Confusing Pairs Study Guide for Psychology

Sympathetic nervous system

"fight or flight"

Lateral Hypothalamus

stimulates hunger

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

suppresses hunger

Classical conditioning

involuntary, simple behaviors, associating two stimuli

Normative social influence

conformity - fitting in

Broca's area

left frontal lobe, muscle movements for speech

Negative reinforcement

increasing target behavior by taking away something

Habituation

decrease in response after repeated exposure - ignoring airplane sound when living near an airport

Independent variable

what is tested

Dependent variable

what is measured

Parasympathetic nervous system

calming

Operant conditioning

voluntary, complex behaviors, associating a behavior with a response

Groupthink

preserve group harmony, don't express opinion

Group polarization

similar views lead to more extreme opinions

Informational social influence

conformity - accept someone else's version of reality

Wernicke's area

left temporal lobe, language comprehension

Punishment

decreasing target behavior

Random sample

individuals selected from population

Random assignment

individuals selected from the sample and divided into the conditions in the experiment

Sensory adaptation

reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure - the sound of the vent in the back of the room