ap test study Flashcards
1
Q
attribution theory
A
tendency to give explanations for someone’s behavior, often by crediting the situation or person’s disposition
2
Q
fundamental attribution theory
A
the tendency to overestimate the impact of person’s disposition and underestimate impact of situation
3
Q
foot-in-the-door phenomenon
A
tendency to agree to larger requests after responding to a smaller request
4
Q
what experiment did philip zimbardo conduct? what did he discover?
A
he conducted the stanford prison experiment/lucifer effect. he discovered that people take on the role of what they feel are proper for the situation
5
Q
explain the stanford prison experiment
A
psychologist philip zimbardo randomly assigned people the roles of a guard and prisoner to play in a prison. people playing as guards were aggressive and abusive towards the prisoners. the mistreatment against the prisoners became immoral and the experiment was cancelled after 6 days.
6
Q
cognitive dissonance
A
mental discomfort caused by two contradicting beliefs, values, or attitudes (ex. smokers continue to smoke even though they know it’s unhealthy)
7
Q
what did solomon asch discover?
A
conformity
8
Q
conformity
A
process where people change their beliefs, attitudes, actions or perceptions to match those held by groups
9
Q
what experiment did stanley milgram conduct? what did he study?
A
he conducted the shock experiment, through which he studied obedience
10
Q
obedience
A
people tend to obey authority figures even if they do not agree
11
Q
explain the shock experiment
A
conducted by stanley milgram. participants were told to press a button in order to shock another person. most participants obeyed (especially if the instructor was an authority figure or came from prestige) and continued to shock the victim even if they were in pain. they also continued even as the shock increased to a dangerous amount
12
Q
social facilitation
A
improved performance in presence of others
13
Q
social loafing
A
in the presence of others, people tend to do less, partly because they believe others will do it
14
Q
deindividualization
A
loss individuality and personal responsibility, typically in a when in a group
15
Q
group polarization
A
when a group adopts a more extreme decision/point
16
Q
groupthink
A
a mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives
17
Q
just-world phenomenon
A
tendency of people to believe that the world is just and people get what they deserve (karma)
18
Q
social traps
A
situations in which the conflicting parties pursue their self interests and become caught in mutually destructive behavior
19
Q
in-group
A
any group to which one belongs or which one identifies
20
Q
out-group
A
group of people who do not belong to one’s own social group
21
Q
hindsight bias
A
tendency to believe that, after learning an outcome, we would have predicted it beforehand
22
Q
prejudice
A
unjustifiable attitude towards a group and its members
23
Q
mere exposure effect
A
tendency to develop preferences for things simply because we are familiar (merely exposed) with them
24
Q
altruism
A
unselfish regard for the welfare to others
25
bystander effect
tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present
26
reciprocity norms
the expectation that we should return help, not harm, to those who have helped us
27
biological psych
explore the links between brain and mind
28
cognitive psych
study how we perceive, think, and solve problems
29
humanistic psych
study that says humans are and can become good and possess a free-will
30
behavioral psych
study that says all behavior is observable and measurable
31
psychoanalytic psych
study of the unconscious, includes childhood and aggression issues
32
sociocultural psych
study of how cultural and political experiences affect our life
33
evolutionary psych
study of the evolution of humans over time, psych related to genetics and nature-born
34
developmental psych
study of our changing abilities over the course of life
35
who is wilhelm wundt?
the father of psychology
36
introspection
looking inward at one's own mental processes
37
what did bradford titchener study?
structuralism
38
structuralism
analyzing sensations, images, and feelings into their most basic elements
39
what did william james study? what did he believe?
he studied functionalism. he believed the brain and mind are constantly changing
40
functionalism
the mind is a functional tool that allows us to adapt to our environments
41
what did john locke believe?
he believed in tabula rosa--that the mind is a blank slate written on by experience
42
who is sigmund freud?
the founder of psychoanalysis
43
psychoanalytic theory
all behavior is meaningful and driven by unconscious forces
44
applied research
aims to solve practical problems
45
basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
46
hypothesis
a testable prediction
47
independent variable
the factor being manipulated by the experimentor
48
dependent variable
the factor that changes in response to the independent variable
49
theory
an explanation that integrates principles, organizes, and predicts behavior or events
50
operational definition
a description of something in terms of the operations (procedures) by which it could be observed and measured
51
validity
it measures what you want it to measure
52
reliability
it is replicable and is consistent
53
sampling
process by which participants are selected
54
population
the amount of participants that can be selected for the sample
55
representative sample
take the results from a smaller group and apply that to a larger group of people
56
random sample
participants are chosen at random, making everyone has an equal chance of being selected for the experiment
57
experimental group
the group that is being given the independent variable
58
control group
the group that is not given the independent variable and is used as a basis to be compared to
59
experimenter bias
the experimenter, either unconsciously or consciously, affects the outcome of the experiment
60
single-blind procedure
the subjects do not know to what group they belong
61
double-blind procedure
neither the experimenter nor the subject knows to what group the subjects are in. used to prevent experimenter bias
62
hawthorne effect
if you know you're being studied, you will act differently than you normally would
63
placebo
something administered that has no real affect on the person other than what they think mentally
64
positive correlation
both factors moving in the same direction (up and up or down and down)
65
negative correlation
factors moving in opposite directions (up and down, down and up)
66
survey
a questionnaire to determine the self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people to gain information
67
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in the wild/natural environment
68
case study
getting a full, detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants
69
mean
average of the scores
70
median
middle score
71
mode
the most frequently occurring score in the distribution
72
range
higher score minus the lower score
73
standard deviation
the average distance of scores around the mean
74
z-score
a type of standard score that tells us how many standard deviation units a given score is above or below the mean
75
myelin sheath
fatty covering around the axon of some neurons that speeds the neural impulse
76
axon
wire-like structure ending in the terminal that extends from the cell body
77
neurons
a nerve cell. the basic building block of the nervous system
78
sensory neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system
79
interneuron
central nervous system neurons that internally communicate and intervene between sensory and motor neurons
80
motor neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the central nervous system to the muscles and glands
81
neurotransmiters
chemical contained in terminal buttons that enable neurons to communicate. fit into receptor site of neurons
82
agonist
drugs that enhance the effect of a neurotransmitter
83
antagonist
drugs that block the effect of a neurotransmitter
84
what makes up the central nervous system?
the brain and spinal cord
85
peripheral nervous system
sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
86
what systems are inside the peripheral nervous system?
the somatic and autonomic nervous systems
87
somatic nervous system
part of the peripheral nervous system. controls the body's voluntary actions and skeletal muscles
88
autonomic nervous system
part of the peripheral nervous system. controls the body's involuntary actions, glands, and muscles of the internal organs. contains the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
89
sympathetic nervous system
arouses the body for fight-or-flight
90
parasympathetic nervous system
calms the body and restores energy
91
endocrine system
includes glands that secretes hormones
92
pituitary gland
the "master gland" and most influential gland. regulated growth and controls other endocrine glands
93
EEG scan
an amplified recording of waves of electrical activity that goes across the brain's surface
94
PET scan
a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs certain tasks
95
MRI scan
uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a computer generated image that distinguishes between the types of soft tissues in the brain
96
medulla
part of the brain stem. controls blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing
97
reticular formation
screens incoming info, filters out irrelevant info, controls arousal and attention
98
thalamus
the brain's sensory switchboard, directs all senses except for smell
99
pons
part of the brain stem. makes chemicals involved with sleep and facial expressions
100
cerebellum
attached to the rear of the brain stem. controls coordination and balance
101
limbic system
associated with emotions and (anger) drives (hunger). 3 parts: amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus
102
amygdala
part of the limbic system and involved in emotions
103
hypothalamus
part of the limbic system. controls the metabolic functions (body temp, hunger, arousal)
104
hippocampus
part of the limbic system and involved in learning and memory
105
frontal lobe
front-most lobe. involved with judgment and cognitive functions
106
parietal lobe
top-most lobe. involved in touch
107
temporal lobe
bottom-most lobe. involved in memory and hearing
108
occipital lobe
back-most lobe. involved in vision
109
what did william penfield study?
he studied the effects of stimulation on the motor cortex
110
who is phineas gage and why is he important to psychology?
he was a worker who got an iron rod impaled through his head and miraculously survived. though he survived, he became a completely different person. he is important because he was living evidence that the different parts of the brain have different functions
111
broca's area
damage to this area can cause an inability to produce speech
112
wernicke's area
damage to this area can cause an inability to understand language
113
plasticity
the brain's ability to modify itself after some kind of injury/illness
114
split brain
term for when the corpus callosum is cut and info cannot travel to the other side of the brain
115
corpus callosum
responsible for higher thinking functions and connects the two sides of the brain
116
what is the left hemisphere of the brain believed to be involved in?
logic (thinking, tasks, problem-solving, etc.)
117
what is the right hemisphere of the brain believed to be involved in?
creativity (emotions, artistic)
118
sensory cortex
received info from skin surface and sense organs to make out our senses
119
motor cortex
controls voluntary movements
120
hindbrain
lower brain at rear base of skill. responsible for reflexive or automatic behaviors
121
forebrain
largest part of brain that controls what we think of thoughts to reasons
122
midbrain
above the pons, integrates and relays sensory information to the main part of the brain
123
depolarization
this occurs when positive ions enter the neuron making it susceptible to fire an action potential
124
refractory period
the short period of recharge after an action potential is fired to fire it again
125
threshold
the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
126
absolute threshold
the weakest amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time
127
difference threshold
the minimum amount of difference needed to detect a change in stimulus 50% of the time
128
signal-detection theory
theory that predicts how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background noise
129
action potential
a neural impulse that travels down the axon
130
all-or-none principle
the strength of a response of a nerve cell is not dependent upon the strength of the stimulus (it will either fire or it won't at all)
131
reuptake
neurotransmitters that can't find an area across the synapse to attach to will be reabsorbed by another neuron
132
acetylcholine
activates motor neurons and skeletal muscles. too little = alzheimer's
133
dopamine
chemical that contributes to voluntary movements and pleasurable emotions. too little = parkinson's. too much = schizophrenia
134
endorphins
chemical that is a natural pain killer and promotes pain relief
135
serotonin
chemical involved in mood, sleep, appetite, and body temp. too little = depression. too much = OCD and mania
136
norepinephrine
chemical that affects memory, learning, mood changes. too little = depression
137
bottom-up processing
stimulus processing that begins with the sense receptor and works up the brain (seeing then interpreting)
138
top-down processing
info is processed by past experiences and recognition to extract meaning
139
olfaction
sense of smell
140
gustation
sense of taste
141
cocktail party phenomenon
focus of attention on selected aspects of the environment while blocking out the rest
142
retinal disparity
comparing the information from each eyeball. greater distance between two images = close
143
transduction
the conversion of one form of energy into another
144
retina
process visual info into neural impulses
145
cornea
outer layer. protects eye and bends incoming light rays
146
lens
focuses light rays on the retina
147
iris
controls the pupil's size
148
fovea
central point, allows us to see color
149
pupil
adjusts opening to let in light
150
blind spot
point at which there are no rods/cones
151
optic nerve
carries neural impulses to the brain
152
rods
detect monochrome colors. grants peripheral and night vision
153
cones
detects color. grants day-time vision
154
parallel processing
the processing of several aspects of a problem simultaenously
155
young-helmholtz theory
color theory that we have 3 types of cones in the retina (red, blue, green) and we see colors by mixing those colors
156
opponent process theory
color theory that the sensory receptors arranged in the retina come in pairs (red-green, yellow-blue, black-white). as one turns on, another turns off
157
afterimage
the firing of the cones used after viewing something steadily
158
visual cliff
process to tell if a baby has a sense of depth
159
hearing intensity
loudness, measured in decibles
160
hearing frequency
pitch, a tone's highness/lowness
161
outer ear
sound waves collected. noise ➜ ear canal ➜ eardrum (which vibrates when hit)
162
middle ear
transmits and amplifies the vibration hitting the eardrum. hammer (malleus) ➜ anvil (incus) ➜ stirrup (stapes)
163
inner ear
changes vibration to a neural impulse. cochlea (membrane w/ fluid that changes vibration to an electrical symbol) ➜ auditory nerve ➜ brain
164
sensory deprivation
if one sense is deprived, another will become stronger (ex. blind people have very good hearing)
165
sensory adaptation
after a while of constant stimulation, will stop detecting noise (ex. clock ticking eventually is not bothersome anymore)
166
vestibular sense
sense of body position and movement, balance
167
perceptual set
a mental predisposition to see one thing rather than another
168
what did gestalt discover? the principles of the gestalt theory?
that putting individual pieces together results in an organized whole. principles: similarity, continuation, closure, proximity
169
constancy
objects with similar size, shape, and brightness, are considered to be a set
170
metacognition
ability to think about the way you think (self-evaluation)
171
who is ivan pavlov?
the founder of classical conditioning
172
classical conditioning
learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. 5 parts: UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR
173
UCS
unconditioned stimuli. stimuli that automatically triggers a response
174
UCR
unconditioned response. an unlearned natural response to the UCS
175
NS
neutral stimulus. stimuli that doesn't trigger a response
176
CS
conditioned stimuli. NS that, after association with the UCS, elicits a certain response
177
CR
conditioned response, the learned response to a previously unconditioned response
178
acquisition
initial stage of classical conditioning, when association with the NS and the UCS begins. lasts a half a second
179
generalization
tendency to respond to a similar stimuli in the same way
180
discrimination
the learned ability to distinguish between the CS and other stimuli
181
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance of the CR to the CS
182
extinction
the fading of the CR to the CS
183
what did john garcia discover?
taste aversion after experimenting radiation on rats
184
taste aversion
eating food then feeling ill. believing the food is what caused the illness
185
operant conditioning
consequences that follow a behavior will increase/decrease the likelihood of it happening again
186
who is b.f. skinner?
the founder of operant conditioning
187
shaping
process of gradually training a learned behavior that would not normally occur
188
positive reinforcement
adding something pleasant to increase behavior
189
negative reinforcement
taking away something unpleasant to increase the behavior
190
positive punishment
adding something unpleasant to decrease behavior
191
negative punishment
taking away something pleasant to decrease behavior
192
primary reinforcement
stimuli that is satisfying without needing to learn it is (food, water)
193
secondary reinforcement
stimuli that has acquired power because it is learned to be important (money, grades)
194
continuous reinforcement schedule
repeatedly reinforces behavior every time it happens
195
variable ratio (schedule)
random number of responses (ex. slot machine)
196
fixed ratio (schedule)
after a set number of responses (ex. buy one get one free)
197
variable interval (schedule)
after a random amount of time (ex. fishing)
198
fixed interval
after a set rate of time (ex. allowance every friday)
199
who is albert bandura and what experiment did he conduct?
he created the social learning theory. he conducted the bobo doll experiment
200
explain the bobo doll experiment
children watch an adult model's aggressive behavior towards a toy (bobo doll) by attacking them. then when left alone in a room with the doll, the children attacked it. children who watched an non-aggressive model were subdued and didn't attack the doll
201
flashbulb memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant event
202
what are the 3 types of memory?
episodic, semantic/generic, procedural
203
episodic memory
a memory of a specific event (ex. graduation)
204
semantic/generic memory
general knowledge that we do not remember acquiring (ex. george washington was the first president of the u.s.)
205
procedural memory
memory of how we perform an action (ex. driving)
206
what are the three processes of memory?
encoding, storage, retrieval
207
encoding memory
processing information into the memory system
208
storage memory
maintenance of encoded information over time in the memory
209
retrieval (memory)
process of getting information out of memory
210
what are the 3 stages of memory?
sensory, short-term/working, long-term
211
sensory memory
the immediate initial recording of information that enters through our senses
212
short-term/working memory
holds a few items (7 plus or minus 2) briefly (18-20 sec) before the information is stored or forgotten
213
long-term memory
storing memory
214
what did hermann ebbingaus do?
he pioneered the experimental study of memory. He discovered the forgetting curve and that the more time we spend learning info, the longer we remember it
215
serial position effect
tendency to recall the first and last items of a list
216
primary effect
tendency to recall the first items of a list
217
recency effect
tendency to recall the last terms of list
218
mnemonic devices
ways of remembering info by using creative memory techniques
219
chunking
putting many numbers into parts
220
iconic memory
visual memory
221
echoic memory
auditory memory
222
implicit memory
memory that does not need to be consciously remembered to be present
223
explicit memory
memory used when consciously trying to remember something (ex. what you ate for dinner yesterday)
224
retrograde amnesia
forgetting old info
225
anterograde amnesia
forgetting new info
226
source amnesia
inability to remember who told you something
227
infantile amnesia
inability to anything before age of 3
228
recall
retrieval of info already learned (filling blank parts in tests)
229
recognition
identifying info you already learned (multiple choice)
230
proactive interference
old info interferes with new info
231
retroactive interference
new info interferes with old info
232
repression
pushing a memory to the back of the mind
233
who is abraham maslow and what did he believe?
he's a humanistic psychologist who believed that basic needs need to be met before pursuing self-actualization needs
234
maslow's hierarchy of needs (bottom to top)
physiological needs (food, water) ➜ safety needs (security, shelter) ➜ belonging needs (friends, family) ➜ esteem needs achievement) ➜ self-actualization
