Gen Psychology exam 1 Flashcards
Psychology as science
What is the definition of psychology?
Psychology is the study of the human mind and how it operates.
Psychology as Science
What is the theme for chapter 1?
Psychological science relies on empirical evidence and adapts as new data develop.
Psychology as science
What do psychologists do?
They try to understand the human condition better by conducting experiments and doing research studies.
Psychology as science
What makes psychology science?
We try to understand the human mind within the realm of reality.
Psychology as science
Hindsight bias
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-along phenomenon)
Psychology as science
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Psychology as science
Theory
An explaination using an integrated set of principles that organizes oberservations and predicts behaviors and events.
Psychology as science
Experiment
A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (indep. variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dep. variable).
Indep.: independent Dep.: dependent
Psychology as science
Variable
A measurable outcome in an experiment
Psychology as science
Independent and dependent variables
Independent: In an experiment, the factor that is maniplulated: the variable whose effect is being studied.
Dependent: In an experiment, the outcome that is measured: the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.
Psychology as science
Operational definition
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.
Psychology as science
Population
All those in a group being studied, from which samples (people) may be drawn. (Note: except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.)
Psychology as science
Random sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
Psychology as science
Random assigment
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups.
Psychology as science
Correlation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
Remember: correlation does not prove causation
Memory
What is the theme for chapter 8?
Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways.
Memory
Encoding, storage, and retrieval
Encoding: Getting information into the memory system–for example, by extracting meaning.
Storage: The process of retaining encoded information over time.
Retrieval: The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Memory
Sensory memory (iconic and echoic)
Sensory: The immediente, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Iconic (visual stimuli): a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
Echoic (auditory stimuli): if attention is elsewhere, sounds and word can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
Memory
Short-term memory
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.
Memory
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Memory
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units
Memory
Hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories–of facts and events–for storage.
Memory
Explicit memory
Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare”.
Memory
Implicit memory
Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection.
Memory
Role of Basal ganglia and cerebellum
Basal ganglia: Deep structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedual memories for skills. Receives imput from the cortex, but does not return information.
Cerebellum: Forms and stores the implicit memories created by classical conditioning.
Memory
Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia
Anterograde: an inability to form new memories
Retrograde: An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.
Memory
Mnemonics
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Memory
Spacing Effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
Memory
Testing effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
Memory
Levels of processing (shallow and deep)
Shallow: Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearnance of words.
Deep: Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.
Memory
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulations: a neural basis for learning and memory
Memory
Flashbulb memory
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
Memory
Proactive and Retroactive interference
Proactive: The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.
Retrograde: The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.
Memory
Semantic and Episodic memory
Semantic: Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge.
Episodic: Explicit memory of personally experienced events.
Memory
Misinformation effect
Occurs when misleading information has corrupted one’s memory of an event.
Memory
Source Amnesia
Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined.
Memory
Serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primary effect) items in a list.
