; reinforcement for behavior after a fixed time, such as Tuesday discount prices
variable ratio
after an unpredictable number; reinforcement after a random number of behaviors, as when playing slot machines
variable interval
unpredictably often; reinforcement for behavior after a random amount of time, as when studying for an unpredictable pop quiz
punishments
decrease behaviors
positive punishments
adding an aversive stimulus; spanking, parking ticket
negative punishment
removing a rewarding stimulus; time out from privileges, revoked license
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal direction determine our fate
internal locus of control
the perception that we direct and create our own fate
observational learning
learning without direct experience, by watching and imitating others
memory
the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
sensory memory
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
short term memory
memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten
long term memory
relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
effortful processing strategies
chunking, mnemonics, hierarchies
shallow processing
encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words
deep processing
encoding semantically, based on the meaning of words; tends to yield the best retention
retrieval cues
smells, tastes, sights; priming
priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in long term implicit memory
encoding failure
much of what we sense we never notice, and what we fail to encode, we will never remember
creativity
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
expertise
imaginative thinking skills
a venturesome personality
intrinsic motivation
a creative environment
heuristics
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error prone than algorithm; for example, asking the office for the locker combinations
learning
relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
language
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
multiple intellgiences
howard gardener - linguistic, logical (mathematical), musical, spatial, bodily (kinesthetic), intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist
alfred binet
french psychologist commissioned by the govt to design fair and unbiased intelligence tests for school children; his test was transformed into the stanford-binet IQ test
validity
the test measures and predicts what it’s supposed to; criteria for testing
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
convergent thinking
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution; i.e. aptitude tests/ SAT
divergent thinking
expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative tests
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconception and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
mental set
our tendency to approach a problem with the mindset of what has worked for us previously
fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving
functional fixedness
a tendency to think only of the familiar functions of an object
representativeness heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we perceive such events are common
belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect judgements
phonemes
in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
morphemes
in a language, the smallest unit carries meaning
chomsky
a built in predisposition to learn grammar rules, which he called universal grammar, helps explain why preschoolers pick up language so well
sternberg’s triarchic theory
3 intelligences: analytical, creative, practical
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test
savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill
achievement test
exams scoring what you’ve learned
aptitude test
seeks to predict your ability to do college work
David Wechsler and WAIS
yields an overall intelligence score and verbal comprehension
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