Psych Confusing Pairs

Systematic Desensitization

________: exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually Increasing anxiety- triggering stimuli.

Stereotype

________: generalized belief about a group and its members.

Functionalism

________: studied the purpose of consciousness (why did the mind do this with its environment)

Assimilation

________: interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schema (ex: all 4- legged animals are "doggies)

Structuralism

________: studied the parts of consciousness (which part of the brain makes us think like this ?)

Sensory Adaptation

________: diminished sensitivity to constant stimulation (ex: not feeling watch on wrist)

Habituation

________: decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure (ex: not hearing airplanes in military)

Reinforcement

________: event that strengthens the behavior that it follows.

Accommodation

________: adapting current understandings to incorporate new info (ex:"dogs "are different than "cats)

Discrimination

________: unjustifiable negative behavior or action toward a group and its members.

Punishment

________: event that decreases the behavior that it follows.

Conformity

________: adjusting behavior to fit in.

Obedience

________: compliance with an order or request.

Secondary

________ (Conditioned) Reinforcement: gains reinforcing power through primary reinforcement (ex: $)

Antagonist

________: chemicals that opposes the action of a neurotransmitter.

Perception

________: top- down processing.

individual elements

Bottom- up processing: ________ to whole.

Prejudice

________: unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members.

Interpersonal

________: relating to relationships or communication between people.

Gender

________: socially influenced characteristics of boy /girl, man /woman.

Reliability

________: same scores on a retest.

Manifest Content

________: symbolic, remembered story of a dream.

Agonist

________: chemicals that mimic the actions of neurotransmitter.

Neurotransmitters

________: in the nervous system, faster message chemicals.

Delta

________ Waves: large, slow brain waves- deep sleep.

Validity

________: test measures what it should.

Convergent Thinking

________: narrowing available problem solutions to determine the best solution.

Cerebral Cortex

________: covers the brain.

Corpus Callosum

________: divides the brain.

Inferential Statistics

________: is to determine whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected: cause and effect.

Classical Conditioning

________: involuntary, link two or more stimuli for learning.

Groupthink

________: thinking that occurs when desire for harmony in group overrides realistic alternatives.

Absolute Threshold

________: level needed to detect a stimulus 50 % of time.

Morphemes

________: basic units of meaning.

Self Fulfilling Prophecies

________: explains how peoples ideas about others can shape the behavior of those others.

Negative Reinforcement

________: increases behaviors by removing aversive stimuli (removal of beep for seat belt)

Positive Symptoms

________: in Schizophrenia, inappropriate behaviors are present (ex: hallucinations, delusions)

biological definition of male

Sex: ________ or female.

Social Loafing

________: exert less effort in a group setting.

Random Sample

________: process of choosing participants from the population & happens before assignment.

Authoritative Parenting

________: demanding and responsive, active parents- leads to high esteem in children.

Descriptive Statistics

________: describe as set of data- central tendency: mean, mode, median.

Quantitative data

________: deals with numbers- height, weight, time.

Qualitative data

________: deals with descriptions- color, smell, taste.

Individualistic Cultures

________: USA- uniqueness of individual stressed.

Central Route Persuasion

________: focus on arguments and facts of argument or advertisement.

Emotion

________- focused Coping: alleviate stress by avoiding stressor, attending to emotional needs.

Social Facilitation

________: improved performance on simple or well- learned tasks in the presence of others.

Dependent Variable

________: what is measured (the outcomes)

Independent Variable

________: what is tested.

Bottom-up processing

individual elements to whole

Top-down processing

whole to the parts

Agonist

chemicals that mimic the actions of neurotransmitter

Antagonist

chemicals that opposes the action of a neurotransmitter

Random Assignment

each participant has equal chance of being placed into any group

Random Sample

process of choosing participants from the population & happens before assignment

Applied Research

clear, practical use

Basic Research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Self-Serving Bias

tendency to overstate ones role in a positive venture & underestimate in a failure

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

explains how peoples ideas about others can shape the behavior of those others

Syntax

grammar

Semantics

meaning

Anterograde Amnesia

cant remember new stuff​ after head injury

Retrograde Amnesia

cant remember stuff before head injury

Systematic Desensitization

exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually Increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli

Flooding

immediately expose patient to worst fears

Absolute Threshold

level needed to detect a stimulus 50% of time

Content Validity

content of a test is representative of the domain it is supposed to cover, such as the unit

Independent Variable

what is tested

Dependent Variable

what is measured (the outcomes)

Experimental Group

group that is tested

Control Group

compared to the experimental, receives the placebo in a drug experiment

Left Brain

language and logic

Right Brain

creative and spatial

Corpus Callosum

divides the brain

Cerebral Cortex

covers the brain

Sympathetic Nervous System

"fight or flight"

Parasympathetic

"rest and digest"

Neurotransmitters

in the nervous system, faster message chemicals

Hormones

in the endocrine system, slower message chemicals

Lateral Hypothalamus

stimulates hunger

Ventromedial Hypothalamus

suppresses hunger

Brocas Area

makes words, speech production

Wernickes Area

comprehends words

Identical Twins

same fertilized egg

Fraternal Twins

two separate eggs

Afferent neurons

sensory, body to brain

Efferent neurons

motor, brain to body

Concrete Operations

logical thinking (logic == concrete)

Formal Operations

philosophical thinking (formal == philosophical)

Sensation

bottom-up processing

Perception

top-down processing

Rods

black, grey white, night and peripheral vision

Cones

color vision and fine detail

Classical Conditioning

involuntary, link two or more stimuli for learning

Operant Conditioning

voluntary, learned behaviors if followed by reinforcement or punishment

Primacy Effect

first items remembered

Recency Effect

last items remembered

Proactive Interference

loss of the new info

Retroactive Interference

loss of the old info