Psychology - Unit 2

Front 1

consciousness

Back 1

our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Front 2

cognitive neuroscience

Back 2

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Front 3

dual processing

Back 3

the principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks

Front 4

selective attention

Back 4

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Front 5

inattentional blindness

Back 5

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Front 6

change blindness

Back 6

failing to notice changes in the environment

Front 7

circadian rhythm

Back 7

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

Front 8

REM sleep

Back 8

rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur.

Front 9

Alpha waves

Back 9

the relatively slow brain waves of a realized, awake state

Front 10

sleep

Back 10

periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness - as distinct from unconsciousness resulting from a coma, general anesthesia, or hibernation

Front 11

hallucination

Back 11

false sensory experience, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus.

Front 12

delta waves

Back 12

the large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep

Front 13

narcolepsy

Back 13

a sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

Front 14

sleep apnea

Back 14

a sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings

Front 15

night terrors

Back 15

a sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified; unlike nightmares, they occur during stage 4 sleep w/in two or three hours of falling asleep and are seldom remembered

Front 16

dream

Back 16

a sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind

Front 17

manifest content

Back 17

according to Freud, the remembered story line of a dream

Front 18

latent content

Back 18

according to Freud, the underlying meaning of a dream

Front 19

REM rebound

Back 19

the tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

Front 20

hypnosis

Back 20

a social interaction in which one person suggest to another that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur

Front 21

dissociation

Back 21

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

Front 22

psychoactive drug

Back 22

a chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods

Front 23

tolerance

Back 23

the diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect

Front 24

withdrawal

Back 24

the discomfort and distress that folio discontinuing the use of an addictive drug

Front 25

physical dependence

Back 25

a physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued

Front 26

psychological dependence

Back 26

a psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emotions

Front 27

addiction

Back 27

compulsive drug craving and use, despite adverse consequences

Front 28

depressants

Back 28

drugs (alcohol, tranquilizers, opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions

Front 29

stimulants

Back 29

drugs (caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, etc) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions

Front 30

amphetamines

Back 30

drugs that stimulate neural activity, casing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes

Front 31

methamphetamine

Back 31

a powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system, with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, appears to reduce baseline dopamine levels

Front 32

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Back 32

a synthetic stimulant and mild hallucinogen. Produces euphoria and social intimacy

Front 33

hallucinogens

Back 33

psychedelic ("mind manifesting") drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

Front 34

LSD

Back 34

a powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid

Front 35

near-death experience

Back 35

an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death

Front 36

behavior genetics

Back 36

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior

Front 37

environment

Back 37

every non genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us

Front 38

chromosomes

Back 38

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes

Front 39

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Back 39

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes

Front 40

genes

Back 40

the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein

Front 41

genome

Back 41

the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

Front 42

identical twins

Back 42

twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that slits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms

Front 43

fraternal twins

Back 43

twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. they are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, but they share a fetal environment

Front 44

evolutionary psychology

Back 44

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

Front 45

natural selection

Back 45

the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

Front 46

gender

Back 46

in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female

Front 47

culture

Back 47

the enduring behaviors,ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people transmitted from one generation to the next

Front 48

norm

Back 48

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior

Front 49

personal space

Back 49

the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies

Front 50

individualism

Back 50

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

Front 51

collectivism

Back 51

giving priority to goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly

Front 52

aggression

Back 52

physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

Front 53

X chromosome

Back 53

the sex chromosome found in both men and women.

Front 54

Y chromosome

Back 54

the sex chromosome found only in males

Front 55

testosterone

Back 55

the most important of the male sex hormones

Front 56

role

Back 56

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave

Front 57

gender role

Back 57

a set of expected behaviors for males or for females

Front 58

gender identity

Back 58

our sense of being male or female

Front 59

gender typing

Back 59

the acquisition a of traditional masculine or feminine role

Front 60

social learning theory

Back 60

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

Front 61

zygote

Back 61

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Front 62

embryo

Back 62

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Front 63

fetus

Back 63

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Front 64

teratogens

Back 64

agents, such as chemicals and viruses,that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Front 65

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Back 65

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking

Front 66

habituation

Back 66

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Front 67

maturation

Back 67

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

Front 68

cognition

Back 68

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Front 69

schema

Back 69

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

Front 70

assimilation

Back 70

interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas

Front 71

accommodation

Back 71

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new info

Front 72

sensorimotor stage

Back 72

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

Front 73

object permanence

Back 73

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Front 74

preoperational stage

Back 74

in Piaget's theory, the stage (2 to 6 or 7 years) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Front 75

conservation

Back 75

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 forms of objects

Front 76

egocentrism

Back 76

in Piaget's theory, the pre operational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

Front 77

theory of mind

Back 77

people's ideas about their own mind and others' mental states - feelings, perceptions, and thoughts - and the behaviors these might predict

Front 78

concrete operational stage

Back 78

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

Front 79

formal operational stage

Back 79

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Front 80

stranger anxiety

Back 80

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months

Front 81

attachment

Back 81

an emotional tie with another person

Front 82

critical period

Back 82

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

Front 83

imprinting

Back 83

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

Front 84

basic trust

Back 84

according to Eric Erikson, a sense that the world in predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Front 85

self-concept

Back 85

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

Front 86

adolescence

Back 86

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Front 87

puberty

Back 87

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Front 88

primary sex characteristics

Back 88

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible

Front 89

secondary sex characteristics

Back 89

non reproductive sexual charateristics

Front 90

identity

Back 90

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

Front 91

social identity

Back 91

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

Front 92

intimacy

Back 92

in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescent and early adulthood

Front 93

emerging adulthood

Back 93

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to early twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

Front 94

menopause

Back 94

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Front 95

crystallized intelligence

Back 95

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Front 96

fluid intelligence

Back 96

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Front 97

sensation

Back 97

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

Front 98

perception

Back 98

organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Front 99

bottom-up processing

Back 99

analysis that begins with sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

Front 100

top-down processing

Back 100

info processing guided by higher-lievel mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Front 101

absolute threshold

Back 101

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Front 102

subliminal

Back 102

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Front 103

difference threshold

Back 103

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time

Front 104

Weber's law

Back 104

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Front 105

sensory adaptation

Back 105

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Front 106

transduction

Back 106

conversion of one form of energy to another

Front 107

rods

Back 107

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond

Front 108

cones

Back 108

retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Front 109

parallel processing

Back 109

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously

Front 110

cochlea

Back 110

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

Front 111

vestibular sense

Back 111

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

Front 112

gate-control theory

Back 112

the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain

Front 113

sensory interaction

Back 113

the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste

Front 114

gestalt

Back 114

an organized whole

Front 115

grouping

Back 115

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups (proximity, similarity, continuity, and connectedness)

Front 116

depth perception

Back 116

the ability to see objects in 3 dimensions although the images that strike the retina are 2 dimensional; allows us to judge distance

Front 117

retinal disparity

Back 117

a binocular cue for perceiving depth - comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes

Front 118

monocular cues

Back 118

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Front 119

perceptual adaptation

Back 119

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

Front 120

perceptual set

Back 120

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another