CHSE Odisha Elective 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; central to structuralism, but criticised because reports are subjective and hard to verify across individuals.

Operational definition

A statement defining a variable by the specific procedures or measures used to observe it, allowing other researchers to replicate the study and reducing ambiguity in interpretation.

Correlational method

A research design measuring the degree of association between two variables without manipulation; it reveals the direction and strength of relationship but cannot establish causation.

Action potential

A brief all-or-none electrical impulse that travels along the axon when depolarisation reaches threshold, followed by a refractory period during which the neuron cannot fire again.

Synapse

The junction between neurons where the terminal button releases neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft; the transmitter binds receptor sites on the next neuron to excite or inhibit it.

Autonomic nervous system

The division of the peripheral nervous system controlling involuntary functions; its sympathetic branch arouses the body for emergencies and its parasympathetic branch restores calm and conserves energy.

Pituitary gland

The endocrine gland often called the master gland because its hormones regulate other glands, growth and water balance; it is controlled by the hypothalamus and influences many body systems.

Absolute threshold

The minimum intensity of a stimulus that a person can detect on 50 percent of presentations under standard conditions; it indexes sensory sensitivity for a given modality.

Weber's law

The principle that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity, so discrimination depends on relative rather than absolute change.

Perceptual constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as keeping stable size, shape and brightness despite large changes in the retinal image caused by distance, angle or illumination.

Selective attention

The process of concentrating on one stimulus or stream of information while filtering out others; capacity is limited, so competing tasks interfere with each other.

Spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period without further conditioning trials, showing that extinction suppresses rather than erases the original association.

Negative reinforcement

A consequence in which an aversive stimulus is removed or avoided after a response, increasing the likelihood that the response will be repeated in similar situations.

Variable ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which a response is rewarded after an unpredictable number of responses; it produces high, steady response rates that resist extinction.

Observational learning

Learning by watching a model's behaviour and its consequences; it requires attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation, and is strengthened by vicarious reinforcement.

Working memory

A limited-capacity system that holds and manipulates information for brief periods during cognitive tasks; capacity is roughly seven plus or minus two chunks.

Proactive interference

Forgetting caused by previously learned material interfering with the recall of newer material; it increases as similar old and new learning compete at retrieval.

Serial position effect

The tendency in free recall for items at the beginning and end of a list to be remembered better than middle items, reflecting primacy and recency effects.

Chunking

Grouping separate items into larger meaningful units to increase the amount of information held in short-term memory beyond the usual item limit.

Intrinsic motivation

The drive to engage in an activity for its own sake because it is interesting or satisfying, rather than for external reward or pressure.

Yerkes-Dodson law

The principle that performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point and then declines; the optimal level is lower for complex tasks than for simple ones.

Two-factor theory of emotion

Schachter and Singer's view that emotional experience requires physiological arousal plus a cognitive label; the same arousal can be interpreted as different emotions depending on context.

Deviation IQ

A standard score expressing how far a person's test performance lies from the age-group mean, with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15 on most modern scales.

Fluid intelligence

The capacity to reason quickly and solve novel problems independent of acquired knowledge; it tends to peak in early adulthood and decline with age.

Test reliability

The consistency and stability of test scores across occasions, forms or items; it is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the validity of a test.

Big Five model

A trait model describing personality along five dimensions: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, derived largely from factor analysis of trait ratings.

Defence mechanism

An unconscious strategy the ego uses to reduce anxiety from unacceptable impulses, such as repression, projection or rationalisation; it distorts reality and may become maladaptive.

Reciprocal determinism

Bandura's principle that personal factors, behaviour and the environment influence one another continuously, so personality is shaped by ongoing interaction rather than by any single cause.

Cognitive dissonance

The uncomfortable tension felt when beliefs and behaviour conflict; people reduce it by changing an attitude, adding justifying cognitions or devaluing the inconsistent element.

Bystander effect

The finding that individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present, partly because responsibility is diffused across the group and behaviour is interpreted as non-urgent.

Groupthink

A deterioration of group decision quality caused by strong cohesion and pressure toward unanimity, leading members to suppress doubts and fail to consider alternatives.

Schizophrenia

A severe psychotic disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganised thinking and negative symptoms such as flat affect; genetic vulnerability and dopamine dysfunction are implicated.

Cognitive behaviour therapy

A structured psychological treatment that identifies and changes distorted beliefs and maladaptive behaviours, using homework and behavioural experiments to reduce symptoms such as anxiety and depression.