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Ap Psych Flashcards 8-13
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Gravity
Terms in this set (198)
motivation
a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
instinct
a complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species and is unlearned
drive-reduction theory
the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism 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 behavior
hierarchy of needs
Maslow's pyramid of human needs, 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. When its level is low, we feel hunger.
set point
the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the lost weight.
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
binge-eating disorder
significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the compensatory purging, fasting, or excessive exercise that marks bulimia nervosa.
sexual response cycle
The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution
refractory period
a resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
estrogens
sex hormones, such as estradiol, secreted in greater amounts by females that by males. In nonhuman female mammals, estrogen levels peak during ovulation, promotion sexual receptivity.
testosterone
the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty
sexual orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex or the other sex
emotion
a response of the whole organism, involving (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience
James-Lange theory
the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli.
Cannon-Bard theory
the theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion
two-factor theory
Schachter's theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal
polygraph
a machine, commonly used in attempts to detect lies, that measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion
facial feedback
the effect of facial expressions on experienced emotions, as when a facial expression of anger or happiness intensifies feelings of anger or happiness
catharsis
emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that "releasing" aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.
feel-good, do-good phenomenon
people's tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood
well-being
self-perceived happiness or satisfaction with life. Used along with measures of objective well-being (for example, physical and economic indicators) to evaluate people's quality of life.
adaptation-level phenomenon
our tendency to form judgments (of sounds, of lights, of income) relative to a neutral level defined by our prior experience
relative deprivation
the perception that one is worse off relative to those with whom one compares oneself
behavioral medicine
an interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease
health psychology
a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine
stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
general adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion
coronary heart disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
psychophysiological illness
Literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.
psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
The study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health.
lymphocytes
the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system: B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T lymphocytes form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
Automatic processing
refers to our unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space,time, and frequency, and of well-learned information.
Chunking
is the memory technique of organizing material into familiar, meaningful units.
Deja vu
is the false sense that you have already experienced a current situation.
Echoic memory
is the momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli, lasting about 3 or 4 seconds.
Effortful processing
is encoding that requires attention and some degree of conscious effort
Encoding
the first step in memory; information is translated into some form that enables it to enter our memory system.
Explicit memories
are memories of facts, including names, images and events. They are also called declarative memories.
Flashbulb memory
an unusually vivid memory of an emotionally important moment in one's life.
hippocampus
is a neural region within the limbic system that is important in the processing of explicit memories for storage.
Iconic memory
is the visual sensory memory consisting of a perfect photographic memory, which lasts no more than a few tenths of a second.
Imagery
refers to mental pictures and can be an important aid to effortful processing.
Implicit memories
are memories of skills, preferences and dispositions. These memories are evidently processed, not by the hippocampus, but by a more primitive part of the brain, the cerebellum. They are also called procedural or nondeclarative memories.
Long-term memory
is the relatively permanent and unlimited capacity memory system into which information from short-term memory may pass.
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
is an increase in a synapse's firing potential following brief, rapid stimulation. LTP is believed to be the neural basis for learning and memory.
Memory
the persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information
misinformation effect
is the tendency of eyewitnesses to an event to incorporate misleading information about the event into their memories. At the heart of many false memories, source amnesia refers to misattributing an event to the wrong source.
Mnemonics
are memory aids (the method of loci,acronyms, peg-words, etc.), which often use visual imagery.
Mood-congruent
memory is the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with our current mood.
Priming
is the activation, often unconscious, of a web of associations in memory in order to retrieve a specific memory.
Proactive interference
is the disruptive effect of something you already have learned on your efforts to learn or recall new information.
Recall
is a measure of retention in which the person must remember, with few retrieval cues, information learned earlier.
Recognition
is a measure of retention in which one need only identify, rather than recall, previously learned information.
Rehearsal
is the conscious, effortful repetition of information that you are trying either to maintain in consciousness or to encode for storage.
Relearning
is also a measure of retention in that the less time it takes to relearn information, the more that information has been retained.
Repression
is an example of motivated forgetting in that painful and unacceptable memories are prevented from entering consciousness.
Retrieval
is the process of bringing to consciousness information from memory storage.
Retroactive interference
is the disruptive effect of something recently learned on old knowledge.
Semantic encoding
is the processing of information into memory according to its meaning.
Sensory memory
is the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Serial position effect
is the tendency for items at the beginning and end of a list to be more easily retained than those in the middle.
Short-term memory
is conscious memory, which can hold about seven items for a short time; also called working memory.
Spacing effect
is the tendency for distributed practice to yield better long-term retention than massed practice, or cramming.
Storage
is the passive process by which encoded information is maintained over time.
Visual encoding
is the use of imagery to process information into memory.
acoustic encoding
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
working memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from longterm memory.
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.
psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.
id
reservoir of our most primitive impulses, including sex and aggression
ego
the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
superego
the part of personality that, according to Freud, represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment (the conscience) and for future aspirations
pyschosexual stages
the childhood stages of development during which the id's pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oedipus complex
according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father
identification
the process by which, according to Freud, children incorporate their parents' values into their developing superegos
fixation
according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved
defense mechanism
in psychoanalytic theory, the ego's protective methods of reducing anxiety by unconsciously distorting reality
repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
regression
psychoanalytic defense mechanism in which an individual faced with anxiety retreats to a more infantile psychosexual stage, where some psychic energy remains fixated
reaction formation
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. Thus, people may express feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
projection
psychoanalytic defense mechanism by which people disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to others
rationalization
defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one's actions
displacement
psychoanalytic defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person, as when redirecting anger toward a safer outlet
sublimation
In psychoanalytic theory, the defense mechanism by which people rechannel their unacceptable impulses into socially approved activities
denial
defense mechanism by which people refuse to believe or even to perceive painful realities
collective unconscious
Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces from our species' history
projective test
a personality test, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that provides ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach inkblot test
the most widely used projective test, a set of 10 inkblots, designed by Hermann Roschach; seeks to identify people's inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots
terror-management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending 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 behavior 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 behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
the most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests. Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its most appropriate use), 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 behavior as influenced by the interaction between persons (and their thinking) and their social context
reciprocal determination
the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition, and environment
personal control
the extent to which people perceive control over their environment rather than feeling helpless
external locus of control
the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determine one's fate.
internal locus of control
the perception that one controls one's own fate
positive psychology
the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive
self
in contemporary psychology, assumed to be the center of personality, the organizer of our thoughts, feelings, and actions
spotlight effect
overestimating others' noticing and evaluating our apperance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us)
self-esteem
one's feelings of high or low self-worth
self-serving bias
a readliness to perceive oneself favorably
individualism
giving priority to one's own goals over group goals, and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
collectivism
giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
intelligence test
a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
intelligence
mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
general intelligence
a general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score
savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
mental age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.
Stanford-Binet
the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test
intelligence quotient
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
achievement tests
a test designed to assess what a person has learned
aptitude tests
a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.
standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group
normal curve
the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.
reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
validity
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
content validity
The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.
predictive validity
The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
Intellectual disability
(formerly referred to as mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound
Down syndrome
a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup
stereotype threat
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
psychological disorder
deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional behavior patterns
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
a psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity
medical model
the concept that diseases, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital
DSM-IV-TR
the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, with an updated "text revision"; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.
anxiety disorders
psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety
generalized anxiety disorder
an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal
panic disorder
an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations
phobia
an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation
obsessive-compulsive disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsession) and/ or actions (compulsions).
post-traumatic stress disorder
an anxiety disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, and/or insomnia that lingers for four weeks or more after a traumatic experience
post-traumatic growth
positive psychological changes as a result of struggling with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises
somatoform disorder
psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause
conversion disorder
a rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found
hypochondriasis
a somatoform disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
dissociative disorders
disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated (dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings
dissociative identity disorder (DID)
a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. Also called multiple personality disorder.
mood disorders
psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes. See major depressive disorder, mania, and bipolar disorder.
major depressive disorder
a mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminishes interest or pleasure in most activities
mania
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
bipolar disorder
a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
schizophrenia
a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions
delusions
false beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders
personality disorders
psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
antisocial personality disorders
a personality disorder in which the person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. May be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.
eclectic approach
an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the client's problems, uses techniques from various forms of therapy
psychotherapy
treatment involving psychological techniques; consists of interactions between a trained therapist and someone seeking to overcome psychological difficulties or achieve personal growth
psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances, dreams, and transferences—and the therapist's interpretations of them—released previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain self-insight. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 597)
resistance
in psychoanalysis, the blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
interpretation
in psychoanalysis, the analyst's noting supposed dream meanings, resistances, and other significant behaviors in order to promote insight
transference
in psychoanalysis, the patient's transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with other relationships (such as love or hatred for a parent).
psychodynamic therapy
therapy deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition that views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences, and that seeks to enhance self-insight
insight therapies
a variety of therapies which aim to improve psychological functioning by increasing the client's awareness of underlying motives and defenses
client-centered therapy
A humanistic therapy based on Carl Roger's beliefs that an individual has an unlimited capacity for psychological growth and will continue to grow unless barriers are placed in the way.
active listening
empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates, and clarifies. A feature of Rogers' client-centered therapy.
unconditional positive regard
a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed to be conducive to developing self-awareness and self-acceptance.
behavior therapy
therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination of unwanted behaviors
counterconditioning
a behavior therapy procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger unwanted behaviors; based on classical conditioning. Includes exposure therapies and aversive conditioning.
exposure therapies
behavioral techniques, such as systematic desensitization, that treat anxieties by exposing people (in imagination or actuality) to the things they fear and avoid
systematic desensitization
a type of counterconditioning that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli
virtual reality exposure therapy
an anxiety treatment that progressively exposes people to simulations of their greatest fears, such as airplane flying, spiders, or public speaking
aversive conditioning
a type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state (such as nausea) with an unwanted behavior (such as drinking alcohol)
token economy
an operant conditioning procedure in which people earn a token of some sort for exhibiting a desired behavior and can later exchange the tokens for various privileges or treats.
cognitive therapy
therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions
cognitive-behavioral therapy
a popular integrated therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)
family therapy
therapy that treats the family as a system. Views an individual's unwanted behaviors as influenced by, or directed at, other family members
regression towards the mean
the tendency for extremes of unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.
meta-analysis
a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies
evidence-based practice
clinical decision-making that integrates the best available research with clinical expertise and patient characteristics and preferences
biomedical therapy
prescribed medications or medical procedures that act directly on the patient's nervous system
psychopharmacology
the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior
antipsychotic drugs
drugs used to treat schizophrenia and other forms of severe thought disorder
tardive dyskinesia
involuntary movements of the facial muscles, tongue, and limbs; a possible neurotoxic side effect of long-term use of antipsychotic drugs that target D2 dopamine receptors
antianxiety drugs
drugs used to control anxiety and agitation
antidepressant drugs
drugs used to treat depression; also increasingly prescribed for anxiety; different types work by altering the availability of various neurotransmitters
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
the application of repeated pulses of magnetic energy to the brain; used to stimulate or suppress brain activity
psychosurgery
surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in an effort to change behavior.
lobotomy
a now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably emotional or violent patients. the procedure cut the nerves that connect the frontal lobes to the emotion-controlling centers of the inner brain
resilience
the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and even trauma
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