Ap Psych Study Unit 3.1-3.9

Language

our agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words, and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Semantics is the language’s set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is its set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

universal grammar (UG)

humans’ innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

babbling stage

the stage in speech development, beginning around 4 months, during which an infant spontaneously utter various sounds that are not all related to the household language

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage

the stage in speech development, beginning about age 2, during which a child speaks mostly in two-word sentences

telegraphic stage

the early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram— “go car”— using mostly nouns and verbs

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)

Broca’s area

a frontal lobe brain area, usually in the left hemisphere, that helps control language expression by directing the muscle movements involved in speech

wernicke’s area

a brain area, usually in the left temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension and expression

linguistic determinism

Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think

linguistic relativism

the idea that language influences the way we think

Sensation

Bringing in sensory stimuli from the environment

Perception

Organization & interpretation of sensory information

Absolute Threshold

Minimum amount of energy needed to detect the presence of a stimulus

Difference Threshold

Minimum amount of energy needed to detect the change in intensity of a stimulus

Weber's Law

JND is a fixed proportion percent of the intensity of the stimulus

Signal Detection Theory

predicting our ability to detect if a stimulus signal is present

Subliminal Perception

processing info w/o conscious awareness subliminal stimuli below the threshold

Priming

occurs when exposure to a stimulus, consciously

or unconsciously, influences our perception.

Sensory Adaptation

decline in sensitivity to stimuli that are presented at a constant level

Transduction

Converting energy into neural impulses

Coding

transformation of an object's distinguishing physical characteristics into a pattern of neural activity

Temporal

Changes in neural activity rates or timing

Spatial

Physical location of neural activity

Behavioral Psychology

A psychological perspective that focuses solely on observable behaviors, arguing that all behavior is learned through interactions with the environment.

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a naturally occurring stimulus, resulting in a learned response.

Unconditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning required.

Unconditioned Response

A natural, automatic reaction to a stimulus that occurs without any prior learning.

Conditioned Stimulus

A previously neutral stimulus that has become associated with a specific response through repeated pairings with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response

A learned behavior or reaction that occurs in response to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly paired with a naturally occurring stimulus.

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that initially produces no specific response in an organism until it is paired with another stimulus.

Acquisition

The initial stage of learning when a conditioned response is first established.

Extinction

The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned behavior when reinforcement is no longer provided.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period without exposure to the conditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability of an organism to distinguish between similar stimuli and respond differently to each.

Generalization

The tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli.

Higher-order Conditioning

A classical conditioning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a conditioned stimulus.

Counterconditioning

A behavioral therapy technique where a negative conditioned response is replaced with a positive one.

Aversive Conditioning

A type of classical conditioning where an unwanted behavior is paired with a negative or unpleasant stimulus.

Taste Aversions

A learned avoidance of a specific food or taste due to a previous negative experience.

One-Trial Conditioning

A type of learning where an organism acquires a conditioned response after a single pairing of a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

Biological Preparedness

The concept that organisms are naturally inclined to quickly learn associations between certain stimuli and responses.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process where a behavior is modified by its consequences, with actions followed by reinforcement likely to be repeated.

Reinforcement

Any consequence that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Punishment

Any consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Law of Effect

The principle that behaviors followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated.

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing the likelihood of a behavior by adding a desirable stimulus after the behavior occurs.

Positive Punishment

Adding an undesirable consequence to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Negative Reinforcement

Strengthening a behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus.

Negative Punishment

Removing a desirable stimulus after an undesirable behavior to decrease that behavior's frequency.

Primary Reinforcer

A stimulus that naturally satisfies a basic biological need.

Secondary Reinforcer

A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power by being associated with a primary reinforcer.

Discrimination (in Learning)

The ability to distinguish between stimuli and respond only to the discriminative stimulus.

Generalization (in Learning)

The tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli.

Shaping

A behavioral modification technique where a desired behavior is gradually taught by reinforcing successive approximations.

Successive Approximations

Reinforcing behaviors that gradually get closer to a desired target behavior.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency for trained animals to revert back to instinctual behaviors.

Superstitious Behavior

A learned behavior that occurs when an action is accidentally reinforced.

Learned Helplessness

A state where an individual believes they are powerless to change their situation after repeated negative events.

Schedules of Reinforcement

A set of rules that determine how often a desired behavior will be reinforced.

Continuous Reinforcement

A reinforcement schedule where a reward is given every time a desired behavior is exhibited.

Partial Reinforcement

A conditioning method where a desired behavior is only reinforced occasionally.

Fixed Interval

A reinforcement schedule in which a response is only reinforced after a specific amount of time.

Variable Interval

A reinforcement schedule where a response is rewarded after an unpredictable amount of time.

Fixed Ratio

A schedule of reinforcement where a reward is given after a specific number of responses.

Variable Ratio

A reinforcement schedule where a behavior is rewarded after an unpredictable number of responses.

Social Learning Theory

The idea that people learn new behaviors primarily by observing and imitating others.

Observational Learning

Learning a new behavior by watching and imitating the actions of others.

Vicarious Conditioning

Acquiring a behavior by observing the consequences of another person's actions.

Modeling

The process of learning by observing and imitating the behaviors of another person.

Insight Learning

A type of learning where a solution to a problem suddenly becomes clear.

Latent Learning

Acquiring knowledge or information without any apparent reinforcement.

Cognitive Maps

A mental representation of a physical space.