Psych Flashcards
What are the nervous system breakdowns?
Central-> brain and SC
Peripheral -> autonomic ; somatic
Autonomic -> sympathetic ; parasympathetic
Cerebral cortex
Conscious mind, 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
Cocktail party effect
Phenomenon of info of personal importance from previously unattended channels “catching” ones attention
Conflict theory
Society is in competition for limited resources
Conversion disorder
Psych disorder characterized by change in sensory or motor function that has no physical cause
Define: absolute threshold
Minimum intensity of a stimulus needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
Corpus collision
Largest bundle of white matter (axons) connecting the two cerebral hemispheres
Crude birth rate
Annual number of live births per thousand people
Cyclothymic disorder
Similar to bipolar but moods are less extreme
Define: absolute poverty
Inability to meet bare minimum of basic needs
Death instinct
Psychoanalytic theory, drives aggressive behavior fueled by unconscious wish to die or hurt oneself or others
Define: accommodation
Adjusting schemas to better accommodate new info (or creating new schemas)
(aCCommodation = Creating Change)
Define: acquisition
In classical conditioning, the process of learning the association between conditioned stimulus and response
Define: activation synthesis theory
Dreams are simply byproducts or brain activation during REM sleep
Define: affect
A persons visible emotion in the moment
Define: aggregate
People exist in the same space but do not share anything or interact
Define: amalgamation
When majority and minority groups combine to form new group
Define: attitude
Learned tendency to evaluate things a certain way
Define: availability heuristic
Using examples that readily come to mind or are in recent memory to come to a conclusion
Define: behavioral therapy
Use of conditioning to shape clients behaviors in the desired direction
Define: belief bias
Tendency to draw conclusions based on what one already believes rather than sound logic
Define: belief perseverance
People have a tendency or unwillingness to admit that their foundational premises are incorrect even when shown convincing evidence to the contrary. Belief perseverance is this tendency to reject convincing proof and become even more tenaciously held when the belief has been publicly announced to others.
Define: somatosensation amplification
Increases regulation of receptors, allowing increased noticing
Define: bipolar neuron
A neuron with a single axon and single dendrite
Define: Bottom-up Processing
We attend to or perceive elements by starting with the smaller, more fine details of that element and then building upward until we have a solid representation of it in our minds
Define: bureaucracy
Structure/groups that govern organizations
Define: caste system
Closed social stratification where people can do nothing to change the category they are born into
Define: category
People who share similar characteristics but are not otherwise tied together as a group
Define: change blindness
Fail to notice changes in the environment
Define: coercive organization
No choice for membership (ie prison)
Define: cognitive dissonance
People often have two conflicting or inconsistent cognitions which produce a state of tension or discomfort (also known as “dissonance”). People are then motivated to reduce the dissonance, often in the easiest manner possible.
Define: confederate
Person working with experimenter and posing as part of the experiment
Define: assimilation
Understanding something in terms of current schemas
aSSimilation = Same Schema
Define: confirmation bias
Seeking out only confirming facts
Define: conjunction fallacy
Thinking that co-occurrence of 2 instances is more likely than a single one
Define: crystallized intelligence
Accumulated knowledge (increases or stays same into adulthood)
Define: encoding
Act of moving from working to long term memory
Define: explicit memory
Long term memory, involves facts/events and can clearly describe details
- semantic (facts)
- episodic (memories)
Define: fixation
Getting stuck on the wrong approach to solving a problem
Define: fixed interval
Reinforcement occurs after a set amount of time
Define: fixed ratio
Reinforcement only occurs after a fixed # of responses
Define: fluid intelligence
Ability to reason quickly and abstractly (decreases in older adulthood)
Define: folkways
Common rules or manners and traditions with minimal consequences
Define: generalization
More similar stimuli can illicit same conditioned response
Define: Gestalt principle of closure
Objects groups together are seen as a whole
Define: Gestalt principle of continuity
Lines are seen as following the smoothest path
Define: Gestalt principle of pragnanz
Reality is reduced to simplest form
Define: Gestalt principle of similarity
Items that are similar are grouped together
Define: Gestalt principle of proximity
Objects close together are grouped together
Define: groupthink
Maintaining harmony of the group becomes more important than issues. Members censor their opinions to match group opinion
Define: habituation
Decreased response with stimulus
Define: heuristic
Mental shortcut allowing solution to be found more quickly
Define: ill-defined problem
Ambiguous ¬ completely understood end point
Define: implicit memory
Long term memory, can’t articulate, but can do task
- procedural (bike riding)
- priming
Define: inattentional blindness
Not consciously aware of things that happen in our visual field when our attention is directed elsewhere within that field
Define: information processing model
Brain receives input, analyzes, creates output
Define: intelligence
Mental quality allowing one to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations
Define: kinesthetics
Kinesthetics is the study of body motion and how it relates to both the conscious and unconscious perception of those body movements
Define: laws
Based on moral values but are formal written outline of right and wrong, with formal and consistent consequences
Define: learned helplessness
When an organism (person, animal, etc.) is prevented from avoiding some aversive stimulus repeatedly (e.g., continuous electric shocks) the organism will reach a state in which it becomes passive and depressed because he believes that there are no actions it can take to avoid the aversive stimulus. Esssentially, the organism just gives up trying to avoid it and just takes the aversive stimulus. Thus, the organism learns that it is helpless against the aversive stimulus.
Define: looking glass self
States that the person’s “self” grows out of their own social interactions and from the perceptions of others, or that a person’s self-concepts are based on the beliefs and feelings about how others feel about them. This concept is based on the belief that human actions and interactions are based on conformity to other people’s beliefs and perceptions.
Define: magno pathway
High temporal resolution, allows eyes to see motion
*low spatial resolution/less details and no color
Define: means to an end analysis
Breaking a problem down into smaller sub-problems & attacking biggest sub-problem in order to reduce most difference between current and goal state
Define: memory reconstruction
Changing certain memories due to environment, mood, gaps, etc.
Define: mores
Based on moral values and strong opinions, sometimes have consequences
Define: non-associative learning
No reinforcement/punishment
Define: normative organization
Working together through shared goals
Define: norms
Unwritten rules that dictate behavior, defined by a group of people (include folkways, mores, laws, and taboos)
Define: parallel processing
Ability to see all things at the same time (motion and color/details)
Define: parvo pathway
Allows special resolution, can see fine details and color
*can’t have object moving due to low temporal resolution
Define: proactive interference
Something learned in past prevents learning/remembering something in present
What is the Brocca’s area known to do, and what are symptoms of its damage?
Speech
damaged: words become slurred, can’t produce speech (Brocca’s aphasia)
Define: proprioception
Proprioception refers to the body’s kinesthetic sense, or sense of locomotion (movement). This sense is derived from the action of the skeletal muscles and the”propriceptors” (movement sensors) that send sensations of movement to the brain. It is responsible for keeping track of the relative position of neighboring parts of the body, as well as measuring the amount of strength needed/being used to engage in physical tasks.
What is it called when both Wernicke’s and Brocca’s areas are damaged?
Global aphasia
Define: representativeness heuristic
Judge probability of an event based on existing prototype or general concept of what is typical (leads to conjunction fallacy)
Define: retroactive interference
New piece of learning prevents retrieval of old learning
Define: schema
Mental model that allows framework to organize & interpret new info
Define: selective attention
Switching between tasks or choosing to focus on one thing at a time
Define: self concept
How someone perceives/evaluated themselves
Define: self-serving bias
People’s tendency to attribute positive outcomes to personal factors, but attribute negative outcomes to external factors. In other words, “If it’s a success, it’s because of me. If it’s a failure, it’s because of someone or something else.”
Define: sensory adaptation
Change in sensitivity of perception of sensation
Define: sensory memory
Temporary registration of all inputs
Define: shaping
Learning through practice by gradually increasing reinforcement of smaller behaviors leading up to a target behavior
Define: signal detection theory
Signal Detection Theory holds that the detection of a stimulus depends on both the intensity of the stimulus and the physical and psychological state of the individual
Define: social facilitation
Presence of others increases arousal which increases performance of simple/practiced tasks, but hinders performance of unpracticed tasks
Define: social loafing
Tendency to put in less effort in a group if not being evaluated individually
Define: somatosensation adaptation
Decreased regulation of receptors (change in stimulus is no longer changing, no longer noticed)
Define: source monitoring
Difficulty separating memories from different sources
Define: taboo
Behaviors completely forbidden under any circumstance, based on deep understanding of morals, with extreme consequences
Define: Top-Down Processing
Background knowledge or expectations influence perception. We form perceptions (or focus our attention) by starting with the larger concept or idea and then working our way down to the finer details of that concept or idea
Define: utilitarian organization
Members are paid/rewarded for efforts
Define: variable interval
Reinforcement occurs after a variable amount of time has passed
Define: variable ratio
Reinforcement occurs after an average # of responses has occurred
What is the function of the thalamus?
Part of the limbic system, responsible for sensory relay, directing senses to the cortex for emotion processing (excluding smell). Relay station and major integrating area for sensory impulses
Define: vestibular system
Balance and spatial perception-mostly from the inner ear
What is the function of the hippocampus?
Part of the limbic system, responsible for converting short-term memories to long-term (can be associated with emotions). Memory formation
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
Part of the limbic system, responsible for regulating autonomic nervous system (via endocrine system). Autonomic processes including body temp, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep
Emotion
What is the function of the prefrontal cortex?
High order functions, problem solving, decision-making, behavior. Frontal lobes, planning, sequencing, decision making
Define: well-defined problem
Clear start and end point
Define: working backwards for problem solving
Starting with goal state and use it to suggest connections back to current state
Define: working memory
Things stored in short-term memory (7 +/- 2 pieces of info at a time)
Dependent personality disorder
Need to be taken care of by others and unrealistic fear of being unable to take care of oneself
Depersonalization disorder
Recurring feeling of being cut off or detached from ones body or mental processes
Depth of processing
Info that is thought about at a deeper level is better understood
Describe Carl Rogers and the Humanistic approach to Self
3 components:
- Self image, view we have of ourselves
- Self esteem, how much we value ourselves
- Ideal self, who we wish to be
Describe the anal stage
1-3 years
The main focus is on eliminating or retaining feces.
Describe the genital stage
12+ years
Sexual desires reawaken and are directed towards peers of the opposite sex
Describe the latent stage
6-12 years
Sexual urges lie dormant until the next stage.
Describe the oral stage
0-1 years
Characterized by a preoccupation with oral pleasures such as nursing and sucking.
Describe the phallic stage
3-6 years
Children derive pleasure from the genitals, and develop a desire for the opposite sex parent. (Oedipus/Electra complex). Society dictates that these inappropriate feelings be repressed, and when done successfully, is followed by the Latency Stage where sexual urges lie dormant until the next stage.
Diencephalon
Portion of brain that includes thalamus and hypothalamus
Dishabituatiom
Restoration of full response to conditioned stimulus
Dissociative disorder
Thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memories, behaviors being separated from conscious awareness or control
Dissociative fugue
Someone suddenly goes on a journey, during which he cannot recall personal history prior to journey
Dual coding hypothesis
It is easier to remember words with associated images than either words or images alone
Dysthmic disorder
Less intense, chronic form of depression
Ecclesiastes
Dominant religious organization that includes most members of society, recognized as national religion and tolerates no other religions
Echoic memory
Sound, lasts 3-4 seconds
EEG vs EMG vs EOG
EEG = electrical impulses in brain EMG = skeletal muscle movements EOG = eye movements
Efferent neurons
Info away from CNS, motor
Endogamy
Marrying within a particular group
Exocrine gland
Gland that secretes it’s product into a duct which ultimately carries the products to the surface of body or body cavity
Exogamy
Requirement to marry outside a group
False consensus
When we assume that everyone else agrees with what we do, even if they do not
Fecundity
Potential reproductive capacity of female
Frustration-aggression principle
When someone is blocked from achieving a goal, this frustration can trigger anger, which can lead to aggression
Functional fixedness
Tendency to perceive the function of objects as fixed and unchanging
Functionalism
Society as a living organism with many different parts and organs, each with a distinct purpose
Fundamentalists
People who adhere to religious beliefs strictly
General fertility rate
Annual number of live births per 1000 women
Generalized other
When a person tries to imagine what is expected of them for society, they are taking on the perspective of the generalized other
Gestalt psychology
The brain processes info in a holistic manner
Glucagon
Produced and secreted by α cells of pancreas, targets the liver, stimulating breakdown of glycogen to increase glucose
Gonadotropins
Anterior pituitary tropic hormones (FSH, LH), stimulate the gonads to produce gametes and secrete sex steroids
Gray matter
Unmyelinated neuron cell bodies and short unmyelinated axons
Histrionic personality disorder
Desire to be center of attention
How are dopamine and serotonin related with regards to drug addiction?
Increased release of dopamine decreases serotonin levels, which decrease feelings satiation. This requires body to need more drugs to feel same affects
How does amount of neurons used affect sensory thresholds?
Use of more neurons requires a larger difference in sensation to be noticeable