key terms i-s

Question 1

Idiographic Approaches

Answer 1

This term refers to the study of human behaviour by focusing on individuals and their differences and the uniqueness of their experiences. Qualitative data collection is favoured as this is more in depth rather than just numerical scores for tests. Psychologists who follow idiographic approaches avoid universal generalisations. A good example of an idiographic approach in psychology is humanistic psychology

Question 2

Independent Groups Design

Answer 2

An experimental design where two different sets of participants are used in the conditions of a study. The people in the sample will be allocated, (usually randomly,) to a condition.

Question 3

Independent Variable

Answer 3

In experimental research, the independent variable (IV) is manipulated to see how it affects the dependent variable (DV.).

Question 4

Identification

Answer 4

In social psychology this is a type of conformity where an individual conforms to a particular group (or person or role,) because they want to fit in with the established behaviours of the chosen group, (person or role.) The individual publicly and privately values the behaviours of the group and will change their own behaviours and beliefs to been seen as like the group. However, when not part of the group anymore the individual’s beliefs and behaviours may change so the identification is not always permanent.

Question 5

Inferences

Answer 5

Inferences are reasoned conclusions about a general pattern of behaviour that are drawn from the specific data obtained in a study. In cognitive psychology it is impossible to observe directly mental processes such as memory or perception. Therefore, researchers look at differences in performances seen in the data collected in research and they make a reasoned guess or judgement about what the data means. Inferences are reasoned explanations for the data, and these go beyond the raw results

Question 6

Infradian Rhythms

Answer 6

A type of biological rhythm that occurs less frequently than once every 24 hours. This could be something that happens weekly, monthly or even annually. The menstrual cycle is a good example of an infradian biological rhythm.

Question 7

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment (Type A)

Answer 7

In developmental psychology, this is one of the attachment types that Mary Ainsworth identified in her Strange Situation study. Insecure-avoidant infants are also known as Type A and behaviour is characterised by low proximity seeking behaviour, low secure base behaviour, low stranger anxiety, low separation distress and a limited reuniting response.

Question 8

Insecure-Resistant Attachment (Type C)

Answer 8

In developmental psychology, this is one of the attachment types that Mary Ainsworth identified in her Strange Situation study. Insecure-resistant infants are also known as Type C and behaviour is characterised by high proximity seeking behaviour, high secure base behaviour, high stranger anxiety, high separation distress and a reuniting response that showed infants, although distressed rejected comfort.

Question 9

Interactional Synchrony

Answer 9

A type of caregiver infant interaction which involves coordinated and rhythmic interaction between infant and caregiver. Interactional synchrony involves a more mirrored exchange than reciprocity

Question 10

Interference

Answer 10

An explanation for forgetting when similar material, e.g. the vocabulary of two similar languages such as Italian and Spanish, is confused in recall from the LTM. Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with and prevents the recall of previously learned information. Proactive interference occurs when past memories inhibit an individual’s ability to retrieve newly learned memories.

Question 11

Retroactive interference

Answer 11

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes with and prevents the recall of previously learned information.

Question 12

Proactive interference

Answer 12

Proactive interference occurs when past memories inhibit an individual’s ability to retrieve newly learned memories.

Question 13

Internalisation

Answer 13

In social psychology this is the third type of conformity proposed by Kelman along with compliance and identification. Internalisation involves a private and public change in behaviour in response to majority influence. An individual who internalises wholeheartedly embraces the new behaviours. They change their behaviour because they feel it’s the right thing to do and they want to do it. They have internalised this belief.

Question 13

Internal Working Model

Answer 13

In developmental psychology, Bowlby suggested that a monotropic attachment allows the infant to create an internal working model, or a mental framework for what relationships should be like. It allows the infant to get a sense of their role in the relationship and expectations of themselves and others. This framework then acts as a template for what future relationships should be like. Bowlby proposed that this internal working model will be applied to future relationships influencing them well into adulthood. It would go on to influence their relationships with peers, romantic partners and even their own parenting styles.

Question 14

Levels of Measurement

Answer 14

This refers to the level of data collected from studies and how that data should be used in a statistical test. There are 3 levels of measurement known as ‘nominal’, ‘ordinal’ and ‘interval’.

Question 15

Interval data

Answer 15

When the data collected in a study is a direct measurement of the participants’ performances/behaviour we call this interval data. This means that the scale used to collect the data has spaces between the numbers that are always equal. When a participant is timed when doing a task, the times are interval level measurements. If the researcher decides that the numerical scale used in the study is an interval scale, they can analyse their data using a statistical test that requires interval data.

Question 15

Learning Approach

Answer 15

According to learning approaches human behaviour is the result of learning. This learning can occur through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning and vicarious reinforcement. The Behaviourist approach and social learning theory are examples of the learning approach.

Question 16

Localisation of Function

Answer 16

A theory within psychology that specific regions of the brain are specialised for specific functions. An example of this is that the occipital lobes control visual function or that the motor cortex is specialised to allow movement.

Question 17

Locus of control

Answer 17

This refers to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events in their lives. People with an ‘internal’ locus of control tend to take personal responsibility for their actions and to feel that they control their own actions. People with an external locus of control tend to feel that their lives and actions are strongly influenced by luck, chance, other people and environmental factors. The term can be applied to explain how people respond to stressful situations or situations where others are exerting social pressures.

Question 18

Long Term Memory (LTM)

Answer 18

In cognitive psychology, long term memory (LTM) is the ability to recall information over a significant period of time. According to the multi-store model of memory the LTM store has unlimited capacity, the duration of up to a lifetime and information is most often coded semantically.

Question 18

Longitudinal

Answer 18

Some research conducted by psychologists requires more time to truly understand the dynamics at play. Longitudinal research refers to studies that are designed to track participants or measure behaviour over a long period of time

Question 19

Long Term Memory (LTM)

Answer 19

In cognitive psychology, long term memory (LTM) is the ability to recall information over a significant period of time. According to the multi-store model of memory the LTM store has unlimited capacity, the duration of up to a lifetime and information is most often coded semantically.

Question 20

MAOA gene

Answer 20

This is a genetic variant that has been linked to aggressive behaviour. MAOA stands for ‘monoamine oxidase a’ which is the name of the enzyme produced by this gene and which breaks down certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. People who possess the MAOA-L variant of this gene (the ‘L’ indicates ‘low activity’) produce low levels of the MAOA enzyme. MAOA-L has been associated with a higher risk for anti-social behaviours such as aggression. The MAOA gene, whether high activity (MAOA-H) or low activity (MAOA-L) is found on the X chromosome.

Question 21

Mediational processes

Answer 21

Mediational processes are cognitive processes that occur between the external, environmental stimulus a person experiences and the response the person produces to that stimulus. Mediational processes include, attention, memory, thinking and decision-making and show that learning is not purely an automatic, stimulus response action and that there are mental processes that take place before a response it made.

Question 22

Memory

Answer 22

The process by which information is coded, stored and retrieved. Research has found evidence to support the existence of a short-term memory, a long-term memory as described in the multi-store model of memory and the working memory model is an alternative description of how short-term memory might operate.

Question 23

Meta-analysis

Answer 23

A statistical process in which the data from a large number of studies involving a similar research question and methods of research, are combined to provide conclusions about the whole body of research. As the data in a meta-analysis comes from a much larger group of participants the conclusions may be regarded with more confidence.

Question 24

Minority Influence

Answer 24

This occurs when an individual or a small group of people convince larger groups of people to change their behaviour. Minority groups can drive social change through campaigns

Question 25

Monotropy

Answer 25

As part of his monotropic theory, John Bowlby claimed that a single attachment to or affectional bond with the primary caregiver was most important for the wellbeing of the child. The special bond formed would enable the child to develop a sense of security and emotional maturity. It would programme the internal working model and therefore, all future relationships would be judged against the monotropic relationship.

Question 26

Neurotransmitters

Answer 26

These are chemical messengers that allow the transmission of an impulse from one cell to the next enabling cells to communicate throughout the body. Key neurotransmitters in psychology are dopamine, serotonin, GABA and noradrenaline. Neurotransmitters can be excitatory meaning the message is likely to be forwarded by the receiving cell, inhibitory meaning the message is likely to be prevented from being forwarded or modulatory sending messages to many neurons at the same time.

Question 26

Nominal

Answer 26

Nominal data is a frequency count and a way of recording behaviour which is a response or action. The behaviour seen will be assigned into a behavioural category, usually as a tally. When a researcher has collected data in this way, they have used the nominal level of measurement, and the data should be analysed using a test that requires this kind of data.

Question 27

Nomothetic Approach

Answer 27

Nomothetic approaches seek to identify universal traits and patterns of behaviour in order to be able to establish universal laws or principles of behaviour.

Question 27

Operant Conditioning

Answer 27

Operant conditioning is concerned with explaining how we learn through experience. The consequences of a behaviour can be pleasant or unpleasant and these consequences act as reinforcers. If an individual is rewarded for an act, they will repeat it. That is known as positive reinforcement. If the consequence is, that after producing an act something that was unpleasant is removed, the individual again is likely to repeat the action/behaviour. This is negative reinforcement.

Question 27

Operationalisation of variables

Answer 27

Operationalising variables is an important part of research design and hypothesis formulation. It involves precisely identifying how any variable being studied will be measured or manipulated by the researcher.

Question 28

Ordinal Data

Answer 28

If data is not a behaviour or action that is categorised as in nominal data, then it is often a score of some sort achieved by each participant in the study. Numerical data can be a precise measurement of something such as a time taken to do something, or it can be less precise such as a rating a person gives themself. When the scores collected in a study are not precise measurements, researchers might decide they should not call their data an interval measurement and they should treat it as ordinal data. This would mean using a statistical test that required the ordinal level of measurement.

Question 29

Plasticity

Answer 29

This is the idea that the brain is malleable. Plasticity is the brain’s ability to change, reorganise and adapt as a result of experience through changing synaptic connections. Research on London taxi drivers by Eleanor Maguire et al (2000) found increased grey matter in the posterior hippocampus in comparison to that of participants in the control group. The posterior hippocampus is the area of the brain that is involved in spatial cognition and memory. In further research Eleanor Maguire found that retired taxi drivers who were no longer using active in their jobs, experienced a reduction of this grey matters. Their experiences had changed and so did their brains. Plasticity plays an important role in functional recovery.

Question 30

Parasocial relationships

Answer 30

These are one-sided relationships, that a fan feel they have with a celebrity. This develops through the fan’s access to media such as concerts, TV appearances, films, magazines etc, where the celebrity is unaware of the fan’s identity or even existence. Three levels of parasocial relationships have been identified. These are ‘entertainment-social’, ‘intense personal’ and ‘borderline pathological’. These levels of parasocial relationships can be measured using the Celebrity Attitude Scale which was developed by Lynn McCutcheon (2002).

Question 30

Primary Data

Answer 30

This is data that is collected by the researcher themselves first hand for the purpose of the study.

Question 31

Procedural Memory

Answer 31

This is a type of long-term memory relating to knowledge of how to do things, i.e. perform skills and actions. Procedural memories require little conscious effort, are automatic and are not available for inspection. This means we can ride a bike or walk without thinking about it, but it can be difficult to describe how we are doing it step by step. Muscle memory plays a role in this. Procedural memories are also resistant to amnesia. In the case study of Clive Wearing it was shown that although episodic and semantic memories were fading, he could still engage in procedural memories such as writing in his diary, reading, and playing the piano.

Question 32

Psychodynamic Approach

Answer 32

This is one of the approaches in psychology which provides an explanation of human behaviour. It is rooted in the work of Sigmund Freud and focuses on the interplay of conscious and unconscious motivations and conflicts within humans. It emphasises the importance of early experiences in childhood though psychosexual stages of development and the formation of the psyche; id, ego and superego. It offers psychoanalysis as a therapeutic approach to work with clients in mental distress, a directive approach to counselling employing methods such as free association and dream interpretation to help reveal unconscious conflicts and desires.

Question 32

Psychopathology

Answer 32

This is the scientific study of mental disorders which aims to establish causes of disorders, identify and categorise symptoms as well as finding treatments.

Question 33

Psychosexual Stages

Answer 33

According to the Freud’s Psychodynamic Approach, there are 5 stages of psychosexual development. These are oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital. If a stage is not completed satisfactorily, then fixation can occur. This means that individuals become ‘stuck’ in this stage and will regress, i.e. revert back to behaviours relating to this stage in adulthood until these conflicts are resolved.

Question 34

Reciprocity

Answer 34

A type of caregiver infant interaction which involves a mutual exchange of play or communication between infant and caregiver. It is characterised by ‘turn-taking’ where one of the pair produces and action and then the other responds with an action. Interactions like these help in a child’s social development and the formation of attachments.

Question 35

Reductionism

Answer 35

Reductionism involves explaining or studying complex behaviours and experiences by breaking them down into smaller component parts.

Question 35

Reliability

Answer 35

The concept of consistency in the measurements provided by a technique or test.

Question 36

Repeated Measures Design

Answer 36

An experimental design where the sample of participants all engage in all conditions of the study.

Question 36

Research Methods

Answer 36

Research methods in psychology are the systematic approach to designing, collecting and analysing data to draw meaningful conclusions and generate theories to understand and explain human behaviour. Research methods used in psychology can be experimental such as laboratory, field, natural and quasi, or they can be non-experimental, such as correlational analyses, observations, interviews, questionnaires, case studies, content analyses and meta-analyses.

Question 37

Retrieval Failure

Answer 37

An explanation for forgetting when material is stored in the LTM but cannot be consciously recalled because of a lack of retrieval cues to ‘jog the memory

Question 38

Schema

Answer 38

A cognitive framework of information gained from experiences that help a person to interpret the world around them and build and organise their knowledge and understanding. Schemas can also influence expectations.

Question 39

Secondary Data

Answer 39

Data for use in research that is collected by somebody other than the researcher. Secondary data can be valuable when conducting meta-analyses. Secondary data can also be used with other research method such as correlational analyses

Question 40

Secure Attachment

Answer 40

In developmental psychology, this is one of the attachment types that Mary Ainsworth identified in her Strange Situation study. Secure infants are also known as Type B. Infants with Type B attachment show some proximity seeking behaviour but are happy to explore the strange environment using their caregiver as a secure base. They show separation distress but are easily comforted by their caregiver in their reuniting response. The majority of infants in Mary Ainsworth’s study were classified as Type B.

Question 40

Self-actualisation

Answer 40

A term used by Abraham Maslow in the humanistic approach to psychology. It refers to a state in which people achieve fulfilment of their potential. Maslow suggested that every person has a motivation to achieve this. It forms the pinnacle of his ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, with physiological needs needing fulfilment, before safety needs, then social needs and then self-esteem. Each of these needs to be met respectively before an individual can self-actualise.