Final Exam AP Psych

• Accommodation


  Creation of new cognitive schemas when objects, experiences, or other info doesn't fit with existing schemas
• Action Potential


  The firing of a neuron. Occurs when the charge inside the neuron becomes more positive than the charge outside
• Altruism


  Unselfish and only benefits others
• Amnesia


  Loss of memory
• Anxiety


  The physiological and psychological reaction to an expected danger. Real or imagined
• Aphasia


  The impairment of the ability to communicate either through oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage
• Arousal Theory


  The theory states that we are motivated by our innate desire to maintain an optimal level of arousal
• Assimilation


  Incorporating objects, experiences, or info into existing schemas
• Associations


  The phenomenon in learning that states we are better able to remember info if it is paired with something we are familiar with or stands out
• Attachment


  The strong bond a child forms with his or her primary caregiver
• Attribution


  An idea or belief about the etiology of a certain behavior
• Authoritarian


  Parenting style focuses on excessive rules, rigid belief systems, and the expectation of unquestioned obedience.
• Authoritative

  Parenting style focused on setting reusable rules and expectations while encouraging communication and independence
• Availability Heuristic


  A rule of thumb stating that info more readily available in our memory is more important than info not easily accessible
• Aversion Therapy


  A type of behavioral treatment where an aversive stimuli is paired with a negative behavior in hopes that the behavior will change in the future to avoid the aversive stimuli
• Axon


  The tail-like part of the neuron through which info exits cell
• Behavior Modification


  The application of behavioral theory to change a specific behavior
• Behavior Therapy


  The application of behavioral theory (e.g. conditioning, reinforcement) in the treatment of mental illness
• Behaviorism


  The school of psychology founded on the premise that behavior is measurable and can be changed through the application of various behavioral principles
• Blind Study


  As a way to avoid the placebo effect in research, this type of study is deigned without the subjects knowledge of the anticipated results and sometimes even the nature of the study. Subjects are said to be "blind" to the expected results
• Broca's Aphasia


  An aphasia associated with the damage to the Broca's area of the brain, demonstrated by the impairment in producing understandable speech
• Burnout

  Changes in thoughts, emotions, and savior as a cult of extended job stress and unrewarded repetition of duties. Seen as extreme dissatisfaction, pessimism, lowered job satisfaction, and desire to quit.
• Cell Body


  The main part of a neuron where the info is processed
• Centration 


  A young child’s tendency to focus only on their perspective of a specific object and fail to understand how others may see things differently
• Chemical Imbalance


  A generic term for idea that chemical in the brain are either too scarce or too abundant resulting in a mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
• Classical Conditioning

  The behavioral technique of pairing a naturally occurring stimulus and response chain with a different stimulus in order to produce a response which is mor normally occurring
• Client-Centered Therapy

  A humanistic therapy based on Carl Roger's beliefs that an individual has an unlimited capacity for psychological growth and will continue to grow unless barriers are placed in the way
• Coercive Power


  Power derived through the ability to punish
• Cognition


  Prices of receiving, processing, storing, and using info
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  Treatment involving the combination of behaviorism (based on the theories of learning) and cognitive therapy (based on the theory that our cognition or thoughts control a large portion of our behaviors)
• Cognitive Dissonance

  The realization of contradictions in one's own attitudes and behaviors
• Cognitive Therapy

  The treatment approach is based on the theory that our cognitions or thoughts control a large part of our behaviors and emotions. Therefore, changing the way we think can result in positive changes in the way we act and feel
• Compulsion

  The physical act resulting from an obsession
• Conditioned Response


  The response in a stimulus-response chain that is not naturally occurring, but rather has been learned through its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
• Conditioned Stimulus


  The stimulus in a stimulus-response chain is not naturally occurring, but rather has been learned through its pairing with a naturally occurring chain.
• Conditioning

  Process of learning new behaviors or response
• Conformity

  Changing your attitudes, beliefs, thoughts, or behaviors in order to be more consistent with others
• Conservation

  The understanding, typically achieved later in childhood, that matter remains the sam even when the shape changes
• Consolidation

  The psychological changes in the brain associated with memory storage
• Consolidation Failure

  Failure to store info in memory