CH 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10,12 terms Flashcards
(312 cards)
1
Q
Empirical
A
Relying on or derived from observation, experimentation, or measurement
2
Q
Psychology
A
The discipline concerned with behaviour and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment.
3
Q
psychobabble
A
pseudoscience and quackery covers by a veneer of psychological and scientific sounding language
4
Q
critical thinking
A
the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgements on the basis of well supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion or anecdote
5
Q
Occam’s razor
A
the principle of choosing the solution that accounts for the most evidence while making the fewest unverified assumptions
6
Q
phrenology
A
the now discredited theory that different brain areas account for specific character and personality traits, which can be read from bumps on the skull
7
Q
structuralism
A
an early psychological approach that emphasized the analysis of immediate experience into basic elements
8
Q
functionalism
A
an early psychological approach that emphasized the function or purpose of behaviour and consciousness
9
Q
psychoanalysis
A
a theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy, originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts
10
Q
Biological perspective
A
a psychological approach that emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions, feelings and thoughts
11
Q
evolutionary psychology
A
a field of psychology emphasizing evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commonalities in condition, development, emotion, social practises and other areas of behaviour
12
Q
learning perspective
A
a psychological approach that emphasizes how the environment and experience affect a person’s or animals actions, it includes behaviourism and social cognitive learning theories
13
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behaviourism
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an approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behaviour and the role of the environment and prior experience as determinants of behaviour
14
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cognitive perspective
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a psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behaviour
15
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sociocultural perspective
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a psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behaviour
16
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psychodynamic perspective
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a psychological approach that emphasizes unconscious dynamics within the individual, such s inner forces, conflicts, or the movement of instinctual energy
17
Q
humanist psychology
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a psychological approach that emphasizes personal growth and the achievement of human potential rather than scientific understanding and assessment of behaviour
18
Q
feminist psychology
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a psychological approach that analyzes the influence of social inequities on gender relations and on the behaviour of the 2 sexes
19
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psychological practise
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providing health or mental health services
20
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basic psychology
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the study of psychological issues in order to eek knowledge for its own sake rather than for its practical application
21
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applied psychology
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the study of psychological issues that have direct practical significance; also the application of psychological findings
22
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psychotherapist
A
unregulated person who does any kind of psychotherapy
23
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psychoanalyst
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a person who practises psychoanalysis, has obtained specialized training at a psychoanalytic institute, and has undergone extensive psychoanalysis personally
24
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psychiatrist
A
a medical doctor who has completed a 5 year residency in psychiatry to learn how to diagnose and treat mental disorders under the supervision of more experienced physicians
25
theory
an organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships
26
hypothesis
a statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypotheses specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested
27
operational definition
a precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defined
28
principle of falsifiability
the principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen
29
confirmation bias
the tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms ones own belief
30
representative sample
a group of individuals, selected from a population for study, that matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex
31
descriptive methods
methods that yield descriptions of behaviour but not necessarily causal explanations
32
case study
a detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated
33
observational study
a study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behaviour without interfering with the behaviour; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation
34
psychological tests
procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities and values
35
Standardize
in test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test
36
norms
in test construction, established standards of performance
37
reliability
in test construction, the consistency of scores derived from a test, from on time and place to another
38
validity
the ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure
39
surveys
questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions
40
volunteer bias
a shortcoming of finding derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample; volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer
41
correlational study
a descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between 2 phenomena
42
correlation
a measure of how strongly 2 variables are related to one another
43
variables
characteristics of behaviour or experience that can be measured or described by a numeric scale
44
positive correlation
an association between increases in one variable and increases in another- or between decreases in one and decreases in another
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negative correlation
an association between increases in one variable and decreases in another
46
coefficient of correlation
a measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00
47
experiment
a controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates on variable to discover its effect on another
48
independent variable
a variable that an experimenter manipulates
49
dependent variable
a variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable
50
control condition
in an experiment, a comparison condition in which participants are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition
51
random assignment
a procedure for assigning people to experimental or control group in which each individual has the same probability as any other of being assigned to a given group
52
placebo
an inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment or given by a medical practitioner to a patient
53
single blind study
an experiment in which participants do not know whether they ar in an experimental or a control group, but the researchers do
54
experimenter effects
unintended changes in study participants' behaviour due to cues that the experimenter inadvertently conveys
55
double blind study
an experiment in which neither the people being studied nor the individuals running the study know who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group until after the results are tallied
56
field research
descriptive or experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory
57
descriptive statistics
statistical procedures that organize and summarize research data
58
arithmetic mean
an average that is calculated by adding up a set of quantities and dividing the sum by the total number of quantities in the set
59
standard deviation
a commonly used measure of variability the indicated the average difference between scores in a distribution their mean
60
inferential statistics
statistical procedures that allow researchers to draw inferences about how statistically meaningful a study's results are
61
significance tests
statistical tests that show how likely it is that a study's results occurred merely by chance
62
confidence interval
a statistical measure that provides, with a specified probability, a range of values within which a population mean is likely to lie
63
cross-sectional study
a study in which people (or animals) of different ages are compared at a given time
64
longitudinal study
a study in which people (or animals) are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time
65
effect size
an objective, standardized way of describing the strength of the independent variable's influence on the dependent variable
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meta-analysis
a set of techniques for combining data from a number of relation studies to determine the explanatory strength of a particular independent variable
67
Bayesian statistics
statistics that involve a formula fo calculating the likelihood of a hypothesis being true and meaningful, taking into account relevant prior knowledge
68
informed consent
the doctrine that anyone who participates in human research must do so voluntarily and must know enough about the study to make an intelligent decision about whether to take part
69
central nervous system (CNS)
the portion of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord
70
spinal cord
a collection of neurons and supportive tissue running from the base of the brain down the centre of the back, protected by a column of bones (the spinal column)
71
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
all portions of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord; it included sensory and motor nerves
72
somatic nervous system
the subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that connects to sensory receptors and to skeletal muscles; sometimes called the skeletal nervous system
73
autonomic nervous system
the subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that regulates the internal organs and glands
74
sympathetic nervous system
the subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that mobilizes bodily resources and increases the output of energy during emotion and stress
75
parasympathetic nervous system
the subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that operates during relaxed states and that conserves energy
76
neuron
a cell that conducts electrochemical signals; the basic unit of the nervous system; also called a nerve cell
77
glia
cells that support, nurture, and insulate neurone, remove debris when neurons die, enhance the formation and maintenance of neural connections, and modify neuronal functioning
78
dendrites
a neuron's branches that receive information from other neurons and transmit it towards the cell body
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cell body
the part of the netron that keeps it alive and determines whether or not it will fire
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axon
a neuron's extending fibre that conducts impulses away from the cell body and transmits them to the neurons
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myelin sheath
a fatty insulation that may surround the axon of a neuron
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nerve
a bundle of nerve fibres (axons and sometimes dendrites) in the peripheral nervous system
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neurogenesis
the production of new neurons from immature stem cells
84
stem cells
immature cells that renew themselves and have the potential to develop into mature cells; given encouraging environments, stem cells from early embryos can develop into any cell type
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synapse
the site where transmission of a nerve impulse from on nerve cell to another occurs; it includes the axon terminal, the synaptic cleft, and receptor sites in the membrane of the receiving cell
86
action potential
a brief change ifnelectrical voltage that occurs between the inside and the outside of an axon when a neuron is stimulated; it produces an electrical impulse
87
neurotransmitter
a chemical substance that is released by a transmitting neuron at the synapse that alters the activity of a receiving neuron
88
hormones
chemical substances, secreted by organs called glands, that affect the functioning of other glands
89
endocrine glands
internal organs that produce hormones and release them into the bloodstream
90
melatonin
a hormone, secreted by the pineal gland, that is involved in the regulation of daily biological (circadian) rythms
91
oxytocin
a hormone, secreted by the pituitary gland, that stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth, facilitates the ejection of milk doing nursing, and seems to promote, in both sexes, attachment and trust in relationships
92
adrenal hormones
hormones that are produced by the adrenal glands and that are involved in emotion and stress
93
sex hormones
hormones that regulate the development and functioning of reproductive organs and that stimulate the development of male and female sexual characteristics; they include androgens, estrogens and progesterone
94
neuromodulators
neurochemicals that modulate the functioning of neutrons and neurotransmitters
95
endorphins
chemical substances in the nervous system that are similar in structure and action to opiates; they are involved in pain reduction, pleasure, and memory and are known technically as endogenous opioid peptides
96
lesion method
the removal or disabling of a brain structure to gain better understanding of its function; this method is used only in animals
97
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
a method of stimulating brain cells using a powerful magnetic field produced by a wire coil placed on a person's head; it can be used by researchers to temporarily inactivate neural circuits
98
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
a technique that applies a very small electric current to stimulate or suppress activity in parts of the cortex; it enables researchers to identify the function of a particular area
99
electroencephalogram (EEG)
a recording of neural activity detected by electrodes
100
event-related potentials (ERP)
a technique that isolates the neural activity associated with a specific stimulus ("event")
101
PET scan (positron-emission tomography)
a method for analyzing biochemical activity in the brain, for example by using injections of a glucose-like substance containing a radioactive element
102
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
a method for studying body and brain tissue, using magnetic fields and special radio receivers
103
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
a type of magnetic resonance imaging used to study brain activity associated with specific thoughts and behaviours
104
localization of function
specialization of particular brain areas for particular functions
105
brain stem
the part of the brain at the top of the spinal cord, consisting of medulla and the pons
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pons
a structure in the brainstem involve in, among other things, sleeping, waking, and dreaming
107
medulla
a structure in the brain stem responsible for certain automatic functions such as breathing and heart rate
108
reticular activating system (RAS)
a dense network of neurons found in the core of the brain stem; it arouses the cortex and screens incoming info
109
cerebellum
a brain structure that regulates movement and balance, is involved in remembering simple skills and acquired reflexes, and plays a role in cognitive and emotional learnign
110
thalamus
a brain structure that relays sensory messages to the cerebral cortex
111
hypothalamus
a brain structure involved in emotions and drives vital to survival; it regulates the autonomic nervous system
112
pituitary gland
a small endocrine gland at the base of the brain that releases many hormones and regulates other endocrine glands
113
amygdala
a brain structure involved in the arousal and regulation of emotion and the initial emotional response to sensory info
114
hippocampus
a brain structure involved in the storage of new info in memory
115
cerebrum
the largest brain structure, consisting of the upper part of the brain, divided into 2 hemispheres, it is in charge of most sensory, motor, and cognitive processes
116
cerebral hemispheres
the 2 halves of the cerebrum
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corpus callosum
the bundle of nerve fibres connection the 2 cerebral hemispheres
118
lateralization
specialization of the 2 cerebral hemispheres for particular operations
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cerebral cortex
a collection of several thin layers of cells covering the cerebrum; it is largely responsible for higher mental functions
120
occipital lobes
lobes at the lower bak part of the brain's cerebral cortex; they contain areas that receive visual info
121
parietal lobes
lobes at the top of the brain's cerebral cortes; they contain areas that receive info on pressure, pain, touch, ad temp as well as handle attention and awareness of the spatial relations
122
temporal lobes
lobes at the sides of the brain's cerebral cortex; they contain areas involved in hearing, memory, perception, emotion and (in the left lobe, typically) language comprehension
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frontal lobes
lobes at the sides of the brain's cerebral cortex; they contain areas involved in short-term memory, higher-order thinking, initiative, social judgement, and (in the left lobe typically) speech production
124
plasticity
the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience, through neurogenesis, or by reorganizing or growing new neural connections
125
biological rhythm
a periodic, more or less regular fluctuation in a biological system; may or may not have psychological implications
126
entraiment
the synchronization of biological rhythms with external cues, such as fluctuations in daylight
127
endogenous
generated from within rather than by external cues
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circadian rhythm
a biological rhythm with a period of about 24 hours
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surprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
an area of the braun containing a biological clock that governs circadian rythms
130
melatonin
a hormone, secreted by the pineal gland, that is involved in the regulation of daily biological (circadian) rhythms
131
internal desynchronization
a state in which biological rhythms are not in phase (synchronized) with one another
132
chronotype
a person's pattern of sleep and wakefulness throughout a typical day
133
seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
a controversial disorder in which a person experiences depression during the winter and an improvement of mood in the spring
134
rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
sleep periods characterized by eye movement, loss of muscle tone, and dreaming
135
sleep apnea
a disorder in which breathing briefly stops during sleep, causing the person to choke and gasp momentarily awaken
136
narcolepsy
a disorder involving sudden and unpredictable daytime attacks of sleepiness or lapses int REM sleep
137
REM behaviour disorder
a disorder in which the muscle paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is absent or incomplete, and the sleeper is able to act out his or her dreams
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consolidation
a process by which the synaptic changes associated with recently stored memories become durable and stable, causing memory to become more reliable
139
lucid dream
a dream in which the dreamer is aware of dreaming
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activation-synthesis theory
the theory that dreaming results from the cortical synthesis and interpretation of neural signals triggered by activity in the lower part of the brain
141
hypnosis
a procedure in which the practitioner suggests changes in the sensations, perceptions, thoughts, feelings, or behaviours of the participant
142
dissociation
a split in consciousness in which 1 part of the mind operates independently of others
143
psychoactive drug
a drug capable of influencing perception, mood, cognition, or behaviour
144
stimulants
drugs that speed up activity in the central nervous system
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depressants
drugs that slow activity in the central nervous system
146
opiates
drugs, derived from the opium poppy, that relieve pain and commonly produce euphoria
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psychedelic drugs
consciousness-altering drugs that produce hallucinations, change though processes, or disrupt the normal perception of time and space
148
anabolic steroids
synthetic derivatives of testosterone that are taken in pill form or by injection t increase muscle mass and strength
149
tolerance
increases resistance to a drug's effects accompanying continued ues
150
withdrawal
physical and psychological symptoms that occur when someone addicted to a drug stops taking it
151
sensation
the detection of physical energy emitted or reflected by physical objects; it occurs when energy in the external environment or the body stimulates receptors in the sense organs
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perception
the process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory info
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sense receptors
specialized cells that convert physical energy in the environment or the Boyd to electrical energy that can be transmitted as nerve impulses to the brain
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doctrine of specific nerve energies
the principle that different sensory modalities exist because signals received by the sense organs stimulate different nerve pathways leading to different areas of the brain
155
synesthesia
a condition in which stimulation of one sense also evokes another
156
absolute threshold
the smallest quantity of physical energy that can be reliably detected by an observer
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difference threshold
the smaller difference in stimulation that can be reliably detected by an observer when 2 stimuli are compared
158
signal-detection theory
a psychophysical theory that divides the detection of a sensory signal into a sensory process and a decision process
159
sensory adaptation
the reduction or disappearance of sensory responsiveness when stimulation is unchanging or repetitious
160
sensory deprivation
the absence of normal levels of sensory stimulation
161
selective attention
the focusing of attention on selected aspects of the environment and the blocking out of others
162
inattentional blindness
failure to consciously perceive something you are looking at because you are not attending to it
163
hue
the dimension of visual experience specified by colour names and related to the wavelength of light
164
brightness
lightness or luminance; the dimension of visual experience related to the amount of light emitted from or reflected by an object
165
saturation
vividness or purity of colour; the dimension of visual experience related to the complexity of light waves
166
retina
neural tissue lining the back of the eyeball's interior, which contains the receptors of vision
167
rods
visual receptors that respond to dim light
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cones
visual receptors involved in colour vision
169
dark adaptation
a process by which visual receptors become maximally sensitive to dim light
170
ganglion cells
neurons in the retina of the eye that gather info from receptor cells (by way of intermediate bipolar cells); their axons make up the optic nerve
171
feature detector cells
cells in the visual cortex that are sensitive to specific features of the environment
172
trichromatic theory
a theory of colour perception that proposes 3 mechanisms in the visual system, each sensitive to a certain range of wavelengths,; their interaction is assumed to produce all the different experience of hue
173
opponent-process theory
a theory of colour perception that assumes that the visual system treats pairs of colours as opposing or antagonistic
174
Gestalt principles
principles that describe the brain's organization of sensory info into meaningful units and patterns
175
binocular cues
visual cues to depth or distance requiring 2 eyes
176
convergence
the turning inward of the eyes, which occurs when they focus on a nearby object
177
retinal disparity
the slight difference in lateral separation between 2 objects as seen by the left and right eye
178
monocular cues
visual cues to depth or distance that can be used by 1 eye alone
179
perceptual constancy
the accurate perception of objects as stable or unchanged despite changes in the sensory patterns they produce
180
loudness
the dimension of auditory experience related to the intensity of a pressure wave
181
pitch
the dimension of auditory experience related to the frequency of a pressure wave; height or depth of a tone
182
timbre
the distinguishing quality of a sound; the dimension of auditory experience related to the complexity of the pressure wave
183
organ of Corti
a structure in the cochlea containing hair cells that serve as the receptors for hearing
184
cochlea
a snail-shaped, fluid-filled organ in the inner ear, containing the structure where the receptors for hearing are located
185
papillae
knoblike elevations on the tongue, containing the taste buds
186
taste buds
nests of taste receptor cells
187
gate-control theory of pain
the theory that the experience of pain depends in part on whether pain impulses get past a neurological "gate" in the spinal cord and thus reach the brain
188
phantom pain
the experience of pain in a missing limb or other body part
189
kinesthesis
the sense of body position and movement of body parts; also called kinesthesia
190
equilibrium
the sense of balance
191
semicircular canals
sense organs in the inner ear that contribute to equilibrium by responding to rotation of the head
192
perceptual set
a habitual way of perceiving, based on expectations
193
priming
a method used to measure unconscious cognitive processes, in which a person is exposed to info and is later tested to see whether the info affects behaviour or performance on another task or in another situation
194
learning
a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience
195
behaviourism
an approach to psychology that emphasizes the study of observable behaviour and the role of the environment and prior experience as determinants of behaviour
196
conditioning
a basic kind of learning that involves association among environmental stimuli and an organism's behaviour
197
unconditioned stimulus (US)
the classical-conditioning term for a stimulus that already elicits a certain response without additional learning
198
unconditioned response (UR)
the classical-conditioning term for a response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus
199
conditioned response (CR)
the classical-conditioning term for a response that is elicited by a continued stimulus; it occurs after the conditioned stimulus is associated with an unconditioned stimulus
200
classical conditioning
the process by which a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that already elicits a response and in turn acquires the capacity to elicit a similar or related response
Pavlovian or respondent conditioning
201
extinction
the weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response; in classical conditioning it occurs when the conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus
202
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance of a learned response after its apparent extinction
203
higher-order conditioning
in classical conditioning, a procedure in which a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus though association with an already established conditioned stimulus
204
stimulus generalization
after conditioning, the tendency to respond to a stimulus that resembles one involved in the original conditioning; in classical conditioning it occurs when. stimulus that resembles the CS elicits the CR
205
stimulus discrimination
the tendency to respond differently to 2 or more similar stimuli; in classical conditioning it occurs when a stimulus similar to the CS fails to evoke the CR
206
counterconditioning
in classical conditioning, the process of pairing a conditioned stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response that is incompatible with an unwanted conditioned response
207
operant conditioning
the process by which a response becomes more likely to occur or less so, depending on its consequences
208
reinforcement
the process by which a stimulus or event strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it follows
209
punishment
the process by which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the response that it follows
210
primary reinforcer
a stimulus that is inherently reinforcing, typically satisfying a physiological need; an example is food
211
primary punisher
a stimulus that is inherently punishing, an example is electric shock
212
secondary reinforcer
a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing properties through association with other reinforcers
213
secondary punisher
a stimulus that has acquired reinforcing properties through association with other reinforcers
214
positive reinforcement
a reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the presentation of or increase in intensity of, a reinforcing stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur
215
negative reinforcement
a reinforcement procedure in which a response is followed by the removal, delay, or decrease in intensity of an unpleasant stimulus; as a result, the response becomes stronger or more likely to occur
216
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that signals when a particular response is likely to be followed by a certain type of consequence
217
continuous reinforcement
a reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is always reinforced
218
intermittent schedule of reinforcement
a reinforcement schedule in which a particular response is sometimes but not always reinforced
219
shaping
an operant-conditioning procedure in which successive approximations of a desired response are reinforced
220
successive approximations
in the operant-conditioning procedure of shaping, behaviours that are ordered in terms of increasing similarity or closeness to the desired response
221
instinctive drift
during operant learning, the tendency for an organism to revert to instinctive behaviour
222
behaviour modification
the application of operant-conditioning techniques to teach new responses or to reduce or eliminate maladaptive or problematic behaviour; also called applied behaviour analysis
223
extrinsic reinforcers
reinforcers that are not inherently related to the activity of being reinforced
224
intrinsic reinforcers
reinforcers that are inherently related to the active being reinforced
225
latent learning
a form of learning that is not immediately expressed in an overt response; it occurs without obvious reinforcement
226
social-cognitive theories
theories that emphasize how behaviour is learned and maintained through observation and imitation of others, positive consequences, and cognitive processes such as plans, expectations and beliefs
227
observational learning
a process in which an individual learns new responses by observing the behaviour of another rathe than through direct experiences; sometimes called vicarious conditioning
228
concept
a mental category that groups objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties
229
basic concepts
concepts that have a moderate number of instances and that are easier to acquire than those having few or many instances
230
prototype
an especially representative example of a concept
231
proposition
a unit of meaning that us made up of concepts and expresses a single idea
232
cognitive schema
an integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic or aspect of the world
233
mental image
a mental representation that mirrors or resembles the thing it represents; mental images occur in may and perhaps all sensory modalities
234
subconscious processes
mental processes occurring outside of the conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary
235
nonconscious processes
mental processes occurring outside of and not available to conscious awareness
236
implicit learning
learning that occurs when you acquire knowledge about something without being aware of how you did so and without being able to state exactly what it is you have learned
237
algorithm
a problem-solving strategy guaranteed to produce a solution even if the user does not know how it works
238
heuristic
a rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solution
239
reasoning
the drawing of conclusions or inferences from observation, facts, or assumptions
240
dialectical reasoning
a process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences
241
affect heuristic
the tendency to consult one's emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively
242
availability heuristic
the tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances
243
framing effect
the tendency for people's choices to be affected by how a choice is presented, or framed, such as whether it is worded in terms of potential losses or gains
244
hindsight bias
the tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known; the "I knew it all along" phenomenon
245
confirmation bias
the tendency to look for or pay attention only to info that confirms one's own belief
246
mental set
a tendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems
247
cognitive dissonance
a state of tension that occurs when a person holds 2 cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person's belief is incongruent with his or her behaviour
248
postdecision dissonance
in the theory of cognitive dissonance, tension that occurs when you believe you may have made a bad decision
249
justification of effort
the tendency of individuals to increase their liking for something that they have worked hard or suffered to attain; a common form of dissonance reduction
250
intelligence
an inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment
251
psychometrics
the measurement of mental abilities, traits and processes
252
factor analysis
a statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test score; clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumes to measure the same underlying trait, ability or aptitude
253
g factor
a general intellectual ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents
254
crystallized intelligence
cognitive skills and specific knowledge acquired over a lifetime; it is heavily dependent on education and tends to remain stable over time
255
fluid intelligence
the capacity to reason and use info to save problems; it is relatively independent of education
256
mental age (MA)
a measure of mental development expressed in terms of the average mental ability at a given age
257
intelligence quotient (IQ)
a measure of intelligence originally computed by dividing a person's mental age by his or her chronological age and multiplying by 100; it is now derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests
258
stereotype threat
a burden of doubt a person feels about his or her performance, due to negative stereotypes about his or her group's abilities
259
metacognition
the knowledge or awareness of one's own cognitive processes, and the ability to monitor and control those processes
260
triarchic theory of intelligence
a theory of intelligence that emphasizes analytic, creative and practical abilities
261
tacit knowledge
strategies for success that are not explicitly taught but that instead but be inferred
262
emotional intelligence (EI)
the ability to identify you own and other people's emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly and regulate emotions in yourself and others
263
cognitive ethnology
the study of cognitive processes in nonhuman animals
264
theory of mind
a system of beliefs about the way one's own mid and the mind of others work, and of how individuals are affected by their beliefs and feelings
265
source misattribution
the inability to distinguish an actual memory of an event from info you learned abut the eve elsewhere
266
confabulation
confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened
267
explicit memory
conscious, intentional recollection of an event or of an item of info
268
recall
the ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously encountered material
269
recognition
the ability to identify previously encountered material
270
implicit memory
unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered info on current thoughts or actions
271
priming
a method used to measure unconscious cognitive processed, in which a person is exposed to info and is later tested to see whether the info affects behaviour or performance on another task or in another situation
272
relearning method
a method for measuring retention that compares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material
273
parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
a model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operation in parallel
274
sensory register
a memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory info
275
short term memory (STM)
in the 3 box model of memory, a limited-capacity memory system involved in the retention of info for brief periods; it is also used to hold info retrieved from long term memory for temporary use
276
chunk
a meaningful unit of info; it may be composed of smaller units
277
working memory
in many models of memory, a cognitively complicit form of short term memory; it involves active mental processes that control retrieval of info from long term memory and interpret that info appropriately for a given task
278
long term memory (LTM)
in the 3 box model of memory, the memory system involved in the long-term storage of info
279
procedural memories
memories for the performances of actions or skills
280
declarative memories
memories of facts, rules, concepts and events they include semantic and episodic memories
281
semantic memories
memories of general knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts and propositions
282
episodic memories
memories of personally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred
283
serial-position effect
the tendency for recall of the first and last items on a list surpassed recall of items in the middle of the list
284
long terms potentiation
a long lasting increase in the strength of synaptic responsiveness, thought to be a biological mechanism of long term memory
285
consolidation
the process by which a long term memory becomes durable and relatively stable
286
mnemonics
strategies and tricks for improving memory, such as the use of a verse or a formula
287
maintenance rehearsal
rote repetition of material in order to maintain its availability in memory
288
elaborative rehearsal
association of new info with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new info to make it memorable
289
deep processing
in the encoding of info the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus
290
decay theory
the theory that info in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed; it applies better to (STM) than (LTM)
291
retroactive interference
forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previously
292
proactive interference
forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material
293
cue-dependent forgetting
the inability to retrieve info stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recall
294
state-dependent memory
the tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning or experience
295
mood-congruent memory
the tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with one's current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not
296
amnesia
the partial or complete loss of memory for important personal info
297
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the selective, involuntary pushing of threatening or upsetting info into the unconscious
298
childhood amnesia
the inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first 2 or 3 years of life
299
motivation
an inferred process within a person or animal that causes movement either toward a goal or away from an unpleasant situation
300
intrinsic motivation
the pursuit of an activity for its own sake
301
extrinsic motivation
the pursuit of an activity for external rewards, such as money or fame
302
set point
the genetically influenced weight range for an individual; it is maintained by biological mechanisms that regulate food intake, fat reserves and metabolism
303
bulimia
an eating disorder characterized by episodes of excessive eating (bingeing) followed by forced vomiting or use of laxatives (purging)
304
anorexia
an eating disorder characterized by fear of being fat, a distorted body image, radically reduced consumption of food and emaciation
305
endorphins
chemical substances in the nervous system that are similar in structure and action to opiates; they are involved in pain reduction, pleasure and memory and are known technically as endogenous opioid peptides
306
proximity effect
the people who are nearest to you in geographically are most likely to be dearest to you, too
307
similarity effect
similarity- in looks, attitudes, beliefs, values, personality and interests- is attractive to human beings; we tend to choose friends and loved ones who are most like us
308
attachment theory of love
people's attachment styles as adults derive in large part from how their parents cared for them
309
sexual script
set of implicit rules that specify proper sexual behaviour for a person in a given situation, varying with the persons gender, age, religion, social status, and peer group
310
thematic apperception test (TAT)
a projective test that asks respondents to interpret a series of drawings showing scenes of people; usually scored for unconscious motives, such as the need fo achievement, power or affiliation
311
approach goals
goals framed in terms of desired outcomes or experiences, such as learning to scuba dive
312
avoidance goals
goals framed in terms of avoiding unpleasant experiences, such as trying not to look foolish in public
