Psychology key words Flashcards
(138 cards)
1
Q
ABC model of operant conditioning
A
a way of explaining how operant conditioning works showing how the consequence of a behaviour influences the replication of behaviour
2
Q
Ablation
A
removal of a brain structure
3
Q
Abstain
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stop yourself from using a substence
4
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Abstract
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short summary of the study before the full detail
5
Q
Action potential
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the electric trigger that passes along the axon and stimulates the neuron to activate and release neurotransmitters as a result of synaptic transmission
6
Q
ADHD
A
a syndrome of behaviours including inability to sustain attention, impulsivity and restlessness
7
Q
Adoption Study
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a research method that examines the degree of similarity or difference of family members/twins that have been separated and adopted into different families.
8
Q
Advanced dementia
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the later stages of dementia where the symptoms are more profound
9
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Aetiological validity
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the extent to which a disprder has the same cause or causes. Aetelogical validity exists when the diagnosis reflects known causes such as a family history in a disorder that is known to have a genetic cause
10
Q
Agency
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when one acts as an agent for another
11
Q
agonist
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a substance that acts like another substance and therefore simulates a neural action
12
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addiction
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the reward system in the brain giving such good feelings that the individuak “must” have that reward and so continues with the drug; an addictive drug is rewarding or the rug is needed for normal functioning
13
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agency theory
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people are agents for society and behave in such ways that benefit society.
14
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alternative hhypothesis
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a statement that lays out what the researcher predicts will be found, This is also known as the experimental hypothesis when the research methodology adopted is experimental
15
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Alzheimer’s Disease
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a neurological degenerative disease that impairs cognitive functioning causing memory loss and impairments in thinking and language.
16
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AMPA receptors
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Postsynaptic receptors responsible for glutamate transmission
17
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Amphetamine
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A drug that stimulates the central nervous system. It’s effects include increased activity and energy, as well as appetite suppression and making it difficult to sleep
18
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Amygdala
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Centre in the brain responsible for emotions, emotional behaviour and motivation,
19
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Anabolic steroids
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A synthetic form of testosterone. They promote the growth of body muscle and strength in users
20
Q
Androcentric
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Focused on men
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Androgen
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A chemical that developed or maintains male characteristics
22
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Angular Gyrus
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Part of the parietal lobe associated with memory, language processing and attention
23
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Antagonist
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Drugs that produce an antagonistic effect bind to the receptor sites on neurones to prevent the substance from being absorbed in large quantities, therefore reducing the effect of the neurotransmitter
24
Q
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
A
Surrounds the frontal part of the corpus callosum and connects to the prefrontal cortical area. It has several functions including those governing autonomic behaviours but has been implicated in such cognitive functions as reward anticipation, impulse control and empathy
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Anterograde
The loss of ability to make new memories, while memories before the injury remain relatively intact
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Anterolateral
To the front and side of
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Antidompaminergic
Blocking the activity of dopamine
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Antiserotonergic
Blocking the activity of seratonin
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Anti-social behaviour
Acting in a way that caused it was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more people not of the same household as the person acting in this way
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Aphasia
A disturbance in the comprehension or production of language caused by brain dysfunction or damage such as a stroke
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Arousal level
Individuals are motivated to act in a way to maintain a certain level of psychological arousal. When arousal levels drop below our personal optimal level, we engage in stimulating behaviour to increase arousal
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Artificial neural network
Computational models inspired by an animal’s central nervous system which is capable of basic learning generally presented as systems of interconnected nodes or neurones which can compute vales from inputs
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Ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)
A system that transmits messages to the limbus system, triggering the release or hormones and neurotransmitters
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Attended information
Information that is given attention
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Attributional bias
How we habitually locals causes for events
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Attrition
The tendency for some participants to drop out of a study for various reasons which can threaten the validity of the study
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Autobiographical memory
Like episodic memory it is a memory for personal events
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Autonomy
Acting on one’s own free will
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Axon hillock
The area that connects the cell body to the axon
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Axon terminals
The end of the axon that leads to the terminal buttons
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Axon
A long branch from the cell body that passes electrical impulses down to the end of a neutron to allow it to communicate with others
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Basal Ganglia
Situated within the base of the brain, this is a group of three structures associated with the coordination of movement
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Basal model
A model that suggests that testosterone is assumed to be a persistent trait that influences behaviour
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Bilateral
Both hemispheres of the brain are involved
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Biological maturation
How development occurs naturally
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Brain scan
A research method that involves examining the structure and functioning of the brain
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Brain stem
A central trunk of the brain located in the middle, and extends down to form the spinal chord
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Brain stimulation
The use of electrodes to stimulate regions of the brain and examine resulting behavioural or cognitive changes as a result
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Broca’s area
An area of the left frontal lobe associated with the production of language
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Capacity
A person’s maximum ability to perform a task. This mag include the extent to which a person is able to receive and retain information due to mental ability or other factors which are affecting their cognitive functioning
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Catatonia
Various motor disturbances characterised by abnormality of movement and behaviour
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Catharsis
The process of releasing negative energy in the mind
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Causality
The effect of the manipulated variable on the measures variable can be reliably established as a cause and effect relationship
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Cell body
The main part of the cell where the nucleus sits
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Cerebral cortex
The outer layer of the brain
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Cingulate Gyrus
Part of the brain which is involved in emotion formation
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Classical conditioning
A form of learning based on the association with an environmental event or stimulus with an internal response
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Cognitive deficits
A condition caused by injury or developmental issue that affects a person’s ability to learn and function
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Cognitive insufficiency
deficits and difficulties in processing information. These include problems with attention and slow processing speed.
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Cognitive loading
reduced levels of a neurotransmitter cuase the brain to struggle more in processing information
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Cognitive symptoms
systematic changes in the way the person processes information from the world leading to a negative view of their circumstances
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Cohort effects
the difference within social and cultural groups that change with age and time
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Concordance rate
the probability that if one twin/family member has certain characteristics (such as schizophrenia) then the other twin/another family member will also have it
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Conditioned response
a behaviour that is shown in response to a learnt stimulus
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Concurrent validity
a way of establishing validity that compares evidence from several studies testing the same thing to see if they agree
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Conditioned stimulus
a stimulus that has been associated with an unconditioned stimulus so that it now produces the same response.
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Confederate
someone who is "in on" a study, part of the study team, but the participant thinks they are also a participant
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Confidentiality
participants should not be identified as part of the study. Their names can be anonymised
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Confounding variables
variables that affect the findings of a study directly, so much that you are no longer measuring what was intended.
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Consequence
an outcome of actions
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Construct validity
the extent to which the test measures what it claims to measure
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Context effects
the surrounding environment effects how an event is perceived
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Continuous reinforcement
the desired behavior is reinforced every time it occurs
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Control group
a group of participants that does not experience the experimental situation but acts as a baseline against which to judge any change
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Control processes
conscious decisions about what to attend to from the sensory information of our environment
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Corpus callosum
a band of nerve fibres that join the two hemispheres together and allow communication between the two parts
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Correlation
a research method that examines the relationship between two co-variables
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cortex
the outer layer of the brain, consists of grey matter and involved in higher mental functioning
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Cost benefits analysis
method for deciding whether to approve a research proposal involving balancing the suffering of the animal (costs) against the quality of the research and the medical benefit from the knowledge (benefits)
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Counterbalancing
alternating the conditions of the study for each participant in a repeated measures design
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Covert observation
a form of observation where the participants do not know that they are being observed.
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Critical value
a statistical cut-off point. It is a number presented on a table of critical values that determines whether the result is significant for the null hypothesis to be rejected.
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Cross sectional
research that looks at a group of individuals within a set period of time.
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Cue-dependent recall
recall that is prompted by a specific context or physiological or psychological state that was encoded with the original memory
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Debrief
a statement given to participants on conclusion of a study which discloses fully the nature and implications of research
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Deception
participants should not be lied to or misguided about the nature of the study
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Deductive
using the knowledge and information you hace in order to unerstand something
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Dellusions
beliefs that are contrary to facts
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Demand characteristics
participants behaving in a way that they think they should to fit what they percieve to be the aim of the experimetn
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Dendrites
branches at the top end of a neurone that receives messages from other neurones
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Deprivation
loss of an attachment
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Desensitisation
brought about by relaxation techniques taught before facing the phobic object
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Detoxification
a treatment for addiction to drugs or alcohol intended to remove the physiological effects of the addictive substances.. A person is helped to overcome the physical and psychological dependence on a substence
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Digit span
how many digits can be retained and recalled in sequential order without mistakes
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Directional hypothesis
a directional hypothesis predictions the direction of difference or relationship that the result is likely to take
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Discrimination
the practice of treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way
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Dizygotic twins
siblings concieved in the same pregnancy resulting from two eggs being fertilised by two sperm. The twins share 50% of their genetic material the same as any two sibblings
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Dopamine
is a neurotransmitter. it is a chemical messenger that helps in the transmission of signals between neurones and the brain
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Double blind procedure
neither the participant nor researcher knows the aim of the study
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Down-regulation
homeostatic mechanism where the brain produces less of something in response to an increase
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Dual-task experiment
experiments that involve two tasks that either compete with for cognitive resource becasue they are similar tasks (two verbal or two visual tasks) or involve different cognitive resources because they are different tasks (one verbal and one visual)
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Dysphoria
an intense dissatisfaction, anxiety or depression, discomfort and stress
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EAT26 survey
A widely used self measure assessment of characteristics/behaviours associated with eating disorders
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Eclectic
using a broad range of sources/explanations
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Ecological validity
this refers to the extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalized to real-life settings.
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Ego
a part of the personality that attempts to satisfy the within the restrictions of reality
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Encephalities
inflamation of the brain causing damage to the structures of the brain
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Endocrine
the system of glands that secreet hormone messages around the body using the circulatory system
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Endocytosis
the taking in of extra-cellular materials from outside the cell by fusing with its plasma membrane
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Endorphines
a group of hormones in the brain that bind to opiod receptors. They are involved in pain reception and emotions
111
Environment of evolutionary adaptation
the conditions that prevailed in the environment at the time that a species was adapting in response to. In psychology we are interested in the development of behavioral characteristics hardwired in the brain so the EEA we are interested in would be at the point when humans lived in hunter-gatherer groups
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Episodic buffer
a sub component of the working memory associated with interfacing with LTM and integrating information from other sub components
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episodic memory
memory for events
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Ethnocentrism
belief that ones own ethnic group is superior to another
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Euphoria
an intense pleasurable feeling often referred to as a "high"
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Evolutionary theory
a theory that explains human behavior today as a consequence of environmental pressures placed on our ancestors in the environment of evolutionary adaption
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Excitatory postsynaptic potential
the temporary depolarization of a neuron as a result of positively charged ions flowing into the cell which makes it more likely to fire an action potential
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External reliability
refers to the consistency of a measure
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External validity
the extent to which the findings apply to other people and situations
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Extinction
when behavior that has previously been reinforced no longer produces reinforcement and is no longer repeated in response to the stimulus (unlearning)
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Extraneous variables
a variable that may have affected the dependent variable but that was not the independent variable
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Face validity
looking at each question and deciding whether they make sense in terms of the construct being measured
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Fascism
extreme intolerant views based on a right-wing political perspective
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Field experiment
a piece of research that takes place in the setting where the bahviour being studied would naturally occur
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Flooding
direct, prolonged exposure to a fearful situation or experience
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Free recall
recall of stimulus material in any order without memory cues
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Generalisability
the ability to apply findings to other people, situations and contexts
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Genetics
the building blocks of human life that are passed down through generations/inherited that result in certain characteristics/traits in an individual
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Glands
an organ of the body which produces a substance that the body needs, such as hormones, sweat or saliva
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Habituation
the process by which a response to a given stimulus is seen to decrease with repetition
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Holism
looking at something in its entirety
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hypothesis
a statement set out in such a way that it is testable; what isto be measured and how it is to be measured or operationalised
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Hypothetico-deductive model
the cycle of testing a theory and amending it, building on scientific knowledge.
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Id
what an individual want, their desires and needs
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Identification
in social learning, means connecting with a role model in some way
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Ideological attitudes
those that focus on social needs and wishes of a group or a society, or indeed an individual; they link to political ideas and refer to someone's outlook on how society should be and can function.
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Idiographic
studying individuals in detail
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imitation
copying the behaviour of others
