AP Terms Flashcards
The creation of new cognitive schemas when objects experiences or other info does not fit with existing schemas
Accommodations
Learning that occurs without apparent reinforcements but is not demonstrated until reinforcement occurs.
Latent Learning
Theory proposed by Thorndike stating that those responses that are followed by a positive consequence will be repeated more frequently than those that are not.
Law of Effect
Based on the idea that changes in behavior result more from experience and less from our personality or how we think or feel about a situation.
Learning Theory
Power derived through one’s position, such as a police officer or elected official.
Legitimate Power
Sigmund Freud’s terminology of sexual energy or sexual drive.
Libido
Relatively permanent memory.
Long Term Memory
A dream in which you are aware of dreaming and are sometimes able to manipulate the dream.
Lucid Dream
Changes due to the natural process of aging as determined by your genetics.
Maturation
A method of determining an average where the sum of the scores are divided by the number of scores.
Mean
A method of determining an average by using the score that falls in the middle of the distribution.
Median
A method of determining an average by using the score(s) which occur most frequently.
Mode
The creation of new cognitive schemas when objects, experiences or other info. does not fit with existing schemas.
Accommodation
The firing of a neuron. Occurs when the charge inside the neuron becomes more powerful than the charge outside the neuron.
Action Potential
Behavior that is unselfish and may even be detrimental but benefits others.
Altruism
The physiological and psychological reaction to an expected danger, whether real or imagined.
Anxiety
The impairment of the ability to communicate either through oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage.
Aphasia
Incorporating objects, experiences, or info into existing schemas.
Assimilation
The phenomenon that states we are better able to remember info. when it is paired with something we are familiar with or in other words, stands out.
Associations
The strong bond a child has for his or her primary caregiver.
Attachment
Parenting style focused on excessive rules, rigid belief systems, and the expectation of unquestioned obedience.
Authoritarian [parents]
Parenting style focused on setting reasonable rules and expectations while encouraging independence.
Authoritative [parents]
A type of behavioral treatment where an adverse stimulus is paired with a negative behavior in hopes that the behavior will change in the future to avoid adverse stimuli.
Aversion Therapy
The tail-like part of a neuron where information exits the cell.
Axon
The cognitive structure utilized to make sense of the world.
Schema
A reinforcer other than one which meets our basic needs such as food or water (e.g. intellectual stimulation, money, praise).
Secondary Reinforcer
The process of understanding oneself more completely and being aware of issues affecting one’s life.
Self-Actualization
One’s belief in his or her own ability.
Self-Efficiency
The tendency to assign internal attributes to successes and external factors to failures.
Self-Serving Bias
The part of declarative memory that stores general info such as names and facts
Semantic Memory
The brief storage of info brought in through the senses, typically only lasts up to a few seconds.
Sensory Memory
Gradually molding a specific response by reinforcing responses that come close to the desired response.
Shaping
The stage of memory where info is stored for up to 30 seconds prior to either being forgotten or transferred to long term memory
Short Term Memory
Considered the father of behavioral therapy. He once stated that with the ability to control a child’s environment, he could raise a child to become anything he wanted.
Skinner, B.F
The effect of other’s presence on one’s performance. Typically we perform simple or well learned tasks better in front of others and difficult or novel tasks worse.
Social Facilitation
The tendency for people to work less on a task the greater the number of people are working on that task
Social Loafing
The branch of psychology which focuses on society and its impact on the individual.
Social Psychology
Accepted behaviors associated with a particular position within a group.
Social Rules
A statistical formula used to determine the amount of difference expected from one score to the next.
Standard Deviation
A temporary internal characteristic (e.g. depressed, angry)
State
The theory that info learned in a particular state of mind (e.g. depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
State Dependent Memory
Anything in the environment to which one responds.
Stimulus
The process of saving info in long term memory.
Storage
The physical and psychological result of internal or external pressure.
Stress
Anything, internal or external, which applies psychological pressure on an individual.
Stressor
A defense mechanism where undesired or unacceptable impulses are transformed into behaviors which are accepted by society.
Sublimation
In psychoanalytical theory, the part of the personality that represents the conscience
Superego
Hans Eysenck’s term for his two distinct categories of personality traits. They include introversion-extroversion and neuroticisms. According to Eysenck, each of us fall on a continuum based on the degree of each super trait.
Supertraits
The defense mechanism where we push unacceptable thoughts out of consciousness and into our unconscious
Suppression
Aristotle’s theory of reasoning where two true statements are followed by a single logical conclusion.
Syllogism
A treatment technique where the client is exposed to gradually increasing anxiety provoking stimuli while relaxing; the goal is for the client to eventually confront a phobia or fear without the previously associated anxiety.
Systematic Desensitization
The cognitive structure utilized to make sense of the world.
Schema
A reinforcer other than one which meets our basic needs such as food or water (e.g. intellectual stimulation, money, praise).
Secondary Reinforcer
The process of understanding oneself more completely and being aware of issues affecting one’s life.
Self-Actualization
One’s belief in his or her own ability.
Self-Efficiency
The tendency to assign internal attributes to successes and external factors to failures.
Self-Serving Bias
The part of declarative memory that stores general info such as names and facts
Semantic Memory
The brief storage of info brought in through the senses, typically only lasts up to a few seconds.
Sensory Memory
Gradually molding a specific response by reinforcing responses that come close to the desired response.
Shaping
The stage of memory where info is stored for up to 30 seconds prior to either being forgotten or transferred to long term memory
Short Term Memory
Considered the father of behavioral therapy. He once stated that with the ability to control a child’s environment, he could raise a child to become anything he wanted.
Skinner, B.F
The effect of other’s presence on one’s performance. Typically we perform simple or well learned tasks better in front of others and difficult or novel tasks worse.
Social Facilitation
The tendency for people to work less on a task the greater the number of people are working on that task
Social Loafing
The branch of psychology which focuses on society and its impact on the individual.
Social Psychology
Accepted behaviors associated with a particular position within a group.
Social Rules
A statistical formula used to determine the amount of difference expected from one score to the next.
Standard Deviation
A temporary internal characteristic (e.g. depressed, angry)
State
The theory that info learned in a particular state of mind (e.g. depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
State Dependent Memory
Anything in the environment to which one responds.
Stimulus
The process of saving info in long term memory.
Storage
The physical and psychological result of internal or external pressure.
Stress
Anything, internal or external, which applies psychological pressure on an individual.
Stressor
A defense mechanism where undesired or unacceptable impulses are transformed into behaviors which are accepted by society.
Sublimation
In psychoanalytical theory, the part of the personality that represents the conscience
Superego
Hans Eysenck’s term for his two distinct categories of personality traits. They include introversion-extroversion and neuroticisms. According to Eysenck, each of us fall on a continuum based on the degree of each super trait.
Supertraits
The defense mechanism where we push unacceptable thoughts out of consciousness and into our unconscious
Suppression
Aristotle’s theory of reasoning where two true statements are followed by a single logical conclusion.
Syllogism
A treatment technique where the client is exposed to gradually increasing anxiety provoking stimuli while relaxing; the goal is for the client to eventually confront a phobia or fear without the previously associated anxiety.
Systematic Desensitization
statistical technique used to determine the number of components in a set of data. These components are then named according to their characteristics allowing a researcher to break them down into a statistical group.
Factor Analysis
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, the failure to complete a stage successfully which results in the continuation of that stage into later adulthood.
Fixation
Fixed Ratio Schedule
schedule in which the reinforcement is presented after a specific period of time.
Fetish
condition in which arousal or sexual gratification is attained through inanimate objects or non-sexual body parts. Is usually considered a problem when the object is needed in order to gain arousal or gratification and the ind. can’t complete a sexual act without this object present.
Frequency Effect
The phenomenon in memory that states that we are better able to remember info if it’s repeated.
Freud, Sigmund
Dr. Freud is often referred to as the father of clinical psychology. His extensive theory of personality development is the cornerstone for modern psychological thought and consists of the psychosexual stages of development, the structural model of personality ego, and levels of consciousness.
Flooding
behavioral technique used to treat phobias in which the client is presented with the feared stimulus until the associated anxiety disappears.
Free Association
psychoanalytic technique of allowing a patient to talk without direction or input in order to analyze current issues with the client.
Frontal Lobe
lobe at the front of the brain associated with movement, speech, and impulsive behavior.
Fundamental Attribution Error
The tendency to over-estimate the internal attributes of another person’s actions.
Tactile
The sense of touch
Temperament
A person’s typical way of responding to his or her environment
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
A subjective personality test where ambiguous pictures are shown to subject and they are asked to tell a story to them
Theory
A general idea about the relationship of two or story to them
Trait
A relatively permanent internal characteristic (e.g. friendly, outgoing)
Transference
Intense feelings directed toward the therapist that many clients experience in the process of therapy
Type A Personality
A theory used to describe a person with a significant number of traits focused on urgency, impatience, success, and normal or heightened competition
Type B Personality
A theory used to describe a person with a significant number of traits focused on relaxation, lack of urgency, and normal or reduced competition
Unconditional Positive Regard
Nonjudgmental empathy and respect for another person.
Unconditional Response
The response in a stimulus response chain that is naturally occurring as opposed to learned
Unconditional Stimulus
The stimulus in a stimulus response chain that is naturally occurring as opposed to learned
Unconscious
According to Frued, that area of the psyche where the unknown wishes and needs are kept that play a significant role in our conscious behavior
Validity
Statistical technique used to determine if a test is actually measuring what it is intended to measure
Variable
Any factor which has the potential to influence another factor in a research study
A cognitive psychologist who developed the concept of Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis, Albert
Feelings about a situation, person, or object that involves changes in physiological arousal and cognitions.
Emotion
The awareness of and ability to manage one’s feelings in a productive and healthy manner
Emotional Intelligence
The transformation of info. to be stored in memory
Encoding
Subcategory of declarative memory where info. regarding life events is stored
Episodic Memory
In research, the group of subjects who receive the independent variable
Experimental Group
Research method using random assignment of subject and the manipulation of variables in order to determine cause and effect
Experimental Method
Errors in a research study due to the predisposed notions or beliefs of the experimenter
Experimental Bias
Power derived through advanced knowledge or experience in a particular subject
Expert Power
The belief that the environment has more control over life circumstances than the individual does
External Locus of Control
The reduction and eventual disappearance of a learned or conditioned response after it is no longer inhibited with the unconditioned stimulus response chain
Extinction
The desire or push to perform a certain behavior based on the potential external rewards that may be received as a result
Extrinsic Motivation
A cognitive psychologist who developed the concept of Rational Emotive Therapy
Ellis, Albert
Feelings about a situation, person, or object that involves changes in physiological arousal and cognitions.
Emotion
The awareness of and ability to manage one’s feelings in a productive and healthy manner
Emotional Intelligence
The transformation of info. to be stored in memory
Encoding
Subcategory of declarative memory where info. regarding life events is stored
Episodic Memory
In research, the group of subjects who receive the independent variable
Experimental Group
Research method using random assignment of subject and the manipulation of variables in order to determine cause and effect
Experimental Method
Errors in a research study due to the predisposed notions or beliefs of the experimenter
Experimental Bias
Power derived through advanced knowledge or experience in a particular subject
Expert Power
The belief that the environment has more control over life circumstances than the individual does
External Locus of Control
The reduction and eventual disappearance of a learned or conditioned response after it is no longer inhibited with the unconditioned stimulus response chain
Extinction
The desire or push to perform a certain behavior based on the potential external rewards that may be received as a result
Extrinsic Motivation
The decrease in response to a stimulus due to repetition.
Habituation
False perception of reality.
Hallucination
The tendency to assign generally positive or generally negative traits to a person after observing one specific positive or negative trait
Haol effect
A rule of thumb based upon experience used to make decisions.
Heuristic
Maslow’s theory of motivation which states that we must achieve lower level needs such as food, shelter, and safety before we can achieve higher level needs.
Hierarchy of needs
Pairing a 2nd conditioned stimuli in order to produce a 2nd order response.
Higher order conditioning
The tendency of the body and mind to naturally gravitate toward a state of equilibrium or balance.
Homeostasis
Treatment focused on increasing awareness of one’s self concept.
Humanistic Therapy
A state of relaxation where an individual is more susceptible to suggestions.
Hypnosis
A prediction about a relationship between two or more variables.
Hypothesis
Variable Interval Schedule
A schedule in which the reinforcement is presented after a varying number of responses
WAISS III
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale third edition
Third Edition
An objective measure of intelligence.The Stanford-Binet test is also used, has very similar validity, but it is not as popular.
Aphasia resulting from damage to the Wernicke’s area of the frontal lobe. Affects written and spoken language
Wernicke’s Aphasia
A research method where the subjects are observed without interruption under normal or natural circumstances.
Naturalistic Observation
A correlation where as one variable increases, the other decreases.
Negative Correlation
A chemical found in animals that plays a role in our behavior, cognitions, and emotions
Neurotransmitter
A subsystem within long term memory which consists of skills we acquire through repetition and practice (e.g. dance, playing the piano, driving a car).
Non-declarative Memory
A graphical interpretation of a population that is “bell shaped” as it has the highest frequency in the middle and this frequency diminishes the farther you get from the center on either end.
Normal Curve
An expectation based on multiple observations
Norm
The understanding that objects exist even when they are not directly observed.
Object Permanence
A generic term for the psychological procedures used to measure personality which rely on measurable or objective techniques such as the MMPI-2 and WAIS-III
Objective Techniques
A persistent and seemingly uncontrollable thought.
Obsession
Learning that occurs due to manipulation of the possible consequences.
Operant Conditioning
A technique used to improve memory where the info is learned to the point that it can be repeated without making a mistake more than one time.
Over Learning
The process that energizes or maintains a behavior.
Motivation
Theory which states that memory fades over time if it is not used or accessed.
Decay
The part of long-term memory where factual info. is stored, such as mathematical formulas, vocabulary skills and life events
Declarative Memory
Decision making process where ideas are processed from the general to the special
Deductive reasoning
) Psychological forces which prevent undesirable or inappropriate impulses from entering consciousness.
Defenses (defense mechanisms)
False belief system (i.e. believing you are Napoleon, have magical powers, or that others are out to get you.)
Delusion
The variable in an experiment that is measured, the outcome of the experiment.
Dependent Variable
The area of psychology focused on how children grow to become who they are as adults
Developmental Psychology
In behavioral theory, the learned ability to differentiate between two similar objects or situations.
Discrimination
Inability to recognize who we are, what we are doing, the time and date, or where we are in relation to our environment. To be considered a problem, it must be consistent, result in difficulty functioning, and not due to forgetting or being lost.
Disorientation
The pushing out of old info in short term memory in order to make room for newer info.
Displacement
A separation from the self with the most severe resulting in Dissociative Identity Disorder. Most of us experience this in many mild forms such as when we are driving a long distance and lose track of time or find ourselves daydreaming longer than we thought.
Dissociation
The phenomenon in memory that states we are better able to remember info. if it is distinct or different from other info
Distinctiveness
Period of extreme anxiety and physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, shakiness, dizziness, and racing thoughts. Initial attacks are often reported to feel like a heart attack due to the heart palpitations. A medical exam should be conducted to rule out any such condition.
Panic Attack
The process of organizing and using information that is received through the senses.
Perception
The stable set of individual characteristics that make us unique
Personality
Parenting style consisting of very few rules and allowing children to make most decisions and control their own behavior.
Permissive [parents]
The deliberate attempt to influence the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors of another.
Persuasion
An intense fear of a specific object or situation. Most of us consider ourselves to have phobias, but to be diagnosable, the fear must significantly restrict our way of life.
Phobia
The phenomenon in research where the subject’s beliefs about the outcome can significantly affect the outcome without any other intervention.
Placebo Effect
Freud’s theory regarding the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain in order to achieve immediate gratification.
Pleasure Principle
A correlation where as one variable increases the other also increases or as one decreases so does the other.
Positive Correlation
Something positive provided after a response in order to increase the probability of that response in the future.
Positive Reinforcement
The ability to use previously gained info to debate or discuss issues which have no agreed upon solution.
Divergent Thinking
Research method in which both the subjects and the experimenter are unaware of the anticipated results.
Double Blind Study
An internal motivation to fulfill a need or to reduce the negative aspects of a situation.
Drive
The application of behavioral theory to change a specific behavior.
Behavior Modification
The application of behavioral theory (e.g. conditioning, reinforcement) in the treatment of mental illness.
Behavior Therapy
The school of psychology founded on the premise that behavior is measurable and can be changed through the application of various behavioral principles.
Behaviorism
As a way to avoid the placebo effect in research, this type of study is designed without the subjects’ knowledge of the anticipated results and sometimes even the nature of the study. The subjects are said to be ‘blind’ to the expected results.
Blind Study
An aphasia associated with damage to Broca’s are of the brain, demonstrated by the impairment of understandable speech.
Broca’s Aphasia
In psychoanalytical theory, the part of the personality which maintains balance between out impulses (id) and our conscience (superego)
Ego
The main part of the neuron where information is produced
Cell Body
A young child’s tendency to focus on only his or her own perspective of a specific subject and the failure to understand that others may see things differently
Centration
A generic term for the idea that chemicals in the brain are either too scarce or too abundant resulting in a mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disease
Chemical Imbalance
The behavioral technique of pairing a naturally occurring stimulus and response chain with a different stimulus in order to produce a response which is not naturally occurring
Classical Conditioning
A humanistic therapy based on Carl Roger’s belief that an individual has an unlimited capacity for psychological growth and will continue to grow unless barriers are placed in the way
Client Centered Therapy
The physical act resulting in obsession. Typically a compulsion is an act in order to alleviate the discomfort created by an obsession.
Compulsion
The response in a stimulus response chain that is not naturally occurring, but rather has been learned by its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
Conditioned Response
The stimulus in a stimulus response chain that is not naturally occurring, but rather has been learned by its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
Conditioned Stimulus
The process of learning new behaviors or responses as a result of their consequences.
Conditioning
Changing your attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors, in order to become more consistent with others.
Conformity
The understanding, typically achieved in later childhood, that matter remains the same even when shape changes.
Conservation
Awareness of others and the world around you.
Consciousness
The physiological phases in the brain involved with memory storage.
Consolidation
The failure to store info. in the memory.
Consolidation Failure
The theory that info. learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in the same situation or place.
Context Dependent Memory
The application of reinforcement every time a specific behavior occurs.
Continuous Reinforcement
The group of subjects in an experiment that does not receive the independent variable.
Control Group
Statistical info of a relationship between two or more variables which does not determine cause and effect.
Correlation
Assigning subjects to experimental groups based on chance
Random Assignment
Group of subjects who are representing the population who are selected through chance
Random Sample
A statistical term representing the difference between the highest score and the lowest score
Range
A cognitive theory based in Albert Elli’s theory that cognition a control our emotions and behaviors
Rational Emotive Therapy
A defense mechanism where one believes or states an acceptable explanation for a behavior as opposed to the real explanation.
Rationalization
A defense mechanism where the unacceptable impulses are converted to their opposite.
Reaction Formation
The tendency to remember the last bit of info due to the shorter time available for forgetting.
Recency Effect
Tendency to fill in the gaps in our memory and often believe these represent true memories.
Reconstruction
Power given to an individual due to respect and/or desire to be similar to that individual.
Referent Power
Repeating info in order to improve our recall of this info.
Rehearsal
Anything that follows a behavior that increases the chances of that behavior occurring again.
Reinforcer
A defense mechanism where one reverts to an earlier stage of development.
Regression
A rule of thumb where people judge by the similarity to a prototype or similar situation.
Representative Heuristic
In psychoanalytic theory the defense mechanism whereby our thoughts are pulled out of our conscious and into our unconscious.
Repression
The process of bringing material out of long term memory and into consciousness.
Retrieval
A humanistic Psychologist who developed Client-Centered Therapy.
Rogers, Carl
A projective technique utilizing ambiguous inkblots as stimuli.
Rorschach Inkblot Test
A time frame deemed highly important in developing in a healthy manner; can be physically, emotionally, behaviorally, or cognitively.
Critical Period
The firing of a neuron. Occurs when the charge inside the neuron becomes more powerful than the charge outside the neuron.
Action Potential
Behavior that is unselfish and may even be detrimental but benefits others.
Altruism
The physiological and psychological reaction to an expected danger, whether real or imagined.
Anxiety
The impairment of the ability to communicate either through oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage.
Apshia
Incorporating objects, experiences, or info into existing schemas.
Assimilation
The phenomenon that states we are better able to remember info. when it is paired with something we are familiar with or in other words, stands out.
Associations
The strong bond a child has for his or her primary caregiver.
Attachment
Parenting style focused on excessive rules, rigid belief systems, and the expectation of unquestioned obedience.
Authoritarian [parents]
Parenting style focused on setting reasonable rules and expectations while encouraging independence.
Authoritative [parents]
A type of behavioral treatment where an adverse stimulus is paired with a negative behavior in hopes that the behavior will change in the future to avoid adverse stimuli.
Aversion Therapy
The tail-like part of a neuron where information exits the cell
Axon
In psychoanalytical theory, the part of a personality which contains primitive impulses such as sex, anger, and hunger.
Id
Misperception of reality.
Illusion
Utilizing the mind to create a sensory image of a life event
Imagery
Expressing contradictory behavior when describing or experiencing an emotion.
Inappropriate Effect
The variable in an experiment that is manipulated or compared.
Independent Variable
Decision making process in which ideas are processed from specific to general.
Inductive Reasoning
The area or specialty in psychology on the application of physiological principles in the work force.
Industrial/ Organization Psychology
Occurring without learning, inborn.
Innate
The understandings of a relationship between current thoughts and feelings, where these originated, or how they are maintained.
Insight
The belief that an individual has more control over life circumstances than the environment.
Internal Locus of Control
A behavior we are born with and therefore does not need to be learned.
Instinct
The ability to adapt to one’s environment.
Intelligence
The motivation or desire to do something based on the enjoyment of the behavior itself rather than relying on external reinforcement.
Intrinsic Motivation
The tendency to focus energy inward, resulting in decreased social interaction.
Introversion
The internal sense of either being male or female. Usually congruent with biological gender but not always as in biological disorder
Gender identity
The accepted behaviors, thoughts, and emotions of a specific gender based upon the views of the particular society or culture.
Gender role
The process of developing the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions associated with a specific gender.
Gender typing
The tendency to associate stimuli, and therefore respond similarly to, due to their closeness on some variables such as size, shape, color, or meaning
Generalization
German word translated typically meaning whole or form.
Gestalt
Treatment focusing on the awareness and understanding of ones feelings.
Gestalt therapy
The tendency for members of a cohesive group to make more extreme decisions due to the lack of opposing views.
Group therapy
The tendency for members of a cohesive group to reach decisions without considering all the facts, especially those weighing out the majority opinion
Group thinking
Power derived through the ability to punish
Coercive Power
The process of receiving, storing, processing, and using info
Cognition
Treatment involving the combination of behaviorism(based on the theories of learning) and cognitive therapy (based on the theory that our cognitions or thoughts control a large portion of our behaviors.)
Cognitive Behavioral Theory
The realization of contradictions in one’s own attitudes and behaviors.
Cognitive Dissonance
The treatment approach based on the theory that our cognitions or thoughts control a large portion of our behaviors and emotions.Therefore, changing the way we think can result in positive changes that effect the way we act and feel.
Cognitive Therapy
