Question 1

Absolute Threshold

Accepted Answer

Minimal amount of physical energy needed for a person to detect a stimulus.

Question 2

Binocular Cues

Accepted Answer

Depth cues (retinal disparity, convergence) that depend on the use of two eyes.

Question 3

Fundamental Attribution Error

Accepted Answer

Attributing a behavior to a flaw in personality rather than a situation that causes the behavior.

Question 4

Heuristics

Accepted Answer

Mental shortcuts, or rules of thumb used in problem-solving.

Question 5

Activation Synthesis Model

Accepted Answer

Proposes that dreams are nothing more than the brain's interpretation of what happens during REM sleep.

Question 6

Central Route of Persuasion

Accepted Answer

Involves being persuaded by the arguments or content of the message.

Question 7

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Accepted Answer

Involves being persuaded in a manner that is not based on a message's content.

Question 8

Gate-Control Theory

Accepted Answer

The belief that a neural gate in the spinal cord can open to allow pain messages to be sent to the brain, or close to block them

Question 9

Synaptic Pruning

Accepted Answer

The process of losing neural connections in the brain that are not used.

Question 10

Deindividuation

Accepted Answer

Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations with high arousal and the element of anonymity in groups.

Question 11

Just-World Hypothesis

Accepted Answer

Tendency for people to think others get what they deserve.

Question 12

Hans Selye

Accepted Answer

Came up with the GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome); studied responses to stress.

Question 13

Transduction (eye)

Accepted Answer

The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses.

Question 14

Aphasia

Accepted Answer

Inability to understand or use language due to brain damage.

Question 15

Altruism

Accepted Answer

Display of genuine and unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

Question 16

Availability Heuristic

Accepted Answer

Judging a situation based on what readily comes to mind.

Question 17

Sensory Memory

Accepted Answer

Immediate, brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

Question 18

Extrinsic Motivation

Accepted Answer

Desire to perform a behavior for a reward or to avoid punishment.

Question 19

Intrinsic Motivation

Accepted Answer

Desire to perform a behavior for your own sake, not for a reward.

Question 20

Homeostasis

Accepted Answer

The tendency for the body to maintain a biologically balanced state.

Question 21

Abraham Maslow

Accepted Answer

Humanistic psychologist who developed the hierarchy of needs.

Question 22

Paul Ekman

Accepted Answer

Psychologist who studied emotions in several countries and concluded that there are 7 basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, contempt, and surprise.

Question 23

Unconditioned Stimulus

Accepted Answer

A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.

Question 24

Conditioned Stimulus

Accepted Answer

Originally neutral stimulus that, after association with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Question 25

Unconditioned Response

Accepted Answer

Unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus.

Question 26

Conditioned Response

Accepted Answer

Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

Question 27

Acquisition

Accepted Answer

The initial learning stage in classical conditioning.

Question 28

Extinction

Accepted Answer

The weakening of a conditioned response - the process of unlearning a behavior.

Question 29

Spontaneous Recovery

Accepted Answer

After a conditioned response has been extinguished, the response may reappear after the presentation of the conditioned stimulus.

Question 30

Shaping

Accepted Answer

Reinforcement is delivered after every step toward the desired response.

Question 31

Token Economy

Accepted Answer

Form of behavior therapy in which individuals are rewarded with a sort of token.

Question 32

Amygdala

Accepted Answer

Part of the brain that influences emotions such as anger and fear.

Question 33

Hypothalamus

Accepted Answer

"The body's thermostat." Controls eating, drinking, behavior, and body temperature. Also controls your biological clock.

Question 34

Medulla

Accepted Answer

Part of the brain that is responsible for vital functions such as heart rate, swallowing, and breathing.

Question 35

Reticular Formation

Accepted Answer

Part of the brain that plays a role in alertness and general arousal.

Question 36

Alfred Binet

Accepted Answer

Creator of the first intelligence test.

Question 37

Reliability

Accepted Answer

The consistency or repeatability of a test.

Question 38

Validity

Accepted Answer

That the test measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 39

Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Accepted Answer

Sternberg's theory that there are 3 types of intelligence: analytic, creative, and practical.

Question 40

Encoding

Accepted Answer

Process of acquiring and entering information into memory.

Question 41

Semantic Memory

Accepted Answer

Memories of the meanings of words, concepts, and general facts about the world.

Question 42

Retreival Cues

Accepted Answer

Clues or hints that trigger a long-term memory.

Question 43

Encoding-Specificity Principle

Accepted Answer

States that retrieval is more effective when retrieval conditions are similar to how the information was learned or encoded.

Question 44

Herman Ebbinghaus

Accepted Answer

Came up with the serial positioning effect (which includes the primacy and recency effects.)

Question 45

Fovea

Accepted Answer

Central region in the eye that gives us visual acuity (our sharpest vision.) Also holds a concentration of cones.

Question 46

Kinesthetic Sense

Accepted Answer

The sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other.

Question 47

Feature Detectors

Accepted Answer

Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus (shape, angle, movement.) Discovered by Hubel and Wiesel.

Question 48

Opponent-Process Theory (vision)

Accepted Answer

Theory that proposes three sets of opposing colors: blue-yellow, red-green, black-white.

Question 49

Law of Proximity

Accepted Answer

Gestalt principle that we tend to group things together when they are near each other.

Question 50

Groupthink

Accepted Answer

The tendency for groups to make bad decisions: members will suppress reservations about ideas supported by the group.

Question 51

Ethnocentricism

Accepted Answer

The belief that one's culture is better than others.

Question 52

Cognitive Dissonance

Accepted Answer

Tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs.

Term	Definition
Premack Principle
Absolute Threshold	Minimal amount of physical energy needed for a person to detect a stimulus.
Binocular Cues	Depth cues (retinal disparity, convergence) that depend on the use of two eyes.
Fundamental Attribution Error	Attributing a behavior to a flaw in personality rather than a situation that causes the behavior.
Heuristics	Mental shortcuts, or rules of thumb used in problem-solving.
Activation Synthesis Model	Proposes that dreams are nothing more than the brain's interpretation of what happens during REM sleep.
Central Route of Persuasion	Involves being persuaded by the arguments or content of the message.
Peripheral Route of Persuasion	Involves being persuaded in a manner that is not based on a message's content.
Gate-Control Theory	The belief that a neural gate in the spinal cord can open to allow pain messages to be sent to the brain, or close to block them
Stroop Effect
Synaptic Pruning	The process of losing neural connections in the brain that are not used.
Deindividuation	Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in situations with high arousal and the element of anonymity in groups.
Just-World Hypothesis	Tendency for people to think others get what they deserve.
Infantile Amnesia
Overjustification Effect
Sound Localization
Hans Selye	Came up with the GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome); studied responses to stress.
Bystander Effect
Transduction (eye)	The process of converting physical energy into neural impulses.
Aphasia	Inability to understand or use language due to brain damage.
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Altruism	Display of genuine and unselfish concern for the welfare of others.
PKU (Phenylketonuria)
Availability Heuristic	Judging a situation based on what readily comes to mind.
G. Stanley Hall
Self-Efficacy
Sensory Memory	Immediate, brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Priming
Incubation
Charles Spearman
Extrinsic Motivation	Desire to perform a behavior for a reward or to avoid punishment.
Intrinsic Motivation	Desire to perform a behavior for your own sake, not for a reward.
Homeostasis	The tendency for the body to maintain a biologically balanced state.
Abraham Maslow	Humanistic psychologist who developed the hierarchy of needs.
Paul Ekman	Psychologist who studied emotions in several countries and concluded that there are 7 basic emotions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, contempt, and surprise.
Unconditioned Stimulus	A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
Conditioned Stimulus	Originally neutral stimulus that, after association with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response.
Unconditioned Response	Unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Response	Learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.
Aversive Conditioning
Acquisition	The initial learning stage in classical conditioning.
Extinction	The weakening of a conditioned response - the process of unlearning a behavior.
Spontaneous Recovery	After a conditioned response has been extinguished, the response may reappear after the presentation of the conditioned stimulus.
Shaping	Reinforcement is delivered after every step toward the desired response.
Token Economy	Form of behavior therapy in which individuals are rewarded with a sort of token.
Amygdala	Part of the brain that influences emotions such as anger and fear.
Hypothalamus	"The body's thermostat." Controls eating, drinking, behavior, and body temperature. Also controls your biological clock.
Medulla	Part of the brain that is responsible for vital functions such as heart rate, swallowing, and breathing.
Reticular Formation	Part of the brain that plays a role in alertness and general arousal.
Corpus Callosum
Alfred Binet	Creator of the first intelligence test.
Psychometrics
Reliability	The consistency or repeatability of a test.
Validity	That the test measures what it is supposed to measure.
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence	Sternberg's theory that there are 3 types of intelligence: analytic, creative, and practical.
Encoding	Process of acquiring and entering information into memory.
Semantic Memory	Memories of the meanings of words, concepts, and general facts about the world.
Retreival Cues	Clues or hints that trigger a long-term memory.
Encoding-Specificity Principle	States that retrieval is more effective when retrieval conditions are similar to how the information was learned or encoded.
Herman Ebbinghaus	Came up with the serial positioning effect (which includes the primacy and recency effects.)
Fovea	Central region in the eye that gives us visual acuity (our sharpest vision.) Also holds a concentration of cones.
Kinesthetic Sense	The sense of body position and movement of body parts relative to each other.
Feature Detectors	Nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus (shape, angle, movement.) Discovered by Hubel and Wiesel.
Opponent-Process Theory (vision)	Theory that proposes three sets of opposing colors: blue-yellow, red-green, black-white.
Law of Proximity	Gestalt principle that we tend to group things together when they are near each other.
Groupthink	The tendency for groups to make bad decisions: members will suppress reservations about ideas supported by the group.
Ethnocentricism	The belief that one's culture is better than others.
Scapegoating
Cognitive Dissonance	Tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs.
Matching Hypothesis

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