PSYCH 001 – General Psychology

Study Guide for Test #2 – chapters 6-10

Stimulus plus response results in satisfying

outcome, probability of that response occurring
again INCREASES

INSTINCTS are what drive many species to behave

in particular ways (sea turtles moving toward ocean
immediately after birth, for example)

EXTINCTION – puppy does not greet Molly at the

door because Molly stopped giving her treats

Kicking your leg when your knee is tapped or

pulling your hand quickly away when you
accidently touch a hot stove are examples of
REFLEXES

CONTINUOUS reinforcement schedule is every

time the behavior is exhibited, it is rewarded

COGNITIVE MAP – mental picture of something

Learning can occur by watching others and
modeling what they do or say - BANDURA

Emotions can be a conditioned response – What

Watson figured out with Little Albert

One major flaw with Watson’s Little Albert

experiment is that it is unethical to induce fear in a
child, since it is harmful to induce fear

Pavlov = CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

In Psychology, cognition means THINKING

COGNITION = encompasses the processes

associated with perception, knowledge, problem
solving, judgment, language, and memory

LANGUAGE = communication system

Confirmation bias = focusing on information that

confirms your existing beliefs
Scientists who study cognition are searching for
ways to understand how we INTEGRATE,
organize, and utilize our conscious experiences

BABBLING = single syllable, such as buh or dah

that are repeated over and over

Anchoring bias = ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION

VERSUS ALL OF THE INFORMATION

Children who live in poverty perform worse on

intelligence tests because they EXPERIENCE
MORE PERVASIVE DAILY STRESS, WHICH
AFFECTS HOW THE BRAIN DEVELOPS AND
FUNCTIONS, THUS CAUSING A DIP IN IQ
SCORES

ADHD = 30% to 70% also have a LEARNING

DISABILITY
Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart study
revealed a GENETIC COMPONENT TO
INTELLIGENCE

For memory to go into storage, it must go through

three distinct stages: sensory memory, short-term
memory, and LONG-TERM memory

When taking a multiple-choice test, you are relying

on RECOGNITION

EXPLICIT MEMORY = actively remembering and

recalling information

EPISODIC MEMORY = INFORMATION ABOUT

EVENTS WE HAVE PERSONALLY
EXPERIENCED

DECLARATIVE MEMORY has two components –

semantic and episodic
Never forgetting how to ride a bike is non-
declarative memory, or IMPLICIT MEMORY

RETROGRADE AMNESIA – loss of memory for

events that occurred prior to the trauma;
ANTEROGRADE – cannot remember new
information

NOT EFFECTIVE WAY TO STUDY – stay up all

night cramming for an exam

STROOP EFFECT – reaction time slows when

brain must deal with conflicting information –
example GREEN (printed in BLACK ink)

DISCONTINUOUS = development takes place in

unique stages

Conservation – as long as you don’t add or remove

anything to it, what you are looking at is still equal
in size even if it changes in appearance (pouring
 same amount of liquid into tall glass vs. short
squatty glass)

ASSIMILATION – adjusting a schema by adding

information similar to what is already known

TERATOGEN – any environmental agent that

causes damage

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES – crawling,

sitting, walking, writing, etc.

NATURE – GENES AND BIOLOGY

NURTURE – ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE

TRUST vs. MISTRUST = between birth and one

year – dependent on caregivers

Jean Piaget SENSORIMOTOR stage – world is

experienced through senses and actions
Carissa – PERMISSIVE PARENTING

Emerging Adulthood – Younger age for marriage

does not fit this model

AUTHORITATIVE parenting style –

preferred/encouraged

AUTHORITARIAN parenting style – can contribute

to anxious, withdrawn, unhappy children

INTRINSIC motivation is based on internal feelings

rather than external rewards

Hierarchy of needs = ranges from basic

BIOLOGICAL needs to SOCIAL NEEDS to self-
actualization

Cindy – INTRINSIC motivation for becoming a

foster parent
Luis – EXTRINSIC motivation for buying a
motorcycle

MOTIVATION NEVER CHANGES – this is

FALSE

ANOREXIA – starvation; BULIMIA – binge eating

Major criticism of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – IT

IS SUBJECTIVE