Psychology HS

• Cross-Sectional Study


  Measures a variable across several age groups at the same time
• Longitudinal Study


  Studies the same participants multiple times over a period of time
• Quantitative Research


  Collects and reports data primarily in the numerical form
• Qualitative Research


  Relies on what is seen in field or naturalistic settings
• Reliability


  The consistency of the results of a study
• Validity


  How well the results of the study represent findings among similar studies (accuracy)
• Sample


  A subset of the population
• Population


  A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area
• Case Study


  A technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth
• Descriptive Research


  Clarifies the characteristics of certain phenomena
• Correlative Research


  Investigates the relationship between two or more variables
• Experimental Research


  Applying experimental research methods to study behavior
• Id


  Instincts (unconscious)
• Ego


  Operates on satisfying the id's desires that will bring pleasure rather than pain
• Super Ego


  Morality (mostly unconscious)
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


  Physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization
• Motivation


  The process of activating, maintaining, and directing behavior towards a goal
• Intrinsic Motivation


  An individual does not require any reward for attaining a particular goal
• Extrinsic Motivation


  An individual's behavior that is driven by external rewards
• Positive Transfer Effect


  Previously acquired knowledge makes it easier to learn new info
• Lack Of Transfer Effect


  New concepts can be difficult to learn without any previous knowledge
• Schema


  A cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret pieces of information
• Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development


  Children actively try to organize and make sense of their world
• Accommodation (Piaget's Theory)


  Changing cognitive structures to accept something from the environment
• Assimilation (Piaget's Theory)


  Using the environment so that it can be placed in pre-existing cognitive structures
• Postformal Thinking


  Thinking beyond formal operations, i.e., awareness of the complexity of situations
• Sensorimotor Stage: birth to 2 years


  Know the world through movements and sensations
• Preoperational Stage: ages 2 to 7


  Separate themselves from the world, Learn to use language, Begin to think literally and egocentrically, Unable to take on perspectives of others
• Concrete Operational Stage: ages 7 to 11


  Develop inductive reasoning, Understand conservation of mass, Develop deductive reasoning
• Formal Operational Stage: ages 12 and up


  Can think theoretically and philosophically
• NREM Stage 1


  Transition between wakefulness and sleep
• NREM Stage 2


  Body temp drops, Heart rate slows, Brain begins to produce sleep spindles
• NREM Stage 3


  Early phase of deep sleep, Little/no physical movement, Lasts around 15-30 min
• REM Sleep


  A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements and a high level of brain activity
• Stress


  The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as challenging
• Prolonged Stress


  Leads to emotional and cognitive impairment and has 3 stages: the alarm phase, the adaptation phase, and the exhaustion phase
• Temperament


  A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
• Denial


  Refusing to accept reality
• Task-Oriented Coping


  Focusing on solving the problem rather than attempting to change the situation
• Rationalization


  Offering self-justifying explanations instead of the real, unconscious reasons for one's actions