Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Definition of Psychology

A

The scientific study of behaviour and mental process and the factors that influence these processes (what motivates an individual to act a certain way)

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2
Q

What is perception

A

Our brain selects, organizes and interprets the information provided by your senses

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3
Q

What affects perception

A

The object itself - movement size
Background/surroundings
the Perceiver

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4
Q

What affects Perceiver

A
Previous experience 
Personal feelings 
Angle, distance from the object 
Familiarity with the sensation 
Therefore: everybody has their own point of view or bias
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5
Q

Classical conditioning

A

Where you learn to transfer a natural response from one stimulus to another

Before conditioning: Unconditioned stimulus ( US) -> unconditioned response (UR)

=US(food) -> UR (salivation)
The bell was the conditioned stimulus (CS )

= Us (food) + CS (bell) -> Ur (salivation)

The bell became the conditioned response (CR)
CS(bell) -> Cr ( salivation)

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6
Q

Operant conditioning

A

Using positive or negative stimuli to change behaviour
made by B.F Skinner
Put rats in cages rigged with a bar
When the rat pushed the bar, it got a food pellet
At first, the rat hit the bar accidentally and got food
The rat was pushing the bar constantly

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7
Q

Positive Reinforcement

A

Adding a stimulus to increases behaviour

Ex: the child gets dessert for eating all veggies, the child eats all veggies more often

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8
Q

Negative Reinforcement

A

Taking away a stimulus to increase behaviour

Ex: owner holds the dog’s mouth when the dog is quiet owner lets go, the dog is quiet more often

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9
Q

Positive punishment

A

Add a stimulus to decrease undesired behaviour

Ex: An employee gets yelled at for taking a long lunch, the employee takes long lunch less often

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10
Q

Negative punishment

A

Remove a stimulus to decrease undesired behaviour

Ex: The owner doesn’t pay attention to the barking dog at the table, dog barks less often

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11
Q

Definition of Learning

A

A change in knowledge or behaviour as a result of experience

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12
Q

4 steps of Observational learning

A
  1. Paying attention to what others do and how they do it
  2. Retention; storing a mental image and remembering what you observed
  3. Reproduction: converting memory into action; returning to attention/retention stages until you get it right
  4. Motivation; believing that the skill you have observed and remembered is important enough to reproduce and get right
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13
Q

Kenneth Clark

The Doll Test (the 1950’s)

A

Black children 3-7 asked questions about plastic dolls
Control: dolls identical in every way except colour
10 out of 16 black kids preferred the white dolls to the black ones
Referred to black dolls as “bad”
White dolls were “good” or “nice”

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14
Q

Bobo doll experiment

by: Albert Bandura

A

A team of researchers who physically and verbally abused an inflatable doll in front of preschool-age children, which led the children to later mimic the behaviour of the adults by attacking the doll in the same fashion.

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15
Q

Deductive reasoning

A
Applying a general idea to a specific information
Ex: 
All poodles are dogs
All dogs have four legs
Therefore: all poodles have four legs
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16
Q

Inductive reasoning

A
Applying a specific idea to a general situation
Ex: 
I enjoyed Stephen King’s last book
I have a new book by Stephen King
Therefore: I will enjoy the new book
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17
Q

Definition of Memory

A

The capacity to acquire, retain and recall knowledge and skills
Memory is controlled by Hippocampus

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18
Q

Short term memory:

A

In the frontal cortex and parietal lobe
Holds information for 15-20 seconds
7 separate items can be stored

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19
Q

Long-Term Memory:

A

Items that are important and have meaning are stored in long-term memory
Recall becomes difficult over time

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20
Q

Freud’s the Id

A
Seeks pleasure, avoids pain. It's a selfish childish, pleasure oriented part of the personality with no ability to delay gratification. Operates the pleasure principle. Impulsive wants instant satisfaction. 
Operates subconsciously ( NOT RATIONAL )

DIrects basic drive instincts
Knows of no judgements of value, no morality, does not understand the difference between good and evil
Impulsive desires
Exists from birth - a newborn child is completely Id-ridden, it is only concerned with having its immediate needs met

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21
Q

Freud’s The superego:

A

The “conscience” - tells us what we should and shouldn’t do

Also unconscious, comes from social values
Ex: parents teaching kids to share, not to steal, good vs bad, right vs wrong, etc

Has role of moral authoritarian
Operates in accordance with social conformity and appropriateness
Regulates our sense of right vs wrong

Super-ego is a type of conscience that punishes misbehaviour with feelings of guilt

22
Q

Freud’s The ego

A

Conscious, rational part of the mind
Where conscious decisions are made mediator between superego and Id.
Ego develops and changes throughout life.

Task is to find a balance between primitive drives and reality. (Tries to satisfy both id and superego) … wants to avoid conflict

23
Q

Defence mechanisms: Rationalization

A

Justifying your actions with an excuse rather than admitting a failure or mistake

24
Q

Defence mechanisms: Denial

A

Believing a falsehood, rather than accepting reality

25
Q

Defence mechanisms: Projection

A

Blaming unpleasant feelings or inappropriate actions on others

26
Q

Defence mechanisms: Escape

A

Running away from a problem

27
Q

Defence mechanisms: Repression

A

Blocking out thoughts about unpleasant things or experiences

28
Q

Defence mechanisms: Identification

A

Acting like somebody else; associating somebody’s accomplishments with your own

29
Q

Defence mechanisms: Displacement

A

Expressing feelings towards something or someone not associated with the source of feelings

30
Q

Defence mechanisms: Regression

A

Returning to an earlier way of dealing with frustration; returning to a mindset that required less responsibility

31
Q

Defence mechanisms: Compensation

A

Making up for a lack of one thing by achieving something else

32
Q

Defence mechanisms: Sublimation

A

Transferring unacceptable behaviours into acceptable ones

33
Q

Defence mechanisms: Reaction Formation

A

Expressing the opposite feelings that cause the tension or guilt

34
Q

Function of Defence mechanisms

A

To minimize anxiety
To protect the ego
To prevent discomfort or embarrassment

Warning: overuse can lead to problems facing reality

35
Q

The phallic stage (3-6 years)

A

Discovery of libido - interest in genitals

Coming to terms with being a boy or girl

36
Q

Oedipus complex:

A

only boys

Son desires his mother and is in direct competition with his father

37
Q

Electra complex:

A

Daughter desires her father and is in direct competition with her mother

38
Q

The Latent Phase:

A

5-6 years old to adolescence

Sexual concerns largely unimportant

39
Q
  1. The Genital Phase:
A

Adolescence to adulthood

40
Q

1st step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Physiological needs:

food, water,rest

41
Q

2nd step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Safety needs: protection from elements, security, law.

42
Q

3rd step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Love and belongingness needs: feelings of belongingness, being part of a group (family, friends, work).

43
Q

4th step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Esteem needs: (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).

44
Q

5th step of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A

Self-actualization needs: realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences

45
Q

Harlow’s experiment

A

He separated infant monkeys from their mothers a few hours after birth, then arranged for the young animals to be “raised” by two kinds of surrogate monkey mother machines, both equipped to dispense milk. One mother was made out of bare wire mesh. The other was a wire mother. Harlow’s first observation was that monkeys who had a choice of mothers spent far more time clinging to the terry cloth surrogates, even when their physical nourishment came from bottles mounted on the bare wire mothers. This suggested that infant love was no simple response to the satisfaction of physiological needs.

When he separated the infants into two groups and gave them no choice between the two types of mothers, all the monkeys drank equal amounts and grew physically at the same rate. But the similarities ended there. Monkeys who had soft, tactile contact with their terry cloth mothers behaved quite differently than monkeys whose mothers were made out of wire. By providing reassurance and security to infants, cuddling kept normal development on track. monkeys raised by wire mesh surrogates did not retreat to their mothers when scared. Instead, they threw themselves on the floor, clutched themselves, rocked back and forth.

46
Q

Depression

A
depressed mood accompanied by symptoms such as: 
Loss of interest or pleasure in life 
Irritability and sadness 
Sleep or appetite problems 
Lack of concentration
47
Q

Bipolar Disorder

A

a cycle of depressed mood, “normal” mood and mania:
Inflated self esteem and confidence
Poor judgment
Increased involvement in pleasurable and possibly dangerous activities

48
Q

OCD

A

Marked by repeated obsessions and compulsions that are so severe they interfere with daily life

49
Q

Personality disorders

A

The presence of 2 or more distinct identities that alternately control a person’s behaviour

50
Q

Schizophrenia

A

Abnormal behavior, strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality. Other symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices that do not exist,