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Midterm Vocab Review Flashcards

1
Q

Case study

A

An in depth investigation of an individual subject

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2
Q

Cross sectional study

A

Researchers compare the differences and similarities among people in different age groups at a given time

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3
Q

Halo effect

A

Phenomenon that occurs in self reports when someone’s overall evaluation of a person, object, or institution spills over to influence more specific ratings

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4
Q

Meta-Analysis

A

A research technique that combines the statistical results of many studies of the same question, yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of a variables effects

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5
Q

Reactivity

A

Alteration of a subjects behavior due to the presence of an observer

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6
Q

Control group

A

Subjects in a study who don’t receive the special treatment given to the experimental group

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7
Q

Experiment

A

A research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions

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8
Q

Independent Variable

A

In an experiment, a condition / event that a researcher varies in order to see its impact on another variable

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9
Q

Operational Definitions

A

In empirical research a definition that describes the actions or operations that will be used to measure / control a variable

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10
Q

Sample

A

The collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study

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11
Q

Correlation

A

2 variables are related

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12
Q

Experimenter Bias

A

Phenomenon that occurs when a researchers expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results

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13
Q

Journal

A

A periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in a narrowly defined area of inquiry

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14
Q

Placebo effect

A

Subjects expectations lead them to experience some change even though they didn’t receive treatment

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15
Q

Social Desirability Bias

A

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself when responding to surveys

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16
Q

Correlation Coefficient

A

A numerical index of the degree of relationship between 2 variables

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17
Q

Extraneous variables

A

Any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific experiment

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18
Q

Longitudinal study

A

A group of subjects are observed at intervals over an extended period of time

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19
Q

Random assignment

A

A procedure in which all subjects in a study have an equal chance of being assigned to any group / condition

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20
Q

Theory

A

A system of interrelated ideas that is used to explain a set of observations

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21
Q

Adaptation

A

An inherited characteristic that increases in a population because it helped solve a problem of survival / reproduction during the time it emerged

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22
Q

Corpus Callosum 🧠

A

The major structure that connects the 2 cerebral hemispheres

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23
Q

Fitness

A

The reproductive success of an individual organism relative to the average reproductive success of the population

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24
Q

Lesioning

A

Destroying a piece of the brain

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25
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that transmit information from one neuron to another
26
Afferent Nerve Fivers
Axons that carry information inward to the central nervous system from the periphery of the body
27
Critical period
A limited time span in the development of an organism when it’s optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the organism is especially responsive to certain experiences
28
Forebrain 🧠
The largest and most complicated region of the brain, encompassing a variety of structures, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, and cerebrum
29
Limbic System 🧠
A loosely connected network of structures roughly located along the border between the cerebral cortex and deeper subcortical areas
30
Pituitary gland 🧠
The master gland of the endocrine system. It releases a great variety of hormones that can put through the body, stimulating actions in the other endocrine glands
31
Cerebral cortex 🧠
The convoluted outer layer of the cerebrum
32
Efferent nerve fibers 🧠
Axons that carry information outward from the central nervous system to the periphery of the body
33
Hormones
The chemical substances released by the endocrine glands
34
Neurons 🧠
Individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information
35
Reuptake
A process in which neurotransmitters are sponged up from the synaptic cleft by the pre synaptic membrane
36
Epigenetics
The study of heritable changes in gene expression that don’t involve modifications to the DNA sequence
37
Hypothalamus 🧠
A structure found near the base of the forebrain that’s involved in the regulation of basic biological needs
38
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons
39
Synapses 🧠
A junction where information is transmitted from one neuron to the next
40
Olfactory system 🧠
The primary structures and processes involved in an organisms detection of and responses to odorants (SMELL)
41
Sensation
The stimulation of sense organs
42
Auditory localization
The ability to identify the position of sound sources based on acoustic information
43
Cones 🧠
Type of photoreceptor cell in the retina. Color vision and fine details. Concentrated in the center of the retina (macula)
44
Lens 🧠
The transparent elastic structure behind the iris which light is focused on to the retina of the eye
45
Perceptual set
Predisposition to perceive things in a certain way
46
Sensory adaptation
A reduction in sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure to it
47
Bottom-up processing
An explanation for perceptions that start with an incoming stimulus and working upwards until a representation of the object is formed in the mind
48
Cornea 🧠
The transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and the pupils and allows light to enter the inside
49
Light
The natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible
50
Pupil 🧠
The round opening in the center of the iris
51
Visual agnosia
A condition in which a person can see but can’t recognize/ interpret visual information due to a disorder in the pariental lobes
52
Cochlea 🧠
The bony fluid-filled part of the inner ear that’s concerned with hearing
53
Feature Detectors 🧠
Individual neurons - groups of neurons in the brain which code for perceptually significant stimuli
54
Light adaptation
The process by which the eye adjusts to conditions of high illumination
55
Retinal Disparity
The slight difference between the right and left retinal image
56
Ventral stream 🧠
A pathway that carries visual information from the primary visual cortex to the temporal lobe
57
Dorsal stream 🧠
A pathway that carries visual information from the primary visual cortex to the parietal lobe
58
Avoidance learning
Learning that has occurred when an organism engages in a response that prevents aversive stimulation from occurring
59
Extinction
The gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response tendency
60
Learning
A relatively durable change in behavior or knowledge that’s due to experience
61
Preparedness
Species specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways and not others
62
Schedule of Reinforcement
A specific pattern of presentations of reinforcers over time
63
Variable ratio schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed
64
Classical conditioning
A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus
65
Fixed interval schedule
A reinforcement schedule in which the reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval has elapsed
66
Negative reinforcement
The strengthening of a response because it’s followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus
67
Primary reinforcers
Events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
68
Shaping
The reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired responses
69
Conditioned responses
A learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning
70
Intermittent reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule in which a designated response is reinforced only some of the time
71
Observational learning
A type of learning that occurs when an organism’s responding is influenced by the observation of others
72
Reinforcement
An event following a response that strengthens the tendency to make that response
73
Stimulus discrimination
The phenomenon that occurs when and organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus doesn’t respond in the same way to stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus
74
Evaluative conditioning
Changes in the liking of a stimulus that results from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli
75
Operant conditioning
A form of learning In which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences
76
Renewal effect
The phenomenon that occurs of a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was originally acquired, the extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the original environment
77
Unconditioned response
An unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning
78
Encoding
Forming a memory code
79
Language acquisition device
According to Chomsky an innate mechanism or process that facilities the learning of language
80
Misinformation effect
Phenomenon that occurs when participants recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading post-event information
81
Schema
An organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object / sequence of events
82
Short-term memory
a limited capacity memory store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to 20 seconds
83
Conceptual Hierarchy
A multi level classification system based on common properties among items
84
Flashbulb memories
Usually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous events
85
Parallel Processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
86
Semantic memory system
General knowledge that’s not tied to the time when the information was learned
87
Cognition
The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge
88
Functional fixedness
The tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use
89
Long-term memory
An unlimited capacity store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time
90
Semantic network
Concepts joined together by links that show how the concepts are related
91
Conjunction fallacy
An error that occurs when people estimate that the odds of 2 uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either events happening alone
92
Heuristics
A strategy guiding principle or rule of thumb used in solving problems or making decisions
93
Method of Loci
Mnemonic device that involves taking an imagined walk along a familiar path where images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations
94
Retrograde amnesia
Loss of memories for events that occurred prior to a head injury
95
Sensory memory
The preservation of information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second

Psych (4 decks)

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