Exam Flashcards
Three elements of a scientific attitude
Curiosity, skepticism, humility
Hindsight Bias
I-Knew-It-All-Along Phenomenon
Overconfidence
Drives us to quick rather than correct thinking
Theory
Explain behaviors or events by offering ideas that organize observations
Hypothesis
Testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Falsifiable
The possibility that your hypothesis could be incorrect
Operational definition
Carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study
EX. Human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures
Case study
In-depth analysis of an individual or small group
Drawback: what’s true of one, isn’t always true of a whole
Naturalistic Observation
Recording the natural behavior of individuals
Drawback: Does so without controlling for all the factors that may influence behavior
Survey
Asking people questions
Drawback: Wording effects such as social desirability bias and self-report bias
Social desirability bias
Answers they think will please others
Self-report bias
When people don’t accurately report behaviors
Sampling bias
To generalize from a few vivid unrepresentative cases
Convenience sampling
Easy to access people over others
Random sample
Represent everyone EX. Student body
Population
All those in a group being studied - random samples
Correlation
A connection between two different things and how well they predict each other
Variable
Anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure
Positive correlation
When two variables rise and fall together
Negative correlation
When two variables rise and fall differently
Correlation does not equal causation
Not everything that correlates effects/causes another to occur
Illusory correlation
Finding a correlation where none exists
Regression toward the mean
The tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to regress toward the average
Experimental group
Group exposed to treatment
Control group
Group not exposed to treatment
Single blind
Ignorant participants
Double-blind
Both staff and participants are ignorant - Staff are able to hypothesize
Placebo effect
When something/someone seems to improve after taking a placebo/fake treatment
Independent variable
Factor that is manipulated
Dependent variable
Factor that may change when I.V is manipulated
Confounding variable
Another factor that may influence the result
Quantitative research
Relies on data and numbers
Qualitative research
Relies on narrative data
Ethical guidelines - animals
- Must provide humane care and healthful conditions
- Testing should minimize discomfort
Ethical guidelines - human
- Informed consent
- Protect from greater than-usual harm and discomfort
- Confidential
- Fully debrief
Mode
Most frequent
Mean
Average (add then divide)
Median
Middle score when in order
Percentile rank
Percentage of scores lower than a given score
Range
Difference between the highest and lowest scores
Standard deviation
Measure of how scores vary around the mean
Inferential statistics
Numerical data that allows generalization of the probability of something being true
Meta-analysis
Statistical procedure for analyzing results from multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion
Memory
Learning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
Recall
Retrieving info that is not in your conscious awareness (Fill in the blank)
Recognition
Identifying items previously learned (Multiple choice)
Relearning
Learning something more quickly than before (Relearning a language)
Parallel processing
Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously
3 part model of working memory
Sensory memory –> Working/short term memory –> Long term memory storage
Explicit memories
Memories we know, declare, and are conscious of
Implicit memories
Memories that happen without our awareness
Procedural memories
Unconscious memory of skills and how to do things
Classically conditioned associations
Linking two or more stimuli
Space
Visualize location when you want to
Time
Noting sequence of events - automatically encoded
Frequency
Keeping track of how many times something happens
Iconic memory
Sensory memory of visual stimuli
Echoic memory
Sensory memory of auditory stimuli
Capacity of short-term memory
7 pieces of information
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar units
Mnemonics
Memory aids using vivid imagery (PEMDAS)
Hierarchies
Divided groupings that organize information
Spacing effect
Distributed study rather than cramming
Testing effect
Repeatedly testing to put into long-term memory
Semantic memory
Facts and general knowledge
Episodic memory
Personally experienced events
Schemas
Frameworks we’ve learned to use to understand our world
Role of sleep in memory
During sleep, the HC processes memories for later retrieval
Flashbulb memories
Clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Retrieval cue
Associating an object or word with something you need to remember
Retrospective memories
Long-term memory that refers to remembering past info
Prospective memories
Long-term memory that refers to remembering to carry out an action
Priming
Activation of particular associations in memory
State-dependent memory
Easily recalling memories when in a certain state
Primacy effect
Recalling info at the beginning of a list better than the rest
Recency effect
Recalling info at the end of a list better than the rest
Proactive interference
Disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information
Retroactive interference
Disrupitve effect if new learning on the recall of old information
Anterograde amnesia
Can’t form new memories
Retrograde amnesia
Can’t remember old memories
Nature Nurture
Question of whether human traits present at birth or through experience
Natural selection
Inherited traits that aid in survival will be passed down
Identical twins
One egg is fertilized and split in two - may share a placenta
Fraternal twins
Two eggs are fertilized at the same time
Nervous system
The body’s quick communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the NS
Nerves
Bundled axons that form neural cables connecting the central nervous system with the muscles, glands, and sensory organs
Central NS
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral NS
Neurons that connect the central NS to the rest of the body
Somatic NS
Division of the PNS that controls the skeletal muscles
Autonomic NS
Division of PNS that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs
Sympathetic
Arouses
Parasympathetic
Calms
Sensory neurons
Carry incoming info from tissues and receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Motor neurons
Carry outgoing info from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands
Dendrite
Neuron extensions that receive and integrate messages
Axon
Neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons
Myelin Sheath
Fatty tissue that encases axons enables greater transmission
Glial Cells
Support our nerve cells
Action potential
A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon
Excitatory
Increases the likelihood that a neuron will fire an AP
Inhibitory
Decreases the likelihood that a neuron will fire an AP
Refractory period
Neural processing; a brief pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; AP can not fire until axon is at rest
Synapse
Tiny gap where a neuron can send an impulse to another neuron
Endorphins
Pain
Agonists
Increase a neurotransmitter action
Antagonists
Blocks a neurotransmitter production or release
Endocrine system
The slow chemical communication system
Adrenal gland
Regulate bodily functions; cortisol, adrenaline
Pituitary gland
Regulate bodily functions; thyroid, growth hormone
Psychoactive drugs
Alters your consciousness
Depressants
Reduce neural activity and slow bodily functions
Alcohol - CNS depressant, slows thinking, disinhibitor (making judgments)
Barbituates - Induce sleep, depress CNS activity, reduce anxiety
Opioids - Depress neural activity, temporarily lessen pain, produce feelings of euphoria
Stimulants
Excite neural activity and speed up bodily functions
Cocaine - Dependency is quick and severe, blocks reuptake
Methamphetamine -Stimulates neural activity, peed up bodily functions, irreversible changes in mood and function (reduces dopamine)
Hallucinogens
Drugs that distort perceptions and create sensory images
LSD - Effects vary, mimics and blocks reuptake of serotonin
Marijuana - Lower inhibitions, relaxation, and mild euphoria
Ecstasy - Lower inhibitions, pleasant feelings, greater acceptance of others, blocks serotonin reuptake
Neuroplasticity
Brain to form reorganized synaptic connections
Lesion
Destroying part of the brain and observing results
EEG
Shows electrical activity
MEG
Shows magnetic activity
CT
X-Ray of the brain
PET
Shows brain activity
MRI
Organs, bones, muscles
fMRI
Shows areas with the most blood flow
Hindbrain
medulla,pons,cerebelllum; essential survival functions
Midbrain
Atop brainstem; controls motor movement
Forebrain
cognitive, sensory, and motor activities
Medulla
Basic functions
Pons
Movement and sleep
Thalamus
Sensory
Reticular formation
arousal
Cerebellum
Voluntary movement and balance, skill learning and memory
Limbic system
Associated with emotions and drives
Amygdala
Aggression and fear
Hypothalamus
Maintenance activities, govern the endocrine system, emotion, reward, and internal environment
Hippocampus
Processes explicit memories - facts, events for storage
Frontal lobes
Language, muscle movements, higher-order thinking, plans and judgements
Parietal lobes
touch and body positions
Occipital lobes
visual
Temporal lobes
auditory - opposite ear, language processing
Association areas
Remembering, thinking, speaking
Prefrontal cortex
Judgment, planning, processing memories
Parietal lobes
sensory
Broca’s area
Speech production
Functional connectivity
how parts of the brain interact
Wernicke’s area
Meaningful speech
Neurogenesis
Formation of new neurons
Lateralization
Functions being specified to one side of the brain
Corpus callosum
Connectivity between two hemispheres
Sleep stage timing
90 minutes
Awake/falling asleep
Alpha waves - slow
Stage 1 NREM
Hallucination, hypnagogic sensations
Stage 2 NREM
Sleep spindles - bursts of sudden brain activity
Stage 3 NREM
Delta waves - deep sleep
REM
Vivid dreams, paradoxical sleep
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
Cell clusters in the hypothalamus that control circadian rhythm in response to light
Cortisol
Increased cortisol = increased fat
Narcolepsy
Uncontrolled sleep attacks
Sleep apnea
Stop breathing in sleep
Manifest content
remembered storyline
Latent content
Hidden psychological meaning
Bottom-up processing
Taking sensory info and then assembling it
Top-down processing
Expectations and prior experiences in interpreting sensory info
Transduction
Conversion of one form of energy to another
Psychophysics
Studies the relationship between physical energy and its effects on us
Signal detection theory
Predicts when we will detect weak signals
Subliminal
Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness
Priming
Used to activate conscious associations
Difference threshold
minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50%
Weber’s law
To be perceived as different two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum %
Wavelength
Distance between crests of a wave
Hue
Color of light as determined by the wavelength of the light energy
Amplitude
The brightness of light as determined by the height of the wave
Intensity of color
Taller the wave:brighter the color
Cornea
Protects the eye and focuses light
Pupil
Hole in the center of the iris
Iris
Muscle tissues that dilate the pupil to let light in
Rods
Black, white, peripheral
Cones
Detailed color vision, only fire in light
Bipolar cells
Send messages to ganglion cells
Ganglion cells
Send messages to optic nerve
Blind spot
No rods or cones, top-down
Fovea
Point of central focus - cones
Trichromatic theory
S-cones: Blue light
M-cones: Green light
L-cones: Red light
Greater/smaller amplitude
Loud/quiet
High/low frequency
High/low-pitched
Eardrum
Sound waves strike causing vibration
Middle ear
Piston made of 3 tiny bones - picks up vibration and transmits to cochlea
Inner ear
vibrations to the innermost ear cause the cochlea’s membrane-covered opening to vibrate
Cochlea
Fluid inside is jostled which causes ripples in the basilar membrane bending the hair cells . NERVE CELL-AUDITORY NEVRE-THALAMUS-AUDITORY CORTEX
Conduction hearing loss
Damage to the ME bones and eardrum
Sensorineural hearing loss
Damage to the cochlea’s hair cell receptors of the auditory nerve
Frequency theory
Rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone = pitch
Place theory
Pitch we hear to where the cochlea’s membrane is stimulated
Nocioreceptors
Detect harmful temps, pressures, or chemicals
Tastes
Sweet - energy source
Salty - Sodium for physiological processes
Sour - Toxic acid
Bitter - Poison
Umami - Proteins
Oleogustus - Fats
Olfaction
Smell
Vestibular sense
Balance
Equilibrium
2 structures in your inner ear
Semicircular canals
Fluid-filled
Vestibular sense
calcium - crystal - filled
McGurk effect
Lip reading is a part of hearing
Synesthesia
Blended sensations
Perceptual set
Expecting something based on previous experience
Schemas
Through experience, we form schemas that organize unfamiliar info
Gestalt
Organized whole, integrate pieces of info into meaningful wholes EX. Necker cube
Proximity
Grouping nearby figures together
Similarity
Grouping similar objects together
Closure
Filling in gaps to create a whole
Retinal disparity
Comparing retinal images to test distance
Convergence
Combined retinal cues
Monocular cue
Depth cue
Apparent movement
As we move, stable objects appear to be moving
Stroboscopic movement
An illusion of continuous movement when still images rapidly move
Phi phenomenon
Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off quickly
Autokinetic effect
-perception
Illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room
Cognition
Thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Metacognition
Cognition about our cognition
Concept
Mental grouping of similar objects
Prototype
A mental image
Convergent
Narrowing possibilities
Divergent
Expanding possibilities
Functional fixedness
Mental set - not being able to see something as anything it’s “not”
Algorithms
Problem-solving strategy that guarantees the solution to the problem
Heuristics
A rule-of-thumb simpler ps strategy
Insight
Sudden realization of the answer
Representative heuristic
Probability of an event based on a known situation
Availability heuristic
Mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples
Gambler’s fallacy
If an event has occurred less frequently than expected, it is more likely to happen again in the future
Framing
Viewing two solutions as a gain or a loss due to bias despite same result
Generalized intelligence (g)
All mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
Factor analysis
Statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related variables
Fluid intelligence (Gf)
Ability to reason speedily and abstractly
Crystalized intelligence (Gc)
Accumulated knowledge as reflected in vocab and applied skills
CHC theory
Intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by gf and gc
Gardner’s multiple intelligences
Describes different ways students learn and aquire info; IQ is too limited
Sternberg’s three intelligences
Analytical, creative, practical - considers culture and environment
Achievement vs. aptitude
Reflect what you have learned vs. what you will be able to learn
Francis Galton
Western attempts to assess differences; founded eugenics
Collectivism vs. individualism
Collective welfare of the family, society vs. promoting individual opportunity
Alfred Binet
Child’s mental age; minimize bias; assumed children follow the same course of intellectual development, but at different times
IQ equation
Mental age/chronological age=IQ
Wechsler intelligence scale
Similarities, vocab, block design, letter-number sequencing
Psychometrics
Measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
Standardization
Comparing scores with a basis from a pretested group
Reliability
Consistent results
Flynn effect
Rise in intelligence test over time
Validity
Accurate info gained from test
Content validity
test samples the behavior of intrest
Construct validity
how much a test measures a concept or trait
Predictive validity
Predicts the behavior it is designed to predict
Cross-sectional study
Compares people of different ages at the same point
Continuity and stages
Which parts are continuous and what parts change abruptly
Longitudinal study
Follow and retests the same people over years
Stability and change
When traits persist through life
Prenatal development 10 days after conception
Germinal stage occurs - zygote attaches to uterine wall, growing rapidly
Prenatal development start of 9th week
Fetal period begins; face, hands, and feet have formed
Prenatal development 6th month
Organs develop enough to give the fetus a chance of survival
Teratogens
Agents such as drugs and viruses that put infants at risks for low intelligence, behavior problems, disabilities and more
Newborn reflexes
Root, sucking, startle, grasping
Habituation
Interest waning due to overexposure
Maturation
orderly sequence of biological growth
Order of brain growth
Womb - forming nerve cells
Infant - branching neural networks grow
3-6 - Brain energy, frontal lobes, attention and behavior association areas were the last cortical areas to develop
Synaptic pruning
Brain eliminates excess neurons and synapses 2-10
Fine vs gross muscle skills
small muscles vs. large muscles
Critical periods
Lack of language or sight will lead to the brain using them for other things
Teen brain during adolescence
Unused neurons discarded, prefrontal cortex develops, myelin grows, hormonal surge and limbic system development
Gender vs. sex
Cultures influence vs. biological
Chromosomes
Mom - x, dad - y or x; x female y male
Primary and secondary sex characteristics
Primary - testes and ovaries
Secondary - pubic hair and breasts
Menarche
Period
Spermarche
Wet dream
Intersex
Both male and female biological characteristics
Gender role
social expectations that guide people’s behavior as men or woman
Gender identity
Personal sense of being male, female, neither regardless of whether it matches our assigned sex
Gender typing
Acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
Social learning theory
Theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
Androgyny
Blending traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine psychological characteristics
Gender schemas
Organize incoming info according to gender categories and in turn lead people to perceive the world in terms of gender
Prenatal hormones
direct sexual development
Puberty hormones
Sex hormones surge ushers us into adolescence
Hormones after puberty
Sex hormones facilitate sexual behavior
Brain differences in gay
Cell cluster larger in straight men than gay; sexual orientation runs in family influenced by many geness
Deary’s IQ study
Stability at age 11 becomes stable; scottish children
Heritability
Portion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes
Male intelligence
Spatial ability, complex math
Female intelligence
Language, emotional
Stereotype threat
Self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
Classical conditioning
Learning that we link to two or more stimuli; the first stimulation comes to elicit behavior in anticipation of the second stimuli
Operant conditioning
Behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence
Operant behaviors
Operates on the environment, producing a response
Respondent behaviors
Occurs as an automatic response
Behaviorism
Objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
NS
No response before conditioning
Advocation in Watson and Pavlov
Psychology should be an objective science - based on observable behavior
UCS
Naturally triggers an UCR
UCR
natural response
CR
learned response to a NS
CS
Triggers a CR after association with UCS
Acquisition
NS is lined with a UCS = triggers the CR
Extinction
Diminishing of a CR when a UCS does not follow a CS
Spontaneous recovery
Reappearance after a pause of a weakened conditioned response
Generalization
Tendency for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit similar responses
Discrimination
Ability to distinguish between a CS and other stimuli that have not been associated with a CS
Counter conditioning
Behavior is modified through a new association with a stimulus of an opposite valence
Systematic Desensitization
Gradually exposing someone to an anxiety-producing thing while also performing relaxation techniques
Biological preparedness
Predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value
