Behavioral Sciences Flashcards
3 types of neurons
Sensory (afferent), motor (efferent), interneurons
Reflex arcs
use the ability of interneurons in the spinal chord to relay information to the source of stimuli while simultaneously routing it to the brain
Central nervous system (CNS)
Brain and spinal chord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Most cranial and spinal nerves; divided into somatic and autonomic
Somatic nervous system
Sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout skin, joints, and muscles; sensory neurons transmit info through afferent fibers; motor impulses travel along efferent fibers
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Regulates heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions; subdivided into sympathetic and parasympathetic
Sympathetic nervous system
Fight or flight; activated by stress; increases heart rate, relaxes bronchi, decreases digestion; dilates eyes; redistributes blood to muscles of locomotion; increases blood glucose
Parasympathetic nervous system
Rest and digest; conserve energy; resting and sleeping states, constricts bronchi, slows heart rate, stimulates peristalsis and secretion, constricts pupils
3 subdivisions of the brain
Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain
Hindbrain
Contains cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and reticular formation; controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion, and general arousal processes
Midbrain
Contains inferior and superior colliculi; receives sensory and motor information from the rest of the body; involuntary reflex responses
Forebrain
Contains thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, limbic system, and cerebral cortex; associated with complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes; emotion and memory
Thalamus
Relay station for sensory info
Hypothalamus
Maintains homeostasis; integrates w/ endocrine system through portal system that connects it to anterior pituitary
Limbic system
Amygdala, septal nuclei, hippocampus; controls emotion and memory
Frontal lobe
Executive function, impulse control, long-term planning, motor function, speech productiom
Parietal lobe
Sensation of touch, temp, pressure and pain, spacial processing, orientation, and manipulation
Temporal lobe
Sound processing, speech perception, memory, and emotion
Occipital lobe
Visual processing
Acetylcholine
Used by somatic nervous system to move muscles; used by parasympathetic and central nervous system for alertness
Dopamine
Smooth movements and steady posture
Serotonin
Modulates mood, sleep patterns, eating patterns, dreaming
GABA
Plays important role in stabilizing neural activity in brain
Epinephrine/norepinephrine
Control alertness and wakefulness; fight or flight; norepi = acts locally as neurotransmitter; epi = secreted from adrenal medulla - acts systematically as hormone
Neuropeptides
Relatively slow, w/ longer effects than neurotransmitters; endorphins = natural painkillers
Development of nervous system
Neurulation at 3-4 weeks:
- ectoderm overlying notochord begins to furrow, forming neural groove surrounded by 2 neural folds
- Cells at edge of neural fold = neural crest
- furrow closes to form neural tube, which will form the CNS
- Neural tube has alar plate which differentiates into sensory neurons and basal plate which differentiates into motor neurons
Child development milestones
- Gross and fine motor abilities progress head to toe and core to periphery
- Social skills shift from parent-oriented to self-oriented to other-oriented
- Language skills become increasingly complex
Rooting reflex
Infant turns head toward anything that brushes cheek
Moro reflex
Infant extends arms, then slowly retracts them and cries in response to sensation of falling
Babinski reflex
Infant’s big toe is extended, and the other toes fan in response to brushing sole of foot
Grasping relfex
Infant grabs anything put into his/her hand
Sensation
Conversion/transduction of physical, electromagnetic, auditory, and other info from the internal and external environment into electrical signals in the nervous system
Perception
The processing of sensory info to make sense of its significance
Sensory receptors
Nerves that respond to stimuli and trigger electrical signals
Sensory ganglia
Collections of cell bodies outside the CNS; transmit signals from sensory stimuli
Projection areas
Where sensory stimuli projected to; further analyze sensory input
Absolute threshold
Minimum stimulus energy needed to activate the sensory system
Threshold of conscious perception
Minimum stimulus energy that will create a signal large enough in size and long enough in duration to be brought into awareness
Difference threshold/Just-noticeable difference (jnd)
Minimum difference in magnitude between two stimuli before one can perceive this difference
Weber’s law
States that the jnd for a stimulus is proportional to magnitude of the stimulus, and that this proportion is constant over most of the range of possible stimuli
Signal detection theory
The effects of nonsensory factors (experiences, motives, expectations) on perception of stimuli
Adaption
Decrease in response to a stimulus over time
Cornea
Gathers and filters incoming light
Iris
Divides the front of the eye into anterior and posterior chambers; Contains the muscles of dilator and constrictor pupillae which open and close the pupil
Lens
Refracts incoming light to focus it on the retina and is held in place by suspensory ligaments connected to the ciliary muscle
Aqueous humor
Produced by ciliary body; drains through canal of Schlemm
Rods
Detect light and dark
Cones
Detect colors; Short, medium, long wavelengths; Fovea at center of macula contains only cones
Visual pathway
Eye -> optic nerves -> optic chiasm -> optic tracts -> lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) -> visual radiations -> visual cortex
Parvocellular cells
Detect shape; high spatial resolution & low temporal resolution
Magnocellular cells
Detect motion; Low spatial resolution & high temporal resolution
Outer ear
Consists of pinna (auricle), external auditory canal, and tympanic membrane
Middle ear
Consists of the ossicles: Malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), stapes (stirrup)
Inner ear
Contains bony labyrinth (filled w/ perilymph) within which is the membranous labyrinth (filled w/ endolymph); Membranous labyrinth contains cochlea, utricle, saccule, semicircular canals
Auditory pathway
Cochlea -> vestibular nerve -> medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) -> auditory cortex; sound info also projects to superior olive and inferior colliculus
Olfactory pathway
Olfactory nerves -> olfactory bulb -> olfactory tract -> higher-order brain areas (i.e. limbic system)
Somatosensation
Refers to 4 touch modalities: Pressure, vibration, pain, temperature
Nociceptors
Responsible for pain perception; Gate theory of pain states that pain sensation is reduced when other somatosensory signals are present
Kinesthetic perception (proprioception)
The ability to tell where one’s body is in 3-D space
Smell
detection of volatile or aerosolized chemicals by the olfactory chemoreceptors (olfactory nerves) in the olfactory epithelium
Bottom-up processing
Recognition of objects by parallel processing and feature detection; Slower, but less prone to mistakes
Top-down processing
Recognition of an object by memories and expectations w/ little attention to details; Faster, but more prone to mistakes
Gestalt principles
Ways that the brain can infer missing parts of a picture when a picture is incomplete
Habituation
Becoming used to a stimulus
Associative learning
A way of pairing together stimuli and responses, or behaviors and consequences
Classical conditioning
An unconditioned stimulus that produces an instinctive, unconditioned response is paired with a neutral stimulus. With repetition, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus that produces a conditioned response
Operant conditioning
Behavior is changed through the use of consequences (reinforcement, punishment)
Reinforcement
Increases the likelihood of a behavior
Punishment
Decreases the likelihood of a behavior
Encoding
Process of putting new info into memory; Automatic or effortful; Semantic encoding stronger than visual and acoustic encoding
Short-term memory
Transient; based on neurotransmitter activity
Working memory
Requires short-term memory, attention, and executive function to manipulate info
Long-term memory
Requires elaborative rehearsal and is the result of increased neuronal connectivity
Explicit (declarative) memory
Stores facts and stories
Implicit (nondeclarative) memory
Stores skills and conditioning effects
Retrieval of info
Often based on priming interconnected nodes of the semantic network
Recognition vs. recall
Recognition of info stronger than recall
Long-term potentiation
Responsible for the conversion of short-term to long-term memory; The strengthening of neuronal connections resulting from increased neurotransmitter release and adding of receptor sites
Information processing model
The brain encodes, stores, and retrieves info just like a computer
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
- Sensorimotor stage - focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions; object permanence ends this stage
- Preoperational - focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism and centration
- Concrete operation - focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects
- Formal operational - focuses on abstract thought and problem solving
Mental set
Pattern of approach for a given problem
Functional fixedness
Tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barriers to problem solving
Types of problem solving
- Trial and error
- Algorithms
- Deductive reasoning- deriving conclusions from general rules
- Inductive reasoning-deriving generalizations from evidence
Heuristics
Shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
Proposes 7 areas of intelligence including: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal
Stages of sleep
- Stage 1: light sleep; theta waves
- Stage 2: slighter deeper; theta waves, sleep spindles, K complexes
- Stages 3 & 4: deep (slow wave) sleep; delta; NREM sleep; consolidating declarative memories
- REM sleep: EEG looks like awake; eye movements and body paralysis; dreaming; consolidating procedural memories
Sleep cycle
90 minutes; 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM or 1-2-3-4-REM; REM more frequent toward morning
Circadian rhythm
24 hour day; changes in light trigger melatonin release by pineal gland; Cortisol levels increase in early morning - wakefulness
Dyssomnias
Insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, sleep deprivation
Parasomnias
Night terrors, sleep walking
Depressants
Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines; Promote/mimic GABA activity in brain
Stimulants
Amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy; Increase dopamine, norepi, serotonin at synaptic cleft
Opiates
Heroin, morphine, opium, prescription pain meds; Can cause death by respiratory depression
Hallucinogens
LSD, peyote, ketamine, mescaline, psilocybin-containing mushrooms
Marijuana
Depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects
Mesolimbic pathyway
Includes nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, ventral tegmental area; Dopamine main neurotransmitter
Phonology
Sound of speech
Morphology
Building blocks of words, such as rules for pluralization
Semantics
Meanings of words
Syntax
Rules dictating word order
Pragmatics
The changes in language delivery depending on context
Nativist (biological) theory of language acquisition
Language acquisition is innate and controlled by the language acquisition device (LAD)
Learning (behaviorist) theory of language acquisition
Language acquisition in controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers
Broca’s area
motor function of speech
Arcuate fasciculus
Connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas; Damage results in conduction aphasia - inability to repeat words heard despite intact speech generation and comprehension
Wernicke’s area
language comprehension
Instinct theory
People perform certain behaviors because of evolutionarily programmed instincts
Arousal theory
People perform actions to maintain arousal at an optimal level
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Performance is optimal at a medium level of arousal
Drive reduction theory
Motivation arises from the desire to eliminate drives, which create uncomfortable internal states
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Prioritizes needs:
1) Physiological needs
2) Safety and security
3) Love and belonging
4) Self-esteem
5) Self-actualization
Self-determination theory
Role of 3 universal needs: autonomy, competence, relatedness
Incentive theory
Motivation is desire to pursue rewards and avoid punishments
Expectancy-value theory
The amount of motivation for a task is based on the individual’s expectation of success and the amount that success is valued
Opponent-process theory
Explains motivation for drug use; As drug use increases, the body counteracts its effects, leading to tolerance and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms
3 components of emotion
- Cognitive (subjective)
- Behavioral (facial expressions and body language)
- Physiological (changes in autonomic nervous system)
7 universal emotions
Happiness, sadness, contempt, surprise, fear, disgust, anger
James-Lange theory
A stimulus results first in physiological arousal, which leads to a secondary response in which the emotion is labeled;
Car cuts you off- > elevated heart rate & flushed face -> “I must be mad because my heart is racing and face is hot”
Cannon-Bard theory
Simultaneous arousal of nervous system and cognitive response lead to an action:
“I am afraid because I see a snake and my heart is racing!” Then person runs
Limbic system
Primary nervous system component involved in emotion: amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, PFC
General adaption syndrome
Alarm, resistance, exhaustion
Schachter-Singer theory
Nervous system arousal and interpretation of context lead to cognitive response;
“I am excited because my heart is racing and everyone else is happy”
-Cognitive appraisal/two-factor theory
Cognitive appraisal of stress
- Primary appraisal: initial evaluation of environment and associated threat
- Secondary appraisal: directed at evaluating whether the organism can cope with the stress
Hippocampus
Creates long-term explicit (episodic) memories
Prefrontal cortex
Planning, personality, making decisions; Ventral PFC - experiencing emotion; Ventromedial PFC - controlling emotional responses from amygdala and decision-making
Self-concept
The sum of ways in which we describe ourselves, present, past, future
Self-esteem
Describes our evaluation of ourselves; self-worth
Self-efficacy
Degree to which we see ourselves as being capable at a given skill or in a given situation
Locus of control
Self-evaluation that refers to the way we characterize the influences in our lives
- Internal - successes and failures as result of own characteristics and actions
- External - perceive outside factors as having more influence
Freud’s 5 stages psychosocial development
- Oral stage (0-1 yr): libidinal energy centered in mouth; fixation can lead to excessive dependency
- Anal stage (1-3 yrs): Libido centered on anus; toilet training in this stage; fixation can lead to excessive orderliness or messiness
- Phallic stage (3-5 yrs): Oedipal conflict for male children and Electra conflict for female children; penis envy; establishes sexual identity and sublimates libidinal energy
- Latency stage (until puberty): libido largely sublimated
- Genital stage (puberty-adulthood): If prior development proceeded correctly, person should enter into healthy hetero relationships
Erikson’s stages of personality development
- Trust vs. mistrust (0-1 yr): Can I trust the world?
- Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1-3 yrs): Is it okay to be me?
- Initiative vs. guilt (3-6yrs): Is it okay for me to do, move, and act?
- Industry vs. inferiority (6-12 yrs): Can I make it in the world of people and things?
- Identity vs. role confusion (12-20): Who am I? What can I be?
- Intimacy vs. isolation (20-40): Can I love?
- Generativity vs. stagnation (40-65): Can I make my life count?
- Integrity vs. despair (65-death): Is it okay to have been me?
Kohlberg’s moral reasoning
- Preconventional morality (Preadolescence)
1) Obedience
2) Self-interest - Conventional morality (Adolescence-adulthood)
3) Conformity
4) Law and order - Postconventional morality (Adulthood, if at all)
5) Social contract
6) Universal human ethics
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development
Refers to the skills and abilities that have not yet fully developed but are in the process of development; gaining the skills requires help from a “more knowledgeable other”
Looking-glass self
Others reflecting our selves back to ourselves; seeing ourselves through another’s viewpoint
Reference group
group to which we compare ourselves - influences self-concept
Freud - psychoanalytic perspective of personality
id - basic, primal, inborn urges to survive & reproduce; unconscious
ego - guides/inhibits activity of the id; mediator between id/superego; preconsciousness
superego - judges actions- idealist, perfectionist; pride/guilt; unconscious
Jung - psychoanalytic perspective of personality
Collective unconsciousness links all humans together; personality is influenced by archetypes (images of common experiences)
Humanistic view of personality
Emphasizes internal feelings of healthy individuals as they strive toward happiness and self-realization; Maslow’s hierarchy, Roger’s unconditional positive regard
Type and trait theory of personality
Personality described as a number of identifiable traits that carry characteristic behaviors
Eysencks’ trait theory
PEN model:
- psychoticism
- extraversion
- neuroticism
Big Five traits of personality
OCEAN:
- openness
- conscientiousness
- extraversion
- agreeableness
- neuroticism
Cardinal, central, secondary traits
Cardinal - traits around which person organizes life
Central - major characteristics or personality
Secondary - more personal characteristics, limited in occurrence
Social cognitive perspective of personality
Individuals interact with their environment in a cycle called reciprocal determinism; people mold their environments according to their personalities
Schizophrenia
Psychotic disorder with positive (adding to behavior) and negative (absence of normal behavior) symptoms:
Positive - delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought, disorganized/catatonic behavior
Negative - disturbance of affect, avolition
Depressive Symptoms
SIG E CAPS Sadness + -sleep disturbance -interest (loss of) -guilt -energy (lack of) -concentration difficulty -appetite (loss of) -psychomotor symptoms -suicidal thoughts
Bipolar
Characterized by both depression and mania;
- Mania = abnormally and persistently elevated mood; distractibility, grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, talkativeness, etc; includes psychosis
- Bipolar 1 has manic episodes with or without depressive episodes
- Bipolar 2 has hypomania and depressive episodes
Agoraphobia
Anxiety disorder characterized by fear of being in places or situations where it might be hard for an individual to escape; tend to be uncomfortable leaving the home
Dissociative disorders
Person avoids stress by escaping from their identity, but still has an intact sense of reality;
- Dissociative amnesia: inability to recall past experiences
- Dissociative identity disorder: two or more personalities recurrently take control of person’s behavior
- Depersonalization/Derealization disorder: detached from own mind/body; surroundings
Somatic symptom and related disorders
Marked by somatic (bodily) symptoms that cause significant stress or impairment; somatic symptom disorder, illness anxiety disorder, conversion disorder -> la belle indifference
Personality disorders
A pattern of behavior that is inflexible and maladaptive, causing distress or impaired functioning in at least two of the following: cognition, emotions, interpersonal functioning, impulse control;
Cluster A - paranoid, schizotypal, schizoid personality; marked by behavior labeled as odd or eccentric
Cluster B - antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic; marked by behavior labeled as dramatic, emotional, erratic
Cluster C - avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive personality; marked by behavior labeled as anxious or fearful
Biological markers of schizophrenia
Excess dopamine in the brain
Partially inherited disease; potential causes include hypoxemia at birth, excessive marijuana use in adolescence
Biological markers of depression
- Abnormally high glucose metabolism in amygdala
- Hippocampal atrophy after long duration of illness
- Abnormally high levels of cortisol
- Decreased norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine
-Increased norepinephrine and serotonin in bipolar disorder
Biological markers of Parkinson’s disease
Bradykinesia, resting tremor, pill-rolling tremor, mask-like face, cogwheel rigidity, shuffling gait;
Decreased production of dopamine by cells in the substantia nigra
Social facilitation
Tendency of people to perform at a different level based on the fact that others are around
Deindividuation
Loss of self-awareness in large groups, which can lead to drastic changes in behavior
Bystander effect
When in a group, individuals are less likely to respond to a person in need
Group polarization
The tendency toward making decisions in a group that are more extreme than the thoughts of the individual group members
Groupthink
The tendency for groups to make decisions based on ideas and solutions that arise within the group without considering outside idea; pressure to conform and maintain loyalty
Multiculturalism
The encouragement of multiple cultures within a community to enhance diversity
Subcultures
A group of people within a culture that distinguish themselves from the primary culture to which they belong
Assimilation
Process by which a group or individual’s culture begins to melt into another culture
Socialization
Developing and spreading norms, customs, and belief
Stigma
The extreme disapproval or dislike of a person or group based on perceived differences from the rest of society
Compliance
Occurs when individuals change their behavior based on the requests of others
Attitudes
tendencies toward expression of positive or negative feelings or evaluations of something
Functional attitudes theory
4 functional areas of attitudes that serve individuals in life: knowledge, ego expression, adaptability, ego defense
Learning theory
Attitudes are developed through forms of learning: direct contact, direct interaction, direct instruction, conditioning
Elaboration likelihood model
Attitudes are formed and changed through different routes of information processing based on the degree of elaboration (central route, peripheral route)
Social cognitive theory of attitude
Attitudes formed through observation of behavior, personal factors, environment
Ascribed status
Involuntarily assigned to an individual based on race, ethnicity, gender, family background, etc
Achieved status
Voluntarily earned by an individual
Master status
Status by which an individual is primarily identified
Role
A set of beliefs, values, norms that define the expectations of a certain status in a social situation;
Role set = all different roles associated w/ a status
Role conflict; role strain
Conflict - One has difficulty in satisfying the requirements of multiple roles simultaneously
Strain - One has difficulty satisfying multiple requirements of the same role simultaneously
In-group/out-group
In - group in which an individual identifies
Out - group in which an individual competes or opposes
Primary group
those that contain strong, emotional bonds
Secondary group
are often temporary and contain fewer emotional bonds and weaker bonds overall
Gemeinschaft (community)
A group unified by feelings of togetherness due to shared beliefs, ancestry, or geography
Gesellschaft (society)
A group unified by mutual self-interests in achieving a goal
Network
An observable pattern of social relationships between individuals or groups
Organizations
Bodies of people with a structure and culture designed to achieve specific goals; exist outside of each individual’s membership within the organization
Basic model of emotional expression
Established by Darwin; There are universal emotions along w/ corresponding expressions that can be understood across cultures
Social construction model
Emotions are solely based on the situational context of social interactions
Display rules
Unspoken rules that govern the expression of emotion
Cultural syndrome
A shared set of beliefs, norms, values, and behaviors organized around a central theme, as is found among people sharing the same language and geography
Impression management
The maintenance of public image, which is accomplished through various strategies:
- self disclosure
- managing appearances
- ingratiation
- aligning actions
- alter-casting
Impression management
The maintenance of public image, which is accomplished through various strategies:
- Self disclosure (sharing factual info)
- Managing appearances (using props, appearance, emotional expression to create positive image)
- Ingratiation (using flattery or conformity)
- Aligning actions (excuses to account for behavior)
- Alter-casting (imposing an identity onto another person)
Dramaturgical approach
Individuals create images of themselves in the same way that actors perform a role in front of an audience:
Front stage: the individual is seen by the audience and strives to preserve his desired image
Back stage: the individual is not in front of an audience and is free to act outside of his desired image
Verbal vs. nonverbal communication
Verbal = spoken, written or signed Nonverbal = body language, prosody, facial expression, gestures
Interpersonal attraction
What makes people like each other, influenced by:
- Physical attractiveness
- Similar attitudes
- Self disclosure (sharing fears, thoughts, goals)
- Reciprocity (we like people who we think like us)
- Proximity (physically close)
Golden ratio
Symmetry of body proportions found attractive to humans
Aggression
Physical, verbal, or nonverbal behavior w// the intention to cause harm or increase social dominance
Attachment
An emotional bond to another person; 4 types:
- Secure
- Avoidant
- Ambivalent
- Disorganized
Secure attachment
Requires a consistent caregiver so the child is able to go out and explore, knowing he or she has a secure base to return to; the child will show strong preference for the caregiver
Avoidant attachment
Occurs when a caregiver has little or no response to a distressed, crying child; the child shows no preference for the caregiver compared to strangers
Ambivalent attachment
Occurs when a caregiver has an inconsistent response to a child’s distress, sometimes responding appropriately, sometimes neglectful; the child will become distressed when the caregiver leaves and is ambivalent when he or she returns
Disorganized attachment
Occurs when a caregiver is erratic or abusive; the child shows no clear pattern of behavior in response to the caregiver’s absence or presence and may show repetitive behaviors
Esteem support
Affirms the qualities and skills of the person
Network support
Providing a sense of belonging to a person
Altruism
Form of helping behavior in which the person’s intent is to benefit someone else at some cost to him or herself
Game theory
Attempts to explain decision making between individuals as if they are participating in a game
Polygyny: polyandry
Male w/ multiple female mates; Female w/ multiple male mates
Inclusive fitness
A measure of an organism’s success in the population; Based on number of offspring, success in supporting offspring, and the ability of the offspring to then support others
Social perception/social cognition
The way by which we generate impressions about people in our social environment; contains perceiver, his or her target, and the situation or social context of the scenario
Implicit personality theory
People make assumptions about how different types of people, their traits, and their behavior are related
Primacy effect
When first impressions are more important than subsequent impressions; tendency to recall info at start of list
Recency effect
More recent info is better remembered
Serial position effect
Tendency to recall first and last items in list
Reliance on central traits
The tendency to organize the perception of others based on traits and personal characteristics that matter to the perceiver
Halo effect
When judgements of an individual’s character can be affected by the overall impression of the individual
Just-world hypothesis
The tendency of individuals to believe that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people
Self-serving bias
Individuals will view their own successes as being based on internal factors, while viewing failures as being based on external factors
Attribution theory
The tendency for individuals to infer the causes of other people’s behavior
- Dispositional (internal): causes that relate to the features of the person whose behavior is being considered
- Situational (external): causes related to features of the surroundings or social context
Correspondent inference theory
used to describe attributions made by observing the intentional (especially unexpected) behaviors performed by another person
Fundamental attribution error
The bias toward making dispositional attributions rather than situational attributions in regard to the actions of others
Attribute substitution
occurs when individuals must make judgements that are complex but instead substitute a simpler solution or heuristic
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Stereotypes lead to expectations of certain groups, which can create conditions that lead to or confirm the stereotype
Stereotype threat
concern or anxiety about confirming a negative stereotype about one’s social group
Prejudice
An irrational positive or negative attitude toward a person, group, or thing prior to an actual experience
Ethnocentrism
The practice of making judgements about other cultures based on the values and beliefs of one’s own culture
Cultural relativism
The recognition that social groups and cultures should be studied on their own terms
Discrimination
When prejudicial attitudes cause individuals of a particular group to be treated differently from others
Functionalism
Focuses on function of each component of society and how those components fit together
Manifest functions: deliberate actions that serve to help a given system
Latent functions: unexpected, unintended, or unrecognized positive consequences of manifest functions
Conflict theory
Focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order
Symbolic interactionism
The study of the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols
Social constructionism
Explores the ways in which individuals and groups make decisions to agree upon a given social reality
Rational choice theory
Individuals will make decisions that maximize potential benefit and minimize potential harm;
Exchange theory - applies rational choice theory within social groups
Feminist theory
Explores the ways in which one gender can be subordinated, minimized, or devalued compared to the other
Social institutions
Well-established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of culture (ex. family, education, religion, government)
4 key ethical tenets of American medicine
- Beneficence: acting in the patient’s best interest
- Nonmaleficence: avoiding treatments for which risk is larger than benefit
- Respect for autonomy: respecting patients’ tights to make decisions about their own healthcare
- Justice: Treating similar patients similarly and distributing healthcare resources fairly
Culture
Encompasses the lifestyle of a group and includes both material and symbolic elements
Cultural lag
The idea that material culture changes more quickly than symbolic culture
Demographics
The statistics of populations; the mathematical applications of sociology
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexual orientation
- Immigration status
Fertility rate; Birth rate
Fertility - average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population
Birth - relative to a population size over time, usually measured by number of births per 1000 people per year
Demographic transition
A model used to represent drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization
Globalization
The process of integrating a global economy with free trade and tapping of foreign labor markets
Urbanization
Refers to the process of dense areas of population creating a pull for migration; in other words, creating cities
Social class
A category of people with shared socioeconomic characteristics; upper, middle, lower
Prestige
The respect and importance tied to specific occupations or associations
Power
The capacity to influence people through real or perceived rewards and punishments; often depends on unequal distribution of valued resources
Anomie
A state of normlessness; anomic conditions erode social solidarity by means of excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation
Social capital
The investment people make in their society in return for economic or collective rewards; social networks are one of the most powerful forms
Meritocracy
A society in which advancement up the social ladder is based on intellectual talent and achievement
Social mobility
allows one to acquire higher-level employment opportunities by achieving required credentials and experience; positive upward or negative downward trend
Social reproduction
The passing on of social inequality, especially poverty, from one generation to the next
Absolute v. relative poverty
Absolute: when people do not have enough resources to acquire basic life necessities such as shelter, food, water, clothing
Relative: when one is poor in comparison to a larger population
Social exclusion
A sense of powerlessness when individuals feel alienated from society
Spatial inequality
A form of social stratification across territories and their populations; can occur along residential, environmental, and global lines
Incidence
Number of new cases of a disease per population at risk in a given period of time
Prevalence
Calculated as the number of cases of a disease per population in a given period of time
Mobidity
The burden or degree of illness associated with a given disease
Second sickness
Exacerbation of health outcomes caused by social injustice
