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General Psychology > Test 1 > Flashcards

Test 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

A

Applied research

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2
Q

Early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function (how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish)

A

Functionalism

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3
Q

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

A

Behavior genetics

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4
Q

Historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential

A

Humanistic psychology

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5
Q

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

A

Biopsychosocial approach

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6
Q

The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

A

Levels of analysis

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7
Q

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

A

Cognitive neuroscience

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8
Q

The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

A

Natural selection

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9
Q

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

A

Counseling psychology

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10
Q

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of the two.

A

Nature-nurture issue

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11
Q

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

A

Evolutionary psychology

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12
Q

The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

A

Positive psychology

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13
Q

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

A

Basic research

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14
Q

The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

Most research psychologist today agree with (1) but not (2)

A

Behaviorism

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15
Q

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

A

Clinical psychology

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16
Q

A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

A

Community psychology

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17
Q

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

A

Culture

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18
Q

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy

A

Psychiatry

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19
Q

The science of behavior and mental processes

A

Psychology

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20
Q

A study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, and retrieve, review

A

SQ3R

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21
Q

The five steps of SQ3R

A 
Survey
Question
Read
Retrieve
Review
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22
Q

Early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

A

Structuralism

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23
Q

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply re-reading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

A

Testing effect

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24
Q

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

A

Critical thinking

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25
Q

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
(Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

A

Hindsight bias

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26
Q

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

A

Intuition

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27
Q

A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

A

Case study

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28
Q

Giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

A

Informed consent

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29
Q

In an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

A

Control group

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30
Q

The statistical index of the relationship between two things

From -1.00 to +1.00

A

Correlation coefficient

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31
Q

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

A

Correlation

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32
Q

A descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

A

Naturalistic observation

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33
Q

In an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

A

Dependent variable

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34
Q

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

A

Placebo

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35
Q

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variable) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

A

Experiment

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36
Q

All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

A

Population

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37
Q

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

A

Hypothesis

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38
Q

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between the different groups

A

Random assignment

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39
Q

In an experiment, a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect

A

Confounding variable

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40
Q

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

A

Random sample

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41
Q

The post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

A

Debriefing

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42
Q

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

A

Operational definition

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43
Q

An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug – evaluation studies

A

Double-blind procedure

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44
Q

In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

A

Experimental group

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45
Q

In an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

A

Independent variable

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46
Q

The tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back toward the average

A

Regression towards the mean

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47
Q

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

A

Replication

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48
Q

A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation

A

Scatter plot

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49
Q

A descriptive technique for obtaining the self – reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

A

Survey

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50
Q

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

A

Theory

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51
Q

The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

A

Mean

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52
Q

The middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

A

Median

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53
Q

The most frequently occurring score or scores in a distribution

A

Mode

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54
Q

A symmetrical, bell – shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer and fewer near the extremes

A

Normal curve

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55
Q

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

A

Range

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56
Q

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

A

Standard deviation

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57
Q

A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

A

Statistical significance

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58
Q

A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

A

Action potential

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59
Q

A fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed as neural impulses hop from one node to the next

A

Myelin

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60
Q

A molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action

A

Agonist

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61
Q

Bundled axons that form the neural cables connecting the central nervous system with muscles, glands, and sense organs

A

Nerves

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62
Q

A molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action

A

Antagonist

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63
Q

The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

A

Nervous system

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64
Q

The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

A

Axon

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65
Q

A nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

A

Neuron

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66
Q

The brain and spinal cord

A

Central nervous system

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67
Q

Chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

A

Neurotransmitters

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68
Q

When released by the sending neuron, ________ travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse

A

Neurotransmitters

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69
Q

The body’s “slow” chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the blood stream

A

Endocrine

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70
Q

The division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy

A

Parasympathetic nervous system

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71
Q

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory

A

Glial cells

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72
Q

The sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body

A

Peripheral nervous system

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73
Q

Neurons within the brain and spinal cord; communicate internally and process information between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

A

Internuerons

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74
Q

The endocrine system’s most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, this gland regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

A

Pituitary gland

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75
Q

A pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones that help arouse the body in times of stress

A

Adrenal glands

76
Q

A simple, automatic response to a sensory stimulus, such as the knee–jerk response

A

Reflex

77
Q

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart)

It’s sympathetic division ______; it’s parasympathetic division _____

A

Autonomic nervous system

Arouses; calms

78
Q

(1) A period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

(2) A resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm

A

Refractory period

79
Q

A neuron’s bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

A

Dendrites

80
Q

A neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

A

Reuptake

81
Q

A neuron’s reaction of either firing or not firing

A

All or none response

82
Q

Concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Include psychologists working in neuroscience, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology. These researchers may call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, physiological psychologists, or biopsychologists

A

Biological perspective

83
Q

Natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and pleasure

A

Endorphins

84
Q

Chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands, travel through the bloodstream, and affect other tissues

A

Hormones

85
Q

Neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

A

Motor (efferent) neurons

86
Q

Neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

A

Sensory (afferent) neurons

87
Q

The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body’s skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous system

A

Somatic nervous system

88
Q

The division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy

A

Sympathetic nervous system

89
Q

The junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is called the synaptic gap

A

Synapse

90
Q

The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

A

Threshold

91
Q

Two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion

A

Amygdala

92
Q

Tissue destruction

This is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

A

Lesion

93
Q

The “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory

A

Cerebellum

94
Q

Neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives

A

Limbic system

95
Q

A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans

These show brain function as well as structure

A

fMRI (functional MRI)

96
Q

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

A

Hippocampus

97
Q

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward

A

Hypothalamus

98
Q

The oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; this is responsible for automatic survival functions

A

Brainstem

99
Q

And amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

A

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

100
Q

The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

A

Medulla

101
Q

A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer–generated images of soft tissue

These scans show brain anatomy

A

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

102
Q

A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

A

PET (positron emission tomography) scan

103
Q

A nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

A

Reticular formation

104
Q

The brain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

A

Thalamus

105
Q

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

A

Association areas

106
Q

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields

A

Occipital lobes

107
Q

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

A

Corpus callosum

108
Q

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

A

Frontal lobes

109
Q

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

A

Motor cortex

110
Q

The formation of new neurons

A

Neurogenesis

111
Q

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

A

Cerebral cortex

112
Q

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position

A

Parietal lobes

113
Q

The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

A

Plasticity

114
Q

Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

A

Somatosensory cortex

115
Q

A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s 2 hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them

A

Split brain

116
Q

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear

A

Temporal lobes

117
Q

Condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it

A

Blindsight

118
Q

Failing to notice changes in the environment

A

Change blindness

119
Q

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

includes perception, thinking, memory, and language

A

Cognitive neuroscience

120
Q

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

A

Consciousness

121
Q

The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

A

Dual processing

122
Q

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

A

Inattentional blindness

123
Q

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions

A

Parallel processing

124
Q

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

A

Selective attention

125
Q

The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state

A

Alpha waves

126
Q

According to Freud, the remembered storyline of a dream

A

Manifest content

127
Q

The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

A

Delta waves

128
Q

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks. The sufferer May lapse directly into REM sleep, often at inopportune times

A

Narcolepsy

129
Q

False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

A

Hallucinations

130
Q

A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, night terrors occur during NREM-3 sleep, within two or three hours of falling asleep, and are seldom remembered

A

Night terrors

131
Q

According to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream (as distinct from its manifest content)

A

Latent content

132
Q

The biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24 hour cycle

A

Circadian rhythm

133
Q

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind. They are notable for their hallucinatory imagery, discontinuities and incongruities, and for the dreamer’s delusional acceptance of the content and later difficulties remembering it

A

Dream

134
Q

Reoccurring problems and falling or staying asleep

A

Insomnia

135
Q

The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Created by repeated awakenings during REM sleep

A

REM rebound

136
Q

Rapid eye movement sleep; a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active

A

REM sleep

137
Q

Periodic, natural loss of consciousness – as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

A

Sleep

138
Q

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessation of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

A

Sleep apnea

139
Q

A pair of cell clusters in the hypothalamus that controls circadian rhythm. In response to light, the SCN causes the pineal gland to adjust melatonin production, thus modifying our feelings of sleepiness

A

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

140
Q

(1) In developmental psychology, adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information
(2) In sensation and perception, the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

A

Accommodation

141
Q

In Piaget’s theory, The stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

A

Formal operational stage

142
Q

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation

A

Attachment

143
Q

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

A

Imprinting

144
Q

According to Erik Erickson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

A

Basic trust

145
Q

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

A

Maturation

146
Q

In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

A

Concrete operational stage

147
Q

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

A

Object permanence

148
Q

An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

A

Critical period

149
Q

In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

A

Preoperational stage

150
Q

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

A

Assimilation

151
Q

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors

A

Autism spectrum disorder

152
Q

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

A

Cognition

153
Q

The principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

A

Conservation

154
Q

In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

A

Egocentrism

155
Q

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

A

Schema

156
Q

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, “who am I?”

A

Self-concept

157
Q

In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

A

Sensorimotor Stage

158
Q

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about eight months of age

A

Stranger anxiety

159
Q

People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states – – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

A

Theory of mind

160
Q

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

A

Adolescence

161
Q

The time from about age 18 to the mid-20s, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

A

Emerging adulthood

162
Q

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

A

Identity

163
Q

In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood

A

Intimacy

164
Q

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

A

Puberty

165
Q

The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “who am I?” that comes from our group memberships

A

Social identity

166
Q

Neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with an onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities

A

Alzheimer’s disease

167
Q

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

A

Cross-sectional study

168
Q

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

A

Longitudinal study

169
Q

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

A

Menopause

170
Q

Acquired disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury or disease, or substance abuse

In older adults, neurocognitive disorders were formerly called dementia

A

Neurocognitive disorders

171
Q

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

A

Social clock

172
Q

The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time

A

Absolute threshold

173
Q

The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

A

Sensation

174
Q

The minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

We experience this as a just noticeable difference (JND)

A

Difference threshold

175
Q

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

A

Sensory adaptation

176
Q

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

A

Perceptual set

177
Q

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, that’s predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

A

Priming

178
Q

The study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

A

Psychophysics

179
Q

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information

A

Bottom-up processing

180
Q

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

A

Perception

181
Q

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise). Assume there is no single absolute threshold of and that detection depends partly on a person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness

A

Signal detection theory

182
Q

Below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness

A

Subliminal

183
Q

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

A

Top-down processing

184
Q

Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sight, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brain can interpret

A

Transduction

185
Q

The principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage rather than a constant amount

A

Weber’s Law

General Psychology (3 decks)

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