Final Exam Study Guide Flashcards
finals!!!!
what is psychology?
scientific study of behavior and mental processes
what are the four goals of psychology?
to describe behavior
predict behavior
explain behavior
control / change behavior
why is psychology considered a science?
because psychologists use critical thinking / skepticism and the empirical approach
what is the empirical approach?
gathering data using your 5 senses and drawing conclusions using the data
what does it mean to be thinking critically?
being skeptical of other people’s claims ex: my gut is telling me this but is it true?
what are the seven perspectives in psychology?
biological approach
behavioral approach
psychodynamic approach
humanistic approach
cognitive approach
evolutionary approach
sociocultural approach
what is the main belief of the sociocultural approach?
emphasizes social interactions and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes – specifically ethnicity, religion, occupation, and socioeconomic status as predictors of behavior; how social relationships / culture you grew up in shapes your behavior
what is the main belief of the biological approach?
study behavior as some sort of biological process; human and animal behavior is seen as the direct result of events in the body
what is the main belief of the behavioral approach?
emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and the environments that determine those responses
what is the main belief of the psychodynamic approach?
we process some things subconsciously and the things that are processed effect our behavior
what is the main belief of the humanistic approach?
we all have a desire to become the best version of ourselves and that motivates our behavior; we have free will that allows us to move to become our best version, and if we feel stuck or there is an obstacle, we become depressed
what is the main belief of the cognitive approach?
all about thinking NOT feeling; emphasizes the study of information processing, how memory works, how we form concepts
what is the main belief of the evolutionary approach?
focus on natural selection, adaptation, and the evolution of behavior approach
what is naturalistic observation?
watching organisms in their natural environment
does a correlation equal causation? Why or why not?
NO, because you can only determine if a is related to b. a third variable could be causing the events to happen
what does a positive correlation tell us?
the two variables go up and down together (ex: as A increases, B also increases)
what does a negative correlation tell us?
the two variables go in opposite directions from each other (ex: as A increases B decreases)
what does a strong correlation tell us about the events?
does not have many exceptions –> happens most of the time
what does a weak correlation tell us about the events?
has many exceptions –> does not happen often
what does an experiment tell us?
it can determine CASUAL relationships
what are the differences between an experiment and a correlational study?
- correlational studies determine the relationships between two variables while experiments determine if one variable may be causing the other
- in an experiment, a variable is manipulated, while a correlational study only observes
what is an independent variable in a study?
the “thing” you manipulate (changes from group to group)
what is a dependent variable in a study?
the “thing” you measure (the outcome that is measured)
what is the nervous system?
the body’s electrochemical communication system, a system that uses electrical signals and impulses, as well as chemicals (neurotransmitters) like dopamine to send messages
what is plasticity?
the brain can mold (adapt) under the conditions of learning or injury
what are the major divisions of the nervous system?
the central and peripheral nervous systems
what are the major divisions of the peripheral nervous system?
autonomic and somatic
what is the function of the autonomic nervous system?
motor system than automatically and involuntarily activates or inhibits internal organs of the body
what is the function of the somatic nervous system?
sensory and movement system that relays information about touch and pain to the central nervous system, and sends messages from the brain to the muscles to produce voluntary movement
what are the parts of the autonomic nervous system?
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
what is the function of the sympathetic nervous system?
it will shuttle blood to muscles to prepare our bodies to get ready to fight or flee, and it can shut down bodily systems
what is the function of the parasympathetic nervous system?
the opposite of the sympathetic nervous system. it brings your heart rate down, stimulates your stomach, undialating pupils to gain energy
what does the cerebellum control?
walking and balance, anything we do over and over again for a long time, like driving
what does the hippocampus control?
it controls learning and memory, it only remembers things that are emotionally meaningful
what does the amygdala control?
controls emotions, (mostly) fear and anxiety, when it is stimulated, you feel anxious, when it is inhibited, you feel calm and relaxed
what does the hypothalamus control?
it is in charge of anything that needs to be regulated (body temp), sweating when hot, shivering when cold, when the pancreas releases insulin, monitors how long you’ve been awake and asleep
what are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?
frontal lobe
temporal lobe
occipital lobe
parietal lobe
what does the frontal lobe do?
controls voluntary movement (motor cortex)
what does the temporal lobe do?
it is an auditory cortex, thalamus sends information to the temporal lobe, and then we become aware of it
what does the occipital lobe do?
it is a visual cortex in the back of the brain
what does the parietal lobe do?
in charge of proprioception (telling you where you are in space), and has the somatosensory cortex
what are the skills of the right hemisphere of the brain?
it processes and compares information simultaneously
spatial location (can figure out where you are in space)
has an area that specializes in faces
good at art and music
creativity
comes up with new & creative connections
what are the skills of the left hemisphere of the brain?
it is in charge of intelligence, logic and math, language and verbal skills, and conscious awareness
what is the function of dendrites?
receive messages from neighboring neurons or the outside world
what is the soma?
the round part that contains everything a regular human cell would (nucleus, mitochondria, etc.)
what is the function of the axon?
conducts nerve impulse from the cell body to distant location -> carries the electrical impulse
what is the function of the terminal buttons?
release chemical messages (neurotransmitters) into the synapse and onto neighboring dendrites
what is a synapse?
the gap between neurons where the terminal buttons release neurotransmitters
what is an action potential?
brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon, defined by sodium
what do health psychologists do?
they focus on maintaining health and preventing / treating illnesses
what is the difference between the Theory of Reasoned Action vs. the Theory of Planned Behavior
Theory of Reasoned action only has 3 factors, and Theory of Planned Behavior has 4
what are the factors required to change behavior in Theory of Reasoned Action?
specific intentions
positive attitudes
approval of social group
what are the factors required to change behavior in Theory of Planned Behavior?
specific intentions
positive attitudes
support from social group
perception of control (feeling like you have the power to change)
what are the stages in the stages of change model?
step 1: precontemplation
step 2: contemplation
step 3: preparation / determination
step 4: action / willpower
step 5: maintenance
what is step 1 of the stages of change model and what is it?
precontemplation: you are not acknowledging you have a problem and are not ready to change
what is step 2 of the stages of change model and what is it?
contemplation: you are acknowledging you have a problem and are ready to change
what is step 3 of the stages of change model and what is it?
preparation / determination: where the real change begins and you are planning to take action
what is step 4 of the stages of change model and what is it?
action / willpower: you are acting on the plan you created and you have to exert willpower to reject the bad behavior
what is step 5 of the stages of change model and what is it?
maintenance: you have gotten rid of the bad behavior and it gets easier and easier to maintain success (still occasionally have to exert willpower)
what is relapse?
a return to former unhealthy behavior patterns
what are three benefits of social support?
tangible assistance, information, and emotional support and social sharing
what are stressors?
events that cause stress reactions
what are stress reactions?
term used to describe physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses to events that are perceived as threatening or challenging
what is distress?
stress that is caused by unpleasant happenings
what is eustress?
stress that is caused by positive happenings
what are the types of stressors?
hassles
major life events
catasrophes
what are hassles?
daily annoyances of life
what are major life events?
landmark events that change your life
what are catasrophes?
unpredictable event that happens on a large (global) scale
what are the typical sources of stress?
pressure
personal control
frustration
conflict
what is learned helplessness?
after repeated exposure to uncontrollable aversive events, organisms will develop a tendency to remain in stressful situations, even when escape is possible
what are the three types of conflicts?
approach-approach
avoidance-avoidance
approach-avoidance
what is the approach-approach conflict?
torn between two desirable goals (get fomo)
what is the avoidance-avoidance conflict?
torn between two undesirable goals (lesser of two evils)
what is the approach-avoidance conflict?
choosing yes or no about a goal that has both good and bad things about it (mostly internal decisions)
what is General Adaptation Syndrome?
a response to stress
what are the phases of General Adaptation Syndrome?
1) alarm
2) resistance
3) exhaustion
what does the alarm stage do?
activates the sympathetic nervous system and spends a lot of energy getting ready to fight or flee
what does the resistance stage do?
when stress acts on the body for a long period of time, it tries to maintain fight or flight by shutting down other systems in the body (digestion, ovulation, immune system)
what does the exhaustion stage do?
we can’t keep going because our energy is being used to keep fight or flight activated
what does Nature vs. Nurture mean in regards to developmental research?
how much do inherited traits and environmental factors influence our development?
what is nature in developmental research?
DNA & blueprint created from your parents (brain chemistry, inherited material
what is nurture in developmental research?
how you were raised and treated growing up
what is a cross-sectional design?
several different age groups are studied at one time point. they are easier, take less time, cheaper, and done more often
what is a longitudinal design?
one group of participants are studied over a long period of time. they are better, more powerful, more expensive, and more time consuming
what are teratogens?
any agent that can cause a birth defect during prenatal development
what are the four stages of Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development?
1) sensorimotor
2) preoperational
3) concrete operational
4) formal operational
what is the age range and major skills that develop during the sensorimotor stage?
age: from birth to 2 years
skills: development of object permanence, gain pleasure from sensory and motor interactions
what is the age range and major skills that develop during the preoperational stage?
age: 2-7 years old
skills: language development, egocentrism, incapable of reversibility, incapable of conservation (can play pretend but not think logically <– uses heuristics)
what is the age range and major skills that develop during the concrete operational stage?
age: 7-11 years old
skills: capable of conservation, capable of reversibility, creating mental sets (can organize things based on a rule in their head and physically), not good with hypothetical thinking
what is the age range and major skills that develop during the formal operational stage?
age: 11+ years old
skills: capable of hypothetical thinking, speculation regarding the future, capable of abstract thinking
what is the strange situation experiment?
1) mother and child playing together
2) stranger enters
3) mother leaves the room
4) mother returns and the stranger leaves
Mary Ainsworth looked to see what the infant’s reaction was to step 4 because she thought it told us the most about attachment
what is attachment?
the emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver (usually mother) that is different than the bond between it and anyone else
what are the four parenting styles?
authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, permissive
what are the characteristics of the authoritarian parenting style?
strict parenting: no warmth and a lot of rules
what are the characteristics of the authoritative parenting style?
gentle parenting: warmth and a set of rules
what are the characteristics of the neglectful parenting style?
not around: no warmth and no rules
what are the characteristics of the permissive parenting style?
no limits: warmth and no rules
when does adolescence begin?
with the onset of puberty
what areas of the brain continue to develop during adolescence?
amygdala and prefrontal cortex
what is adolescent egocentricism?
belief that others are as preoccupied with the adolescent as they are
what is learning?
a change in behavior, relatively permanent
what is learning not?
just plasticity, maturation
what is classical conditioning?
two events happen to us, one right after another, and we associate those events together
what is operant conditioning?
a learning process in which a behavior becomes associated with a consequence. as a result of this association, the consequence influences the probability of that behavior occurring again in the future
what is observational learning?
acquiring knowledge, skills, rules, beliefs, and attitudes by watching others
what is the unconditioned stimulus (US)?
the stimulus that has meaning initially
what is the conditioned stimulus (CS)?
the one we are learning about, starts out with neutral
what is the unconditioned response (UR)?
the innate, involuntary response to the meaningful stimulus (US)
what is the conditioned response (CR)?
we associate the two stimuli together and learned a response (response to the conditioned stimulus)
what type is this? touch the filing cabinet –> get a shock
positive punishment
what type is this? open umbrella –> don’t get wet
negative reinforcement
what type is this? come home after curfew –>no TV for a week
negative punishment
what type is this? dog sits on command –> gets a treat
positive reinforcement
what is Pavlov’s contribution to learning?
he was the first to notice and study how we form these associations, classical conditioning, as he was studying salivation in dogs
what is Watson’s contribution to learning?
he did the little Albert experiment, very influenced by Pavlov
what is B.F. Skinner’s contribution to learning?
extremely influential scientist associated with further defining operant conditioning and using it to modify and control behavior, created behaviorism (behavior changes through rewards and punishments)
what is Bandura’s contribution to learning?
did the Bobo Doll experiment which showed people who watched aggressive TV were more prone to aggressive behavior. it was a main factor in why we have ratings on TV shows and movies
what is sensory memory?
first step of memory storage process. holds information in your mind for a very brief period of time
what are the types of sensory memory?
echoic (auditory) sensory memory and iconic (visual) sensory memory
what is short-term memory?
limited capacity memory system which stores information for approximately 30 seconds without effort.
what is the capacity of short-term memory?
7 +- 2 items
what is rehersal?
keeping your attention on that piece of information by saying it over and over again in your head
what is elaboration?
connecting that piece of information to other things you already know, creating more flags for the information
what is chunking?
tricking your short-term memory into accepting more than 7 pieces of information by grouping information into meaningful units / chunks
what is long-term memory?
can store unlimited amounts of information for a long time
what are the two types of long-term memory?
declarative or explicit memory
nondeclarative or implicit memory
what is declarative or explicit memory?
conscious memories for people, places, events, facts, dates, feelings, and explanations. basically, memory for who, what, where, when, and why
what is nondeclarative or implicit memory?
non-conscious memories for skills, procedures, subliminal information, and classically conditioned responses. memory for how
what are the two types of declarative or explicit memory?
episodic and semantic memory
what is episodic memory?
memory for events in your life. autobiographical memory
what is semantic memory?
memory about the world. general common knowledge
what is the recency effect?
you just heard/saw the last few items in the list, so they are still in short-term memory
what is the primacy effect?
a type of serial position effect where you remember the first few items in the list very well because you rehearsed them long enough to put them in long-term memory
what is proactive interference?
old information interferes with our ability to remember new information
what is retroactive interference?
new information interferes with our ability to remember old information
what are false memories?
inaccuracies and distortions of our reconstructed memories that occur over time
what is anterograde amnesia?
no new memory formation. you remember everything up until an event, but after that event, you can’t form new memories, like you skipped ahead in time
what is retrograde amnesia?
loss of past memories. an event happens and we loose a chunk of our memory from before the event
what are concepts?
mental groupings of similar objects, ideas, events, or people
when do we start forming concepts?
the moment we are born
what are the two types of concepts?
artificial / formal concepts
natural concepts
what are artificial/formal concepts?
they come from logical rules or definitions. all of the objects that meet the criteria are included in the concept, and the objects that are missing some criteria are excluded
what are natural concepts?
categories that have general rules about what belongs. we create a prototype or best example of the concept in our mind
what is problem-solving?
moving from a given state (problem) to a goal state (solution)
what are algorithms?
problem-solving, step by step procedure that, if appropriate, will always result in the solution
what are heuristics?
an educated guess. your “go to” strategy. applying shortcut solutions based on past knowledge and experience
what are the problem-solving obstacles?
mental sets
functional fixedness
confirmation bias
what are mental sets?
when we can only think of past solutions and those solutions make it difficult to see any other solution
what is functional fixedness?
when you see an object as only serving its intended purpose when it really has multiple uses
what is confirmation bias?
we tend to favor evidence that confirms our preconceived ideas
what is intuition?
our fast, automatic, unreasoned feelings and thoughts
what common mistakes do we make when using our intuition?
availability heuristic
belief perseverance
overconfidence
what is the availability heuristic?
estimating the likelihood of an event to occur based on its availability in memory; information that is more vivid, recent, or distinctive will more easily come to mind, leading us to believe it happens frequently
what is belief perseverance?
clinging to one’s original beliefs even when faced with legitimate evidence to the contrary
what is overconfidence?
the tendency to be more confident than correct – overestimating the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
what is social cognition?
How people select, interpret, remember, and use social information
what are the attribution theories?
internal vs. external
stable vs. unstable
controllable vs. uncontrollable causes
what is the fundamental attribution error?
people tend to overestimate the importance of stable, internal traits and underestimate the importance of temporary, external situations when seeking explanations for others’ behavior
what is the self-serving bias?
we often attribute our own behavior to whichever explanation benefits us the most
what is a stereotype?
generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not account for individual variability. sometimes it is accurate, but often overgeneralized
what is stereotype threat?
a type of self-fulfilling prophecy in which anxiety about being negatively stereotyped actually causes underperformance
what is the self-fulfilling prophecy?
because of expectations and stereotypes, we treat people differently and they behave differently, which meets our expectations
what is prejudice?
Prejudgment. Unjustifiable and usually negative attitude about a group and its members. Generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition towards discriminatory actions
what is discrimination?
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members
what is the Cognitive Dissonance Theory?
the conflict or anxiety we feel when there is an inconsistency between our beliefs and our actions
what is altruism?
unselfish interest in helping another person
when do we help other people?
reciprocity (doing unto others as they will do unto you)
egoism (doing unto others because it somehow benefits ourselves or society that in turn benefits us)
implicit rules of society (rules with morality, we should help people in need and if others are helping I should help too)
what is the Bystander Effect?
everyone else wants someone else to help, if no one is helping why should I
what is informational conformity?
the influence people have on us because we want to be right
what is normative conformity?
the influence people have on us because we want to be liked
what were the results of Milgram’s obedience study?
two-thirds of participants harmed someone when an authority figure told them to
what is the DSM-5?
a book containing each known disorder, a description, symptoms, checklist of criteria, and other relevant facts
what are the Models of Abnormality?
biological (medical) models
psychological models
-psychoanalysis
-behaviorism
-cognitive perspective
-combination approaches
what is the definition of anxiety disorders?
unrealistic or excessive anxiety. sometimes can be tied to something specific (fear) but other times it cannot (free-floating anxiety)
what are phobias?
irrational fear that causes undue personal distress and/or interferes with normal functioning
what is OCD?
an intrusive thought (obsession) occurs that causes anxiety and a behavior is done to reduce that anxiety (compulsion)
what is Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
excessive anxiety and worry occur more days than not for at least six months that interferes with normal functioning and causes personal distress
what is panic disorder?
sudden onset of extreme panic: impending sense of doom (panic attack)
what are mood disorders?
disturbance in affect or emotion
what is major clinical depression?
deeply depressed mood or inability to experience pleasure that comes on fairly suddenly and is out of proportion with the circumstances surrounding it
what is bipolar disorder?
cycling between manic episodes (extreme happiness) and depressive episodes
what are the symptoms of a manic phase?
little need for sleep
loud, flighty speech that is hard to interrupt
feeling on top of the world (extreme optimism)
irritated by advice
poor judgment
increased risk taking
increase in creativity and productivity
what is the key symptom of a manic phase?
little need for sleep
what is schizophrenia?
long-lasting psychotic disorder (involving a break with reality) characterized by disturbances in thinking, emotions, behavior and perceptions
what does it mean to be psychotic?
psychoses (disturbances in thinking, emotions, behavior, and perceptions)
what are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, irrational thought, word salad
what are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
flat affect, catatonia, social withdrawal, lack of speech
what is psychotherapy?
talking about problems
what is biomedical therapy?
medications
what is the pro of insight therapies?
can find the root cause of the problem
what is the con of insight therapies?
can be really drawn out and you get no relief
what is a pro of action therapies?
there is a set amount of sessions and it costs less
what is a con of action therapies?
might not get to the root cause of the issue
what are the characteristics of psychoanalysis?
dream analysis
free association
resistance
transference
what is dream analysis?
the unconscious mind emerges in dreams. Freud would have patients lie down and relax and recount their dreams and look for symbolism in them
what is free association?
Freud would let the patient sit and talk with no breaks OR he would rapid fire words at them and the patient had to say the first word that came to mind without thinking
what is resistance?
patients unwilling to talk about certain things means that they were coming close to repressed material
what is transference?
patient transfers feelings from childhood to therapist
what are the characteristics of humanistic therapy?
reflection
unconditional positive regard
empathy
authenticity
what is reflection?
the therapist summarizes what the patient is saying so they can see things more clearly and make judgments
what is unconditional positive regard?
creating a completely accepting atmosphere
what is empathy?
feeling what the patient is feeling
what is authenticity?
therapists responses are honest and always true, even if it’s bad
what is behavior therapy?
an action therapy involving the use of learning techniques to change undesirable behavior and increase desirable behavior
what are examples of behavior therapy?
modeling, reinforcement, and extinction training
what is cognitive therapy focused on?
changing distorted thinking patterns. goal is to help clients think more positive
which psychotherapy is most successful for depression and anxiety disorders?
cognitive-behavioral therapy
