Vocabulary #7 | 3 Flashcards
Ecological Systems Theory
A scientific theory that explains how human development is influenced by the social environments we experience throughout our lives. (Microsystem, mesosystem, etc.)
Microsystem (EST)
The immediate environment in which an individual directly interacts with, like family and school. First inner circle.
Mesosystem (EST)
Mesosystems are where a child’s microsystems connect and influence one another - for example, a child’s parents connecting with their teachers at school. Second inner circle.
Exosystem (EST)
An exosystem is made up of social contexts that a person is not directly involved with, such as their government, legal systems, and the media. Third circle.
Macrosystem (EST)
The overarching cultural aspects affecting the child. Fourth circle.
Chronosystem (EST)
Outside change like historical events, puberty, and more. Fifth circle. (C for CHANGE)
Authoritarian (Parenting Style)
A parenting style that uses strict rules, high expectations, and punishment to control a child’s behavior.
Authoritative (Parenting Style)
A parenting style that combines warmth and structure. Authoritative parents are supportive and nurturing, but also set clear expectations and limits for their children.
Permissive (Parenting Style)
Places a big emphasis on affection and warmth, with few expectations for maturity, self-control and discipline. Loving without structure.
Secure Attachment
A way of relating to others that’s characterized by trust, openness, and emotional intimacy. (SECURE like SAFE)
Insecure Attachment
A lack of trust and a lack of a secure base exampled by a fear of abandonment. (Avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment styles fall under this>)
Avoidant (Insecure Attachment)
A person tends to avoid emotional intimacy, prioritize independence, and struggle to trust others, leading them to distance themselves from partners or potential partners.
Anxious (Insecure Attachment)
A person experiences a strong fear of abandonment and rejection, often leading to clingy, overly dependent behavior, and a constant need for reassurance and validation from their partner.
Disorganized (Insecure Attachment)
Combines fearful and avoidant behaviors, leading to unpredictable behavior. The person seeks and wants love, however, pushes it away when it is received.
Temperament
A person’s characteristic way of reacting to the world, including their mood, emotions, and behaviors. It’s often considered an early indicator of personality.
Parallel Play
Children engage in similar activities alongside other children without directly interacting with them.
Pretend Play
Children create scenarios and play them out with others or by themselves.
Adolescent Egocentrism
Cognitive bias where teenagers tend to believe their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are completely unique, essentially seeing themselves as the center of attention and often imagining an “imaginary audience” constantly observing them.
Emerging Adulthood
A period of development spanning from about ages 18 to 29.
Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory
The idea that people are born with a need to form close emotional bonds with caregivers. It also explains how these bonds develop and how they influence later relationships.
8 Psychosocial Stages
Outlines eight distinct stages of human development, each characterized by a unique “psychosocial crisis” that individuals must navigate, spanning from infancy to death.
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood, such as abuse. (Adverse as these experiences do not occur to most children and seriously impact later development.)
Achievement (Identity Process)
The stage of identity development when a person has explored different options and committed to an identity. It’s the final stage of identity development.
Diffusion (Identity Process)
Stage of identity development when someone has not committed to an identity or explored different options. (REMEMBER DIFFUSION RHYMES WITH CONFUSION!!)
Foreclosure (Identity Process)
Occurs when an individual commits to an identity without exploring options.
Moratorium (Identity Process)
A state in which adolescents are actively exploring options but have not yet made commitments.
Behavioral Perspective
A psychological approach that focuses solely on observable behaviors, arguing that all behavior is a result of interactions with the environment.
Classical Condition
A learning process that occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that produces a natural response. This process results in an automatic association between the two stimuli. (Pavlov’s Dogs)
Acquisition
The initial stage of learning when a new behavior or response is established. It’s a key part of the conditioning process.
Unconditioned Stimulus
A stimulus that naturally triggers a response without any prior learning required. (The food in Pavlov’s Dogs)
Unconditioned Response
A natural, automatic reaction to a stimulus that occurs without any prior learning or conditioning. (The salivating in Pavlov’s Dogs)
Conditioned Response
A behavior that does not come naturally but must be learned by the individual by pairing a neutral stimulus with a potent stimulus. ((The salivating in Pavlov’s Dogs AFTER they hear the bell.)
Conditioned Stimulus
A thing or sound that starts out without an associated response, but then is conditioned to have a specific response based on what the person doing the training requires. (The bell in Pavlov’s Dogs triggering salivation.)
Extinction
The gradual weakening or complete disappearance of a learned behavior when it is no longer reinforced.
Spontaneous Recovery
The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time.
Stimulus Discrimination
The ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other similar stimuli.
Stimulus Generalization
The tendency for an organism to respond to a stimulus that is similar, but not identical, to the original conditioned stimulus.
Higher Order Condition
A classical conditioning process where a previously established conditioned stimulus is used to condition a new neutral stimulus.
Counter Conditioning
A behavioral therapy technique where a negative response to a stimulus is replaced with a positive response by pairing the stimulus with a pleasant or neutral stimulus.
Taste Aversion
Related to classical conditioning and the learned behavior too avoid a food based on a negative experience.
Biological Preparedness
The idea that organisms are naturally inclined to quickly learn associations between certain stimuli and responses due to their evolutionary history.
One Trial Learning
The concept that an individual can learn something completely from a single exposure to a stimulus or situation.
Habituation
A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it.
Operant Conditioning
A learning process where a behavior is modified by its consequences.
Positive Reinforcement
Strengthening a behavior by ADDING a desirable stimulus immediately after it occurs, making it more likely that the behavior will be repeated in the future.
Vicarious Conditioning
The process of learning by observing the reactions and consequences of others to a stimulus.
Negative Reinforcement
Strengthens a desired behavior by removing an unpleasant stimulus. (Ex. A parent removes a chore as a reward for a child’s good behavior.)
Insight Conditioning
The sudden understanding of a solution to a problem.
Latent Learning
Knowledge acquired subconsciously that is not displayed until a need arises to utilize it.
Positive Punishment
An undesirable consequence is added to a behavior, aiming to decrease the likelihood of that behavior occurring again. (Ex. Spraying Tuffy with water.)
Negative Punishment
A positive stimulus is taken away following an undesirable behavior, with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of that behavior happening again.
Primary Reinforcer
Stimulus that naturally satisfies a basic biological need, like food or water.
Secondary Reinforcer
Refers to a stimulus that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer.
Shaping
A method of operant conditioning that involves reinforcing small steps toward a desired behavior.
Instinctive Drift
Learned behaviors can be disrupted by the animal’s strong biological predispositions to certain actions.
Superstitious Behavior
A behavior that is accidentally reinforced by a coincident, even if the action itself had no causal relationship to the reward. (Ex. Patrick Mahomes’s Underwear)
Learned Helplessness
The ideology that you a person is unable to change their situation due to repeated past failures, despite being capable of doing so.
Continuous vs Partial Reinforcement
Continuous reinforcement occurs every time a behavior happens, while partial reinforcement occurs some of the time.
Fixed Ratio Schedule
A reinforcement schedule where a reward is given after a specific, predetermined number of responses.
Variable Ratio Schedule
A reinforcement schedule where a reward is given after an unpredictable number of responses.
Fixed Interval Schedule
A reinforcement schedule where the first response occurring after a set period of time has elapsed is reinforced.
Variable Interval Schedule
A reinforcement pattern where a reward is given after an unpredictable amount of time.
Pattern Graphing Schedule
The visual representation of how reinforcement is delivered over time in operant conditioning.
