s1 ALL AP PSYCH

Empiricism - The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should therefore rely on observation and experimentation. Structuralism - An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind. Functionalism - A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. Humanistic Psychology - The historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth. Biopsychosocial Approach - An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. Introspection - The examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings, which relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state; in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Mary Whiton Calkins - first female president of the APA (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her) Charles Darwin - Evolution by "natural selection" (the weaker die out) wrote On the Origin of Species Dorothea Dix - Rights activist on behalf of mentally ill patients - created first wave of US mental asylums Sigmund Freud - Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis. Stanley Hall - American psychologist who established first American research lab and American Psychological Association. William James - Wrote the first psychology textbook Ivan Pavlov - discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell Jean Piaget - Known for his theory of cognitive development in children Carl Rogers - Humanistic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality B. F. Skinner - behaviorism; pioneer in operant conditioning; behavior is based on an organism's reinforcement history; worked with pigeons Margaret Floy Washburn - First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921) John B. Watson - behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat Wilhelm Wundt - german physiologist who founded psychology as a formal science; opened first psychology research laboratory in 1879 behavior genetics - the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior environment - every non genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us chromosomes - threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes genes - the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; segments of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein genome - the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes identical twins - twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms fraternal twins - twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. they are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment heritability - the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes; the heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied interaction - the interplay that occurs when the effoct of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity) molecular genetics - the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes natural selection - the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations mutation - a random error in gene replication that leads to a change Lesion - Tissue destruction; Naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue. Electroencephalogram (EEG) - An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. CT (Computed Tomography) Scan - A series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by a computer into a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure (also called CAT scan) PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan - A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) - A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue; These scans show brain anatomy. fMRI (Functional MRI) - A technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. These scans show brain function as well as its structure. Brainstem - The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions. Medulla - The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing. Reticular Formation - A nerve network in the brainstem and thalamus that plays an important role in controlling arousal. Thalamus - The brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla. Cerebellum - The "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance Limbic System - Doughnut shaped neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives. Amydgala - Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion. Hypothalamus - A neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward. Cerebral Cortex - The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body's ultimate control and information-processing center Glial Cells - Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons Frontal Lobes - Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments Parietal Lobes - Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position. Occipital Lobes - Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields Temporal Lobes - Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear Motor Cortex - An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements Sensory Cortex - Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations Association Areas - Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, speaking Aphasia - Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or Wernicke's area (impairing understanding) Broca's Area - Controls language expression - an area, usually in the left frontal lobe, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech Wernicke's Area - Controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe Plasticity - The brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience. Neurogenesis - The formation of new neurons Corpus Callosum - The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them Split Brain - a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them Consiousness - Our awareness of ourselves and our environment Cognitive Neuroscience - The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) Dual Processing - The principle that information is often simultaneously processes on separate conscious and unconscious tracks neuron - a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system sensory neurons - neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord motor neurons - neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands interneurons - neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs dendrite - the busy, branchlike extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body axon - the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands myelin sheath - a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next action potential - a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon threshold - the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse synapse - A junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron neurotransmitters - chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons; when released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron with generate a neural impulse reuptake - a neurotransmitter's reabsorption by the sending neuron endorphins - "morphine within" -natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure nervous system - the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems central nervous system - the brain and spinal cord peripheral nervous system - the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body nerves - bundled axons that form neural "cables" connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs somatic nervous system - the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles autonomic nervous system - The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs such as the heart - its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms sympathetic nervous system - the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations parasympathetic nervous system - the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy reflex - a simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus such as the knee-jerk response endocrine system - the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream hormones - chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues adrenal glands - a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in time of stress pituitary gland - the endocrine system's most influential gland; under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands Psychology - The science of behavior and mental processes. Nature-Nurture Issue - The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of the two. Levels of Analysis - The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon. Biological Psychology - A branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes. Evolutionary Psychology - The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection. Experimental Psychology - The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method. Psychodynamic Psychology - A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders. Behavioral Psychology - The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning Cognitive Psychology - The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Social-Cultural Psychology - The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking. Psychometrics - The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits. Basic Research - One of the two main types of research, pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. Developmental Psychology - A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. Educational Psychology - The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning. Personality Psychology - The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. Social Psychology - The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. Applied Research - One of the two main types of research that aims to solve practical problems. Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology - The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces. Counseling Psychology - A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. Clinical Psychology - A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. Psychiatry - A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. Intelligence Test - a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores. Intelligence - mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. General Intelligence (g) - a _______ factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. Factor Analysis - a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score. 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 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 well as the average 8-year old is said to have a mental age of 8. Stanford-Binet - the widely used American revision (by Terman at _______) of ______'s original intelligence test. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) - defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca x 100). on contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100. Achievement Tests - tests designed to assess what a person has learned. Aptitude Tests - tests designed to predict a person's future performance; the capacity to learn. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) - the ______ is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. Standardization - defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. Reliability - the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting. Validity - the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. Content Validity - the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest. 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 scores and the criterion behavior. Down Syndrome - a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. Stereotype Threat - a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative _______. abstract measures of intelligence - IQ tests contain a diverse mixture of questions that tap abstract reasoning skills. They are intended to measure intellectual potential rather than factual knowledge. verbal measure of intelligence - IQ test contain tests that measure the ability to use, analyze and understand language. With these tests, children and adults can determine the levels of their language, speaking, writing, comprehension, and memory skills. processing speed - The speed with which an individual can perceive auditory or visual information and respond to it. 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 Flynn effect - the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years Charles Spearman - found that specific mental talents were highly correlated, concluded that all cognitive abilities showed a common core which he labeled 'g' (general ability) Howard Gardner - devised theory of multiple intelligences: logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic Robert Sternberg - devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative) Alfred Binet - pioneer in intelligence (IQ) tests, designed a test to identify slow learners in need of help in French schools Francis Galton - interested in link between heredity and intelligence; founder of the eugenics movement Lewis Terman - revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children; tested group of young geniuses and followed in a longitudinal study that lasted beyond his own lifetime to show that high IQ does not necessarily lead to wonderful things in life David Wechsler - Developed WAIS and WISC (IQ tests) gifted - the 2 percent of the population falling on the upper end of the normal curve and typically possessing an IQ of 130 or above intellectually disabled - the 2 percent of the population falling on the lowest end o the normal curve and typically possessing an IQ of 70 or below personality - an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. free association - in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing. psychoanalysis - Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions unconscious - according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware. id - contains a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy that, according to Freud, strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. The id operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification. ego - the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain. superego - the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations. psychosexual stages - the childhood stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) during which, according to Freud, the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones. Oedipus complex - according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father. identification - the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos defense mechanisms - in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality. regression - psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated. reaction formation - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings. projection - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others rationalization - defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions. displacement - psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet. sublimation - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people re-channel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities denial - psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities collective unconscious - Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history projective test - a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) - a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes. Rorschach inkblot test - the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots. terror-management theory - a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death self-actualization - according to Maslow, one of the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential. unconditional positive regard - according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person. self-concept - all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" trait - a characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports. personality inventory - a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) - the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), this test is now used for many other screening purposes. empirically derived test - a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups (find a relationship) social-cognitive perspective - views behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context. reciprocal determinism - the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment personal control - the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless external locus of control - the perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate. internal locus of control - the perception that you control your own fate. positive psychology - the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. self - in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions spotlight effect - overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us). self-esteem - one's feelings of high or low self-worth. self-serving bias - a readiness to perceive oneself favorably individualism - giving priority to one's ow goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications collectivism - giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly. oral stage - Psychosexual stage (0-18m) Pleasure centers on the mouth - sucking, biting, chewing anal stage - Psychosexual stage (18-36m) Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control phallic stage - Psychosexual stage (3-6y) Pleasure zone is the genitals; soping with incestuous sexual feelings; Oedipus complex latency stage - Psychosexual stage (6-puberty) Dormant sexual feelings genital stage - Psychosexual stage (puberty on) Maturation of sexual interests cognition - all 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 algorithm - a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem heuristic - a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually a speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms creativity - the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas confirmation bias - a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence fixation - the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set mental set - a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past functional fixedness - the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving representativeness heuristic - judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant information availability heuristic - estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common overconfidence - the tendency to be more confident than correct - to over estimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments belief perseverance - clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited intuition - an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning framing - the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments language - our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning phoneme - in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit morpheme - in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word (such as a prefix) grammar - in language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others semantics - the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning syntax - the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language babbling stage - beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language one-word stage - the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words two-word stage - beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements telegraphic speech - early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram--'go car'--using mostly nouns and verbs linguistic determinism - Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think. Noam Chomsky - Contributions: disagreed with Skinner about language acquisition, said humans have an inborn native ability to develop language Wolfgang Kohler - Gestalt psychologist that first demonstrated insight through his chimpanzee experiments. He noticed the solution process wasn't slow, but sudden and reflective (insight). List Characteristics of Creative Thought and Thinkers - receptivity, curiosity, wide range of interests attentiveness, connection seeking, conviction, complexity memory - the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information encoding - the processing of info into memory system i.e. by extracting meaning storage - retention of encoded information over time retrieval - process of getting information out of memory storage sensory memory - immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in memory system short-term memory - activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten long-term memory - the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system (includes knowledge, skills, experience) working memory - newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spacial information retrieved from long-term memory parallel processing - processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions; contrasts with step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving automatic processing - unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings effortful processing - encoding that requires attention and conscious effort rehearsal - the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage spacing effect - the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice serial position effect - tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list primacy effect - tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well recency effect - tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well visual encoding - encoding of picture images acoustic encoding - the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words semantic encoding - the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words imagery - mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding mnemonics - memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices (like PEMDAS) chunking - organizing items into familiar, manageable units (often occurs automatically) iconic memory - a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second echoic memory - a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli (if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 seconds) long-term potentiation - an increase in a synapse's firing potential after a brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory flashbulb memory - a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event amnesia - the loss of memory implicit (procedural) memory - retention independent of conscious recollection (aka non declarative or procedural memory) explicit memory - memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" semantic memory - memory for knowledge about the world (type of explicit memory) episodic memory - the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place (like a TV episode of your life) (type of explicit memory) hippocampus - a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process and store explicit memories recall - a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test recognition - a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, like a multiple choice test relearning - a measure of memory that stresses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time priming - the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory déjà vu - that eerie sense that "i've experienced this before"; cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience mood-congruent memory - the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood proactive interference - the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information retroactive interference - the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information repression - in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts feelings, and memories misinformation effect - incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event source amnesia - attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined; false memory shallow processing - structural encoding emphasizes structure of incoming sensory information deep processing - semantic encoding involves forming an association or attaching meaning to a sensory impression and results in longer-lasting memories selective attention - the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus (sensory information coming in) divided attention - concentrating on more than one activity at the same time (we might call it multitasking) prospective memory - remembering to do something at some future time Hermaan Ebbinghaus - 1st to conduct studies on forgetting: first, a rapid loss followed by a gradual declining rate of loss Studies: memory-series of meaningless syllables/words George A. Miller - He is credited for discovering the concept of the number 7 in terms of short-term memory, leading to his paper "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two." metacognition - "Thinking about thinking" or the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task Elizabeth Loftus - Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony. learning - a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience habituation - an organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it associative learning - learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning) classical conditioning - a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events behaviorism - the view that psychology: (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2) unconditioned response (UR) - in classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth unconditioned stimulus (US) - in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response conditioned response (CR) - in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS) conditioned stimulus (CS) - in classical conditioned, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response acquisition - in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response higher-order conditioning - a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. (For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone.) (Also called Second-Order Conditioning) extinction - the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when a unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant condition when a response is no longer reinforced spontaneous recovery - the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response generalization - the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses discrimination - in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus learned helplessness - the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events respondent behavior - behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus operant conditioning - a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforce or diminished followed by a punisher operant behavior - behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences law of effect - Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by faborable consequences become more like, that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely operant chamber - in operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain food or water reinforce; attached devices record the animal's rate of bar pressing or key pecking shaping - an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior discriminative stimulus - in operant conditioning, a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement (in contrast to related stimuli not associated with reinforcement) reinforce - in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows positive reinforcement - increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforce in any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response negative reinforcement - increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforce is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response (note: negative reinforcement is not punishment) primary reinforce - an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need conditioned reinforcer - a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforce; also known as a secondary reinforce continuous reinforcement - reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs partial (intermittent) reinforcement - reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement fixed-ratio schedule - in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses variable-ratio schedule - in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses fixed-interval schedule - in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed variable-interval schedule - in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals punishment - an event that decreases the behavior that it follows cognitive map - a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. (For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it) latent learning - learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it insight - a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem intrinsic motivation - a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake extrinsic motivation - a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment observational learning - learning by observing others (also social learning) modeling - the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior mirror neurons - frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's actions may enable imitation and empathy prosocial behavior - positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior little albert - subject in John Watson's experiment, proved classical conditioning principles, especially the generalization of fear circadian rhythm - the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle. 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 - periodic, natural 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. NREM sleep - nonrapid eye movement sleep; encompasses all sleep stages except for REM 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. night terrors - a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors 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 (as distinct from its latent, or hidden, content). latent content - according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content). REM rebound - the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep). dissociation - a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others. psychoactive drug - a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods. 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. physical dependence - a physiological need for a drug marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued. psychological dependence - a psychological need to use a drug such as to relieve negative emotions. addiction - compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences. depressants - drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions. barbiturates - drugs that depress central nervous system activity, 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, 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). 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. THC - the major active ingredient in marijuana; triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations. Hindsight Bias - The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.) Critical Thinking - Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions. Theory - An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events. Hypothesis - A testable prediction, often implied by a theory. Operational Definition - A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables, or how we make the variables measurable. Replication - Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances. Case Study - An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles. Survey - A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group. Population - All the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. Random Sample - A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion. Naturalistic Observation - Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation. Correlation - A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. Correlation Coefficient - A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1). Scatterplot - A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation. Illusory Correlation - The perception of a relationship where none exists. Experiment - A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the investigator aims to control other relevant factors. Random Assignment - Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups. Double-Blind Procedure - An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies. Placebo Effect - Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent. Experimental Group - In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable. Control Group - In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment. Independent Variable - The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied. Confounding Variable - A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment. Dependent Variable - The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable. Mode - The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution. Mean - The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores. Median - The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it. Range - The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. Standard Deviation - A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score. Normal Curve - A symmetrical, bell-shape that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes. Statistical Significance - A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. Culture - The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next. Informed Consent - An ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. Debriefing - The post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.