PSYC 1000 Introduction to Psychology ECU Midterm Review

Psycho-Dynamic Approach

Modern version of psychoanalysis approach that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior.

Behavioral Approach

An approach that views behavior as the product of learning and associations. Founded by John B. Watson. Skinner was the leader of the field after Watson.

Biological Approach

An approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

Neurological Approach

Also known as cognitive, a modern approach that focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning.

Evolutionary Approach

An approach that emphasizes the inherited, adaptive aspects of behavior and mental processes

Wundt

Established the first psychological laboratory in Germany; father of psychology

James Waston

Founder of Behaviorism

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist who originated psychoanalysis

Hindsight Bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Illusionary Correlations

The phenomenon of perceiving a relationship between variables (typically people, events, or behaviors) even when no such relationship exists.

Case Studies

A single individual is studied intensely to examine a problem or issue relevant to that person

Naturalistic Observation

A research method in which subjects are observed in their natural environment.

Correlation Research

Quantitative method of research in which you have 2 or more quantitative variables from the same group of participants, & you are trying to determine if there is a relationship (or co-variation) between the 2 variables

Correlation Coefficients

A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

Experimental Research

This is the manipulation of one variable to examine the effect on the second variable.

Independent Variable

A variable whose variation does not depend on that of another.

Dependent Variable

a variable whose value depends on that of another.

Random Assignment

The use of a random method to assign participants into different experimental groups

Placebo

An inert substance used in controlled experiments to test the effectiveness of another substance

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

Frontal Lobe

The lobe at the front of the brain associated with movement, speech, and impulsive behavior.

Parietal Lobe

Part of the brain that processes tactile information, contains the somatosensory cortex.

Temporal Lobe

associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech

Occipital Lobe

Makes sense of visual information

Right Hemisphere

Controls the left side of the body; it is the more artistic and creative side of the brain

Left Hemisphere

Controls the right side of the body; it is the more academic and logical side of the brain

Neuron

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system.

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

Action Potential

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.

Critical Periods

Periods during which a child is maximally sensitive to environmental influences

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life.

Evolutionary Perspective

Adaptive organisms survive and transmit their genes to future generations

Sexual Response Cycle

Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm, Resolution

Gender Roles

Expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each sex.

Gender Typing

Acquisition of traditional masculine or feminine role

Social Learning Perspective

Emphasizes the roles of reward and punishment

Sensation

Stimulation of sense organs

Perception

A person's cognitive (mental) interpretation of events.

Weber's Law

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant percentage

Top-Down Processing

-Traditional Approach

-Processing that brings the influence of prior knowledge into play to make perception more efficient.

Top down processing

Bottom-Up Processing

-Direct perception

-Analysis that begins with basic senses and then works up to brain's interpretation

Bottom up approach

Gestalt Approach

Emphasized that perception is more than sum of its parts; how sensation becomes perception

Parallel Processing

The use of multiple pathways to convey information about the same stimulus.

Closure

The tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Unconditioned Stimulus

Stimulus that normally produces a measurable involuntary response

Conditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place

Unconditioned Response

Unlearned or involuntary response to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response

Response elicited by a conditioned stimulus

Garcia Effect

Rats develop aversion to stimuli through taste-evolutionary predisposition

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences. Key concepts in operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment.

Positive Reinforcement

The reinforcement of a response by the addition or experiencing of a pleasurable stimulus

Negative Reinforcement

The reinforcement of a response by the removal, escape from, or avoidance of an unpleasant stimulus

Punishment

A consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

Shaping

Learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behavior

Schedules of Reinforcement

Different patterns of frequency and timing of reinforcement following desired behavior that effect their accuracy

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.

Anterograde Amnesia

A loss of the ability to create new memories after the event.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for events or information learned before the amnesia-inducing brain injury

Primacy Effect

Recall is strongest for items at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

A characteristic of memory in which recall is particularly good for the last few items in a list.