Psych Soc priority terms Flashcards
What is the absolute threshold?
The minimum stimulus energy required to activate a sensory system; the lowest level to reliably detect a stimulus 50% of the time.
What is accommodation in psychology?
The process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass new information.
What is acetylcholine?
A neurotransmitter involved in voluntary muscle control and the parasympathetic nervous system.
What is actor-observer bias?
The tendency to make situational attributions about oneself but dispositional attributions about others regarding similar behaviors.
What is acquisition in classical conditioning?
The process of taking advantage of reflexive responses to turn a neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus.
What is adaptive value?
The extent to which a trait benefits a species by influencing its evolutionary fitness.
What is affect?
Emotion, which can be positive or negative on a scale.
What is an afferent neuron?
A neuron that carries information from sensory receptors to the central nervous system.
What is agnosia?
The loss of the ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds, typically affecting just one of the three.
What is alcohol myopia?
The inability to think about consequences and possible outcomes of one’s actions due to alcohol intoxication.
What is impression management?
The process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them.
What is aligning actions?
An impression management strategy that makes questionable behavior acceptable through excuses.
What is alter-casting?
An impression management strategy in which one imposes an identity onto another person.
What is amphetamine?
A central nervous system stimulant that increases the activity of both dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.
What is anomie?
A state of normlessness that erodes social solidarity through excessive individualism, social inequality, and isolation.
What is anterograde amnesia?
A form of memory loss in which new long-term memories cannot be established.
What is the appraisal model?
A theory that accepts biologically predetermined expressions once an emotion is experienced, with a cognitive antecedent to emotional expression.
What is an archetype in Jungian psychoanalysis?
A thought or image that has an emotional element and is part of the collective unconscious.
What is the arcuate fasciculus?
A bundle of axons that connects Wernicke’s area (language comprehension) with Broca’s area (motor function of speech).
What is arousal theory?
A theory of motivation stating that a particular level of arousal is required to perform actions optimally.
What is ascribed status?
A status given at birth, such as race, ethnicity, or sex.
What is assimilation in psychology?
The process by which new information is interpreted in terms of existing schemata.
What is associative learning?
The process of making a connection between two stimuli or a stimulus and a response.
What is attachment?
An emotional bond to another person, particularly a parent or caregiver; includes secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized styles.