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.
Explicit Memory
Memories are those of which one is consciously
aware.
Example: I may have an explicit memory of playing a particular golf
course.
Frontal Lobe
Voluntary
muscle movement, thinking,
planning, emotional control
Goals of Psychology
- Describe
- Explain
- Predict
- Control
H.M. Case Study
Hindsight Bias
Finding out that something has happened makes it seem inevitable.
Hippocampus
Involved in forming new memories
Hypothalamus
Links brain and endocrine system; regulates hunger, thrist, sleep, and sexual behavior.
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Iconic
▪Maintains an image of what we have seen for a
few tenths of a second after the stimulus has
appeared. This kind of memory is called iconic.
▪Original research in this area involved
the partial report technique developed by
George Sperling in the early 1960s to test
subjects’ recall of letters presented in a matrix.
Internal Validity
The extent to which a piece of evidence supports a claim about cause and effect, within the context of a particular study.
Illusory Correlation
Perception of a relationship where none exists.
Implicit Memory
Memories are those of which one is not
conscious.
Example: One may have implicit memories of how to tie one’s shoe but
not be able to describe to another how to do it.
Independant Veriable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
James-Lange Theory
Physiological feedback causes emotion
Left and Right Brain Specialization
Most people are left-hemisphere dominant for speech and right hemisphere dominant for visual- spatial tasks.
Although the hemispheres display
some specialized abilities, many
functions are symmetrical and
performed the same way in both
hemispheres.
Medulla
Method of Loci
Mood-Congruent Memory
Myelin Sheath
Provides insulation and increases the speed of the traveling message or impulse
Naturalistic Observations
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate of control the situation.
Neurotransmitter
Occipital Lobe
Visual
Information
Operational Definition
A statement of procedures used to define research variables.
Overconfidence Bias
People often assume they know more than they do.
Parietal Lobe
Processes
Bodily Information
PET Scan
Placebo
Proactive Interference
Proactive interference occurs when previous learning decreases your ability to remember more recently learned material.
For example, proactive interference occurs if you can’t remember the name of the new assistant principal because all
you can think of is the name of the former assistant principal.
Random Sample
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
Recall
How one accesses memories
Recognition
Replication
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances.
Repression
Sigmund Freud argued that painful memories are self-censored and stored in the unconscious mind.
Retrieval
Recalling a memory
Retrieval Failure
Retrieval failure occurs when
established associations conflict
with what we are trying to recall.
Retroactive Interference
Retroactive interference occurs when recently learned material decreases your ability to remember older material.
For example, retroactive interference occurs if you can’t remember the team that won last year’s World Series because all you can think of is the team that won the Series this year.
Schema
A mental map or mental representation of
an idea—made up of associations and connections
▪ Schemas organize knowledge
▪ Knowledge is stored in memories
▪ Schemas access the memories
Six Basic Emotions
Fear
Suprise
Anger
Disgust
Happiness
Sadness
Sperry’s Split Brain Research
State-Dependent Memory
Improved retrieval of material when one is in the same mental, emotional, or drug-induced state that was present when the material was originally
learned.
Survey
A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them.
Synaptic Gap
Temporal Lobe
Auditory
Information
Thalamus
Processes and integrates sensory information; relays sensory information to cerebral cortext
Theory
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
Twin Studies
Use correlational research to establish a genetic argument for the origin of human behavior through the study of twins and their behaviors.
Two Factor Theory
Emotion is the result of the interaction between physiological arousal and the cognitive label we use to explain our stirred up state.
Wernick’s Area
