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195 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Psychology
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the science of behavior and mental processes
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structuralism
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emphasized studying the most basic components of conscious experiences
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functionalism
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emphasized studying the purpose of behavior and mental experiences
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psychoanalysis
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personality theory and form of psychotherapy that emphasize the role of unconscious factors in personality and behavior
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behaviorism
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emphasize the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning
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humanistic psychology
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emphasize each person's unique potentail for psychological growth and direction
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evolutionary psychology
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the application of principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explian psychological processes and phenomena
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experimental method
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a method of investigation used to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor
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independent variable
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purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change
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dependent variable
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factor that is obsrved and measured for change
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scientific method
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a set of assumptions, attitudes, and procedures that guide reseachers in creating questions to investigate, in generating evidence, and in drawing conclusions
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hypothesis
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a tentative statement about the reltionship between two or more variables
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variable
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a factor that can vary, or change, in ways that can be observed, measured, or verified
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theory
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tentative explanation for observed findings
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descripitive research methods
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scientific procedures that invovle systematically observing behavior in order to describe the reltaionship among behaviors and events
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naturalistic observation
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the systemic observation and recording of behaviors as they occur in their natural setting
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experimental group
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the group that of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions
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control group
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the group of participants who are exposed to all experimental conditions, except the independent variable ot treatment of interest
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random assignment
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the process of assigning participants to expeimental conditions so that all participants hava an equl chance of being assigned to any of the conditions
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case study
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an intensive study of a single individual or small group
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survey
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a questionnare or interview designed to investigate the opinions, behaviors, or characterisitics of a particular group
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sample
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a selected segment of the population used to represent the group that is being studied
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correlational study
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collects a set of facts organized into 2 or more categories
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correlation coeffecient
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the number indicates the strength of the relationship
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positive correlation
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high scores on 1 variable usually accompnay high scores on the other
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negative correlation
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scores on the 2 variables move in opposite directions
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neuron
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highly specialized cell that communicates information in electrial and chemical form, a nerve cell
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sensory neuron
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type of neuron that conveys info to the brain from specialized receptor cells in sense organs and internal organs
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motor neuron
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type of neuron that signals muscles to relaz or contact
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cell body
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processes nutrients and provides energy for the neuron to function
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dendrites
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multiple short fibers that extend from the neuron's cell body and recieve info from other neurons
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axon
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the long, fliu-filled tube that carries a neuron's messages to other body areas
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myelin sheath
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a white, fatty covering wrapped around the axons of some neurons that increases their communication speed
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action potential
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a brief electrical impulse by which information is transmitted along the axonof a neuron
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all-or-none law
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fire or dont fire
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synapse
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the point of communicatio between 2 neurons
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synaptic gap
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the tiny space between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of an adjoining neuron
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axon terminals
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branches at the end of the axon that contain tiny pouches
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neurotransmitter
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chemical messengers manufactured by a neuron
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lateralization of function
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the notion that specific psychological or cognitive functions are processed primarily on one side of the brain
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biological psychology
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specialized branch of psychology that studies the relationship between behavior and bodily processes and systems
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endorphins
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neurotransmitters that regulate pain perceptions
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CNS
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division of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord
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PNS
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division of the nervous system that includes all the nerves lying outside the CNS
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Somatic nervous system
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communicates senseory info to the CNS and carries motor messages from the cns to the muscles
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autonomic nervous system
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subdivsion of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary functions
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sympathetic n.s.
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branch of the sutonomic nervous system that produces rapid physical arousal in response to percieved emergencies or threats
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parasympathetic n.s.
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branch of the autonomic nervous system that maintains normal bodily functions and conserves the body's physical resources
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endocrine system
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system of glands located throughout the body that secrete hormones into the bloodstream
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hormones
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chemical messengers secreted into the bloodstream primarily by endocrine glands
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pituitary gland
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endocrine gland attached to the base of the brain that secretes hormones that affect the function of other glands as well as hormones that act directly on physical processes
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phrenology
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a discredited pseudoscientific theory of the brain that claimed that personality characteristics, moral character, and intelligence could be determined by examining the bumps on a persons skull
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cortical localization
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the notionthat different functions are located or localized in different areas of the brain
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cerebral hemispheres
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the nearly symmetrical left and right halves of the cerebral cortex
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corpus callosum
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a thick band of aons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and acts as a communication link between them
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temporal lobe
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an area on each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex near the temples that is primarily recieving area for auditory info
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occipital lobe
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an area at the back of each cerebral hemisphere that is the primary recieving area for visual info
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parietal lobe
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an area on each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex ocated above the temporal lobe that processes somatic sensations
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frontal lobe
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the largest lobe of each cerebral hemisphere
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limbic system
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a group of forebrain structures that form a border arond the brainstem and are involved in emotion, motivation, learning, and memory
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hypothalamus
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a peanut-sized forebrain structure that is part of the limbic system and regulates behaviors related to survival
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consciousness
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personal awareness of mental activities, internal sensations, and the external environment
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circadian rhythm
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a cycle or rhythm that is roughly 24 hours long
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melatonin
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a hormone manufactired by the pineal gland that produces sleepiness
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REM sleep
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type of sleep during which rapid eye movements and dreaming usually occur and voluntary muscle activity is suppressed
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Beta brain waves
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brain-wave pattern associated with alert wakefulness
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alpha brain waves
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brain-wave pattern associated with relaxed wakefulness and drowsiness
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restorative theory of sleep
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the view that sleep and dreaming are essentail to normal physical and mental functioning
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adaptive theory of sleep
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the view that the unique sleep patterns of different animals evolved over time to help promote survival and environmental adaptation
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sleep disorders
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serious disturbances in the normal sleep pattern that interfere with daytime functioning and cause subjective distress
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insomnia
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a condition in which a person regularly experiences an inability to fall asleep
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sleep apnea
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a sleep disorder in which the person repeatedly stops breathing during sleep
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night terrors
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an episode of increased physiological arousal, intense fear and panic, frightening,hallucinations, and no recall of the episode the next morning
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parasomnias
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a category of sleep disorders characterized by arousal or activation during sleep or sleep transitions
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REM sleep behavior disorder
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a sleep disorder in which the cleeper acts out his or her dreams
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narcolepsy
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a sleep disorder charcterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and brief lapses into sleep throughout the day
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sleep thinking
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repetitive, bland, and uncredative ruminations about real-life events during sleep
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dream
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a storylike episode of unfolding mental imagery during sleep
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nightmare
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a frightening or unpleasant anxiety dream that occurs during REM sleep
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manifest content
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in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the elements of a dream that are consciously experienced and remembered by the dreamer
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latent content
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in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious wishes, thoughts, and urges that are conceled in the manifest content of a dream
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activation-synthesis model
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the theory that brain activity during sleep produces dream images, which are combined by the brain into a dream story
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learning
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a process that produces a relatively enduring change in behavior or knowledge as a result of past experience
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conditioning
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learning
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classical conditioting
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the basic learning process that invovles repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with a repose-producing stimulus until the neutral stimulus elicits the same response
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unconditioned stimulus
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the natural stimulus that reflexively elicits a response without the need for proir learning
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unconditioned response
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the unlearned, reflexive response that is elicited by an uncondtioned stimulus
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conditioned stimulus
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a formerly neural stimulus that acquires the capacity to elicit a reflexive response
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conditioned response
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the learned, reflexive response to a conditioned stimulus
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stimulus generalization
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the occurence of a learned response not only to the original stimulus but to other, similar stimuli as well
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stimulus discrimination
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the occurence of a learned response to a specific stimulus but not to other, similar stimluli
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taste aversion
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a classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food
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biological preparedness
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in learning theory, the idea that an organism is innately predisposed to form associatons between certain stimulu and responses
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law of effect
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learning principleproposes by Thorndike that respones followed by a satisfying effect become strenghtened and are more likely to recur in a particular situation, while responses followed by a dissatisfying effect are weakened and less likely to recur in a particular situation
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operant
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skinner's term for an actively emitted behavior that operates on the environment to produce consequences
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operant conditioning
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the basic learning process that invovles changing the prob. that a response will be repeated by manipulating the consequences of that response
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reinforcement
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the occurence of a stimulus foloowing a response that increases the likelihood of the response being repeated
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pos. reinforcement
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a consequence that invovles presenting a stimulus
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neg. reinforcement
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a consequence that involves removing an aversive, punishing, or unpleasant stimulus
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primary reinforcer
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a stimulus or event tha tis naturally reinforcing for a given species, such as water, food or other biological necessities
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conditioned reinforcer
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a stmulus that has acquired reinforcing value by being associated with a primary reinforcer
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punishment
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presenting a stimulus following a behavior that acts to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated
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punishment by application
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a situation in whcih an operant is followed by the removal or subtraction of a reinforcing stimulus
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punishment by removal
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a situation on which an operant is followed by the removalor subtraction of a reinforcing stimulus
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discriminative stimulus
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environmental cues that tell us when a particular response is likely to be reinforced
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shaping
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how we acquire a wide variety of skills and abilities
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schedule of reinforcement
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the delivery of a reinforcer according to a preset patteren based on the number of responses or the time interval between responses
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ratio schedules
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delivering a reinforcer based on teh number of responses emitted
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interval schedules
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based on the amount of time elapsed since the last reinforcer was delivered
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behavior modification
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the application of learning principles to help people develop more effective or adaptive behaviors
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latent learning
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Tolman's term for learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement but is not behaviorally demonstrated until a reinforcer becomes availiable
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learned helplesnesss
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a phenonmenom in which exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior
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observational learning
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learning that occurs through observing the actions of other
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memory
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mental process that allow us to hold and use info over time
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encoding
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information enters and is held in a form that can be retained by memory system
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storage
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retain memory
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rettrieval
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recovering the stored info into consciuous awareness
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stage model of memory
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a model descrigning memory as consisting of three distinct stages: sensory memory, STM, and LTM
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sensory memeory
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the stag of memory that registers info from the environment and holds it for a very brief period of time
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short term memory
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the active stage of memory in which info is stored for up to about 20 secs
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long term memory
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the stage of memory that represents teh long-term storage or info
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working memory
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short-term memory system involved in the temporary storage and active manipulation of info
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procedural memory
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category of long term memory that includes memories of different skills, operations, and actions
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episodic memory
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events you have experienced
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semantic memory
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memory of general knowledge and facts
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explicit memeory
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conscious recall
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implicit memeory
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memory with out consciuous recall
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retrieval cues
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a clue, prompt, or hint that helps trigger recall of a given piece of info stored in LTM
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retrieval cue failure
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the inability to recall long term memories bc of inadequate or missing retrieval cues
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recall
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a tesr of ltm that invovles retrieving info without the aid of retrieval cus
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cued recall
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a test of ltm that invovles remembering an item of info in repsonse to a retrieval cue
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recognition
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a test of ltm that invovles identifying correct info out of several possible choices
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serial position effects
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rememebering lists
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encoding specificity principle
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the principle that when the condtions od info retrieval are similar to the conditions of info encoding, retieval is more likely to be successful
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encoding failure
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the inability to recall specific info because of insufficient encoding of the info for storage in ltm
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forgetting
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theinability to recall info that was previously available
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interference theory
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the theory that forgetting is caused by one memory competing with or replacing another
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retroactive interference
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learning a new language interfere with the ability to remember old lang.-example
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proactive interference
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when an old memory interferes with remembering a new info
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suppresion
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conscious forgetting
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repression
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unconscious forgetting
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stress
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a neg. emotional state occuring in response to events that are percieved as taxing or excedding a person's resources or ability to cope
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health psychology
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the branch of psychology that studies how biological, behavioral, and socail factors influence health, illness, medical treatment, and health-realted behaviors
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biopsychosocial
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the belief that physical health and illness are determined by the complex interaction of bioological, psychological, and socail factors
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stressors
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events or situations that are percieved as harmful, threatening, or challenging
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daily hassles
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everyday minor events that annoy and upset people
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conflict
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a situation in which a person feels pulled between two or more opposing desires, motives, or goals
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acculturative stress
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the stress that results form the pressure of adapting to a new culture
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fight-or-flight response
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a rapidly occuring chain of internal physical reactions that prepare people either to fight or take flight from an immediate threat
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catecholamines
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hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal
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corticosteriods
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hormones released by the adrenal cortex that play a key role in the body's response to long term stressors
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general adaptation syndrome
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selys' term for the three stage progression of physcial changes that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress
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immune system
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body system that produces specialized white blood cells that protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells
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type A behavior pattern
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a behavioral and emotional style characterized by a sense of tim urgency, hostility, and competitiveness
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optimistic explanatory style
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accounting for negative events or situations with external, unstable, and specific explanations
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pessimistic explanatory style
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accounting for negative events or situations with internal, stable, and global explanations
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social support
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the resources provided by other people in times of need
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coping
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behavioral and cognitive responses used to deal with stressors
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problem-focused coping
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coping efforts primarily aimed at directly changing or managing a threatening or harmful stressor
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emotion-focused coping
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coping efforts primarily aimed at relieving or regulationg the emotional impact of a stressful situation
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psychopathology
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the scientific study of the origins, symptoms, and development of psychological disorders
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DSM-IV-TR
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abbreviation for the Diagnostic and Stastical Manuel of Mental Disorders
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Anxiety Disorder
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a category of psychological disordes in which extreme activity is the main diagnositc feature and causes significant disruption in the person's cognitive, behvioral, or interpersonal functioning
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generalized anxiety disorder
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an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, global, and persistent symptoms of anxiety
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panic attack
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a sudden episode of extreme anxiety that rapidly escalates in intensity
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panic disorder
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an anxiety disorder in which the person experiences frequent and unexpected panic attacks
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phobia
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a strong or irrational fear of a specific ogject
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dissociate disorders
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extreme and frequent disruptions of awareness, memory, and personal identity impair the ability to function
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schizophrenia
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a psychological disorder in which the ability to function is imparied by severely distroted beliefs, percetions, and thought processes
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pos. sympt of schizo.
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symtoms that reflect excesses or distortions of normal functioning, delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thoughts
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neg. syptoms of schizo.
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reflect defects or deficits in normal functioning, including flat affect, alogia, and avoltions
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agoraphobia
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an anxiety disorder invovling the extreme and irrational fear of experiencing a panic attack in a public situation and being unable to escape or get help
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social phobia
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an anxiety disorder involving the extreme and irrational fear of being embarassed, judged, or scrutinized by others in social situations
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PTSD
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an anxiety disorder in which chronic and persistent symptoms of anxiety develop in response to an extreme physical trauma
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OCD
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an anxiety disorder in which the symptoms of anxiety are triggered by intrusive, repetitive thoughts and urges to perform certain actions
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obsessions
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repeated, intrusive and uncontrollable irrational thoughts or mental images that cause extreme anxiety and distress
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compulsions
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repetitive behaviors or mental acts that are performed to prevent or reduce anxiety
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mood disorders
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a category of mental disorders in which significant and persistent disruptions in mood or emotions cause imparied cognitive, behavioral, and physical functioning
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major depression
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a mood disorder characterized by extreme and persistent feelings of despondency, worthlessness and hopelessness
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dysthymic disorder
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a mood disorder invovling chronic, low-grade feelings of depresssion that produce subjective discomfirt
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delusions
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a falsey held belief that persists in spite of compelling contradictiory evidence
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hallucination
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a false or distorted perception that seems vivdly real to the person experienceing it
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bipolar disoder
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a mood disorder involving periods of incapacitating depression alternating with periods of extreme euphoria and excitement
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manic episode
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a sudden, rapidly escalating emotional state characterized by extreme euphoria, excitement, physical energy, and rapid thoughts
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cyclothymic disorder
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a mood disoder characterized by moderate but frequent mood swings that are not severe enough to qualify as bipolar
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personality disorder
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inflexible, maladaptive patterns of thoughts, emotions, behavior and interpersonal functioning that are stable over time and across situations
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paranoid personality disorder
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pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of the motives of others without sufficient basis
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antisocial personality disorder
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a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregarding and violating the rights of others
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borderline personality disorder
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a personality disorder characterized by instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions
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dopamine hypothesis
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a view that schizophrenia is related to and may becaused by excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain
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psychotherapy
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the treatment of emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage understanding of problems and modify troubling feelings, behaviors, and relationships
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psychoanalysis
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feee association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistence and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulse, anxieties, and internal conflicts
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free association
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a technique used in psychoanalysis in which the patient spontaneously reports all thoughts, feelings, and mental images as they come to mind
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resistance
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the patient's unconscious attempts to block the revelation of repressed memories and conflicts
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interpretation
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a technique used in psychoanalysis in which the psychoanalyst offers a carefully timed explanation of the patient's dreams
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