u2 Flashcards Set

Sure! Here are the definitions for each term:

Psychological Perspectives

• Biopsychosocial: An approach that combines biological, psychological, and social factors to understand behavior and mental processes.

• Behavioral: A perspective that focuses on observable behaviors and the ways they're learned.

• Cognitive: A perspective that examines mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving.

• Evolutionary: A perspective that explains psychological traits as adaptations shaped by natural selection.

• Psychodynamic: A perspective that emphasizes unconscious processes and childhood experiences in shaping behavior.

• Humanistic: A perspective that emphasizes individual potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization.

• Biological: A perspective that focuses on the physical and biological bases of behavior.

• Behavior-Genetics: A field that studies the influence of genetic and environmental factors on behavior.

Research Methods

• Difference between Correlations and Experiments: Correlations examine relationships between variables, whereas experiments manipulate variables to determine cause and effect.

• Identification of IV, DV, 3rd Variables: In an experiment, the IV (independent variable) is manipulated, the DV (dependent variable) is measured, and 3rd variables are any other factors that might influence the DV.

• Operational Definitions: Precise definitions of how variables will be measured in a study.

  • Example of IV, DV, and 3rd Variables:**
    In a study examining the effect of sleep on test performance:
    - **Independent Variable (IV)**: Amount of sleep (e.g., 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours)
    - **Dependent Variable (DV)**: Test scores (measured after the students take the exam)
    - **3rd Variables**: Factors such as students' study habits, caffeine consumption, or prior knowledge of the subject may also influence test scores.

• Random Assignment: A technique used to assign participants to different groups in an experiment randomly, ensuring each participant has an equal chance.

• Quantitative vs Qualitative: Quantitative research deals with numbers and measurable forms, while qualitative research focuses on understanding experiences and concepts.

• Validity: The degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure; types include predictive and construct validity.

• Reliability: The consistency of a measure, assessed in terms such as interrater, split-half, and test-retest reliability.

Statistics

• Inferential: Statistics used to make inferences about a population based on a sample; includes statistical significance and effect size.

• Descriptive: Statistics that describe and summarize data; includes mean, median, and mode.

• Standard Deviation: A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.

• Variance: A statistical measurement of the spread between numbers in a data set.

• Range: The difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set.

Memory Terms

• Long-Term Memory: The system responsible for the storage of information over an extended period. Primarily stored in the **hippocampus

• Explicit Memory: Memory that involves conscious recollection of information. Involves the hippocampus for encoding and the cerebral cortex for storage.

• Implicit Memory: Memory that does not require conscious thought, often expressed through behavior. Associated with the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

• Episodic Memory: Memory for personal experiences and specific events. Primarily involves the hippocampus for encoding and the medial temporal lobe for storage

• Semantic Memory: Memory for facts and general knowledge. Stored in the temporal lobes, particularly in the left hemisphere.

• Prospective Memory: Memory for future intentions. Engages the prefrontal cortex, particularly in planning and intention-setting

• Retrospective Memory: Memory for past events. Associated with the hippocampus for recalling past events.

• Long-Term Potentiation: A process of synaptic strengthening that underlies learning and memory. Involves synaptic changes primarily in the hippocampus and other areas related to neural plasticity.

• Short-Term vs Working Memory: Short-term memory holds information temporarily, while working memory actively processes and manipulates that information. Short-term memory is associated with prefrontal cortex activity, while working memory incorporates regions of the parietal lobe and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Perception Terms

• Selective Attention: The process of focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others, allowing individuals to process info efficiently and avoid overload.

• Perceptual Set: A tendency to perceive stimuli in a certain way based on past experiences, expectations, and context.

• Top Down Processing: A cognitive process that uses pre-existing knowledge, experiences, and expectations to interpret and organize sensory information.

• Gestalt Grouping Principles: The rules by which the human brain organizes visual elements.

  • Closure: The tendency to perceive a complete, whole object even when there are gaps in the sensory information.

  • Continuity: The predisposition to perceive continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.

  • Proximity: Objects that are close to each other are perceived as a group.

• Retinal Disparity: A binocular cue for depth perception that arises from the slightly different views of the world that each eye receives, allowing for the perception of distance.

• Monocular Cues: Depth cues that can be perceived with one eye.

  • Relative Size: The perception that smaller objects are farther away compared to larger ones.

  • Linear Perspective: A monocular cue that parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance.

  • Interposition: The perceived depth that occurs when one object overlaps another, obscuring it.

  • Texture Gradient: A monocular cue that shows how textures appear denser as they recede into the distance.

Thinking and Problem-Solving Terms

• Metacognition: Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes, involving self-regulation and reflection on learning strategies.

• Algorithm: A step-by-step procedure or formula for solving a problem that guarantees a correct solution if followed correctly.

• Heuristic: A cognitive shortcut or rule of thumb for problem-solving, enabling faster decisions but not always guaranteed to be accurate.

  • Availability Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of events based on how readily examples come to mind.

  • Representativeness Heuristic: Evaluating the probability of an event based on how closely it resembles the typical case.

• Mental Set: A tendency to approach problems in a certain way, often based on previous successful experiences, which can limit creativity.

• Sunk-Cost Fallacy: The tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made, regardless of the actual outcome.

• Gambler's Fallacy: The belief that past events can influence the likelihood of future events in random situations, such as assuming a loss is 'due' for a win.

• Functional Fixedness: A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, hindering creativity in problem-solving.

• Divergent Thinking: A thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

• Convergent Thinking: A thought process that involves finding a single, best solution to a problem by integrating information.

Memory Terms

• Long-Term Memory: The phase of memory that is responsible for the storage of information over extended periods of time.

• Explicit Memory: A type of long-term memory involving conscious recollection of facts and events, utilizing the hippocampus for encoding.

• Implicit Memory: A type of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought, often demonstrated through behavior, associated with the basal ganglia and cerebellum.

Terms and Definitions

Memory Terms

• Source Amnesia: The inability to recall the source of a memory, leading to confusion about when and where the information was learned.

• Constructive Memory: A theory that memory is not a perfect replica of the past but is instead reconstructed by drawing on various informational sources based on current knowledge and beliefs.

• Encoding Failure: The process by which information does not get effectively registered in memory, resulting in the inability to recall it later.

Intelligence & Achievement

• Single ("g") vs Multi-Factor Intelligence: The debate between the concept of a single general intelligence factor (g) that underlies all cognitive abilities versus a model that posits multiple intelligences.

• Crystallized vs Fluid Intelligence: Crystallized intelligence involves the knowledge gained from experience and education, which remains stable with age, while fluid intelligence refers to problem-solving skills and the ability to reason, which may decline with aging.

• Calculate of IQ: The calculation of Intelligence Quotient (IQ), which compares mental age with chronological age to assess an individual's cognitive abilities.

• Standardization: The process of making test scores comparable across individuals by establishing norms based on a representative sample.

• Stereotype Threat vs Stereotype Lift: Stereotype threat refers to the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one's group, while stereotype lift refers to the enhanced performance that individuals may experience when associated with a positive stereotype.

• Achievement vs Aptitude Tests: Achievement tests measure learned knowledge and skills, while aptitude tests assess potential for future learning or ability in specific areas.

Attribution Theory & Person Perception

• Dispositional vs Situational Attributions: Dispositional attributions assign behavior to internal characteristics (e.g., personality), whereas situational attributions attribute behavior to external factors (e.g., environment).

• Explanatory Style: A person's habitual way of explaining events, typically characterized by optimism or pessimism.

• Actor-Observer Bias: The tendency to attribute one's own actions to situational factors while attributing others' actions to their character or disposition. (i did it bc i had no other choice; they did it bc they r bad person)

• Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to overemphasize dispositional factors and underestimate situational influences when interpreting others' behaviors.

• Self-Serving Bias: The inclination to attribute successes to internal factors (like ability) and failures to external factors (like luck or task difficulty).

• Locus of Control: Refers to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events affecting them; internal locus implies belief in personal control, whereas external locus suggests reliance on external factors.

• Mere Exposure Effect: A psychological phenomenon where individuals tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.

• Social Comparison and Relative Deprivation: Social comparison refers to the process of comparing oneself to others, while relative deprivation occurs when individuals feel deprived relative to others, leading to feelings of discontent.

Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

• Stereotype, Prejudice, Discrimination: Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a group, prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group, and discrimination is the unfair treatment of individuals based on group membership.

• Implicit Attitudes (Biases): Unconscious beliefs or feelings that influence behavior toward others, often without awareness.

• In-Group Bias: The tendency to favor members of one's own group over those from other groups.

• Out-Group Homogeneity Bias: The perception that members of a different group are more similar to each other than they really are.

• Superordinate Goals: Goals that require the collaboration of individuals from different groups, promoting cooperation and reducing intergroup conflict.

• Cognitive Dissonance: The psychological discomfort arising from holding conflicting beliefs or behaving in ways that contradict one's values.

• Belief Perseverance vs Confirmation Bias: Belief perseverance is the tendency to cling to one's beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence, while confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that confirms existing beliefs.

Psychology of Social Situations

• Social Norms: Accepted behavioral standards within a society or group that dictate how members should behave.

• Conformity: Normative vs Informational Social Influence: Normative social influence leads individuals to conform to be liked or accepted, while informational social influence occurs when individuals conform because they believe the group is correct.

• Peripheral Route vs Central Route to Persuasion: The peripheral route relies on superficial cues (like attractiveness of the speaker), while the central route involves careful consideration of the message itself.

• Obedience: conditions based on Milgram Study: Obedience is influenced by authority figures, as demonstrated in Milgram's experiment on willingness to inflict pain on others when ordered by an authority.

• Individualism vs Collectivism: Individualism emphasizes personal independence and self-expression, whereas collectivism prioritizes group harmony and interdependence.

• Group Polarization: A phenomenon where group discussions lead to more extreme positions or opinions than individuals initially held.

Definitions of Terms

Hormones in Hunger Motivation

• Ghrelin: A hormone that stimulates appetite and is often referred to as the "hunger hormone."

• Leptin: A hormone produced by fat cells that signals satiety and helps regulate energy balance.

Components of Emotion

• Physiological Arousal: The body's physical response to emotional stimuli, such as increased heart rate.

• Cognitive Experience: The mental evaluation of emotions and experience related to them.

• Cognitive Appraisal: The interpretation and assessment of a situation, influencing emotional response.

Emotion Theories

• Succession (James-Lange): The theory suggesting that physiological arousal precedes emotional experience.

• Simultaneous (Cannon-Bard): The theory proposing that physiological reactions and emotional responses occur simultaneously.

• Appraisal (Two-factor): The theory that emotion is based on physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal.

Facial-Feedback Hypothesis

• The theory that facial expressions can influence emotional experience and affect mood.

Display Rules

• Cultural norms that dictate how emotions should be expressed in social settings.

Massed vs Distributed Practice

• Massed Practice: Learning or practice that occurs in a short period without breaks.

• Distributed Practice: Learning or practice that is spread out over time, typically leading to better retention.

Serial Position Effect

• The tendency to recall items from a list better based on their position:

  • Primacy Effect: Better recall for items at the beginning of a list.

  • Recency Effect: Better recall for items at the end of a list.

Mnemonic Devices

• Techniques used to improve memory retention, such as:

  • Chunking: Breaking down information into manageable units.

  • Method of Loci: Associating items to be remembered with specific locations.

Amnesia

• Anterograde Amnesia: The inability to form new memories after the onset of amnesia.

• Retrograde Amnesia: The inability to recall memories that were formed before the onset of amnesia.

• Infantile Amnesia: The inability to retrieve memories from early childhood.

• Biological Causes: Potential physiological or neurological factors that may lead to different types of amnesia.

Recall vs Recognition

• Recall: The process of retrieving information without cues.

• Recognition: The process of identifying previously learned information with cues.

Context vs State vs Mood Dependent Memories

• Context Dependent: Memory that is improved when the context during retrieval matches the context during encoding.

• State Dependent: Memory that is enhanced when a person is in the same state of consciousness during both encoding and retrieval.

• Mood Dependent: Memory that is improved when a person's mood at retrieval matches their mood at encoding.

The Forgetting Curve

• A graphical representation showing how the ability to recall information decreases over time without reinforcement.

Interference

• Proactive Interference: When older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer information.

• Retroactive Interference: When new information interferes with the retrieval of older memories.

False Consensus Effect

• The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share one's beliefs and behaviors.

Groupthink

• A phenomenon in decision-making where a group prioritizes consensus over critical thinking and alternative viewpoints.

Diffusion of Responsibility

• A psychological phenomenon in which individuals feel less responsible to act when in a group, assuming others will take action.

Social Loafing

• The tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when working collectively compared to working alone.

Deindividuation

• A psychological state characterized by loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations, often leading to impulsive behavior.

Social Facilitation vs Social Inhibition

• Social Facilitation: Improvement in performance of simple tasks in the presence of others.

• Social Inhibition: Decrease in performance of complex tasks in the presence of others.

Altruism

• Social Responsibility Norm: The expectation to help others in need regardless of the costs.

• Reciprocity Norm: The expectation that people will return help when offered.

  Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories of Personality

  • Ego: Mediates between id and superego.

  • Defense Mechanisms: Strategies to protect oneself from anxiety; includes: displacement, projection, reaction formation, regression, repression, sublimation.

  • Unconscious: Part of the mind that is not accessible to conscious thought.

  • Preconscious: Information that is not currently in conscious thought but can be recalled.

  • Projective Tests: Assessments designed to reveal hidden emotions and internal conflicts.

  • Unconditional Positive Regard: Accepting and respecting others without judgment.

  • Self-Actualizing Tendency: The innate drive to realize one's full potential.

  Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality

  • Social-Cognitive Theory: Focuses on the role of observational learning, imitation, and modeling in personality development; includes reciprocal determinism.

  • Traits: Characteristics that influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

  • The Big Five Theory (OCEAN): Model of personality that includes Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

  • Personality Inventories: Structured assessments used to evaluate personality traits and behaviors.

  • Factor Analysis: Statistical method used to identify clusters of related items on tests.

  Motivation

  • Homeostasis: The body's tendency to maintain a stable internal environment.

  • Drive-Reduction Theory: Theory proposing that physiological needs create arousal that motivates behavior to reduce the need.

  • Arousal Theory: Suggests that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal.

  • Yerkes-Dodson Law: Principle stating that performance is best at moderate levels of arousal.

  • Self-Determination Theory: Suggests that people are motivated by needs for autonomy, competence, and connectedness.

  • Intrinsic Motivation: Engagement in activities for their own sake, rather than for a reward.

  • Incentive Motivation Theory: Suggests that behavior is motivated by anticipated rewards; includes the overjustification effect.

  • Motivational Conflicts: Conflicts that arise when making choices; includes approach-approach, approach-avoidance, and avoidance-avoidance.

  • Hypothalamus: Brain region involved in hunger motivation and regulation of hunger signals.

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