BCS Written Post-Related Psychology flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Introspection

A method in which trained observers report their own conscious experiences in detail. It was central to Wundt's and Titchener's structuralism but proved hard to verify objectively.

Operational definition

A statement that specifies exactly how a variable is measured or manipulated, allowing replication. For example, aggression might be defined as the number of shocks delivered in a laboratory task.

Action potential

A brief electrical impulse that travels along an axon when depolarisation reaches threshold. It follows the all-or-none law, so stronger stimuli increase firing rate rather than impulse size.

Sympathetic nervous system

The division of the autonomic nervous system that mobilises the body during threat, raising heart rate, dilating pupils and releasing glucose. It works with the parasympathetic branch, which restores resting states.

Hypothalamus

A forebrain structure below the thalamus that regulates homeostasis, including hunger, thirst, temperature and endocrine activity via the pituitary. It links nervous and hormonal systems.

Weber's law

The just-noticeable difference in a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity. Thus a brighter light needs a larger absolute change to be detected.

Perceptual constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as stable in size, shape, colour or brightness despite changes in the retinal image caused by distance, angle or lighting conditions.

Circadian rhythm

A roughly 24-hour biological cycle regulating sleep, body temperature and hormone release. It is governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and synchronised by light exposure.

Negative reinforcement

Removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a response, which increases the likelihood of that response recurring. It differs from punishment, which decreases behaviour by adding or removing stimuli.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a rest period. It shows that extinction suppresses the association rather than erasing it completely.

Observational learning

Learning by watching others, described by Bandura as requiring attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. It occurs without direct reinforcement of the learner's own behaviour.

Working memory

Baddeley's limited-capacity system for holding and manipulating information during tasks. It comprises a central executive plus phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and episodic buffer.

Proactive interference

Forgetting caused by previously learned material disrupting recall of newer material, such as an old phone number interfering with a new one. Retroactive interference is the reverse pattern.

Availability heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of an event by how easily examples come to mind. Vivid or recent events feel more probable, so this shortcut produces systematic overestimates.

Yerkes-Dodson law

Performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point, then declines. The optimal arousal level is higher for simple tasks and lower for complex or unfamiliar tasks.

Two-factor theory of emotion

Schachter and Singer's proposal that emotion results from physiological arousal plus a cognitive label. Arousal alone is diffuse, so the label determines which emotion is experienced.

General adaptation syndrome

Selye's three-stage model of stress response: alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Prolonged stress depletes resources and increases vulnerability to illness.

Test reliability

The consistency of a test's scores across occasions, items or raters. It is necessary but not sufficient for validity, because a consistent test can still measure the wrong construct.

Crystallised intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and skills acquired through experience and education, such as vocabulary. It tends to hold or grow with age, unlike fluid intelligence, which declines earlier.

Reciprocal determinism

Bandura's view that personal factors, behaviour and the environment influence one another bidirectionally. It contrasts with theories that treat personality as a one-way cause of behaviour.

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight. It develops during Piaget's sensorimotor stage, typically becoming established in the second year of life.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for tasks a learner cannot yet do alone but can accomplish with guidance. It underlies scaffolding, where support is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

Secure attachment

An attachment pattern in which an infant seeks comfort from a caregiver after separation and is easily soothed. Ainsworth identified it using the Strange Situation procedure.

Cognitive dissonance

The discomfort felt when beliefs, attitudes or behaviours conflict. Festinger proposed that people reduce it by changing an attitude, adding justification or altering behaviour.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to overestimate dispositional causes and underestimate situational causes when explaining others' behaviour. The bias is weaker when people explain their own actions.

Groupthink

A mode of flawed group decision-making in cohesive groups that suppress dissent in favour of consensus. Janis linked it to illusions of unanimity and pressure on doubters.

Bystander effect

The finding that individuals are less likely to help when others are present. Diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance help explain this pattern.

Diathesis-stress model

The view that disorder arises from an interaction between a pre-existing vulnerability (diathesis) and environmental stress. Neither factor alone is regarded as sufficient.

Negative symptoms

Features of schizophrenia involving loss or reduction of normal functioning, such as flat affect, poverty of speech and avolition. They contrast with positive symptoms like delusions and hallucinations.

Systematic desensitisation

A behavioural treatment in which a feared stimulus is paired with relaxation while progressing through a graded hierarchy. It is used mainly for phobias and anxiety disorders.

Cognitive restructuring

A cognitive-therapy technique that identifies and challenges irrational or distorted thoughts. It is central to Beck's treatment of depression and anxiety.

Mental status examination

A structured clinical assessment of appearance, mood, thought content, perception, cognition and insight. It provides a standardised snapshot of current psychological functioning.

Quasi-experiment

A study that manipulates an independent variable without random assignment, often using existing groups. Causal conclusions are weaker because pre-existing differences may confound results.