| Term | Definition |
|---|
| motivation | a need or desire that energizes and directs behaviour |
| instinct | behaviour that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned |
| drive-reduction theory | physiological need creates an aroused tension (a drive) that motivates us to satisfy the need |
| homeostasis | a tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level |
| incentive | a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behaviour |
| hierarchy of needs | Maslow's pyramid -beginning at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active |
| glucose | the form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues |
| set point | the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set |
| basal metabolic rate | the body's resting rate of energy expenditure |
| anorexia nervosa | an eating disorder in which a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve |
| bulimia nervosa | an eating disorder characterized by episodes of overeating, usually of high-calorie foods, followed by vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise |
| sexual response cycle | the four stages of sexual responding described by Masters an Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution |
| refractory period | a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm |
| sexual disorder | a problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning |
| estrogen | a sex hormone, greater amounts by females than by males |
| testosterone | the most important of the male sex hormones |
| sexual orientation | an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex or the other sex |
| flow | a completely involved, focused state of consciousness, with diminished awareness of self and time, resulting from optimal engagement of one's skills |
| industrial-organizational psychology | the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behaviour in workplaces |
| personnel psychology | a subfield of I/O psychology that focuses on employee recruitment, selection, placement, training, appraisal, and development |
| organizational psychology | a subfield of I/O psychology that examines organizational influences on worker satisfaction and productivity and facilitates organizational change |
| structural interviews | interview process that asks the same job-relevant questions of all applicants, each of whom is rated on established scales |
| achievement motivation | a desire for significant accomplishment: for mastery of things, people, or ideas; for attaining a high standard |
| task leadership | goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes work, and focuses attention on goals |
| social leadership | group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork, mediates conflict, and offers support |
| Sigmund Freud | 1856-1939; Field: psychoanalytic, personality; Contributions: id/ego/superego, reality and pleasure principles, ego ideal, defense mechanisms (expanded by Anna Freud), psychoanalysis, transference |
| Anna Freud | 1895-1982; Field: psychoanalysis; Contributions: focused on child psychoanalysis, fully developed defense mechanisms, emphasized importance of the ego and its constant struggle |
| Carl Jung | 1875-1961; Field: neo-Freudian, analytic psychology; Contributions: people had conscious and unconscious awareness; archetypes; collective unconscious; libido is all types of energy, not just sexual; Studies: dream studies/interpretation |
| Erik Erikson | 1902-1994; Field: neo-Freudian, humanistic; Contributions: 8-stage theory -show how people evolve through the life span. Each stage marked by “Who am I?” |
| Lawrence Köhlberg | 1927-1987; Field: cognition, moral development; Contributions: 6 stages of moral development (pre-conventional-rewards/punishments, conventional-social acceptance/law or against law, post-conventional-higher sense of morality |
| Carol Gilligan | 1936-pres; Field: cognition; Contributions: maintained that Köhlberg’s work was developed by only observing boys and overlooked girls who focus more on relationships than laws and principles |
| William James | 1842-1910; Field: functionalism; Contributions: Famous Book "Principles of Psychology" |
| William Wundt | 1832-1920; Field: structuralism, voluntarism; Contributions: introspection Studies: 1st psych lab in Germany |
| BF Skinner | 1904-1990; Field: behavioral; Contributions: operant conditioning-learning based on rewards and punishments. Studies: Skinner box |
| John B Watson | 1878-1958; Field: behaviorism; Contributions: generalization-inductive reasoning Studies: Little Albert |
| Jean Piaget | 1896-1980; Field: cognition; Contributions: created a 4-stage of children's cognitive development, schemas, theory of mind, assimilation and accommodation |
| Harry Harlow | 1905-1981; Field: development; Contributions: realized that touch is preferred in development; Studies: monkeys, studied attachment (wire mothers v. cloth mothers) |
| Carl Rogers | 1902-1987; Field: humanistic; Contributions: person-centered therapy, emphasized the unique quality of humans especially their freedom and potential for personal growth, unconditional positive regard |
| Abraham Maslow | 1908-1970; Field: humanism; Contributions: hierarchy of needs-needs at a lower level nees have to be met-at the top-self-actualization |
| Karen Horney | 1885-1952; Field: neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; Contributions: criticized Freud, stated that personality is molded by current fears and impulses |
| Alfred Adler | 1870-1937; Field: neo-Freudian, psychodynamic; Contributions: basic mistakes, style of life, inferiority/superiority complexes Studies: Birth Order |
| Gordon Allport | 1897-1967; Field: trait theory of personality; Contributions: list of 11,000 traits, 3 levels of traits-cardinal, central, and secondary |
| Hermann Rorschach | 1884-1922; Field: personality, psychoanalysis; Contributions: projective test, (Inkblot test) |
| Solomon Asch | 1907-1996; Field: social psychology; Contributions: studied conformity, found that individuals would conform even if they knew it was wrong; Studies: conformity, opinions and social pressures |
| Stanley Schachter | 1922-present; Field: emotion; Contributions: 2 factor theory-physiological happens first, cognitive appraisal must be made in order to experience emotion. |
| Stanley Milgram | 1933-1984; Field: social psychology; Contributions: obedience study-wanted to see how far individuals would go to be obedient; Studies: Shock Study |
| Philip Zimbardo | 1933-present; Field: social psychology; Contributions: proved that peoples behavior depends to a large extent on the roles they are asked to play; Studies: Stanford Prison Study-studied power of social roles to influence people’s behavior |
| Elizabeth Kübler-Ross | 1926-2004; Field: development; Contributions: 5 stages of death (denial, anger, bargaining with God, depression, acceptance) |
| Elizabeth Loftus | 1944-present; Field: memory; Contributions: eyewitness testimony (false memories or misinformation effect); Studies: Reconstruction of Auto destruction |
| Robert Sternberg | 1949-present; Field: intelligence; Contributions: devised Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (creative, analytical, practical) |
| Albert Bandura | 1925-present; Field: sociocultural; Contributions: observational learning. Studies: Bobo Dolls-adults demonstrated ‘appropriate’ play with dolls, children mimicked play |
| Raymond Cattell | 1905-1998; Field: intelligence; Contributions: fluid & crystal intelligence; 3 domains of personality sphere (personality, ability, & motivation), 16 Personality Factors (personality test) |
| Aaron Beck | 1921-present; Field: cognitive; Contributions: father of Cognitive Therapy, created Beck Scales-depression inventory, hopelessness scale, suicidal ideation, anxiety inventory, and youth inventories |
| Noam Chomsky | 1928-present; Field: language; Contributions: disagreed with Skinner about language acquisition, humans have an inborn native ability to develop language |
| Edward Thorndike | 1874-1949; Field: behaviorism; Contributions: Law of Effect-relationship between behavior and consequence; Studies: Law of Effect |
| HJ Eysenck | 1916-1997; Field: personality; Contributions: asserted that personality is largely determined by genes, used introversion/extroversion |
| Mary Ainsworth | 1913-1999; Field: development; Contributions: compared effects of maternal separation, devised patterns of attachment; Studies: The Strange Situation-observation of parent/child attachment |
| Kenneth Clark | 1914-2005; Field: social psychology; Contributions: research evidence of internalized racism Studies: Doll experiments-black children chose white dolls |
| Lev Vygotsky | 1896-1934; Field: child development; Contributions: how culture & interpersonal communication guide development, zone of proximal development; play research |
| Martin Seligman | 1942-present; Field: learning; Contributions: Positive Psychology, learned helplessness; Studies: Dogs demonstrating learned helplessness |
| Howard Gardner | 1943-present; Field: intelligence; Contributions: multiple intelligences (logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic) |
| Kurt Lewin | 1890-1947; Field: social psychology; Contributions: German refugee who escaped Nazis, proved the democratic style of leadership is the most productive; Studies: Leadership syles-studied effects of 3 leadership styles on children completing activities |
| Ivan Pavlov | 1891-1951; Field: behavior; Contributions: classical conditioning, a UCS naturally elicits a reflexive behavior; Studies: dog salivation |
| Hermann Ebbinghaus | 1850-1909; Field: memory; Contributions: :forgetting curve-a rapid loss followed by a gradual declining rate of loss; Studies: memory-series of meaningless syllables/words |
| Benjamin Whorf | 1897-1941; Field: language; Contributions: language determines the way we think |
| Robert Rosenthal | 1933-present; Field: social psychology; Contributions: nonverbal communication, self-fulfilling prophecies; Studies: Pygmalion Effect-effect of teacher’s expectations on students |
| Judith Langlois | dates ?; Field: developmental; Contributions: social development & processing, effects of appearance on behavior, origin of social stereotypes, sex/love/intimacy, facial expression |
| David Rosenhan | dates?; Field: social psychology; Contributions: proved that once you are diagnosed with a disorder, your care would not be very good in a mental health setting; Studies: Hospital experiment-checked into hospital to check diagnosis |
| Daniel Goleman | 1946-present; Field: intelligence; Contributions: emotional intelligence |
| Charles Spearman | 1863-1945; Field: intelligence; Contributions: specific mental talents were highly correlated, general "g" factor for intelligence |
| Albert Ellis | 1913-2007; Field: cognitive-behavioral; Contributions: Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET), focuses on altering client’s patterns of irrational thinking to reduce maladaptive behavior and emotions |
| Harry Stack Sullivan | 1892-1949; Field: psychoanalysis; Contributions: groundwork for enmeshed relationships, developed the Self-System-a configuration of personality traits |
| Robert Yerkes | 187601956; Field: intelligence, comparative; Contributions: social behavior of gorillas/chimps, Yerkes-Dodson law-level of arousal as related to performance |
| Alfred Binet | 1857-1911; Field: testing; Contributions: IQ tests, test to identify slow learners in need of remediation-not applicable in the U.S. because too culture-bound (French) |
| Little Albert | ca. 1920; Field: behaviorism; Contributions: subject in John Watson’s experiment, proved classical conditioning principles: Studies: Little Albert-generalization of fear |
| Karl Wernicke | 1848-1905; Field: perception; Contributions: temporal lobe -language understanding; Studies: person damaged in this area uses correct words but they do not make sense |
| Ernst Weber | 1795-1878; Field: perception; Contributions: just-noticeable-difference (JND) that eventually becomes Weber’s law; Studies: 1st study on JND |
| Gustav Fechner | 1801-1887; Field: perception; Contributions: stated that the magnitude of a sensory experience is proportionate to the # of JND’s that the stimulus causing the experiences above the absolute threshold |
| Mary Cover-Jones | 1896-1987; Field: learning; Contributions: systematic desensitization, maintained that fear could be unlearned |
| Robert Zajonc | 1923-present; Field: motivation; Contributions: believes that we invent explanations to label feelings |
| Henry Murray | 1893-1988; Field: intelligence, testing; Contributions: devised Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) |
| Paul Ekman | 1934-present; Field: emotion; Contributions: facial expressions are universal |
| Clark Hull | 1884-1952; Field: motivation; Contributions: maintains that the goal of all motivated behavior is the reduction or alleviation of a drive state, mechanism through which reinforcement operates |
| David McClelland | 1917-1998; Field: intelligence, testing; Contributions: devised a way to measure Murray’s theory (TAT), developed scoring system for TAT’s use in assessing achievement motivation, not the TAT |
| Francis Galton | 1822-1911; Field: differential psychology; Contributions: behavioral genetics, maintains that personality & ability depend almost entirely on genetic inheritance; human traits are inherited Studies: & “Law of Errors”-differences in intellectual ability |
| Charles Darwin | 1809-1882; Field: geology, biology; Contributions: natural selection, evolution Studies: “The Origin of Species” catalogs his voyage on the Beagle |
| Lewis Terman | 1877-1956; Field: intelligence; Contributions: revised Binet’s IQ test |
| Phineas Gage | 1823-1860; Field: neurobiology; Contributions: 1st person to have a frontal lobotomy (by accident) |
| William Sheldon | 1898-1977; Field: personality; Contributions: theory that linked personality to physique on the grounds that both are governed by genetic endowment: endomorphic (large), mesomorphic (average), and ectomorphic (skinny) |
| David Weschler | 1896-1981; Field: testing; Contributions: best known intelligence test (WAIS) |
| Walter B. Cannon | 1871-1945; Field: motivation; Contributions: gastric activity as in empty stomach, is sole basis for hunger; Studies: balloons in stomachs |
| neuron | basic building block of the nervous system |
| dendrite | receives neurotransmitters |
| axon | carries the neurotransmitters |
| myelin sheath | insulates axon-speeds transmission |
| action potential | a brief electrical impulse that travels down an axon-positive ions rush in (depolarizing) |
| threshold | level of stimulation needed to trigger a neural impulse |
| synapse | junction between axon terminal (sender) of the neuron and the dendrite receiver of neuron. |
| neurotransmitters | chemical messengers that alter moods |
| acetylcholine | involved in learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction-associated with Alzheimers |
| endorphins | "morphine within"- natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure |
| nervous system | body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous system |
| central nervous system | brain and spinal cord |
| peripheral nervous system | sensory and motor neurons -connect the central nervous system (CNS) to rest of body |
| nerves | neural "cables" containing many axons |
| sensory neurons | carry incoming information from senses to the brain |
| motor neurons | carry outgoing information from brain to the muscles and glands |
| interneurons | communication between sensory neurons and motor neurons |
| somatic nervous system | controls the body's skeletal muscles' skeletal nervous system |
| autonomic nervous system | controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs; sympathetic, parasympathetic |
| sympathetic nervous system | arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations |
| parasympathetic system | calms the body, conserving its energy |
| reflex | automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus |
| neural networks | interconnected neural cells |
| endocrine system | body's "slow" chemical communication system; set of glands that secrete hormones into bloodstream |
| hormones | chemical messengers manufactured by endocrine glands |
| adrenal glands | secretes adrenaline and arouses body in times of stress |
| pituitary gland | regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands (part of limbic system) |
| lesion | tissue destruction |
| brainstem | oldest part and central core of the brain, survival functions |
| medulla | base of brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing |
| reticular formation | part of brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal |
| thalamus | brain's sensory switchboard, top of brainstem-sends information to the correct part of the brain |
| cerebellum | "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; movement, balance, implicit memory |
| limbic system | emotional epicenter-(hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, amygdala) |
| amygdala | lined to fear and agression |
| hypothalamus | regulates activities (hunger,thirst sex, body temperature) |
| cerebral cortex | covers the cerebral hemispheres |
| glial cells | cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons |
| frontal lobes | responsible for personality, organization, judgment, language formation |
| parietal lobe | lobe lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; touch and body position |
| occipital lobe | lobe at the back of the head; vision |
| temporal lobes | lobe above the ears; hearing and comprehension |
| motor cortex | in the frontal lobe-controls voluntary movements |
| sensory cortex | in the parietal lobe-registers and processes body touch and movement sensations |
| association areas | areas of the cerebral cortex not involved in primary motor or sensory functions |
| aphasia | impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area or Wernicke's area |
| Broca's area | in frontal lobe- repsonsible for language formation (speaking) |
| Wernicke's area | in temporal lobe- repsonsible for comprehension-understanding |
| plasticity | brain's capacity for modification |
| corpus callusum | fiber tissue that connects the two hemispheres of the brain |
| split brain | condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers between them |
| hindsight bias | after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it ("i knew it all along" phenomenon) |
| critical thinking | thinking that doesn't blindly accept arguments and conclusions |
| theory | explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events |
| hypothesis | testable prediction, educated guess |
| operational definition | defining the research variables |
| replication | repeating the essence of the study with more participants |
| case study | one person'group is studied in depth in hope of revealing universal principles |
| survey | self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative |
| false consensus effect | overestimating the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors |
| population | all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study |
| random sample | each member has an equal chance of inclusion |
| naturalistic observation | observing and recording behavior in naturally situations |
| correlation | extent to which two variables have a relationship-seeing how well either factor predicts the other |
| scatterplot | graphed cluster of dots, representing the values of 2 variables |
| illusory correlation | perception of a relationship where none exists |
| experiment | does A cause B? Manipulation of independent variable to see response of the dependent variable. |
| double-blind procedure | both the research participants and research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo |
| placebo effect | experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavioir caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent |
| control | condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment |
| random assignment | everyone has the chance to be selected to be a part of the experimental or control group |
| independent variable | the manipulated variable. |
| dependent variable | variable that changes based on the manipulation of the other variable (does studying cause good grades?) |
| mode | most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution |
| mean | the average |
| median | middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it |
| range | subtracting the lowest from the highest |
| standard devation | how much the scores vary from the mean |
| statistical significance | statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance |
| culture | enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next |
| developmental psychology | studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span |
| zygote | fertilized egg; 2-week period-develops into an embyro |
| embryo | 2 weeks after fertilization through the 2nd month |
| fetus | 9 weeks after conception to birth |
| teratogens | agents-chemicals and viruses, can reach embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm |
| fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) | physical and cognitive abnormalities caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking (small brain, low birthrate, retardation) |
| rooting reflex | when touched on cheek, turn toward touch, open mouth, and search for nipple (innate) |
| habituation | decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation |
| maturation | biological growth- uninfluenced by experience |
| schema | framework for understanding- organizes and interprets information |
| assimulation | interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas |
| accomodation | adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information |
| cognition | mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating |
| sensorimotor stage | Piaget (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities |
| object permanence | things continue to exist even when not perceived |
| preoperational stage | Piaget's (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) develops language but does NOT yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic |
| conservation | Develops in pre-operational-properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects |
| egocentrism | Piaget-child's difficulty taking another's point of view |
| theory of mind | people's ideas about their own and others' mental states - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behaviours these might predict |
| autism | a disorder marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind |
| concrete operational stage | Piaget, (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) logical, concrete thought |
| formal operational stage | Piaget (normally beginning about age 12) during which people being to think about abstract concepts-hypotheticals |
| stranger anxiety | fear of strangers beginning about 8 months |
| attachment | an emotional tie with another person; to the caregiver and showing distress on separation |
| critical period | an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development |
| imprinting | process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life |
| basic trust | Erik Erikson, a sense that world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers |
| self-concept | a sense of one's identity and personal worth |
| adolescence | the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence |
| puberty | the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing |
| primary sex characteristics | the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible |
| secondary sex characteristics | nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair |
| menarche | first menstrual period |
| identity | one's sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles |
| intimacy | in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood |
| menopause | cessation of menstruation |
| Alzheimer's disease | a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning |
| cross-sectional study | a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another |
| longitudinal study | research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period |
| crystallized intelligence | accumulated knowledge and verbal skills;tends to increase with age |
| fluid intelligence | reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease late adulthood |
| social clock | the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement |
| social psychology | the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. |
| attribution theory | how we explain someone’s behavior-- by crediting either situation or person’s disposition. |
| fundamental attribution error | analyzing another’s behavior, underestimating the situation and overestimating personal disposition. |
| attitude | feelings that predispose us to respond in a particular way to objects, people, and events. |
| cognitive dissonance theory | we act to reduce discomfort (dissonance) we feel when our thoughts (cognitions) and actions are inconsistent. EX: think studying is for nerds, then you study, you have to change your thought because you can't change your behavior. |
| conformity | adjusting one’s behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard. |
| normative social influence | influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval. |
| informational social influence | influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality. |
| social facilitation | stronger responses on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others. |
| social loafing | the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts |
| deindividuation | the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity. |
| group polarization | enhancement of a group’s prevailing extreme feelings through group discussion |
| groupthink | desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. |
| prejudice | an unjustifiable attitude toward a group and its members. generally involves stereotyped beliefs, negative feelings, and a predisposition to discriminatory action. |
| stereotype | a generalized (overgeneralized) belief about a group of people. |
| discrimination | in classical conditioning, learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. |
| ingroup | "Us"--people with whom one shares a common identity. |
| outgroup | "Them"--those perceived as different or apart from one’s ingroup. |
| ingroup bias | tendency to favor one’s own group. |
| scapegoat theory | the theory that prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame. |
| aggression | any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy. |
| conflict | a perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas. |
| social trap | a situation in which the conflicting parties, by each rationally pursuing their self-interest, become caught in mutually destructive behavior. |
| mere exposure effect | exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them. |
| passionate love | an aroused state of intense positive absorption in another, usually at the beginning. |
| companionate love | deep affectionate attachment we feel for those with whom our lives are intertwined. |
| equity | a condition in which people receive from a relationship in proportion to what they give to it. |
| altruism | unselfish regard for the welfare of others. |
| bystander effect | bystander less likely to help in a crowd (must notice, see it as an emergency, and take responsibility for it) |
| social exchange theory | the theory that our social behavior is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. |
| negative reinforcement | Mrs. Smith's 4th grade class doesn't have to take this week's spelling test because they had perfect attendance last week. |
| personality | an individual's characteristic PATTERN of thinking, feeling, and acting |
| free association | in psychoanalysis, a method of exploring the unconscious in which the person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial or embarrassing when prompted by therapist |
| psychoanalysis | Freud's theory - attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts |
| unconscious | Freud- reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. Today's psychologists-information processing of which we are unaware |
| id | unconscious psychic energy strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives. operates on the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification |
| ego | largely conscious, "executive" part of personality mediates among demands of the id, superego, and reality |
| superego | represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations |
| psychosexual stages | stages of development (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones |
| Oedipus complex | Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father |
| identification | Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos |
| fixation | Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved |
| defense mechanisms | ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality |
| repression | basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness |
| regression | individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated |
| reaction formation | ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites |
| projection | people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others |
| rationalization | self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions |
| displacement | shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet |
| collective unconscious | Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history |
| projective test | Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics |
| Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) | a people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes |
| Rorshach inkblot test | the most widely used projective test,10 inkblots, Rorschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots |
| terror-management theory | proposes that faith in one's worldview and the pursuit of self-esteem provide protection against a deeply rooted fear of death |
| self-actualization | according to Maslow, the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the motivation to fulfill one's potential |
| unconditional positive regard | according to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person |
| self-concept | all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?" |
| trait | a characteristic PATTERN of behaviour or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports |
| personality inventory | a questionnaire (often with true-false or agree-disagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviours |
| Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) | the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests; originally developed to identify emotional disorders, this test is now used for many other screening purposes |
| empirically derived test | a test (such as the MMPI) developed by testing a pool of items and then selecting those that discriminate between groups |
| social-cognitive perspective | views behaviour as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context |
| reciprocal determinism | the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors |
| personal control | our sense of controlling our environment rather than feeling helpless |
| external locus of control | outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate |
| internal locus of control | one controls one's own fate |
| learned helplessness | the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events |
| positive psychology | the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive |
| spotlight effect | overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders |
| self-esteem | one's feelings of high or low self-worth |
| self-serving bias | a readiness to perceive oneself favourably |
| consciousness | our awareness of ourselves and our environment |
| biological rhythms | periodic physiological fluctuations |
| circadian rhythm | biological clock; 24/25-hour cycle. regular bodily functions |
| REM sleep | rapid eye movement sleep, recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur |
| alpha waves | relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state (stage 1) |
| sleep | periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness- as distinct from unconsciouness resulting from acoma, general anesthesia, or hibernation |
| hallucinations | false sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus |
| delta waves | large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep (stages 3 and 4) |
| insomnia | recurring problems in falling and staying asleep |
| narcolepsy | uncontrollable sleep attacks |
| sleep apnea | sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings |
| night terrors | an appearance of being terrified; occur during Stage 4 sleep, seldom remembered |
| dream | sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind |
| manifest content | Freud-the story line of a dream |
| latent content | Freud- the underlying meaning of a dream (like snake = death) |
| REM rebound | tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation |
| hypnosis | social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggest to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur |
| posthypnotic suggestion | suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized |
| dissociation | split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others |
| psychoactive drug | chemical substance that alters perceptions and mood |
| tolerance | diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the use to take larger and larger doses before experiencing the drug's effect |
| withdrawal | discomfort and distress that follow stopping the use of an addictive drug |
| physical dependence | physiological need for a drug, marked by unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when the drug is discontinued |
| psychological dependence | psychological need to use a drug, such as to relieve negative emtions |
| addiction | compulsive drug craving and use |
| depressants | drugs ( barbiturates, alcohol, and opiates) reduce neural activity and slow body functions |
| barbiturates | slows central nervous system |
| opiates | opium and derivatives, depresses neural activity and lessons pain |
| stimulants | drugs ( caffeine,cocaine, and ecstasy) speed up body functions |
| amphetamines | stimulate neural activity and changes mood |
| methamphetamine | stimulates CNS -reduces baseline dopamine levels |
| ecstacy | mild hallucinogen |
| hallucinogens | psychedlic drugs (experiencing sensations without sensory input) |
| LSD | hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid |
| THC | major active ingredient in marijuana |
| near-death experience | an altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death |
| dualism | mind and body are two distinct entities that interact |
| monism | mind and body are different aspects of the same thing |
| REM | Rapid Eye Movement-dreaming. REM periods get longer as the night goes on. Nightmares |
| Stage 1 of sleep | Hypnogogic sensations, alpha waves, feelings of falling |
| Stage 2 of sleep | sleep spindles-bursts of activity |
| Stage 3 and 4 | slow wave delta waves |
| Stage 4 of sleep | night terrors, delta waves, sleep walking |
| Shaping | rewarding successive approximations towards the right response |
| Learning | process by which humans and animals acquire behavior patterns; experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior |
| classical conditioning | a response is elicited by a stimulus (pairing a bell with food and getting salivation) |
| operant conditioning | learning through rewards, punishments, and reinforcement |
| cognitive map | a mental image of the environment |
| fixed ratio | reward/response given after a specified number of responses have been given |
| fixed interval | reward/response given over time (the time is known) EX: every Thursday you will say EEEK! or Cover Jones! |
| variable ratio | reward or response will be given after an unpredictable number of times |
| variable interval | never know when response will occur (EX: falling stars) the time is not set and it doesn't always happen |
| negative reinforcerment | remove adverse stimuli for behavior to CONTINUE (seatbelt noise disappears when seatbelt is put on) |
| punishment | take away (cell phone) or give something (spanking) for behavior to STOP! |
| spontaneous recovery | the reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time, without further training |
| extinction | behavior will decrease in frequency or disappear when you stop pairing the NS and CS |
| Unconditioned response | unlearned or natural response |
| Unconditioned stimulus | stimulus that causes a natural response (loud noise-scares us) |
| Conditioned stimulus | learned stimulus (stimulus that was once the NS is now the CS) |
| generalization | getting basically the same response to similar stimuli |
Combine with other sets
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