PSYCH UNIT 1 EXAM

developmental norms

show the typical characteristics or abilities and expected levels of achievement associated with a particular age or stage of development

environment (nurture)

used to refer to all the experiences, objects and events to which we are exposed to throughout our lifetime

hereditary (nature)

involves the transmission of characteristics from biological parents to their offspring via genes at the time of conception 

secure attachment 

infant shows a balance between dependence and exploration 

insecure avoidant attachment

infant does not seek closeness or contact with caregiver and treats them like a stranger

insecure resistant attachment

infant appears anxious even when caregiver is near, becomes very upset when separated from caregiver

adaptation

involves taking in, processing, organising and using new information in ways which enable us to adjust to changes in our environment 

schema

a mental idea about what something is and how to act on it

accommodation

changing a pre-existing mental idea in order to fit new information 

assimilation

the process of taking in new information and fitting it into and making it part of a pre-existing mental idea about objects or experiences 

social norms 

a widely held standard that governs what people should and should not do in different situations, especially in relation to others

cultural norms 

each culture and ethnic group within that culture has its own set of norms about what is considered acceptable behaviour 

statistical rarity 

any behaviour plotted on a graph will fall within the normal distribution curve

typical and atypical behaviour is determined by how often or rarely it occurs

autism (ASD)

a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the way people communicate and interact with others and the world 

characteristics of autism

social interaction - shows little to no response or initiation in social situations 

social communication - commonly experience issues, speech is delayed, facial expressions may not match conversation 

restricted or repetitive behaviours, interests, activities - fixations on activities, adherence to rigid routines etc

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

a disorder involving a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactive-impulsive behaviour that adversely affects development or everyday functioning

characteristics of ADHD

inattention - difficulty maintaining attention, easily distracted, having trouble organising tasks

hyperactivity - excessive motor activity + restlessness, especially in structured situations

impulsivity - acting on spur of the moment without considering consequences 

neurodiversity

used to describe people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are atypical and therefore deviate from what is considered typical or normal in the general population

neurotypicality

people whose neurological development and cognitive functioning are typical, conforming to what most people would consider to be normal in the general population 

abnormality

any deviation from what is considered normal, typical, usual or healthy 

concept of normality

no universally accepted single definition of normality in psychology

a number of psychological + behavioural characteristics suggested to help recognise normality eg. freedom from disabling thoughts/feelings, ability to cope with ordinary demands + problems of life etc

perpetuating risk factor

maintains or prolongs the occurrence of a specific mental disorder and inhibits recovery 

precipitating risk factor

increases susceptibility to and contributes to the occurrence of a specific mental disorder 

predisposing risk factor

increases susceptibility or vulnerability to developing a mental disorder 

protective factors

enhance and safeguard mental health and reduce the likelihood that a mental disorder will develop or reoccur 

risk factors

increase the likelihood that a mental disorder will develop, or increase in severity or duration when it occurs, or will hinder recovery from a disorder 

specific phobia

excessive, persistent and unreasonable fear of an object or situation 

chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

a progressive brain degeneration and fatal condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head or repeated episodes of concussion 

acquired brain injury

commonly used to differentiate brain injury from neurodevelopmental disorders that a person is born with 

experience-dependent plasticity 

involves brain change that modifies some part of its neuronal structure that is already present

experience-expectant plasticity

involves brain change in response to environmental experience that is ordinarily expected 

long-term depression

opposite of LTP; that is a long lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic transmission 

long-term potentiation

the long lasting strengthening of synaptic connections, resulting in enhances or more effective synaptic transmission 

neuroplasticity

refers to the ability of the brain and other parts of the nervous system to change in response to experience 

hemispheric specialisation

the concept that one hemisphere has  specialised functions or exerts greater control over a particular function 

primary somatosensory cortex

receives and processes sensory information from skin and body 

primary motor cortex

initiates and controls voluntary movements through control of skeletal muscles 

frontal lobe

has an ‘executive’ role in all our thinking, feeling and behaving because it coordinates many of the functions of the other lobes and determines our responses

broca’s area

has a crucial role in the production of articulate speech, that is clear and fluent

parietal lobe

receives and processes bodily, or ‘somatosensory’, information. This sensory information includes touch and temperature and information about muscle movement and the body’s position

occipital lobe

almost exclusively devoted to the sense of vision. 

temporal lobe

involved with auditory perception and also plays an important role in memory, aspects of visual perception such as our ability to identify objects and recognise faces, and our emotional responses to sensory information and memories. 

wernicke’s area

has a crucial role in comprehension of speech, more specifically interpreting sounds of human speech 

cerebral cortex

covers the cerebrum and is involved with complex, ‘higher order’ mental abilities like perception, learning, memory, language, thinking and problem solving 

cerebrum

largest part of the brain with cerebral cortex as its outer layer and is primarily responsible for everything we consciously think, feel and do 

thalamus 

filters information from almost all receptor sites that detect sensory information (except nose) and passes it to relevant parts of the brain for further processing 

hypothalamus

has a vital role in maintaining body’s internal environment by regulating release of hormones and influences various other behaviours 

forebrain

collection of upper level brain structures involved in complex cognitive process, emotion and personality 

reticular activating system (RAS)

regulates arousal by either increasing or dampening arousal in response to feedback 

reticular formation

helps screen incoming information to not overload the brain, alerts higher brain centre to important information and helps maintain consciousness and regulate arousal + muscle tone

midbrain

a collection of structures involved. with movement, processing of visual, auditory and tactile sensory information, sleep and arousal

cerebellum

coordinates fine muscle movements and regulates posture and balance

pons

involved in sleep, dreaming, arousal from sleep as well as helping control breathing + coordination of some muscle movements 

connects parts of the brain with one another by relaying messages 

medulla 

controls vital bodily functions eg. swallowing, breathing, heart rate etc all of which are essential for survival 

hindbrain

a collection of lower level brain structures that control or influence various motor functions and vital autonomic responses

reliability 

refers to the extent to which a measure (or ‘measurement tool’) produces results that are consistent, dependable and stable.

repeatability

the degree of agreement obtained when a set of replicate measurement results are produced by the same researcher, using the same method and equipment, under the same conditions, over a short timeframe. 

reproducibility

the degree of agreement between the results of investigations conducted by different researchers, working under different conditions, generally using different equipment at different times and often using different methods of investigation. 

validity

the extent to which a measure accurately measures what it is supposed to be measuring.

internal validity

if it investigates what it sets out and/or claims to investigate. 

the appropriateness of the investigation design, sampling and allocation techniques may be considered, as well as the impact of extraneous and confounding variables on the investigation results. 

external validity

if the results of the research can be applied to similar individuals in a different setting.

within subjects design

an experimental design in which each participant is in both the experimental and control groups or all the treatment conditions (if there is no control group)

between subjects design

an experimental design in which each participant is assigned to only one group or condition and provides only one score for data analysis

mixed subjects design 

an experimental design that combines the features of the within subject and between subjects designs