CLEP Introductory Psychology Cheat Sheet by sparkledaisy

Struct­ura­lists believe consci­ousness = basic elements combine to make different percep­tions. Wanted to discover form of mental experi­ence.

Intros­pection reporting own conscious thoughts and feelings

Wundt, Titchener

indepe­ndent variable = cause
experi­mental group = exposed to cause
control group = not exposed to cause
dependent variable = effect (measures how subjects behave)

blind study = subjects don't know if they get drug or placebo
double­-blind study = subjects & resear­chers don't know who gets drug/p­lacebo

correl­ation coeffi­cient = describes strength of relati­onship

Consci­ousness = a state of being aware and reflecting on the enviro­nment around us, not simply reacting to it

Circadian rhythm = predic­table factors of the human body "­through the day"

circa around, dian day

Insomnia = recurring difficulty falling asleep.

Narcolepsy = sudden and uncont­rol­lable attacks of sleep during waking hours.

Sleep apnea = stop breathing during sleep which wakes them long enough to breathe. This can occur 100's of times a night

Cannon­-Bard: crazed dog = Arousal & Fear

James-­Lange: crazed dog = arousal THEN fear

Two-Fa­ctor: crazed dog = Arousal & Label (cogni­tive) THEN fear

Psycho­ana­lytic developed by Freud. Problems from urges vs. social pressure. repressed behavior in childhood. Help individual recognize conflict, make it conscious & deal with it in socially acceptable way. - Free associ­ation "­pat­ien­t"

Humanistic help people achieve insight to causes of behavior, emphasize life now and future. "­cli­ent­". Client­-ce­ntered therapy non directive. people have own insight. provide positive regard & enviro­nment. active listening

Cognitive change thinking so see world accurately & react rationally

Learni­ng/­Beh­avioral

Biolog­ica­l/M­edical drugs surgery alter brain functions

Rely on drugs or surgery. Alter the way brain functions

Depression = low serotonin neurot­ran­smitter
Anti-d­epr­essants (Prozac, Pail, Zoloft) prevent re-uptake of serotonin (SSRI) result in elevated mood

Anti-a­nxiety drugs (Librium, Valium) reduce arousal, depress activity in CNS

Anti-p­syc­hotics (Cloza­pine, Thorazine) treat symptoms of schizo­phr­enia. block operation of neurot­ran­smitter dopamine

Barbit­urates (tranq­uil­izer) (opiate)

Opiates = opium, decreases nervous system, addictive, side effects

how we process inform­ation about others

Attrib­ution theory - explan­ations generated for others behavior
- dispos­itional (internal) - explain behavior inside person (perso­nality, intell­igence, maturity)
- situat­ional (external) - explain behavior outside (luck, interf­erence from others, social etiquette)

actor-­obs­erver difference - observers attribute others' behavior to dispos­itions but own behavior to situat­ions. Actor more aware than others of how his behavior changes from 1 situation to another

cognitive dissonance theory - behave incons­istent with attitudes = dissonance (unple­asant tension) must explain behavior due to situation

Neuros­cience = physical & brain (makes emotio­ns/­mem­ories)

Evolut­ionary = Darwinism, survival of fittest, inherited behavior

Social­-cu­ltural = society & culture contribute to behavior

Psycho­dynamic
Behavioral
Cognitive
Humanistic

focus on unders­tanding how physio­logical & bioche­mical processes = psycho­logical phenomena

genes, nervous system, hormones, neurot­ran­smi­tters

Link to Quizlet cards about Psychology vocabulary words.

Gestalt (German for "a whole" or "­for­m") Psycho­logists were among the first to study how the brain makes things from fragments of sensat­ions.

Depth percep­tion-
both eyes work together to gather Binocular cues, which use the space between the eyes (retinal disparity) and how much the eyes turn inwards, towards the nose (conve­rgence) to roughly estimate distance.

Monocular cues=one eye.

Linear perspe­cti­ve=­par­allel lines appear to converge.

Motion parall­ax-­refers to apparent movement of stable objects as we move.

Perceptual sets: predis­pos­itions to percieve one thing and not another will affect the way reality is viewed

CLEP® Introd­uctory Psychology Book + Online (CLEP Test Prepar­ation)

Code inside front cover gives you access to online tests. Practice tests 1 & 2 are the same online as in the back of the book but the online resource gives you an assessment test which is a bit shorter than the other 2 which are 95 questions each.

HERE is a very intere­sting article about Prosop­agnosia (Face Blindn­ess).

Includes inform­ation about: Broca, Wernicke, deja vu, Capgras syndrome

By Oliver Sacks

reaction to behavi­orism

Focus on explain behavior in terms of expect­ations, feelings, thoughts

problem solving, attention, expect­ations, memory, thought processes

Cognitive Develo­pment

Sensor­imotor stage (0-2) can't differ­entiate self from enviro­nment

preope­rat­ional (2) stable world, language, symbols, fantas­y/r­eality, object perman­ence, no logical reasoning, lack conser­vation, egocentric

concrete op. (7-11) logic rules, concrete, cause/­effect, role taking

formal op. (12-) logic of science, abstract thinking, metaphors

assimi­lation = interpret sights based on current unders­tanding
accomm­odation = changed unders­tanding
equili­brium = balance
disequ­ili­brium = changes in child's unders­tanding of world

behavior modifi­cation

Use classical & operant condit­ioning to change problem behaviors directly. Believe many were condit­ioned to begin with so can be "­un" condit­ioned.

Counte­rco­ndi­tioning condit­ioning a new response incomp­atible with old

systematic desens­iti­zation relaxation replaces anxiety system­ati­cally

flooding go straight into the fearful situation. CR is exting­uished

aversive condit­ioning unpleasant response associated (alcohol + drug creating nausea UR & CR)

token economy give token (poker chip/gold star) when desired behavior performed. tokens cashed in for tangible rewards

direct­/in­direct pressures exerted by others to change one's behavior

foot-i­n-t­he-door technique - get compliance with small request first

door-i­n-t­he-face technique - make request so big it's turned down, then on to smaller request

lowballing - get commitment then increase effort­/cost required to fulfill

conformity - change behavior to follow group norms
- Solomon Asch researcher used confed­erates to influence study results

- Stanley Milgram researcher people suscep­tible to demands of authority

frustr­ati­on-­agg­ression hypothesis aggression is always product of frustr­ation and frustr­ation leads to aggression (wrong, sometimes frustr­ation= cry)

more testos­terone = more aggression

aggressive cues - guns, knives, black clothing = higher levels of aggression among provoked people = weapons effect

altruism

Kitty Genovese - raped and murdered 1964 in front of 38 witnesses who did not help (bystander effect)

social­-ex­change theory = maximize rewards minimize costs (minimax principle)

Encourage helping behavior: social respon­sib­ility norm help people who need it & recipr­ocity norm help people who help us. kin selection hypothesis helping family leads to our genes passed on

Something that feels good is reinfo­rcement (not punish­ment)

Positive reinfo­rcement - stimulus
a) presented
b) desirable
= feels good
(earn $1.00 for every magazine sold = sell more magazines)


negative reinfo­rcement - stimulus
a) REMOVED
b) desirable
= feels good
(take aspirin to remove headache)

interval schedule = odds of reinfo­rcement go up with passage of time

ratio schedule = odds of reinfo­rcement go up depending on how many responses are made
variable ratio - number of responses needed vary from one win to the next

Conscience and behavior helped people and animals adjust to the enviro­nment
Functi­onalist
Principles of Physio­logical Psychology (1st Psychology text book 1890)

How mental experi­ences were adaptive & functional for people.
Believed consci­ousness and behavior in general, helped people­/an­imals adjust to enviro­nments. Understand "­min­d" = unders­tanding what the mind has accomp­lished

William James

learned responses to predic­table patterns of enviro­nmental stimuli

Pavlov (classical condit­ioning)
Skinner (operant condit­ioning)

study animals to apply to humans

thoughts feelings behaviors come from intera­ction of drives & society restri­ctions on your ability to express them

Freud (sex/ aggressive drives most important) Much behavior uncons­cious & rooted in childhood

Freud
regression returning to earlier way of behaving (adult throwing temper tantrum)

ration­ali­zation attempts to justify irrational behavior with rational arguments

projection attrib­uting charac­ter­istics you don't like in yourself to other people

reaction formation involve doing opposite of what you really want to do

Sublim­ation channeling of impulses or energies regarded as unacce­ptable, especially sexual desires, toward activities regarded as more socially accept­able, often creative activities

displa­cement anger is directed elsewhere not necess­arily socially acceptably (kick the dog instead of your boss)

people aren't merely machines with determined behaviors.

Motivated by desire for optimal growth and develo­pment
self-a­ctu­ali­zation

All have unique desire­s/s­kil­ls/­needs. Must be able to express them.

People basically good, focus on positive aspects of develo­pment.

inter-­judge, inner-­rater, inter-­obs­erver

Studied as occurs in real-life settings.

iris = controls pupil size and amount of light
optic nerve = eye signals to brain
retina = light sensitive inner eye surface
lens = between pupil and retina, focuses light

Psycho­phi­sic­s-r­elating to sensation.

Absolute threshold = the intensity needed for stimulus to be detected 50% of the time it is presented

Just noticeable difference (jnd) or the difference threshold = minimum stimul­ation required for detection.

Weber's law = Difference is harder to detect in more intense stimuli.

Sensory adaptation = prolonged exposure to an unchanging stimulus causes nerves to fire less and detection dimini­shes.

Anxiety - dread, fear, terror
- Genera­lized - persistent but don't know source, sweaty palms, shake, nail bite
- Panic - sudden onset episodes
- OCD - thoughts & behavior

Mood - depres­sion, mania or both
- Major - 2 weeks of sadness, hopeless, discou­rag­ement
- Bipolar

Dissoc­iative - fragmented person­ality
- Amnesia - can't remember personal info
- Fugue - leaves work, confused, assumes new identity
- Identity Disorder (multiple person­ality)

Schizo­phrenia - halluc­ina­tions, delusions
- Paranoid - believe famous, delusions of grandeur or persec­ution
- Disorg­anized - disorg­anized speech, inappr­opriate behavior
- Catatonic - odd motor activity, echopr­axia, echolalia

Somatoform - physical symptoms can't be explained medically
- Conversion - impaired motor/­sensory function
- Hypoch­ondria

Person­ality - behavior incons­istent to culture
- Paranoid - suspic­ious, distru­stful (not delusi­onal)
- Antisocial - impulsive, no conscience
- Borderline - relati­ons­hip­/self image problems
- Narcis­sistic - needs admiration

attachment

Mother - imprint (Konrad Lorenz)

(Harry Harlow - experi­ments with monkeys and attachment to mothers)

Boys = justice
Girls = caring

moral develo­pment based on relati­onship with mothers

Youtube playlist with even more Psychology videos.

Arousal Theory A theory of motivation suggesting that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of alertness and physical and mental activa­tion.

Instinct Theory all organisms are born with innate biological tendencies to help them survive. All behaviors are driven by instincts (goal-­dir­ected and innate patterns of behavior that are not the result of learning or experi­ence). (babies root)

Drive Reduction Theory physio­­lo­gical need creates an aroused tension state (drive) motivating fulfil­­lment of the need -- homeos­­tasis

Theory X type X indivi­duals are inherently lazy and unhappy with their jobs. Therefore, an author­itarian management style is required to ensure fulfil­lment of the indivi­duals' object­ives.

Theory Y managers assume employees can be ambitious, self-m­oti­vated and exercise self-c­ontrol. Employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties and for them, work is as natural as play