boe quiz

Top down processing - constructs perceptions from sensory input by drawing on our experiences and expectations

Sleep apnea - sleep disorder characterized by temporary losses of breathing + momentary awakenings due to decreased blood oxygen (snoring + related to obesity)

Delta waves - large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Information processing theory - suggests that we organize our memories and days events during sleep

Negative reinforcement - increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli

Reciprocity Norm - the expectation that people will help us if we help them

Bystander Effect - the probability of helping another in distress decreases as the number of people available to help increases

Philip Zimbardo - conducted the controversial prison experiment to test the impact of roles on behaviors with a group of prisoners and guards, it was highly unethical and left severe mental effects on some of the subjects

Reciprocity - when people are more willing to listen because they initiated a request

Hindsight Bias - the tendency to believe that you knew it all along after learning the outcome

Axon - neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons

Myelin Sheath - layer of fatty tissue that insulates axons and speeds up their impulses

Endorphins - neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure

Glutamate - a type of neurotransmitter involved in memory

Dopamine - influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Acetylcholine - enables muscle action, learning and memory

Norepinephrine - helps control alertness and arousal

Corpus Callosum - neural fibers connecting the two hemispheres of the brain and carrying messages between them

James-Lange Theory - the theory that emotion results from physiological states triggered by stimuli in the environment

Schachter-Singer Theory (two factor theory) - to experience emotion one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal

Cannon-Bard Theory - emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously

Sensation - the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent information

Perception - the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us t recognize meaningful objects and events

Bottom up processing - starts at sensory receptors and works up to higher levels of processing

Absolute threshold - the minimum stimulation necessary to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

Just noticeable difference/difference threshold - the minimum amount by which two different stimuli differ for a person to perceive a difference, increases with the size of stimulus

Signal detection theory - a theory predicting how and when we detect a stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes detection depends partly on a persons experiences, expectations, motivations, and fatigue level

Cocktail party effect - your ability to attend to only one voice among many in a room full of people

Selective attention - the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Circadian rhythm - your body's biological clock + regular body rhythms (body temp, wakefulness on a 24 hour cycle)

Manifest content - according to Frued, the remembered story line of a dream

Latent content - according to Frued, the underlying meaning of a dream

Night terrors - mainly targets children; a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and being terrified. Different from nightmares as it occurs during NREM sleep

Insomnia - sleep disorder characterized by recurring problems in falling or staying asleep

Narcolepsy - a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. People with it may lapse into REM sleep at any given moment

Sleep spindles - sudden bursts of rapid brain wave activity that occur in NREM2 sleep

Alpha waves - relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

REM sleep - recurring sleep stage in which vivid dreams occur,

Wish fulfillment theory - Freud's theory that dreams propose a safety valve to express otherwise unaccepted feelings

Physiological functioning theory - dreams provide the brain with periodical stimulation that help and preserve neural pathways

Intermittent reinforcement - reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction

Continuous reinforcement - reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Positive reinforcement - when presented after the response, it strengthens the response. Ex: getting paid to go to work

Operant conditioning - a type of learning where a behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer, and weakened if followed by a punisher

John B. Watson - was a behavioral psychologist who studied observable behaviors and conducted the little Albert experiment

B.F. Skinner - famous for research on operant conditioning + conducted Skinner's box experiment

Classical conditioning - a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli to anticipate events

Ivan Pavlov - famous for research on classical conditioning and conducted experiment on dogs being classically conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell

Albert Bandura - researched observational learning and conducted Bobo Doll experiment

Bobo Doll Experiment - an experiment focused on observational learning conducted by Albert Bandura. Children would watch how an adult treated the doll, and treated the doll the exact same way (imitated aggressiveness towards the doll and love and care for the doll)

Observational Learning - learning by observing others (also called social learning)

Mirror Neurons - these neurons in the brain respond equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action

Social Loafing - someone exerting less effort to achieve a goal when in a group

Social Exchange Theory - weighing the costs and benefits in a social situation

Conformity - often changing a behavior or onion when faced with others who make a different choice

Ingroup vs. Outgroup Phenomenon - ingroup = the group you are part of and outgroup = the group you don't associate with; being biased towards your own group

Groupthink - when the desire for harmony and peace in a group causes a person to not express their true opinion

Conformity - often changing a behavior or opinion when faced with other people who make a different choice

Obedience - performing a behavior / following commands from someone with authority

Deindividuation - phenomenon in which people engage in impulsive/ reckless behavior because they believe they wont get caught (when they're in a big crowd or on the internet)

Diffusion of responsibility - when someone is in need of help, the responsibility that a bystander feels decreases when theres more bystanders around

Stanley Milgram - conducted the Milgram experiment which tested obedience. THe participant had to shock the actor (faking pain from the shocks) whenever they said an incorrect answer. The shock level went up to almost 450 voltages with increasing incorrect answers.

Mere Exposure Effect - the more exposed we are to something, the more we grow to like it; ex: constantly hearing a song on the radio and starting to like it and sing along

Soloman Asch - conducted Asch experiment to test conformity. It was designed as a vision test where there were confederates purposefully saying the wrong answer and one participant to see whether or not they would conform to the wrong answer. They usually did instead of stating their true opinion

Frustration Aggression Hypothesis - the idea that aggression is the result of frustration

Aggression - negative behavior that is intended to harm or destroy

Altruism the unselfish concern for the well-being of others

Just - World Phenomenon - the tendency to believe the world is just and people get what they deserve

Foot In the Door Technique - a tactic that assumes agreeing to a small request increases the possibility of agreeing to a second, larger request

Social Responsibility Norm - expectation that we should help others in need without expecting anything in return

Fundamental Attribution Error - an individuals tendency to attribute someones actions to their personality instead of external/situational factors

Social Facilitation - the tendency where the presence of others can improve a persons performance

Conflict - a disagreement in actions, goals, or ideas

Informed Consent - a participants consent to be part of a study

Case Study - a participants consent to be part of a study

Illusory Correlation - assumption that a relationship between two variables exist when they're actually not related; ex: racial stereotypes

Standard Deviation - the average difference between each data point and the mean; a large SD means more points are spread out from mean + vice versa with small SD

Debriefing - when the experimenter informs subject about purpose and procedure after the study is completed

Control Group - the dependent variable in an experiment

Population - all those in a group being studied from which samples may be drawn

Experimental Group - the independent variable in a group

Random Sample - every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen for the experiment; randomly choosing people

Operational Definition - detailed instructions on what the experiment is measuring and how the variable is being measures

Experiment - an investigation in which a hypothesis is significantly tested

Statistical Significance - if something is statistically significant, it means it didn't happen by chance

Independent Variable - variable that is changed / "controlled" in an experiment to test dependent variable

Double-Blind Procedure - both subject and staff are "blind" to the group (experimental or control) that the subject is put in; used to prevent researchers acting differently to one group or accidentally giving away information

Placebo - a fake treatment or pill

Survey - used for discovering self reported information of a group; cheap, anonymous, and can reach out to a large number of people

Dependent Variable - variable that is being measured and relies on independent variable in an experiment

Random Assignment - randomly placing participants of an experiment into different groups, every participant has an equal chance of being selected from control/experimental group

Naturalistic Observation - observing and recording behavior in the subjects natural environment, there's no "control" just observing

Neurons - a nerve cell; the basic building blocks of the nervous system

Soma - the cell body of a neuron

Dendrites - a neurons branching extensions that receive messages and conduct them towards the cell body

Action Potential - a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

Reuptake - a neurotransmitter's reabsorption of the sending nueron

Endocrine System - the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a system of glands that produce hormones into the bloodstream

Pituitary Gland - the endocrine system's main gland which regulates growth and controls other glands in the body

Hormones - chemical messengers that are created by endocrine glands

Neurotransmitters - chemical messengers between neurons

GABA - a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Serotonin - affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Cerebral Cortex - interconnected nerve cells over the cerebral hemisphere; the brains ultimate control and information-processing center

Thalamus - brain's sensory control center, detects all senses but smell

Hypothalamus - part of limbic system; directs maintenance activities (like eating, drinking, body temp) is linked to emotion and reward

Reticular Formation - part of the brainstem that controls alertness and arousal

Medulla - part of the brainstem, controls heartrate and breathing

Spinal Cord - a major part of the central nervous system which conducts nerve impulses to and from the brain

Cerebellum - located at rear of brainstem; enables nonverbal learning and memory and coordinates voluntary movement

Hippocampus - located in hippocampus; linked to memory

Amygdala - located in limbic system, linked to emotion

Central Nervous System - consists of 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

Mnemonic device - memory aid; tehcnique that uses vivid imagery and organizational devices

Chunking - organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Serial positioning effect - the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect)

Deep processing - semantic encoding; forming an association or attaching meaning to a sensory impression and results in longer-lasting memories

Flashbulb memory - a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Sensory memory - brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Short term/ working memory - temporary memories we are currently working with, can hold around seven items

Long term memory - the stage of memory that represents the long-term storage of information

Encoding - the process of information into the memory system

Storage - the retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval - the process of getting information out of memory storage

Recall - the process of bringing information from stored memories into conscious awareness

Recognition - when you notice something you learned previously

Relearning - measures how much faster someone can learn material that has been previously learned

Jean Piaget - Developed theory of cognitive development that suggest children’s intellegence undergoes changes as they grow

Schemas - a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation - interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Accomodation - adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor acitvities

Object permanence - the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Preoperational stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Conservation - the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

Reversibility - the ideas that things can be changed and changed back

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

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

Harry Harlow - studied maternal separation and dependency needs through experiments with monkeys

Attachment - an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Mary Ainsworth - studied attachment theories and secure/insecure attachment styles

Strange situation - procedure devised by Mary Ainsworth to observe attachment in children

Erik Erikson - developed eight-stage personality theory of psychosocial development

DSM-5 - A classification system that describes the features used to diagnose each recognized mental disorder and indicates how the disorder can be distinguished from other, similar problems

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAS) - An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Phobia - An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

OCD - An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and/ or actions

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - An anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience

Major Depressive Disorder - A mood disorder in which a person experiences, in the absence of drugs or a medical condition, two or more weeks of significantly depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most activities.

Bipolar disorder - A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania.

Schizophrenia - A group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions

Delusions - False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

Hallucinations - false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

Somatoform disorder - Psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a bodily form without apparent physical cause

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) - A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Also called multiple personality disorder

Anorexia nervosa - eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight

Bulimia nervosa - an eating disorder characterized by binge-eating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by purging by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise

Exposure therapy - behavioral techniques that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actualitiy) to the things they fear or avoid

Systematic desensitization - type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias

Aversion therapy - a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant states (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking)

Biomedical therapy - prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system