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| The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
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| The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. |
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| Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information. |
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| Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations. |
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| The minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time |
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| A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. |
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| Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness. When something is brought to our attention on an unconscious level. |
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| The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations; thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response. |
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| The minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. |
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| The principle that, to be perceived as different, 2 stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage. |
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| Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. |
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| Means that at any moment our awareness focuses, like a flashlight beam, on only a limited aspect of all that we experience. |
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| Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and smells, into neural impulses our brains can interpret. |
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| 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. |
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| The dimension of color hat is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as the color names blue and green. |
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| The amount of energy in a light or sound wave which we perceive as brightness or loudness, as determined by the wave’s amplitude. |
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| The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters |
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| A ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil and controls the size of the pupil opening. |
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| The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to focus images on the retina. |
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| The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina. |
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| 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. |
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| A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina. |
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| A condition in which far away objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the image of near objects is focused behind the retina. |
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| Retinal receptors that detect black, white and grey; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond. |
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| 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. |
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| The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain. |
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| The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind” spot because no receptor cells are located there. |
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| The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye’s cones cluster. |
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| Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of the stimulus, such as shape, angle or movement. |
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| The processing of several 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. |
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| Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object. |
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| The tendency for vision to dominate the other senses. |
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| An organized whole. We have a tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. |
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| The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground). |
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| The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups. |
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| The ability to see objects in 3D although the images that strike the retina are 2D; it allows us to judge distance. |
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| A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals. |
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| Depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence that depend on the use of both eyes. |
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| A Binocular cue for perceiving depth: By comparing images from the 2 eyeballs, the brain computes distance-the greater the disparity(the difference) between the 2 images, the closer the object. |
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| A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object. The greater the inward strain, the closer the object. |
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| Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone. |
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| If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer. |
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| Parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance. |
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| An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession. |
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| Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change. |
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| In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field. |
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| A Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. |
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| A branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use. |
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| Extrasensory Perception (ESP) |
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| The controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input. |
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| The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis. |
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| The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information. |
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| A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. |
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| The processing of information into the memory system--for example, by extracting meaning. |
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| The retention of encoded information over time |
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| The process of getting information out of memory storage |
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| The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. |
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| Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the 7 digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten. |
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| The relatively permanent, and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences. |
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| A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory. |
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| Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings. |
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| Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. |
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| The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage. |
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| The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice. |
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| Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list. |
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| The encoding of picture images. |
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| The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words. |
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| The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words. |
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| Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding. |
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| Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. |
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| Organizing items into familiar, manageable units, often occurs automatically. |
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| A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second. |
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| A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds. |
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| Long Term Potentiation (LTP) |
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| An increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory. |
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| Retention independent of conscious recollection (also called procedural memory) |
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| memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” (also called declarative memory) |
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| A neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage. |
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| A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, such as a fill-in-the-blank test. |
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| A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as in a multiple choice test. |
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| A memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time. |
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| That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before”. Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience. |
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| The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood. |
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| The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. |
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| The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information. |
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| In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories. |
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| Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event. |
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| Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. At the heart of many false memories. |
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| General Adaptation Syndrome |
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| Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in 3 stages- Alarm, resistance, exhaustion. |
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| The clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries. |
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| Friedman and Rosenman’s term for competitive, hard driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people. |
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| Friedman and Rosenman’s term for easygoing, relaxed people. |
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| Psycho-physiological Illness |
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| Literally, “mind-body’ illness, any stress related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches. Note: This is distinct from hypochondriasis- misinterpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of disease. |
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| 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. |
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| A relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience. |
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| Learning that certain events (two stimuli, in classical conditioning) occur together. |
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| A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli. A neutral stimulus that signals an unconditioned stimulus begin to produce a response that anticipates and prepares for the unconditioned stimulus. Also called Pavlovian or respondent conditioning. |
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| 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) |
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| In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is in the mouth. |
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| In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally- naturally and automatically – triggers a response |
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| In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus. |
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| In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. |
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| The initial stage in classical conditioning; the phase associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response. |
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| The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus. |
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| The reappearance. After a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response. |
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| The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses. |
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| In classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus. |
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| Learning that certain events (a response and its consequences in operant conditioning) occur together. |
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| A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. |
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| Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus; Skinners term for behavior learned through classical conditioning. |
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| Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences. |
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| Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely. |
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| 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, with attached devices to record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. Used in operant conditioning research, |
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| An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. |
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| In operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows. |
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| Increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that. When presented after a response, strengthens the response. |
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| Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that. When removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Is not punishment) |
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| An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. |
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| A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer; also known as a secondary reinforcer. |
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| Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs. |
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| Partial (intermittent) Reinforcement |
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| Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement. |
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| In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses. |
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| In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed. |
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| Variable-interval Schedule |
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| In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals. |
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| An event that decreases the behavior it follows. |
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| 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. |
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| Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it. |
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| A desire to perform a behavior for its own sake. |
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| A desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards or threats of punishment. |
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| Learning by observing others. |
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| The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior. |
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| 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, language learning, and empathy. |
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| Positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior. |
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