Psych AP Review

cornea

protects eye, bends light to focus

iris

colored muscle of eye that dilates or constricts in response to light intensity

pupil

small adjustable opening of eye

lens

focuses incoming light rays into an image on the retina by changing its curvature

accommodation

the action of the lens changing its curvature so it can make a new image out of incoming light rays

rods

part of eye, detect black, white, grey, necessary for peripheral and twilight vision

cones

part of eye, concentrated near the center of retina, (fovea), detect color and fine details

feature detectors

nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, (shapes, lines, angels, movement)

young-helmholtz trichromatic theory

the retina contains 3 different cone receptors (red, green, blue), and when they are activated by different combinations of wavelengths they can produce any color

monochromatic

this means you only have one color receptor

dichromatic

this means you have 2 color receptors

opponent process theory

opposing retinal processes enable color vision. for example, neurons in the retina are turning on for red and turned off for red

prosopagnosia

face blindness, cannot recognize any faces

blindsight

a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

eardrum

part of the ear that vibrates from sound waves

middle ear

three tiny bones, (hammer anvil, stirrup) pick up vibrations and transmit to cochlea (part of ear)

cochlea

snail shaped tube in the inner ear, vibrations cause ripples bending hair cells lining the surface of the basilar membrane

place theory

theory stating different sound waves trigger activity at different places along the cochlea’s basilar membrane (high frequencies at beginning, low at end)

frequency theory

brain reads pitch by monitoring the frequency of neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve

gate control theory

explains how we experience pain by suggesting a ___ in the spinal cord controls whether pain signals reach the brain. when tissue is injured small fibers activate and open the ____

kinesthesia

your sense of the position and movement of body parts

vestibular sense

monitors your head’s position and movement, sense of balance

semicircular canals

contains fluid that moves when our head rotates or tilts

synesthesia

stimulation of one sense triggers an experience of another (ex. hearing music may make you think of a color)

semantic memories

part of explicit memories, memories of knowledge

episodic memories

part of explicit memories, memories of recalling an event from your life

prospective memories

remembering things you want to do in the future

flashbulb memory

a vivid memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

proactive interference

prior learning disrupts your recalls of new information

retroactive interference

new learning disrupts recall of old information

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular prototypes. believe that a person who likes to read is more likely to be a harvard professor than a truck driver, but there are a lot more truck drivers in the world than harvard professors

availability heuristics

estimate likelihood of events based on how mentally available they are (we believe plane crashes happen more often then they do because of their publicity)

achievement tests

tests that measure what you have learned, like the AP psych test

Aptitude tests

tests meant to predict ability to learn (SAT, ACT)

maturation

biological processes that enable orderly changes in behavior (roll over, crawl, walk)

sensorimotor stage

piaget stage; birth to 2 years old, develop schemas, gain object permenance at 8 months

preoperational stage

piaget stage; 2 to 7 years old; parallel play, lack reversibility and conservation

concrete operational

piaget stage; 7 to 11 years old; understand conservation; understand reversibility

formal operational

piaget stage; 12 and over; can imagine realities, algebra and geometry

lev vygotsky

psychologist who created zone of proximal development and scaffolding

zone of proximal development

a period of time where a child is close to achieving/learning something, but needs a little help

scaffolding

help that allows a child to understand a topic when they were very close to understanding

microsystem

this system is your immediate environment (mom, dad, friends)

mesosystem

This system is connection between your environments (parents talking to teacher)

exosystem

social structures that influences you (school board cuts funding for football, more fundraisers)

macrosystem

how cultural elements affect development (in America we are brough up in a culture where it is very common to pursue post secondary education)

chronosystem

shifts and transitions over historical developments affect life (pandemic, 9/11, etc.)

anxious attachment

a type of insecure attachment, fear of rejection and abandonment, become distraught when separated from caretaker, don’t find comfort in their return

avoidant attachment

a type of insecure attachment, can’t build meaningful relationships due to a lack of intimacy as a child which causes a fear of intimacy

disorganized attachment

a type of insecure attachment, inconsistent behavior, often victims of abuse

diffusion stage

stage of identity formation, no clear identity

foreclosure stage

stage of identity formation, premature commitment to an identity without exploration. (in middle school claim to be a jock b/c on sports teams

moratorium stage

stage of identity formation, teens actively seek a meaningful identity (finding a job/passion)

achievement stage

stage of identity formation, committed sense of self and desire to accomplish something personally meaningful

aphasia

condition where language is impaired

broca’s area

part of the frontal lobe that controls language expression

wernicke’s area

part of the temporal lobe that controls language reception

operant conditioning

conditioning that predicts whether someone will do an activity more or less often

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is a reward for it

insight learning

occurs without any systematic interaction with interaction, after thinking about a problem, aha moment

false consensus effect

people overestimate the levels to which others agree with them

self fulfilling prophecy

when we believe something to be true about others, we act in ways that cause this belief to come true

reciprocity norm

we should return help to those who have helped us

social responsibility norm

an expectation that people will help those needing their help

prisoner’s dilemma

an example of this is spilt or steal, risk hurting yourself or getting more gain. can go in the middle and help yourself and someone else

projective tests

how psychodynamic perspective asses personality, trigger projection of unconscious thoughts

conscientiousness

high end:

organized, careful, disciplined, hardworking

low end:

disorganized, careless, impulsive, lazy

agreeableness

high end:

soft hearted, trusting, helpful

low end:

ruthless, suspicious, uncooperative

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

high end:

anxious, insecure, self-pitying, emotional

low end:

calm, secure, self-satisfied, even tempered

Openness

high end:

imaginative, preference for variety, independent

low end:

practical, preference for routine, conforming

extraversion

high end:

sociable, fun-loving, affectionate, talkative

low end: retiring, sober, reserved, quiet

spotlight effect

overestimating others noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance and blunders

self serving bias

people see themselves as better than average, accept responsibility for good deeds and not bad deeds

arousal theory

people are driven to preform actions in order to maintain a optimum level of physiological arousal

yerkes dodson law

performance increase with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

james lange theory

feedback from your physiological arousal and muscles involved in behavior causes feelings (see snake, heart beats/beathing increases, you feel fearful)

cannon bard theory

the conscious experience of emotion and physiological arousal occur at the same time (see and snake and experience sweating/heart beating and feat at the same time)

two factor theory

emotion is the interaction of physiological arousal and the cognitive label we use to explain arousal (see snake, heart beats faster, your think about why this is happening and decide it is being caused by fear)

biopsychosocial model

model explaining that psychological problems involve a combination of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors

diathesis stress model

genetic predispositions combine with environmental stressors to influence psychological disorders

agoraphobia

fear of social situations

generalized anxiety disorder

person is continually tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal, disorder when it lasts for 6+ months

major depressive disorder

lots of symptoms of depression for 2+ weeks

persistent depressive disorder

mildly depressed mood for at least 2 years

borderline personality disorder

hate being alone, fear of abandonment, instability of emotions. can threaten suicide if someone wants to leave them

schizotypal personality disorder

intense social discomfort, distorted cognitions and perceptions, eccentric behavior

nonmaleficence

ethical principle of psych - seek to benefit patient and do the patient no harm

fidelity

ethical principle of psych - establish a feeling of trust and defined role as your therapist, uphold a professional standard of conduct

integrity

ethical principle of psych - be honest and accurate

respect for people’s rights and dignity

ethical principle of psych - respect patient’s right to privacy, confidentiality, and self determination

aversive conditioning

associates an unpleasant state with an unwanted behavior (drinking and nausea)

REBT

type of behavior therapy that questions rationality of people behaviors to make them see the problem

cognitive behavior therapy

type of therapy to understand the thinking behind behaviors

lithium

this drug effectively levels the emotional highs and lows of bipolar disorder

tardive dyskinesia

long term side effect of anti psychotic medications, produces involuntary movements of facial muscles, tongue and limbs

internal locus of control

type of personal control that you believe that you control your own destiny

external locus of control

type of personal control where you believe that chance or outside forces determine your fate

positive psychology

type of psych where psychologist identifies the factors that lead to well-being, resilience, postive emotions and psychological health