General Psychology: Language, Problem Solving, IQ, Conditioning, and Memory

Behavioral Theory of Language

Children learn language through imitation, reinforcement, and conditioning (Skinner).

Nativist Theory of Language

Humans are born with an innate Language Acquisition Device (Chomsky).

Linguistic Relativity

The hypothesis that one's language determines the nature of one's thoughts.

Functional Fixedness

Perceiving an item only in terms of its most common use.

Mental Set

Persisting in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past.

Incubation Effect

New solutions surface after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem.

Reaction Range

Genetically determined limits on IQ, influenced by environmental factors.

Classical Conditioning

Learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus evoking an unconditioned response without previous conditioning.

Shaping

The reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response.

Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule

Reinforcement given after a fixed number of nonreinforced responses.

Three Key Processes of Memory

Encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Dual Coding Theory

Memory is enhanced by forming both semantic and visual codes.

Short-Term Memory Capacity

Currently thought to be 4 items, plus or minus 1.

Chunking

Grouping familiar stimuli stored as a single unit to increase capacity.

Schema

An organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event.

Semantic Network

Nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related concepts.

Misinformation Effect

Recall of an event is altered by introducing misleading post-event information.

Source-Monitoring Error

A memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source.

Homeostasis

A state of physiological equilibrium or stability.

James-Lange Theory

The theory that conscious experience of emotion results from autonomic arousal.

Cannon-Bard Theory

The theory that emotion occurs when the thalamus sends signals simultaneously to the cortex and autonomic nervous system.

Schachter's Two-Factor Theory

The theory that emotion depends on autonomic arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Germinal Stage

The first phase of prenatal development, lasting the first two weeks after conception.

Fast Mapping

The process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure.

Display Rules

Cultural norms that regulate the appropriate expressions of emotions.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Physical features distinguishing sexes that are not essential for reproduction.

James Marcia's Identity Statuses

Four identity states based on exploration and commitment: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement.

Young Male Syndrome

Risk-taking, competitiveness, and aggression in young men driven by biological and social factors.

Erikson's Stages of Adulthood

Intimacy vs. isolation (early), generativity vs. self-absorption (middle), integrity vs. despair (late).

Kübler-Ross's Five Stages of Dying

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Emerging Adulthood

A transitional period of feeling in-between, typically spanning the late teens through the twenties.

Alzheimer's Disease

A condition accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases, involving profound loss of neurons especially in the hippocampus.

Patterns of Bereavement

Varied trajectories of grief such as absent, chronic, common, depressed-improved, and chronic depression.

Adolescent Risk-Taking

Linked to an immature prefrontal cortex and early-maturing subcortical dopamine reward circuits.

Marital Satisfaction and Parenthood

Couples typically experience a decline in marital satisfaction after the transition to parenthood.