Gen psych-- Final (old)

operational definition

statement about the procedures the researcher used to measure a variable

case study

in depth analysis of one subject

survey

asking people about their thoughts and feelings

observational method

describe and measure people’s and animals’ behavior based on what you see

correlational method

measures the strength and direction between two variables

experimental method

researcher changes/manipulates one variable and measures the effects of that change on another variable

random sampling

everyone in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample

positive correlation

both variables move in the same direction

negative correlation

both variables move in the opposite direction

random assignment

participants have an equal chance of being in the control group and the experimental group

independent variable

manipulated variable

dependent variable

not manipulated variable

experimental control

researcher makes sure that no variable other than the IV is being changed

confounding variable

variable that is potentially responsible for the results, but is not the IV

generalizability

seeing if the results applies to other groups, settings, and situations

myelin sheath

specialized cells that are wrapped around the axon to help transmit messages

action potential

electrical impulses that travel from the cell body down to the end of the axon`

synapse

junction between two neurons

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that travel across the synapse from sending neuron to receptors on receiving neuron

endorphins

(neurotransmitter) reduce pain and promote pleasure

dopamine

(neurotransmitter) voluntary movement, learning, reward, memory

serotonin

(neurotransmitter) sleep, appetite, mood

epinephrine

(neurotransmitter) stress response/mood

agonists

increases the normal activity of a neurotransmitter

antagonists

decreases the normal activity of a neurotransmitter

sympathetic nervous system

increases physiological arousal (fight or flight)

parasympathetic nervous system

decreases physiological arousal (rest or digest)

pituitary gland

“master gland”

adrenal gland

gland for mood, energy level, and stress response

EEG

detects electrical activity of neurons in particular regions of the brain

fMRI

measures relative activity of various brain areas during task

amygdala

controls emotions, aggression, and fear

hippocampus

controls memory and enables formation of new conscious memory

lobes of the brain

frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

mirror neurons

neurons that fire when observing another person doing something

somatosensory cortex

receives information about touch sensation

motor cortexes

voluntary movement

plasticity

flexibility of brain structures

inattention blindness

failing to detect available stimuli due to selective attention

change blindness

failing to detect changes in available stimuli due to selective attention

SCN during darkness

directs pineal gland to secrete melatonin

SCN during light

directs pineal gland to stop secreting melatonin

REM sleep

brain waves resemble wakefulness

N1 sleep

light sleep, hypnagogic jerks, hypnagogic hallucinations

N2 sleep

brain activity slows, reductions in heart rate and muscle tension

N3 sleep

deep sleep

assimilation

fitting new information into present system of knowledge

accommodation

change existing schema as a result of new information

Piaget’s 4 stages

sensorimotor stage, pre operational stage, concrete operational stage, formal operational stage

sensorimotor stage

birth-2 years; looking, sucking, touching; develops object permanence

pre operational stage

2-7 years; develops egocentrism and animistic thinking

concrete operational stage

7-11 years; learns conservation, reversibility, and transivity

formal operational stage

11 years-adulthood; abstract thinking, thinks of future possibilities

object permanence

understanding that something continues to be there even if you can’t see it

egocentrism

only use own frame for reference

conservation

understanding that physical properties do not change when appearance changes

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development

cognitive development results from guidance

zone of proximal development

level at which a child can almost perform a task independently

scaffolding

teacher adjusts amount of support to child’s level of development

theory of mind

understanding how other people think

(Erik Erikson) infant stage

trust vs mistrust

(Erik Erikson) toddlerhood stage

autonomy vs shame and doubt

(Erik Erikson) preschool stage

initiative vs guilt

(Erik Erikson) elementary school stage

competence vs inferiority

(Erik Erikson) adolescence stage

identity vs role confusion

(Erik Erikson) young adulthood stage

intimacy vs isolation

(Erik Erikson) middle adulthood stage

generatively vs stagnation

(Erik Erikson) late adulthood stage

integrity vs despair

harlow’s study of infant attachment

animals and infants get attached to those who give warmth and comfort over those who just provide food

(Mary Ainsworth study) secure attachment

upset when parents left, happy when parents returned

(Mary Ainsworth study) insecure-avoidant attachment

no reaction to parents leaving and returning

(Mary Ainsworth study) insecure-anxious attachment

upset when parents left, upset when parents returned

authoritarian parenting

low warmth, high control, controlling, demanding, restrictive

authoritative parenting

high warmth, high control, child centered, optimal parenting style

permissive parenting

high warmth, low control, few rules and restrictions

uninvolved parenting

low warmth, low control, least effective, most detrimental

(Kohlberg- moral development) pre conventional stage

4-10 years; avoid punishment or gain reward

(Kohlberg- moral development) conventional stage

after age 10; law and order

(Kohlberg- moral development) post conventional stage

early adolescence to young adulthood; individual principles and conscience

delay of gratification

waiting for something better (marshmallow test)

bottom-up processing

raw data that gets communicated to brain

top-down processing

starts with observers expectations and knowledge

absolute thresholds

minimal amount of stimulation that can be detected half of the time

difference thresholds

smallest difference in intensity between two stimuli that a person can detect

signal detection theory

hits, misses, false alarms, and correct rejections

sensory adaptation

decreasing response of sensory receptors to unchanging stimuli

gestalt approach

see whole instead of sum of parts

perceptual constancy

interpretation of changing sensations as perception that is relatively constant (color, light, shape, size)

classical conditioning

learning to respond to a new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the same response

generalization

conditioned response to stimuli that are not the conditioned stimulus, but are similar

discrimination

conditioned response occurs only with conditioned stimulus, not with anything else

extinction

no longer showing a response to the conditioned stimulus

counterconditioning

conditioning someone for the opposite effect (undoing what was originally learned)

operant conditioning

a method that uses rewards and punishments to modify behavior

skinner box

hungry animal placed in box → presses bar → receives food pellet (reinforcer) → increases bar pressing

shaping

reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response

reinforcements

increases behavior

punishments

decreases behavior

positive reinforcement

giving something to increase behavior

negative reinforcement

taking something away to increase behavior