A's Flashcards
Absolute threshold
Point on the continuum of a physical dimension where an increase in physical stimulation results in the initial perception of a stimulus
Ablation
Method of studying the brain, pioneered by Flourens, in which the function of some brain area is assessed after the portion of the brain had been destroyed.
Accommodation
Visual phenomenon described by Berkeley; the tendency of the lens of the eye to change shape as objects move toward and away from the person
Act Psychology
Brentano’s position that psychology should be the study of mental acts, not mental contents; with the perception of some event, for example, one should not analyze it into its elements, but examine the act of perception (how the individual perceives the event and what the event means to the individual)
Algorithm
In math and computer science, a set of rules guaranteed to produce an eventual solution to a problem by exhaustively working through all possible solitons
Analytical psychology
Jung’s theory of psychology, which differed from Freud’s in a number of ways, including a decreased emphasis on sex
Anecdotal evidence
Research method in which evidence takes the form of an accumulation of examples supporting some principle or theory; associated with Romanes and the origins of comparative psychology; also used by phrenologists; heavy reliance on such evidence leads one to ignore counterinstances that might disprove a hypothesis
Animal magnetism
Belief held by Mesmer and contemporaries that living organisms were influences by magnetic forces and that cures for illness could result from the proper use of magnets
Animal spirits
Hypothetical essence once believed to inhabit the nervous system and to be the driving force behind muscle movement
Anna O. Case
Famous case of hysteria treated by Breuer and reported by Breuer and Freud in Studies on Hysteria; gave Freud the insight that hysterics suffer from their memories of traumatic events; details distorted over the years.
Anthropomorphism
Tendency to attribute human characteristics to nonhuman entitles; associated with Romanes and the origins of comparative psychology
Antithesis
Darwin’s principle of emotions that were the opposite of each other were reflected in expression that were likewise opposed
Apparent Motion
Phenomenon studied by Wertheimer in which stationary stimuli appear to move under certain circumstances
Apperception
A high level of awareness, which we focus our full attention on some object and apprehend is fully; associated with Leibniz originally; central concept for Wundt’s psychology
Approach-approach conflict
For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, resulting from having to make a choice between two goals with a positive valence
Approach-avoidance conflict p
For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, occurring when a goal elicits both approach and avoidance tendencies
Archive
A repository of unpublished data of use to historians
Argument from design
Explained the great complexity in nature by arguing that it requires a super being to produce it; associated with Reverend Paley
Army Alpha
Group intelligence test developed by Yerkes for testing the abilities of literate soldiers in WWI
Army Beta
Group intelligence test developed by Yerkes for testing the abilities of literate soldiers in WWI
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The study of whether nonhuman technological systems can be said to act with some degree of human-like intelligence
Association
For Locke, analogous to Newtonian gravity; a force that attracts ideas
Associationism
Philosophical school of thought, related to empiricism, that emphasizes the rules by which relationships between ideas and experiences are formed
Atomism
Belief that nature can be understood best by reducing complexity to its smallest, most fundamental elements
Attributes
In Titchener’s system, these were the ways of classifying the various elements of conscious experience; for example, the element of sensation had the attributes of quality, intensity, duration, and clarity
Attrition
Methodological problem in longitudinal research, when participants drop out of the study; notably low in Terman’s longitudinal study of giftedness
Avoidance-avoidance conflict
For Lewin, a situation in which a conflict exists within a person, resulting from having to make a choice between two goals with a negative valence