frq Flashcards
Optimal arousal theory
Optimal arousal theory is the theory that there’s an optimal amount of arousal which would be stress or anxiety, that leads to peak performance. In this case, Ruth was already watching something that would give her anxiety. Since she was already at an aroused state, Lynn unexpectedly turning on the lights raised Ruth’s arousal levels and she was no longer at a peak performance level because her arousal levels were too high.
Motor Neurons
Motor neurons are cells in the brain and spinal cord that send signals from the brain to our muscles. They allow us to have involuntary and voluntary movements. This will relate to Ruth because the motor neurons throughout Ruth’s body fostered her spilling her coffee.
Somatosensory cortex
The somatosensory cortex is part of the parietal lobe and is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body. This would include taste, sight, hearing, touch, and smell. This applies to Ruth because it allowed her to process the scary movie and also allowed her to process the lighting change.
Approach-avoidance conflict
The approach-avoidance conflict is a scenario that has one result that is favorable but that result also has an undesirable aspect. This applies to Ruth’s scenario because she wants to watch the movie to give her entertainment, however this movie will increase her anxiety levels.
Out-group homogeneity bias
Out-group homogeneity bias is the cognitive bias where one believes that a group they are not part of is homogenous and less diverse than the group one is in. Because of this, members of the in-group often feel less empathy for members of the out-group. This applies to the villagers when they concluded that the creature was going to hurt them. Other creatures may have looked large and scary-looking and hurt the villagers before which caused the villagers to believe all of these large and scary-looking creatures are the same.
Fundamental attribution error
The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to perceive another’s actions as a direct result of their character or personality, and underestimate situational factors. This could apply to the villager who was knocked down. The villager assumed that the large and scary-looking creature was exhibiting its power and aggressiveness on the villager by knocking the villager down. However in reality, the creature just wanted to escape the torches and pitchforks chasing him.
Group polarization
Group polarization is the tendency for a group to make more extreme decisions than the initial inclination of the members. This could apply to the villagers in this situation when concluded that the creature would hurt them. While the members believed the creature would hurt them, they initially only wanted to assertively tell him to leave. Because of group polarization it was escalated to the action of chasing the creature with torches and pitchforks.
why cant you dream while sleepwalking
The REM stage of your sleep is the stage where most dreams occur. During the REM stage your brain is active however sleepwalking most often occurs outside of the REM sleep stage. Unless Ruth has a sleep disorder known as REM sleep behavior disorder, then Ruth was most likely not acting out her dream of being chased by a creature because sleepwalking and dreaming don’t typically occur in the same sleep stage.
Mere-exposure effect
The mere-exposure effect is the tendency to have a preference for things because we have been exposed to them and we’re familiar with them. This would affect participants’ perceptions of the floral shirts on this website depending on how much they’ve been exposed to more expensive clothes. If a participant is more familiar with expensive clothing, they are likely to have a preference for those expensive clothes.
Cones of the retina
Cones are a type of photoreceptor concentrated in the center of our retina. They help us see fine detail and allow us to have color vision. This could affect participants’ perceptions of the floral shirts on the website because if they had damaged cones then they would be unreceptive to any of the floral shirts because they would look bad without detail and color.
Prototype
A prototype is a mental representation that one uses as a reference for the category. This would affect participants’ perceptions of the floral shirts on the website if their prototype for floral shirts is similar to one that is sold on the website. They would be more likely to pick the shirt closest to their prototype of floral shirts.
Vestibular sense
Vestibular sense allows us to have a sense of balance. Helps us to move and walk swiftly.
Incentive theory
idea that behavior is extrinsically motivated. People are more motivated to perform activities if they receive a reward.
Divergent thinking
Divergent thinking is the thought process that is used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.
