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AP Psychology FRQ Terms Flashcards

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13872101550Acetylcholine (LMM)A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory and also triggers muscle contraction0
13872101551arousal theoryA theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activation.1
13872101552availability heuristicestimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common2
13872101553belief perseveranceclinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited3
13872101554Big Five Personality Traitsopenness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism4
13872101555ExtraversionA personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive5
13872101556circadian rhythmthe biological clock; regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle6
13872101557cognitive dissonanceunpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs7
13872101558context dependent memoryThe theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.8
13872101559CorrelationA measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. Can range from -1 to +1. Negative correlations the variables rise and fall inversely, positive correlations variables rise and fall together. Negative does not mean weak and positive does not mean strong9
13872101560Deindividuation (sports crowd)the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity10
13872101561difference thresholdthe minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time11
13872101562distributed practicespacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods12
13872101563divergent thinking (New solutions to problems)a type of creative thinking in which one generates new solutions to problems13
13872101564Dopamine (MALR)A neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning and the brain's pleasure and reward system.14
13872101565drive-reduction theorythe idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need15
13872101566encoding failurethe inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory16
13872101567episodic memoryA category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations and experiences.17
13872101568ethics in research (CCDP)informed consent protection from harm/discomfort maintain confidentiality debriefing18
13872101569experimentA research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process19
13872101570correlational researchresearch that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists. Does not manipulate variables.20
13872101571explicit memorymemory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (also called declarative memory)21
13872101572external locus of controlthe perception that chance or outside forces beyond your personal control determine your fate.22
13872101573extrinsic motivationa desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment23
13872101574GAS exhaustion phasebody runs out of adaption energy stores for adjusting to stressor, and disease resistance drops below normal; if we can stay in the stress it can have a negative effect24
13872101575gender rolessets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as male or female25
13872101576gestalt principle of proximitywe group nearby figures together26
13872101577implicit memoryMemories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously27
13872101578incentive theoryA theory of motivation stating that behavior is directed toward attaining desirable stimuli and avoiding unwanted stimuli.28
13872101579intrinsic motivationa desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake29
13872101580normative social influence (gain social approval)influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval30
13872101581operational definitiona statement of the procedures used to define research variables. Must be recordable/countable/measurable.31
13872101582overjustification effectThe effect of promising a reward for doing what one already likes to do. The person may now see the reward, rather than intrinsic interest, as the motivation for performing the task.32
13872101583positive reinforcementIncreasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response.33
13872101584postconventional moral reasoningKohlberg's third level of moral reasoning, emphasizing moral principles34
13872101585prefrontal cortex (TPL)processing center in the frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning, and language35
13872101586proactive interferenceBeing unable to retrieve new information because old information gets in the way36
13872101587procedural memorya type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits (tying shoes, eating with a fork)37
13872101588prospective memoryremembering to do things in the future38
13872101589random assignmentassigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups39
13872101590random selectionA way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the sample40
13872101591retinal disparitya binocular cue for perceiving depth41
13872101592retroactive interferenceUnable to retrieve old information because of newly encoded information42
13872101593selective attentionthe focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus43
13872101594self-efficacyone's sense of competence and effectiveness in a specific task.44
13872101595self-fulfiling prophecya prediction or expectation about our future behavior that is likely to come true because we believe it and thus act in ways that make it come true45
13872101596SerotoninA neurotransmitter helps mood and appetite. Increase in it helps depression as it is a mood booster.46
13872101597social facilitationimproved performance on simple or well-learned tasks in the presence of others, decreased performance on difficult or non well-learned tasks47
13872101598state-dependent memoryThe theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.48
13872101599statistical significancea statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. Measured by p-value. To say something is statistically significant it must have a p value of less than .05 (p=<.05)49
13872101600sympathetic nervous systemthe division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations50
13872101601Yerkes-Dodson Lawthe principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases51
13872101602cognitive restructuringa therapeutic approach that teaches clients to question the automatic beliefs, assumptions, and predictions that often lead to negative emotions and to replace negative thinking with more realistic and positive beliefs52
13872101603kinesthetic sensesense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other53
13872101604basilar membraneA structure that runs the length of the cochlea in the inner ear and holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells.54
13872101605somatosensory cortexarea at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations55
13872101606motor neurons (efferent)neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands56
13872101607Heuristica simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms57
13872101608secondary reinforcerany reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired with a primary reinforcer, such as praise, tokens, or gold stars58
13872101609AlgorithmA methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.59
13872101610social loafingthe tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable60
13872101611Habituationdecreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.61
13872101612alarm stage of GASorganism recognizes stress, begins to respond. Fight or flight and sympathetic nervous system engages62
13872101613authoritarian parentingstyle of parenting in which parent is rigid and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child63
13872101614identity vs. role confusionErikson's stage during which teenagers and young adults search for and become their true selves64
13872101615unconditional positive regardaccording to Rogers, an attitude of total acceptance toward another person65
13872101616elaborative rehearsalthe linking of new information to material that is already known66
13872101617central route persuasiongoing through rational mind, persuading using logic and evidence.67
13872101618source amnesiaattributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined68
13872101619fluid intelligenceour ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood69
13872101620agoraphobiafear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic70
13872101621EthnocentrismBelief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.71
13872101622Rodsretinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond72
13872101623Broca's areaspeech production (mouth movement)73
13872101624gestalt principle of closurewe fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object74
13872101625double blind researcha research study in which both the researcher and the participants are unaware of the predicted outcome75
13872101626myelin sheathA layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.76
13872101627punishmentan event that decreases the behavior that it follows77
13872101628Endorphinsnatural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to pain control and to pleasure78
13872101629Introversion (introvert)dimension of personality in which people tend to withdraw from excessive stimulation79
13872101630cognitive mapa mental representation of the layout of one's environment80
13872101631cocktail party effectability to attend to only one voice among many81
13872101632Cerebellumthe "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance82
13872101633observational learninglearning by observing others83
13872101634Human Factorsinteraction with people and machines84
13872101635reticular formationalertness and arousal85
13872101636predictive validityRefers to the function of a test in predicting a particular behavior or trait.86
13872101637semantic memorygeneral knowledge87
13872101638serial position effectour tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list88
13872101639functional fixednessthe tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use (not thinking outside the box)89
13872101640operant conditioninga type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher90
13872101641Reinforcementany event that strengthens the behavior it follows91
13872101642Conformitycompliance with standards, rules, or laws.92
13872101643figure-ground (objects standing out from their surroundings)the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings93
13872101644occipital lobeA region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information94
13872101645Use of Phonemesin language, the smallest distinctive sound unit /k/ for cat95
13872101646Modelinglearning by imitating others; copying behavior96
13872101647age and language acquisitionolder students are less successful in acquiring a language.97
13872101648foveal visionsharp central vision98
13872101649feature detectorscells in the cortex that specialize in extracting certain features of a stimulus99
13872101650compliancethe tendency to agree to do things requested by others100
13872101651crystallized intelligenceour accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age101
13872101652motor cortexcontrols voluntary movements102
13872101653conditioned responsea learned response to a previously neutral stimulus103
13872101654inattentional blindnessa failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention104
13872101655mnemonic devicesstrategies for enhancing memory105
13872101656external cuestime of day, social cues, sight and smell of food106

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