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Episodic Memory

Episodic memory refers to the ability to recall specific events, situations, and experiences from one's own life, like a mental time-travel to past occurrences.

Stanford Prison Experiment

A social psychology study conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971, investigating the psychological effects of perceived power by assigning volunteer participants to act as prisoners or guards in a mock prison.

Somatic Disorders

Psychological disorders characterized by physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by a medical condition, substance use, or another mental disorder, like somatization disorder.

Representative Heuristic

A cognitive shortcut where people classify something based on how similar it is to a typical case, often leading to errors in judgment.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the influence of personal traits and underestimate the influence of situational factors when evaluating others' behaviors.

Evolutionary Theory

A theory explaining psychological traits and behaviors as adaptations shaped by natural selection to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments.

Parts of a Neuron (Diagram)

Neurons consist of dendrites (receiving information), a cell body (soma), an axon (sending information), and axon terminals (transmitting signals to other neurons).

Action Potential (Graph)

A graph showing the change in electrical potential along the axon during the firing of a neuron, typically involving depolarization, repolarization, and a refractory period.

Piaget Stages

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development in children, divided into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Token Economy

A behavior modification system using tokens as reinforcement for desired behaviors, which can later be exchanged for rewards.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations, indicating a form of non-associative learning.

Pitch of a Tone

The perceived frequency of a sound, determining how high or low it sounds.

Homeostasis

The body's ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in external conditions.

Generalization

In classical conditioning, the tendency for a conditioned response to be elicited by stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.

Circadian Rhythm

The internal biological clock regulating the sleep-wake cycle and other physiological processes on a roughly 24-hour schedule.

Types of Studies (Besides Experiments)

Includes observational studies, case studies, longitudinal studies, cross-sectional studies, and surveys.

Broca's Area

A region in the frontal lobe of the brain involved in speech production and language comprehension.

Language Theories

Theories explaining how humans acquire language, including behaviorist (Skinner), nativist (Chomsky), and interactionist perspectives.

Law of Good Figure

Also known as the Law of Prägnanz, a Gestalt principle stating that people perceive complex images in their simplest form.

Independent/Dependent Variable

In experiments, the independent variable is manipulated to observe its effect on the dependent variable, which is measured.

Cognitive Dissonance

A psychological state arising from holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes, leading to discomfort and a motivation to reduce the inconsistency.

James-Lange Theory

A theory of emotion suggesting that physiological arousal precedes the experience of emotion, which is then interpreted by the brain.

G Factor

General intelligence factor, proposed by Charles Spearman, indicating a common underlying factor in various cognitive abilities.

Foot-in-the-Door

A compliance technique where a small initial request is followed by a larger request, increasing the likelihood of agreement to the second request.

Procedural Memory

A type of long-term memory involving the recollection of how to perform tasks, such as riding a bike or tying shoelaces.

Semantic Memory

A type of long-term memory involving the storage of general world knowledge, facts, and concepts.

Flynn Effect

The observed rise in average IQ scores over generations, attributed to improved education, nutrition, and environmental factors.

Standard Bell Curve (Graph)

A graph depicting a normal distribution of data, where most values cluster around the mean, with symmetric tails extending to either side.

Z Scores

A measure indicating how many standard deviations a data point is from the mean of the data set.

Positive/Negative Correlation

Positive correlation: both variables increase or decrease together. Negative correlation: one variable increases while the other decreases.

Stages of Sleep

Different phases of sleep including non-REM (stages 1-3) and REM sleep, each with distinct physiological and brain activity patterns.

Standard Deviation

A statistical measure of the dispersion or variability in a set of data, indicating how spread out the values are around the mean.

Set Point Theory

A theory suggesting that the body maintains a stable weight and fat level through homeostatic mechanisms that regulate hunger and metabolism.

Misinformation Effect

The tendency for post-event information to interfere with the memory of the original event, leading to altered or inaccurate recollections.

Narcissism

A personality trait characterized by excessive self-focus, self-importance, and a lack of empathy for others.

Humanistic

A psychological perspective emphasizing individual potential, self-actualization, and personal growth, associated with Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.

Variable Ratio

A reinforcement schedule in operant conditioning where rewards are given after an unpredictable number of responses, leading to high response rates.

Frontal Lobe

The part of the brain involved in executive functions, decision making, problem-solving, and controlling behavior and emotions.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where people judge the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory, often influenced by recent exposure.

Types of Validity

Different measures of a test's accuracy: construct validity, content validity, criterion validity, and face validity.

TAT Test

The Thematic Apperception Test, a projective psychological test where subjects create stories based on ambiguous pictures, revealing their underlying thoughts and feelings.

Positive/Negative Skew

Positive skew: the tail on the right side of the distribution is longer. Negative skew: the tail on the left side is longer, indicating asymmetric data distributions.