Glossary Flashcards
1
Q
Acquisition
A
In classical conditioning, the process of learning the association between a conditioned stimulus and response.
2
Q
Activation-synthesis pathway
A
The theory that dreams are simply byproducts of brain activation during REM sleep.
Suggests that the content of dreams is not purposeful.
3
Q
Actor-observer bias
A
The tendency to blame actions on the situtation and blame actions of others on their personality.
4
Q
Adrenal Cortex
A
Outer region of the adrenal gland.
Produces cortisol in response to long-term stress (chronic) and aldosterone in response to low bl. pr. or low bl. osmolarity.
5
Q
Adrenal Medulla
A
Inner region of the adrenal gland.
Part of the sympathetic nervous system and releases epinephrine and NE.
6
Q
Adrenicorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
A
Tropic hormone produced by the anterior pituitary that targets adrenal cortex, stimulating it to release cortisol and aldosterone.
7
Q
Affect
A
A person’s visible emotion in the moment.
8
Q
Affirmative action
A
Policies that take factors like race or sex into consideration to benefit underrepresented groups in admission or job hiring decisions; these policies have been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims of discrimination.
9
Q
Aggregate
A
People who exist in the same space but do not interact or share a common sense of identity.
10
Q
Ainsworth, Mary - Famous for her “strange situation experiment”
A
“Strange situation experiment” is where mothers would leave their infants in an unfamiliar environment to see how they would react.
Studies suggested a distinction between securely attached infants and insecurely attached infants.
11
Q
Algorithm
A
Step-by-step detailing aid to problem solving.
12
Q
Alpha Waves
A
Low amplitude, high frequency brain waves present in a relaxed state.
Alpha waves are the first indicator that a person is ready to drift off to sleep.
13
Q
Altruism
A
A behavior that helps ensure the success or survival of the rest of a social group, possibly at the success or survival of the individual.
14
Q
Alzheimer’s disease
A
The most prevalent form of dementia.
Characterized behaviorally by an inability to form new memories, known as anterograde amnesia.
15
Q
Amygdala
A
Almond-shaped structure deep within the brain that orchestrates emotional experiences.
16
Q
Amalgamation
A
Occurs when maj and min groups combine to form a new group.
17
Q
Anal stage
A
The second of the Freud’s five pshycosexual stages, in this stage the child seeks sensual pleasure through control of elimination.
18
Q
Anterograde amnesia
A
inability to form new memos.
19
Q
Antisocial personality disorder
A
A psychological disorder characterized by a history of serious behavior problems beginning in adolescence, including significant aggression against people or animals, deliberate property destruction, lying or theft, and serious rule violation.
20
Q
Anxiety disorder
A
Anxiety is an emotional state of unpleasant physical and mental arousal; a preparation to flight or flee. In a person with an anxiety disorder, the anxiety is intense, frequent, irrational (out of proportion) and uncontrollable; it causes significant distress or impairment of normal functioning.
21
Q
Asch, Solomon
A
Conducted research on conformity and group pressure by placing subjects in a room with several confederates (the subjects believed the confederates to be fellow study subjects) and observing the behavior of the subject when the confederates provided clearly wrong answers to questions.
22
Q
Ascribed status VS Achieved status
A
Asc: those that are assigned to a person by society regardless of the person’s own efforts.
Ach: Those that are considered to be due to an individual’s own efforts.
23
Q
Attenuation model of selective attention
A
Model of selective attention in which the mind has an attenuator, like a volume knob, that can turn up inputs to be attended and tune down unattended inputs, rather than totally eliminating them.
Accounts for cocktail party effect.
24
Q
Cocktail party effect
A
Phenomenon of info of personal importance from previously unattended channels “catching” one’s attention.
25
Availability heuristic
Mental shortcut of making judgments on the frequency of something occurring based on how readily it is available in our memos.
26
Avoidant personality disorder
A psychological disorder characterized by feelings of inadequacy; inferiority, and undesirability, and preoccupation with fears of criticism.
27
Babinski reflex
In response to the sole of the foot being stroked, a baby's big toe moves upwards or toward the top surface of the foot and the other toes fan out.
28
Back stage Vs Front
In the dramaturgical perspective, this is where we can "let down our guard" and be ourselves, as opposed to the "front stage" where we are playing a role for others.
29
Bandura, Albert
Famous for his Bobo doll studies that demonstrated observational learning; also pioneered the idea of the importance of self-efficacy in promoting learning.
30
Self-efficacy
The belief in one's own competence and effectiveness.
31
competence
The ability to do something successfully or efficiently.
32
Attribution theory
A theory that attempts to explain how individuals view behavior - both our own behavior and the behavior of others - by attributing behavior to either internal or external causes.
33
Auditory tube: AKA Eustachian tube
Connects the middle ear cavity with the pharynx.
It functions to equalize middle ear pressure with atmospheric pressure so that pressure on both sides of the tympanic membrane is equal.
34
Authoritarian Parenting
Parenting style in which parents impose strict rules that are expected to be followed unconditionally in an attempt to control children. This style is demanding and often relies on punishment.
35
Authoritative parenting
Parenting style that places limits on behavior and consistently follows through on consequences, but also expresses warmth and nurturing and allows for two-way communication between parents and children.
36
Basal nuclei
AKA basal ganglia, these structures in the brain help to smooth coordinated movement by inhibiting excess movement.
37
Basilar membrane
The flexible membrane in the cochlea that supports the organ of Corti (the structure that contains the hearing receptors). The fibers of the basilar membrane are short and stiff near the oval window and long and flexible near the apex of the cochlea.
This difference in structure helps the basilar membrane to transduce pitch.
38
Behavioral genetics
Study of the role of inheritance in interacting with experience to determine an indv's personality and behaviors.
39
Behavioral therapy
This type of therapy uses conditioning to shape a client's behavior in the desired direction.
40
Behaviorism
According to this perspective, personality is a result of learned behavior patterns based on a person's environment.
Behaviorism is deterministic, proposing that people begin as blank slates and that env reinforcement and punishment completely determine an individual's subsequent behavior and personalities.
41
Beliefs
The conviction or principles that people within a culture hold.
42
Belief bias
A tendency to draw conclusions based on what one already believes rather than sound logic.
43
Belief perseverance
The maintenance of beliefs even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
44
Bilateral descent
A system of lineage in which the relatives on the mother's side and father's side are considered equally important.
45
Biofeedback
Means of recording and feeding back information about subtle autonomic responses to an individual in an attempt to train the individual to control previously involuntary responses (ex, muscle tension, heart rate, respiratory rate)
46
Bipolar disorder
A psychological disorder characterized by cyclic mood episodes at both extremes or "poles", depression and mania.
In bipolar disorder I, a person has experienced at least one manic or mixed episode.
In BD II, the manic phases are less extremes.
47
Bipolar neuron
A neuron with a single axon and a single dendrite, often projecting from opposite sides of the cell body. Bipolar neurons are typically associated with sensory organs.
48
Body dysmorphic disorder
A pschylogical disorder characterized by a preoccupation with a slight physical anomaly or imagined defect in appearance, often involving the face, hair, breasts, or genitalia.
49
Borderline personality disorder
A psych disorder characterized by enduring or recurrent instability in impulse control, mood, and image of self or others.
Impulsive and reckless behavior, together with extreme mood swings, reactivity, and anger, can lead to unstable relationships and to damage both of the person with the disorder and of others in his or her life.
50
Bottom-up processing
A type of sensory processing that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the complex integration of information occurring in the brain;
Note that the brain in fact uses a combination of bottom-up proc. and top-down processing.
51
Top-down processing
A type of info processing that occurs when the brain applies experience and expectations to interpret sensory information.
52
Broca's area
Region of the brain located in the left hemisphere of the frontal lobe and involved with speech PRODUCTION.
Damage --> Broca's aphasia, where indvs know what they want to say but are unable to verbally express it.
53
Bystander effect
The fact that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other people around.
54
Canon-Bard Theory
Theory of emotion.
Asserts that physiological and cognitive aspects of emotion occur simultaneously and collectively lead to the behavioral reaction.
55
Capitalism:
An economic system in which resources and production are mainly privately owned and goods/ services are produced for a profit.
56
Caste system
A closed social stratification where people can do nothing to change the category that they are born into.
57
Catatonic-type schizophrenia
A psych d characterized by psychosis in the form of catatonic behavior (including extremely retarded or excited motor activity)
58
Category
People who share similar characteristics but are not otherwise tied together as a group.
59
Cattell, Raymond
Psychologist interest in personality.
Used factor analysis with 100s of surface traits to identify which traits were related to each other.
By this process, he identified 16 source traits, and by factor analysis reduced 15 of these into 5 global factor:
- Extroversion
- anxiety
- receptivity
- accommodation
- self-control
60
Central executive
Part of Alan Baddeley's model of wprking memory that oversees the visiospatial sketchpad, phonological loop and episodic buffer.
Responsible for shifting and dividing attention.
61
Central route
Cognitive route of persuasion based on the content and deeper aspects of an argument.
62
Cerebellum
Coordinates and smoothes skeletal muscle activity.
63
Cerebral cortex
A thin (4mm) layer of grey matter on the surace of the cerebral hemispheres.
The cerebral cortex is the conscious mind, and is functionally divided into 4 lobes:
- Frontal
- Parietal
- Temporal
- Occipital.
64
Cerebrospinal fluid
A clear fluid that circulates around and through the brain and spinal cord. CSF helps to physically support the brain and acts as a shock absorber.
Also exchanges nutrients and wastes with the brain and spinal cord.
65
charismatic authority
A form of leadership where devotion is reliant upon an individual with exceptional charisma (persuasiveness, charm and ability to connect with people).
66
Chunking
Memory technique in which info can be remembered is organized into discrete groups of data.
This clustering allows more info to be remembered overall.
67
Circadian rhythm
The waxing and waning of alertness throughout the 24-hour day
68
Class system
A social stratification where people are grouped together by similar wealth, income, edu, and the like, but the classes are open, meaning that people can strive to reach a higher class (or fall to a lower one).
69
Coercive organizations
Organization in which members do not have a choice in joining.
70
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Type of therapy that addresses thoughts and behaviors that are maladaptive by using goal-oriented and systematic techniques.
71
Cognitive dissonance theory (CDT)
A theory that explains that we feel tension (dissonance) whenever we hold 2 thoughts or beliefs (cognition) that are incompatible, or when attitudes and behaviors dont match.
when this happens, we try to reduce this unpleasant feeling of tension by making our views of the world match how we feel or what we've done.
72
Cognitive psychology
Tradition of psychology that focuses on the brain, cognition and thoughts as mediating learning and stimulus-response behaviors.
73
Concrete operational stage
Piaget's third stage of his development theory, where children aged 7-11 learn to think logically and learn the principle of conservation as well as mathematical concepts.
*Same amount of water in 2 cups of the different shapes or size.
74
Conditioned stimulus and Response (CS, CR)
CS: originally neural stimulus that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus until it can produce the conditioned response without the unconditioned stimulus being present. (bell)
CR: A previously unconditioned response to an US that has become a learned response to a CS.
75
Confederates
In psych and social research, a confederate is a person who is working with the experimenter and posing as a part of the experiment, but the subjects are not aware of this affiliation.
76
Confirmation bias
Tendency to search only for info that confirms a preconceived conclusion.
77
Conflict theory
A theory that views society as being in competition for limited resources.
According to this theory, society is a place where there will be inequality in resources, therefore indvs will compete for social, political, and material resources like money, land, power, and leisure.
78
Conformity
The phenomenon of adjusting behavior or thinking based on the behavior or thinking of others.
79
Consciousness
Awareness of self, internal state, and the env.
80
Conversion disorder
A psych d characterized by a change in sensory or motor function that has no discernible physical or physiological cause and which seems to be insignificantly affected by pshych factor.
The symptoms of conversion disorder begin or worsen after an emotional conflict or other stressor.
81
Corpus Callosum
The largest bundle of white matter (axon) connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.
82
Cortisol
Steroid hormone.
Released during chronic stress.
Shifts the body's use of fuel from glucose towards fats and proteins, thus "sparing" glucose for the brain's use.
Prolonged release of cortisol is associated with suppressed immunity and increased susceptibility to illness.
83
Cult (AKA new religious movement)
A religious organization that is far outside society's norms and often involves a very different lifestyle.
84
Culture
A shared way of life, including beliefs and practices that a social group shares.
85
Cultural Capital
The non-fictional social assets that promote social mobility.
86
social mobility
The ability to move up or down within the social stratification system.
(Downward mobility is a decrease in social class and vice versa)
87
Cultural relativism
| how is it different from ethnocentrism?
Judging another culture based on its own cultural standards.
88
Cultural universals
Patterns or traits that are common to all people; cultural universals tend to pertain to basic human survival and needs, such as securing food and shelter, and also pertain to events that every human experiences, including birth, death, and illness.
89
Cyclothymic disorder
Psych d that is similar to bipolar d but the moods are less extreme.
The person has experienced cyclic moods, including many hypomanic episodes, as well as many episodes of depressed mood that are milder than a major depressive episode for at least 2 years.
90
Deindividuation
An explanation of people's startling (astonishing, surprising) and often uncharacteristic behavior when situations provide a high degree of arousal and a very low sense of responsibility.
91
Demography
A study of human population dynamics, includes:
- size
- structure
- distribution of population
- changes in population over time due to birth, death and migration.
92
Dependent personality d
A psych d characterized by a need to be taken care of by others and an unrealistic fear of being unable to take care of himself.
93
Depersonalization disorder
A psych d characterized by a recurring or persistent feeling of being cut off or detached from one's body or mental processes, as if observing one's self from the outside.
94
Depth of processing
The idea that information that is thought about at a deeper level is better remembered.
95
Diagnosis and Statistical Menual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
The universal authority on the classification and diagnosis of psychological disorders; the current latest edition is the fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5).
96
Diencephalon
Portion of forebrain containing the thalamus and hypothalamus.
97
Discrimination (scientific)
occurs when the conditioned stimulus is differentiated from other stimulus.
98
Dishabituation
The restoration to full strength of a response to a stimulus that had previously become weakened through habituation.
99
Disorganized-type schizophrenia
A psychological disorder that is characterized by psychosis in the form of flat or inappropriate affect, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior.
100
Dissociative amnesia
A psychological disorder that is characterized by at least one episode of suddenly forgetting some important personal information, usually related to severe stress, or trauma.
101
Dissociative disorder
A psychological disorder that is characterized by a person's thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memories, or behaviors being separated from conscious awareness and control, in a way that is not explainable as mere forgetfuleness.
102
Dissociative fugue
A psychological disorder where someone suddenly goes on a journey, during which he cannot recall personal history prior to the journey.
103
Dissociative identity disorder
A psychological disorder characterized by alternating between two or more distinct personality states (or identities), only one of which interacts with other people at any one time.
104
Drive
An urge originating from a physiological discomfort such as hunger, thirst, or sleepiness.
Drives can be useful for alerting an organism that is it no longer in a state of homeostasis, an internal state of equilibrium.
105
Drive reduction theory
A theory about the impact of motivation on human behavior that suggests that a physiological need (a drive) creates an aroused state that motivates the organism to reduce that need by engaging in some behavior.
106
Dual coding hypothesis
A hypothesis that is easier to remember words with associated images than either one alone.
107
Durkham, Emile
Considered the father of sociology and a major proponent of functionalism, Emile Durkham was the pioneer of modern social research and established the field of sociology as separate and distinct from psychology and political philosophy.
108
Dyssomnias
Broad category of disorders involving abnormalities in the same amount, quality, or timing of sleep.
- Insomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Sleep Apnea
109
Dysthymic disorder
A psychological disorder that is characterized as a less intense, chronic form of depression.
A person has felt milder symptoms of depression most days for at least 2 years, with symptoms never absent for more than 2 months, and without experiencing a major depressive episode.
110
Ecclesia
A dominant religious organization that includes most members of society, is reorganized as the national or official religion, and tolerates no other religion.
111
Feature detection theory
A theory of visual perception that proposes that certain neurons fire for individual and specific features of a visual stimulus, such as shape, color, line, movements...
112
fecundity
The potential reproductive capacity of a female in a population.
113
Feral children
Neglected or abandoned children who grow up without human contact or care; much of our knowledge about socialization comes from these individuals who were not socialized.
114
Filter model
Model of selective attention that suggests that information from a sensory buffer is out through a filter that allows only selected inputs through.
115
Five-Factor model (Costa and McCrae's Five-Factor Model)
A model developed to explain personality using 5 overarching personality traits, which include:
- Extroversion
- Neuroticism
- Opennes to experience
- agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
116
Fixed-interval schedule
Reinforcement schedule in which reward is offered after a set period of time has passed.
117
Fixed-ratio schedule
Reinforcement schedule in which reward is offered after a set number of instances of behavior.
118
Folkways
Norms that are more informal yet shape everyday behavior. (styles of dress, ways of greeting)
119
Foot in the door
A strategy that involves enticing people to take small actions, and then gradually asking for larger and larger commitments.
120
formal operational stage
Piaget's 4th stage of his developmental theory.
| Age 12 - adulthood. During this stage, people learn abstract and moral reasoning.
121
Fundamental attribution theory
When we tend to underestimate the impact of a situation and overestimate the impact of a person's character or personality on their behavior.
122
fundamentalists
People who observe strict adherence to religious beliefs.
123
Gage, Phineas
Suffered damage to his prefrontal cortex.
Symptoms due to the damage of the area, included impulsivity, an inability to stick to plans, and an imability to demonstrate empathy.
124
Generalization
In classical conditioning, the process by which stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus also become conditioned stimuli that elicit the conditioned response.
125
Generalized other
When a person tries to imagine what is expected of them from society, they are taking on the perspective of the generalized other.
126
Genital Stage
Freud's 5th stage, begins in adolescence, when sexual themes resurface and a person's life/sexual energy fuels activities such as friendships, arts, sports, anad careers.
127
Gestalts psychology
A theory that the brain processes info in a holistic manner; specifically, for visual info, the brain tends to make assumptions in order to detect the whole.
128
Group polarization
The phenomenon where groups tend to intensify the preexisting views of their members until the average view is more extreme than it initially was.
129
Groupthink
A phenomenon where, within a group, the desire for harmony or conformity results in an easy consensus, even if the final decision is not the best one.
130
Gumplowicz, Ludwig
Expanded upon Marx's ideas about conflict theory by proposing that society is shaped by war and conquest and that cultural and ethnic conflicts lead to certain groups becoming dominant over other groups.
131
Egalitarian family
Family system where spouses are treated as equals and may be involved in more negotiation when making decisions.
132
Ego
According to Freud's psychoanalysis theory, the ego is ruled by the reality principle, and uses logical thinking and planning to control consciousness and the id ( the unconscious driving force ruled by the please principle).
133
Elaboration likelihood model
Model that explains when people may be persuaded by just the content of an argument, and when they may be persuaded by more superficial characteristics such as appearance of the person delivering the message or the length of the argument.
134
Electra complex
This complex occurs during the phallic stage (the 3rd of Freud's 5 psychosexual stages) when a female child is sexually attracted to her father and hostile towards her mother, who is seen as a rival.
135
Encoding
Process of transferring sensory information into the memory system.
136
Endogamy vs Exogamy
Endo: The practice of marrying within a particular group.
Exo: A requirement to marry outside a particular group, with it being the norm in almost all cultures to prohibit sexual relationships between certain relatives.
137
Episodic memory
Autobiographical memo for info of personal importance.
138
Erik Erikson
Erikson extended Freud's theory of developmental stages in 2 ways.
Erikson added social and interpersonal factors, to supplement Freud's focus on unconscious conflicts within a person. And Erikson delineated additional dev. stages and conflicts in adolescence and adulthood, to supplement Freud's focus on early childhood.
Erikson stages include:
- trust vs. mistrust
- autonomy vs. shame and doubt
- initiative vs. guilt
- industry vs. inferiority
- identity vs. role confusion
- intimacy vs. isolation
- generativity vs. stagnation
- integrity vs. despair
139
Estrogen
Stimulates the dev. of the female secondary sex characteristics during puberty, maintains those characteristics during adulthood, stimulates the dev. of new uterine lining after menstruation, and stimulates mammary gland dev. during pregnancy.
140
Ethnocentrism
| how is it diff from the other one
The tendency to judge people from another culture by the standards of one's own culture.
141
Explicit memory (AKA declarative)
Memories that can be consciously recalled, such as factual knowledge.
142
Extinction
In classical conditioning, the unpairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli, accomplished by introducing the conditioned stimulus repeatedly in the absence of the conditioned stimulus.
143
False consensus
Occurs when we assume that everyone else agrees with what we do (even tho they may not)
144
False memory
Inaccurate memory created by the power of imagination or suggestion.
