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CLEP Introductory Psychology Vocab

Terms in this set (119)

drug that mimics a particular neurotransmitter or makes more of it available by blocking its reuptake. creates more. chemical that binds to a receptor and activates the receptor to produce a biological response

refractory period

neuron pumps out the sodium ions and can then fire again

neurotransmitter affecting arousal and sleep

relating to the way that living things function, rather than to their shape or structure

of, affecting, or arising in the mind; related to the mental and emotional state of a person:

___ nervous system: carries information from muscles, sense organ, skin to CNS allowing sensations of pressure, pain and temperature. 2. carries messages from the central nervous system to skeletal muscles allowing for voluntary movement

___ nervous system: includes sensory & motor neurons connecting brain and spine to rest of body

area of psychology addressing sensation - levels of intensity, how sensitive we are & how psychological factors influence our ability to sense stimuli

one object partially blocks out another and we perceive it as closer

drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants

non associative

_ learning - repeated presentation of a single stimulus produces enduring change in behavior (habituation, sensitization) . does not require linking or associating stimuli together. It is considered the simplest type of learning

is an increase in behavior due to exposure to a noxious (painful) stimulus

is a decrease in behavior due to repeated exposure to an innocuous stimulus . type of non-associative learning that occurs when repeated presentations of a stimulus eventually reduce responses to that stimulus.

study of dreams

"Interpretation of Dreams" (book)

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error prone than algorithms.

functional fixedness

inability to see new uses for familiar objects

telegraphic speech

child speaking 1 word at a time accompanies it with gestures to convey additional meaning

norms based referencing

comparison between test taker's score and the average score for others of his age (standardization)

psychological process that energizes and directs behavior

brain - monitors huger signals (ventromedial h - stopping hunger) (lateral h - increasing hunger)

weight our body works to maintain

become hungry with cues like smelling food or what time of day it is

rely on body cues to decide when to eat

The analysis of the meaning of language, especially of individual words.

words or parts of words that convey meaning.
smallest meaningful units of speech; simple words, suffixes, prefixes; examples: red, hot, calm, -ed, pre-

rules for combining morphemes in meaningful ways

facial feedback

hypotheses stating facial muscles tell us whether we are happy or not

excitation transfer

when levels of arousal are increased through exercise, or other means = more angry when insulted than others

sacs within the axon terminal

neurotransmitter

chemical molecule contained in vesicles within the axon terminal

knoblike end of the axon

group of people born during the same period of time

age + cohort = can't determine which makes the difference

studies solving the confounding problem - tracking the behavior of a single cohort over a long period of time.

cross sequential

study with people of different ages (cross sectional) followed over a long period of time (longitudinal)

neuroadaptation

takes more drugs for the same effect because the body adapts

false sensations including hearing voices not there or seeing objects not existing

false thought (believe you're someone famous)

senselessly repeating back words someone else has just said

repeating other people's movement

Freudian slips - say what you really mean, but didn't mean to say

expressions toward therapist indicating feelings linked to earlier relationships - psychoanalysis cue to repressing

active listening

paraphrasing client says, ask for clarification and elaboration and reflecting the client's feelings - Humanistic approach psychological therapies (Carl Rogers)

___ psychology. how behavior of individuals is influenced by others

___ social influence: pressure to comply with norm (even obviously wrong) comes from concern about being rejected by group

___ social influence: what other people do provides information about how to behave

test retest reliability

consistency of scores across administrations of the test. If taking test more than once do people get about the same score the 2nd time?

internal consistency

how well does the test correlate with itself

split half reliability

for each taker, score is generated for alf test, then again for other half. a correlation coefficient is compter across the two sets of scores. Reliability of a test can be calculated as the average for ever possible way of splitting the test in half (Cronbach's alpha)

__ validity (or content validity) refers to whether the test looks as though it's measuring what it's supposed to

__ validity refers to how well scores on the test predict actual behavior of the type the test is supposed to measure

__ validity refers to whether scores on the questionnaire are related in expected ways (+ -) to scores on other questionnaires

tests given to large number of people with some known characteristics (age, sex, race) to compare scores

descriptive statistics

sample's scores on your measures can be described precisely (mean, median, mode)

standard deviation

index of how widely scattered scores tend to be around the mean

statistics = make inference about populations based on characteristics of sample

statistical significance

relationship wasn't likely to have happened by chance

Male sex hormones. Testosterone

adrenocorticotrophic hormone; stimulates adrenal cortex to synthesize and secrete glucocorticoids; regulated by releasing hormone corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF)

Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

bridges left and right hemisphere; pathway of white matter

crystallized intelligence

Acquired knowledge, including the person's repertoire of verbal knowledge and cognitive skills

___ thinking = creativity (Guilford)

__ imagery. describes a type of visual memory that is retained for a long time; photographic

semantic memory

A subdivision of declarative memory that stores general knowledge, including the meanings of words and concepts.

fixed action pattern

A sequence of behavioral acts that is essentially unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated.

conversion reaction

anxiety is transformed into physical symptoms (such as heart palpitations, paralysis, or blindness) that resolves the conflict (parents fight, child becomes deaf)

graded potential

Change in Membrane Potential. If the sum of graded potentials is greater than depolarization threshold, an action potential occurs. Only occurs in dendrites and soma.. excitation & inhibition @ synapse

generator potential

When a sensory neuron is excited by some form of energy, the resulting graded potential is called a(n) ________.
Local change in resting potential of receptor cell that mediates between impact of stimuli and initiation of nerve impulses.

receptor potential

A slow, graded electrical potential produced by a receptor cell in response to a physical stimulus

islets of langerhans

Contains endocrine cells within pancreas

hammer; first of the three auditory ossicles of the middle ear

Center part of the cochlea, containing hair cells, canals, and membranes

three tiny bones in the middle ear

In a language, the smallest meaningful unit (word/part of word) that carries meaning; suffixes, prefixes; examples: red, hot, calm, -ed, pre-

In a spoken language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

retroactive inhibition

decreased ability to recall previously learned information, caused by learning of new information

proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

Other things being equal, information presented first usually has the most influence

negative transfer

When experience hinders learning in a new situation

Sensory receptors, located in the muscles and joints, that provide information about body position and movement. Pacinian corpuscles, muscle spindles, Golgi tendon organs, semicircular canals, utricles, saccules

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential; a slight hyperpolarization of the postysynaptic cell, moving the membrane potential of that cell further from threshold.

Long-term memory

unlimited and permanent storehouse for our memories.

Short-term memory

(working memory) holds information in the mind long enough to solve problems. The capacity of this memory was determined by George Miller who discovered that the maximum amount of material it can hold at any one time is seven plus or minus two items.

first stage in the memory process - involves the fleeting awareness of whatever the senses have detected.

___ variable = "cause" in the hypothesis

___ variable = "effect" in the hypothesis is. typically involves measuring how subjects behave

representative subset of people that are actually chosen to participate in the study. If it's not possible to test all adults, chose a group that fairly represented the greater population.

Drugs that block a neurotransmitter's receptor sites or inhibit its release

Cognitive dissonance

unpleasant state of tension produced when you behave in a way that is inconsistent with your attitudes.

reciprocity norm

The kin-selection hypothesis is one explanation. we feel obligated to help those who have helped us

Sensory adaptation

what happens when we are exposed to an unchanging stimulus resulting in a reduction in sensitivity

Critical period

____ ___ is a specific time, typically early in development, during which exposure to appropriate stimuli is required in order for certain perceptual abilities to develop.

A _____ ___ refers to a predisposition to interpret an event or stimulus in a particular way, based on beliefs, emotions, or previous experiences.

actor-observer difference

observer attributes others behavior as dispositional (personality), but own behavior (as the actor) to the situation (overtired). This is due, at least in part, to the actor being more aware than others are of how his or her behavior changes from one situation to another.

fundamental attribution error

explains only the behavior of others (not self). correspondence bias or attribution effect, is the tendency for people to place an undue emphasis on internal characteristics (personality) to explain someone else's behavior in a given situation rather than considering the situation's external factors

dispositional attribution

(internal) explains behavior according to personality, such as assuming Jessica's erratic driving is because she is a bad driver.

situational attribution

(external) explains behavior according to experience or the environment, such as explaining that Beau's erratic driving is caused by being overtired

Response cost training

another term for punishment

instrumental conditioning

renamed operant conditioning by BF Skinner

converting one form of energy (light waves) into another form of energy (nerve impulses). process where stimulus energy ic converted into neural messages

relative deprivation

__ principle happiness depends on doing better than we think other people are doing

adaptation level

___ phenomenon reduction in happiness as one habituates to some consistent level of desirable stimulus (wealth, etc)

individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people "we've got something for everyone" (astrology, etc)

reciprocal determinism

social factor, personality and one's own behavior can interact to determine future behavior

developing a liking for someone because you see them often

social facilitation

perform better when people are grouped

don't work as hard when in a group

group polarization

extreme attitudes develop during discussions in a group

Shape constancy

Gestalt perception - form of perceptual constancy where a familiar object keeps its perceived shape despite major changes in retinal stimulation due to changes in its orientation. (i.e. plate - even if viewed from the side

Gestalt perception - tendency to fill in gaps in figures and to see incomplete figures as complete

Gestalt perception -
We perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.

sensory stimulation made meaningful

perception: object perceived as a figure while the surroundings are the ground

associative learning

respond to changes because of relationship between stimuli & response (stim + stim or stim + behavior) can be reflexive or classical

serial position

people remember middle of list less well than they remember the first and last words

overjustification effect

reduce responding after reinforcement ends to below level prior to reinforcement (Behavioral Psy don't like this)

learn to respond to one stimuli and not another

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