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100 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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accomodation
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for piaget, the changes made to existing cognitive structures or schemes in order to understand new information or experiences
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anaclitic depression
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withdrawal, depression, and developmental delays resulting from the loss of an attachment figure during infancy (especially when the loss occurs during the second half of the first year).
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attitude-behavior discrepancy
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refers to the finding that, contrary to popular belief, attitudes are often not accurate predictors of behavior. some authorities have, however, identified specific situations in which attitudes can accurately predict behavior. fishbein, for example, argues that attitudes are good predictors when they include a measurement of the person's behavioral intention.
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brain lateralization
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the specialization of the cerebral cortex's two hemispheres. in most people, language is governed primarily by the left brain and spatial abilities by the right brain. it appears that a great deal of lateralization has already occurred at or soon after birth.
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central traits
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personality characteristics (e.g., warm, cold) that strongly influence the impressions made about the person possessing those traits.
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classical extinction
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the gradual elimination of a classically conditioned response by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.
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conditioned response (cr)
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in classical conditioning, a response that is elicited by a conditioned stimulus (cs) as the result of pairing the cs with a us. the conditioned response is similar to, but not identical with, the unconditioned response (it usually is weaker in strength or magnitude).
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conservation
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the ability to recognize that certain properties of an object or substance do not change when its appearance is altered in a superficial way. for example, when a liquid is poured from a short, fat glass into a tall, thin one, the ability to recognize that the amount of liquid has not changed. the ability to conserve develops gradually during the concrete operational stage of development.
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deindividuation
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a state of relative anonymity that allows group members to feel unidentifiable. deindividuation has been associated with increases in antisocial behaviors, apparently because the deindividuated person's behavior is no longer controlled by guilt, fear of evaluation, or other inhibitory controls.
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door-in-the-face technique
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the technique for gaining compliance that is based on the assumption that refusal of a large request will increase compliance with a subsequent smaller request.
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equilibration
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according to piaget, the tendency toward biological and psychological balance. equilibration underlies cognitive development.
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formal operational stage
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the last stage in piaget's model of cognitive development; begins at about age 11 or 12. individuals at this stage are aware of their own thought processes and can think more systematically about abstract and hypothetical concepts and ideas.
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frustration-aggression hypothesis
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the theory that aggression is always motivated by frustration.
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gender role development
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the process of becoming aware of one's own gender and acquiring motives, values, behaviors, etc. of that gender, i.e., of acquiring a gender identity and adopting gender-role behaviors. according to kohlberg, involves three stages: gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy.
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higher-order conditioning
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in classical conditioning, the situation in which a previously-established cs is used essentially as a us to establish a conditioned response with a new conditioned (neutral) stimulus.
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identity issues in adolescence
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erikson considered the development of a coherent identity to be the major developmental task of adolescence. one aspect of identity formation during adolescence is a renewed egocentrism, whcih is manifested in the imaginary audience and the personal fable.
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kubler-ross
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developed a five-stage model of adjustment to the idea of one's own death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance
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limbic system
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subcortical structures in the brain involved in drive states and the experience of emotion. its major structures are the amygdala, septum, cingulate gyrus, and hippocampus.
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mid-life transition
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for levinson, the period between ages 40 and 45 characterized by a questioning of one's life structure. may involve a "mid-life crisis," precipitated by a revaluation of one's past and an awareness of one's mortality. also characterized by a shift in time perspective from "time-from-birth" to "time-left-to-die."
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negative punishment
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in operant conditioning, the withdrawal of a stimulus contingent on the performance of a behavior in order to decrease the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. response cost is an example of negative punishment. (see clinical social work intervention chapter.)
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norepinephrine
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a catecholaminergic neurotransmitter that mediates the activities of the sympathetic nervous system and plays a role in the regulation of eating, sleep, and positive reinforcement. deficiency is associated with some forms of depression.
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participant modeling
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a technique based on observational learning theory in which a model demonstrates the desired behavior and then helps the individual to gradually imitate the modeled behavior. has been found useful in treating phobias.
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operant conditioning
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a type of learning in which behaviors are increased or decreased as the result of the consequences that follow them.
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positive discrimination stimulus
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a stimulus (cue) which signals that reinforcement will follow the performance of a particular behavior. (often referred to simply as a "discriminative stimulus.")
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preconventional morality
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according to kohlberg, the first level of moral development in which judgments of right and wrong are based on consequences and personal needs. includes the punishment-obedience and instrumental hedonism stages. characteristic of childhood.
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psychosexual development (freud)
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freud's theory of personality development proposes that development involves five invariant stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital), in which the libido shifts from one area of the body to another.
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reality principle
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as defined by freud, the principle on which the ego operates as it mediates between the demands of the id and the environment.
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reticular activating system (ras)
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a network of nerve fibers in the brain involved in wakefulness, attention, concentration, and introspection.
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role ambiguity
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a condition resulting when an individual's role expectations are inconsistent or poorly defined. can lead to stress, anxiety, lowered satisfaction, and reduced productivity. role ambiguity can also produce role conflict.
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satiation
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a condition of being satisfied or gratified with regard to a particular reinforcer. satiation is particularly a problem with continuous reinforcement and with the use of primary reinforcers.
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self-perception theory
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the theory that individuals make attributions about their own attitudes and behaviors on the basis of observations of their own behaviors and other external cues.
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serotonin
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a neurotransmitter involved in the suppression of the arousing effects of the RAS, the regulation of body temperature, hunger, aggression, sexual behavior, the Mood Disorders, and Schizophrenia.
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stages in language development
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language development occurs in a predictable sequence of stages: cooing and babbling (6-8 weeks and 4 months, respectively); echolalia and expressive jargon (9 months); holophrastic speech (1 to 2 years); telegraphic speech (18 to 24 months); and grammatically correct sentences (beginning at about 2 1/2 years).
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stranger anxiety
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a normal fear response to strangers exhibited by young children. begins at about 8 months of age and declines during the second year.
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unconditioned response (ur)
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in classical conditioning, the response naturally elicited by the US without conditioning.
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wernicke's area
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speech area located in the temporal lobe (usually the left lobe) of the brain. responsible for the understanding of written and spoken language. lesions produce receptive aphasia, which is characterized by an inability to comprehend written and spoken language or to name objects and qualities (anomia).
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actor-observer bias
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in causal attributions, the tendency for an observer to overestimate the effects of dispositional factors when making attributions about an actor's behavior but to overestimate the effects of situational factors when making self attributions.
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androgyny
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having characteristics of both sexes. androgynous people score high both on the Masculine and Feminine scales of Bem's Sex Role Inventory and, in comparison to sex-typed people, display greater flexibility, higher self-esteem, and higher levels of achievement.
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authoritarian personality
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a personality type characterized by identification with and submission to authority, cynicism, prejudice, intolerance of ambiguity, and political conservatism. the F (Fascism) Scale was designed to assess authoritarianism.
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broca's area
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motor speech area located in the frontal lobe (usually the left lobe) of the brain, just anterior to the motor cortex. involved in the articulation of speech. damage results in expressive aphasia (an inability to produce written or spoken language.)
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cerebellum
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large structure on the dorsal aspect of the hind-brain. involved in the extrapyramidal control of motor activities (e.g., coordination, balance, posture.) damage can result in ataxia (loss of ability to control voluntary body movements.)
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cognitive dissonance theory
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festinger's theory of attitude change that proposes that inconsistencies in cognitions produce discomfort (dissonance), which motivates the individual to reduce the dissonance by changing his or her cognitions.
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conditioned stimulus (cs)
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in classical conditioning, the previously neutral stimulus that, as the result of being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, now elicits a conditioned response (cr).
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contact comfort
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the pleasurable tactile sensations provided by a caretaker; believed by Harlow and others to be a causal factor in the development of attachment between an infant and his or her caretaker.
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delphi technique
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an approach used to improve group problem-solving and decision-making that de-emphasizes direct face-to-face contact by group members. involves pooling the independent judgments of members who do not have face-to-face contact throughout the process: instead, participants respond to questionnaires, the results of which are summarized and returned to participants for further comments; eventually all participants vote independently on the various solutions or decisions (Dalkey, 1969).
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dopamine
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a catecholaminergic neurotransmitter involved in inhibitory motor regulation and motivational/emotional functions. insufficient dopamine in the basal ganglia is believed to underlie Parkinson's Disease; oversensitivity to dopamine has been linked to Schizophrenia.
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false consensus bias
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the tendency to overestimate the degree to which we believe others think and act like us.
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forward conditioning
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in classical conditioning, presentation of the CS prior to (or simultaneously with) the US. of the methods of forward conditioning, delay conditioning is most effective in producing a conditioned response. in delay conditioning, the CS precedes and overlaps the US.
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fundamental attribution bias
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the attribution error in which an observer tends to overestimate dispositional causes and underestimate situational causes when making attributions about an actor's behaviors.
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group cohesion
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the feeling of solidarity among group members. cohesiveness is high in smaller groups; when initiation or entry into the group is difficult; when members are relatively homogeneous; and when there is an external threat. high cohesiveness can sometimes lead to poorer group decision-making (e.g., when "groupthink" develops).
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hippocampus
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a limbic system brain structure involved in response inhibition, emotional behavior, and, most importantly in humans, memory consolidation.
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insight (kohler)
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the apparent sudden understanding of the relationship between elements in a problem-solving situation. from the perspective of GESTALT psychology, insight involves perceptual reorganization. the "a-ha experience."
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latent learning (tolman)
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a learning model which proposes that learning can take place without reinforcement or actual performance improvement. tolman's research showed that rats formed "cognitive maps" of mazes even without being reinforced for doing so.
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locus of control
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a construct developed by rottner to describe the extent to which an individual believes that life events are under his or her own control (internal locus of control) or under the control of external focus (external locus of control).
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misery loves miserable company
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refers to schachter's finding that highly-anxious individuals prefer to affiliate (wait with other individuals) with other highly anxious people.
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negative reinforcement
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in operant conditioning, the withdrawal of a stimulus following a behavior in order to increase the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. terminating an unpleasant noise following a desirable behavior in order to increase that behavior is an example of negative reinforcement.
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norms
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the standard rules of conduct used by groups to maintain uniformity of behavior among group members. norms may be formal (codified or written) or informal (unwritten but "understood" by group members). norms do not govern all aspects of behavior, only those considered by the group to be important for effective group functioning. in addition, norms usually apply to behavior, not to personal feelings and thoughts.
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patterns of attachment
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research using ainsworth's "strange situation" has revealed four patterns of attachment: secure, insecure/ambivalent, insecure/avoidant, and disorganized/disoriented. each is associated with different caretaker behaviors and different personality outcomes.
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operant extinction
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in operant condition, the gradual elimination of a previously-reinforced response through the consistent withholding of reinforcement following that response. usually associated with a temporary increase in the response ("extinction burst").
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positive punishment
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the application of a stimulus following a response with the goal of reducing or eliminating the response.
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preoperational stage
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the second stage in piaget's model of cognitive development; spans ages 2 through 7. children at this age can think symbolically but haven't mastered logical operations (e.g., mental addiction, classification, conservation).
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psychosocial development (erikson)
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erikson's theory of personality development proposes that the individual faces different social crises at different points throughout the life span. these are: trust vs. mistrust; autonomy vs. shame and doubt; initiative vs. guilt; industry vs. inferiority; identity vs. role confusion; intimacy vs. isolation; generativity vs. stagnation; and integrity vs. despair.
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reflexes in the newborn
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at birth, infants exhibit a number of reflexes including the Moro reflex, which occurs in response to a loud noise or suddenly losing physical support, and the Babinski reflex, which is caused by tickling the soles of the feet.
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right hemisphere
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the right (non-dominant) hemisphere of the brain; dominates in visual-spatial activities such as facial recognition, spatial interpretation, and memory for shapes.
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role conflict
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a condition resulting when: (1) the expectations related to an individual's role vary within a single group; (2) an individual's roles in different groups or settings are incompatible; or (3) an individual's values or attitudes do not coincide with the requirements of his or her role. role conflict is associated with anxiety, lowered satisfaction, reduced productivity, and higher rates of absenteeism from the group and dropout.
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secondary (conditioned) reinforcer
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reinforcers that are not inherently reinforcing but that acquire their reinforcing value through association with a primary reinforcer. tokens, for example, are reinforcing only because they can be exchanged for primary reinforcers.
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self-serving bias
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in causal attributions, the tendency to attribute one's successes to internal factors and one's failures to external factors
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social comparison theory
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the theory that individuals use other people as sources of comparison in order to evaluate their own attitudes and behaviors.
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stimulus control
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the process by which a behavior does or does not occur due to the presence (or absence) of discriminative stimuli.
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superordinate goals
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goals that can be achieved only when individuals or members of different groups work together cooperatively. these have been found useful for reducing intergroup conflict.
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unconditioned stimulus (US)
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in classical conditioning, the stimulus that naturally elicits the target response (UR) without conditioning. in pavlov's original studies, meat powder was the US and salivation was the UR.
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adolescent "storm and stress"
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the theory that adolescence is a time of considerable emotional turmoil (e.g., Hall, 1904). now largely believed to be untrue: while many adolescents do experience greater emotional lability, they do not go through a period of profound emotional distress.
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anomie
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a social condition in which there are no societal norms and individuals have few or no personal or social values. anomie occurs when society experiences unusual stress and results in a lack of social structure, indifference, and isolation.
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bases of social power
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methods used to induce compliance in another person. French and Raven and their colleagues have identified six bases of social power: coercive, reward, expert, legitimate, referent, and informational.
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buffering hypothesis
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the hypothesis that lower susceptibility to stress, greater life satisfaction, and other positive outcomes are associated with a perception that one has adequate social support.
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cerebral cortex
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the outer covering of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. involved in higher order sensory, emotional, motor, and intellectual activities. divided into two hemispheres, with each containing four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital.
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cognitive learning theory
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theories of learning that stress the inner psychological aspects of learning (e.g., processing of information, development of problem-solving and decision-making strategies, etc.).
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conformity
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a change in behavior or attitude as the result of indirect pressure.
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continuous schedule
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in operant conditioning, providing reinforcement following each emission of the target response. associated with rapid acquisition of a response and susceptibility to extinction.
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diathesis-stress model
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a model of certain mental disorders, which attributes them to a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental stress factors.
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down syndrome (trisomy 21)
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a form of mental retardation caused by the presence of an extra 21 chromosome. characterized by certain physical features (e.g., "mongolism") and mild to severe mental retardation.
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fetal alcohol syndrome
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physical and mental abnormalities (e.g. mental retardation, microcephaly, hyperactivity, cardiac defects) caused by extreme maternal intake during pregnancy.
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FR (fixed ratio) schedule
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an intermittent reinforcement schedule in which an organism is reinforced following a predetermined number of responses (e.g., after each 10th response). the cumulative record exhibits "post-reinforcement pauses," especially as the number of responses required by reinforcement increases.
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GABA
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the most common inhibitory neurotransmitter. low levels of GABA in the motor region are associated with Huntington's Disease and may be involved in anxiety.
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group polarization
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the tendency of groups to make more extreme decisions (either more conservative or more risky) than individual members would have made alone.
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hospitalism
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a term used by spitz to describe the syndrome found in infants who have been separated from their mothers (or other primary caretakers). symptoms include listlessness, unresponsiveness, indifference, and retarded growth.
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intergroup contact
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research shows that intergroup contact can help reduce intergroup hostility when certain conditions are met. these include having groups of equal status or power and being provided with opportunities to negate negative stereotypes of the opposing group's members. of course, the effects of intergroup contact are maximized when members of the groups are working together on a superordinate goal.
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law of effect (thorndike)
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the principle that organisms tend to acquire behaviors that lead to satisfying consequences quicker than behaviors that lead to unsatisfying consequences.
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maternal employment
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research investigating the effects of maternal employment has found it to be associated with greater personal satisfaction for the working mother and, in terms of the children, with fewer sex-role stereotypes and greater independence, and, for lower-SES boys, better performance on measures of cognitive development.
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moral development (kohlberg)
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according to kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory, moral development coincides with cognitive development and involves three levels that each include two stages: preconventional (punishment and obedience; instrumental hedonism); conventional (good boy/good girl; law and order); and postconventional (morality of contract, individual rights, and democratically-accepted laws; morality of individual principles of conscious).
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neurotransmitter
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a chemical substance that is released from axon terminals, diffuses across synapses, and excites or inhibits receptor sites on postsynaptic cells. includes acetylcholine, GABA, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.
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object permanence
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the understanding that objects continue to exist when they are no longer detectable by the senses (e.g., when they are out of sight). object permanence emerges at the end of piaget's sensorimotor stage of development.
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phenotype
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characteristics that are measurable and observable. may be due to genotype and/or environmental factors. eye color, for example, is the result of genotype, while weight is usually due to a combination of genetics and environmental factors.
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overjustification hypothesis
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the notion that when individuals are externally rewarded for a task they previously found intrinsically interesting, their interest in the task will decrease.
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positive reinforcement
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the application of a stimulus following a response with the goal of increasing the occurrence or strength of the response.
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primary effect
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the tendency for information presented first to have the greatest effect on impression formation or attitude change.
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reactance
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the tendency to resist being influenced or manipulated by others, usually by doing the opposite of what is desired or expected.
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resilience
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longitudinal studies suggest that early (prenatal and perinatal) environmental stress can be ameliorated when the baby experiences fewer stressors following birth, exhibits good communication skills, social responsiveness, and receives stable support from a parent or other caregiver.
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risky shift phenomenon
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the proposal that group decisions tend to be "riskier" than decisions made by individuals.
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role discomplementarity
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a condition resulting when: (1) the different roles assumed by an individual conflict or (2) the individual's family, employers, co-workers, etc., have role expectations for the individual that differ from his or her own role expectations.
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