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Mid-Term
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86
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
10/06/2009

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Psychology
Definition
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Term
Wilhem Wundt
Definition
founded the first psychological laboratory
Term
B.F. Skinner
Definition
behaviorist; studied conditioning
Term
James Watson
Definition
also a behaviorist; preformed the "Little Albert" experiment.
Term
William James
Definition
functionialist
Term
Bradford Titchener
Definition
first American to be called "professor of psychology"
Term
Sigmund Freud
Definition
interested in psychology and the nervous system
Term
Mary Calkins
Definition
studied how we learn language
Term
Margaret Washburn
Definition
studied images in thinking
Term
Christine Franklin
Definition
studied color vision
Term
Case study
Definition
a detailed description of a persons life or part of their life
Term
Naturalistic Observation
Definition
studying someone in their natural environment/habitat
Term
Survey
Definition
way to gather info.
Term
correalation
Definition
research method that shows relationships
Term
independant variable
Definition
variable in an experiment that CAN be manipulated.
Term
dependant variable
Definition
subjects reaction in an experiment.
Term
Placebo
Definition
chemically inert pill
Term
Neuron
Definition
Nerve cells
Term
Dendrites
Definition
picks up incoming messages from other neurons to be passed along.
Term
Axon
Definition
carrie out, outgoing messages
Term
Myelin Sheath
Definition
Axon's protective covering, provides insulation and helps speed up messages
Term
Glial Cells
Definition
holds neurons in place
Term
Neurotransmitters
Definition
brain chemicals 
Term
ACH
Definition
memory, attention
Term
Dopamine
Definition
associated with the sense of pleasure; associated with schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease
Term
Serotonin
Definition

involved in sleep, dreaming, and mood

(related to depression)

Term
Endorphins
Definition
reduce pain and promote good feelings.
Term
sympathetic nervous system
Definition
speeds you up
Term
parasympathetic nervous system
Definition
slows you down, brings you back to a relaxed state
Term
Where are hormones secreted from?
Definition
the endocrine system
Term
EEG
Definition
Electroenephalograph; records activity in brain; brain wave pattern
Term
Gestalt
Definition
meaning "whole form"
Term
gestalt motto
Definition
"the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
Term
Proximity
Definition
when objects are close to one another; we precieve them together rather than seperately.
Term
Similarity
Definition
objects that are of similar color, size, or shape are usually precieved as part of a pattern.
Term
Closure
Definition
we are inclined to overlook incompletness in sensory information and to precieve a whole object even where none really exsists.
Term
Continuity
Definition
items that continue a pattern or direction tend to be grouped together as a part of a pattern.
Term
Circadian rhythm
Definition
a regular biological rhythm with a period of approximately 24 hours.
Term
Melatonin
Definition
promotes sleep
Term
Beta waves
Definition
when youre awake
Term
alpha waves
Definition
when youre relaxed, eyes closed
Term
theta waves
Definition
sleeping stage 1
Term
sleep spindles
Definition
sleeping stage 2
Term
Delta waves
Definition
sleeping stages 3 and 4
Term
What stage does sleepwalking and seep talking occur?
Definition
stage 4
Term
Insomnia
Definition
the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep
Term
Apnea
Definition
breathing difficulty during the night, leading to exhaustion during the day time.
Term
Narcolepsy
Definition
hereditary sleep disorder; sudden nodding off during the day and sudden loss of muscle tone following moments of emotional excitement.
Term
Depressant
Definition
chemicals that slow down behvior or cognitve processes.
Term
stimulants
Definition
drugs that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and produce feelings of optimism and boundless energy.
Term
Opiates
Definition
drugs that dull the sense and induce feelings of euphoria, well being, and relaxation.
Term
operant conditioning
Definition
the type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards or avoid punishments.
Term
Edward Thornedyke
Definition
created "puzzle box"; studied how cats learned.
Term
Shaping
Definition
reinforcing successive approximations to a desired behavior.
Term
positive reinforcement
Definition
events whose presence increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will reoccur
Term
negative reinforcement
Definition
events whose reduction or termination increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will reoccur.
Term
Punishment
Definition
any event whose presence decreases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur.
Term
learned helplessness
Definition
failure to take steps to avoid or escape from an unpleasant stimulus that occurs as a result of previous exposure to unavoidable painful stimuli.
Term
social learning
Definition
observational learning that involves other people.
Term
sensory registers
Definition
entry point for raw information from the senses
Term
short term memory
Definition
working memory; briefly stores and processes selected info from the sensory registers.
Term
Long term memory
Definition
the proportion of memory that is more or less permanent corresponding to everything we know.
Term
rote rehersal
Definition
retaining information in memory simply by repeating it over and over
Term
elaborative rehersal
Definition
the linking of new info in short term memory to familiar material stored in long term memory.
Term
serial position effect
Definition
when ask to recall a list a related items, performance is better for the items at the beginning and end of the list.
Term
mnemonics
Definition
techniques that make material easier to remember
Term
episodic memories
Definition
a portion of long term memory that stores personally experienced events
Term
semantic memory
Definition
the portion of long term memory that stores general facts and info
Term
procedural memories
Definition
the portion of long term memory that stores info relating to skills, habits, and other perceptual motor tasks.
Term
emotional memories
Definition
learned emotional responses to various stimuli
Term
explicit memory
Definition
memory for information that we can readily express in words and are aware of having
Term
implicit memory
Definition
memory for information that we cannot readily express in words and may not be aware of having.
Term
language
Definition
a flexible system of communication that uses sounds, rules, gestures, or symbols to convey info.
Term
image
Definition
a mental representation of a sensory
Term
concepts
Definition
mental categories for classifying objects, people, or experiences
Term
linguistic relativity hypothesis
Definition
Whorf's idea that patterns of thinking are determined by the specific language one speaks
Term
divergent thinking
Definition
thinking that generates many possible answer (i.e. creativity, thinking outside the box, etc.)
Term
Covergent thinking
Definition
thinking that narrows to a single direction
Term
algorithms
Definition
step by step moth of problem solving that guarantees a correct solution
Term
heuristics
Definition
rules of thumb that help in simplyfing and solving problems, although they do not guarantee a correct solution.
Term
Daniel Goleman
Definition
Came up with theory of "Emotional Intellegence"; how well someone is at knowing their own feelings and recognizing others.
Term
reliability
Definition
ability of a test to produce consistent and stable scores
Term
validity
Definition
ability of a test to measure what it has been designed to measure.
Term
mental retardation
Definition
defencies in adaptive behavior
Term
giftedness
Definition
superior in IQ combined with demonstrated or potential ability in such areads as academic aptitude, creativity, and leadership.
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