Audible books Flashcards
To learn key terms from the great courses audible books
action tendency
An impulse to respond in a particular way as a result of aspecific emotion.
cognitive appraisal theory
A theory that claims that each specific
emotion is elicited by a particular kind of cognitive appraisal, which is the person’s assessment of the impact of the event on his or her well-being and
personal concerns.
comparison level for alternatives
The lowest level of outcome that people
think that they can get by leaving their current relationship and moving to
the best alternative situation—whether that is another partner or simply
being out of a relationship altogether.
bipolar
The form of manic-depressive illness in which episodes of both
mania and depression occur, as distinct from unipolar.
behaviorism
A branch of psychology that claims that all behaviors and emotional responses are the result of learning.
culture
All of the socially transmitted beliefs and behavior patterns in a group or society.
cognitive psychologist
A scientist who studies thinking and memory.
consolidation theory
A theory of dreams that suggests that dreams are
involved in the storage of memories from the previous day.
catastrophizing
A thinking process in which a person has an exaggerated view of the likelihood that something bad is going to happen or an exaggerated belief about how bad the bad thing is.
behavioral genetics
The scientific field that studies both the genetic and
environmental influences on such characteristics as personality
absolute threshold
The minimum amount of stimulation sufficient to
be experienced.
apraxia
The inability to perform stereotypical but complex movements
such as putting on a jacket.
catharsis
The act of purging one’s emotions
AI
The acronym for “artificial intelligence.”
acute stress
The type of stress that occurs when people experience an immediate threat to their well-being.
chronic stress
The type of stress that almost always exists.
biofeedback:
The technique for making available to the observer information
regarding his or her own physiological states and events; e.g., a visual display
of one’s own blood pressure or heart rate or skin resistance.
allele
A different form of a gene.
aphasia
Either expressive (as in Broca’s aphasia) or receptive, the inability to use language.
companionate love
A strong state of affection that people feel for others
with whom their lives are deeply entwined.
affective forecasting
The act of predicting how events will influence one’s
emotions in the long run.
artificial intelligence:
A form of “intelligent” or problem-solving
performance achieved by a programmed computational device.
appeasement display
A behavior that reduces social threats from other
members of one’s species.
comparison level
The minimum value of the outcomes that people think
they deserve from a relationship.
activation-synthesis theory
The first modern theory of dreams that suggests
that dreams are the brain’s efforts to make sense out of meaningless patterns of firing in the brain while sleeping.
anthropomorphism:
A form of explanation of non-human attributes in
terms of allegedly comparable human attributes. Thus, the formation of
ants approaching another colony is explained as an “army” ready to engage
in “war.”
basilar membrane
A membrane in the inner ear’s cochlear duct along the
length of which are the auditory receptor (“hair”) cells.
adolescence
The period ranging from about age 12 to about age 19 that starts with the onset of puberty and ends when the person is functioning as
an adult.
Broca’s Aphasia
An expressive aphasia resulting from a lesion in Broca’s
area, the third frontal convolution in the left hemisphere.
akratic action
The undesired behavior that people sometimes engage
in while they are telling themselves that they shouldn’t be engaging in the behavior; comes from a Greek word that means a failure of will or
self-control.
CAT scan
CAT is the acronym for computerized axial tomography; a radiographic technique for constructing three-dimensional anatomical
pictures.
cognitive maps
Tolman’s term for the apparent mental or cognitive
representation of the external world, such that the rat is able to frame
alternative courses of action to reach a desired goal
cones-eyes
In vision, the retinal receptor cells whose activation takes place in dim and brighter light, though not in darkness; cells that mediate the experience
of color.
conservation-piaget
In Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, a principle that is understood only by older children; the principle according to
which, e.g. the quantity of a thing is not changed when it is given a
different shape.
constancy (perceptual):
The tendency to see known objects as retaining
their known size and shape even as they are moved to more distant locations or are differently oriented; e.g., a saucer seen as round even when
presented horizontally.
conversion reaction
In psychoanalytic theory, the explanation of hysterical
symptoms as the result of a conversion of psychic to physical processes.
depth psychology
Psychological theories based on the concept of the
unconscious, otherwise inaccessible at the superficial levels of perception
and introspection.
difference threshold
The minimum difference between two stimuli
sufficient for the observer to distinguish between them.
duplex theory
The theory (fact) that vision is mediated by two functionally different types of receptors, rods and cones; the former activated at the lowest levels of illumination but unable to mediate the experience of color; the latter activated at higher levels of light intensity and associated with the perception of color.
ego
The “self” or “I” in psychoanalytic theory, fashioned out of the
competing forces of the instinctual and the social.
empiricism
That philosophical perspective according to which knowledge
is grounded in experience, and experience is the ultimate standard of all
knowledge claims. It may be contrasted with both rationalism and nativism.
eudaimonia
In Aristotle’s theory that form of “happiness” or
“flourishing”
that might be achieved by one whose overall form of life is rationally ordered
and virtuous.
expert systems
A branch of engineering that seeks to identify the attributes
of human expertise (e.g., medical diagnosis) and incorporate them into
complex computational programs.
extrovert
According to Carl Jung, the two dominant personality tendencies
are toward extroversion or introversion, each of these forming a “type” of
personality which, when known to the psychoanalyst, permits predictions in
a wide range of circumstances.
frontal lobe syndrome:
A set of cognitive defects, often involving disrupted
perceptions of events taking place over a stretch of time.
functionalism
A quite general perspective on biology and psychology
according to which various processes or attributes are understood in terms
of the functions served by them. Thus, the right question to ask about, e.g.,
“consciousness,” is not what it is, but what it is for; what can be achieved by
the organism possessing it which cannot otherwise be achieved.
genital stage:
The final stage of psychosexual development in which sexual gratification is achieved through heterosexual intercourse.The final stage of psychosexual development in which sexual
gratification is achieved through heterosexual intercourse.
Glove Anesthesia
A classic form of hysterical symptom in which sensitivity
is diminished or lost over the region of the hand that would be covered by a
glove, this not being possible as a result of actual nerve damage.
heritability
The fraction of the total variance displayed by a characteristic that is attributable to genetic sources of variation.
hermeneutics
Originally reserved to the field of biblical or scriptural
interpretation, now used more generally to refer to explanation as a form
of interpretation.
heuristic
A device or scheme that aids in the diagnosis and solution of problems.
hypnosis
The means or practice by which cooperative subjects can be placed in a state of semi consciousness or unconsciousness but can still be
“reached” in such a way as to alter their perceptions and actions.
hysteria
Initially, an assortment of temperamental, perceptual, and behavioral abnormalities thought to be associated with childbirth and other gender-specific conditions; hence the word, which is a version of the ancient
Greek for uterus; later referring indifferently to men and women displaying such perceptual, behavioral and emotional disturbances.
Id
In Freud’s theory, the basic, instinctual core of drives inherited as part of the animal ancestry of the human race; tendencies toward self-gratification
and self-preservation without the regulative influences of civilization.
instinct
A typically complex pattern of behavior (i.e., unlike
reflexes) exhibited (nearly) universally within a species or by one gender in that species, and appearing in essentially complete form without the benefit of
practice or training
instrumental conditioning
The term used to designate conditioned behavior
that is instrumental in problem-solving or in reaching a goal; as distinct from reflexes.
IQ
The “intelligence quotient” calculated by dividing mental age by chronological age and multiplying by 100. A 10-year old who scores at the mental level of the average 12-year old has an IQ of 120 (12/10 X 100).
lateralization
The tendency of certain perceptual or behavioral capacities to be localized in one but not both halves of e.g., the cerebral cortex. Thus, lesion in the left hemisphere leads to paralysis on the right side of the
body, etc.
law of effect
Thorndike’s law, stating that behavior is strengthened or
weakened by the effects it produces; behavior leading to a “pleasing state of affairs” thus becoming more likely; that leading to pain or punishment,
less likely.
limbic system
In highly integrated collection of structures below the cerebral cortex and having strong associations with basic emotional patterns of behavior such as copulation, aggression, maternal activity, etc. The structures include the amygdala, the septum, the Isle of Rile, the hippocampus and the columns of the fornix.
machine functionalism
A concept in contemporary philosophy of mind
that would equate intelligence or cognition not with a specific anatomy (e.g.,the brain) or type of animal (e.g., human) but with any generic device able to
perform intelligent or cognitive functions.
Malleus Maleficarum
“The hammer of evils” was the book in the 15th
century that informed courts on the procedures for identifying witches and the punishments to be imposed on them. Written by two Dominicans (Sprenger and Kramer) it offered a perilous mixture of science, pseudoscience, and rank superstition.
manic-depressive
A form of psychosis; a severe mental illness in which the
sufferer experiences delusions and is overcome by episodes of uncontrollable and even suicidal depression and/or destructive forms of mania.
materialism
That philosophical school or system that takes the ultimate reality to be a material reality, finally lacking in any other kind of “stuff”—notably “mental” stuff.
mnemonic
A technique for aiding memory
nativism
A psychological orientation or theory according to which certain mental or cognitive powers are innate, requiring only time for maturation
before expressing themselves in their full form.
Neo-Freudian
The member of a psychoanalytic school or system indebted to Freudian theory but departing from it to a greater or lesser extent.
noise
A technical term referring to any event or entity that interferes with the detection of a target-stimulus.
nomological-deductive model
Developed and defended by Carl Hempel,
a model of scientific explanation based on the proposition that an event has been explained
scientifically when it is shown to be deducible from a general law (Gk. nomos = law).
nonsense syllables
Used by Hermann Ebbinghaus in his pioneering studies
of associative memory processes. Typically, such syllables are formed by a consonant-vowel-consonant sequence such as MIB, TUJ, etc.
ontology
The branch of metaphysics addressed to questions regarding real or actual being. Whether or not there are actually existing minds or consciousness or thoughts (as distinct from matter) is an ontological
question.
operant
Skinner’s technical term for an observable
musculo-skeletal movement.
oral stage
The first stage in Freud’s theory of psychosexual development; the stage at which sensual gratification is achieved by oral stimulation, such as sucking.
ossicles
The three bones of the middle ear which translate motion from the ear drum to the cochlear duct of the inner ear.
payoff matrix
In general, the costs and benefits of various decisions and decision-strategies; in signal detection theory, the costs assessed against either false alarms or missed targets.
PET scan
The acronym stands for positron emission tomography.
Radioactively tagged elements are introduced into the blood supply to the brain so that the rate of oxidation in various regions can be monitored in real time, thus providing a record of activity in specific regions.
phallic stage
The stage of psychosexual development when sexual
gratification is achieved through genital self-stimulation.
