AP PSYCH REVIEW

Structuralism - used INTROSPECTION (act of looking inward to examine mental

experience) to determine the underlying STRUCTURES of the mind

Functionalism - need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior

Evolutionary - Genes

Humanistic - free will, choice, ideal, actualization o Biological - Brain, NTs

Cognitive - Perceptions, thoughts

Behavioral - learned, reinforced

Psychoanalytic/dynamic - unconscious, childhood o Sociocultural - society

Biopsychosocial - combo of above

EXPERIMENT: Adv: researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect

Independent Variable: manipulated by the researcher

Experimental Group: received the treatment (part of the IV)

Control Group: placebo, baseline (part of the IV)

Placebo Effect: show behaviors associated with the exp. group when having received

placebo 

Double-Blind: Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware

of which condition people are assigned to

Dependent Variable: measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

Operational Definition: clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables

- allows replication

Confound: error/ flaw in study

Random Assignment: assigns participants to either control or experimental group at

random

- minimizes bias, increase chance of equal representation

Random Sample: method for choosing participants - minimizes bias

Reliability: same results every time

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION(observe people in their own setting) Disadv: No

cause and effect

CORRELATION: Adv: identify relationship between two variables Disadv: No cause

and effect

INFERENTIAL STATISTICS: establishes significance (meaningfulness) Significant

results = NOT due to chance

ETHICAL GUIDELINES (APA) Confidentiality, Informed Consent, Debriefing,

Deception must be warranted

NEURON: Basic cell of the NS

Dendrites: Receive incoming signal o Soma

Cell body (includes nucleus)

Axon: AP travels down this

Myelin Sheath: speeds up signal down axon

Terminals: release NTs - send signal onto next neuron

Synapse: gap b/w neurons, releases NT

Action Potential: movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane sends an

electrical charge down the axon

All or none law: stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase

the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)

Refractory period: neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet

resets)

Sensory neurons - receive signals

Motor neurons - send signals

Efferent neurons - signal Exits

CENTRAL NS: Brain and spinal cord

PERIPHERALNS: Rest of the NS

Somatic NS: Voluntary movement

Autonomic NS: Involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)

NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NTS): Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by

neurons

GABA: Major inhibitory NT

GlutamatE: Major Excitatory NT

Dopamine: Reward & movement

Serotonin: Moods and emotion

Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory

Epinephrine & Norepinephrine: sympathetic NS arousal o Endorphins: pain control,

happiness

Oxytocin: love and bonding

Agonist: drug that mimics a NT

Antagonist: drug that blocks a NT

Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron.

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake - treatment for depression

Hindbrain: oldest part of the brain o Cerebellum - movement, balance

Medulla - vital organs (HR, BP)

Pons - sleep/arousal (Ponzzzzzz)

Midbrain Reticular formation: attention (if you can't pay attent on., Ya R. F'

Forebrain: higher thought processes

Limbic System

Amygdala: emotions, fear

Hippocampus: memory

Thalamus: relay center

Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors

Broca's Area: Inability to produce speech (Broca

- Broken speech)

Wernicke's Area: Inability to comprehend speech (Wernicke's what?)

Cerebral Cortex: outer portion of the brain - higher order thought processes

Occipital Lobe: located in the back of the head - vision

Frontal Lobe: decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality

Parietal Lobe: located on the top of the head - sensations

Temporal Lobe: located on the sides of the head (temples) - hearing and face

recognition

Somatosensory Cortex: map of our sensory receptors -in parietal lobe

Motor Cortex: map of our motor receptors - located in frontal lobe

Corpus Callosum: bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres - sometimes

severed in patients with severe seizures - leads to "split-brain patients"

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: sends hormones throughout the body

Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus. release growth hormones

Adrenal Glands: related to sympathetic NS: releases adrenaline

ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD: detection of signal 50% of time

DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD (also called a just noticeable difference (JND) and

follows WEBER'S LAW: two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion.

Sensory Adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation

Perceptual Set: tendency to see something as part of a group

- speeds up signal processing Inattentional Blindness: failure to notice something b/c you're so focused on another task (gorilla video)

Cocktail party effect: notice your name across the room when its spoken, when you

weren't previously paying attention

Cornea - protects the eye

Pupil/iris - controls amount of light entering eye

Lens - focuses light on retina

Fovea-area of best vision(cones here)

Rods - black/white, dim light

Cones - color, bright light

Bipolar cells - connect rods/cones and ganglion cells

Ganglion cells - opponent-processing occurs here

Blind spot - occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye

Feature detectors - specialized cells that see motion, shapes, lines, etc. (experiments by

Hubel & Weisel)

Trichromatic - three cones for receiving color (blue, red, green)

Explains color blindness - they are missing a cone type

Opponent Process - complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells - explains

why we see an after image

Visual Capture: Visual system overwhelms all others

Constancies: recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory

input Phi Phenomenon: adjacent lights blink on/off in succession - looks like movement

Stroboscopic movement: motion produced by a rapid succession of slightly varying

images

MONOCULAR CUES

Interposition: overlapping images appear closer

Relative Size: 2 objects that are usually similar in size, the smaller one is further away

Relative Clarity: hazy objects appear further away

Texture Gradient: coarser objects are closer

Relative Height: things higher in our field of vision look further away

Linear Perspective: parallel lines converge with distance (think railroad tracks)

BINOCULAR CUES: 

Retinal Disparity: Image is cast slightly different on each retinal,

location of image helps us determine depth

Convergence: Eyes strain more (looking inward) as objects draw nearer

Outer Ear: ear, auditory canal, Middle Ear: ear drum, HAS (bones vibrate to send

signal)

Inner Ear: cochlea (sounds 1st processed here)

THEORIES OF HEARING: both occur in the cochlea

Place theory - location where hair cells bends determines sound (high pitches)

Frequency theory - rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low

pitches)

Pain: Gate-control theory: we have a "gate" to control how much pain is experienced

Kinesthetic: Sense of body position

Vestibular: Sense of balance (semicircular canals in the inner ear affect this)

Taste (gustation): 5 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory)

Smell (olfaction): Only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus Ist. Goes to

temporal lobe and amygdala

Figure/ground: organize information into figures objects (figures) that stand apart from

surrounds (back ground)

Closure: tendency to mentally fill in gaps

Proximity: tendency to group things together that appear near each other

Similarity: tendency to group things together based off of looks

Continuity: tendency to mentally form a continuous line

SLEEP:

Beta Waves: awake

Alpha Waves: high amp drowsy

Stage 1: light sleep

Stage 2: bursts of sleep spindles

Stage 3 (delta waves: Deep sleep o Stage 4: extremely deep sleep

Rapid Eye Movement (REM): dreaming Entire cycle takes 90 minutes, REM occurs in

between each cycle. REM lasts longer throughout the night

DREAM THEORIES: Freud's Unconscious Wish Fulfillment: Dreaming is gratification

of unconscious desires and needs

Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random bursts of energy - stimulating lodged

memories. Dreams start random then develop meaning

PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS: Triggers dopamine release in the brain

Depressants: Alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates (narcotics), Decrease

sympathetic S activation, highly addictive

Stimulants: Amphetamines, Cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), Caffeine, Nicotine, Increase

sympathetic NS activation, highly addictive

Hallucinogens: LSD, Marijuana - Causes hallucinations, not very addictive

Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects

Dependence: Become addicted to the drug - must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms

Withdrawal: Psychological and physiological symptoms associated with sudden

stoppage.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US): brings about response w/o needing to be learned (food)

Unconditioned Response (UR): response that naturally occurs w/o training (salivate)

Neutral Response (NS): stimulus that normally doesn't evoke a response (bell)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS): once neutral stimulus that now brings about a response

(bell)

Conditioned Response (CR): response that, after conditioning, follows a CS (salivate)

Contiguity: Timing of the pairing, NS/CS must be presented immediately BEFORE the

US

Acquisition: process of learning the response pairing

Extinction: previously conditioned response dies out over time

Spontaneous Recovery: After a period of time the CR comes back out of nowhere

Generalization: CR to like stimuli (similar sounding bell)

Discrimination: CR to ONLY the CS

OPERANT CONDITIONING: SKINNER!

LAW OF EFFECT (Thorndike): Behaviors followed by pos. outcomes are

strengthened, neg. outcomes weaken a behavior

PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING: Pos. Renfcement Ada

something nice to increase a behavior (gold star for turning in HW)

Negative Reinforcement: Take away something bad/annoying to increase a behavior

(put on seatbelt to take away annoying car signal)

Positive Punishment: Add something bad to decrease a behavior (spanking)

Negative Punishment: Take away something good to decrease a behavior (take away

car keys)

Primary Reinforcers: innately satisfying (food and water)

Secondary Reinforcers: everything else (stickers, high-fives)

Token Reinforcer: type of secondary- can be exchanged for other stuff (game tokens or

money)

Generalization: respond to similar stimulus for reward

Discrimination: stimulus signals when behavior will or will not be reinforced (light on

means response are accepted)

Extinction / Spontaneous Recovery: same as classical conditioning

Overjustification Effect: reinforcing behaviors that are intrinsically motivating causes

you to stop doing them (give a child 5S for reading when they already like to read - they

stop reading)

Shaping: use successive approximations to train behavior (reward desired behaviors to

teach a response - rat basketball)

Fixed Ratio schedule: Reward every X number of response (every 10 envelopes stuffed

get $$)

Fixed Interval schedule: Reward every X amount of time passed (every 2 weeks get a

paycheck)

Variable Ratio schedule: Rewarded after a random number of responses (slot machine

Variable Interval schedule: Rewarded after a random amount of time has passed

(fishing)

Variable schedules are most resistant to extinction

Method of loci - using locations to remember a list of items in order

Context dependent memory

- where you learn the info you best remember the info

STORAGE: Retaining info over time

Information Processing Model - Sensory memory, short term memory, long term

memory model

Sensory Memory - stores all incoming stimuli that you receive (first you have to a pay

attention)

Iconic Memory

- visual memory, lasts 0.3 seconds o Echoic Memory - auditory

memory, lasts 2-3 seconds

Short Term Memory - info passes from sensory memory to STM - lasts 30 secs, and

can remember 7 ‡ 2 items

Rehearsal (repeating the info) resets the clock

Semantic: facts

Implicit (Nondeclarative): unconscious recollection

Priming: info that is seen earlier "primes" you to remember something later on

Procedural: skills Memory organization

Hierarchies: memory is stored according to a hierarchy

Schemas: preexisting mental concept of how something should look (like a restaurant) •

Memory storage

Cerebellum for procedural memories o Long-term potentiation: neural basis of memory

connections are strengthened over time with repeated stimulation (more firing of

neurons)

RETRIEVAL: Taking info out of storage

Serial Position Effeet: tendency to remember the beginning and the end of the list best

Recall: remember what you've been told w/o cues

Recognition: remember what you've been told w/ cues (MC)

Flashbulb memories: particularly vivid memories for highly important events (9/11

attacks)

Repressed memories: unconsciously buried memories - are unreliable

Encoding failure: forget info b/c you never encoded it (paid attention to it) in the first

place

Forgetting curve: recall decreases rapidly at first, then reaches a plateau after which

little more is forgotten (EBBINGHAUS)

Proactive interference: old info blocks new

Retroactive interference: new info blocks old • Misinformation effect: distortion of

memory by suggestion or misinformation (Loftus - lost in the mall, Disney land) •

Anterograde amnesia: Information moves forward (forget new info - 50 first dates)

Retrograde amnesia: amnesia moves backwards (forget old info)

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: caused by destruction of acetylcholine in hippocampus

Parkinson's - loss of dopamine

Multiple sclerosis- myelin sheath degenerates

LANGUAGE

Phonemes: smallest unit of sound (ch sound in chat)

Morpheme: smallest unit that caries meaning (syllable)

Grammar: rules in a language that enable us to communicate

Semantics: set of rules by which we derive meaning (adding -ed makes something past

tense)

Syntax: rules for combining words into sentences

Babbling stage: infants babble 1st stage of speech

Operant conditioning: reinforced for language use o Inborn uh. ver sal grailmar: theory

comes from NOAM CHOMSKY

- says that language is innate and we are predisposed to

learn it

Critical period: period of time where something must be learned or else it cannot ever

happen (language must be learned young - Genie the Wild Child)

Linguistic determinism: language influences the way we think developed by WHORF

Concepts: mental categories used to group objects, events, characteristics

Prototypes: all instances of a concept are compared to an ideal example (what you first

think of)

Algorithms: step by step strategies that guarantee a solution (formula)

Belief bias: tendency of one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning by making

invalid conclusions

Belief perseverance: tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face on contrary evidence

INSTINCT: complex behaviors have fixed patterns and are not learned

DRIVE REDUCTION: physiological need creates aroused tension (drive) that

motivates you to satisfy the need

OPTIMUM AROUSAL: humans aim to seek optimum levels of arousal -easier tasks

requires more arousal, harder tasks need less

Hypothalamus: stimulation increases sexual behavior, destruction leads to sexual

inhibition Pituitary gland: monitors, initiates, and restricts hormones

Industrial / Organizational Psych: psychological of the workplace - focuses on

employee recruitment, placement, training, satisfaction, productivity

Zygote: 0 - 14 days, cells are dividing

Embryo: until about 9 weeks, vital organs being formed

Fetus: 9 wks to birth, overall development

Teratogens: external agents that can cause abnormal prenatal development

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): large amount of alcohol leads to FAS, causes

deformities, mental retardation, death

Maturation: natural course of development, occurs no matter what (walking)

Reflexes: innate responses we're born with

Habituation: after continual exposure you pay less attention - used to test babies

Visual cliff: babies have to learn depth perception, so they will cross a "clift"

JEAN PIAGET'S COGNITIVE DEV.

Schemas - concepts or frameworks that organize info

Assimilation: incorporate new info into existing schema (aSSimlation - same stuff)

Accommodation: adjust existing schemas to incorporate new information

(ACcommodation - All Change)

Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years: focused on exploring the world around them

Develop Sense of Self: by 2 yrs can recognize themselves in the mirror

Pre-operational Stage: 2 - 7 years: use pretend play, developing language, using

intuitive reasoning

Lack Conservation: recognize that substances remain the same esp:re charges in

shape, length, or position (girls with juice in glasses)

egocentric: inability to distinguish one's own perspective from another's - think

everyone sees what they see

Concrete Operational Stage: 7-11 yrs: use operational thinking, classification, and can

think logical in concrete context

Formal Operational Stage: 11-15 yrs: use abstract and idealist thoughts,

hypothetical-deductive reasoning

Temperament: patterns of emotional reactions and babies

HARRY HARLOW: discovered that contact comfort is more important than feeding

MARY AINSWORTH: attachment style

Secure attachment (60% of infants): upset when mom leaves, easily calmed on return.

Tend to be more stable adults

Avoidant attachment (20% infants): actively avoids mom, doesn't care when she leaves

Ambivalent attachment (10% infants): actively avoids mom, freaks out when she leaves

Disorganized attachment (5%): confused, fearful, dazed - result of abuse

BAUMRIND: parenting styles

Authoritarian: rules & obedience, "my way or the highway"

- kids lack initiative in college

Permissive: kids do whatever - no rules - kids lack initiative in college

Authoritative: give and take w/ kids - kids become socially competent and reliable •

KOHLBERG'S MORAL DEV

Preconventional morality: Children: they follow rules to avoid punishment

Conventional morality: adolescents: follow rules b/c rules exist to keep order

Postconventional morality: adults: they do what they believe is right

ERIKSON'S SOCIOEMOTINAL DEV. :

Trust vs Mistrust (birth - 18 months): if needs are dependably met infants dev basic

trust

Autonomy vs shame&doubt (1 -3 yrs): toddlers learn to exercise their will and think

for themselves

Initiative vs guilt (3-6 yrs): learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans

Industry vs inferiority (6 yrs to puberty): learn the pleasure of applying themselves to

tasks

Identity vs role confusion: (adolescence thru 20s): refine a sense of self by testing roles

and forming an identity

Intimacy vs isolation: (20s-

40s): form close relationships and gain capacity for love

Generativity vs Information: (40s-60s): discover sense of contributing to the world,

thru family & work

Integrity vs despair: (60s and up): reflect on your life, feel satisfaction or failure

PUBERTY! (rapid skeletal and sexual maturation)

Primary sex characteristics: necessary structures for reproduction (ovaries, testicles,

vagina, penis)

Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive characteristics that dev during puberty

Frontal lobe continuous dev (not fully developed till 25)

Gender roles: expected behaviors (norms) for men/women

SIGMUND FREUD said personality was largely unconscious

Conscious: immediate awareness of current environment

Preconscious: available to awareness

Unconscious: unavailable to awareness

id: our hidden true animalistic wants and desires - operates on the pleasure principle, all

about rewards and avoiding pain

superego: our moral conscious

ego: reality principle, has to deal w/ society, stuck mediating b/w the id and superego

Sublimination: replace unacceptable impulse w/ a socially acceptable one (man w/

strong sexual urges paints nudes.

FREUD'S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

Oral stage (0-18 months): pleasure focuses on the mouth (id)

Anal stage (18 - 36 months): pleasure involves eliminative functions (ego forms)

Phallic stage (3

- 6 yrs): pleasure focuses on genitals (superego forms)

Oedipal complex: young boys learn to identify w/ their father out of fear of retribution

(castration anxiety)

Electra complex: young girls learn to identify w/ their mother b/c they cannot with their

father (penis envy)

Latency stage (6 yrs to puberty):personality is set

Genital State (adulthood): sexual reawakening - turn sexual wants onto an appropriate

person

FIXATION: can become "stuck" in an earlier stage - influences personality (oral stage

smokes/drinks, anal is "anal retentive", phallic is promiscuous)

Psychoanalysis: analyze a person's unconscious motives thru the use of

Free Association: say aloud everything that comes to mind w/o hesitation

Projective Tests: ambiguous stimuli shown to look at your unconscious motives

Thematic apperception test (TAT) : tell a story about a picture

Rorschach inkblot: show an inkblot

CARL JUNG: believed in the collective unconscious (shared inherited reservoir of

memory

- explains common myths across civilizations & time)

KAREN HONEY: said personality develops in context of social relationships, NOT

sexual urges

Traits are enduring personality characteristics

Self-efficacy: belief that one can succeed, so you ensure you do

WECHSLER: developed the WAIS and WISC - most commonly used today

FLYNN effect: IQ has steadily risen over the past 80 years - probably due to education

standards and better IQ tests

Standardization: administer a test to a representative sample of future test takers to

establish a basis for meaningful comparison

valid: test is accurate - measures what it is intended to

Content validity: test measures what you want it to

Predictive validity: test is able to accurately predict a trait (high math scores predicts

good engineer)

SCIENTISTS

John watson- little albert

Alfred Adler: Neo-Freudian; believed that childhood social, not sexual, tensions are

crucial for personality formation; believed that people are primarily searching or

self-esteem and achieving the ideal self

Carl Rogers: humanistic psychologist who believed in unconditional positive regard;

people will naturally strive for self actualization and high self-esteem, unless society

taints them; reflected back clients thoughts so that they developed a self awareness or

their feelings; client-centered therapy

Ivan Pavlov: father of classical conditioning- an unconditional stimulus naturally elicits

a reflexive behavior called an unconditional response, but with repeated pairings with a

neutral stimulus. the neutral stimulus will elicit the response

Hans Eysenck: personality is determined to a large extent by genes; used the terms

extroversion and introversion

S. Schacter: believed that to experience emotions one must be physically aroused and

must then label the arousal

Robert Sternberg: triarchic theory of intelligence- [1] academic problem-solving

intelligence [2] practical intelligence [3] creative intelligence

Howard Gardner: theory of multiple intelligences

Albert Bandura: observational learning- allows you to profit immediately from the

mistakes and successes of others; his experiment had adult models punching BoBo dolls

and then observed children whom watched begin to exhibit many of the same behaviors;

Thorndike: law of effect

Alfred Binet: general I.Q. tests

Lewis Terman: revised Binet' I.Q. test and established norms for American children

David Weschler: established an intelligence test especially for adults (Weschler

Intelligence Test for Adults)

Charles Spearman: found that specific mental talents were highly correlated; concluded

that all cognitive abilities showed a common core which he labeled "g" for general ability

H. Rorschach: developed one of the first projective tests, the Inkblot Test; subject reads

the inkblots and projects to the observer aspects of their personality

Philip Zimbardo: conducted the famous Stanford Prison Expem0; sucid tie power

of social roles to influence peoples behavior; proved people's behavior depends to a large

extent on the roles they are asked to play; experiment had to be stopped because it got out

of control

Harry Harlow: studied theory of attachment in infant Rhesus monkeys; also

experimented on the effects of social isolation in young monkeys and observed that they

become severely emotionally disturbed and never recover fully

THEORIES

Signal Detection Theory predicts how and when we detect the presences of a faint

stimulus amid background stimulation

Young-Helmholtz the retina contains three different color receptors--one most sensitive

to red, one to green,

Trichromatic Theory one to blue--which when stimulated in a combination, can produce

the perception of any color

Opponent-Process Theory opposing retinal processes enable color vision (red-green,

yellow-blue, white-black)

Frequency Theory the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches

the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch

Place Theory links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is

Stimulated •Drive-Reduction Theory the idea that psychological need creates an aroused tension

state that motivates an organism to satisfy the needs

James-Lange Theory our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological

responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Cannon-Bard Theory an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers

physiological responses and the subjective experience of emotion

Two-Factor Theory Schachter's theory that to experience emotion one must be

physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

Cognitive-Dissonance we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts

are inconsistent

scapegoat - Theory prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

• left brain (language and logic) vs. right brain (creative and spatial)

• corpus callosum (divides the brain) vs. cerebral cortex (covers the brain)

• lateral hypothalamus (stimulates hunger) vs. ventromedial hypothalamus (suppresses

• hunger) Broca's area (makes words) vs. Wernicke's area (comprehends words)

• identical twins (same fertilized egg) vs. fraternal twins (two Separats eggs)

• afferent neurons (sensory, body to the brain) vs. efferent neurons (motor, brain to the

• body)

• assimilation (all four-legged animals are "doggies") vs. accommodation ("doggies" are

• different than "kitties")

• concrete operations (logical thinking) vs. formal operations (philosophical thinking)

• sensation (bottom-up processing) vs. perception (top-down processing)

• primacy effect (first items remembered) vs. recency effect (last items remembered)

• proactive interference (loss of the new info) vs. retroactive interference (loss of the old

• info)

• implicit memory (nondeclarative; skills) vs. explicit memory (declarative; facts)

• recall memory (no cues) vs. recognition memory (some hints)

• fluid intelligence ("brain power") vs. crystallized intelligence (acquired knowledge)

• achievement test (what you've learned) vs. aptitude test (what you can do)

• lithium (treats bi-polar) vs. librium (treats anxiety)

belief perseverance: clinging to one's belief even when they have been discredited

belief bias: when one's beliefs force them to distort logic in order to support that belief

confirmation bias: tendency to search for information that supports our beliefs

deindivduation: loss of self-awareness and self-restraint when in a group false

Consensus effect: the tendency to believe that others agree with us more than they do

feel

good-do good phenomenon: tendency to do good deeds when you feel good

frustration-aggression principle: frustration (being impeded from a goal) leads to

aggressive behavior

group polarization: tendency for individual group members of two basically opposed

views to become more extreme in their opposition to the other view

groupthink: when desire for harmony in a group overrides logical search for alternative

solutions

hindsight bias: tendency to believe, after a solution has been found, that you know it all

along

illusory correlation: the perception of a relationship where none exists because we only

notice instances that fit our existing schemas or stereotypes (confirmation bias)

in-group bias: tendency to favor ones own group and to view the out-group negatively

just-world phenomenon: tendency to believe the world is just, and therefore people get

what they deserve and deserve what they get

mere exposure effect: phenomenon that repeated exposure to stimuli (or a person) makes

you like it more

misinformation effect: incorporating false information into memories and believing

they re accurate

overconfidence: tendency to believe our opinions are correct more often than they are

relative deprivation: tendency to believe we are worse off based on those we compare

ourselves to, usually those around our relative level representativeness

self-serving bias: a readiness to believe good things about ourselves.

We attribute dispositional rather than situational factors--the reverse is felt for others

and is called the Fundamental Attribution Error

social facilitation: improved performance on tasks in front of groups, it applies to tasks

we know well or do well, not to newly learned or difficult tasks

social loafing: tendency for individuals engaged in a group task to work less hard than if

they were being held individually accountable or working alone

social trap: a situation when those engaged in a conflicting pursuit of self-interest

become caught in mutually self-destructive behavior.

Acetylcholine (Ach) excitatory neurotransmitter related to movement of all muscles, as

well as arousal, attention, anger, aggression, sexuality, and thirst memory loss

Alzheimer's Disease

Dopamine (DA) inhibitory neurotransmitter that controls posture and movement

Parkinson's Disease Schizophrenia

Gama-aminobutyric Acid (GABA) inhibits central nervous system and regulates

anxiety anxiety disorders

Huntington's Disease - Glutamate (Glu) major excitatory neurons in central nervous

system; important for learning and memory memory loss

Alzheimer's Disease - Norepinephrine important for psychological arousal, mood

changes, sleep, and learning

Serotonin - regulates sleep, mood, appetite, and pain depression

Endorphins pain control involved in addictions

Hypothalamus - Controls the pituitary (part brain/part gland; produces

neurotransmitters)

Thyroid Gland - Thyroxin Calcitonin Regulates metabolism

Systematic desensitization: slowly introducing the object of fear to the patient until their

symptoms subside and then moving them closer; teaching clients to relax in each

successive level of the anxiety hierarchy=progressive relaxation

Aversion (remember this means "get away from) Conditioning: applying a punishment

to an undesirable behavior; like making alcoholic drinks that make you violently ill; not

effective if the person knows what's going on because they can cognitively blame it on

the additive

Flooding: a type of exposure therapy that subjects a person to massive doses of what they

are afraid of

Token Economies: based on operant conditioning principles; reinforcement tokens given

for desired behavior and then later cashed in for privileges

Client-centered therapy: client and therapist work together in a nondirective way, with

the client deciding which way they should go. Therapist acts as a mirror reflecting back

but not making decisions for the client, who is after-all, headed toward self-actualization.

Defining abnormal behavior: Must be deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional

Medical model: emphasizes treatment of disorders, as they have a biological origin

Biopsychosocial model: currently used model - stress biological, psychological, and

social causes

DM: manual listing all currently accepted psychological disorders. Classifies them

based on criteria - provides no explanation of causes or treatments

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): person is generally anxious, all the time, for NO

REASON

Panic Disorder: person is prone to frequent panic attacks Can come w/ agoraphobia:

anxiety about being in places you cannot escape (fear of public spaces / people)

Phobias: irrational fear that disrupts your life

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD): person if overwhelmed with both: Obsessions:

persistent unwanted thoughts (did I leave the stove on?) Compulsions: senseless rituals

(hand washing)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): characterized by flashbacks, problems w/

concentration, and anxiety following a traumatic event (war, natural disasters)

CAUSES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS:

Psychodynamic: repressed thoughts & feelings manifest in anxiety and rituals

Behaviorist: fear conditioning leads to anxiety, which is then reinforced. Phobias might

be learned through observational learning

Biological: natural selection favored those with certain phobias (heights). Twins often

share disorders. Often see less GABA in the brain

Dissociative Identity Disorder: formerly multiple personalities - person fractures into

several distinct personalities who normally have no awareness of each other- Treatment

involves integration of the personalities

Major depressive disorder: extreme sadness and despair, apathy towards life, w/ no

known cause

Bipolar disorder: bouts of severe depression & manic episodes o Mania: heightened

mood, characterized by risky behaviors, fast talking, flights of ideas

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): form of depression that occurs typically winter

found mostly in Northern areas UNIQUE TREATMENT = LIGHT THERAPY

CAUSES OF MOOD DISORDERS

Biology: lower levels of serotonin & norepinephrine linked to depression, higher levels

of norepinephrine linked to mania. Runs in families suggesting GENES. Twin studies

also support this.

Schizophrenia symptoms:

Hallucinations: sensory experiences w/o sensory stimulation (seeing and/or hearing

things)

Delusions: fixed, false beliefs (people are out to get them, grandiose thoughts (I am

God)

Disorganized thinking

Disorganized speech

Negative Symptoms (something taken away)

Flat affect: lack ability to show emotions

Impaired decision making, inability to pay attention

Catatonia: become frozen over periods of time

CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Brain abnormalities: enlarged ventricles (atrophy), smaller frontal cortex

Genetics: runs in families, MZ twins at higher risk

Dopamine hypothesis: too much dopamine in the brain

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

Marked by disruptive, inflexible, enduring behavior patterns - makes this very difficult

to treat!

Antisocial: NOT "avoidant of socialization" - more like "anti-society"

" - disregard for

others, manipulative, breaks laws

Borderline: instable interpersonal relationships & self-image, "I hate you, don't leave

me'

Histrionic: excessive emotionality & attention seeking (slut disorder)

Narcissistic: need for admiration & lack of empathy (who cares about everyone else

look at me!)

Treatments

HUMANISTIC APPROACH: Client-centered therapy: (developed by CARL

ROGERS) techniques include active listening, accepting environment, focuses on patient

growth (you figure out what needs to change and do it)

COGNITIVE APPROACH: Rational-emotive therapy: (developed by ELLIS)

techniques include analyzing self-defeating behaviors to change thought patterns - and

then change behaviors associated w/ said patterns • Best for anxiety disorders - Very

confrontational

Cognitive therapy: (developed by BECK) illogical thoughts - challenges those thoughts

Best for depression - Self-directed - you figure out your errors

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH (typically used for anxiety disorders / phobias)

Classical Conditioning: • Counterconditioning Little Albert & Watson

Aversive conditioning: associate an unpleasant experience (e.g. nausea) w/ an unwanted

behavior (e.g. drinking alcohol)

Exposure therapy: slowly expose people to whatever it is that makes them anxious

Systematic desensitization: associate a pleasant relaxed state w/ gradually increasing

anxiety triggering stimuli (create a desensitization hierarchy - ex. List of things about

flying that makes you nervous - step through each one till you can do it)

Intensive exposure therapy (Flooding): force someone to experience the fear (afraid of

drowning, throw you in a pool)

Operant Conditioning: use behavior modification (reward good behaviors w/ token

reinforcers ). Used in schools, w/ autistic children, etc

Family therapy: treats the family as a system, individual behaviors are influenced by

family dynamics

Group therapy: therapy through a group - lets patients see "they're not alone'

BIOLOGICAL APPROACH: CALLED BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES

Anti-psychotics: decrease dopamine: treats schizophrenia • Side effects: TARDIVE

DYSKINESIA: hand tremors (similar to Parkinson's- due to lack of dopamine),

worsening of negative symptoms, extreme sedation

thorazine, clozapine • Anti-depressants: increase serotonin through REUPTAKE

inhibition: Side effects: drowsiness, anxiety, can increase suicide risk in teens

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil.

Mood stabilizers: used in the treatment of BIPOLAR disorder : LITHIUM

Anti-anxiety drugs: depress the central nervous system (dangerous in combo w/

alcohol) Xanax, Ativan

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): send electricity into the brain to induce minor

seizures. Used (rarely) to treat

Attribution theory: we explain others behaviors by crediting the situation or the

person's disposition (they only passed b/c they cheated)

Fundamental attribution error (very similar to Actor-observer bias): tendency for

observers to underestimate the importance of the situation and overestimate the impact of

personal disposition (that guy cut me off b/c he's a jerk - not that his wife could be in

labor)

Foot in the door phenomenon: complying w/ a small request then leads to going along

w/ a larger request

Conformity: classic experiment done by ASCH - showed lines of different lengths,

confederates gave wrong answers to see if others would go along w/ it

Normative social influence: we conform to gain approval or to not stand out from the

group (be part of the norm

Informational social influence: we conform to others b/c we think their opinions must

be right

Obedience: classic experiment done by MILGRAM: participants were to "teach"

another individual using shocks. 60% of participants would administer lethal shocks to

another person simply b/c they were told to

Groupthink: desire for harmony w/in a group leads to everyone going along w/ the same

thinking

Ethnocentrism: tendency to see your own group as more important than others

ATTRACTION

Mere exposure effect: repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them (the

more time you spend around something the more you like it)

Physical attractiveness: pretty ppl are thought to be more credible, less likely to do bad

things • Similarity: we prefer ppl similar to us

Altruism: unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Bystander effect: the more ppl around the less likely we are to help someone in need

Social exchange theory: social behavior (helping) is an exchange process - aim is to

maximize benefits and minimize cost

Reciprocity norm: we give so we can get

Central route to persuasion- logic driven approach, uses data and facts to convince

people

Divergent thinking- process of creating unique ideas or solutions to a problem you are

trying to solve

Approach-approach conflict: must decide between desirable options

Avoidance-avoidance conflict: must decide between undesirable options

Approach-avoidance conflict: must decide between both desirable and undesirable

options

Metacognition - gain ability to think about the way you think

General Adaptation Syndrome

- made by Hans Sely- responses to stress - alarm

resistance exhaustion

Divergent thinking - test has multiple possible answers (words that begin with s)

Convergent thinking - test only has one correct answer

Type A - hard-driving, aggressive, anger-prone people (get more heart problems)

Type B - easygoing, relaxed people

• If you don't recognize an answer choice - it probably IS NOT THE ANSWER