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midterm Flashcards

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1
Q

mode

A

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

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2
Q

biological perspective

A

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes

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3
Q

behavioral perspective

A

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning; we learn by watching others, through punishment or reinforcement, and by pairing events closely in time

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4
Q

cognitive perspective

A

the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems

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5
Q

humanistic perspective

A

a historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential

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6
Q

psychodynamic perspective

A

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders; how past experiences have been repressed impacting our present

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7
Q

sociocultural perspective

A

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

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8
Q

evolutionary perspective

A

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

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9
Q

placebo effect

A

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

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10
Q

positive correlation

A

2 variables increase and decrease together

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11
Q

negative correlation

A

as one variable increases the other decrease and vise versa

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12
Q

scatterplot

A

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation

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13
Q

ethical standards in psychological studies (people really can do incredible deeds)

A

protection from harm, right to withdraw, confidentiality, debriefing, informed consent, deception

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14
Q

case study

A

in depth study of a single person, group, or rare phenomenon

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15
Q

survey method

A

questionnaires or interviews to ask a large group of people questions

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16
Q

naturalistic observation

A

careful observations of people or animals in their natural habitat

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17
Q

range of a correlation coefficient and how each works

A

-1 to +1; closer to 1 equal a strong correlation; -1 is negative correlation and +1 is positive correlation

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18
Q

qualitative research

A

empirical research where the data is not numerical

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19
Q

quantitive research

A

deals with numerical data or data that can be turned into numbers

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20
Q

dependent variable

A

the variable that researchers measure

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21
Q

independent variable

A

the factor the researchers controls and manipulates

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22
Q

sampling bias

A

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

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23
Q

be able to read a scatterplot

A
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24
Q

eeg

A

electroencephalogram; an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

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25
Q

endocrine system

A

the body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

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26
Q

types of drugs that relieve pain

A

Narcotics/opiates include morphine, heroin, and pain pills such as oxycontin

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27
Q

when does lucid dreaming occur

A

REM sleep

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28
Q

sleep apnea

A

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

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29
Q

melatonin

A

a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness, it helps with the timing of your circadian rhythms (24-hour internal clock) and with sleep

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30
Q

pet scan

A

positron emmission tomography; a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

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31
Q

range

A

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

32
Q

what do you suffer from if the corpus callous is severed

A

to treat epilepsy; brain hemispheres can no longer communicate after procedure

33
Q

nature vs nurture issue

A

long-standing debate about the degree to which our inherited genetic and biological qualities (“nature”) or our environment/surroundings (“nurture”) influence and shape us

34
Q

natural selection (Charles Darwin)

A

the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

35
Q

refractory period

A

in neural processing, a brief resting pause that occurs after a neuron has fired; subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state

36
Q

occipital lobe

A

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

37
Q

cognitive map

A

a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it

38
Q

discrimination learning

A

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. (In operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

39
Q

testosterone

A

the most important male sex hormone. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

40
Q

mere exposure effect

A

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them

41
Q

observational learning

A

learning by observing others

42
Q

extinction

A

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

43
Q

latent learning

A

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

44
Q

shaping

A

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

45
Q

conditioned stimulus

A

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

46
Q

little albert study

A

used classical conditioning to condition a child to fear rats by pairing the exposure to rats with a loud noise

47
Q

biofeedback

A

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

48
Q

classical conditioning

A

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov’s classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behavior (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food); involves associating an involuntary response and a stimulus

49
Q

operant conditioning

A

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences; associating a voluntary behavior and a consequence

50
Q

Edward L. Thorndike

A

studied the law of effect–reinforcement is more potent when it result in a satisfying effect

51
Q

unconditioned stimulus

A

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response UR

52
Q

opponent processing theory

A

the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, blue-yellow, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green

53
Q

blind spot

A

the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creating a blind spot because no receptor cells are located there

54
Q

what is most likely about color blindness when it comes to deficiencies

A

there are cone cells, nerve cells that see color, missing or not working properly

55
Q

how is the psychological experience of pitch related to sound waves

A

related to the temporal frequency of vibrations of the air hitting the eardrum

56
Q

top-down processing

A

perceiving things based on your prior experiences and knowledge

57
Q

what happens when tiny crystals break loose and bend hair cells in one’s semicircular canals

A

regular short attacks of vertigo

58
Q

visual cortex

A

the primary cortical region of the brain that receives, integrates, and processes visual information relayed from the retinas; It is in the occipital lobe of the primary cerebral cortex

59
Q

habituation

A

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to a stimulus

60
Q

gate-control theory

A

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain

61
Q

supertaster

A

a person whose sense of taste is of far greater intensity than the average person, having an elevated taste response

62
Q

dissociation

A

a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others

63
Q

inattentional blindness

A

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

64
Q

gestalt principles

A

the human brain is wired to see structures, logic, and patterns; figure-ground, similarity, proximity, common region, continuity, closure, focal point

65
Q

gamblers fallacy

A

occurs when an individual erroneously believes that a certain random event is less likely or more likely to happen based on the outcome of a previous event or series of events

66
Q

priming

A

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

67
Q

algorithm

A

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics

68
Q

rehearsal

A

process of repeating, verbalizing, thinking about, or otherwise acting on or transforming information in order to keep that information active in memory

69
Q

procedural memory

A

type of implicit memory (unconscious, long-term memory) which aids the performance of particular types of tasks without conscious awareness of these previous experiences

70
Q

flynn effect

A

a secular increase in population intelligence quotient (IQ) observed throughout the 20th century

71
Q

proactive interference

A

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

72
Q

anterograde amnesia

A

an inability to form new memories

73
Q

reliability

A

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting

74
Q

divergent thinking

A

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

75
Q

recency effect

A

tendency to recall the last items on a list

76
Q

Noam Chomsky

A

developed theory of language in which we develop our ability to speak through biologically set stages; contradicted skinners behavioral theory by saying that children develop grammar issues even though adults do not model that kind of speech

77
Q

be able to explain what a persons percentile rank means

A

indicates how well a student performed in comparison to the students in the specific norm group; is a child has a percentile rank of 16, the fall into the 16th percentile and scored higher than 16% of children the same age who took the same test

psych (5 decks)

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