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123 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
learning
-change in an organism's behavior or thought as a result of experience
-when we learn our brains change along with our behaviors
habituation
-the process by which we respond less strongly over time to repeated stimuli
-explains why loud snorers can sleep peacefully through the night while keeping their irritated roommates wide awake. Chronic snorers have become so accustomed to the sound of their own snoring that they no longer notice it.
classical (Pavlovian) conditioning
-a form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that brings out an automatic response
conditioned stimulus (CS)
-a previously neutral stimulus that comes to bring out a conditioned respnse as a result of its association with an unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
-stimulus that brings out an automatic response
unconditioned response (UCR)
-automatic response to a nonneutral stimulus that does not need to be learned
conditioned response (CR)
-a response previously associated with a non-neural stimulus that comes to be brought out by a neutral stimulus
acquisition
-learning phase during which a conditioned response is established
-we gradually learn the CR
extiction
-gradual reduction and eventual elimination of the conditioned response after the conditioned stimulus is presented repeatedly without the conditioned stimulus
-the CR decreases in magnitude and eventually dispappears when the CS is repeatedly presented alone, that is, without the UCS
spontaneous recovery
-a seemingly extinct CR reappears(often in somewhat weaker form) if the CS is presented again
-ex. Pavlov presented the CS alone aagain and again and extinguished the CR (salivation) because there was no UCS (mouthwatering meat powder) following it. Two hours later, he presented the CS again, and the CR returned. The animal hadn't really forgotten the CR, just suppressed it.
stimulus generalization
-the process by which CSs that are similar, but not identical, to the origional CS bring out a CR
-Pavlov found that following classical conditioning his dogs salivated not merely to the original metronme sound but to sounds similar to it
stimulus discrimination
-flip side of the coin to stimulus generalization
-it occurs when we exhibit a less pronounced CR to CSs that differ from the original CS
-helps us understand why we can enjoy scary movies. Although we may hyperventilate a bit while watching sharks circle the divers in the movie, we'd respond much more strongly if a shark chased us around a tank at the aquarium
-we learned to discriminate between a motion picture stimulus and the real-world version of it and to modify our response as a result
higher-order conditioning
-the process by which organisms develop classically conditioned responses to CSs associated with the original CS
-helps explain how some people develop addictions to cigarettes, heroin, and other drugs. People who don't generally smoke cigarettes may find themselves craving one at a party because they've smoked occasionally at previous parties with their friends who smoke
-ex. after we condition the dog to salivate to a tone we pair a picture of a circle with the tone, the dog eventually salivates to the circle as well as the tone.
operant conditioning
-learning controlled by the consequences of the organism's behavior
-organism's behavior is shaped by what comes after it, namely, reward
-organism gets something out of the response, like food, sex, attention, or avoiding something unpleasant
law of effect
-principle asserting that if a stimulus followed by a behavior results in a reward, the stimulus is more likely to bring out the behavior in the future
-simply means that if we're rewarded fo a response to a stimulus, we're more likely to repeat the behavior in response to the stimulus in the future
insight
-grasping the nature of a problem
-suddenly grasping the solution to a problem or appropriate response to a stimulus
-insights don't need to be gradually solidified through rewards
-good evidence that humans solve many problems through insight learning
skinner box
-small animal chamber constructed by Skinner to allow sustained periods of conditioning to be administered and behaviors to be recorded unsupervised
-electronically records an animal's response and prints out a cumulative record, or graph, of the animal's activity
-typically contains a bar that delivers food when pressed, a food dispenser, and often a light that signals when reward is forthcoming
reinforcement
-an outcome that strengthens the probability of a response
-outcome or consequence of behavior that strengthens the probability of the behavior
positive reinforcement
-presentation of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior
-ex. giving a child a Hershey's Kiss when he picks up his toys
negative reinforcement
-removal of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior
-ex.ending a child's time-out for bad behavior once she's stopped whining
punishment
-outcome or consequence of a behvior that weakens the probability of the behavior
-typically involves administering a stimulus that the organism wishes to avoid, such as a physical shock or a spanking, or an unpleasant social outcome, like laughing at someone
discriminative stimulus
-any stimulus that signals the presence of reinforcement
-stimulus associated with the presence of reinforcement
-ex. when we snap our fingers at a dog in the hopes of having it come over to us, the dog may approach us to get a much-appreciated petting. For the dog, our finger snapping is a discriminative stimulus.
-we're responding to a discriminative stimulus virtually all the time, even if we're not consciously aware of it. An example is when a friend waves at us and we walk over to her to say hi in return.
partial reinforcement
-only occasional reinforcement of a behavior, resulting in slower extinction than if the behavior had been reinforced continually
-behaviors we reinforce only occasionally are slower to extinguish than those we reinforce every time.
-ex. concider an animal that expects to be rewarded every time it performs the target behavior may become reluctant to continue performing the behavior if the reinforcement becomes undependable. However, if an animal has learned that the behavior will be rewarded only occasionally, it's more likely to continue the behavior in the hopes of being reinforced
continuous reinforcement
-reinforcing a behavior everytime it occurs, resulting in faster learning but faster extinction than only occasional reinforcement
-ex. reinforcing an animal everytime it performs the behavior, allows animals to learn new behaviors more quickly, but that partial reinforcement leads to a greater resistance to extinction.
-this may explain why some people remain trapped for years in terribly dysfunctional, even abusive, relationships.
schedule of reinforcement
-pattern of reinforcing a behavior
-the pattern of delivering reinforcement.
fixed ratio (FR) schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement following a regular number of responses
-we provide reinforcement after a regular number of responses.
-ex. we could give a rat a pellet after every 15 minutes it presses the lever in a Skinner box
fixed interval (FI) schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once following a specified time interval
-we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once during a specified period of time
-ex. a worker in a toy factory might get paid at the same time every Friday afternoon for the work she's done, as long as she's generated at least one toy during that one-week interval.
variable ratio (VR) schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average, with the number varying randomly
-we provide reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average, but the precise number of responses required during any given period varies randomly
-ex. playing the slot machines and other forms of gambling
variable interval (VI) schedule
-pattern in which we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once during an average time interval, with the interval varying randomly
-we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once during an average time interval, with the actual interval varying randomly.
-ex. we could give a dog a treat for performing a trick on a variable interval schedule with an average interval of 8 minutes. This dog may have to perform the trick at least once during a 7-minute interval he first time, but then during only a 1-minute interval the second time, then a longer 20-minute interval, and then a 4-minute interval, with the average of these intervals being 8 minutes
shaping by successive approximations
-conditioning a target behavior by progressively reinforcing behaviors that come closer and closer to the target
-this is used to train animals to perform at a cirucs, zoo, or aquarium the tricks such as elaborate routines
Premack principle
-principle that a less frequently performed behacior can be increased in frequency by reinforcing it with a more frequent behavior
-states we can positively reinforce a less frequently performed behavior witha more frequently performed behavior
secondary reinforcer
-neutral object that becomes associated with a primary reinforcer
primary reinforcer
-item or outcome that naturally increases target behavior.
-things that naturally increase the target behavior
-ex. like a favorite food or drink
latent learning
-learning that is not directly observable
-we learn many things without showing them
-there is a difference between competence, what we know, and performance, showing what we know
cognitive map
-mental representation of how a physical space is organized
-ex. college students who at first we hopelessly confused the first day you arrived on campus. but overtime, however, probably developed a mental sense of the layout of the campus, so that you now hardly ever become lost. That internal spatial blueprint, according to Tolman, is a cognitive map
observable learning
-learning by watching others
-many psychologist regard observational learning as a form of latent learning because it allows us to learn without reinforcement
-we can literally watch someone else being reinforced for doing something and take our cues form that person
-observational learning spares us the expense of having to learn everything first hand.
equipotentiality
-assumption that any conditioned stimulus can be associated equally well with any unconditioned stimulus
-the clain that we can pair all CSs equally well with all UCs
prepared learning
-evolutionary predisposition to learn some pairings of feared stimuli over others owing to their survival value
-we're evolutionarily predisoposed to fear certain stimuli more than others
instincive drift
-tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement
-the tendency for animals to return to innate behaviors following repeated reinforcement
language
-a largely arbitrary system of communication that combines symbols (such as words or gestural signs) in rule-based ways to create meaning
-a system of communication that combines symbols, such as words or gestural signs, in rule-based ways to create meaning
babbling
-intentional vocalization that lacks specific meaning
generative
-allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways
-language is a system that allows us to create an infinite number of sentences, producing new statements, thoughts, and ideas never previously uttered
cryptophasia
-secret language developed and understood only by a small number of people, typically twins
-belief that twinsinvent their own secret language, one only they can underatand
homesign
-system of signs invented by deaf children of hearing parents who receive no language input
-cases of children inventing their own communication systems.
-ex. deaf children of hearing parents who sometimes invent their own signs when not being instructed in sign language
sign language
-language developed by members of deaf communities that uses visual rather than auditory communication
-a type of language developed by members of deaf communities that allows them to use visual rather than auditory communication
-involves using hands, face, body, and "sign space"-the space in fornt of the signer-to communicate
-just as there are many different spoken languages there are also many different sign languagesused in different countries and deaf communities
bilingual
-proficient and fluent at speaking and comprehending two distinct languages
-speaking and comprehending two distinct languages
linguistic determinism
-view that all thought is represented vervally and that, as a result, our language defines our thinking
-the view that all thinking is represented linguistically
linguistic relativity
-view that characteristics of language shape our thought processes
-a less radical perspective
-maintain that characteristics of language shape our thought processes
thinking
-any mental activity or processing of information, including learning, remembering, perceiving, believing, and deciding
-any mental activity or processing of information
-includes learning, remembering, perceiving, believing, and deciding
category
-collection of real or imagined objects, actions, and characteristics that share core properties
-ex. such as mororcycles, fruit, dancing and purple
-ex. as we acquire knowledge, we create stored categories that enable us to draw on knowledge when we experience something new. For example, when encountering an animal we've never seen, we use our knowledge of an animal's caharacteristics to recognize whether it's a mammal roa reptile, harmless or dangerous
concepts
-the general ideas or thoughts associated with members of a category
-ex. if the category of flowers is the group of all individual items that can be classified as flowers, the concept of flowers is the idea of colorful, scented blooms growing on plants
problem solving
-generating a cognitive strtegy to accomplish a goal
mental set
-phenomenon of becoming stuck in a specific problem-solving strategy, inhibiting our ability to generate alternatives
-once we find a workable solution that's dependable, we often get stuck in that solution mode; we have trouble generating alternatives
-ex. when attempting to identify the topic for a term paper, we may have trouble thinking of topics that the professor hasn't already covered in class.
-in fact, a friend or roommate who hasn't taken the class may be able to come up with more creative ideas because our thinking has become boxed in by our experiences
functional fixedness
-difficulty conceptualizing that an object typically used for one purpose can be used for another
intelligence test
-diagnostic tool designed to measure overall thinking ability
abstract thinking
-capacity to understand hypothetical concepts, rather than concepts in the here-and-now
s (specific abilities)
-particular ability levels in a narrow domain
g (general intellignece)
-hypothetical factor that accounts for overall differnces in intelect among people
fluid intelligence
-capacity to learn new ways of solving problems
-ex. solving a puzzlewe've never seen or trying to operate a motorcycle for the first time
crystallized intelligence
- accumulated knowledge of the world we acquired over time
-we rely on our crystallized intelligence to answer questions
multiple intelligences
-idea that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill
-different domains of intellectual skill
triarchic model
-model of intelligence proposed by Robert Sternberg positing three distinct types of intelligences: analytical, practical, and creative
-posits the existence of three largely distinct intelligences: analytical (ability to reason logicaly), practical (the ability to solve real world problems), and creative (ability to come up with novel and effective answers to questions) intelligence
divergent thinking
-capacity to generate many different solutions to a problem
convergent thinking
-capcity to generate the single best solution to a problem
-the capacity to find the single best answer to a problem
emotional intelligence
-ability to understand our own emotions and those of others, and to apply this information to or daily lives
intelligence quotient (IQ)
-systematic means of quantifying differences among people in their intelligence
mental age
-age corresponding to the average individual's performance on an intelligence test
deviation IQ
-expression of a person's IQ relative to his or her same -aged peers
-expresses each person's IQ relative to his or her same-aged peers
eugenics
-movement in the early twentieth century to improve a population's genetic stock by encouraging those with good genes to reproduce, preventing those with bad genes from reproducing, or both
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
-most widely used intelligence test for adults today, consisting of 14 subtests to assess different types of mental abilities
-consists of 14 subtests, or specific tasks, designed to assess mental abilities such as vocabulary, arithmetic, spatial ability, reasoning about provervs, and general knowledge about the world
-WAIS yields three major scores: an overall IQ score, a verbal IQ score, and a performance (nonverbal) IQ score
Standford-Binet IQ test
-intelligence test based on the measure developed by Binet and Simon, adapted by Lewis Terman of Stanford University
-consists of a wide variety of taskslike those Binet and Simon used, such as tests of children's vocabular, memory for pictures, naming of familiar objects, repeating sentences, and following commands
culture-fair IQ tests
-abstract reasoning items that don't depend on language and are often believed to be less influenced by cultural factors than other IQ tests
bell curve
-distribution of scores in which the bulk of the scores fall toward the middle, with progressively fewer scores toward the "tails" or extremes
mental retardation
-condition characterized by an onset prior to adulthood, an IQ below about 70, and an inability to engage in adequate daily functioning
-difficulties dressing and feeding oneself, communicating with others, and other basic life skills
Flynn effect
-finding the average IQ scores have been rising at a rate of approximately 3 points per decade
-this means that, on average, our IQ scores are a full 15 oints higher than those of our grandparents
test bias
-tendency of a test to predict outcomes better in one group than another
-a biased test is one that means different things in one group than in another
within-group heritability
-extent to which the variability of a trait within a group is genetically influenced
-extent to which a trait, like IQ, is heritable within groups, such as Asian American or women
between-group heritability
-extent to which differences in trait between groups is genetically influenced
-the extent to which the difference in this trait between groups, such as between Asian Americans and Caucasians or between men and women, is heritable
stereotype threat
-fear that we may confirm a negative group stereotype, such asa stereotype of our group as less intelligent or less athletic than others.
-stereotype threat creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which those who are anxious about confirming a negative stereotype actually increase their likelihood of doing so
zygote
-fertilized egg
developmental psychology
-study of how behavior changes over time
post hoc fallacy
-false assumption that because one event occurred before another event it must have caused that event
-ex. because nearly 100 percent of serial killers drank milk as children, milk drinking creates mass murderers. But, of course, drinking milk in infancy has nothing to do with why some people became serial killers; it just happens to come beforehand
cross-sectional design
-a design in which researchers examine people of different ages at a single point in time
-in this design you obtaina "snapshot" of each person at a single age; we assess some people when they're 24, some when they're 47, others when they're 63, and so on
-problem with this design is that they don't control for cohort effects
cohort effects
-effects observed in a sample of participants that result from individuals in the sample growing up at the same time
-effect due to the fact that sets of people who lived during one time period, called cohorts, can differ from other cohorts.
longitudinal design
-research design that examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time
-the only sure way around the problem of cohort effects in cross-sectional design
-psychologists track the development of the same grop of subjects over time. Rather than obtaining a snapshot of each person at only one point in time, we obtain the equivalent of a seriesof home movies, taken at different ages
-this design allows us to examine true developmental effects: changes over time as a consequence of growing older
gene-enviornment interaction
-situation in which the effects of genes depend on the environment in which they are expressed
-the effects of genes depend on the enviornment and vice versa
prenatal
-prior to birth
-most of what develops in this prior to virth period is physical, including the form and structure of the body and, most important from a psychological standpoint, the brain
blastocyst
-ball of identical cells early in pregnancy that haven't yet begun to take on any specific function in a body part
-ball of identical cells that haven't yet begun ot take on any specific functionin a body part.
-the blasocyst keeps growing as cells continue to divide for the first week and a half or so after fertilization. Around the middle of the second week, the cells begin to differentiate, taking on different roles as the organs of the body begin to develop
-once different cells start to assume different functions, the blastocyst becomes an embryo
embryo
-second to eigth week of prenatal development, during which limbs, facial features, and major organs of the body take form
-continues from the seond ot the eighth week of development, during which limbs, facial features, and major organs of the body (including the heart, lungs, and brain) begin to take shape
-by the ninth week the major organs are established, and the heart has begun to beat
fetus
-period of prenatal development from the ninth week until birth after all major organs are established and physical maturation is the primary change
-the embroy becomes the fetus by the ninth week
-the fetus's job for the restof the pregnancy is physical maturation
teratogens
-are environmental factors that can exert a negative impact on prenatal development
-they run the gamut form drugs and alcohol to chickenpox and X-rays
-even anxiety and depression in the mother are potential teratogens because they alter the fetus's chemical and physiological environment
-some teratogens influence how specific parts of the brain develop, wheras others exert a more general impact on development
motor behavior
-are bodily motions that occur as a result of self-initiated force that moves the bones and muscles
cognitive development
-study of how children learn, think, reason, communicate, and remember
assimilation
-Piagetian process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge structures
-the process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge structures
-ex. if a child who believes the earth is flat is told that the earth is round into her knowledge bases by picturing a flat disk, shaped like a coin. This adjustment allows her to absorb this new fact without changing her belief that the earth is flat
-children use assimilation to acquire new knowledge within a stage
-during assimilation, the child's underlying cognitive skills and worldviews remain unchanged, so she reinterprets new experiences to fit into a what she already knows
accomodation
-Piagetian process of altering the child's beliefs to make them (child) more compatible with experience
-accomodation drives stage change by forcing children to enter a new way of looking at the world
-this process insures a state of harmony between the world and mind of the child
sensorimotor stage
-stage in Piaget's theory characterized by a focus on the here and now without the ability to represent experiences mentally
-from birth to about the age of 2, all informatiion through perceiving sensory information from the world and observing the physical consequences of their actions
object permanence
-the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view
preoperational stage
-stage in Piaget's theory characterized by the ability to construct mental representations of experience, but not yet perform operations on them
-stage marked by an ability to construct mental representations of experience
-children in this stage can use such symbols as language, drawings, and objects as represenations of ideas
-ex. when a child holds a banana and pretends it's a phone, is a displayment of symbolic behavior
egocentrism
-inability to see the world from others' perspectives
conservation
-Piagetian task requiring children to understand that despite a transformation in the physical presentation of an amount, the amount remains the same
-tasks to test children's ability to perform operations
-these tasks ask children wheter an amount will be "conserved" (stay the same) after a physical transformation
-ex. children might see a glass of water and then watch as the water is poured into a taller, thinner glass. The question is whether the child understands that the amount of wate hasn't changed
concrete operations stage
-stage in Piaget's theory characterized by the ability to perform mental operations on physical events only
-children between 7 and 11 years old enter this stage
-characterized by the long-awaited ability to perform mental operations, but only for actual physical events
-children in this stage can now perform conservation tasks and organizational tasks that require mental operations on physical objects, such as sorting coins by size or setting up a battle scene with toy soldiers
-but children in this stage are still poor at performing mental operations in abstract or hypothetical situations
-physical experience links their mental operations
formal operations stage
-sate in Piaget's theory characterized by the ability to perform hypothetical reasoning beyond the here and now
-children at this stage understand logical concepts, such as if-then statements and either or statements
scaffolding
-Vygotskian learning process in which parents provide initial assistance in children's learning but gradually remove structure as children become more competent
-parents and caretakers tend to structure the learning environment for children in ways that guide them to behave as if they;v e learned something before they have
-scaffolding comes from the term "building construction"
-children gradually learn to perform a task independently but require guidance when getting started
zone of proximal development
-phase of learning during which children can benefit from instruction
-the phase or learning period when children are receptive to learning a new skill but aren't yet successful at it
theory of mind
-ability to reason about what other people know or believe
stranger anxiety
-a fear of strangers developing at 8 or 9 months of age
attachment
-the strong emotinal connection we share with those to whom we feel closest
imprinting
-phenomenon observed in which baby birds begin to follow around and attach themselves to any large moving object they see in the hours immediately after hatching
contact comfort
-positive emotions resulting from touch
-ex. baby monkey prefers terry cloth mother over wire mother
temperment
-basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin
-contributes to children's social and emotional development
-comprising differences in people's basic emotional styles
average expectabel environment
-enviornment that provides children with basic needs for affection and discipline
gender identity
-individuals' sense of being male or female
gender role
-behaviors that tend to be associated with being male or female
adolescence
-the trasition between childhood and adulthood commonly associated with the teenage years
primary sex characteristics
-the reproductive organs and genitals that distinguish the sexes
-includes changes in secondary sex characteristics
secondary sex characteristics
-sex-differentiating characteristics that don't relate directly t reproduction, such as breast enlargement in women and deepening voices in men and pubic hair in both genders
menarche
-startof menstruation
-the onset of menstruation occurs
-girls
-spermarche
-boys' first ejaculation
identity
-our sense of who we are and our life goals and priorities
-most teenagers struggle with this problem
psychosocial crisis
-dilemma concerning an individual's relations to other people, whether they be parents, friends, teachers, or the larger society
midlife crisis
-supposed phase of adulthood characterized by emotional distress about the aging process and an attempt to regain youth
-the midlife crisis seems to be more myth than reality
empty-nest syndrome
-alleged period of depression in mothers following the departure of their grown children from the home
-supposed period of depression in mothers following the "flight" of their children form the house as they reach adulthood
-this seems to be overstated and may be specific to women who have more traditional gender roles
menopause
-the termination of menstruation, marking the end of a woman's reproductive potential
-as women approach 50, their menstrual cycles may become increasingly irregular ultimately, they stop
-some women find this time difficult because they are faced with evidence of their physical decline, with their youthful, reproductive years behind them
-menopause is caused by a reduction in estrogen, which can result in sudden "hot flashes" marked by becoming incredibly hot, sweaty, and dry-mouthed. many women report mood swings, sleep disruption, and temporary loss of sexual drive or pleasure