CLEP Introductory Psychology flashcards
CLEP Introductory Psychology · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 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 thoughts and feelings; used by Wundt and Titchener to analyze mental experience.
- Independent variable
- The factor an experimenter deliberately manipulates to observe its effect on the dependent variable, which is the measured outcome.
- Correlation coefficient
- A statistic ranging from -1 to +1 that measures the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables; it does not prove causation.
- Action potential
- A brief all-or-nothing electrical impulse that travels down an axon when the neuron's threshold is reached, enabling neural communication.
- Hippocampus
- A limbic structure crucial for forming new long-term declarative memories; damage impairs the ability to consolidate new facts and events.
- Neurotransmitter
- A chemical released at the synapse that carries a signal from one neuron to another, exciting or inhibiting the receiving cell.
- Absolute threshold
- The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected about half the time under ideal conditions.
- Weber's law
- The principle that the just-noticeable difference between two stimuli is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity.
- Gestalt closure
- A perceptual principle in which the mind fills in gaps to perceive an incomplete figure as a whole, coherent object.
- REM sleep
- A sleep stage marked by rapid eye movements, muscle paralysis, and vivid dreaming, during which brain activity resembles wakefulness.
- Circadian rhythm
- A roughly 24-hour biological cycle regulating sleep, temperature, and hormone release, synchronized by light and the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
- Tolerance
- A reduced response to a drug after repeated use, so that larger doses are needed to produce the original effect.
- Classical conditioning
- A learning process in which a neutral stimulus paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response on its own.
- Negative reinforcement
- Removal of an unpleasant stimulus after a behavior, which increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.
- Spontaneous recovery
- The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period, showing that extinction suppresses rather than erases learning.
- Working memory
- A limited-capacity system that holds and manipulates information for brief periods, typically about seven items, during cognitive tasks.
- Availability heuristic
- A mental shortcut that judges the likelihood of an event by how easily examples come to mind, often distorting probability estimates.
- Confirmation bias
- The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that supports existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.
- Yerkes-Dodson law
- Performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point, then declines; the optimal level is lower for complex tasks.
- Intrinsic motivation
- Engagement in an activity for its own inherent satisfaction rather than for external rewards or pressures.
- Two-factor theory
- Schachter and Singer's view that emotion results from physiological arousal plus a cognitive label interpreting that arousal.
- Object permanence
- The understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight, typically developing in Piaget's sensorimotor stage.
- Secure attachment
- An infant-caregiver bond in which the child uses the caregiver as a safe base and is comforted by reunion after separation.
- Authoritative parenting
- A style combining high warmth with firm, reasoned control, associated with well-adjusted and self-reliant children.
- Defense mechanisms
- Unconscious strategies the ego uses to reduce anxiety from unacceptable impulses, such as repression, projection, and rationalization.
- Big Five traits
- The five broad personality dimensions of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, often remembered as OCEAN.
- Reciprocal determinism
- Bandura's principle that behavior, personal factors, and the environment continuously influence and shape one another.
- Diathesis-stress model
- The view that psychological disorders emerge when a preexisting vulnerability is triggered by stressful life events.
- Schizophrenia
- A severe disorder featuring delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and negative symptoms such as flat affect and withdrawal.
- Systematic desensitization
- A behavioral therapy pairing relaxation with gradually increasing exposure to feared stimuli to reduce anxiety responses.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- A structured treatment that targets distorted thoughts and maladaptive behaviors, teaching skills to change both patterns.
- Bystander effect
- The finding that individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present, due to diffusion of responsibility.