Psych By Craig

Front 1

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Back 1

A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

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Intelligence Test

Back 2

A method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

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Reliability

Back 3

The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

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Achievement Tests

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A test designed to assess what a person has learned

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Fixed-Interval Schedule

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A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

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Factor Analysis

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A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score

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General Intelligence (g)

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A general intellegence factor that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intellegence test

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Projective Test

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A personality test, such as the Rotschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics

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Conditioned reinforcer

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A stimulus that gains its reinforcin power through its association with a primary reinforcer

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conduction hearing loss

Back 10

hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea

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Long Term Memory

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Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

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Conditioned Response (CR)

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In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS)

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Observational Learning

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Learning by observing others

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Overconfidence

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The tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgements.

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Reinforcer

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In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

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Extinction

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The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when a UCS doesnt follow a CS; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

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Standardization

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Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested "standardization group"

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Two-Word Stage

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Beginning at about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly 2 word statements

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Learning

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A relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

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Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

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In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), comes to trigger a conditioned response

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Imagery

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Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding

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Variable-Ratio Schedule

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A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

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Semantics

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The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language ; also the study of meaning

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Content Validity

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The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

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sensorimotor stage

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In Piaget's theory- stage from birth to about 2 years which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

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fovea

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the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster

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difference threshold

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min difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of time- a just noticeable difference

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motor neurons

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neurons that carry outgoing info from CNS to muscles and glands

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gender identity

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one's sense of being male or female

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applied research

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scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

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independent variable

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the thing changed in experiment

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perceptual adaptation

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In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

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gestalt

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An organized whole. gestalt psychologists emphasize our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

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replication

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repeating essence of research study

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Optic nerve

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The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

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Opponent – process theory

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theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision

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social learning theory

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theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

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endocrine system

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the body's "slow" chemical communication system- ser of glands that secrete hormones into bloodstream

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brainstem

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oldest part and central core of brain-beginning where spinal cord swells as it enters skull-automatic survival functions

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synapse

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junction between axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of cell body of receiving neuron

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control condition

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condition of experiment that is not given treatment or is given placebo to compare with experimental

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middle ear

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The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window

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hypothalamus

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neural structure lying below thalamus- directs severalmaintenance activities (eating,drinking,body temp), helps govern endocrine system via pituitary gland- is linked to emotion

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cerebral cortex

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intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that cover cerebral hemisheres- body's ultimate control and info processing center

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double-blind procedure

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where both subject and research staff are blind of who gets placebo

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median

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middle score in distribution

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cochlea

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a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

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theory

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explanation using integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations

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pupil

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adjustable opening in the center of the eye-light enters through

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farsightedness

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a condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near object is focused behind the retina

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functionalism

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school of psych-focused on how mental and behavioral processes function-how enable organsim to adapt,survive, and flourish

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random sample

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sample that fairly represents populations-each member has equal chance of selection

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human factors psychology

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a branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be adapted to human behaviors

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wavelength

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distance from peak of wave to next wave

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conservation

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the principle ( which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

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somatic nervous system (skeletal nervous system)

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division of PNS that controls body's skeletal muscels

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consciousness

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Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

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longitudinal study

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same subjects observed at different ages

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myelin sheath

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layer of fatty tissue segmentally encassing fibers of many neurons- enables faster speed of neural impulses

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peripheral nervous system (PNS)

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sensory and motor neurons that connect (CNS) to rest of body

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sensorineural hearing loss

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hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves; also called nerve deafness

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cerebellum

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"little brain" attached to rear of brain stem- helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

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vestibular sense

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the sense of body movement and position,including the sense of balance

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acuity

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the sharpness of vision

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hue

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dimension of color determined by wavelength of light

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lens

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transparent structure behind pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina

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sensation

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process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

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accommodation

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adaption one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new info

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interneurons

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CNS neurons that internally communicate between sensory inputs and motor outputs

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nature-nurture issue

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controversy over contributions genes and experiences make to development of psych traits and behaviors

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medulla

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base of brainstem-controls heartbeat and breathing

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egocentrism

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in Piaget's theory, the inability of the preoperational child to take another's point of view

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false consensus effect

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tendency to overestimate extent to which others share or beliefs and behaviors

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pitch

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tone's highness or lowness; depends on frequency

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frontal lobes

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portion of cerebral cortex just behind forehead- speaking and muscle movement and making plans and judgment

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population

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all cases in group from which samples may be drawn

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fraternal twins

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twins who develop from separate eggs genetically no different then brother and sister

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Wernick's Area

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controls language reception-brain area involved in lang comprehension and expression- usually in left temporal lobe)

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perceptual set

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a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

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kinesthesis

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system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts

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stranger anxiety

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fear of strangers-infants commonly display ( about 8 months of age)

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critical period

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optimal period shortly after birth when organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

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corpus callosum

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large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

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limbic system

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doughnut shaped system of neural structures at border of brainstem and cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions (fear and aggression and drives such drives like food amd sex)-includes hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus

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range

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highest score-lowest score

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cross sectional

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study where subjects of different ages are observed at the same time ( less reliable than longitudinal studies)

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mean

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arithmetic average of distribution

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psychology

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science of behavior and mental processes

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experiment

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research method-includes manipulation of one or more factors ( independent variables) to observe effects (dependent variable)- can show cause and effect

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correlation

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extent to which two factors vary together-how well either factor predicts the other- DOESN'T SHOW CAUSE AND EFFECT

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concrete operational stage

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in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (6 or 7- 11 years) during which children gain mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

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generalizability

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ability for research or survey to be generalized to the whole population

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preoperational stage

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in Piaget's theory, the stage (from 2 to 7 years) during which child learns to use lang but doesnt yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

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nearsightedness

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a condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of retina

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parapsychology

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The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis

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gate-control theory

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theory that spinal cord contains neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to brain. The "gate" opened by activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and closed by activity in larg...

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barbiturates

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Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment

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dissociation

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a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur spontaneously with others

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grouping

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The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

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REM rebound

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The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation (created by a repeated awakenings during REM sleep)

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retina

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the light sensitive inner surface of eye containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons and begin the processing of visual info

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placebo effect

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effect on behavior by placebo( harmless substance thought by subject to be active agent)

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depressants

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Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

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alcohol

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depressant taken by drinking

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developmental psychology

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branch of psych that studies physical,cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

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threshold

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level of stimulation required to trigger neural impulse

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Broca's Area

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controls language expression- area of frontal lobe (usually in left hemisphere) that directs muscle movements involved in speech

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thalamus

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brain's sensory switchboard-on top of brainstem- directs messages to sensory receiving areas in cortex and transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla

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schema

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concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

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circadian rhythm

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the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24 hour cycle

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inner ear

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the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canal, and vestibular sacs

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mode

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most frequent score in distribution

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Blind spot

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The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye creating a "blind" spot because no receptor cells are located there

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hypothesis

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testable prediction-often implied by theory

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psychiatry

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branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders-medicaltreatments (drugs) psych theropy

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formal operational stage

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in Piaget's theory, stage cognitive development ( starting about 12) people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

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structuralism

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early school of psych-used introspection to explore elemental structure of human mind

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dependent variable

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experimental factor being measured

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nervous system

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body's electrochemical communication system- consists of all nerve cells of peripheral and central nervous systems

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attachment

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emotional tie with another person- shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregiver and showing distress on separation

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hypnosis

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a social interaction in which one person(the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

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survey

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technique for getting self reported attitudes or behaviors of peeps-usually questioning representative random sample

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occipital lobes

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portion of cerebral cortex-back of head-visual areas which receive visual info from the opposite visual field

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sympathetic nervous system

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division of autonomic system that arouses body for stressful situations

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identical twins

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twins developed from single fertilized egg that splits

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gender schema theory

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children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be a male and female and that they adjust behavior accordingly

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assimilation

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interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas

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axon

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extension of neuron

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naturalistic observation

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observing behavior in natural situations- no interference from observer

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endorphins

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natural opiate like neurotransmitter liked to pain control and pleasure

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temporal lobes

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portion of cerebral cortex lying above ears- auditory areas- receive info from opposite ear

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imprinting

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process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

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parietal lobes

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portion of cerebral cortex top of head and toward rear-contains sensory cortex

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central neevous system (CNS)

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brain and spinal cord

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neurotransmitters

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chemical messengers thay travel between synaptic gap

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ethics

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what is "right"- my own definition ;)

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illusory correlation

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perception of relationship when there is no relationship

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iris

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a ring of muscle tissue that forms colored portion of eye around pupil- controls size of pupil opening

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object permanence

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awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

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statistical significance

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stat measument of probability event happened by chance

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autonomic nervous system

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part of PNS that controls glands and muscles of internal organs (consists of sympathetic division amd parasympathetic division)

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sensory neurons

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carry incoming info from sense receptors to cns

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case study

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observation technique-one person studied in depth-hope of revealing universal principles-not generalizable

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basic research

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pure science thats aims to increase scientific knowledge base

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perception

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process of organizing and interpreting sensory info enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

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acetylcholine (ACh)

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neurotransmitter that triggers muscle contractions

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dendrite

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branchy extension of neuron-receive messages and comduct impulses to cell body

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audition

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the sense of hearing

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operational definition

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statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables

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frequency

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The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)

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gender typing

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acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

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pituitary gland

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most influential gland- under influence of hypothalamus- regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

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scatterot

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graphed cluster of dots (representing value of two variables)- slope= direction of relationship- strong ( high density of plots) scatter plot=strong correlation

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standard deviation

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average deviation from mean

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experimental condition

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condition if experiment that exposes participants to treatment

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amygdala

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two almond shaped neural clusters that are components of limbic system are linked to emotion

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random assignment

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assigning subjects to experiment or control by random allocation

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motor cortex

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area at rear of frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements

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intensity

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amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness- determined by amplitude

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evolutionary psychology

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study evolution of behavior and mind ( using natural selection)

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action potential

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neural impulse-brief electrical charge that travels down axon- movement of positively charged atoms in amd out of channels in axon membrane

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Weber's law

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to be perceived as different two stimuli must differ by a constant min percentage

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neuron

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nerve cell

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parasympathetic nervous system

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division of autonomic nervous system that calms the body-conserving energy

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absolute threshold

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min simulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of time

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Operant Chamber (Skinner Box)

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chamber containing bar or key that animal can manipulate to obtain reinforcer-devices record rate-operant conditioning research

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Babbling stage

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Beginning at 3-4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

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Punishment

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An event that decreases the behavior that it follows

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Working Memory

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Memory for intermediate results that must be held during thinking

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Normal Curve (normal distribution)

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The symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

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Mnemonics

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

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Mental Age

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A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet

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Primary reinforcers

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An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

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One-Word Stage

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The stage in speech development, from age 1-2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

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Negative Reinforcement

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Strengthens a response by reducing or removing an aversive stimulus

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Chunking

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Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

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Framing

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The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements

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Aptitude Test

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A test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

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Short Term Memory

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

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Unconditioned Response (UCR)

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In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occuring response to the Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

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Availability Heuristic

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Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common

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Operant Behavior

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Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

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Validity

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The extent to which a test measures or predicts what is supposed to.

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Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

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In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response

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Partial (intermittent) reinforcement

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Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistence to extinction than continuous

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Classical Conditioning

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A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neural stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) begins to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus

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Modeling

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The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

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Emotional Intelligence

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The ability to percieve, express, understand, and regulate emotions

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Behaviorism

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belief psychology 1 should be an objective science that 2 studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2)

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Split Brain

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A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them

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Shaping

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An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of a desired goal

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Positive reinforcement

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May be a tangible reward

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Hippocampus

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A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage

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Functional Fixedness

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The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

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Predictive Validity

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The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior

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Behaviorism

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The view that psychology

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Extrinsic Motivation

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A desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment

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Implicit Memory

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Retention dependent of conscious recollection

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Acquisition

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The initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response.

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Belief Bias

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The tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid

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Intrinsic Motivation

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A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake and to be effective

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Variable-Interval Schedule

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A schedule of reinforcement that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals.