Psychology Exam 3

Front 1

heuristic: a problem solving strategy that seems reasonable giving past experience with solving problems, especially similar problems but does not guarantee a correct answer to a problem.

Back 1

algorithm: a step by step problem solving procedure that guarantees a correct answer.

Front 2

insight: a new way to interpret a problem that immediately yields the solution.

Back 2

mental set: the tendency to use previously successful problem solving strategies without considering others that are more appropriate for the current problem.

Front 3

functional fixedness: the inability to see that an object can have a function other than its typical one in solving a problem.

Back 3

fixation: the inability to create a new interpretation of a problem.

Front 4

ill-defined problem: a problem lacking clear specification of either the start state, goal state, or the process for reaching the goal state.

Back 4

well-defined problem: a problem lacking clear specification of the start state, goal state, and the process for reaching the goal state.

Front 5

thinking: the processing of information to solve problems and make judgements and decisions.

Back 5

anchoring and adjustment heuristic: a heuristic for estimation problem in which one uses his or her initial estimate as a anchor estimate and then adjust the anchor up or down.

Front 6

working backward heuristic: a problem solving heuristic in which one attempt to solve a problem by working from the goal state back to the start state.

Back 6

means-end analysis heuristic: a problem solving heuristic in which the distance to the goal state decrease systematically by breaking the problem down into subgoals and achieving those subgoals.

Front 7

representativeness heuristic: a heuristic for judging the probability of membership in a catergory by how well an object resembles that catergory.

Back 7

conjunction fallacy: incorrectly judging the overlap of two uncertain events to more probable that either of the two events.

Front 8

gambler's fallacy: incorrectly believing that a chance process is self correcting in that an event that has not occurred for a while is more likely to occur.

Back 8

availability heuristic: a heurstic for judging the probability of an event by how available examples of the event are in memory.

Front 9

confirmation bias: the tendency to seek evidence that confirms ones belief.

Back 9

illusory correlation: the erroneous belief that two variables are related when they actually are not.

Front 10

belief perseverance: the tendency to cling to ones beliefs in the face contradictory evidence.

Back 10

person-who reasoning: questioning a well established research finding because one knows a person who violates the findings.

Front 11

intelligence quotient: mental age/chronological x 100.

Back 11

standardization: the process that allows test scores to be interpret by providing test norms.

Front 12

deviation IQ score: 100 plus or minus 15 x the number of standard deviations the person is from the raw score mean for there standardization group.

Back 12

factor analysis: a statistical technique that identifies clusters of test items that measure the same ability. (factor)

Front 13

flynn effect: the finding that the average intelligence test score in the United States and other industrialized nations has improved steadily over the last century

Back 13

zygote: the fertilized egg that is formed from the union of the sperm and egg in human reprodutcion

Front 14

gene: the basic unit of genetic instruction

Back 14

chromosomes: molecules of DNA that hold the genetic instructions for every cell in the body

Front 15

identical twins: twins that orginates from the same zygote

Back 15

fraternal twins: twins that originate from the fertilization of two eggs at approximately the same time

Front 16

teratogens: environmental agents such as drugs and viruses, diseases, and physical conditions that impair prenatal development and lead to birth defects and sometimes death

Back 16

fetal alcohol syndrome: a syndrome affecting infants whose mothers consumed large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, resulting mental retardation and facial abmormalities

Front 17

sucking reflex: an innate human reflex that leads infants to suck anything that touches their lips

Back 17

rooting reflex: a innate human reflex that leads infants to turn their mouth towards anything that touches their cheeks and search for something to suck on

Front 18

habituation: a decrease in the physiological responding to a stimulus once it becomes familiar

Back 18

phonemes: the smallest distinctive speech sounds in a language

Front 19

baby talk: the different format of speech that adults use when talking with babies that involves the use of shorter sentences with a higher, more melodious pitch

Back 19

babbling: the rhythmic repetition of various syllables including both consonants and vowles

Front 20

holophrase: a word used by an infant to express a complete idea

Back 20

overextension: the application of a newly learned word to objects that are not included in the meaning if the word

Front 21

underextension: the failure to apply new word generally to objects that are included within the meaning of the word

Back 21

telegraphic speech: using two-word sentences with mainly nouns and verbs

Front 22

schemas: frameworks for our knowledge about people,objects, events, and actions

Back 22

assimilation: interpretation of new experiences in terms of present schemas

Front 23

accommodation: modification of present schemas to fit with new experiences

Back 23

sensorimotor stage: from birth to about age 2 infants learn about the world through their sensory and motor interactions with it

Front 24

object permanence: the knowledge that an object exists independent of perceptual contact with

Back 24

preoperational stage: from age 2 to age 6, childern's thinking becomes more symbolic and language-based but remains egocentric and lacks the mental operations that allow logical thinking

Front 25

egocentrism: the inability to distinguish one's own perceptions, thoughts, and feelings from those of others

Back 25

conservation: the knowledge that the quantitative properties of objects remain the same despite changes in appearance

Front 26

reversibility: the knowledge that reversing a transformation brings about the conditions that existed before the transformation

Back 26

centration: the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem at a time

Front 27

concrete operational stage: from age 6 to 12 during which children gain a fuller understanding of conservation and other mental operations that allow them to think logically but only about concrete events

Back 27

formal operational stage: starting at age 12 or so during which a child gains the capacity for hypothetical-deductive thought

Front 28

zone of proximal development: the difference between what a child can actually do and what the child could do with the help of others

Back 28

scaffolding: style of teaching in which the teacher adjusts the level of help in relation to the child's level of performance while orienting the child's learning toward the upper level of his or her zone of proximal development

Front 29

cross-sectional study: a study in which the performances of groups of participants of different ages are compared to one another

Back 29

longitudinal study: a study in which performance of the same group of participants is examined at different ages

Front 30

cohort effects: people of a given age are affected by factors unique to their generation, leading to differences in performance between generations

Back 30

preconventional level of moral reasoning: moral reasoning is based on avoiding punishment and looking out for your own welfare and needs

Front 31

conventional level of moral reasoning: is based on social rules and laws

Back 31

postconventional level of moral reasoning: based on self-chosen universal ethical principle and the avoidance of self-condemnation for violating such principles

Front 32

attachment: the lifelong emotional bond between infants and their mothers or other caregivers, formed during the first 6 months of life

Back 32

secure attachment:the infant exploring freely in the presence of the mother but displaying distress when the mother leaves and responding entusiastically when the mother returns

Front 33

insecure-avoidant attachment: indicated by infant exploring with little interest in the mother, the infant showing little distress when the mother leaves and avoiding her when she returns

Back 33

insecure-ambivalent attachment: indicated by the infant seeking closeness to the mother and not exploring and shows hight levels of distress when the mother leaves and ambivalent behavior when she returns by alternately clinging to and pushing away from her

Front 34

insecure-disorganized attachment: indicated by the infant's confusion when the mother leaves and when she returns

Back 34

temperament: the set of innate tendencies or dispositions that lead a person to behave in certain ways

Front 35

authoritarian parenting: the parents are demanding, expect unquestioned obedience, are not responsive to their children's desires, and communicate poorly with their children

Back 35

authoritative parenting: parents are demanding, but set rational limits for their children and communicate well with their children