Midterm Review

Question 1

Natural observation

Answer 1

A descriptive research technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation/environment. Phones and technology have turned this into a bigger sceince because online searching lets us see how people act/interact without interfering. Ex. observing who follows COVID protocol and how they do so.

Question 2

Case study

Answer 2

A descriptive research technique where one individual or a small group is studied in depth to reveal universal principles that could apply to a larger group. This could include brain damage, children’s minds, etc.. They can be very revealing because it works with small numbers in detail, They suggest ideas, but we need to dig even deeper for the truth. Often, people use personal anecdotes to contradict case study results, but the plural of anecdote is not evidence, so these stories cannot be relied upon.

Question 3

Survey

Answer 3

A descriptive research technique for obtaining self-reported attitudes and behaviors of a specific group. This is done by questioning a representative rando, sample of the group (everyone has an equal chance of being chosen). The downside is that people may lie about their answer to feel better about themselves and be more socially acceptable. The answers depend on the wording of the questions. In a survey, a question is asked, and the person may answer however they choose.

Question 4

Hypothesis

Answer 4

What the researcher believes the experiment will show. Always phrase a hypothesis as an “if…then…” statement. Doing it this way helps identify the key parts of the experiment (the different variables). Ex. if you drink a sugary soda, then you will have a temporary sugar.

Question 5

Independent variable

Answer 5

This is the “cause” of the experiment and what the researcher actually manipulates. When the researcher introduces the independent variable to the study, they are changing the condition of the people being experimented on because they are trying to see if the independent variable has an effect. Ex. the type of soda given to the groups.

Question 6

Dependent variable

Answer 6

The effect of the independent variable. The outcomes or effect is dependent on what the researcher is manipulating. Ex. whether or not people get a sugar high.

Question 7

Experimental group

Answer 7

The people being subject to the manipulative conditions that the researcher is controlling. They are subject to the independent variable/the cause of the experiment.

Question 8

Control group

Answer 8

The other half of the people who are a part of the study but aren’t subject to the independent variable. These people think they’re being manipulated when they are actually just the baseline against what the experimental group is being measured. They are given a placebo of the independent variable to make them think they are in the experimental group.

Question 9

Placebo

Answer 9

A fake of the independent variable given to the control group. Ex. sugar-free Dr. Pepper.

Question 10

Double-blind procedure

Answer 10

When neither group (experimental and control) knows which group they are in. The only people who know are the experimenters.

Question 11

Correlation

Answer 11

NOT causation. Variable A and B happen at the same time, but it has not been proven that one causes the other to happen. Ex. more ice cream, more shark attacks (positively correlated) Ex. more hours studying, less time spent watching TV (negatively correlated).

Question 12

Causation

Answer 12

When Variable A causes variable B or vise versa. This is an average because variable A will not cause variable B (or vise versa) every time. Ex. doing ab exercises gives you abs.

Question 13

Fundamental attirubtion error

Answer 13

The tendency for observers to underestimate the situation’s impact, and instead, overestimate the impact of personal traits. Ex. someone is late to work because of the traffic, but the boss attributes their lateness to the fact that they are sometimes lazy.

Question 14

Self-serving bias

Answer 14

the tendency for us to attribute our personal successes to internal personal factors and our failures to external situational factors. Ex. we did well on a test because we studied hard and are a good student. Ex. we did bad on a test because the teacher made the test too hard, so it is not our fault.

Question 15

Social influence

Answer 15

The process of inducing change in people

Question 16

Social facilitation

Answer 16

In the presence of others, we perform better on simple well-learned tasks and worse on more difficult unlearned tasks. Ex. I will hit my spot for my changeup more, but I will not be able to kick a soccer ball well.

Question 17

Social loafing

Answer 17

The tendency for people to exert less effort when they are working in a group to achieve a common goal than they would when they are individually accountable. Ex. someone will participate less when working on a group poster, but they will contribute a lot more when they work on the poster by themselves.

Question 18

Deinduviduation

Answer 18

The loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations where people are able to feel anonymous. This will lead to individuals trolling others and getting aroused by it, causing the intensity to increase. When we shed self-awareness, we become more responsive and active in a group setting, usually exemplifying bad behavior because we feel we can simply get away from it.

Question 19

Altruistic behavior

Answer 19

Unselfish regard for the welfare of others. Altruistic behavior puts the thoughts, feelings, and well-being of someone else completely above yourself. You are acting that way because it is in the best interest of the other person, not necessarily you as well.

Question 20

Bystander effect

Answer 20

In a group of people, you are more likely to do or not do something. For example, if you are in an elevator with a bunch of people and someone drops a penny, you might not pick it up for them. On the other hand, if you see someone commit a random act of kindness around other people, you are more likely to do the same.

Question 21

Conformity

Answer 21

A change in a person’ behavior or opinions because of a real or imagined pressure they feel from a person or group of people. You change the way you think, or you can also go along with something knowing that it is wrong.

Question 22

Asch Line Experiment

Answer 22

A group of people were brought into a room (1 was the test subject and the rest were actors). They were shown a series of lines next to each other and were asked to state which was the shortest/tallest of all of them. At first, the actors and test subject all gave the correct answer. Then, after a bit, the actors started giving the obvious wrong answer. As a result, the test subject also gave the wrong answer because he felt an imagined pressure to conform to the people around him.

Question 23

Normative social influence

Answer 23

A reason for conforming where a person observes what the people around them are doing, and they change their behavior to do the same thing because of the imagined pressure to do so (even if they do not want to). Ex. waiting in the halls before class to start because everyone else is.

Question 24

Informational social influence

Answer 24

A reason for conforming where a person changes their behavior/thinking because of information/pressure from the group to do so. Ex. someone saw Ms. Murphy crying in her classroom, so people decided to stay in the halls based on learning this information, so you do the same.

Question 25

Obedience

Answer 25

A change in a person's behavior in response to a command from another person.

Question 26

Milgram Obedience Experiment

Answer 26

40 participants of all backgrounds were told to question a person sitting in an electric chair and shock them if they got the question wrong, upping the voltage each time they were shocked. 26/40 people made it to the max level of shock even with the person screaming and begging for them to stop. They did so because they were told to do so. The rest of the people stopped because they couldn't bear to hear the person screaming in pain anymore.

Question 27

Compliance

Answer 27

Changing behavior in response to a direct request (not an order). The person can be asked to change or not without a consequence.

Question 28

Foot-in-the-door

Answer 28

Asking for a smaller request and upping the request each time until you get to the big request that you wanted from the start. Ex. you ask someone to put a sign in their yard, then you ask them to donate $5, then $50, then you ask them to run a fundraiser. They are more likely to say yes after doing the previous things.

Question 29

Door-in-the-face

Answer 29

Making a big request and then making the requests that follow smaller each time until you get to the real thing that you want. Ex. if you want a gerbil, first ask for a horse, then a dog, then a cat, then a gerbil. Your parents will be more likely to say yes.

Question 30

Prejudice

Answer 30

An unjustifiable negative attitude toward a group of people and its members. Prejudice generally involves negative emotions, stereotypes beliefs, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. Ex. disliking obese people because they are obese and gluttonous.

Question 31

Discrimination

Answer 31

Unjustifiable negative behavior towards a group or its members. Ex. not hiring someone because they are obese.

Question 32

Institutional discirmination

Answer 32

Discrimination reflected in the practices and policies of organizations that impose negative conditions on a specific identifiable group of people or its members. Ex. doctors are more likely to give more attentive care to white people than people of color.

Question 33

Neuron

Answer 33

A nerve cell; the building block of the nervous system.

Question 34

Dendrite

Answer 34

A neuron's branching extensions that receive and integrate messages (neurotransmitters), conducting impulses toward the cell body. They pick up incoming neurotransmitters from the terminal buttons. They have a receptor that only fits certain neurotransmitters.

Question 35

Axon

Answer 35

The segmented neuron extensions that passes messages though its branches to other neutrons or muscle glands. It is encased in myelin sheath sometimes to seed up the process of which neurotransmitters travel down the axon. It sends messages from the dendrites to the terminal buttons of a neuron.

Question 36

Cell body

Answer 36

The part of the neuron that constraints the nucleus. Near where chemical signals are converted to electrical ones.

Question 37

Myelin sheath

Answer 37

A fatty tissue layer that encases the axon of some neurons into segmented-like sausages. It enable greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node of the axon to the next, eventually making their way to the terminal buttons.

Question 38

Terminal buttons

Answer 38

The final place a neurotransmitter travels in the neuron before it is passed through the synaptic space to another neuron. This is where the message is released to go to another neuron.

Question 39

Synaptic space

Answer 39

Neurons do not touch, so this is the space between the neurons where neurotransmitters move from one neuron's terminal buttons to another's dendrites.

Question 40

Polarized/resting state

Answer 40

When the inside and outside of the neuron's axon have charged ions. When the charges are imbalanced, they are polarized.

Question 41

Depolarizing/firing

Answer 41

When the dendrites pick up a strong enough message/neurotransmitter, the neuron becomes depolarized. The ions switch from - to + like a zipper down the axon.

Question 42

Threshold of excitation

Answer 42

The neuron must pick up enough neurotransmitter in order to fire.

Question 43

All-or-none law

Answer 43

The neuron will either fire, or it will not. This is similar to a sneeze. You either got enough dust in your nose to cause you to sneeze, or not enough dust, so you do not sneeze.

Question 44

Neurotransmitters

Answer 44

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gap and bind to receptors in the dendrites of another neuron. If there are enough of the neurotransmitter picked up by the neuron, a neural impulse will be generated, and the neuron will fire. The neurotransmitters will travel to the terminal buttons of the neuron before they go in the synaptic gap.

Question 45

Medulla

Answer 45

The base of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.

Question 46

Cerebellum

Answer 46

Located at the rear of the brain, it coordinates movement, balance, and procedural memory (ex. how to tie your shoe).

Question 47

Thalamus

Answer 47

The sensory control center of the brain that directs messages to the sensory receiving areas.

Question 48

Hypothalamus

Answer 48

Directs eating, drinking, and body temperature. It also governs the endocrine system and is linked to emotion and reward.

Question 49

Hippocampus

Answer 49

Processes memories of facts and events for storage (ex. USA was founded in 1776)

Question 50

Amygdala

Answer 50

Controls aggression and fear, all linked to emotion and our fight or flight response.

Question 51

Occipital lobe

Answer 51

The lobe at the back of the head that receives visual input.

Question 52

Temporal lobe

Answer 52

The lobe above the ears that recieves auditory input.

Question 53

Parietal lobe

Answer 53

The lobe in the middle of the occipital lobe and frontal lobes that recieves input for touch and where you are in physical space.

Question 54

Frontal lobe

Answer 54

The lobe at the front of the head that is involved in speaking and muscle movements, along with making plans and judgements.

Question 55

Motor cortex

Answer 55

Controls voluntary movements at the rear of the frontal lobe.

Question 56

Sensory cortex

Answer 56

Registers body touch and movement at the front of the parietal lobe.

Question 57

Somatic nervous sytem

Answer 57

Controls skeletal muscles and "voluntary" movements

Question 58

Autonomic nervous sytem

Answer 58

Controls internal muscles and glands' involuntary actions

Question 59

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 59

Controls our stress response. This may be manifested in the pupils dilating, blood moving to the center of the body, stomach feeling weird, releasing bowels, heart rate increasing, etc.

Question 60

Fight or flight

Answer 60

When faces with a stressful or scary situation, your body will either fight the threat or run away from it. This is controlled in the sympathetic nervous system.

Question 61

Parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 61

This is responsible for turning the stress response/sympathetic nervous system off.

Question 62

Endocrine system

Answer 62

A system of long-term communication that utilizes hormones to send messages. A hormone is a chemical messeneger.

Question 63

Pancreas

Answer 63

Located near the stomach, the pancreas produced insulin and glucagon to regulate blood sugar. You will feel more energized if you have high blood sugar, and you will feel tired and hungry if you have low blood sugar.

Question 64

Gonads

Answer 64

Located in the testes or ovaries, the gonads produce testosterone and estrogen which both play a role in human development. Aggression is caused by high levels of testosterone.

Question 65

Adrenal glands

Answer 65

Located on top of the kidneys, the adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol makes you feel stressed, and adrenaline gives you a boost of energy in a stressful or exciting situation.

Question 66

Pituitary gland

Answer 66

Located at the bottom of the brain, it works with the hypothalamus to tell the other glands what to do and when.

Question 67

Pineal gland

Answer 67

Located in the brain, the pineal gland produces melatonin to help control sleep patterns using light.

Question 68

Thyroid gland

Answer 68

Located in the neck, the thyroid gland works to convert food into energy. If the thyroid gland slowly turns food into energy, you will feel tired. If food is turned into energy too fast, you will feel anxious.

Question 69

Classical conditioning

Answer 69

The experience that causes a relatively permanent change in behavior where two previously unrelated things are associated with each other when they occur in the same environment at the same time. We learnt to associate two stimulus and thus anticipate events. As a result, the first stimulus evokes a behavior in anticipation of the second stimulus.

Question 70

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Answer 70

A stimulus that naturally triggers an unconditioned response. Ex. food makes dogs salivate.

Question 71

Unconditioned response (UCR)

Answer 71

An unlearned, naturally occurring response that occurs in response to an unconditioned stimulus. Ex. when food is presented, dogs salivate.

Question 72

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer 72

An originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. Ex. the ringing of the bell when food is presented makes the dog drool.

Question 73

Conditioned response (CR)

Answer 73

A learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus. Ex. the ringing of a bell while food is presented triggers salivation in dogs.

Question 74

Pavlov's experiment

Answer 74

Pavlov noticed that his dogs salivated (UCR) whenever food (UCS) was presented, so he started ringing a bell (CS) every time he fed the dogs, and the dogs would salivate. Then, even when he did not present food after ringing the bell, the dogs still salivated at the sound of the bell (CR). The experiment showed how well classical conditioning worked.

Question 75

Baby Albert experiment

Answer 75

Baby Albert was shown a series of animals and he liked them and then when he was shown the white rat, a loud noise was made which scared Baby Albert. After that, anything that resembled the white rat would make Albert cry, even though it originally didn't. During acquisition, the scary sound and the white rat were linked, leaving Baby Albert scared of it.

Question 76

Acquisition

Answer 76

The initial stage of classical conditioning when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response.

Question 77

Operant conditoning

Answer 77

The experience that causes a relatively permanent change in behavior is being subjected to "rewards or punishments"

Question 78

BF Skinner

Answer 78

The father of operant conditioning who said that if you want to make a person do something, it must be through operant conditioning (rewards and punishments).

Question 79

Positive reinforcer

Answer 79

Something wanted is received for doing the desired behavior.

Question 80

Negative reinforcer

Answer 80

Something unwanted is removed for doing the desired behavior.

Question 81

Punishment

Answer 81

Anything in the environment that makes the desired behavior less likely to reoccur.

Question 82

Primary reinforcer

Answer 82

Something that is naturally reinforcing. Ex. eating, drinking, etc.

Question 83

Secondary reinforcer

Answer 83

Something that we have learned to find reinforcing (usually through classical conditioning). Ex. getting good grades, getting paid, etc.

Question 84

Fixed-ratio

Answer 84

Reinforcement comes after a set number of behavior repetitions. ex. punch card for rewards at chipotle.

Question 85

Variable-ratio

Answer 85

Reinforcement comes after an unknown number of repetitions. Every time you repeat the behavior, there is a possibility of reward. Ex. the lottery.

Question 86

Fixed-interval

Answer 86

Reinforcement comes after a set period of time. Ex. paycheck every two weeks.

Question 87

Variable-interval

Answer 87

Reinforcement comes after an unknown period of time. Ex. texting a crush.

Question 88

Observational learning/modeling

Answer 88

Also called social learning, this is learning by observing others.

Question 89

Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll experiment

Answer 89

There was an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group of kids watched adults go into a play room and punch and yell at a Bobo Doll. When those kids went into the playroom, they yelled at and hit the Bobo doll the way the adults did. However, the control group did not watch the adults, so they played like normal children in the play room. Showed that observational learning plays a big role in development.

Question 90

Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 90

The learner observes someone's behavior be reinforced, making them more likely to copy the behavior in the future. When someone observes powerful, successful, or similar people to us succeed, or they have their behavior reinforced, it makes us feel good, so we want to copy them. We are living vicariously through them.

Question 91

Vicarious punishment

Answer 91

We learn to anticipate consequences in situations that we observe. When we observe someone get punished for their behavior, we are less likely to do that behavior. When we observe someone we look up to get punished, it makes us feel bad too. We are living vicariously through them.