Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Long-term Potentiation

A

when neurons are repeatedly stimulated, they demonstrate an increased firing rate known as, LTP

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2
Q

Tonic Stimulus Response

A

continued production of action potentials throughout the duration of a stimulus (only in PNS)

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3
Q

Sensory Memory

A

auditory, visual, very short (few seconds)

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4
Q

Implicit Memory

A

does not require conscious thought, such as procedural memory (don’t need to remember how to drive)

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5
Q

Ambient Stressor

A

environmental (e.g., pollution)

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6
Q

Catastrophic Stressor

A

large-scale tragedy (e.g., natural disaster)

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7
Q

Personal Life Event Stressor

A

major life transitions

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8
Q

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A

tells how the body reacts to stress that is acute or long-lasting with 3 stages of stress response–the alarm stage, resistance stage, and exhaustion stage

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9
Q

Thomas Theorem

A

predicts that an individual’s response/reaction to a situation is a result of her own interpretation of the situation

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10
Q

Yerkes-Dodson Law

A

suggests there’s an optimal level of psychological or mental arousal at which performance is maximized–performance declines with too much or too little

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11
Q

Hawthorne Effect

A

experimental subjects modifying their behavior or responses because they know they’re being observed

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12
Q

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

A

attempts to change negative thoughts/beliefs and maladaptive behaviors

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13
Q

Psychoanalytic Therapy (Talk Therapy)

A

attempts to uncover how unconscious conflicts rooted in childhood shape behaviors

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14
Q

Humanistic Therapy (Person-centered Therapy)

A

attempts to empower individual to move towards self-actualization

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15
Q

Motion Parallax

A

monocular cue whereby objects in the foreground are perceived as moving faster than objects in the background

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16
Q

Cocktail Party Effect

A

at a crowded party you tune out noise to talk to one person (attended stimulus), but if you hear your name across the room your attention quickly shifts to that unattended stimulus

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17
Q

Interference Effect

A

a memory process describing when old info prevents recollection of new info or new info (proactive interference) prevents recollection of old info (retroactive interference)

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18
Q

Speech Shadowing

A

a selective attention process used in dichotic listening tasks (competing info presented in each ear) that involves repeating info presented in one ear while tuning out the competing info in other ear

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19
Q

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

A

something causes a physiological response, which then causes brain to register associated emotion

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20
Q

Cognitive Appraisal Theory

A

evaluation of situation precedes emotional and physiological reactions and determines what emotion will be experienced

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21
Q

Schachter-Singer Theory

A

emotion is the result of physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal

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22
Q

Functionalism Theory

A

society = an organism, each part of society works to maintain dynamic equilibrium (Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons)

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23
Q

Conflict Theory

A

society = struggle for limited resources, inequality based on social class (Karl Marx, Max Weber)

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24
Q

Social Constructionism

A

social actors define what is real, knowledge about world based on interactions

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25
Q

Symbolic Interactionism

A

meaning and value attached to symbols, individual interactions based on these symbols (Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead)

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26
Q

Rational Choice/Social Exchange

A

individual behaviors and interactions attempt to maximize personal gain and minimize personal cost

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27
Q

Feminist

A

examines gender inequality in society

28
Q

Identity Development Theory

A

James Marcia evaluates the psychological progress of individuals based on their level of commitment and degree of exploration, which yield four identity statuses

29
Q

Identity Diffusion

A

low commitment, low exploration; people at this level lack direction, have not explored options, have not committed to a particular career path or future

30
Q

Identity Foreclosure

A

high commitment, low exploration; people at this level have accepted an identity that they have been assigned without contemplation or exploration

31
Q

Identity Moratorium

A

low commitment, high exploration; people at this level are still trying new activities and thinking about a career path, but have not yet arrived at a decision

32
Q

Identity Achievement

A

high commitment, high exploration; people at this level have explored their options and typically feel confident about who they are and what they want to do in the future

33
Q

Representativeness Heuristic

A

tendency to compare things to mental prototypes (things we have previously seen in our heads) when making judgments

34
Q

Availability Heuristic

A

tendency to believe that if something is easily recalled from memory, it must be common or likely

35
Q

Actor-observer bias

A

attributional bias that describes the tendency to attribute one’s own actions to external factors but the actions of others to internal factors

36
Q

Hindsight Bias

A

cognitive bias in which an event is perceived as having been predictable after it has occurred

37
Q

Weber’s Law

A

Change in JND/original stimulus intensity = constant (k), it’s a ratio

38
Q

Meta-analysis

A

statistically analyzes data combined from multiple studies with a common experimental goal, must use parallel methodology and outcome measures

39
Q

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI)

A

decrease breakdown of monoamines (e.g. serotonin) by inhibiting monoamine oxidase

40
Q

Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

A

SSRIs block reuptake of serotonin from synaptic cleft into presynaptic neurons

41
Q

Social Cognitive Theory

A

people learn through observing others (vicarious learning), depending on the outcome for the model, the observer may replicate or avoid that behavior

42
Q

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

A

results from beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors that are dissonant, contradictory, or incompatible; a person who runs and smokes—causes a state of discomfort that results in motivation to reduce the conflict by aligning thoughts and/or behaviors

43
Q

Autocommunication

A

occurs when a message sender is also the receiver (e.g. dolphins echolocating)

44
Q

Retroactive Interference

A

occurs when more recent info interferes with one’s ability to recall older info

45
Q

Proactive Interference

A

occurs when previously learned info interferes with one’s ability to recall new info

46
Q

Context-dependent Memory

A

individuals are better able to remember info when they are in the same context in which that info was learned

47
Q

Subjective Contours Principle

A

allows us to fill in contours that are not explicitly shown

48
Q

Linear Perspective

A

monocular depth cue—parallel lines appear to converge in the distance

49
Q

Normative Social Influence

A

when a person conforms to fit in or avoid rejection by others

50
Q

Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD)

A

a type of somatic symptom and related disorder characterized by extreme distress and concern regarding one or more actual bodily/physical symptoms

51
Q

Counterbalancing

A

controls for the potential effects that the order of intervention administration may have on results

52
Q

Expectancy Theory of Motivation

A

individuals are motivated to act based on expected outcomes of their behavior

53
Q

Drive-reduction Theory

A

motivation is a result of a disruption of homeostasis, which generates a biological need; biological need generates a drive to fulfill that need, which prompts action

54
Q

Behaviorism

A

a theory in psychology that focuses on the role the environment plays in shaping human behavior (focuses on how punishment and reinforcement affect human behavior)

55
Q

Ego Defense Mechanisms (Psychoanalytic Theory)

A

unconscious way to deal with anxiety caused by unacceptable urges and thoughts

56
Q

Parasomnias

A

more common in children, involved abnormal function of the nervous system during sleep, while falling asleep, or when rousing from sleep; e.g. somnambulism (sleepwalking) and night terrors

57
Q

Dyssomnias

A

more common in adults, involve interference with the quality or timing of sleep, such as difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep, or periods of excessive sleepiness during waking hours

58
Q

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

A

regulates the circadian pacemaker that controls circadian rhythms; lights tells the SCN whether or not to upregulate or downregulate melatonin release

59
Q

Formal Curriculum

A

explicit, official content taught in the education system

60
Q

Hidden Curriculum

A

implicit, unofficial info conveyed through the educational system

61
Q

Serial Position Effect

A

relative ease (or difficulty) of remembering an item on a list is related to its position on the list

62
Q

Primacy Effect

A

remembering things at the beginning of a list more than the middle

63
Q

Recency Effect

A

remembering things at the very end of a list more than the middle

64
Q

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

A

measures brain activity patterns reflective of sleep and waking states

65
Q

Social Desirability Bias

A

tendency of research participants to provide the most favorable or acceptable response to research survey questions

66
Q

Spreading Activation Model

A

suggests that when a node in the semantic network is activated, nodes that are directly connected to it also activate (known as priming)