Gen Psychology exam 1

Question 1

Psychology as science

What is the definition of psychology?

Answer 1

Psychology is the study of the human mind and how it operates.

Question 2

Psychology as Science

What is the theme for chapter 1?

Answer 2

Psychological science relies on empirical evidence and adapts as new data develop.

Question 3

Psychology as science

What do psychologists do?

Answer 3

They try to understand the human condition better by conducting experiments and doing research studies.

Question 4

Psychology as science

What makes psychology science?

Answer 4

We try to understand the human mind within the realm of reality.

Question 5

Psychology as science

Hindsight bias

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Psychology as science

Hypothesis

Answer 6

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Question 7

Psychology as science

Theory

Answer 7

An explaination using an integrated set of principles that organizes oberservations and predicts behaviors and events.

Question 8

Psychology as science

Experiment

Answer 8

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (indep. variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dep. variable).

Indep.: independent Dep.: dependent

Question 9

Psychology as science

Variable

Answer 9

A measurable outcome in an experiment

Question 10

Psychology as science

Independent and dependent variables

Answer 10

Independent: In an experiment, the factor that is maniplulated: the variable whose effect is being studied.
Dependent: In an experiment, the outcome that is measured: the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.

Question 11

Psychology as science

Operational definition

Answer 11

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.

Question 12

Psychology as science

Population

Answer 12

All those in a group being studied, from which samples (people) may be drawn. (Note: except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.)

Question 13

Psychology as science

Random sample

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Psychology as science

Random assigment

Answer 14

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups.

Question 15

Psychology as science

Correlation

Answer 15

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
Remember: correlation does not prove causation

Question 16

Memory

What is the theme for chapter 8?

Answer 16

Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways.

Question 17

Memory

Encoding, storage, and retrieval

Answer 17

Encoding: Getting information into the memory system–for example, by extracting meaning.
Storage: The process of retaining encoded information over time.
Retrieval: The process of getting information out of memory storage.

Question 18

Memory

Sensory memory (iconic and echoic)

Answer 18

Sensory: The immediente, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Iconic (visual stimuli): a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
Echoic (auditory stimuli): if attention is elsewhere, sounds and word can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Question 19

Memory

Short-term memory

Answer 19

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.

Question 20

Memory

Long-term memory

Answer 20

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Question 21

Memory

Chunking

Answer 21

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units

Question 22

Memory

Hippocampus

Answer 22

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories–of facts and events–for storage.

Question 23

Memory

Explicit memory

Answer 23

Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare”.

Question 24

Memory

Implicit memory

Answer 24

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection.

Question 25

Memory

Role of Basal ganglia and cerebellum

Answer 25

Basal ganglia: Deep structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedual memories for skills. Receives imput from the cortex, but does not return information.
Cerebellum: Forms and stores the implicit memories created by classical conditioning.

Question 26

Memory

Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia

Answer 26

Anterograde: an inability to form new memories
Retrograde: An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

Question 27

Memory

Mnemonics

Answer 27

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Question 28

Memory

Spacing Effect

Answer 28

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

Question 29

Memory

Testing effect

Answer 29

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

Question 30

Memory

Levels of processing (shallow and deep)

Answer 30

Shallow: Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearnance of words.
Deep: Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

Question 31

Memory

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 31

An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulations: a neural basis for learning and memory

Question 32

Memory

Flashbulb memory

Answer 32

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

Question 33

Memory

Proactive and Retroactive interference

Answer 33

Proactive: The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.
Retrograde: The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.

Question 34

Memory

Semantic and Episodic memory

Answer 34

Semantic: Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge.
Episodic: Explicit memory of personally experienced events.

Question 35

Memory

Misinformation effect

Answer 35

Occurs when misleading information has corrupted one’s memory of an event.

Question 36

Memory

Source Amnesia

Answer 36

Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined.

Question 37

Memory

Serial position effect

Answer 37

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primary effect) items in a list.