Introductory Psychology: Exploration of Key Concepts and Terms

Plasticity

The brains ability to change with learning

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

Parietal Lobes

Part of the brain responsible for processing sensory input

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

People tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby like hearing their name

Activation Synthesis

Dreams are random neural activity

Opponent Process Theory

Opposing retinal processes enable color vision

REM Waves

Rapid low amplitude waves

Secondary/Conditioned Reinforcer

For example money because you know it means you can buy stuff not the money itself

Overextension

the use of a given word in a broader context than is appropriate because kids dont have a vocabulary

Order of memory?

sensory, short term, long term

Drive Reduction

satisfaction of a drive, like putting on a jacket because of drive from coldness

Negative Reinforcement

Removing punishment as a reward

Theory of mind

The capacity to understand other peoples thoughts

Projective Tests

Psychoanalysis assessment that present ambiguous images to the client and ask the client to respond with whatever comes to mind

Openness to experience

how intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded one is

Conscientiousness

Organized/Productive

Agreeableness

Compassion/Trust

Neuroticism

Sadness or emotional instability

Obsession

An unwanted thought

Histrionic Disorder

Seeks attention and is dramatic

Cognitive Therapy

Used to correct unhealthy ways of thinking

Dispositional Attribution

When we attribute actions to someone's character

Standard Deviation

The spread of a group of numbers from the mean + the square root of the variance

PET Scan

An imaging test sed to show how an organ is functioning in real time

MRI vs CT

Magnetic Scan vs X-Ray Scan

EEG vs EOG

Electrical activity of the brain vs electrical activity of the eye muscles

Lateral Hypothalamus

Promotes eating behavior

Temperament Types

Easy, difficult, slow to warm up

Motivation Types

Achievement

Intrinsic

Extrinsic

James Lange Theory

Physical Response causes Emotional Response

Schachter-Singer Theory

Physical Response + Thoughts causes Emotional Response

Lazarus Theory

Thoughts cause Emotional and Physical Response

Cannon Bard Theory

Cannon of responses all at once

Latent Learning

Learning that isn't expressed right away without something pushing it to be shown.

Example: you may have learned typing skills in high school but didn't get a chance to use them until you bought your first computer.

Humanistic Approach

Emphasizes free will, self-actualization, and human nature as growth seeking experiences and motivations for behavior.

Rooting Reflex

When the corner of a baby's mouth is touched the baby instinctively turns their head and opens their mouth.

Echoic Memory

Perfect memory of something you just heard

Narcolepsy

Sudden sleep attacks during the daytime

Representativeness Heuristic

When we estimate the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a known situation.

Example: I think they'll join this club because they look like other people I've seen join that club

Facial Feedback

Our expression affects our emotion (smiling makes us happy)

Top down processing

Bias of environmental factors based on personal perception of the stimulus

Example: If you see the chair you have stubbed your toe on before and you avoid it to make sure it does not happen again

Shaping Learning

Breaking down a target behavior into small steps and rewarding each step.

Fast Mapping

Being able to learn something fast because you barely know anything about it (Kids learn words fast because they can't talk)

Mere-exposure effect

People tend to develop a preference for things that are more familiar to them than others.

Peripheral route persuasion

Persuasion that focuses on emotions rather than facts.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The error or bias of overlooking situational factors of someone's actions. (You think someone is shy because they're quiet in your class)

Groupthink

When a group of people make irrational decisions in order to maintain harmony and conformity.

Hans Eysenck

Made the theories of introversion and extroversion + Personality being determined by genes

Longitudinal studies

Repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time. (LONGitudinal bc over long periods of time with the same people)

Cross sectional studies

Study where you collect data from a population at a single point in time

Industrial and Organizational Psychologist

Works with management and staff in the world of business

Neuron Senders

Axon (Sheaths speed it up)

Sensors for Neurons

Dendrites

Activity in a nerve cell is ____

Activity between nerve cells are ____

Electrical

Chemical

Thalamus

Determines which messages get sent to the various parts of the brain

Hypothalamus

An area of the brain that produces hormones that control: Body temperature, Heart rate, Hunger, Mood.

Limbic System

the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses,

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activated when afraid

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Our eyes do what to perceive objects?

They continuously quiver

Least efficient sense

Taste

Semicircular canals

Detect movements of the head and balance

Stimulus Discrimination

When a subject learns to perform a behavior only in the presence of a certain stimulus

Instinctual Drift

When an animal's natural instincts interfere with the behaviors they are trying to learn.

How is IQ Calculated

Mental Age/Chronological Age x 100

Teratogen

Harmful substance that can harm the fetus

Oedipus Complex Resolution

Identification

Social Learning Theory Emphasizes?

Observational learning

Modern Psychotherapy

Gives more weight to social and cultural environment

Barbiturates

Sedative and sleep-inducing drugs

Correlation Coefficient

Measure of the strength of a linear relationship between two variables

Cognitive Psychologist

Investigates how we perceive and understand the world

William James

Earliest American Psychologist who founded functionalism

John Watson

Behaviorist who studied the effect of the environment on the individual without measuring internal events

Synapse

A small gap between neurons that allows signals to pass between them.

Afferent/Sensory Neurons

Bring information from the senses to the brain

Efferent/Motor Neurons

Bring information from the brain to the body

Brain cells do not

regenerate

Amygdala

Regulates aggression and fear

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Controls basic bodily functions, such as digestion and urination, when the body is relaxed.

Which Hemisphere of the Brain is Dominant

Left Hemisphere

Weber's Law

The difference threshold is a fixed percentage of the original stimulus

The lens of the eye focuses by

Changing shape

Sound waves entering the ear cause vibrations of the

Eardrum

Perceptual Consistency

Allows us to continue to see the world as stable and consistent, despite changes in the way images are presented to our eyes

Prototype

Generalized mental model or picture of a concept

Delta Sleep/Stage 4 Sleep

Deepest stage of sleep

During the last hours of sleep

REM is longer

Most often cause of irrational fear

Classical conditioning

Autonomic Nervous System

Regulates automatic functions in the body during times of high emotion

Depression occurs much more frequently among

Women than men

Agoraphobia

Fear of open or public places

Antipsychotic Drugs

also known as major tranquilizers

Community Mental Health Centers

Provide outpatient therapy for those who need some supervision but can live at home

What is the strongest correlation

The further from zero in either direction the stronger the correlation

Cerebellum

part of the brain that controls balance and other complex motor functions.

Association Cortex

part of the cerebral cortex that performs complex/intelligent cognitive functions.

Closure

we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Implicit Memory

Long-term memory that doesn't require conscious recollection.

Semantic Memory

the memory of acquired knowledge, memorized facts, or information