EBQ TERMS

Prospective Memory

Remembering to do something in the future. Example: Remembering to bring your homework to school tomorrow.

Conformity

Changing behavior to match a group. Example: Wearing trendy clothes because your friends do.

Fixed Mindset

Believing your abilities can’t change. Example: Saying “I’m just bad at math” and not trying to improve.

Growth Mindset

Believing you can improve with effort. Example: Practicing math because you believe you can get better.

Big Five Trait of Conscientiousness

Being organized, responsible, and hardworking. Example: A student who plans ahead and always turns in homework on time.

Self Efficacy

Belief in your own ability to succeed. Example: Believing you can pass a test if you study hard.

Reinforcement

Increases the chance a behavior will happen again. Example: Getting money for doing chores.

Punishment

Decreases the chance a behavior will happen again. Example: Losing phone privileges for breaking curfew.

Social Learning/Modeling

Learning by watching others. Example: A child learns how to cook by watching their parent.

Nature vs. Nurture

Genes (nature) vs. environment (nurture) in shaping who we are. Example: Are you shy because of your genes or how you were raised?

Evolutionary Perspective/Natural Selection

Behaviors that help us survive get passed down. Example: Fear of snakes helps avoid danger and may be inherited.

Hippocampus

Brain part that helps form new memories. Example: Remembering your friend’s birthday.

Motor Neuron

Nerve that sends messages from brain to muscles. Example: Moving your hand to grab a pencil.

Problem Focused Coping

Dealing with stress by fixing the problem. Example: Studying more to improve bad grades.

Emotion Focused Coping

Dealing with stress by managing emotions. Example: Talking to a friend when you're upset about grades.

General Adaptation Syndrome Resistance

Body tries to cope with long term stress. Example: Staying alert during final exams week.

General Adaptation Syndrome Exhaustion

Body’s energy runs out after too much stress. Example: Feeling burned out after months of overworking.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A 3 stage stage process the body goes through when faced with stress, created by Hans Selye.

Alarm : The body gets a “shock” from stress and activates the fight or flight response. Example: You feel your heart race when a teacher says, “Pop quiz!”

Resistance : The body tries to fight the stress and stay alert. Example: You stay focused and push through while studying all night for exams.

Exhaustion : The body runs out of energy after dealing with stress for too long. Example: After finals, you feel drained, get sick, or can’t focus anymore.

Eustress

Positive stress that motivates you. Example: Feeling excited before performing in a talent show.

Distress

Negative stress that overwhelms you. Example: Feeling anxious before a test you didn’t study for.

Sociocultural

How society and culture influence behavior. Example: Following holiday traditions based on your culture.

Psychodynamic Approach

Behavior is influenced by unconscious drives and childhood. Example: Being afraid of dogs because of a forgotten childhood event.

Mnemonic

Memory trick or shortcut. Example: “HOMES” to remember the Great Lakes.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts for decision

Representative

Judging by how similar it is to a prototype (e.g., assuming a quiet person is a librarian).

Availability

Judging based on what easily comes to mind (e.g., fearing plane crashes after hearing about one on the news).

Distributed Practice

Spacing out study time over days. Example: Studying 20 minutes a day instead of cramming.

Context/Mood/State Dependent Memory

You remember best when in the same setting, mood, or state.

Example: Remembering something better when you're back in the room where you learned it.

Confirmation Bias

Looking for info that supports what you already believe. Example: Only reading articles that agree with your opinion.

Framing Effect

The way information is presented affects choices. Example: "90% fat-free" sounds better than "10% fat."

Locus of Control

Belief about what controls your life.

Internal :You believe you control it.

External : You think it's out of your hands.

Example: “I failed because I didn’t study” (internal) vs. “The test was unfair” (external).

Social Norms

Unwritten rules about how to act. Example: Saying “bless you” when someone sneezes.

Attachment

Emotional bond with another person. Example: A baby cries when their parent leaves the room.

Secure Attachment:Feels safe, loved, and comfortable with closeness. Can trust others and form healthy relationships. Example: A child gets upset when a parent leaves but is quickly comforted when they return.

Avoidant Attachment (Insecure): Avoids closeness or emotional connection. May seem distant or self-reliant. Example: A child doesn’t show much reaction when a parent leaves or returns.

Ambivalent/Anxious Attachment (Insecure):Clingy and very sensitive to rejection. Craves closeness but fears being abandoned. Example: A child gets very upset when a parent leaves and is hard to comfort when they return.

Disorganized Attachment: Shows a mix of avoidant and anxious behaviors. Often confused or fearful, possibly due to trauma or inconsistent caregiving. Example: A child may run toward a parent but then freeze or back away.

Cognitive Dissonance

Mental discomfort from holding conflicting thoughts. Example: Feeling bad for lying even though you think you're honest.

Deindividuation

Losing self-awareness in a group.

Example: Acting wildly at a concert because everyone else is.

Bystander Effect

People are less likely to help when others are around. Example: Not calling 911 because you assume someone else will.

Social Loafing

Putting in less effort in a group. Example: Slacking on a group project because others will do the work.

Groupthink

Group wants harmony, so they ignore alternatives. Example: Going along with a bad idea to avoid conflict.

Mere exposure effect

Liking something more the more you see it. Example: Liking a song after hearing it a few times.

Explanatory Style

How you explain events (positive or negative). Example: “I failed because I’m dumb” (negative) vs. “I didn’t study enough” (more hopeful).

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

A belief that leads to its own truth. Example: Believing you’ll do badly, then not trying, and doing badly.

Learned Helplessness

Giving up after repeated failure. Example: A student stops studying after constantly failing tests.

Reciprocity Norm

Helping others who help you. Example: Buying lunch for a friend who treated you last time.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Patterns of rewarding behavior. Example: Slot machines use variable ratio schedules (gambling reward is unpredictable).

Neuroplasticity

The brain’s ability to change and grow. Example: Learning a new language reshapes brain connections.

Amygdala

Brain part linked to fear and emotion. Example: Feeling scared during a horror movie.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Activates “fight or flight” response. Example: Heart races when you’re scared.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that send messages in the brain. Example: Serotonin affects mood.

Hypothalamus

Controls hunger, thirst, and body temp. Example: Tells you when you’re hungry or too hot.

Prefrontal Cortex (Frontal Lobe)

Controls thinking, decision-making, and planning.

Example: Deciding whether to study or go out.

Display Rules

Cultural rules for showing emotions. Example: In some cultures, people hide sadness in public.

Biopsychosocial (BPS) Model

Looks at biology, psychology, and social factors together. Example: Explaining depression through genetics (bio), thoughts (psycho), and life events (social).

Biological (Neuroscience) Perspective

Focus: How the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence behavior.
Example: A person is aggressive due to a chemical imbalance or a brain injury affecting impulse control.

Behavioral

Observable behaviors and how they're learned through rewards and punishments.
Example: A student studies hard because they received praise and good grades in the past, reinforcing the behavior.

Cognitive

Mental processes like thinking, memory, and problem-solving.
Example: You feel anxious before a test because you believe ("I’m going to fail") even though you studied — your thoughts are influencing your emotions.

Humanistic

Personal growth, free will, and achieving full potential.
Example: A teen feels unmotivated until a teacher encourages them to pursue a passion, helping them find purpose and confidence.

Psychodynamic (Freud)

Unconscious desires, childhood experiences, and inner conflicts.
Example: Someone avoids close relationships because of unresolved childhood abandonment issues they’re not fully aware of.

Sociocultural

How culture, society, and social groups affect behavior and thinking.
Example: A student acts differently at home than at school because of cultural expectations or peer pressure.

Evolutionary

How natural selection and survival instincts influence behavior.
Example: People tend to form friendships or bonds in groups for safety and belonging, which helped humans survive in the past.