GRE Psychology Crash Course

Question 1

Define:

learning

Answer 1

relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience

Question 2

What are the three theories for learning?

Answer 2

1. classical conditioning
2. operant conditioning
3. cognitive learning

Question 3

Define:

classical conditioning

Answer 3

learning that takes place when two stimuli, one conditioned and one unconditioned, are presented together to induce the same response

For example, Pavlov rang a bell when he was going to feed his dogs. The dogs would naturally salivate when food was presented to them, but over time when Pavlov rang his bell his dogs would salivate even without the presence of food.

Question 4

Define acquisition as it relates to classical conditioning.

Answer 4

passively learning to give a known response to a new stimulus

Question 5

What are the three stages of memory?

Answer 5

1. sensory memory
2. short-term memory
3. long-term memory

Question 6

What is the function of sensory memory?

Answer 6

Sensory memory is a buffer between what is in the world and what we actually take into our minds. This information is held for less than a second before it is lost or transferred to short-term memory.

Question 7

What are common properties of sensory memory?

Answer 7

• very short duration
• connects memory to perception
• includes echoic and iconic memory

Question 8

What kind of memory is used when you say a number over and over (rehearsal) before you dial it into your phone?

Answer 8

Short-term memory is used, and lasts in your brain for roughly 10-30 seconds. Information in short-term memory is lost due to interference.

Question 9

What are the types of rehearsal that allow short-term memories to transfer to long-term memory?

Answer 9

1. primary, or “maintenance” rehearsal
2. secondary, or “elaborative” rehearsal

Question 10

What is the difference between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal?

Answer 10

Maintenance rehearsal is simply repeating the stimulus again and again in order to remember it. While maintenance rehearsal is good for rote memorization, elaborative rehearsal organizes the stimulus into something meaningful so that it is processed deeply and remembered better.

Question 11

What kind of memory is used when remembering your own phone number?

Answer 11

Long-term memory, which can last for days, weeks, years, or life. Very little gets transferred from your short-term to your long-term memory.

Question 12

What are the three measures of memory retention?

Answer 12

1. recall
2. recognition
3. savings (or relearning)

Question 13

What is recognition?

Answer 13

Recognition is the easiest form of memory retention measurement, since all it requires is someone remembering that they have been exposed to the stimulus before.

Question 14

What is recall and what are its two types?

Answer 14

In memory tasks, recall is when a participant must restate something learned previously.

1. Free recall is when the subject is not cued with anything like a word stem or a subject grouping.
2. Cued recall is when a specific stimulus must be restated, like a fill-in-the-blank question on an exam.

Question 15

Define:

phonemes

Answer 15

basic speech sounds with no meaning

Question 16

Define:

morphemes

Answer 16

the smallest carrier of meaning, phonemes combined to create meaning

Question 17

Define:

phrase

Answer 17

words grouped together to create a single unit of syntax in a sentence

Question 18

Define:

syntax

Answer 18

an element of grammar that dictates the rules for phrase/sentence construction

Question 19

Define:

grammar

Answer 19

rules for using a given language, interrelating morphemes and syntax

Question 20

Define:

morphology

Answer 20

grammar rules, the understanding of how to group morphemes

Question 21

Define:

prosody

Answer 21

the perception of tone inflections, accents, and emotional aspects of language that carry meaning