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Psych 100: Study Guide for Test #2
Chapters 6, 7, 8, 10, and related class work/notes
General:
 As on the last test, many items are from primarily class-only material (not covered in the
text) or primarily textbook-only material (not covered in class). If you neglect one of these
aspects of the course in your studying, you are unlikely to pass the exam. If you missed
any class, be sure to get good notes from a classmate who can walk you through them.
 Don’t forget handouts, lab material, and notes from videos, demos, activities, including:
o The CC/OC handout on our class website.
o The Jigsaw/Memory handout. If you weren’t completely satisfied with a
classmate’s explanation, look into it yourself and answer the questions
o The Attachment video – handout and notes of content not on the handout.
 Go to the Center for Teaching and Learning for help with general study/test-taking
strategies. There are also a limited number of peer tutors available – seek this out ASAP.
Multiple Choice:
 You know what these are like. Suggestions:
o Know important terms, concepts, and experiments well (except the things on the
don’t-need-to-know list)
o Take all of the available online practice tests (quiz, pre, post)
o Think carefully about each choice (a, b, c, d, e) – Beware of good distractor items
Matching, Fill in the Blank
Possible topics include (not an exhaustive list!):
 Types of learning (classical, operant, social-observational, conditioned taste aversion)
 Types of behavioral contingency (positive reinforcement, negative punishment, etc.)
 Components of classical conditioning (CS, CR, UCS, UCR)
 Types of memory; memory principles and/or methods
 Core principles/concepts in cognitive psychology (e.g., cognitive errors, heuristics,
attention)
 Developmental categorizations (attachment, temperament, parenting style); developmental
stages (Piaget, Erickson, Kohlberg)
 Famous psychologists and their work (e.g., Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Thorndike,
Ebbinghaus, Ainsworth, Piaget, Kohlberg, Vygotsky, Erickson). Also know Clive & HM.
Short Answers – Some generic (and thus vague) formats that may appear (note that I would
specify the given area/topic in the question, not leave it open):
 Given a list of 6-8 concepts, construct a description that weaves these together in a
meaningful way.
 Explain how you can apply the principles of a certain area of psychology to a particular
real-life situation.
 Describe a particular theory that we have covered in class, using an example (of behavior,
an experimental finding, etc.) to illustrate it.
 Provide an example of an experiment (e.g., from the text) that illustrates a key principle
that we have covered.
 Design an original experiment to test a particular area (question, hypothesis) that we have
covered in this section of the class. Specify your independent and dependent variables (so
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
be sure you know the difference!) and describe the sample and methodology you would
use. Finally, how would you evaluate/interpret your results (how would you know if your
hypothesis was true)?
Describe what we don’t yet know, what the remaining questions are, in a given area of
psychology research. What are the limitations of the experiments that have been done in
the area? What have we not yet been able to answer?
Some things that won’t be on the test!
Chapter 6:
– methodological versus radical behaviorists
– stimulus-response psychology
– blocking effect
– Premack principle
– disequilibrium principle
– escape learning, avoidance learning, passive avoidance learning (but do know punishment)
– omission training
– skeletal responses, visceral responses
– persuasion (p. 217)
– birdsong learning
Chapter 7:
– phonological loop
– visuospatial sketchpad
– central executive
– method of loci
– savings method, relearning method
– SPAR method (but it’s a good strategy to know and use!)
Chapter 8:
– characteristics of creativity
– sunk cost effect
– the language abilities of nonhuman animals
– phoneme, morpheme
– transformational grammar
– Williams syndrome
– word-superiority effect
– bilingualism
Chapter 10:
– PKU
– fetal alcohol syndrome
– identity achievement
– identity diffusion
– identity foreclosure
– identity moratorium
– midlife transition
– terror-management theory
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Psych 100: Glossary of Terms for Test #2
Below is a reproduction of the glossaries from chapters 6, 7, 8, and 10 (plus some added concepts not in the glossaries).
Note that this not an exhaustive list of what will appear on the test. Of course, knowing definitions of terms is only part of
what you need to know for the test. This is no replacement for studying concepts, theories, themes, experiments, etc.
Chapter 6
Acquisition
the process by which a conditioned response is established or strengthened
Active avoidance
learning
learning to make a response to avoid an event such as shock
Avoidance learning
learning to make a response that avoids pain or some similar outcome
Behavior modification a procedure for determining the reinforcers that sustain an unwanted behavior and then
(or Applied behavior
reducing the reinforcements for the unwanted behavior and providing suitable reinforcers
analysis)
for more acceptable behaviors
Behaviorist
a psychologist who insists that psychologists should study only observable, measurable
behaviors, not mental processes
Belongingness
the concept that certain stimuli are readily associated with each other and that certain
responses are readily associated with certain outcomes
Blocking effect
the tendency of a previously established association to one stimulus to block the formation
of an association to an added stimulus
Chaining
a procedure for developing a sequence of behaviors in which the reinforcement for one
response is the opportunity to engage in the next response
Classical conditioning (or Pavlovian conditioning) the process by which an organism learns a new association
between two paired stimuli—a neutral stimulus and one that already evokes a reflexive
response
Conditioned response whatever response the conditioned stimulus begins to elicit as a result of the conditioning
(CR)
procedure
Conditioned stimulus
(CS)
a stimulus that comes to evoke a particular response after being paired with the
unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned taste
aversion
the tendency to avoid eating a substance that has been followed by illness when it was
eaten in the past
Continuous
reinforcement
reinforcement for every correct response
Discrimination
(1) in classical conditioning making different responses to different stimuli that have been
followed by different outcomes; (2) in operant conditioning learning to respond in one way
to one stimulus and in a different way to another stimulus; (3) in social behavior unequal
treatment of different groups of people
Discriminative
stimulus
a stimulus that indicates on which occasion a response will produce a certain
consequence
Disequilibrium
principle
the principle that an opportunity to engage in any deprived activity will be a reinforcer
because it restores equilibrium
Drug tolerance
the progressively weaker effects of a drug after repeated use
Escape learning
learning to escape from an event such as shock
Extinction
(1) in classical conditioning the dying out of the conditioned response after repeated
presentations of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus; (2) in
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operant conditioning the weakening of a response after a period without reinforcement
Fixed-interval
schedule
a rule for delivering reinforcement for the first response that the subject makes after a
specified period of time has passed
Fixed-ratio schedule
a rule for delivering reinforcement only after the subject has made a specific number of
correct responses
Intermittent
reinforcement
reinforcement for some responses and not for others
Intervening variable
something that we infer without directly observing it and that links a variety of procedures
to a variety of possible responses
Law of effect
Thorndike's theory that a response followed by favorable consequences becomes more
probable and a response followed by unfavorable consequences becomes less probable
Learning curve
a graphical representation of the changes in behavior that occur over the course of
learning
Methodological
behaviorist
a psychologist who studies only measurable, observable events but sometimes uses
those observations to make inferences about internal events
Negative punishment
a decrease in the future probability of a response because it led to the absence of
something such as food
Negative
reinforcement
an increase in the future probability of a response because it led to the absence of
something such as pain
Omission training
learning to suppress a behavior that would lead to the omission of an event such as food
Operant conditioning
(or instrumental conditioning) the process of changing behavior by following a response
with reinforcement
Passive avoidance
learning
learning to avoid an outcome such as shock by being passive—that is, by inhibiting a
response that would lead to the outcome
Positive
reinforcement
strengthening a behavior through the presentation of an event such as food
Premack principle
the principle that the opportunity to engage in a frequent behavior will reinforce a less
frequent behavior
Primary reinforcer
an event that is reinforcing because of its own properties
[Positive]
Punishment
an event that decreases the probability that a response will be repeated
Radical behaviorist
a behaviorist who denies that internal, private events are causes of behavior
Reinforcement
an event that increases the future probability of the most recent response
Reinforcer
an event that follows a response and increases the later probability or frequency of that
response
Schedule of
reinforcement
a rule or procedure linking the pattern of responses to the reinforcements
Secondary reinforcer
an event that becomes reinforcing because it has previously been associated with a
primary reinforcer
Self-efficacy
the perception of one's own ability to perform a task successfully
Sensitive period
a time early in life during which some kind of learning occurs most readily
Shaping
a technique for establishing a new response by reinforcing successive approximations
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Skeletal responses
movements of the muscles that move the limbs, trunk, and head
Social-learning
(observational learning)
approach
the view that people learn by observing and imitating the behavior of others and by
imagining the consequences of their own behavior
Spontaneous
recovery
the temporary return of an extinguished response after a delay
Stimulus–response
psychology
a field that attempts to explain behavior in terms of how each stimulus triggers a response
Stimulus control
the ability of a stimulus to encourage some responses and discourage others
Stimulus
generalization
(1) in classical conditioning the extension of a conditioned response from the training
stimulus to similar stimuli; (2) in operant conditioning the tendency to make a similar
response to a stimulus that resembles one that has already been associated with
reinforcement
Unconditioned reflex
an automatic connection between a stimulus and a response
Unconditioned
response (UCR)
an automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned
stimulus (UCS)
a stimulus that automatically elicits an unconditioned response
Variable-interval
schedule
a rule for delivering reinforcement after varying amounts of time
Variable-ratio
schedule
a rule for delivering reinforcement after varying numbers of correct responses
Vicarious
reinforcement
(or vicarious punishment) the observed reinforcement or punishment experienced by
someone else
Visceral responses
activities of the internal organs
Chapter 7
Alzheimer's disease
a condition occurring mostly in old age, characterized by increasingly severe memory loss,
confusion, depression, and disordered thinking
Amnesia
the severe loss or deterioration of memory
Anterograde amnesia
the inability to store new long-term memories
Chunking
the process of grouping digits or letters into meaningful sequences
Confabulations
attempts made by amnesic patients to fill in the gaps in their memory, mostly with out-ofdate information
Consolidation
the formation and strengthening of long-term memories
Cued recall
a method of testing memory by asking someone to remember a certain item after being
given a hint
Declarative memory
the recall of factual information
Dissociation
a condition in which memory is stored but cannot be retrieved
Encoding specificity
principle
the tendency for the associations formed at the time of learning to be more effective
retrieval cues than other associations
Episodic memory
a memory for specific events in a person's life
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Explicit memory
(or direct memory) a memory that a person can state, generally recognizing that it is the
correct answer
False memory
a report that someone believes to be a memory but that does not actually correspond to
real events
Free recall
a method of testing memory by asking someone to produce a certain item (e.g., a word)
without substantial hints, as on an essay or short-answer test
Hindsight bias
the tendency to mold our recollection of the past to fit how events later turned out
Hippocampus
a forebrain structure in the interior of the temporal lobe that is important for storing certain
kinds of memory
Implicit memory
(or indirect memory) a memory that influences behavior without requiring conscious
recognition that one is using a memory
Infant amnesia
(or childhood amnesia) a relative lack of declarative memories from early in life
Informationprocessing model
the view that information is processed, coded, and stored in various ways in human
memory as it is in a computer
Korsakoff's syndrome a condition caused by a prolonged deficiency of vitamin B1, which results in both
retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia
Levels-of-processing
principle
the concept that the number and types of associations established during learning
determine the ease of later retrieval of a memory
Long-term memory
a relatively permanent store of information
Memory
the process of retaining information or the information retained
Method of loci
a mnemonic device that calls for linking the items on a list with a memorized list of places
Mnemonic device
any memory aid that is based on encoding each item in a special way
Priming
the temporarily increased probability of using a word as a result of recently reading or
hearing it
Proactive interference the hindrance that an older memory produces on a newer one
Procedural memory
the retention of learned skills
Recognition
a method of testing memory by asking someone to choose the correct item from a set of
alternatives
Reconstruction
putting together an account of past events, based partly on memories and partly on
expectations of what must have happened
Recovered memory
a report of a long-lost memory, prompted by clinical techniques
Repression
according to Freudian theory, motivated forgetting, the process of moving an
unacceptable memory, motivation, or emotion from the conscious mind to the unconscious
mind
Retrieval cue
information associated with remembered material, which can be useful for helping to recall
that material
Retroactive
interference
the impairment that a newer memory produces on an older one
Retrograde amnesia
the loss of memory for events that occurred before the brain damage
Savings method
(or relearning method) a method of testing memory by measuring how much faster
someone can relearn something than learn something for the first time
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Semantic memory
memory of general principles
Sensory store
a very brief storage of sensory information
Serial-order effect
the tendency to remember the items near the beginning and end of a list better than those
in the middle
Short-term memory
a temporary storage of a limited amount of information
SPAR method
a systematic way to monitor and improve understanding of a text by surveying, processing
meaningfully, asking questions, and reviewing
State-dependent
memory
the tendency to remember something better if your body is in the same condition during
recall as it was during the original learning
Working memory
a system that processes and works with current information, including three
components—a central executive, a phonological loop, and a visuospatial sketchpad
Chapter 8
Algorithm
a mechanical, repetitive procedure for solving a problem
Attention
the tendency to respond to some stimuli more than others or to remember some more
than others
Attentional blink
a brief period after perceiving a stimulus, during which it is difficult to attend to another
stimulus
Attentive process
a procedure that extracts information from one part of the visual field at a time
Availability heuristic
the strategy of assuming that how easily one can remember examples of some kind of
event indicates how common the event actually is
Base-rate information data about the frequency or probability of a given item
Bilingual
able to use two languages about equally well
Broca's aphasia
a condition characterized by inarticulate speech and by difficulties with both using and
understanding grammatical devices—prepositions, conjunctions, word endings, complex
sentence structures, and so forth
Change blindness
the tendency to fail to detect changes in any part of a scene to which we are not focusing
our attention
Cognition
the processes of thinking, gaining knowledge, and dealing with knowledge
Confirmation bias
the tendency to accept one hypothesis and then look for evidence to support it, instead of
considering other possibilities
Critical thinking
the careful evaluation of evidence for and against any conclusion
Fixation
(a) in vision a period when the eyes are steady; (b) in Freud's theory a persisting
preoccupation with an immature psychosexual interest as a result of frustration at that
stage of psychosexual development
Framing effect
the tendency to answer a question differently when it is framed (phrased) differently
Functional fixedness
the tendency to adhere to a single approach to a problem or a single way of using an item
Heuristics
strategies for simplifying a problem or for guiding an investigation
Language acquisition
a built-in mechanism for acquiring language
device
Morpheme
a unit of meaning
Overconfidence
the belief that one's opinions or predictions are highly correct when in fact they are not
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Phoneme
a unit of sound
Preattentive process
a procedure for extracting information automatically and simultaneously across a large
portion of the visual field
Productivity
the ability to express new ideas
Prototype
a familiar or typical example of a category
Representativeness
heuristic
the tendency to assume that, if an item is similar to members of a particular category, it is
probably a member of that category itself
Saccade
a quick jump in the focus of the eyes from one point to another
Spreading activation
the process by which the activation of one concept also activates or primes other concepts
that are linked to it
Stroop effect
the tendency to read a word, especially if it is a color name, in spite of instructions to
disregard the word and state the color of the ink in which it is printed
Sunk cost effect
the willingness to do something we wouldn't otherwise choose to do because of money or
effort already spent
Transformational
grammar
a system for converting a deep structure of a language into a surface structure
Wernicke's aphasia
a condition marked by difficulty recalling the names of objects and impaired
comprehension of language
Williams syndrome
a genetic condition characterized by mental retardation in most regards but skillful use of
language
Word-superiority
effect
identifying a letter with greater ease when it is part of a whole word than when it is
presented by itself
Chapter 10
Accommodation
Piaget's term for the modification of an established schema to fit a new object or problem
Acculturation
a transition from feeling part of the culture of one's original country to the culture of the
country that one enters
Assimilation
Piaget's term for the application of an established schema to new objects or problems
Attachment
a long-term feeling of closeness between people, such as a child and a caregiver
Authoritarian parents
those who exert firm controls on their children, generally without explaining the reasons for
the rules and without providing much warmth
Authoritative parents
those who are demanding and impose firm controls, but who are also warm and
responsive to the child's communications
Biculturalism
the ability to alternate between membership in one culture and membership in another
Chromosome
a strand of hereditary material found in the nucleus of a cell
Cohort
a group of people born at a particular time (as compared to people born at different times)
Conservation
the concept that objects retain their weight, volume, and certain other properties in spite of
changes in their shape or arrangement
Cross-sectional study a study of groups of individuals of different ages all at the same time
Dishabituation
an increase in a previously habituated response as a result of a change in the stimulus
Dizygotic
(or fraternal) twins
(literally, "two-egg" twins) twins who develop from two eggs fertilized by two different
sperm; dizygotic twins are no more closely related than are any other children born to the
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same parents
Egocentric (thinking)
the inability to take the perspective of another person; a tendency to view the world as
centered around oneself
Equilibration
the establishment of harmony or balance between assimilation and accommodation
Fetal alcohol
syndrome
a condition marked by stunted growth of the head and body; malformations of the face,
heart, and ears; and nervous system damage, including seizures, hyperactivity, learning
disabilities, and mental retardation
Fetus
an organism more developed than an embryo but not yet born (from about 8 weeks after
conception until birth in humans)
Fraternal twins
twins who develop from two eggs fertilized by two different sperm; they are no more
closely related than are any other children born to the same parents
Gene
a segment of a chromosome that controls chemical reactions that ultimately direct the
development of the organism
Habituation
a decrease in a person's response to a stimulus after it has been presented repeatedly
Heritability
[factor]
an estimate of the variance within a population that is due to heredity
Identical twins
twins who develop from the same fertilized egg and therefore have the same genes
Identity achievement
the outcome of having explored various possible identities and then making one's own
decisions
Identity crisis
concerns with decisions about the future and the quest for self-understanding
Identity diffusion
the condition of having not yet given any serious thought to identity decisions and having
no clear sense of identity
Identity foreclosure
the state of having made firm identity decisions without having thought much about them
Identity moratorium
the state of seriously considering one's identity without yet having made any decisions
Indifferent or
uninvolved parents
those who pay little attention to their children beyond doing what is necessary to feed and
shelter them
Longitudinal study
a study of a single group of individuals over time
Midlife transition
a time of goal reassessment
Monozygotic
(or identical) twins
(literally, "one-egg" twins) twins who develop from the same fertilized egg
Moral dilemma
a problem that pits one moral value against another
Object permanence
the concept that objects continue to exist even when one does not see, hear, or otherwise
sense them
Operation
according to Piaget a mental process that can be reversed
Permissive parents
those who are warm and loving but undemanding
Phenylketonuria
(PKU)
an inherited disorder in which a person lacks the chemical reactions that convert a nutrient
called phenylalanine into other chemicals; unless the diet is carefully controlled, the
affected person will become mentally retarded
Preoperational stage
according to Piaget the second stage of intellectual development, in which children lack
operations
Schema
(pl.: schemata) an organized way of interacting with objects in the world
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Selective attrition
the tendency of some kinds of people to be more likely than others to drop out of a study
Sensorimotor stage
according to Piaget the first stage of intellectual development; an infant's behavior is
limited to making simple motor responses to sensory stimuli
Sequential design
a procedure in which researchers start with groups of people of different ages, studied at
the same time, and then study them again at one or more later times
Sex chromosomes
the pair of chromosomes that determine whether an individual will develop as a female or
as a male
Sex-limited gene
a gene that affects one sex more strongly than the other, even though both sexes have
the gene
Sex-linked gene
a gene located on the X chromosome
Stage of concrete
operations
according to Piaget the ability to deal with the properties of concrete objects but not
hypothetical or abstract questions
Stage of formal
operations
according to Piaget the stage when children develop the ability to deal with abstract,
hypothetical situations, which demand logical, deductive reasoning and systematic
planning
Strange Situation
a procedure in which a psychologist observes an infant's behavior in an unfamiliar room at
various times as a stranger enters, leaves, and returns and the mother enters, leaves, and
returns
Temperament
people's tendency to be either active or inactive, outgoing or reserved, and to respond
vigorously or quietly to new stimuli
Terror-management
theory
the proposal that we cope with our fear of death by avoiding thinking about death and by
affirming a worldview that provides self-esteem, hope, and value in life
Theory of mind
an understanding that other people have a mind too and that each person knows some
things that other people don't know
X chromosome
a sex chromosome; females have two per cell and males have only one
Y chromosome
a sex chromosome; males have one per cell and females have none
Zone of proximal
development
the distance between what a child can do on his or her own and what the child can do with
the help of adults or older children
Zygote
a fertilized egg cell
Other Terms, Concepts, and People to Know – not exhaustive!
Chapter 6
Pavlov
Skinner
Watson
Thorndike
Chapter 7
HM
Clive
Karl Lashley (hint – early
memory experiments)
Chapter 8
Inattentional blindness
(like change blindness)
Concepts & Mental models
(Failures of) selective attention
Chapter 10
twin studies
adoption studies
Kohlberg
Piaget
Erickson
Ainsworth
secure attachment
insecure attachment
internal working model
secure base
goodness of fit
easy temperament
difficult temperament
slow-to-warm-up temp.
relational aggression
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