foundations Flashcards
mental health
problematic patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour including emotional social and behavioural abnormalities that affect people’s lives
mental disorder
clinically recognisable set of symptoms and behaviours that disrupt well-being and cause distress or an individual
personality disorders
chronic and severe disturbances that alter the capacity to work and to live
psychoses
disorders in which hallucinations or delusions indicate some loss of contact with reality
thought disorder
disturbances in the speed or amount or coherence (logical connections) of thinking
social psychology
the scientific study of how an individual thinks, feels and behaves in a social context
realistic conflict theory
hostility between groups is caused by direct competition for limited resources
contact hypothesis
the idea that stereotypes and prejudice toward a group will diminish as contact with the group increases
fundamental attribution error
the tendency to overlook situational factors and instead make internal attributions for others’ behaviour
etic
approach of studying a culture’s behaviour from the perspective of an outsider
emic
approach of studying a culture’s behaviour from the perspective of an insider
identity development
the process through which individuals achieve a sense of who they are and of their moral and political beliefs, their career preferences, and their relationship to their culture and community
identity development: marcia’s stages
- identity diffusion
- identity foreclosure
- identity moratorium
- identity achievement
attitude accessibility
the strength of the association between an attitude object and a person’s evaluation of that object, measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object
persuasion: elaboration likelihood model
two routes to persuasion, central route and peripheral route
central route
a method of persuasion that uses evidence and logical arguments to influence people
peripheral route
occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker’s attractiveness and do not think critically about the contents of the message
cognitive dissonance theory
the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent.
how to change set cognitive dissonance
- Change their behaviour
- Justify behaviour by changing one of the dissonant cognitions
- Justify behaviour by adding new cognitions
part 2 summing up
when perceiving others assume behaviour reflects internal factors rather than situations. our actions are influenced by groups/categories that people belong to
external social stimuli
other people’s behaviours and direct orders can influence our behaviour
social identity theory
theory in which the formation of a person’s identity within a particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social comparison
social influence
the effect that the words, actions, or mere presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behaviour through conformity, compliance and obedience
psychodynamic theory
events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality.
cognitive-social theory
suggests that humans learn by observing others and choosing which behaviours to imitate
eyseck’s theory
proposed a theory of personality based on biological factors, arguing that individuals inherit a type of nervous system that affects their ability to learn and adapt to the environment
humanistic psychology
an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings
defence mechanisms
- repression
- regression
- displacement
- sublimation
- reaction formation
- projection
- rationalization
sympathetic activation
- cerebral cortex: psychological appraisal
- signal to hypothalamus
- hypothalamus initiates
- SNS arousal
structuralism
focused on structure of basic elements of the mind
functionalism
focused on how mental and behavioural processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
behaviourism
the science of behaviour that focuses on observable behaviour only
medulla
the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing
pons
a brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain, influences our level of consciousness and alertness
cerebellum
a large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills such as coordination of movement and balance
thalamus
the brain’s sensory control centre, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
hypothalamus
located at below the thalamus at the base of the brain. has a major role in the regulation of biological drives. also controls the automatic nervous system and is involved with body temperature regulations
corpus callosum
the large band of neural fibres connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
basal ganglia
a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements
limbic system
neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives
cerebral cortex
the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing centre
occipital lobe
located at the back of the brain and focuses on visual processing
parietal lobe
receives sensory input for touch and body position
temporal lobe
a region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language
frontal lobe
associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behaviour in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
infant cognition - sensorimotor stage
from birth to about 2 years of age during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
object permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
centration
The tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem, neglecting other important aspects
irreversible thought
cannot mentally undo an action
static thought
thought that is fixed on end states rather than the changes that transform one state into another
difficulty with classification
trouble thinking about relations between classes and subclasses or between wholes and parts
egocentrism
the inability to see the world through anyone else’s eyes
transformational thought
can understand the process of change from one state to another
seriation
the ability to order items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight
transivity
the understanding of relationships among elements in a series
formal operations stage
Piaget’s last stage of cognitive development, in which the adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking in both positive and negative contexts
classical conditioning
a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
extinction learning
learning that a previously rewarded stimulus is no longer rewarded
operant conditioning
a process by which humans and animals learn to behave in such a way as to obtain rewards and avoid punishments
reinforcers and punishers
- Reinforces increases behaviour
2. Punishment decreases behaviour
social learning theory
the theory that we learn social behaviour by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
