Glossary Flashcards
Accommodation
A principle of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. It occurs when cognitive structures are modified because new information or new experiences do not fit into existing cognitive structures
Acetylcholine
A neurotransmitter found in both central and peripheral nervous systems. Linked to Alzheimer’s disease and used to transmit nerve impulses to muscles
ACT Model (Adaptive Control of Thought)
A model that describes memory in terms of procedural and declarative memory
Agnosia
Impairments in visual recognition
Alternate-Form Method
In psychometrics, it is the method of using two or more different forms of a test to determine the reliability of a particular test
Aphagia
Impairment in the ability to eat
Aphasias
Language disorders which are associated with Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas in the brain
Apraxia
Impairment in the organization of voluntary sction
Assimilartion
Principle of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. The process of understanding new information in relation to prior knowledge or existing schemata
Association Areas
Areas in the brain that integrate information from different cortical regions
Atkinson-Shiffin Model
Model of memory that involves three structures (sensory, short term, long term)
Construct Validity
How well test measures intended construct
Content Validity
How well the content items of a test measure the construct they intend to measure
Conversion Disorder
Used to be “hysteria”
Unexplained symptoms affecting voluntary motor or sensory functions
Criterion Validity
How well the test can predict performance on another established test of same construct
Declarative Memory
Explicit, fact information
Distal Stimulus
In perception, the actual object in the world as opposed to its perceived image
Duplexity/Duplicity Theory
Theory holding that the retina contains two types of photoreceptors
EEG
Records gross average of electrical activity in different parts of the brain
Episodic Memory
Type of declarative memory concerned with particular events/experiences
Extirpation
Process of removing part of the brain and observing behavioral consequences
Face Validity
Type of validity that refers to whether items appear to measure what they’re supposed to measure
Fechner’s Law
Law that expresses the relationship between the intensity of the sensantion and the intensity of the stimulus. Says that sensation increases more slowly as intensity of stimulus increases
Fictional Finalism
Concept in Adler’s theory of personality. The notion that an individual is motivated more by his/her expectations of the future based on a subjective or fictional estimate of life values, than by past experiences
Field Independence/Dependence
A personality style characterized by an ability/inability to distinguish experiences from its context
Fluid Intelligence
Cattell
Ability to quickly grasp relationships in novel situations and make correct deductions from them
Crystallized Intelligence
Cattell
Uses knowledge acquired as a result of schooling or life experiences
Frequency Theory of Pitch Perception
Theory suggesting that:
- The basilar membrane if the ear vibrates as a whole
- The rate of vibration equals the frequency of the stimulus
- The vibration rate is directly translated into the appropriate number of neural impulses per second
g
Charles Spearman
Individual difference in intelligence that refers to a general, unitary factor of intelligence
Gonadoptropic Hormones
Hormones produced by the pituitary gland during puberty that activate a dramatic increase in the production of hormones by the testes or ovaries
Idiographic
Approach to studying personality that focuses on individual characteristics
Induced Motion
An illusion of motion that is created when everything around the spot of light is moved
Innate Releasing Mechanism
Mechanism in an animal’s nervous system that links the stimulus with the right response
Interposition
Depth cue related to overlap of objects - we see one being in front
Isomorphism
Theory that suggests there is a one-to-one correlation between the object in the perceptual field and the pattern of stimulation in the brain
James-Lange Theory of Emotions
People become aware of their emotions after they notice physiological reaction to an external event
Klinefelter’s Syndrome
Possession of an extra X chromosome in males that leads to sterility and mental retardation
Lateral Inhibition
In visual perception, the process of inhibiting the response of adjacent retinal cells resulting in the sharpening and highlighting of the borders between light and dark areas
Law of Prägnanz
From Gestalt psychology - the tendency of perceptual organization to be as parsimonious as possible
Law of Specific Nerve Energies
Müller
Each sensory nerve is excited by only one kind of energy (e.g. light or air vibrations)
Levels of Processing Theory
Craik and Lockart
Only one memory system. Items entering memory are analyzed in one of three stages
- physical (visual)
- acoustical
- semantic
Whorfian Hypothesis
aka Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
Perception of reality is determined by the content of language
Luteinizing Hormone
Hormone associated with ovulation
Monoamine Theory of Depression
Too much serotonin and norepinephrine leads to mania, too little leads to depression
Motion Parralax
Cue of depth perception that occurs during movement when objects that are closer appear to move (i.e. when in the car)
Neologisms
Newly invented words
Nomothetic
Approach to personality that focuses on groups - try to find commonalities between individuals in groups
Norepinephrine
Controlling alertness and wakefulness
Opponent-Process Theory of Color Vision
Ewald Hering
Four primary colors in opposing pairs (red, blue, green, yellow)
Osmoreceptors
Receptors in the hypothalamus that control the maintenance of water balance in the body
Dual-Code Hypothesis
Paivio
Information can be encoded/stored in two ways
- Visually
- Verbally
Abstract info = verbally
Concrete info = both
Parallel Distributed Process
Theory that holds that information processing is distributed across the brain and is done in a parallel fashion
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Degenerative disease of the nervous system occurring when a child lacks the enzyme needed to digest phenylalanine - an amino acid found in milk and other foods
Phi Phenomenon
Illusion of movement when two dots are flashed in different locations on a screen and are perceived as one moving dot
Place Theory
Helmholtz and Young
Each different pitch causes a different place on the basilar membrane to vibrate
Predictive Validity
Use of some criterion scores obtained in advance, and validating them against scores obtained later
Proactive Inhibition
What you learned earlier interferes with new learning
Procedural memory
How things are done (aka implicit)
Progesterone
Hormone produced and secreted by the ovary to prepare the uterus for implantation of the fertilized egg
Projection Area
Areas in the brain receiving incoming sensory information or sending out motor-impulse commands
Scales of Measurement
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Regional cerebral blood flow (rcbf)
Noninvasive procedure that detects broad patterns of neural activity base don increased blood flow to different parts of the brain
Retroactive Inhibition
Learning something new interfering with old knowledge
Semantic Feature-Comparison Model
Smith, Shoben, Rips
Concepts are represented by sets of features - some required for a concept and some typical of a concept
Social Comparison Theory
Festinger
Tendency to evaluate self in comparison to others drives affiliation
Split-Half Consistency
Dividing a test into equal halves and correlating scores on one half to scores on the other half
Steven’s Power Law
Law that relates the intensity of a stimulus to the intensity of sensation
Tardive Dyskinesia
Resting tremors and jerky movements caused by disruptions in dopamine transmission
Theory of Motivation
Clark Hull
Behavior = drive reduction, which is reinforcing
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Gardner
Seven intelligence factors
Top-Down vs Bottom-Up Processing
Top-Down = concept driven, recognize objects by using conceptual processes such as memory, expectations
Bottom-Up = data driven, recognizing object by compiling components
Transduction
Second step of sensory information processing (after reception) where physical energy is translated into neural impulses/action potentials
Triarchic Theory
Sternberg
Theory of intelligence that suggests there are three aspects to intelligence
- Componential (test performance)
- Experiential (creativity)
- Contextual (street/business smarts)
Tricyclic Antidepressants
Behavioral stimulants thought to reduce depression by facilitating the transmission of norepinephrine and serotonin at the synapse
Turner’s Syndrome
Caused by the lack of one X chromosome in females. Results in the failure to develop secondary sex characteristics and cognitive impairment
Two-Factor Theory of Emotion
Schacter-Singer
Subjective experience of emotion is based on the interaction between changes in physio arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal. Influenced by the environment
Weber’s Law
Law that states that changes in stimulus intensity needed to produce a jnd, divided by the stimulus intensity of the standard stimulus, is constant (ratios!)
Trichromatic Theory
Young and Helmholtz
Theory of color vision that states that the retina contains three different types of cones that are differentially sensitive to red, blue, and green. All colors are produced by combined stimulation of these receptors.
Stages of Prenatal Development
- Zygote = fertilized egg
- Germinal = implant into uterine wall
- Embryonic = grows 1 inch, spine, genitals, fingers, toes, movement of limbs
- Fetal = measurable brain activity
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
- Trust vs mistrust (0-1)
- Autonomy vs shame and doubt (1-3)
- Initiative vs guilt (3-6)
- Industry vs inferiority (6-12)
- Identity vs role confusion (adolescence)
- Intimacy vs isolation (young adult)
- Generativity vs stagnation (adult)
- Integrity vs despair (approaching death)
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
PRECONVENTIONAL - Punishment and obedience - Rewards CONVENTIONAL - Good girl, nice boy (approval) - Law and order POST CONVENTIONAL - Social contract (greater good) - Universal ethics (personal code)
Master Gland of Endocrine System
Pituitary gland - secretes hormones into blood to activate other glands
Major Theories of Emotion
- James-Lange = recognize emotions based on physio
- Cannon-Bard = Emotions and physio simultaneously
- Schacter-Singer = two-factor theory: arousal and labeling based on environment
Theories of Color Perception
- Triarchic (Young-Helmholtz)
2. Opponent-Process (Hering)
Theories of Pitch Perception
- Place Theory (Helmholtz)
- Frequency Theory (Wever and Bray)
- Traveling Wave Theory (Békésy) (vibration maximal at different locations for each frequency)
Deductive vs Inductive Reasoning
Deductive = general --> specific Inductive = specific --> general
Nervous System
- Central
- Peripheral
- Somatic
- Autonomic
- Sympathetic
- Parasympathetic
Levels of Long Term Memory
- Procedural (implicit, not purposeful)
- Declarative (explicit, purposeful)
- Semantic = general knowledge
- Episodic = personal experience
Normal Distribution
34, 14, 2
Hindbrain
- Cerebellum (balance, motor, breathing, digestion, sleep)
- Pons (regulates brain activity during sleep)
- Medulla (autonomic NS, heat, lungs)
- Reticular Formation (sleep/wake, alertness, attention)
Midbrain
- Inferior colliculus (auditory info)
- Superior colliculus (visual info)
Forebrain
- Thalamus (sensory relay station)
- Hypothalamus (hunger, thirst, emotion, fight/flight)
- Lateral = hunger
- Ventromedial = satiation
- Anterior = sexuality
- Cerebral cortex (complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes)
- Basal Ganglia (muscle movement)
- Limbic System (emotion and memory)
Limbic System
- Septum (pleasure center, inhibits aggression)
- Amygdala (aggression, defensive behavior)
- Hippocampus (memory and learning)
- Hypothalamus (hunger, thirst, fight or flight)
Frontal Lobe
- Prefrontal cortex (executive functioning, memory)
- Motor cortex (initiates motor movements by sending impulses down spinal cord to muscles)
- Broca’s area (speech production)
Parietal Lobe
Somatosensory cortex
Occipital Lobe
Visual cortex
Temporal Lobe
- Auditory cortex
- Wernicke’s area
- Hippocampus (memory and emotional control)
