Behavioral Sciences Flashcards
Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) Sleep
Stages 1 through 4 of sleep; contains ever-slowing brain waves as one gets deeper into sleep.
Norms
Societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior
Obedience
The changing of behavior of an individual based on a command from someone seen as an authority figure
Object Permanence
Knowledge that an object does not cease to exist even when the object cannot be seen; a milestone in cognitive development
Observational Learning
A form of learning in which behavior is modified as a result of watching others
Occipital Lobe
A portion of the cerebral cortex that controls visual processing
Operant Conditioning
A form of associative learning in which the frequency of a behavior is modified using reinforcement or punishment
Opponent-Process Theory
A theory that states that the body will adapt to counteract repeated exposure to stimuli, such as seeing afterimages or ramping up the sympathetic nervous system in response to a depressant
Parallel Processing
The ability to simultaneously analyze and combine information regarding multiple aspects of a stimulus, such as color, shape, and motion
Parietal lobe
A portion of the cerebral cortex that controls somatosensory and spatial processing
Personality disorders
Disorders that involve patterns of behavior that are inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or impaired functions in at least two of the following: cognition, emotion, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control
Pineal gland
A brain structure located near the thalamus that secretes melatonin
Pons
A portion of the brainstem that relays information between the cortex and medulla, regulates sleep, and carries some motor and sensory information from the head and neck
Poverty
A socioeconomic condition of low resource availability; in the US, the poverty line is determined by the government’s calculation of the minimum income requirements for families to acquire the minimum necessities of life
Prejudice
An irrationally based positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing, formed prior to actual experience.
Prevalence
The number of cases of a disease per population in a given period of time; usually, cases per 1000 people per year
Primacy Effect
The phenomenon of first impressions of a person being more important than subsequent impressions
Priming
A retrieval cue by which recall is aided by a word or phrase that is semantically related to the desired memory
Projection
A defense mechanism by which individuals attribute their undesired feelings to others
Projection Area
The portion of the cerebral cortex that analyzes sensory input
Proprioception
The ability to tell where one’s body is in space
Punishment
In operant conditioning, the use of an aversive stimulus designed to decrease the frequency of an undesired behavior
Operant conditioning
(also called “instrumental conditioning”) is a type of learning in which (a) the strength of a behavior is modified by the behavior’s consequences, such as reward or punishment, and (b) the behavior is controlled by antecedents called “discriminative stimuli” which come to signal those consequences.
*look up diagram
Aversive Stimulus
An aversive stimulus is an unpleasant event that is intended to decrease the probability of a behavior when it is presented as a consequence (i.e., punishment).
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
Sleep stage in which the eyes move rapidly back and forth and physiological arousal levels are more similar to wakefulness than sleep; dreaming occurs during this stage
Rationalization
A defense mechanism by which individuals explain undesirable behaviors in a way that is self-justifying and socially acceptable
Reaction Formation
A defense mechanism by which individuals suppress urges by unconsciously converting them into their exact opposites
Regency Effect
The phenomenon in which the most recent information we have about an individual is most important in forming our impressions
Reciprocal Determinism
In the social cognitive perspective, the notion that thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and environment interact to determine behavior in a given situation
Recognition-Primed Decision Model
A decision-making model in which experience and recognition of similar situations one has already experienced play a large role in decision-making and actions; also one of the explanations for the experience of intuition
Regression
A defense mechanism by which an individual deals with stress by reverting to an earlier developmental state
Reinforcement
In operant conditioning, the use of a stimulus designed to increase the frequency of a desired behavior
*look up diagram
Representativeness Heuristic
A shortcut in decision-making that relies on categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category
Repression
A defense mechanism by which the ego forces undesired thoughts and urges into the unconscious mind
Response Bias
The tendency of subjects to systematically respond to a stimulus in a particular way due to nonsensory factors
Retrieval
The process of demonstrating that information has been retained in memory; includes recall, recognition, and relearning
Ritual
A formalized ceremony that usually involves specific material objects, symbolism, and additional mandates on acceptable behavior
Role
A set of beliefs, values, attitudes, and norms that define expectations of behaviors associated with a given status
Schachter-Singer Theory
A theory of emotion that states that both physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal must occur before an emotion is consciously experienced
Schema
An organized pattern of thought and behavior; one of the central concepts of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Schizophrenia
A psychotic disorder characterized by gross distortions of reality and disturbances in the content and form of thought, perception, and behavior
