psychology final

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mind

scientific

based on data; based on direct and indirect observation

modern eclectic approach

selecting/adopting information from many different sources rather than relying on one perspective

operation definitions

specify concepts in terms of measurement; to define a condition or disorder

reliability

consistency of a measure; producing the same result whether or not it’s correct

validity

accuracy of a measure; getting the correct answer/result

correlation coefficient

used to summarize whether two measures vary

independent variable

aspect of the environment that is being changed

dependent variable

behavior that is measure or observed

dendrites

branches that receive info from other neurons

soma

the cell body; combines all info received from the dendrites

axon

long spindly structure that sends signals away from the soma

myelin sheath

keeps axon insulated; helps speed things up

terminal buttons

chemicals are released into the synapse; travels via transmission

action potential

all-or-none. excitatory messages cause depolarization (becomes more +); channels open, Na into the cell

inhibitory signal

hyperpolarized; becomes negatively charged

neurotransmitters

when an action potential reaches the end of the axon, it triggers vesicles (sacs) in the terminal buttons to release chemicals

forebrain

higher level processing, cerebral cortex

midbrain

relay station; communicates across the brain, filters out info

hindbrain

basic life support; most primary; bodies need to survive

frontal lobe

planning, decision making, language production, personality, motor cortex

parietal lobe

spatial relations, manipulation of objects, somatosensory cortex - touch, temperature, pain

temporal lobe

auditory infor, language comprehension, memory

occipital lobe

visual processing

germinal

0-2 weeks, implantation on uterine wall

embryonic

3-9 weeks, critical systems come online, neuron development, sex differentiation

fetal period

9 weeks - birth, bone and muscle development, growth, reflexes

sensorimotor stage

birth - 2, perception and motor, cognition is tied to physical world, object permanence, symbolic thought

preoperational phase

2-7, lack of conservation knowledge, sentration (focus on 1 feature) focus on themselves

concrete operational stage

7-12; reason logically about concrete objects and events in their world, solve conservation problems, still connected to physical world

formal operational stage

12+; think abstractly and reason hypothetically, imagine alternate worlds and reason systematically about all possible outcomes

secure attachment

\~ 65%; baby becomes uneasy as stress increases, but is quickly comforted by caregiver

sensation

the actual detection of physical stimuli in the environment

perception

how you interpret or process these signals or messages

bottom-up

physical world; what’s available; actual physical message

top-down

interpretation via knowledge, beliefs, expectations; brain/cognition

retina

the back of the eye where transduction occurs; contains rods and cones, fovea, and optic nerve

cochlea

where transduction occurs; the movement displaces the cilia, which opens Na channels in the hair cells

attention

the internal process used to set goals for mental functioning; goal directed process; sets priorities

alert wakefulness

beta waves

just before sleep

alpha waves

stage 1

theta waves

stage 2

sleep spindle; k - complex

stage 3/4

slow wave sleep; delta waves

REM

beta waves

wish fulfillment

Freud; dreams serve as a royal road to the unconscious, manifest content vs. latent content

activation synthesis

dreams are a consequence of random activity in the brain that the brain tries to interpret

habituation

when our behavioral response to a stimulus decreases; stop responding to an event that becomes familiar via repetition

sensitization

our behavioral response increases to a stimulus; increases responsiveness to an event that has been repeated, more likely when a stimulus is intense/punishing

classical conditioning

when we learn that a stimulus predicts another stimulus

unconditioned stimulus

food; thing that causes a response naturally

unconditioned response

salivation; the natural/unmanipulated reaction/effect

conditioned stimulus

bell; what you’re using to manipulate a response

conditioned response

salivation; new behavior learned

reinforcement

increases behavior

positive reinforcement

add pleasant stimulus to increase behavior; reward

negative reinforcement

remove unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior; take away a chore

punishment

decrease behavior

positive punishment

add unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior

negative punishment

remove pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior

sensory memory

fleeting snapshot of the world; unlimited in capacity, limited in duration

short-term memory

working memory; an active processing system that keeps limited amounts of different types of info available for current use 7+/- 2

phonological loop

holds info in a speech based form; acoustic code

visuospatial sketchpad

stores visual and spatial information; remembers images, routes, spatial tasks

central executive

determines which mechanism to use (phonological loop/visuospatial sketchpad) and coordinates among them

episodic

experience, memory of a particular event or episode that happened to you personally

semantic

knowledge about the world, stored as facts that make little to no reference to one’s personal experiences

procedual

knowledge about how to do something like riding a bike or shoe tying

suggestibility

the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources

retroactive interference

new memories interfere with older memories; a new address makes it hard to recall an old address

proactive interference

old memories interfere with newer memories; playing tennis makes it hard to learn racquetball

phonemes

basic sound of speech; usually a letter (ba, pa, ee)

morpheme

smallest language units that have meaning, including prefixes and suffixes; usually a word

defining features

to be a member of a particular category, there are set of features that an object needs to have

family resemblance

members of a category share certain core features, but not all members have all these features; probability

superordinate

animal; most primary level

basic

fish; most common level

subordinate

trout; most specific level

openness

daring; nonconforming; showing unusually broad interests; imaginative; risky

conscientiousness

ethical; dependable; productive; purposeful

extroversion

talkative; sociable; fun-loving; affectionate

agreeableness

sympathetic; warm; trusting; cooperative

neuroticism

anxious; insecure; guilt-prone; self-conscious

bottom up processing

physical characteristics like attractiveness, skin color, clothing, facial expressions

top down processing

our interpretation of those physical features based on prior beliefs and expectations

social schema

general knowledge structure in memory about social experiences or people; generally adaptive, but under some circumstances they can lead to inappropriate conclusions or actions

stereotype

any beliefs or impressions held about a group and its members (might be unconscious); when social schemas revolve around traits and behaviors or groups and their members

self-fulfilling prophecy

when your expectations about a person cause that person to behave in the expected way

prejudice

positive or negative evaluations of a group and its members

discrimination

behaviors directed against members of a group

internal attribution

attributing the cause of a person’s behavior to an internal personality trait or disposition; high consistency, low in distinctiveness & consensus

external attribution

attributing the cause of a person’s behavior to an external event or situation in the environment; high in consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus

fundamental attribution error

tendency to overestimate the influence of internal factors when analyzing someone else’s behavior

cognitive dissonance

discrepancy between two attitudes or between an attitude and behavior resulting in an uncomfortable mental state (smoking even though you know it’s bad for you)

social facilitation

performance enhanced in the presence of others

social interference

performance impaired in the presence of other

bystander effect

the reluctancy to help someone in need when others are present; think someone else will help

social loafing

tendency to put in less effort when working in a group than working alone

deindividuation

loss of individuality that comes from being in a group (mobs, drinking, dancing)

conformity

tendency to comply with the wishes of the group; move toward the group norm