Unit 3 AP Psych *all modules

ecological systems theory

a theory of the social environment’s influence on human development, using five nested systems (microsystem; mesosystem; ecosystem; macrosystem; chronosystem) ranging from direct to indirect influences

separation anxiety

anxiety and discomfort when away from caregivers

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

attachment

an emotional tie with others’ shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation

Konrad Lorenz - imprinting

the process by which animals form strong attachments during early life

secure attachment

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver’s return

insecure attachment (include all types)

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness.

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

basic trust

according to Erick Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

authoritarian

coercive- imposing rules and expecting obedience. children with less skill and self-esteem, and a brain that overreacts when they make mistakes

permissive

un-restraining- few demands, few limits, little punishment. children who are more aggressive and immature

neglectful

uninvolved - neither demanding nor responsive. careless and inattentive, do not seek a relationship with their children. children with poor academic and social outcomes.

authoritative

confrontive - both demanding and responsive, exerting control with rules but more with older children. open to discussion and exceptions. children with highest self-esteem, self-reliance, self-regulation, and helpfulness.

infancy (to 1)

issue: trust and mistrust

if needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

toddlerhood (1-3)

issue: autonomy and shame and doubt

toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves

preschool (3-6)

issue: initiative and guilt

preschoolers learn to initiate taste and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about their efforts to be independent

elementary school (6 to puberty)

issue: competence (industry) and inferiority

children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior

adolescence (teen into 20s)

issue: identity and role confusion

teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

young adulthood (20s to 40s)

issue: intimacy and isolation

young adults learn to form close relationships and gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated

middle adulthood (40s to 60s)

issue: generativity and stagnation

middle-aged people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose

late adulthood (late 60s and older)

issue: integrity and despair

reflecting on their lives, older adults may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

identity

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

social identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships

stage 1 of identity formation: diffusion

without a clear commitment to a particular identity and with little sense of who they are

stage 2 of identity formation: forclosure

premature commitment to an identity with little exploration

stage 3 of identity formation: moratorium

teens actively seek our meaningful identity here

stage 4 of identity formation: achievement

committed sense of self, and a desire to accomplish something personally meaningful that contributes to the world beyond oneself

intimacy

in Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood

emerging adulthood

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many persons in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

learning

the process of acquiring through experience new and relatively enduring information or behaviros

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. the events may be two stimuli (as I classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning)

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

classical conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food)

behaviorism (Watson)

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2)

unconditioned response (UCR)

in classical condition, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (UCS)(such as food in the mouth)

unconditioned (UCS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally— naturally and automatically— triggers an unconditioned response (UCR)

conditioned response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

acquisition

in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant condition, the strengthening of a reinforced response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (also called second-order conditioning)

extinction

in classical condition, the diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. (in operant conditioning, when response is no longer reinforced)

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of a weakened conditioned response

generalization

(also called stimulus generalization) in classical conditioning, the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. (in operant conditioning, when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations)

discrimination

(1) in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been associated with a conditioned stimulus. (in operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced) (2) in social psychology, unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group or its members

preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value.

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher

law of effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable (or reinforcing) consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable (or punishing) consequences become less likely

reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting a pleasurable stimulus. a positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing an aversive stimulus. a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after response, strengthens the response. (note: negative reinforcement is not punishment)

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

conditioned (secondary) reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer.

reinforcement schedule

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

fixed-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

punishment

an event that tends to decrease the behavior that it follows

instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

(Tolman) cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. for example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

(Tolman) latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

insight learning

solving problems through sudden insight; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

observational learning

learning by observing others (also called social learning)

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. the opposite of antisocial behavior

antisocial behavior

negative, destructive, harmful behavior. the opposite of prosocial behavior

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

lawrence kohlberg: moral development

Preconventional morality - conventional morality - post conventional morality for some

erik erikson: psychosocial development

Basic Trust - Autonomy - Initiative - Competence - Identity - Intimacy - Generativity - Integrity

jean piaget: cognitive development

Sensorimotor - Preoperational - Concreate operational - Formal operational

teratogens

agents, such as chemical sand viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

habituation

Decreaing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

maturation

biological growth process that enables orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience (a biological sequence- much more than becoming more “adult-like”)

adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

severe deprivation or abuse

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

fine motor

involves the small muscles of the body

gross motor

involves the large muscles and whole-body movement

infantile amnesia

losing memories from childhood

sex

in psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological experience a woman has as her ability to reproduce declines

emerging adulthood

in prosperous communities (18 to mid-twenties)

early adulthood

roughly twenties and thirties

middle adulthood

40 to 65

late adulthood

the years after 65

gender

in psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex

primary sex characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

secondary sex characteristics

non-reproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality and body hair

spermarche

the first ejaculation

menarche

the first menstrual period

gender identity

our personal sense of being male, female, neither, or some combination of male and female, regardless of whether this identity matches our sex assigned at birth, and the social affiliation that may result from this identity

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information