SAFMED

Question 1

A procedure by which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after it is paired with a stimulus that automatically elicits that response

Answer 1

Classical conditioning

Question 2

The process of teaching a new behaviour by reinforcing closer and closer approximations of the desired response

Answer 2

Shaping

Question 3

The process by which our behaviours transfer to new situations or stimuli that we did not directly learn about

Answer 3

Generalisation

Question 4

Specialized cells in the nervous system that support the integrity of neurons

Answer 4

Glia

Question 5

A factor that varies systematically between experimental conditions, but is not the variable of interest

Answer 5

Confound

Question 6

An experimental design where each participant only takes part in a single experimental condition

Answer 6

Between-subjects design

Question 7

Chemicals secreted by neurons allowing information to be transmitted between cells

Answer 7

Neurotransmitter

Question 8

Brain structures located in the lower side portion of the cortex that are important in audition (hearing) and language

Answer 8

Temporal lobes

Question 9

An extension of the spinal cord, essential to life, controlling vital physiological functions such as heartbeat, circulation, and respiration

Answer 9

Medulla

Question 10

A branch of the autonomic nervous system, typically activated in response to threats to the organisms, which readies the body for ‘fight-or-flight’ reactions

Answer 10

Sympathetic nervous system

Question 11

The ability to remember facts and experiences for longer than a minute

Answer 11

Long-term memory

Question 12

A technique for studying electrical activity occurring in the brain that involves placing electrodes on the scalp

Answer 12

Electrocephalography (EEG)

Question 13

A set of principles that describe how sensory inputs are organised into meaningful patterns

Answer 13

Gestalt laws

Question 14

Visual features of the environment that are used to make inferences about depth

Answer 14

Monocular cues

Question 15

The organisation of changing sensory inputs into percepts that are relatively stable in size, shape and colour

Answer 15

Perceptual constancy

Question 16

The conscious “work-space” used for processing, retrieving, and manipulating information

Answer 16

Working memory

Question 17

Better memory for information that is presented at the beginning and end of a sequence

Answer 17

Serial-position effects

Question 18

A network of brain structures that is active when we are engaged in our own thoughts and reflections

Answer 18

Default mode network

Question 19

The tendency to seek out information that confirms one’s preconceptions

Answer 19

Confirmation bias

Question 20

Those mental processes we engage when deciding how to act in a complex or novel situation where there might be significant immediate rewards or punishments

Answer 20

Hot cognitive control

Question 21

The measurement of electrical signals associated with muscle movements; commonly used to record facial expressions of emotion

Answer 21

Electromyography (EMG)

Question 22

An emotion regulation strategy that involves reframing our understanding of a situation or event in order to change our emotional response to it

Answer 22

Reappraisal

Question 23

The process of how children interpret actions or events in terms of present ways of understanding

Answer 23

Assimilation

Question 24

The fourth stage in Piaget’s theory, beginning from 12 years onwards, where thought and reasoning becomes complex and abstract

Answer 24

Formal operational stage

Question 25

A form of logical thinking where children understand that physical properties of objects remain unchanged even when their appearance changes

Answer 25

Conservation

Question 26

A statement of the possible relationship between two variables, which is well grounded in what we already know

Answer 26

Hypothesis

Question 27

Turning an abstract hypothesis into a concrete form that can be tested in a specific experiment

Answer 27

Operationalising

Question 28

The response an experimenter measures to see if the experimental manipulation has had an effect

Answer 28

Dependent variable

Question 29

The process whereby a behaviour is made more likely because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus

Answer 29

Negative reinforcement

Question 30

The non-delivery of reinforcers maintaining undesirable behaviour

Answer 30

Extinction

Question 31

The part of a neuron that includes the nucleus (which contains the genetic material) and other organelles, vital to cell functioning

Answer 31

Cell body

Question 32

Protein molecules in cells to which neurotransmitters can bind and pass information to other cells

Answer 32

Receptors

Question 33

Chemical secreted by endocrine glands directly into blood stream

Answer 33

Hormones

Question 34

Brain structures located in the rear portion of the cortex, involved in vision

Answer 34

Occipital lobes

Question 35

The condition that results when the corpus collosum has been surgically cut, blocking communication between the two cerebral hemispheres

Answer 35

Split brain

Question 36

A structure deep in the temporal lobes that is crucial for acquiring and retrieving memories for events or experiences

Answer 36

Hippocampus

Question 37

A change in electrical activity that occurs following a particular event, that is detectable from electrodes placed on the scalp

Answer 37

Event-related potential (ERP)

Question 38

A technique for measuring the structure of the brain or its activity during a particular task

Answer 38

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Question 39

Psychophysical law which states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to their intensity

Answer 39

Weber’s law

Question 40

Perceptual processing that is driven by our memory or knowledge of the world

Answer 40

Top-down processing

Question 41

Old information interfering with the retrieval of new information

Answer 41

Proactive interference

Question 42

Superior memory for information rehearsed in sessions spread-out over longer testing intervals

Answer 42

Spacing effect

Question 43

Especially vivid memories of exciting or highly important events

Answer 43

Flashbulb memories

Question 44

A strategy we use to assess the frequency of an event based on how easy it is to retrieve a similar example from memory

Answer 44

Availability heuristic

Question 45

A routine for carrying out a series of actions that develops with repeated experience

Answer 45

Script

Question 46

A theory of emotion that asserts that environmental events give rise to physiological responses and subjective feelings simultaneously

Answer 46

Cannon-Bard Theory

Question 47

The dimension of emotional experience that ranges from pleasant (or positive) to unpleasant (or negative)

Answer 47

Valence

Question 48

A sub-cortical brain structure that is a central component in emotional brain networks

Answer 48

Amygdala

Question 49

The third sub-stage in Piaget’s theory. Covering 7 to 11 years, where children show more organized and logical reasoning, but such reasoning remains anchored in real world situation

Answer 49

Concrete operational stage

Question 50

Young children tend to focus on their own viewpoint and fail to understand that other people’s thinking can be different to their own

Answer 50

Egocentrism