Psych Test 2 Flashcards
What physical, cognitive, and social changes occur as individuals age?
Physical: Decreased vision, reduced muscle strength, weakened immune system. Cognitive: Some cognitive decline, but wisdom and emotional stability may increase. Social: Often experience greater social stability and a focus on positive memories.
What is attachment in psychology?
Attachment is an emotional bond between a child and caregiver that influences future relationships and social/emotional development.
What are the four attachment styles and their impacts?
Secure, Anxious, Avoidant, and Disorganized. These styles shape relationship patterns throughout life, with secure attachment often leading to healthier relationships.
What is a critical period in development?
A specific timeframe during which exposure to certain experiences is crucial for normal development, such as language learning in early childhood.
How do bottom-up and top-down processing differ?
Bottom-up: Starts with sensory input, building up to perception. Top-down: Perception shaped by prior knowledge and expectations.
What did Bandura’s “Bobo Doll” study demonstrate?
It showed that children imitate aggressive behavior seen in adults, supporting the theory of social/observational learning.
How does classical conditioning work? Give an example.
A neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, triggering a response (e.g., Pavlov’s dogs: bell + food = salivation).
What does developmental psychology study?
It examines physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the lifespan.
Compare cross-sectional and longitudinal research methods.
Cross-sectional: Compares different age groups at one time. Longitudinal: Follows the same group over time.
What’s the difference between explicit and implicit memory?
Explicit: Conscious recall (e.g., facts). Implicit: Unconscious influences on behavior (e.g., skills).
What is extinction in classical conditioning?
The conditioned response fades when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus.
What is a flashbulb memory?
A vivid, detailed memory of a significant event, often long-lasting.
What are the main causes of forgetting?
Causes include encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
How does the frontal lobe develop in adolescence?
It matures into the mid-20s, improving decision-making, impulse control, and social behavior.
What is hypnosis used for in psychology?
A state of focused attention and suggestibility, often applied in therapy for pain control or habit-breaking.
How do individualistic and collectivistic cultures differ?
Individualistic: Values personal goals, independence. Collectivistic: Emphasizes group goals, interdependence.
What methods are used to study infants?
Observational studies, habituation, and measuring gaze/attention to assess cognitive abilities.
Who are key figures in psychology, and what did they contribute?
Freud (psychoanalysis), Skinner (behaviorism), Piaget (cognitive development).
What did the “Little Albert” experiment demonstrate?
It showed classical conditioning of fear in a child by associating a loud noise with a white rat.
How does memory consolidation work?
It stabilizes a memory after initial learning, often during sleep.
How does moral reasoning develop?
Involves learning to distinguish right from wrong, often shaped by cognitive development and social influences.
What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational.
How does operant conditioning work?
Behavior is influenced by consequences, such as rewards (reinforcements) or punishments.
What’s the difference between positive and negative punishment?
Positive: Adds an unpleasant stimulus to reduce behavior. Negative: Removes a pleasant stimulus to reduce behavior.
