PSYC 2301 – Unit 2 Vocabulary Flashcards

66 vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, definitions, and research findings from Chapters 4–7 of the PSYC 2301 Unit 2 study guide.

Consciousness

Awareness of whatever is currently happening in one’s mind.

Qualia

The subjective way the world looks, tastes, and feels inside consciousness.

Selective attention

Focusing on chosen stimuli while ignoring competing information.

Change blindness

Failure to notice a visual change in the environment; shown in the “Door Study,” where ~50 % missed a person swap.

Hypnosis

The indication of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestive or directions. 

Psychoactive drugs

Externally generated substances that alter brain function.

Hallucinogens

Psychoactive drugs that produce perceptual distortions and don’t fit other drug categories.

Synesthesia

Stimulation of one sense automatically evokes experiences in another (e.g., seeing colors when hearing music).

Circadian rhythm

The body’s 24-hour biological clock governing regular physiological cycles.

Chronotype

An individual’s natural preference for times of alertness and sleepiness.

REM sleep

Stage with rapid eye movements, vivid dreams, irregular breathing, and wake-like brain waves.

NREM 1

Lightest sleep stage; alpha/theta activity, hypnic jerks, easy to awaken.

NREM 2

Light sleep with sleep spindles and K-complexes; aids memory consolidation.

NREM 3

Deep slow-wave sleep with delta waves; crucial for restoration and immune function.

Poor sleep consequences

Linked to weaker immunity, impaired emotion regulation, low mood, and poor communication.

Learning

Process of changing interaction with the world based on experience.

Behavior analysis

A scientific approach to exploring the principles that govern behavior across species and the development of behavior technologies. 

Classical conditioning

Involves the training of a biologically inherited behavior that is elicited by a specific evolutionary important environment event to occur in the presence of a new stimulus. 

Operant conditioning

The type of conditioning that triggers involuntary responses. 

ABC’s of learning

Antecedents, Behavior, Consequences—the three elements analyzed in operant learning.

Misinformation effect

Post-event misleading information distorts memory, as in the car-crash study.

Chunking

Boosting memory capacity by grouping items into meaningful units. (phone number, grocery lists, and acronyms)

Serial position effect

Better recall for first and last list items than for middle items.

Sensory memory

A memory store for briefly holding sensory information (primarily sights and sounds)

Short-term memory

Temporary store holding information currently in conscious awareness.

Long-term memory

System for durable storage of experiences, facts, and skills from minutes to a lifetime/A memory of past events and facts about the world. The psychological term for the brain's system of storing information for extended periods, potentially from a few minutes to a lifetime. It's the final stage in the memory process and is where experiences, facts, and skills are retained. 

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Stimulus that naturally and automatically evokes a response.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

Innate, involuntary reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

Stimulus that initially fails to elicit the target response.

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Formerly neutral stimulus that evokes a response after pairing with the UCS.

Conditioned response (CR)

Learned reaction produced by the conditioned stimulus.

Positive reinforcer

Added stimulus that increases future probability of the behavior.

Positive punisher

Added stimulus that decreases future probability of the behavior.

Negative reinforcer

Removal of an aversive stimulus that increases future probability of the behavior.

Negative punisher

Removal of a pleasant stimulus that decreases future probability of the behavior.

Problem solving

A process in which a person begins at an initial state and moves through a series of intermediate states to arrive at a desired state. 

Algorithm

Step-by-step procedure that guarantees a correct solution. Problem solving strategy might be slow, but is guaranteed to work 

Heuristic

Mental shortcut that speeds problem solving but can be error-prone.

Availability heuristic

It is based on the assumption that the most easily imagined possibility is also the likeliest. 

Mental set

A set of possible assumptions about a situation that can hide possible solutions. 

Framing

The way in which a particular problem or solution is presented. 

Intelligence

The ability to efficiently and effectively learn from experience, perform mental tasks, and solve problems. 

Emotional intelligence

Capacity to understand others’ feelings, empathize, and express emotion productively.

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge that generally increases with age until ~60.

Fluid intelligence

Ability to process information and solve new problems; peaks around age 20.

Savant

Person with limited overall abilities but extraordinary skill in one domain.

Maximizer

Decision maker who exhaustively seeks the best option and is often less satisfied.

Satisficer

Decision maker who accepts “good enough” options and is usually more satisfied.

Twin studies on intelligence

Greater IQ similarity in identical vs. fraternal twins shows strong genetic influence alongside environment.

Motivation

The processes that energize us to behave in certain ways and in certain contexts. Includes the conditions that activate your behavior, the types of behaviors that you do in the persistence of these behaviors under similar environmental conditions. 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

The theory of motivation proposes that we have genetically determined physiological needs that drive our behavior. The needs ranged from physiological needs (food and water) to safety needs (shelter and protection), to social needs (belonging and companionship) to self-esteem (feeling like want recognition and respect) to self-actualization (becoming the best version of you possible). 

Genetic fitness

Likelihood of surviving and passing genes to the next generation.

Self-determination theory

We are highly motivated to engage in meaningful social interactions. 

Reinforcement theory

Behavior is shaped by its consequences. Positive reinforcement encourages behavior by adding a pleasant stimulus, while negative reinforcement strengths behavior by removing an unpleasant one. Conservatively, punishment decreases the likelihood of behavior by introducing in undesirable consequence for removing a positive stimuli. This theory highlights how both rewards and punishments influence future behavior. 

Intrinsic motivation

Behaviors that are motivated by thoughts, feelings, and values that are inside the individual. 

Extrinsic motivation

Behavior that is activated by stimuli in the environment surrounding the organism. 

Emotion

A complex state of mind that involves a subjective experience, physiological response, and behavioral expression. It's a reaction to a stimulus that can be short-lived or prolonged and can vary in intensity. 

Mood

Long-lasting background emotional state that influences experience.

Affect

Overall experience of emotion and mood.

Environmental trigger

External stimulus that initiates an emotional response, like a situation or something someone says. (Seeing a snake on a hiking trail makes you feel scared) 

Physiological arousal

The body’s automatic response to the trigger, such as increased heart rate or sweating. (Your heart races and your palms sweat as you spot the snake) 

Affective experience

The internal, emotional feeling you consciously experience, like joy, fear, or anger. (You feel a strong sense of fear and anxiety) 

Cognitive interpretation

The way you have evaluate and make sure of the situation, which influences how you emotionally react to it. (You interpret the snake as a dangerous threat and decide to back away slowly.) 

Paul Ekman’s basic emotions research

He traveled to many countries to show people photos of various facial expressions and asked them to identify the emotional expressions. 

Emmons & McCullough gratitude study

A study that examined the effects of practicing gratitude by having participants keep a weekly gratitude journal. The gratitude group reported higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, and optimism compared to other groups. They also experienced fewer physical complaints, sleep better, and were most likely to engage in helpful behaviors. The research concluded that practicing gratitude can significantly improve emotional and physical wellbeing. 

Lissek et al. sensation seeking study

A study examined how sensation seeking of affects emotionally and physiological responses to threatening stimuli. They found that high sensation seekers showed greater physiological arousal (e.g., increased heart rate) when exposed to fearful stimuli, but reported less anxiety or fear. This suggests that sensation seekers are more tolerant of intense experiences, possibly seeking out excitement or danger. This research highlighted how sensation seeking is linked to a unique, emotional and physiological response to threat.