key terms s-z

Question 1

Self-Report Methods

Answer 1

Self-report techniques are an example of research method in Psychology where participants are able to provide information about themselves, from their perspective without judgement from the researcher

Question 2

Semantic Memory

Answer 2

Semantic memories are a type of long-term memory that relates to knowledge of facts, figures and general knowledge of how things work. It can be described as a mixture of an encyclopaedia and a dictionary. Unlike procedural memories, semantic memories do require conscious effort for recall

Question 3

Situational Factors

Answer 3

These are external environmental factors that may influence human behaviour. In Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience, he tested the effect of situational factors on obedience. He did this by changing the location of the study, the uniform of the authority figure (the ‘teacher’) and also the proximity of the teacher to the ‘learner’.

Question 4

Short-Term Memory

Answer 4

In cognitive psychology, short-term memory (STM) is a component of the multi-store model. STM has been shown to have a limited capacity, and a short duration. It is thought that coding in STM is mainly acoustic.

Question 5

Social Change

Answer 5

Social change refers to a significant change that occurs in society including large scale changes in societal attitudes and social norms

Question 6

Social Sensitivity

Answer 6

Socially sensitive research is that which has potentially negative implications and consequences for certain social groups. A lack of social sensitivity in research design, participant selection and biased analysis and conclusions can amplify prejudice and lead to discriminatory policies. There are a number of areas within psychology where social sensitivity must be exercised. These include but are not limited to theories of attachment, psychopathology and relationships.

Question 7

Standardisation

Answer 7

Standardisation is an important feature of psychological research design. In experimental contexts it means the experiences of research participants must be exactly the same with the only difference being the manipulated independent variable. In a study investigating the effect of music on time taken to complete a crossword, all aspects other than whether participants hear music, or no music must be standardised. This means, these possible extraneous variables must be kept the same. This helps to control extraneous variables, preventing confounding variables and allows for valid conclusions to be drawn.

Question 8

Superego

Answer 8

This is part of the psyche as explained by Freud as part of the psychodynamic approach. The superego develops in the phallic stage of psychosexual development and works on the ‘morality principle’. It functions as a sort of moral compass and reflects societal ideals and moral standards. It conflicts with the id.

Question 9

Synaptic transmission

Answer 9

The process by which information from nerve impulses are carried across the small gap, the synapse, between one neuron and another. The message becomes a chemical one carried by the neurotransmitter.

Question 10

Theory

Answer 10

A theory is an explanation for a specific behaviour. Theories serve as a framework for understanding and explaining behaviours. Well known theories in psychology include social learning theory, Bowlby’s monotropic theory and family systems theory.

Question 11

Ultradian Rhythms

Answer 11

A type of biological rhythm that occurs throughout the 24-hour day. Rapid eye movement occurs throughout the day in many physical and mental functions and during sleep there is a pattern of cycles that alternates between rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM.) in each cycle there are 5 stages, the first 4 are NREM and the 5th REM and each cycle lasts about 90 minutes.

Question 12

Validity

Answer 12

Validity is the extent to which a study or a test measures what it claims or attempts to measure. Validity refers to the accuracy of research conclusions.

Question 13

Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 13

This term refers to a feature of social learning theory. A reinforcement, such as reward, makes a behaviour more likely to happen again. When it is vicarious, the person learns by observing the consequences of another person’s behaviour

Question 14

Wernicke’s Area

Answer 14

This is a region of the brain located in the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere in around 90% of the population. It was identified by Carl Wernicke in 1870’s following post-mortem examinations as being involved in language comprehension. Individuals who experience damage to this region of the brain can experience Wernicke’s aphasia where patients may produce fluent but incoherent speech and have difficulty understanding spoken and written language.

Question 15

Working Memory

Answer 15

The working memory model describes short-term memory as a storage system with multiple components rather than a single unitary store as described in the multi-store model of memory. It was first proposed by Alan Baddeley & Graham Hitch in 1974 and has been updated since. It consists of a central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketch pad and episodic buffer and attempts to account for how STM deals with visual and verbal information in detail.