 | Term | Definition |
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Absolute threshold |
the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect |
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Action potential |
the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmitted |
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Aggression |
Any form of behavior that is intended to harm or injure some person, oneself, or an object |
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Anxiety |
a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune |
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Anxiety disorder |
A psychological disorder characterized by tension, overactivity of the autonomic nervous system, expectation of an impending disaster, and continuous vigilance for danger. |
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Associationism |
a theory that association is the basic principle of mental activity |
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Attachment |
A strong emotional relationship between an infant and a caregiver. |
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Attitude |
a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways |
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Attribution theory |
explaining others behaviors by attributing it to internal factors or external situations. |
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Avoidance learning |
response that prevents aversive stimulation from occuring |
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Binocular depth cues |
retinal disparity (difference btwn what the eyes see), convergence (eyes toward each other means closer) |
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Central nervous system |
the portion of the vertebrate nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord |
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Cerebellum |
portion of the brain located below the occipital lobes of the cerebrum, responsible for control and coordination of skeletal muscles |
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Cerebral cortex |
Layer covering the surface of the brain. Involves perception, language, memory, and thinking. |
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Cerebral hemispheres |
the two halves of the cerebrum |
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Childhood |
the state of a child between infancy and adolescence |
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Classical conditioning |
conditioning that pairs a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that evokes a reflex |
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Cognitive development |
the process by which children learn, Piaget's model, which include four broad stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational |
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Cognitive dissonance theory |
the theory that we act to reduce discomfort we feel when two of four thoughts are inconsistent |
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Conditioned reflex |
an acquired response that is under the control of (conditional on the occurrence of) a stimulus |
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Conditioned stimulus |
the stimulus that is the occasion for a conditioned response |
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Conformity |
Individuals experience pressure to adhere to existing social forms |
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Consciousness |
subjective awareness, or the ability to be aware of and make conscious judgments about the environment. |
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Control Group |
the group that does not receive the experimental treatment. |
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Correlation coefficient |
a statistic representing how closely two variables co-vary |
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Correlational method |
calculate mathematical relationship between one set of variables and another |
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Dendrite |
short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron |
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Deoxyribonucleic acid |
(biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix |
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Dependent variable |
That aspect of an experiment that is allowed to freely vary to determine if it is affected by changes in the independent variable. |
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Depression |
a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity |
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Depth perception |
Our ability to perceive the distance of objects from us. |
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Determinism |
The philosophical theory that every human act or decision is the inevitable result of specific influences (physical, psychological, environmental) that are independent of human will |
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Developmental stages |
A distinct period of development focused on certain central tasks and marked by boundaries defined by changing age or social expectations. |
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Ego |
(psychoanalysis) the conscious mind |
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Electroencephalograph |
medical instrument that records electric currents generated by the brain |
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Empiricism |
The pursuit of knowledge through the observation of nature and the attribution of all knowledge to experience. |
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Etiology |
the science of causes; especially of disease |
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functionalism |
a psychology based on the assumption that all mental process are useful to an organism in adapting to the environment |
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Experimental group |
the group that receives the treatment |
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Extinction |
a conditioning process in which the reinforcer is removed and a conditioned response becomes independent of the conditioned stimulus |
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Forgetting curve |
founded by Hermann Ebbinghaus. displays retention of information and forgetting over time. conclusions to this were that most forgetting happens right after learning something. this was modified to that forgetting doesn't occur that quickly if the subject is memorizing more meaningful material |
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Free association |
a thought process in which ideas (words or images) suggest other ideas in a sequence |
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Free recall |
a type of explicit-memory task in which a person must reproduce information without the benefit of external cues |
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Frequency |
the number of observations in a given statistical category |
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Gestalt principles of organization |
the organizing principles of perception proposed by the Gestalt psychologists. These principles include the laws of proximity, similarity, closure, continuation, and common fate |
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Gestalt psychology |
A branch of psychology that consolidates thinking, learning, and perception into units, not analysis into parts |
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Hypothesis testing |
A procedure, based on sample evidence and probability theory, used to determine whether the hypothesis is a reasonable statement and should not be rejected or is unreasonable and should be rejected. |
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Id |
The primitive part of people's mental makeup, present at birth, that represents unconscious biological drives for food, sex, and other life-sustaining necessities. The id seeks instant gratification without concern for the rights of others. |
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Independent variable |
Factor in an experiment that researchers manipulate so that they can determine its effect |
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Information-processing approach |
theory of dreams wherein the day's experiences are processed into long-term storage |
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Instrumental behavior |
Goal-directed behavior |
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Intelligence |
Capacity to know or understand. |
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Intelligence quotient |
a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test, a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test |
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Just noticeable difference |
The smallest difference that can be detected between two physical stimuli. |
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Law of Effect |
When a reward follows a behaviour, that behaviour is strengthened. |
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Longitudinal research |
tracking the development of the same group of subjects over time. |
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Meaning |
the message that is intended or expressed or signified |
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Mental illness |
Maladaptive responses to stress from the internal or external environment/Evidenced by thoughs, feelings, and behaviors that are incongruent with local and cultural norms/Interfers with social, occupational and/or physical functioning |
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Mental imagery |
Mental representation of things that are not physically present. |
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Nature-nurture controversy |
Discussion of whether a certain fact or feature is the result of nature or nurture/ genes or environment |
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Neocortex |
the cortical part of the neencephalon |
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Neurotransmitter |
A chemical compound release by one neuron to an affect the transmembrane potential of another. |
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Normal distribution |
a bell shaped pattern of scores that froms the normal curve |
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Operant conditioning |
Form of learning based on the consequences of actions |
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Opponent-process |
Opposites |
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Origin of Species |
Darwin; natural selection |
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Personality |
the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual |
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Phobia |
an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations |
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Placebo effect |
experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent |
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Positive reinforcement |
The presentation of a stimulus (one that is usually considered pleasant or rewarding) following a response, which then leads to an increase in the future strength of that response. |
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Prejudice |
preconveived preference or idea; bias |
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Prosocial behavior |
positive, constructive, helpful behavior |
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Psychoanalytic theory |
A theory developed by Freud that attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior |
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Psychosis |
any severe mental disorder in which contact with reality is lost or highly distorted |
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Psychosomatic disorders |
a mental disorder that causes somatic symptoms |
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Psychotherapy |
the treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means |
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Rehearsal |
The process of actively reviewing material in an attempt to remember it. |
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Reinforcement |
an act performed to strengthen approved behavior |
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Right hemisphere |
reight cerebrum, controlls left side of body mainly. Creative, intuitive, feeling, sees overall picture |
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Sample |
a small part of something intended as representative of the whole, items selected at random from a population and used to test hypotheses about the population |
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Semantic memory |
your memory for meanings and general (impersonal) facts |
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Serial-position effect |
Likelihood to remember the first and last parts of a list, forgetting the middle |
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Short-term memory |
seven plus or minus two; explicit knowledge held in the hippocampus |
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Significant difference |
5% or greater difference between control and experimental conditions |
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Significance level |
The boundary used by the researcher to denote the point at which the null hypothesis will be rejected; also labeled as the alpha level |
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Social influence |
the process whereby one person's behavior is affected by the words/actions of others |
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Socialization |
the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture |
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Socioeconomic status |
A division of population based on occupation, income, and education. |
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Traits |
relatively stable characteristics exhibited over time and across situations and generalizable |
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Unconscious |
that part of the mind wherein psychic activity takes place of which the person is unaware |
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Unconscious motivation |
motivation that resides outside conscious awareness. freud posited the existence of unconsious motivation and asserted that it was responsible, in large part, for disturbed behavior |
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Visual angle |
The angle of an object relative to an observer’s eyes. This angle can be determined by extending two lines from the eye—one to one end of an object and the other to the other end of the object. Because an object’s visual angle is always determined relative to an observer, its visual angle changes as the distance between the object and the observer changes. |
