McMaster Psych 1F03 Midterm

inductive reasoning

specific to general

deductive reasoning

general to specific

reliability

consistency of measurement

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

correlational study

a research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1), the strength of the relationship is shown by the distance from zero

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

dependent variable

The measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested.

experimental group

manipulated/changed

control group

not exposed to experimental treatment, not changes

type 1 error

results thought to be true were found by coincidence

type 2 error

results thought to have no effect when they did

latent learning

learning with minimal performance changes

orienting response

automatic response to stimulus

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

sensitization

increase in responsiveness

unconditional response (UR)

biological response (not learned)

conditional response (CR)

a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus

unconditional stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.

conditional stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a behavior that is dependent on the way it is paired with the unconditional stimulus (US)

extinction

response to CS fades away

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

inhibitory conditioning

presence of CS predicts absence of US

homeostasis

A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry around a particular level

generalization

what is learned from specific stimuli is applied to a broader range

CS+, CS-

CS+ predicts the presence of US.

CS - predicts the absence of US.

If both presented simultaneously, subject will show intermediate response between the two

instrumental conditioning

forming new voluntary behaviours that direct goal-centered actions

Thorndike's law of effect

responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated

primary reinforcers

needed, intrinsic value (like food)

secondary reinforcers

learned value (money

discriminative stimuli

indicates presence (S+) or absence (S-) of relationship

escape training

negative reinforcer removed after response

punishment training

negative reinforcer presented after response

omission training

positive reinforcer removed after response

shaping

complex behaviour learned in small steps

chaining

teaching individual behaviours that compile for one task

contrast effect

value of a reward changes, and the response shifts

overjustification effect

being rewarded for doing something actually diminishes intrinsic motivation to perform that action

fixed-ratio

reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

varied-ratio

type of schedule in which the reinforcement occurs after a non-consistent number of correct responses

analytic intelligence

evaluate, judge, compare/contrast, academics, problem-solving

creative intelligence

art, storytelling, existing knowledge to find new solutions

practical intelligence

street smarts, common sense

functional fixedness

thinking an object can only function in one way

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

flynn effect

The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations

arbitrary associations

no built-in relationship between words and the objects they stand for.

productive language

limited set of symbols create unlimited words and combinations

morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

phonemes

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

semantics

Meaning of words and sentences

transparent orthography

a letter will always make the same sound

perceptual narrowing

loss of the infantile ability to distinguish between phonemes

damage to broca's area- left frontal lobe

difficulty with speech abilities

damage to wernick's area- left temporal lobe

they can speak fluently, but nonsensically

foreign accent syndrome- left hemisphere

person speaks with odd accent

holophrastic sentence

one word sentence

expressive vocab

the words a person can speak

receptive vocab

words understood

overextensions

the use of one word to describe many similar things

underextensions

general term used for one specific item

sapir-whorf hypothesis

the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking

social learning theory

kids learn language through copying and conditioning

innate mechanism theory

humans have innate mechanisms that allow them to understand and use universal grammar rules and language

interactionist theories

nature v. nurture

categorization

assigning an item to a particular group

classification

The process of grouping things based on their similarities

classical theory of categorization

for every category , there is a set of rules that define it

fixed interval

reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

varied interval

length of time changes for each interval ex. 10 min, 8 min, 4 min.

family resemblance theory of categorization

common features link together large subsets of a category

prototype theory of categorization

for every category, we have an ideal example in our minds

exemplar theory of categorization

we store each new member of a category in our memory

typicality

some category members are more representative of the category than others

essentialism

focusing on fundamental properties of a category

anomia

inability to name objects

object agnosia

inability to recognize objects