Intro to Psych Final

Structuralism

School of psychology that looks at the basic elements of conscious experiences

Correlation

A measure of how closely one thing is related to another

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes research

Basic research

Research that is conducted for its own sake, without seeking a solution to a specific problem

Hypothesis

An educated guess, the second step in the research process

Socrates

philosopher who stressed the importance of introspection

Survey

A series of questions about a particular subject

Control group

The group in an experiment that does not receive treatment

Behavior

action that can be observed or measured

Ethics

Standards for proper and responsible behavior

Sensorineural

The type of deafness in which sounds of certain frequencies are not heard

Cerebrum

the large mass of the forebrain, consisting of two hemispheres

Cell body

the part of a neuron that produces the energy needed for the activity of the cell

Perception

The psychological process through which we interpret sensory stimulation

Sensation

The stimulation of sensory receptors & the transmission of sensory information to the brain

Central nervous system

Part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord

Genes

Basic building blocks of heredity

Visual acuity

The sharpness of vision

Closure

The tendency to perceive a complete or whole figure

Axon terminal

Small fibers branching out from an axon

Conscious

Awareness of oneself and one’s environment

Sleep apnea

A sleep disorder in which breathing is interrupted

Generalization

Act of responding in the same way to stimuli that seem similar

Unconditioned stimulus

Stimulus that causes an automatic response

Operant conditioning

Form of learning based on the consequences of actions

Counter conditioning

Method of overcoming fears by pairing a pleasing stimulus with a feared one

Night terror

Sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and apparent terror

Flooding

Exposing a person to a harmless stimulus until fear is extinguished

Systematic desensitization

Method that involves relaxation and gradual exposure to a feared stimulus

Extinction

When a conditioned response stops occurring

Spontaneous recovery

Revival of extinguished response

Intelligence

The capacity to learn from experience and to deal with the environment

Stanford Binet

First modern intelligence test

Heritability

The extent to which variations in a trait from person to person can be explained genetically

Achievement

Knowledge and skills gained from experience

Weschler

Most widely used intelligence test

Creativity

The ability to invent new solutions to problems

Intelligence quotient

A number that reflects a person’s mental age and chronological age

Reliability

Comparison of test scores of a person taking the same test at different times

Insomnia

sleep disorder characterized by problems in falling asleep or staying asleep