psych 160 set 1 flashcards

behavioral perspective

the psychological approach that suggests the the keys to understanding development are observable behavior and external stimuli in the environment

operant conditioning

organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequence through rewards and punishments.

behaviorism

a theory of learning that focuses on our responses to stimuli rather than internal factors

relevant psychologists of behaviorism

John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov

John B. Watson

psychologist who performed the “Little Albert” experiment

Ivan Pavlov

psychologist who recorded the reaction of salivation in dogs

classical conditioning

when our responses to one situation become attached to a new situation

conditioned stimulus

the event of stimuli that evokes a reaction

conditioned response

the reaction that occurs as a result of the conditioned stimulus

relevant psychologists of operant conditioning

B.F Skinner, Edward Thorndike

Edward Thorndike

psychologist who proposed the law of effect

B.F Skinner

psychologist who studied operant conditioning through the “Skinner box” with rats and pigeons

Skinner box

an operant conditioning chamber used on rats, containing a lever for rats for food as a reward

reinforcements

consequences that hope to continue behavior

punishments

consequences that hope to stop behavior

secondary reinforcer

something rewarding that can be exchanged

ex: saving money to buy something

social cognitive theory

introduced by Albert Bandura; proposes that learning occurs in a social context and takes into account the interactions between people, the environment, and behavior

observational learning

when you learn by watching others and figure out what to do to succeed/survive; individuals can learn novel responses via observation of key others’ behaviors

social models

usually those of higher status compared to an observer

reciprocal determinism

there is interplay between our personality and the way we interpret events and how they influence us

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

suggests that regardless of culture, the cognitive development of children follows an order of stages

sensorimotor stage

a stage where children explore using their senses and reflexes to learn more about their environment

object permanence

the knowledge that an object will continue to exist even if they can’t see it

preoperational stage

a stage where children learn how to think abstractly, understand symbolic concepts, and use more sophisticated language

egocentric perspective

most commonly found in young children where they can’t understand that there are other ways of looking at the world other than their own perspective

concept of conservation

changing an objects appearance doesn’t change it’s properties or quantity

concrete operational stage

a stage where children can learn more abstract concepts that apply these to certain situations however they have trouble being consistent with abstract concepts

reversibility

when children can understand that some objects can be altered and then shaped back to their original shape

ex: air in a balloon

formal operational stage

a stage where children can approach events and resolve problems systematically and can consider possible outcomes of their actions

information-processing approach

proposing that humans process the information they receive, rather than merely responding to stimuli, models the different ways humans take in, use, and store information

contextual perspective

considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, and social worlds

ecological systems theory

a theory that emphasizes the importance of studying children in multiple environments

zone of proximal development

when a child can learn cognitive skills within a certain range

scaffolding

where a learner actively acquires a new valuable skill through collaborative activity

development

transformation of participation in a socio-cultural activity

lev vygotsky

believed that social interaction played a key role in children’s learning

urie bronfenbrenner

developed the ecological systems theory to explain how everything in a child and the child’s environment affects how a child grows and develops

macrosystem

outermost ring with cultural elements like global economic conditions and societal responses

exosystem

4th outermost ring including a community’s values, history, and economics

mesosystem

3rd outermost ring with larger organizational structures that impact Microsystems (school, work) and influence the exosystem

microsystem

those who have direct contact to the individual (parents/siblings)

chronosystem

made up of environmental events/transitions that occur throughout a child’s life

evolutionary psychology

a theoretic approach in the social and natural sciences that examines the psychological structure from a modern evolutionary perspective

behavioral genetics

a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behavior and studies the effects of heredity and behavior

Charles Darwin

a scientist who proposed his theory of evolution through natural selection and stated that genetic inheritance also determines certain personality traits and characteristics

natural selection

a process that creates traits in a species that are adaptive to its environment to survive

Konrad lorenz

a psychologist known for his studies on ethology and imprinting

ethology

examinees the ways in which our biological makeup influences our behavior

imprinting

any kind of phase-sensitive learning that is rapid and independence of the consequences of behavior

sigmund freud

early influential founder of psychology and developed psychodynamic perspective

psychosexual stage of development

stages of the child’s pleasure seeking urges, coming from the id

eregenous zone

the area of the body where the psychosexual stage is focused

defense mechanisms

defense that we develop to shield us from painful realities

oedipus complex

a child’s unconscious sexual desire for the opposite sex parent and hatred for the same sex parent

denial

refusing to accept real events because they are unpleasant

displacement

transferring inappropriate urges or behaviors onto a more acceptable or less threatening target

projection

attributing unacceptable desires to others

rationalization

justifying behaviors by substituting acceptable reasons for less-acceptable real reasons

reaction formation

reducing anxiety by adopting beliefs contrary to your own

regression

returning to coping strategies for less mature stages of developments

repression

suppressing painful memories and thoughts

sublimations

redirecting unacceptable desires through socially acceptable channels

ego

begins to develop in the first 3 years of a child’s life; rational, helps to satisfy if in a realistic way

superego

last component to develop and emerges around 5 years old; our conscious, strives perfection (feeling pride and guilt)

id

the basic primal part of personality; it consists of the self we’re born with'; our biologically driven self, instincts and drives, and immediate gratification (pleasure principle)

neurosis

a tendency to experience negative emotions

Erik Erikson

emphasized that social relationships are important at each stage of personality development and identified the psychosocial theory of development

epigenetic principle

we develop through an unfolding of our personality in predetermined stages, and our environment/surroundings influence how we progress through these stages

hope

trust that basic needs like nourishment and affection will be met

will

sense of independence in many tasks developments

purpose

take initiative on some activities, may develop guilt when success its not met

competence

develop self confidence in abilities when competent or sense of inferiority when not

fidelity

experiment with and develop identity and role

love

establish intimacy and relationship with others

care

contribute to society and be part of a family

wisdom

assess and make sense of life and meaning of contributions

correlational research

when scientists passively observe and measure phenomena; goal is to identify patterns of relationships (not cause/effect)

correlation coefficient

the summarized association between 2 variables statistically (abbreviated as r)

positive correlation

when 2 variables of up or down together

strong correlation

very few exceptions, shows a clear pattern

weak correlation

various exceptions, shows an unclear pattern

negative correlation

when the 2 variables go in opposite directions

experimental research

a type of research that measures a cause and effect to test a hypotheses in a controlled setting in efforts to explain how certain factors produce outcome

research design

the strategy/blueprint for deciding how to collect and analyze info

cross-sectional design

used to examine behavior in participants of different ages who are tested at the same point in time

longitudinal design

beginning with a group of people who may be of the same age and background and measuring them repeatedly overtime

attrition

occurs when participants fails to complete all portions of the study

selective attrition

certain groups of individuals may tend to drop out

sequential design

features participants who are followed over time (longitudinal) and participants of different cohorts (cross-sectional)