IB Psych Final Flashcards
Adoption Studies
Adoption studies tend to compare the
adopted child with the biological
mother and the adoptive mother to
determine which has the higher
concordance rate for a given behavior.
Amygdala
Involved in memory and emotion, especially fear and anger
Axon
Carries the message to a nearby neuron or to a mucsule or gland
Axon Terminal
Where nerve impulses are transmitted to the dendrites of other neurons
Broca’s Area
Capacity of Short Term Memory
Capacity of short-term memory
▪ 7 items +2 or – 2
▪ Can be increased if it is organized into chunks of meaningful or well-practiced information.
Case Study
An observation technique in which one person is studied in the hope of revealing universal principles.
Cell Body
Cerebellum
Cordinates movements, balance, and posture
Charles Darwin
Those members of a species
who have characteristics which
are better suited to the
environment will be more likely
to survive, breed and thus pass
on these traits.
Classification of Emotions
Classified by two dimensions:
- The degree to which the emotion is pleasant or unpleasant
- The level of activation- or arousal associated with the emotion
Cognitive Appraisal Theory
The most important aspect of an experience is your cognative interpretation. Emotions result from the personal meaning of events and experiences.
Components of an Emotion
Physiological Changes: Such as arousal of the autonomic neurvous system and the endocrine system that are not conscious
Subjective Feelings: Of an enotion in the person
Associated Behavior: Such as smiling or running away
Constructive Nature of Memory
We Piece together memories
by fitting them to a meaningful plan or organization.
This accounts for much of the inaccuracy of our recollections. We fill in gaps with assumptions because we are
uncomfortable with the gaps. Once we’ve done this, distinguishing what actually happened from what we filled in is almost impossible.
Context Effects
You recall more accurately in the same situation
where the event originally took place.
Similar contexts may trigger feelings of deja vu.
Control
The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of treatment.
Corpus Callosum
It is divided into two hemispheres which are joined by the Corpus Callosum.
Correlation Coefficient
A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
Dendrite
Transmit messages from other neurons to the cell body
Dependant Variable
the behavior or mental process – that is being measured.
Donder’s Task
Double Blind Procedure
An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo.
Duration of Sensory Memory
Duration: 3 - 4 seconds
Duration of Short Term Memory
Duration: 18 – 30 seconds
Echoic
The Auditory Sensory Register maintains
the sounds we have heard for about 3 or 4
seconds after the stimulus; this kind of
memory is called echoic.
Elizabeth Loftus and her research
▪ AIM: To Test if
leading questions
can influence
accuracy of recall
▪ Procedure:
1. Showed
participants a film
of an accident
2. Changed one word in
certain critical questions to
see if it influenced speed
estimates
- About how fast were the
cars going when they ____
each other?
Results: Use of the different
word activated different
schemas in memory
Encoding
Coding by forming associations between new information and information already stored.
Encoding Failure
Sometimes we “forget” because the info is never encoded into LTM
Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychologists presume all human
behaviors reflect the influence of physical and
psychological predispositions that helped human ancestors survive and reproduce.
Evolutionary Psychology
The study of behavior, thought, and feeling as viewed through the lens of evolutionary biology.
Evolutionary Psychology Criticism
- Confirmation bias is possible where the
research see what they expect to see.
This is true because some theories are
difficult to test empirically. - We don’t really know what the
behavior of early Homo Sapiens was. - The evidence often underestimates
the role of cultural influences.