Ap Psych - Consiousness and Cognition

consciousness

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

biological rhythms

periodic physiological fluctuations

circadian rhythm

the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle

suprachiasmatic nucleus

a pair of pinhead-sized clusters of 20,000 cells that control the circadian clock

melatonin

secreted by the pineal gland; sleep-inducing hormone

REM sleep

rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur; also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active

alpha waves

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

sleep spindles

bursts of rapid, rhythmic brainwave activity during stage 2 sleep

EEG

an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measure by electrodes placed on the scalp

sleep

periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness--as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

hallucinations

false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

delta waves

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

insomnia

recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

narcolepsy

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks; the sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

sleep apnea

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

somnambulism

sleepwalking

night terrors

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, they occur during Stage 4 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

dream

a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind; dreams are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities, and incongruities, and for the dreamer's delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it

manifest content

according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream

latent content

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream ; Freud believed that this functioned as a safety valve

REM rebound

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

psychoactive drug

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood

tolerance

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

withdrawal

the discomfort and distress that follow discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

addiction

compulsive drug craving and use

depressants

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

barbiturates

drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

opiates

opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety

stimulants

drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

amphetamines

drugs that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

methamphetamine

a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels

ecstasy (MDMA)

a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen; produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and longer-term harm to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition

hallucinogens

psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

LSD

a powerful hallucinogenic drug, also known as acid (lysergic acid diethylamide)

THC

the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

near-death experience

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as through cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations

pineal gland

gland located in the center of the brain; secretes melatonin and serotonin

hypnagogic sensations

brief muscular contractions that occur as people fall aseep; feels like you're fallling

NREM sleep

non-rapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM sleep

activation-synthesis theory

a theory of dreaming; this theory proposes that the brain tries to make sense of random brain activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories

substance use disorder

a pattern of long-term maladaptive behaviors and reactions brought about by repeated use of a substance

alcohol use disorder

(popularly known as alcoholism). Alcohol use marked by tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue problematic use.

Nicotine

a stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco

Cocaine

a powerful and addictive stimulant, derived from the coca plant, producing temporarily increased alertness and euphoria

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score

general intelligence (g)

a general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measure by every task on an intelligence test

Charles Spearman

psychologist; believed there was a general intelligence, or g factor that underlies the various clusters in factor analysis

L.L. Thurstone

psychologist; proposed that intelligence consisted of 7 different primary mental abilities

Howard Gardner

psychologist; devised theory of multiple intelligences: logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic

theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner's theory of eight intelligences used to solve problems or solve culturally significant products

Robert Sternberg

psychologist; believed there were three types of intelligences: analytical, creative, and practical

triarchic theory of intelligence

Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance--thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8

Stanford-Binet

the widely used America revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test

Alfred Binet

psychologist; created first intelligence test for Parisian school children - created concept of mental age

Lewis Terman

psychologist; worked at Stanford, revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca*100); on contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn (the AT part of SAT)

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

David Wechsler

psychologist; developed tests similar to the Stanford-Binet IQ test, aimed at both adults and children

WAIS

Weschler Adult Intelligence Test the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

WISC

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, an adaptation of the WAIS for kids

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group

norms

in test construction, established standards of performance

standardization sample

the group of people helping to standardize a test

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the average, and few and fewer scores lie near the extremes

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score, the square root of the variance

z score

a measure of how many standard deviations you are away from the norm (average or mean)

Flynn effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to (see also content validity and predictive validity)

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks)

criterion

the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

metacognition

thinking about thinking

Down syndrome

a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

psychometrics

area of psychology that uses psychological tests to measure the mind and mental processes

predictive validity

the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test score and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity)

face validity

the degree to which an assessment or test subjectively appears to measure a variable

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

Francis Galton

interested in link between heredity and intelligence; founder of the eugenics movement

cohort

A population group unified by a specific common characteristic, such as age, and subsequently treated as a statistical unit.

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Carol Dweck

reports that believing intelligence is biologically set and unchanging can lead to a "fixed mindset"; advocate of growth mindset

cognition

the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category; matching new items to it provides a quick and easy method for including items in a category

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem; contrasts with the usually speedier, but more error-prone, heuristics

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions

inductive reasoning

informal reasoning; trying to asses the believability of a conclusion based on the evidence to support it--use a heuristic

deductive reasoning

formal reasoning; process of following a set of rigorous procedures to reach correct conclusions--use an algorithm

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an impediment to problem solving