Psychology pt 5

• Schema


  Cognitive structure utilized to make sense of the world
• Secondary Reinforcer


  Reinforcer other than one which meets our basic needs such as food or water (e.g., intellectual stimulation, money, praise)
• Selection Bias


  Errors in the selection and placement of subjects into groups that results in differences between groups which could effect the results of an experiment
• Self Actualization


  Process of understanding oneself more completely and being aware of issues affecting one's life
• Self Efficacy


  One's belief in his or her own ability
• Self Serving Bias


  Tendency to assign internal attributes to successes and external factors to failures
• Semantic Memory


  Part of declarative memory that stores general information such as names and facts
• Sensation


  Information brought in through the senses
• Sensory Memory


  Brief storage of information brought in through the senses; typically only lasts up to a few seconds
• Sexual Orientation


  Feeling of attractedness or arousal associated with a particular gender. Sexual behavior can be a result of this but does not necessarily define a person's orientation
• Shaping


  Gradually molding a specific response by reinforcing responses that come close to the desired response
• Short Term Memory


  Stage of memory where information is stored for up to 30 seconds prior to either being forgotten or transferred to long term memory
• Skinner, B. F.


  Considered the father of behavioral therapy. He once stated that with the ability to control a child's environment, he could raise a child to become anything he wanted
• Social Facilitation


  Effect of other's presence on one's performance. Typically we perform simple or well-learned tasks better in front of others and difficult or novel tasks worse
• Social Loafing


  Tendency for people to work less on a task the greater the number of people are working on that task
• Social Psychology


  Branch of psychology which focuses on society and it's impact on the individual
• Social Roles


  Accepted behaviors associated with a particular position within a group
• Standard Deviation


  A statistical formula used to determine the amount of difference expected from one score to the next
• State


  A temporary internal characteristic (e.g., depressed, angry)
• State Dependent Memory


  The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind
• Stimulus


  Anything in the environment to which one responds
• Storage


  The process of saving information in long term memory
• Stress


  The physical and psychological result of internal or external pressure
• Stressor


  Anything, internal or external, which applies psychological pressure on an individual
• Sublimation


  A defense mechanism where undesired or unacceptable impulses are transformed into behaviors which are accepted by society
• Superego


  In Psychoanalytical theory, the part of the personality that represents the conscience
• Supertraits


  Hans Eysenck's term for his two distinct categories of personality traits. They include Introversion-Extroversion and Neuroticism. According to Eysenck, each of us fall on a continuum based on the degree of each supertraits
• Suppression


  The defense mechanism where we push unacceptable thoughts out of consciousness and into our unconscious
• Survey


  A research technique in which subjects respond to a series of questions
• Syllogism


  Aristotle's theory of reasoning where two true statements are followed by a single logical conclusion
• Systematic Desensitization


  A treatment technique where the client is exposed to gradually increasing anxiety provoking stimuli while relaxing; the goal is for the client to eventually confront a phobia or fear without the previously associated anxiety
• Tactile


  The sense of touch
• TAT


  Thematic Apperception Test
• Temperament


  A person's typical way of responding to his or her environment
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)


  A subjective personality test where ambiguous pictures are shown to a subject and they are asked to tell a story related to them
• Theory


  A general idea about the relationship of two or more variables
• Trait


  A relatively permanent internal characteristic (e.g., friendly, outgoing)
• Transference


  Intense feelings directed toward the therapist that many clients experience in the process of therapy
• Type A Personality


  A theory used to describe a person with a significant number of traits focused on urgency, impatience, success, and excessive competition
• Type B Personality


  A theory used to describe person with a significant number of traits focused on relaxation, lack of urgency, and normal or reduced competition