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