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Chapters 5-7
N/A
104
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
03/08/2011

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Developement Psychology
Definition

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

Term
Teratogons
Definition
agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
Term
Maturation
Definition
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
Term
Cognition
Definition
the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. 
Term
Schema
Definition
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Term
assimilation
Definition
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
Term
accomidation
Definition

the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.


Term
sensorimotor stage
Definition

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.


Term
object permenance
Definition
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Term
preoperational stage
Definition
in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. 
Term
conservation
Definition

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects. 


Term
egocentrism
Definition
n Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
Term
theory of mind
Definition
people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict. 
Term
concrete operational stage
Definition
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
Term
formal operational stage
Definition
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts. 
Term
stranger anxiety
Definition
the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. 
Term
critical period
Definition

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.


Term
imprinting
Definition
the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life. 
Term
adolecence
Definition
the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.
Term
primary sex charcteristics
Definition
The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.
Term
secondary sex characteristics
Definition
nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.
Term
identity
Definition
our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. 
Term
social identity
Definition
the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships.
Term
emerging adulthood
Definition
for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood.
Term
crystallized intelegence
Definition
our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age. 
Term
fluid intelligence
Definition
our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
Term
sensation
Definition
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. 
Term
perception
Definition
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.
Term
bottom-up processing
Definition

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.


Term
top-down processing
Definition
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
Term
physchophysics
Definition
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Term
absolute threshold
Definition
 the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
Term
subliminal
Definition
below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Term
priming
Definition
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Term
difference threshold
Definition
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference
Term
Weber's Law
Definition
the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).
Term
sensory adaption
Definition
diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.
Term
wavelength
Definition
the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Term
hue
Definition
the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue, green, and so forth.
Term
intensity
Definition
the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude.
Term
retina
Definition
the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information.
Term
accomodation
Definition
the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Term
rods
Definition
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.
Term
cones
Definition
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations. 
Term
optic nerve
Definition
the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Term
blind spot
Definition
the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there.
Term
fovea
Definition
the central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster.
Term
feature detectors
Definition
nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus, such as shape, angle, or movement.
Term
parallel processing
Definition
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Term
Y-H three color theory
Definition
the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors—one most sensitive to red, one to green, one to blue—which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.
Term
opponent-process theory
Definition
the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
Term
frequency
Definition
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second)
Term
pitch
Definition
a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
Term
middle ear
Definition
 the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
Term
cochlea
Definition
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
Term
inner ear
Definition
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Term
kinesthesis
Definition
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
Term
vestibular sense
Definition
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance. 
Term
gate control theory
Definition
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Term
sensory interaction
Definition
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
Term
gestalt
Definition
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. 
Term
figure-ground
Definition
the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
Term
grouping
Definition
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Term
depth preception
Definition
the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
Term
binocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Term
retinal disparity
Definition
a binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
Term
monocular cues
Definition
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Term
perceptual concept
Definition
perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.
Term
perceptual adaption
Definition
in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field. 
Term
perceptual set
Definition
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. 
Term
extrasensory perception
Definition
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input, includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Term
parapsychology
Definition
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.
Term
associative learning
Definition
learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).
Term
classical conditioning
Definition
a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events.
Term
behaviorism
Definition
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). 
Term
neutral stimulus
Definition
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.
Term
unconditioned stimulus
Definition
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response. 
Term
conditioned response
Definition
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response. 
Term
conditioned stimulus
Definition
in classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response. 
Term
acquisition
Definition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
Term

higher-order conditioning

second-order conditioning

Definition
a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)
Term
extinction
Definition
the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced. 
Term
spontanteous recovery
Definition
 the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response.
Term
generalization
Definition
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. 
Term
discrimination
Definition
unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group and its members. 
Term
respondant behavior
Definition
behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus. 
Term
operant conditioning
Definition
a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. 
Term
operant behavior
Definition
behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences.
Term
law of effect
Definition
Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely. 
Term
operant chamber
Definition
n operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking.
Term
shaping
Definition
an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. 
Term
positive reinforcement
Definition
increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, whenpresented after a response, strengthens the response.
Term
negative reinforcement
Definition
increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removedafter a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.) 
Term
primary reinforcer
Definition
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.
Term

conditioned reinforcer

secondary reinforcer

Definition
a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer
Term
fixed-ratio
Definition
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses.
Term
variable-ratio
Definition
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses.
Term
fixed-interval
Definition
 in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. 
Term
variable interval
Definition
in operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. 
Term
cognitive map
Definition
a mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it.
Term
latent learning
Definition
learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Term
Modeling
Definition
the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.
Term
mirror neurons
Definition
frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy
Term
prosocial behavior
Definition
positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.
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