Final Exam Flashcards
Correlation
existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables
-does not demonstrate causation
Independent Variable
condition(s) altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value
Dependent Variable
demonstrates the results of the experiment; the variable that is used to measure a change
Double-blind experiment
the subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects are in the control or experimental groups
Hypothesis
a testable prediction, often promoted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject, or revise a theory
Central Nervous System
the brain and spinal cord; interconnected neurons form networks in the brain
(Nervous system: consists of all the nerve cells; body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system)
Cerebellum
“little brain” attached to the rear of the brain stem; helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance
Neuron
basic unit of the brain and the rest of the nervous system
Reticular Formation
nervous network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal
NREM Sleep
not REM sleep; stages 1-4
REM Sleep
After reaching the deepest sleep stage(4), the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1.
Although still asleep, the brain engages in low-amplitude, fast and regular beta waves (15-40cps) much like awake-aroused state
Microsleep
brief shift in brain-wave patterns similar to those of sleep
Altered-state of Consciousness
awareness that is distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness
Psychological Dependence
Drug dependence based on psychological or emotional needs
Piaget’s stages of Stages of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget: Concrete Operational Stage
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11Years): Children become able to use concepts of time, space, volume, and number BUT in ways that remain simplified and concrete, not abstract.
• Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume remain unchanged when the shape or appearance of objects changes.
Jean Piaget: Formal Operations
• Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and Up): Thinking now includes abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical ideas.
• Abstract Ideas: Child is able to understand difficult abstract concepts such as love and prejudice.
• Hypothetical Possibilities: Hypothetical or “what if” thinking is present for the first time.
Object Permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Erickson’s stages of development
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Dilemmas
• Stage One: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth-1): Children are completely dependent on others
• Stage Two: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1-3): Doing things for themselves vs. overprotective parents.
• Stage Three: Initiative versus Guilt (3-5): Encourage and support the child in their interests vs. criticizing
• Stage Four: Industry versus Inferiority (6-12): Praised for productive activities
• Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity versus Role Confusion: Adolescents; “Who am I?”
• Stage Six (Young adulthood): Intimacy versus Isolation: Able care about others vs. feeling alone
• Stage Seven (Middle adulthood): Generativity versus Stagnation: Guiding next generation
• Stage Eight (Late adulthood): Integrity versus Despair: Self-respect vs. regret
Classical Conditioning
(a.k.a. Pavlovian conditioning)
– Association between 2 previously unrelated stimuli
Operant Conditioning
(a.k.a. instrumental conditioning)
– Association between acts and their consequences
Digit-span Test
Test of attention and short-term memory; string of numbers is recalled forward or backward
– Typically part of intelligence tests
Repression
Unconsciously pushing painful, embarrassing or threatening memories out of awareness/consciousness
Flashbulb memories
- Memories created during times of personal tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant events that are especially vivid
- Most often formed when an event is surprising, important, or emotional.
- Includes both positive and negative events
- Great confidence is placed in them even though they may be inaccurate
Concept Formation
Process of classifying world into meaningful categories
Semantics
Study of meanings in language
Intelligence
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new situations.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
f a task is simple, it is best for arousal to be high; if it is complex, lower levels of arousal provide for the best performance
Circadian rhythms
Cyclical changes in bodily functions and arousal levels that vary on a 24-hour schedule
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- self-actualization needs: need to live up to one’s fullest and unique potential
- esteem needs: need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and respect from others
- belongingness and love needs:
need to love and be loved, to be accepted; need to avoid loneliness and alienation - safety needs:
need to feel that the world is organized and predictable; need to feel safe, secure, and stable - physiological needs: need to satisfy hunger and thirst
Stress
any circumstance (real or perceived) that threatens a person’s well-being.
Type A personalities
a term used for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Rates the impact of various life events on the likelihood of contracting illness
• Not a foolproof method of rating stress
Personality Traits
durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations
Psychoanalytic theory
Freudian theory of personality that emphasizes unconscious forces and conflicts
Defense Mechanisms (all eight)
- Repression banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from
consciousness - Regression leads an individual faced with anxiety to retreat to a more infantile
psychosexual stage. - Reaction Formation causes the ego to
unconsciously switch unacceptable impulses into their opposites. - Projection leads people to disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to
others. - Rationalization offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more
threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions. - Displacement shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less
threatening object or person, redirecting anger toward a safer outlet - Denial blocking external events from
awareness. If a situation is too much to handle, the person refuses to experience it. - Sublimation the transforming of a socially unacceptable behavior, whether it be sex, anger, or fear, into a socially acceptable and
productive form.
Projective Test
Rorschach Inkblot Test
• The most widely used projective test uses a set of 10 inkblots and was designed by Hermann Rorschach.
• It seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Developed by Henry Murray, the TAT is a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.
