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Second Exam
Vocab for second exam.
181
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
04/27/2014

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Comorbidity
Definition
Term
Stigma
Definition
a disgrace or defect that indicates that person belongs to a culturally devalued social group.
Term
Anxiety
Definition
nervousness or agitation that we sometimes experience, often about something that is going to happen
Term
Anxiety Disorders
Definition
psychological disturbances marked by irrational fears, often of everyday objects and situations.
Term
General Anxiety Disorder
Definition
a psychological disorder diagnosed in situations in which a person has been excessively worrying about money, health, work, family life and/or relationships for at least 6 months and when the anxiety causes significant distress and dysfunction.
Term
Panic Disorder
Definition
a psychological disorder characterized by sudden and recurrent panic attacks that reaches a peak within minutes.
Term
Phobia
Definition
is a specific fear of a certain object, situation, or activity
Term
Social Anxiety Disorder
Definition
an extreme fear or anxiety about at least one social situation, such as having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people, where the affected person feels at risk for scrutiny by others.
Term
Agoraphobia
Definition
marked fear or anxiety about at least two types of situations.
Term
OCD
Definition
a psychological disorder that is diagnosed when an individual continuously experiences obsessions (distressing, intrusive, or frightening thoughts), and engages in compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental acts)in an attempt to calm these obsessions.
Term
Abnormal Psychology
Definition
Applying psychological science to our understanding and treatment of psychological disorders
Term
Psychological Disorder
Definition
an ongoing dysfunctional pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior that causes significant distress, and that is considered deviant in that person’s culture or society.
Term
Mood
Definition
the positive or negative feelings that are in the background of our everyday experiences
Term
Mood disorders
Definition
psychological disorders in which the person’s mood negatively influences his or her physical, perceptual, social, and cognitive processes.
Term
Dysthymia
Definition
a condition characterized by mild, but chronic, depressive symptoms that last for at least 2 years.
Term
Major depressive disorder
Definition
a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.
Term
Bipolar disorder
Definition
a psychological disorder characterized by swings in mood from overly “high” to sad and hopeless, and back again, with periods of near-normal mood in between.
Term
serious psychological disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, loss of contact with reality, inappropriate affect, disorganized speech, social withdrawal, and deterioration of adaptive behavior.
Definition
a serious psychological disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, loss of contact with reality, inappropriate affect, disorganized speech, social withdrawal, and deterioration of adaptive behavior.
Term
Psychosis
Definition
a psychological condition characterized by a loss of contact with reality.
Term
Hallucinations
Definition
false sensations that occur in the absence of a real stimulus or which are gross distortions of a real stimulus
Term
Delusions
Definition
are false beliefs not commonly shared by others within one’s culture, and maintained even though they are obviously out of touch with reality.
Term
Personality disorder
Definition
characterized by inflexible patterns of thinking, feeling, or relating to others that cause problems in personal, social, and work situations
Term
Borderline personality disorder
Definition
characterized by a prolonged disturbance of personality accompanied by mood swings, unstable personal relationships, identity problems, threats of self-destructive behavior, fears of abandonment, and impulsivity.
Term
Antisocial personality disorder
Definition
characterized by a disregard of the rights of others, and a tendency to violate those rights without being concerned about doing so.
Term
ADHD
Definition
a developmental behavior disorder characterized by problems with focus, difficulty maintaining attention, and inability to concentrate, in which symptoms start before 7 years of age
Term
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Definition
a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction and communication across different life settings (e.g., home, school) and by restricted and repetitive behavior, interests or activities, and in which symptoms begin during early childhood.
Term
Dissociative Disorders
Definition
psychological disorder in which two or more distinct and individual personalities exist in the same person, and there is an extreme memory disruption regarding personal information about the other personalities.
Term
Psychological assessment
Definition
an evaluation of the patient’s psychological and mental health.
Term
Psychotherapy
Definition
the professional treatment for psychological disorder through techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight.
Term
Psychodynamic therapy
(psychoanalysis)
Definition
a psychological treatment based on Freudian and neo-Freudian personality theories in which the therapist helps the patient explore the unconscious dynamics of personality.
Term
Interpretation
Definition
allowing the therapist to try to understand the underlying unconscious problems that are causing the symptoms
Term
Free association
Definition
the therapist listens while the client talks about whatever comes to mind, without any censorship or filtering.
Term
Dream analysis
Definition
to analyze the symbolism of the dreams in an effort to probe the unconscious thoughts of the client and interpret their significance.
Term
Insight
Definition
an understanding of the unconscious causes of the disorder
Term
Resistance
Definition
using defense mechanisms to avoid the painful feelings in his or her unconscious.
Term
Transference
Definition
the patient unconsciously redirects feelings experienced in an important personal relationship toward the therapist
Term
Humanistic therapy
Definition
a psychological treatment based on the personality theories of Carl Rogers and other humanistic psychologists.
Term
Person-centered therapy
(client-centered therapy)
Definition
an approach to treatment in which the client is helped to grow and develop as the therapist provides a comfortable, nonjudgmental environment.
Term
Cognitive therapy
Definition
a psychological treatment that helps clients identify incorrect or distorted beliefs that are contributing to disorder.
Term
Behavioral therapy
Definition
psychological treatment that is based on principles of learning.
Term
Exposure therapy
Definition
a behavioral therapy based on the classical conditioning principle of extinction in which people are confronted with a feared stimulus with the goal of decreasing their negative emotional responses to it.
Term
Flooding
Definition
a client is exposed to the source of his fear all at once.
Term
Systemic desensitization
Definition
a behavioral treatment that combines imagining or experiencing the feared object or situation with relaxation exercises.
Term
Counterconditioning
Definition
a second incompatible response (relaxation, e.g., through deep breathing) is conditioned to an already conditioned response (the fear response).
Term
Virtual reality CBT
Definition
he therapist uses computer-generated, three-dimensional, lifelike images of the feared stimulus in a systematic desensitization program.
Term
Aversion therapy
Definition
a type of behavior therapy in which positive punishment is used to reduce the frequency of an undesirable behavior.
Term
Cognitive-behavior therapy
(CBT)
Definition
a structured approach to treatment that attempts to reduce psychological disorders through systematic procedures based on cognitive and behavioral principles.
Term
Eclectic therapy
Definition
an approach to treatment in which the therapist uses whichever techniques seem most useful and relevant for a given patient.
Term
Biomedical therapies
Definition
treatments designed to reduce psychological disorder by influencing the action of the central nervous system.
Term
Antidepressant medications
Definition
drugs designed to improve moods.
Term
Antianxiety medications
Definition
drugs that help relieve fear or anxiety.
Term
Antipsychotic drugs
(neuroleptics)
Definition
drugs that treat the symptoms of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
Term
tardive dyskinesia
Definition
causes uncontrollable muscle movements, usually in the mouth area.
Term
Electroconvulsive therapy
(ECT)
Definition
a medical procedure designed to alleviate psychological disorder in which electric currents are passed through the brain, deliberately triggering a brief seizure.
Term
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
(TMS)
Definition
a medical procedure designed to reduce psychological disorder that uses a pulsing magnetic coil to electrically stimulate the brain as shown in the following figure.
Term
Psychosurgery
Definition
surgery that removes or destroys brain tissue in the hope of improving disorder, is reserved for the most severe cases. The most well-known psychosurgery is the prefrontal lobotomy.
Term
Group therapy
Definition
psychotherapy in which clients receive psychological treatment together with others
Term
Family therapy
Definition
families meeting together with a therapist
Term
self-help groups
Definition
a voluntary association of people who share a common desire to overcome psychological disorder or improve their well-being.
Term
Community mental health services
Definition
psychological treatments and interventions that are distributed at the community level.
Term
Primary prevention
Definition
prevention in which all members of the community receive the treatment.
Term
Secondary prevention
Definition
is more limited and focuses on people who are most likely to need it—those who display risk factors for a given disorder.
Term
Risk factors
Definition
the social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities that make it more likely than average that a given individual will develop a disorder.
Term
Tertiary prevention
Definition
treatment, such as psychotherapy or biomedical therapy, that focuses on people who are already diagnosed with disorder.
Term
Outcome research
Definition
studies that assess the effectiveness of medical treatments
Term
Natural improvement
Definition
the possibility that people might get better over time, even without treatment.
Term
Nonspecific treatment effects
Definition
occur when the patient gets better over time simply by coming to therapy, even though it doesn’t matter what actually happens at the therapy sessions.
Term
Placebo Effects
Definition
improvements that occur as a result of the expectation that one will get better rather than from the actual effects of a treatment.
Term
Meta-analysis
Definition
a statistical technique that uses the results of existing studies to integrate and draw conclusions about those studies.
Term
Effect size
Definition
a measure of the effectiveness of treatment
Term
Developmental psychology
Definition
concerns the physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout human life, which are guided by both genetic predispositions (nature) and environmental influences (nurture).
Term
Conception
Definition
when an egg from the mother is fertilized by a sperm from the father.
Term
Ovulation
Definition
when an ovum, or egg (the largest cell in the human body), which has been stored in one of the mother’s two ovaries, matures and is released into the fallopian tube.
Term
Zygote
Definition
starts as a fertilized egg, or ovum, with the full complement of 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Term
Embryo
Definition
Once the zygote attaches to the wall of the uterus
Term
Amniotic sac
Definition
the fluid-filled reservoir in which the embryo (soon to be known as a fetus) lives until birth.
Term
Placenta
Definition
an organ that allows the exchange of nutrients between the embryo and the mother, while at the same time filtering out harmful material.
Term
Umbilical cord
Definition
links the embryo directly to the placenta and transfers all material to the fetus.
Term
Fetus
Definition
Beginning in the 9th week after conception, the embryo becomes a fetus.
Term
Teratogens
Definition
substances that can harm the fetus,
Term
Fetal alcohol syndrome
(FAS)
Definition
a condition caused by maternal alcohol drinking that can lead to numerous detrimental developmental effects, including limb and facial abnormalities, genital anomalies, and mental retardation.
Term
Survival reflexes
Definition
the newborn does have a variety of responses to environmental stimuli that appear from the first day of life, and some start to appear before birth.
Term
Schemas
Definition
patterns of knowledge in long-term memory—that help them remember, organize, and respond to information.
Term
Assimilation
Definition
use already developed schemas to understand new information
Term
Accommodation
Definition
involves learning new information, and thus changing the schema.
Term
Sensorimotor stage
Definition
the direct physical interactions that babies have with the objects around them.
Term
Object permanence
Definition
child’s ability to know that an object exists even when the object cannot be perceived.
Term
Preoperational stage
Definition
children begin to use language and to think more abstractly about objects, but their understanding is more intuitive and without much ability to deduce or reason.
Term
Theory of mind
Definition
the ability to take another person’s viewpoint
Term
Concrete operational stage
Definition
marked by more frequent and more accurate use of transitions, operations, and abstract concepts, including those of time, space, and numbers.
Term
Conservation
Definition
the understanding that changes in the form of an object do not necessarily mean changes in the quantity of the object.
Term
Formal operational stage
Definition
marked by the ability to think in abstract terms and to use scientific and philosophical lines of thought.
Term
Internalized
Definition
take place symbolically in our minds.
Term
Scaffolding
Definition
caregivers can support the child to achieve higher cognitive levels by providing support and guidance.
Term
Zone of proximal development
Definition
abilities that a child is just starting to be able to use
Term
Self-awareness
Definition
the realization that he or she is a distinct individual, whose body, mind and actions are separate from those of other people
Term
Self-concept
Definition
a knowledge representation or schema that contains knowledge about ourselves, including our beliefs about our personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, and roles, as well as the knowledge that we exist as individuals.
Term
Social comparison
Definition
Soon after children enter grade school (at about age 6 or 7), they begin to evaluate themselves against their observations of other children
Term
Attachment
Definition
The emotional bonds we develop with those with whom we feel closest, and particularly the bonds an infant develops with the mother or primary caregiver
Term
Secure attachment style
Definition
usually explores freely while the mother is present and engages with the stranger.
Term
Ambivalent attachment style
(insecure-resistant)
Definition
is wary about the situation in general, particularly the stranger, and stays close or even clings to the mother rather than exploring the toys.
Term
Avoidant attachment style
(insecure-avoidant)
Definition
will avoid or ignore the mother, showing little emotion when the mother departs or returns.
Term
Disorganized attachment style
Definition
seems to have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the strange situation—the child may cry during the separation but avoid the mother when she returns, or the child may approach the mother but then freeze or fall to the floor.
Term
Temperament
Definition
the innate personality characteristics of the infant. Specifically, temperament is the infant’s distinctive pattern of attention, arousal, and reactivity to new or novel situations.
Term
Parenting styles
Definition
parental behaviors that determine the nature of parent–child interactions and that guide their interaction with the child.
Term
Permissive parents
Definition
tend to make few demands and give little punishment, but they are responsive in the sense that they generally allow their children to make their own rules.
Term
Authoritative parents
Definition
are demanding (“You must be home by curfew”), but they are also responsive to the needs and opinions of the child
Term
Rejecting-neglecting parents
Definition
are undemanding and unresponsive overall.
Term
Adolescence
Definition
the years between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood
Term
Puberty
Definition
a developmental period in which hormonal changes cause rapid physical alterations in the body, culminating in sexual maturity.
Term
Primary sex characteristics
Definition
the sex organs concerned with reproduction.
Term
Secondary sex characteristics
Definition
features that distinguish the two sexes from each other but are not involved in reproduction
Term
Menarche
Definition
the first menstrual period, typically experienced at around 12 or 13 years of age.
Term
Spermarche
Definition
the beginning of sperm development in boys' testicles.
Term
Prefrontal cortex
Definition
the area of the brain responsible for reasoning, planning, and problem solving
Term
Myelin
Definition
the fatty tissue that forms around axons and neurons and helps speed transmissions between different regions of the brain
Term
Egocentrism
Definition
adolescents believe that they can do anything and that they know better than anyone else, including their parents.
Term
Imaginary audience
Definition
they feel that everyone is constantly watching them.
Term
Role experimentation
Definition
it was normative for adolescents to “try on” different roles to determine what their identity would become.
Term
Foreclosure status
Definition
Some teens may simply adopt the beliefs of their parents or the first role that is offered to them, perhaps at the expense of searching for other,
Term
Moratorium status
Definition
Other teens may spend years trying on different possible identities (moratorium status) before finally choosing one.
Term
Identity-achievement status
Definition
Eventually, most teenagers integrate the different possibilities into a single self-concept and a comfortable sense of identity
Term
Preconventional level of morality
Definition
Until about age 9, children focus on self-interest. At this stage, punishment is avoided and rewards are sought. A person at this level will argue, “The man shouldn’t steal the drug because he may get caught and go to jail.”
Term
Conventional level of morality
Definition
By early adolescence, the child begins to care about how situational outcomes impact others and wants to please and be accepted. At this developmental phase, people are able to value the good that can be derived from holding to social norms in the form of laws or less formalized rules. For example, a person at this level may say, “He should not steal the drug because everyone will see him as a thief, and his wife, who needs the drug, wouldn’t want to be cured because of thievery,” or “No matter what, he should obey the law because stealing is a crime.”
Term
Postconventional level of morality
Definition
At this stage, individuals employ abstract reasoning to justify behaviors. Moral behavior is based on self-chosen ethical principles that are generally comprehensive and universal, such as justice, dignity, and equality. Someone with self-chosen principles may say, “The man should steal the drug to cure his wife and then tell the authorities that he has done so. He may have to pay a penalty, but at least he has saved a human life.”
Term
Intimacy versus isolation
Definition
the conflict we face in learning to give and receive love in a close, long-term relationship.
Term
Generativity versus stagnation
Definition
he conflict we face in developing an interest in guiding the development of the next generation, often by becoming parents.
Term
Menopause
Definition
the cessation of the menstrual cycle
Term
Social clock
Definition
the culturally preferred “right time” for major life events,
Term
Late adulthood
Definition
the final life stage, beginning in the 60s
Term
Crystallized intelligence
Definition
general knowledge about the world, as reflected in semantic knowledge, vocabulary, and language
Term
Fluid intelligence
Definition
the ability to think and acquire information quickly and abstractly—which favor the young.
Term
Dementia
Definition
a progressive neurological disease that includes loss of cognitive abilities significant enough to interfere with everyday behaviors
Term
Alzheimer's disease
Definition
a form of dementia that, over a period of years, leads to a loss of emotions, cognitions, and physical functioning, and that is ultimately fatal
Term
Emotion regulation
Definition
the ability to control and productively use one’s emotions.
Term
Affect
Definition
defined as the experience of feeling or emotion.
Term
Emotion
Definition
a mental and physiological feeling state that directs our attention and guides our behavior.
Term
Motivation
Definition
a driving force that initiates and directs behavior.
Term
Health psychology
Definition
The study of the interface between affect and physical health—that principle that “everything that is physiological is also psychological”
Term
Cannon-Bard theory
Definition
proposes that emotions and arousal occur at the same time.
Term
James-Lange theory
Definition
our experience of an emotion is the result of the arousal that we experience.
Term
Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer’s two-factor theory
Definition
the arousal that we experience is basically the same in every emotion, and that all emotions (including the basic emotions) are differentiated only by our cognitive appraisal of the source of the arousal.
Term
Misattribution of arousal
Definition
The tendency for people to incorrectly label the source of the arousal that they are experiencing
Term
Excitation tranfer
Definition
the phenomenon that occurs when people who are already experiencing arousal from one event tend to also experience unrelated emotions more strongly.
Term
Basic emotions
Definition
are those of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise (and some psychologists also include contempt).
Term
Cognitive appraisal
Definition
The cognitive interpretations that accompany emotions
Term
The facial feedback hypothesis
Definition
proposes that the movement of our facial muscles can trigger corresponding emotions.
Term
Optimisn
Definition
a general tendency to expect positive outcomes
Term
Self-efficacy
Definition
the belief in our ability to carry out actions that produce desired outcomes.
Term
Hardiness
Definition
the tendency to be less affected by life’s stressors can be characterized as an individual difference measure that has a relationship to both optimism and self-efficacy
Term
Drives
Definition
internal states that are activated when the physiological characteristics of the body are out of balance
Term
Homeostasis
Definition
the natural state of the body’s systems, with goals, drives, and arousal in balance
Term
Intrinsically motivated
Definition
the natural state of the body’s systems, with goals, drives, and arousal in balance
Term
Extrinsically motivated
Definition
they are getting a reward such as money or praise.
Term
Insulin
Definition
a hormone secreted by the pancreas gland.
Term
Basal metabolic rate
Definition
the amount of energy expended while at rest.
Term
Anorexia
Definition
an eating disorder characterized by extremely low body weight, distorted body image, an obsession with exercise, and an obsessive fear of gaining weight.
Term
Bulimia
Definition
an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging.
Term
BMI
Definition
measurement that compares one's weight and height.
Term
Testosterone
Definition
is the main hormone responsible for arousal for men.
Term
Oxytocin
Definition
Sometimes called the love hormone, it promotes closeness and bonding.
Term
Hyperactive sexual desire disorder
Definition
the sex drive is so strong that it dominates life experience
Term
Sexual orientation
Definition
the direction of our sexual desire toward people of the opposite sex, people of the same sex, or people of both sexes
Term
Social psychology
Definition
the scientific study of how we feel about, think about, and behave toward the other people around us, and how those people influence our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Term
Social cognition
Definition
the part of human thinking that helps us understand and predict the behavior of ourselves and others
Term
Stereotyping
Definition
The tendency to attribute personality characteristics to people on the basis of their external appearance or their social group memberships
Term
Prejudice
Definition
the tendency to dislike people because of their appearance or group memberships
Term
Discrimination
Definition
negative behaviors toward others based on prejudice
Term
Self-fulfilling prophecy
Definition
when our expectations about the personality characteristics of others lead us to behave in ways that make those beliefs come true.
Term
Social identity
Definition
the positive emotions that we experience as a result of our group memberships
Term
Self-disclosure
Definition
the tendency to communicate frequently, without fear of reprisal, and in an accepting and empathetic manner.
Term
Mere exposure
Definition
the tendency to prefer stimuli (including but not limited to people) that we have seen more frequently.
Term
Causal attribution
Definition
The process of trying to determine the causes of people’s behavior, with the goal of learning about their personalities
Term
Dispositional attribution
Definition
the source or cause of the behavior was due to characteristics that reside within the individual;
Term
Fundamental attribution error
(correspondence bias)
Definition
he common tendency to overestimate the role of dispositional factors and overlook the impact of situations in judging others
Term
Cognitive dissonance
Definition
the discomfort we experience when we choose to behave in ways that we see as inappropriate.
Term
Catharsis
Definition
the idea that observing or engaging in less harmful aggressive actions will reduce the tendency to aggress later in a more harmful way
Term
Psychological reactance
Definition
a strong emotional reaction that leads people to resist pressures to conform
Term
Social facilitation
Definition
The tendency to perform tasks better or faster in the presence of others
Term
Social inhibition
Definition
The tendency to perform tasks more poorly or more slowly in the presence of othe
Term
Groupthink
Definition
a phenomenon that occurs when a group made up of members who may be very competent and thus quite capable of making excellent decisions nevertheless ends up, as a result of a flawed group process and strong conformity pressures, making a poor decision.
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