AAMC Psych Terms Flashcards
1
Q
Spreading activation
A
activation over a set of chunks
2
Q
Proactive interference
A
long term memories interfering with new information
3
Q
Latent learning
A
learning that produces a change in behavior some time after learning
no immediate change in behavior
4
Q
Mead’s theory of identity
A
“I” is the spontaneous and autonomous part of self
“me” is the self that is influenced by society and conforms to society’s norms
5
Q
Where is merit derived from?
A
achieved status
6
Q
Saccade
A
a quick jump of the eye from one position to another as it takes in visual stimuli
7
Q
limen
A
a threshold below which a stimulus is not perceived or is not distinguished from another
8
Q
Can classical conditioning affect voluntary behaviors?
A
no
9
Q
Anterograde amnesia
A
inability to create new memories after an event
10
Q
EOG
A
measures eye movement during sleep
11
Q
Vicarious conditioning
A
another term for observational learning
12
Q
Attrition bias
A
occurs when people drop out of a long term study
13
Q
Classic sign of conformity
A
privately disagreeing with something but publicly agreeing with it
14
Q
The Stroop effect
A
difficulty naming a physical color when it is used to the spell the name of a different color
15
Q
Construct validity
A
how well did the study examine what it intended to
16
Q
social clock
A
a culturally-specific timetable of when life events should occur
17
Q
activity theory
A
elderly people wish to stay active just as much as younger people
18
Q
Harlow’s monkey experiments
A
monkeys only went to wire mother for food and still went to cloth mother for comfort when she did have food
both monkeys ended up eating the same amount
19
Q
What increases statistical power?
A
increasing the number of subjects
20
Q
Reciprocal determinism
A
people’s behavior is both influenced by other people and the environment
people also influence others and the environment
21
Q
What theory does reciprocal determinism apply to?
A
social cognitive theory
22
Q
Shadowing
A
used in attention studies where a person repeats word for word while other stimuli are in the background
test selective attention
23
Q
Path of verbal input through left ear
A
goes to auditory cortex in the right hemisphere and then is processed by language areas of the left hemisphere
24
Q
What are IQ tests normalized to?
A
100 +/- 15
25
Bell curve percentages
2.1, 13.6, 68, 13.6, 2.1
26
What do stimulants function like?
stress responses
27
What type of reinforcement is used during the acquisition phase?
continuous reinforcement
28
What is the most effective type of reinforcement?
variable ratio
29
Semantic memory
long term memory about facts
30
Episodic memory
long term memory about the self
31
Explicit memory
includes semantic and episodic memory
32
Implicit memory
procedural long term memory
uses past experience to remember things without thinking about them
33
Where are neurotransmitters made?
neurons
34
How many items can the working memory store?
7 +/- 2
35
Neural plasticity
any change in the connectivity of the brain
36
Parietal lobe
associated with somatosensation
37
Which lobe is associated with attention?
frontal lobe
38
Temporal lobe
associated with memory and hearing
39
How can external validity be decreased?
1) limiting criteria to be selected for study
2) subjects' awareness of being in a study
3) lab versus the real world
40
Parasomnias
abnormalities during sleep
41
Dysomnias
affect the total hours of sleep
42
Humanistic theory
intrinsic motivation
43
cognitive theory of motivation
motivation because you have successfully completed something in the past
44
zeitgebers
external factors that affect sleep
45
somatic symptom disorder
excessive preoccupation and anxiety regarding a real symptom
46
illness anxiety disorder
excessive worry about the possibility of having an illness
47
Weber's ideal bureaucracy includes
hierarchy of authority, specialization, promotion based on effort, formal rules
48
otoliths
responsible for linear acceleration in ear
49
Semicircular canals
rotational acceleration
50
social interference
reduced performance due to the presence of others
51
Non-declarative memory
procedural, emotional and other unconscious memories
52
What test can measure attachment styles?
strange situations
53
Correspondence bias
another name for fundamental attribution error
54
Cross-sectional study
analyzes subsets of the population at a specific point in time
55
Behaviorist theory
focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned from interaction with the environment
56
Spacing effect
long term memory is enhanced when learning events are spaced out
57
How to determine motivational state in operant conditioning?
deprive the subject
58
Partial report technique
method of testing memory in which only some of the total information presented is to be recalled.
59
Word association test
a test of personality and mental function in which the subject is required to respond to each of a series of words with the first word that comes to mind
60
Psychophysical discrimination testing
varying a physical stimulus slightly and observing the effect on a subject’s experience or behavior in order to better understand perceptual processing
61
Operational span testing
Test to see the general capacity of working memory tasks
62
Context effect
aspect of cognitive psychology that describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus
63
Feature detection
process by which the nervous system sorts or filters complex natural stimuli in order to extract behaviorally relevant cues that have a high probability of being important
64
Multistability
when an image can be perceived two or more ways and/or our perception of that image fluctuates
65
Where are the amygadalae located?
in the temporal lobe
one in each hemisphere
66
Incentive theory of motivation
calls attention to how factors outside of the individual, including community values and cultural aspects, can motivate behavior
67
Cultural capital
refers to knowledge, skills and education that are used to make social distinctions and are associated with differences in social status
68
Demographic transition theory
refers to changes in birth and death rates associated with economic development
begin with a drop in death rate and increase in birth rate
eventually both birth and death rates are low
69
Discriminatory stimuli
a type of stimulus commonly used in classical conditioning
use the stimulus to consistently gain a specific response
70
Positive punisher
a positive punisher decreases the likelihood of an event happening again
an aversive event happens that decreases the likelihood of another event from happening
71
Negative punisher
a negative punisher decreases the likelihood of an event happening again
a desired event is taken away
72
What type of cells are hair cells?
mechanoreceptors
73
How to study sympathetic nervous system arousal?
electrical conductivity of the skin
74
Behaviorist theory
can also focus on the role of reinforcement and punishment on behavior
75
Basic group dynamics of sociology
larger groups are considered more stable but less intimate than smaller groups
smaller groups are considered less stable but more initmate
76
fMRI
measures brain activity through detecting changes in blood flow
77
PET scan
radiolabel glucose to measure activity and structure
see where glucose metabolizes
78
EEG
measures a neuron's electrical activity
79
CT
a less invasive technique than MRI for measuring structure
use X-rays to make cross sections to get image
80
When do sleep spindles and k-complexes appear?
in stage 2 of sleep
81
When do delta waves appear?
in stage 3 and 4 of sleep
82
Evolutionary perspective of human behavior
humans engage in behaviors to increase survival
83
When does stranger anxiety develop?
around 8 months
84
When do each of Piaget's stages occur?
sensorimotor: 0-2
preoperational: 2-7
concrete operational: 7-12
formal operational: 13-adult
85
When does object permanence occur?
around 8 months
86
When does conservation develop?
concrete operational period
7-12 years
87
When is the child egocentric?
preoperational
88
When can you think abstractly?
formal operational
89
Interposition
a monocular depth cue that says that when one object is obscuring another, the one in front is said to be closer
90
Parallel processing
brain can process different forms of information at once
91
Accomodation
new information or experiences cause you to change your existing schemas
92
Place theory
places on the basilar membrane detect different sound frequencies
93
What is a characteristic of dissociative disorders?
selectively forgetting distracting elements of life
94
What do memory schemas do?
increase speed of recall/recognition
95
What is conflict theory commonly associated with?
resources, class stratification, and power
96
Analytical intelligence
the ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, solve problems and make decisionns
97
What does emotional intelligence allow people to do?
be self-aware and delay gratification/ not be overtaken by impulses
98
Escape learning versus avoidance learning
Escape learning: stimulus is already present and you stop it
Avoidance learning: avoid the stimulus even starting
99
How does CBT therapy work?
systematically modify a person's behavior to address maladaptive behaviors
100
What does a functionalist look at?
utility/ function
manifest and latent functions
101
The Hawthorne effect
changes in research participant's behavior as a result of their awareness that they are being observed
102
The Thomas theorem
if someone believes something to be real, then it is real in its consequences
103
What does counterbalancing control for?
controls for any effect that the order of presenting stimuli might have on the dependent variable
104
Priming and procedural memories are ...
examples of implicit memories
105
Neuroleptics
the first antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia
106
What are the benefits and cons of neuroleptics?
Neuroleptics can treat the positive symptoms of schizophrenia
They can lead to cognitive dulling / more negative symptoms
107
General adaptation syndrome
alarm to resistance to exhaustion
the stress response is the same for different types of stressors
108
Dependent stressor
behavior causes negative life events
109
What type of information is the brain not able to parallel process?
novel information
110
Example of parallel processing
processing visual and spatial and temporal information
111
In which side of the brain is language processed?
the left side
112
Example of the foot in the door technique
signing a petition which then leads to supporting a cause in the future
113
Cognitive dissonance theory
when attitudes and behaviors do not align, you need to change either your attitude or behavior
more likely to change your attitude to match your behavior
114
Can you be in a group for it to be a reference group?
yes
115
Differences between operant and classical conditioning
operant conditioning involves a change in behavior
classical conditioning involves adding a reflex to a new stimuli
116
Does classical or operant conditioning increase the frequency of behavior?
operant
117
Script
organized actions appropriate to a familiar situation
118
Schema
cognitive framework that organizes ideas
119
What do you need to look at when determining how to rationalize a variable?
look at if the researchers want to determine cause or correlation
will tell you if you need to make an experiment or observational study
120
Retrograde memory
ability to remember information before a brain injury/point in time
121
Anterograde memory
ability to remember information after a brain injury
122
What does reticular activating system control?
awakeness
123
Exchange theory
addresses decision making cost-and-benefit analyses
individuals are motivated to engage in behaviors that produce rewards
124
What does the term "manifest" imply?
how does something actually happen / be seen in specific situations
125
Constructivism
the idea that people actively construct or make their own knowledge
reality is determined by experience
126
Do personality traits affect interpersonal attraction?
no
127
What three factors does SES include?
occupation, income and education
128
Dichotic listening task
presenting two different auditory messages one to each ear
129
PET scan
measures brain activity in specific regions by tracking glucose breakdown
130
Are peer groups a primary group?
yes
131
Social solidary
emphasizes interdependence between individuals in society
functionalists would look at this
132
NMDA
glutamate receptors
133
Self-verification
refers to seeking out info that is in line with one's self concept
134
Discriminating stimuli
signal the availability of reinforcement or punishment
135
What does traditional behaviorist theory focus on?
actual outcomes that produced rewards or punishments
136
Incongruence
refers to the gap between someone's actual and ideal self
137
Base rate fallacy
error people make when they ignore base rates / prior probabilities
138
Glass escalator
men who pursue occupations in female driven fields will be promoted quicker
139
Maladaptiveness criterion
takes into account whether an abnormal behavior interferes with life or is a threat to others
140
Schizophrenia and dopamine
people with schizophrenia have high dopamine levels
dopamine antagonists lower positive symptoms of schizophrenia
141
Bootstrapping
the initial stages of grammatical development
142
Overextension
term for applying a term of one class of objects to other objects that only bear a superficial resemblance
143
object of focus
used in retinal disparities
indicates a binocular depth cue
