Exploring Psychology

Question 1

What is critical thinking?

Answer 1

It is when we take an active role in understanding the world. We reflect on the meaning of its information.

Question 2

Social constructionism

Answer 2

They are concepts presented so often in society that they are accepted as truths and rarely questioned, such as ‘childhood’

Question 3

Self-Perception Theory

Answer 3

we make inferences about our own attitudes by observing how we behave.

Question 4

Attitudes

Answer 4

A positive or negative reaction towards a stimulus, such as a person, action, object or concept.

Question 5

Antecedents of attraction

Answer 5

1. Propinquity
2. Mere exposure effect
3. Proximity and anticipating the cost of negative relationships.

Question 6

Basic Research

Answer 6

Research that reflects the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake.

Question 7

Applied research

Answer 7

Research designed to solve specific practical problems.

Question 8

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

Answer 8

excessive disproportionate anxiety about several different aspects of life.

Question 9

Mind-body dualism

Answer 9

The belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws that govern the body.

Question 10

Monism

Answer 10

holds that mind and body are one and that the mind is not a separate spiritual entity.

Question 11

Empiricism

Answer 11

school which holds that all ideas and knowledge are gained empirically - that is, through the senses.

Question 12

Structuralism

Answer 12

The analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements.

Question 13

Functionalism

Answer 13

held that psychology should study
the functions of consciousness
rather than its structure

Question 14

Psychodynamic perspective

Answer 14

Searches for the causes of
behaviour within the inner
workings of our personality (our
unique pattern of traits, emotions
and motives), emphasizing the role of unconscious processes

Question 15

Psychoanalysis

Answer 15

The analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces

Question 16

Defence mechanisms

Answer 16

Psychological techniques that help
us cope with anxiety and the pain
of traumatic experiences

Question 17

Object relations theories

Answer 17

Theories that focus on how early
experiences with caregivers shape
the views that people form of
themselves and others

Question 18

Behavioural perspective

Answer 18

Focuses on the role of the
external environment in
governing our actions

Question 19

Behaviourism

Answer 19

School of thought that emphasizes
environmental control of behaviour through learning

Question 20

Independent Variable

Answer 20

The factor that the researcher manipulates to determine its impact.

Question 21

Dependent Variable

Answer 21

The outcome or response that is measured to assess the effects of such manipulation.

Question 22

Critical period

Answer 22

Age range during which certain experience must occur for development to proceed normally or along a certain path.

Question 23

Sensitive Period

Answer 23

An optional age range for certain experiences; if those experiences occur at another time, normal development may still be possible.

Question 23

Cross-sectional Design

Answer 23

Compares people of different ages at the same point in time.

Question 23

Cognitive Behaviourism

Answer 23

proposes that learning experiences and the environment influence our expectations and other thoughts, and in turn our thoughts influence how we behave.

Question 23

Cohort

Answer 23

A group of people who have shared the same historical events by virtue of their being the same age.

Question 23

Humanistic Perspective/ humanism

Answer 23

emphasised free will, personal growth and the attempt to find meaning in ones existence

Question 24

positive psychology movement

Answer 24

emphasises the study of human strengths, fulfilment and optimal living.

Question 25

cognitive perspective

Answer 25

examines the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behaviour.

Question 26

gestalt psychology

Answer 26

examines how elements of experience are organised into wholes

Question 27

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 27

uses sophisticated electrical recording and brain-imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks

Question 28

social constructivism

Answer 28

maintains that what we consider 'reality' is largely our own mental creation.

Question 29

sociocultural perspective

Answer 29

examines how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behaviour, thoughts and feelings.

Question 30

cross-cultural psychology

Answer 30

explores how culture is transmitted to its members, and examines psychological similarities and differences among people from diverse cultures

Question 31

Individualistic

Answer 31

an emphasis on personal goals and self-identity based primarily on one’s own attributes and achievements

Question 32

Collectivist

Answer 32

individual goals are subordinated to those of the group, and personal identity is defined largely by the ties that bind one to the extended family and other social groups

Question 33

Biological perspective

Answer 33

examines how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour

Question 34

Biological neuroscience

Answer 34

xamines brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behaviour, sensory experiences, emotions and thoughts

Question 35

Natural Selection

Answer 35

f an inherited trait gives certain members an advantage over others these members will be more likely to survive and pass these characteristics on to their offspring

Question 36

Neurotransmitters

Answer 36

chemical released by nerve cells that allow them to communicate with one another

Question 37

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 37

a growing discipline that seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behaviour

Question 38

Social Cognition

Answer 38

Concerns the social side of our mental processes and how people make sense of themselves and others around them.

Question 39

Attributions

Answer 39

judgements about the causes of our own and other peoples behaviour and outcomes

Question 40

fundamental attribution error

Answer 40

we underestimate the impact of the situation and overestimate the role of personal factors when explaining other peoples behaviour.

Question 41

actor-observer bias

Answer 41

he tendency to make situational attributions to explain our own behaviour and personal attributions to explain the behaviour of others

Question 42

self-serving bias

Answer 42

he tendency to make personal attributions for one’s own successes and situational attributions for one’s own failures

Question 43

Impression formation

Answer 43

the process of how, with what information and to what effect people make judgements of others

Question 44

Recency effect

Answer 44

the tendency to attach more importance to the most recent information that we learn about a person

Question 45

Primary effect

Answer 45

the tendency to attach more importance to the initial information that we learn about a person

Question 46

self- schemas

Question 47

self - perception theory

Question 48

social comparison theory

Question 49

reflected appraisals principle

Question 50

self - discrepancy theory

Question 51

regulatory focus theory

Question 52

promotional goals

Question 53

prevention goals

Question 54

personal identity

Question 55

social identity

Question 56

in-groups

Question 57

out-group

Question 58

self-esteem

Question 59

better-than-average effect

Question 60

sociometer

Question 61

collective self -esteem

Question 62

attitude

Question 63

explicit attitude

Question 64

implicit attitude

Question 65

theory of cognitive dissonance

Question 66

dissonance

Question 67

central route to persuasion

Question 68

peripheral route to persuasion

Question 69

communicator credibility

Question 70

door-in-the-face technique

Question 71

foot-in-the-door technique

Question 72

lowballing

Question 73

conformity

Question 74

informational social influence

Question 75

normative social influence

Question 76

referent informational influence

Question 77

social loafing

Question 78

social compensation

Question 79

group polarisation

Question 80

groupthink

Question 81

deindividuation