key terms a-i

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

An emotional and reciprocal bond between caregiver and infant. Mary Ainsworth measured attachment types by observing behaviours including proximity seeking behaviour, separation distress, stranger anxiety, secure base behaviour and reuniting response. She concluded that there are three types of attachments displayed in infant behaviour: Secure (Type B), Insecure Avoidant (Type A) and Insecure Resistant (Type C).

Question 2

Agentic state

Answer 2

refers to an individual relinquishing their personal autonomy and moral sense of right and wrong, to submit to obedience

Question 3

Authoritarian Personality

Answer 3

One explanation for why some people are more obedient that others is that they have an authoritarian personality. This is a dispositional explanation proposed by Theodore F Adorno who studied authoritarianism from 1940s onwards and created ‘The F Scale’ as a tool for measuring the Authoritarian Personality. Adorno identified the following traits in those with authoritarian personalities; rigid beliefs, conformity to norms, submissive to authority, focus on power and toughness, and hostility to those of lower status or members of an out-group. Authoritarian personalities may develop from a harsh parenting style during childhood.

Question 4

Autonomy

Answer 4

Autonomy refers to an individual’s capacity to think and behave freely and independently of external influences or pressures.

Question 4

Biological Rhythms

Answer 4

Biological rhythms are natural periodic cycles that occur regularly to regulate bodily functions such as sleep, metabolism and body temperature. Biological rhythms can be circadian (occur once a day), infradian (take longer than a day such as the menstrual cycle) or ultradian (occur more than once per day). Biological rhythms are regulated by endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers.

Question 5

Broca’s Area

Answer 5

It is in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere in 97% of the population. Damage to Broca’s area results in difficulties in speech production.

Question 6

Caregiver Infant Interactions

Answer 6

Caregiver infant interactions are behavioural exchanges between infant and caregiver that help develop the bond of attachment. Two examples of caregiver infant interactions are interactional synchrony and reciprocity.

Question 7

Conformity

Answer 7

A type of social influence where an individual or small group of people give into real or imagined pressure from a larger group and go along with the behaviours and beliefs of the majority group.

Question 8

Case Study

Answer 8

A type of research method that involves an in-depth study of an individual or a (small) group of people. This will often use a variety of techniques to collect data about the behaviour of that individual or group such as, self-report(s), observation(s), questionnaire(s) and interview(s.)

Question 9

Circadian Rhythm

Answer 9

A type of biological rhythm that occurs once every 24 hours, for example the sleep/wake cycle.

Question 10

Classical Conditioning

Answer 10

This is a key assumption of the behaviourist approach. After much research, Ivan Pavlov concluded that behaviour is learned through classical conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning through a process of association

Question 11

Coding in Memory

Answer 11

This refers to how sensory information is transformed into a format that can be stored in memory.

Question 12

Cognitive Approach

Answer 12

A key approach in psychology that focuses on mental processes, such as thinking, memory attention, perception and language skills and proposes explanations for how they work. Cognitive theories are usually based on models. Cognitive psychology suggests that cognitive processes have a central role in influencing human behaviour.

Question 13

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Answer 13

A type of therapy based on the principles of the cognitive and behaviourist approaches. It aims to identify negative and irrational thoughts and beliefs and to challenge these and replace them with more rational and positive thoughts and beliefs. It is a directive approach to therapy that involves the client as an active figure in the process. It can be used to treat a range of disorders including depression and schizophrenia and works well in combination with drug therapies.

Question 14

Cognitive Interview

Answer 14

A method of interviewing eyewitnesses which allows the interviewer to draw more accurate testimony/information about the event than standard interview methods. It involves strategies such as changing the chronological order of event when questioning, asking witnesses to report everything, to report from a different perspective and to reinstate internal and external contexts. The cognitive interview avoids the pitfalls of leading questions.

Question 15

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 15

The scientific study of how cognitive functions emerge from the physical and chemical activity of neurons and biological structures in the brain. It is based on research using various brain imaging techniques such as fMRI scans, EEGs, and ERPs. Cognitive neuroscience has established links between memory and the hippocampus.

Question 16

Comorbidity

Answer 16

This term refers to the situation when a person has two disorders at the same time. For example, schizophrenia can be co-morbid with OCD.

Question 17

Conditions of Worth

Answer 17

A term used in the humanistic approach to psychology. It describes a situation in which a child believes they have to behave in ways that parents approve of in order to gain their praise and love. Carl Rogers suggested that this was the origin of many psychological problems. To counteract this, the therapist would offer unconditional positive regard to the client.

Question 18

Confounding Variables

Answer 18

A confounding variable is any extraneous variable that was not eliminated during research design or controlled during data collection and that has had an impact on the dependent variable, (data collected). This can make it difficult to draw accurate conclusions as it raises uncertainty about whether any of the effect observed in the dependent variable is due to the independent variable.

Question 19

Congruence

Answer 19

A term used in the humanistic approach to psychology. It refers to a state in which there is agreement or consistency between a person’s self-concept’ (their sense of who they) and ‘ideal self’ (who they want to be). If a person’s self-concept matches their ideal self, then they are in a state of congruence and will experience good mental health. Incongruence can cause feelings of inadequacy low self-worth resulting in anxiety and mental distress.

Question 20

Correlational Analysis

Answer 20

This term refers to a non-experimental research method in which the researcher investigates a possible association between two variables, called co-variables. Data from such research is displayed on a scattergram. Correlational analysis involves measuring the strength of the relationship between co-variables by calculating a correlation co-efficient. The process could be used, for example, to investigate the relationship between levels of obesity and the incidence of coronary heart disease. Unlike experiments, correlations do not show a cause-and-effect relationship between the variables.

Question 21

Critical Period

Answer 21

Early research by Lorenz and later by Harlow found that there is a specific age period by which an attachment can be formed. Once this period passes, the opportunity to form an attachment is lost. Bowlby drew on this idea and extended it to humans. Bowlby originally suggested that if a child does not form an attachment before the age of two and a half years then an attachment would never occur

Question 22

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 22

A correlation coefficient is a value calculated from the data collected in a study that shows the strength and direction of a relationship between co-variables. Pearson’s r test can be used with interval level data to calculate a correlation coefficient. Spearman’s rho test can be used with interval and ordinal level data. Correlation coefficient values range from between -1 to +1. A value of –1 indicates a perfect negative linear relationship between co-variables, showing that as one variable increases the other decreases.

Question 23

Co-variables

Answer 23

Co-variables are the variables that are measured in a correlational study to see if there is a relationship between them. There is no manipulation of variables in correlational studies so there are no independent or dependent variables, only co-variables. This means that no causal conclusions can be drawn as correlation does not infer causation. No cause and effect can be found.

Question 23

Counterbalancing

Answer 23

A technique used in research where the repeated measures design has been employed. It helps to even out order effects that can occur when participants experience all the conditions of the study.

Question 24

Deindividuation

Answer 24

A term used in the context of aggression and obedience. It refers to a state in which individuals have lower self-awareness and a weaker sense of personal responsibility for their actions. This may result from the relative anonymity of being part of a crowd.

Question 25

What are Defence Mechanisms in psychology?

Answer 25

The psychodynamic approach has identified a number of defence mechanisms. These are unconscious ways in which an individual is protected from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings. These include repression, denial, displacement, projection, sublimation and regression.

Question 26

Demand Characteristics

Answer 26

These occur when participants pick up cues from the researcher or information about the study and try to guess what the researcher is looking for, as a result of which, their behaviour changes. Demand characteristics might become a confounding variable and need to be controlled. Some researchers attempt to deal with demand characteristics by using minor deception or by using double-blind controls.

Question 27

Dependent Variable

Answer 27

In research, this is the variable that is measured

Question 28

Depression

Answer 28

A disorder characterised by low motivation, energy and mood. The DSM V (DSM 5) provides a list of criteria for diagnosis that include low mood, diminished interest or pleasure in activities, insomnia or hypersomnia among others. Symptoms of depression can be behavioural (what a person does), emotional (how they feel) and cognitive (what they are thinking). Treatments for depression can involve drug therapy such as SSRIs as well as talking therapies such as, person centred therapy and/or CBT.

Question 29

Diathesis-stress model

Answer 29

This model proposes that people develop psychological disorders when they possess both an inherited or constitutional predispositions (diathesis) and are exposed to stressful events. For example, twins may both have inherited a susceptibility to schizophrenia but only one experiences critical life events that trigger the onset of symptoms of schizophrenia.

Question 30

Displacement in Cognitive Psychology

Answer 30

In Cognitive Psychology, the term displacement is used to describe a type of forgetting from short term memory. Due to the limited capacity of short- term memory, displacement occurs when new information pushes out previously held information.

Question 31

Dispositional Factors

Answer 31

Dispositional factors refer to inner aspects of an individual such as personality that drives their behaviour rather than situational factors.

Question 32

Duration

Answer 32

In cognitive psychology, this refers to the length of time that information can be held in memory. In short term memory this is believed to be around 18-30 seconds when there is no rehearsal/repetition allowed. In long term memory, this is likely to be up to a lifetime for many people and many memories.

Question 33

Ego

Answer 33

According to Freud’s Psychodynamic Approach, the ego is a part of the psyche. The psyche consists of the id, ego and superego. The ego operates on the reality principle. Its role is to mediate and maintain a balance between conflicts arising from the demands of the id and those of the superego. It does this by activating defence mechanisms such as denial or repression etc. Freud believed that the ego develops during the anal stage of psychosexual development.

Question 34

Endogenous Pacemakers

Answer 34

An endogenous pacemaker is an internal body clock that helps regulate biological rhythms. An important endogenous pacemaker in mammals is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which is located in the hypothalamus and sits just above the optic chiasm. It responds to signals from the retina and is important in regulating many circadian rhythms including the sleep/wake cycle.

Question 35

Episodic Memory

Answer 35

A type of long-term memory (LTM) that involves recollections of events and experiences in an individual’s life such as a birthday party they once had, a chat with a friend or a concert they attended. Episodic memories are time-stamped so people can remember when the memory occurred and experience a sort of mental time travel through past events. Such memories require conscious recall.

Question 36

Exogenous Zeitgebers

Answer 36

The term ‘exogenous’ means external and the term ‘zeitgeber’ literally translates to ‘time giver’. Exogenous zeitgebers are any external cues that help regulate our internal biological clocks and therefore influence biological rhythms. Examples of exogenous zeitgebers include light, temperature and social cues like mealtimes.

Question 37

Experimental Methods

Answer 37

Experimental methods are research methods psychologists use to systematically investigate behaviour. There are four types of experimental method: laboratory, field, natural and quasi. Using experimental methods involves manipulating an independent variable to see how it affects a dependent variable. This allows for cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn as long as variables other than the independent variable are controlled.

Question 38

Experimental Designs

Answer 38

Experimental designs are the different ways in which participants are allocated to the conditions of the independent variable. There are three types of experimental design that can be used to collect data. These are the independent groups design, matched pairs design and repeated measures design.

Question 39

Extraneous Variables

Answer 39

In psychological research that uses experimental methods, only an independent variable (IV) should influence a dependent variable (DV). All other variables must be controlled. An extraneous variable is any variable other than the independent variable that might affect the dependent variable. This could lead to invalid conclusions being drawn about the effect of the IV on the DV. If an extraneous variable is not controlled or eliminated, it becomes a confounding variable if it does affect the DV.

Question 40

F Scale

Answer 40

The F Scale is a tool for measuring the Authoritarian Personality. It was created by Theodor W. Adorno (1950). The ‘F’ stands for fascism. Adorno hoped to identify individual who could be susceptible to fascist propaganda following from the rise of Nazism during World War II. Stanley Milgram and Alan Elms (1966) found a positive correlation between high levels of obedience and score on the F Scale suggesting that these two factors could be related to each other.

Question 41

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Answer 41

A brain imaging technique which uses a magnetic field and radio signals to monitor the blood flow in the brain. Areas of the brain that are involved in activities done by the person during scanning have a greater blood oxygenation and flow, so specific brain areas can be linked to specific abilities.

Question 42

Gating

Answer 42

Gating is a term commonly used in romantic relationships. A gate is any factor/obstacle that may prevent an individual from pursuing a relationship with someone they meet. In effect, gating refers to barriers that inhibit relationships from progressing. Examples of gates are unique to individuals but could include things like a person’s hair style, a facial characteristic, the way a person dresses or laughs. In many virtual relationships there is an absence of gating so relationships can develop further than they might in a face-to-face relationship as the barriers are more difficult to detect or just absent. By the time people do meet, they have got to know each other and like each other well enough so that the way one speaks or the other laughs or looks may no longer be an issue.

Question 43

Generalisations

Answer 43

This involves making wider applications of the conclusions from the data collected in a study to those not involved in the research sample or the population from which the sample was obtained. This includes applying findings to the general population.

Question 44

Hemispheric lateralisation

Answer 44

This term refers to the idea that the left and right brain hemispheres have specialised functions so that some behaviours are localised to the left hemisphere and others to the right hemisphere. One example of this is that the left hemisphere is considered to be the language centre of the brain as it contains Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s in the majority of the population. The right hemisphere is generally associated with spatial abilities and facial recognition among other behaviours.

Question 45

Id

Answer 45

The id is a part of the psyche in Freud’s psychodynamic approach. According to the psychodynamic approach the id develops during the oral stage and operates on the ‘pleasure principle’. It is a primitive part of the personality, driven by instincts rather than morals. The gratification seeking id conflicts with the Superego.

Question 46

Deterministic

Answer 46

Believing that everything that happens must happen as it does and could not have happened any other way, or relating to this belief

Question 47

Adrenal glands

Answer 47

Your adrenal glands are two small organs that sit on top of each kidney. Includes Adrenal cortex (outside) and Adrenal medulla (inside)

Question 48

Adrenal cortex

Answer 48

The adrenal cortex is the outer region and also the largest part of an adrenal gland. It produces hormones that support vital organ functions and bodily processes (E.g. cortisol )

Question 49

Adrenal medulla

Answer 49

The adrenal medulla, the inner part of an adrenal gland, controls hormones that initiate the flight or fight response. These hormones are not essential for life (E.g. adrenaline and noradrenaline)