A-B Flashcards
Absolute poverty
Deprivation of basic human needs including access to food, water, shelter, safety
Acquisition
The phase of conditioning in which the conditioned stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus and the animal is learning to give a conditioned response
Adrenal medulla
Gland just above the kidneys that releases: 1. epinephrine, 2. norepinephrine, 3. dopamine, 4. enkephalin
Aggression
Acts carried out either with an intention to cause harm or to increase relative social dominance
Altruism
Acting for the good of others at one’s own expense and with no expectation of benefit
Alzheimer’s disease
Most common form of dementia. No cure, develops with age and worsens as it progresses, eventually fatal. Start with simple absent-mindedness, then deepening confusion and eventual debilitating cognitive deficits
Anterior pituitary
Gland that releases: 1. growth hormone, 2. thyroid stimulating hormone, 3. adrenocoricotropic hormone, 4. beta-endorphin, 5. follicle stimulating hormone, 6. luteinizing hormone, 7. prolactin
Anxiety disorders
Excessive anxiety or fear. Includes generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic, OCD, PTSD
Assimilation
Process of one culture or language beginning to resemble that of another group
Attachment theory
Study of long-term relationship, especially between infants and their primary caregiver. Includes several attachment patterns: 1. Secure, 2. Anxious, 3. Avoidant, 4. Ambivalent, 5. Disorganized
Attitudes, components
A positive or negative feeling towards something or someone. Consists of 1. emotion, 2. behavior, 3. cognition
Attraction
A process between two people which draws them together and leads to friendship and romance
Attribution theory
A process of explaining what happens by attributing causes to the environment, or attributing certain thoughts or feelings to other people
Auditory pathway
Outer ear, auditory canal, tympanic membrane, middle ear (malleus, incus, stapes), inner ear (cochlea), organic of corti, vestibulocochlear nerve, thalamus, temporal lobe
Avoidance learning
A behavior prevents a negative stimulus
Behaviorist perspective of personality
Personality is a learning process of operant conditioning controlled by the environment. People have response tendencies which create behavior patterns. Childhood is not the crucial period because environment-based learning continues through life
Biases
Cognitive or motivational forces that result in repeated, systematic deviations from rational judgement (availability heuristic, congruence bias, outcome bias)
Body dysmorphic disorder
Somatoform disorder in which the patient has excessive concern with a perceived deficit of their body (worried about their body image when there is really nothing medically wrong with them)
Brain study methods
- Electrophsiology (EEG) - detects abnormalities related to electrical activity of the brain; records brain wave patterns
- Neuroimaging (PET, fMRI) - directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the nervous system.
- Effects of brain damage (strokes)
Brainstem
Part of the CNS that connects the spinal cords to the brain. 1. Medulla oblongata, 2. Pons, 3. Midbrain (mesencephalon). Regulates the CNS, controls sleep cycle, heart rate, breathing, eating etc
Bystander effect
The more individuals are present, the less likely someone will offer help
