Psychology Test 3

Developmental Psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

Nuture

environment

Zygote

sperm united with egg

Embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Teratogens

agents that harm the embryo or fetus

Synaptic Pruning

the elimination of neurons as the result of nonuse or lack of stimulation

Grasping Reflex

reflex that causes a newborn to grasp vigorously any object touching the palm or fingers or placed in the hand

Rooting Reflex

an infant's response in turning toward the source of touching that occurs anywhere around his or her mouth

Sucking Reflex

reflex that causes a newborn to make sucking motions when a finger or nipple if placed in the mouth

Dynamic Systems Theory

the view that development is a self-organizing process, in which new forms of behavior emerge through consistent interactions between a biological being and cultural and environmental contexts

Preferential Looking Technique

a method for studying visual attention in infants that involves showing infants two patterns or two objects at a time to see if the infants have a preference for one over the other

Infantile Amnesia

the inability to remember events from early childhood

Cognitive Self

something within and cannot be physically seen

Social-cultural Development

language is required to explain experiences

Neurogenic Hypothesis

new neurons in the adult brain are needed for proper mood control and for antidepressant efficacy

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

Contact Comfort

the instinctual need to touch and be touched by something soft, such as skin or fur

Secure

to gain control of

Avoidant

attachment style in which they seek little contact with their caregiver and are not distressed when the caregiver leaves

Ambivalent

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

Strange-situation Test

A parent-infant "separation and reunion" procedure that is staged in a laboratory to test the security of a child's attachment

Oxytocin

a hormone released by the pituitary gland that causes increased contraction of the uterus during labor and stimulates the ejection of milk into the ducts of the breasts

Piaget's Theory

theory stating that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor

describes Piaget's stage in which the child explores the world through interaction of his mouth and hands with the environment

Preoperational

Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, when egocentrism declines

Concrete Operational

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Formal Operational

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Egocentrism

the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes

Conservation

Protecting and preserving natural resources and the environment

Object Permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Assimilation

new information is placed into an existing schema

Accomodation

create a new schema or drastically alter an existing schema to include new information that otherwise would not fit into the schema

Theory of Mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

Socioemotional Selection Theory

older people show better memory for positive information

Fluid Intelligence

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

Crystallized Intelligence

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

Emotions

signals that tell your mind and body how to react

Mood

a temporary state of mind or feeling

Circumplex Model of Emotion

interaction of valence and arousal

Arousal

condition in which the sympathetic nervous system is in control

Valance

The degree to which the reward that you are given is valuable to you

Primary Emotions

emotions that are expressed by people in all cultures

Secondary Emotions

blends of primary emotions, nostalgia

Insula

activated in anger, guilt, and anxiety

Amygdala

process the emotional significance of stimuli

Hippocampus

helps process explicit memories for storage

Hypothalamus

linked to emotion

Fast Path

sensory information travels quickly through the thalamus directly to the amygdala for priority processing

Slow Path

sensory material travels from the thalamus to the cortex, where the information is passed along to the amygdala

James-Lange Theory

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Cannon-Bard Theory

theory proposing that an emotion-provoking event leads simultaneously to an emotion and to bodily reactions

Schacter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

the idea that facial expressions can influence emotions as well as reflect them

Excitation Transfer

the idea that arousal from one event can transfer to a later event

Misattribution of Arousal

occurs when people incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing

Affect-as-Information Theory

people use current moods to make judgments and appraisals

Emotional Expression

an observable sign of an emotional state

Emotions Strengthen

interpersonal relations

Four Essential Qualities of Motivational States

energizing, directive, persist, vary in strength

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization

Drive Reduction Theory

the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

Homeostasis

A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state

Yerkes-Dodson Law

the principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases

Extrinsic Motivation

performing an activity to obtain an external reward or avoid punishment

Intrinsic Motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake

Incentives

a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior

Self-perception Theory

theory that we acquire our attitudes by observing our behaviors

Self-regulation of Behavior

process by which people change their behavior to attain personal goals

The Achievement Motive

the desire to do well relative to standards of excellence

Self-Efficacy

the expectation that your efforts will lead to success

Need to Belong Theory

the need for interpersonal attachments is a fundamental motive that has evolved for adaptive purposes

Delay of Gratification

declining a pleasant activity now in order to get greater pleasure later

Marshmallow Test

test self-control, can predict academic achievement, SAT scores, drug use, and likability

Cold Cognition

thought processes that occur when under low bodily/emotional arousal/stress

Hot Cognition

emotionally charged situation that can result in an outcome with a high risk or high reward

Nucleus Accumbens

neural pathway that increases dopamine levels. triggers laughter and smiling.

Role of Amygdala

regulates emotions such as fear and aggression and plays a more general role in the formation of emotional memory

Role of Prefrontal Cortex

regulates our thoughts, actions, and emotions through extensive connections with other brain regions

Social Brain Hypothesis

large prefrontal cortexes allow us to live in dynamic and complex social groups

Reciprocity

we must mutually help each other

Transitivity

people generally share their friends' opinions of other people

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

tendency to view outgroup members as less varied than ingroup members

Medial Prefrontal Cortex

important for thinking about other people, less active when considering outgroup members

Fusiform Face Area

facial recognition

Nucleus Accumbens Group Membership

dopamine release

Insula Group Membership

activated in anger, guilt, and anxiety

Amygdala Group Membership

experiencing emotions

Social Facilitation

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

Social Inhibition

a conscious or subconscious avoidance of a situation or social interaction

Social Loafing

the tendency for people to not work as hard in a group than when working aloneƒ

Social Norms

expected standards of conduct, which influence behavior

The Asch Study

those who fail to comply are rejected

Obedience Influence

a form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority

The Milgram Study

ordinary people may do horrible things when ordered to do so by an authority

Prosocial Behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior

Altruism

providing help when it is needed, without any apparent reward for doing so

Inclusive fitness

an explanation for altruism that focuses on the adaptive benefit of transmitting genes, such as through kin selection, rather than focusing on individual survival

Kin Selection

the idea that behaviors that help a genetic relative are favored by natural selection