Semester 2 Final Exam Study Set

genetic inheritance

The process of transmitting genes from the parents to their offspring; 23 chromosomes come from an individual's mother and another 23 come from their father

gene-environment interaction (G x E)

The phenomenon where an individual's genetic makeup influences their responsiveness to environmental factors. This means that the effects of environmental exposures on traits, diseases or disorders can vary significantly depending on an individual's genetic predisposition.

Mere Exposure Effect

States that attraction increases with the frequency of seeing a person, as familiarity increases

Similarity-Attraction Model

Argues people are drawn toward those who are more like their own self than than those who are unlike them.

Halo Effect

Positive impressions in one area influence others (example: in relationships, a person's beauty positively influences our judgment of other, unrelated qualities)

Natural Selection

Members of a species who have characteristics better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce - thus, passing on these beneficial traits to the next generation

hormones

Chemical messengers released into the bloodstream by glands of the endrocrine system

neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that (when released from vesicles), cross the synaptic gaps between neurons, transmitting information from one neuron to the next

synapse

The junction gap between the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the postsynaptic neuron that neurotransmitters must cross

agonists

Molecules that bind to a receptor and activate a response (increasing or decreasing the activity of that cell accordingly)

antagonists

Molecules that bind to a receptor but do not activate it; instead, they block the binding of agonists and prevent the receptor from being activated (Example: Scopolamine blocks acetylcholine receptor sites)

internal attribution

Dispositional: A person’s traits, personality or abilities are seen as the cause of their behavior (seen as intentional or within their control)

external attribution

Situational: A person’s environment, luck / timing, or the actions of other people are seen as the cause of their behavior (seen as accidental / unintentional and outside of their control)

Relationship-enhancing pattern of communication

Attributing their partner’s successes to internal (dispositional) factors and their failures to external (situational) factors

Distress-maintaining pattern of communication

Attributing their partner’s successes to external (situational) factors and their failures to internal (dispositional) factors

disclosure

The process of sharing information, thoughts or feelings with other people, which may increase liking between two people

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Gottman’s research on couples identifies communication patterns that can threaten a relationship: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling (and he later added belligerence)

stonewalling

Withdrawing from communication within a relationship in order to avoid conflict (often in response to becoming emotionally flooded)

Fatal Attraction Theory

Argues that what initially attracted us to our partner may eventually be the reason the relationship ends. Felmlee found 3 common patterns: Fun to foolish; Strong to domineering; Spontaneous to unpredictable.

Enculturation

The process of internalizing the schemas of your original culture; this can occur through direct tuition (your parents, peers or teachers tell you what you are supposed to do), observational learning, and participatory learning

Deep Culture

Unconscious assumptions, knowledge and values that govern our world view and shape how we learn new information. Includes cosmology (what is good and evil) and mental models (schema) that help the brain interpret potential threats and rewards in its environment

Acculturation

The process by which someone comes into contact with another culture and begins to adopt the norms and behaviors of that culture

acculturative stress

A tension that results from the need to change and adapt a person's ways to match the ways of their new majority culture, while also honoring one's heritage culture. We are social animals who have a need to belong, so feeling like one is not part of a group can produce this.

individualism

A cultural dimension that measures how far a society emphasizes personal achievement, independence, and individual rights, with loose ties between individuals and a focus on personal needs and those of the immediate family. Self-image = “I.”

collectivism

Within the model of Cultural Dimensions, it describes a preference for group harmony, interdependence and loyalty over individual achievement and autonomy; self-image = “We.” This would be indicated by a lower score on the Individualism dimension.

flashbulb memory

A highly detailed, exceptionally vivid "snapshot" of the moment when a surprising / shocking and emotionally arousing event happened, or when you learned of such an event

Schema Theory

Argues that mental frameworks exist to organize information about the world, and to help us make generalizations to more quickly understand the new information we are constantly processing. Schema plays a key role in top-down processing and can affect memory in multiple stages (encoding, storage, and retrieval).

schema

A mental representation, or mental framework, based on previous experience and knowledge, that organizes our information about (and allows us to make sense of) the world.

Social Identity Theory

Argues that a person’s self-identity is based, in part, on their membership in social groups. It explains a three-stage process through which we engage in social categorization, social identification, and social comparison.

social categorization

In Social Identity Theory, the process of sorting people into groups (in-groups and out-groups)

In-group

A social group to which we belong and with which we identify ourselves

Out-group

A social group to which an individual does not belong, nor identify with

social identification

In Social Identity Theory, adopting the social norms of a group to which we belong (and which becomes part of our identity). This process typically results in out-group homogeneity and in-group favoritism.

In-group favoritism

The tendency to attribute more positive characteristics to members of our in-groups than to those of the out-groups to which we do not belong

Out-group homogeneity effect

The tendency for an in-group member to perceive members of any out-group as similar or identical to each other (which, according to Tajfel, may lead to the formation of stereotypes)

“Basking in Reflective Glory” (BIRGing)

The human tendency to enhance one’s self-esteem by heightening (or celebrating) one’s association with a successful or prestigious group

stereotype

A fixed, oversimplified and often biased generalization about a group of people, which can affect behavior in both the person who believes it and those who are labeled by it

stereotype threat

When a person worries they are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one of their in-groups. This leads to such effects as reduced performance and effort, disengaging, or even changing career goals to avoid these situations.

Social Cognitive Theory

Developed by Albert Bandura, it argues we can learn by observing models and imitating their behavior, based partly on what we think will be the consequences (good or bad) of a behavior

neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to constantly change both the structure and function of neurons in response to life experiences or trauma; how the brain adapts throughout our lives

neural network

Interconnected neurons that work together to process information through synaptic transmission

neural pruning

The process of eliminating connections between neurons when they are no longer used

Independent Variable (IV)

The experimental factor that is manipulated by the researcher; the variable that may cause change

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that will be measured during the experiment (usually a behavior or a mental process)

Treatment Group

The research participants who ARE being affected by the independent variable

Control Group

The research participants who are NOT being affected by the independent variable (in some cases, they may receive a placebo - which is a pretend medicine with no treatment value)

demand characteristics

The cues in a research study that might cause participants to behave as they think the researcher wants or expects, which may then affect the results

Dual Process Model

The theory that two modes of thinking and decision making exist within the human brain - one for fast, intuitive responses and one for slower, deliberate, and analytical reasoning.

System 1 thinking

Automatic, fast, intuitive, and involving little or no effort, with no sense of voluntary control; relies on heuristics or prior knowledge (or experience)

System 2 thinking

Slower, conscious, rational, logical and critical - it requires effort and energy to apply it to decisions or problems, but doing so can increase accuracy

Anchoring Bias

The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered, when making decisions