From the practice book Flashcards
causation (and its research method)
perceptual adaptation
the brain’s ability to adjust and adapt to changes in sensory input over time
weber’s law
the larger the original stimulus, the larger the just noticeable difference needs to be for it to be detected.
id
ego
superego
part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories
the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego
operates as a moral conscience
latent learning (plus insight and social)
form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response
incentive theory
people are motivated by external stimuli or positive incentives to engage in behaviors
modeling
learning by copying the behavior of someone else
primacy effect
an individual’s tendency to better remember the first piece of information they encounter than the information they receive later on.
reaction formation
sublimation
anxious or unacceptable emotions are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency
transform conflicted emotions, unmet desires or unacceptable impulses into productive outlets.
arousal theory
our behavior is motivated by a need to maintain an ideal arousal level
bait and switch technique
persuasive technique in which an initial promise or offer is made, but the offer is later withdrawn or changed in some way
that’s-not-all technique
presenting a large request and then, before response, making the request more attractive by reducing it to a modest target request (like door in the face)
meta analysis
statistical combination of results from two or more separate studies
case study
detailed examination of a particular case within a real-world context
heuristic
problem-solving shortcut that helps even if it’s not always effective
Availability heuristic
Representativeness Heuristics
basing one’s assessment on prior comparable experiences, rather than judging that situation individually
basing one’s assessment on common knowledge, stereotypes, or prototypes
Gestalt psychology
looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole.Everything is part of a complex system
Aphasia (broca’s, wernicke’s)
loss of ability to understand or express speech, caused by brain damage.
Lobes in the brain
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
Frontal lobe
deals with problem-solving, decision-making, planning, and judgment
parietal lobe
a major sensory processing hub for your brain.
Contains somatic sensory cortex: represent and process touch
occipital lobe
responsible for visual perception, including colour, form and motion
temporal lobe
processing auditory sensory input and is the location of the primary auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area
Hindbrain
Coordinates info coming in and out of spianl cord, basic life functions
Hindbrain contains…
Medulla, reticular formation, cerebellum, pons
Somatic symptom disorder
focus on physical symptoms, such as pain, weakness or shortness of breath, to a level that results in major distress and/or problems functioning
Inductive reasoning
drawing conclusions by going from the specific to the general
Dialectical Reasoning
arriving at the truth by stating a thesis, developing a contradictory antithesis based on concrete possibilities, and combining them into a coherent synthesis
Feature analysis
our nervous systems have receptors that filter the different stimuli that come into our brain
optic chiasm
the part of the brain where the optic nerves cross
vestibular system
provides the sense of balance and the information about body position that allows rapid compensatory movements
bottom-up processing
we allow the stimulus itself to shape our perception, without any preconceived ideas
top-down processing
we use our background knowledge and expectations to interpret what we see
ventromedial vs lateral hypothalamus
ventromedial makes you feel full
lateral makes you hungry
Savant syndrome
persons with various developmental disorders, including autistic disorder, have an amazing ability and talent
type A personalities
ambitious, aggressive, and competitive
type B personalities
laid-back, flexible, and patient
participant bias
when a participant in a research study may consciously or unconsciously act the way they think the researcher wants them to, rather than responding naturally
Social desirability bias
Tendency to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others
Levels of processing
the structural level - when we remember only the physical quality of the word, how the word is spelled and how letters look
the phonemic level - includes remembering the word by the way it sounds
the semantic level - encode the meaning of the word with another word that is similar or has similar meaning
Orders of perspectives of psychology
Evolutionism, Structuralism, Functionalism, Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, social-cultural, gestalt, humanistic, cognitive
Correlational study
the experimenter does not manipulate or control any of the variables
Bipolar and ganglion cells
transfer visual signal to optic nerve, in that order
experimental vs correlational research
manipulate an independent variable and measure its effect on a dependent variable
measure variables without manipulating any of them
concept of g
a single underlying factor, general intelligence, can account for the positive correlations among cognitive abilities.
flooding
intensive type of exposure therapy in which you must face your fear at a maximum level of intensity for an extended amount of time
mental set
the brain’s tendency to stick with the most familiar solution to a problem
Barnum effect
the tendency to accept certain information as true, such as character assessments or horoscopes, even when the information is so vague as to be worthless
Erik Erikson
child psychoanalyst
Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy),
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (toddlerhood),
Initiative vs. Guilt (preschool),
Industry vs. Inferiority (school-age),
Identity vs. Role Confusion (adolescence),
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood),
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood)
Ego Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood)
Norepinephrine
regulation of arousal, attention, cognitive function, and stress reactions.
Acetylcholine
Anti-adrenaline: memory, learning, attention, arousal and involuntary muscle movement.
Glutamate
major role in shaping learning and memory.
GABA
chief inhibitory neurotransmitter
Endorphins
help relieve pain, reduce stress and improve your sense of well-being
Multiple sclerosis
immune system attacks the protective covering of the nerve cells
rett syndrome
rapid deterioration of functions after 6 months of infancy
Intrinsic motivation
Extrinsic motivation
Internal factors motivate you (pleasure)
External factors motivate you (needs)
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
relays sensory information
Hormonal center: Body temperature. Heart rate. Hunger. Mood. communicates between CNS and endocrine system
endocrine system
complex network of glands and organs. It uses hormones to control and coordinate your body’s metabolism
regression to the mean
results that are extreme by chance on a first trial will become more average after a second trial
episodic memory
involves the ability to learn, store, and retrieve information about unique personal experiences that occur in daily life
moro reflex
falling and starrtled baby!
proximodistal development
the general tendency for the development of motor skills to start at the center of an organism and radiate outwards from there
Cannon-Bard
James-Lange
two-factor
stimulating events trigger feelings and physical reactions that occur at the same time
physical changes in the body happen first, which then leads to the experience of emotion.
people use cues from their immediate environment to inform their emotions.
circadian rhythm regulators
practical intelligence
analytical intelligence
adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of new environments
includes academic tasks, problem-solving abilities, and abstract reasoning
the ability to invent solutions to new problems
self-efficacy
capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments
reciprocal determinism
behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment.
limbic system
the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses
jean piagent accommodation
altering one’s existing ideas (schemas) about how the world operates in response to new information and experiences
