PSY 316 - EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE
Analytic introspection - Answers - a procedure used by early psychologists in which
trained participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to
stimuli
Artificial intelligence - Answers - the ability of a computer to perform tasks usually
associated with human intelligence
Behaviorism - Answers - -John B. Watson
-the approach to psychology which states that observable behavior provides the only
valid data for psychology
-consequence of this idea is that consciousness and unobservable mental processes
are not considered worthy of study by psychologists
Choice reaction time - Answers - time to respond to one of two or more stimuli
-ex: in the Donders experiment, subjects had to make on response to one stimulus and
a different response to another stimulus
Classical conditioning - Answers - a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are
repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually
elicited by the the first stimulus alone
Cognition - Answers - the mental processes, such as perception, attention, and memory
Cognitive map - Answers - a procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a
stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response
Cognitive psychology - Answers - the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific
study of the mind
Cognitive revolution - Answers - a shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the
behaviorist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in
terms of the mind. One of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction
of the information-processing approach to studying the mind
Information-processing approach - Answers - the approach to psychology, developed
beginning in the 1950s, in which the mind is described as processing information
through a sequence of stages
Logic theorist - Answers - computer program devised by Alan Newell and Herbert
Simon that was able to solve logic problems
, Mind - Answers - system that creates mental representations of the world and controls
mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding,
thinking, and reasoning.
Operant conditioning - Answers - type of conditioning which focuses on how behavior is
strengthened by presentation of positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or
withdrawal of negative reinforcers, such as shock or social rejection
Process model - Answers - a model that represents the processes involved in cognition
-ex: the flow diagram for Broadbent's filter model for attention
Reaction time - Answers - the time it takes to react to a stimulus
-usually determined by measuring the time between presentation of a stimulus and the
response to the stimulus
-ex: pushing a button, saying a word, moving the eyes, and the appearance of a
particular brain wave
Savings - Answers - measure used by Ebbinghaus to determine the magnitude of
memory left from initial learning. Higher savings indicate greater memory.
Savings curve - Answers - plot of savings versus time after original learning
Simple reaction time - Answers - reacting to the presence or absence of a single
stimulus (as opposed to having to choose between a n umber of stimuli before making a
response)
Structuralism - Answers - an approach to psychology that explained perception as the
adding up of small elementary units called sensations
Structural model - Answers - representation of a physical structure
-ex: a model of the brain or structures within the brain and their connections
The Mind-Body Problem - Answers - reflects the difficulty in understanding the
relationship between the mind (sensations, emotions, thoughts, beliefs) and the body
(matter, cells, etc.)
Donders (1868) - Answers - measured how long it takes to make a decision (interval
between the Stimulus (S) and Response (R)), for a simple RT and choice RT tasks
(Choice RT) - (Simple RT) = time to make a decision
-his subtractive methodology can be said to be the basis of modern neuroscience
Wundt (1897) - Answers - first psych lab, University of Leipzig, Germany
-structuralist approach
Analytic introspection - Answers - a procedure used by early psychologists in which
trained participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to
stimuli
Artificial intelligence - Answers - the ability of a computer to perform tasks usually
associated with human intelligence
Behaviorism - Answers - -John B. Watson
-the approach to psychology which states that observable behavior provides the only
valid data for psychology
-consequence of this idea is that consciousness and unobservable mental processes
are not considered worthy of study by psychologists
Choice reaction time - Answers - time to respond to one of two or more stimuli
-ex: in the Donders experiment, subjects had to make on response to one stimulus and
a different response to another stimulus
Classical conditioning - Answers - a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are
repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually
elicited by the the first stimulus alone
Cognition - Answers - the mental processes, such as perception, attention, and memory
Cognitive map - Answers - a procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a
stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response
Cognitive psychology - Answers - the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific
study of the mind
Cognitive revolution - Answers - a shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the
behaviorist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in
terms of the mind. One of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction
of the information-processing approach to studying the mind
Information-processing approach - Answers - the approach to psychology, developed
beginning in the 1950s, in which the mind is described as processing information
through a sequence of stages
Logic theorist - Answers - computer program devised by Alan Newell and Herbert
Simon that was able to solve logic problems
, Mind - Answers - system that creates mental representations of the world and controls
mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding,
thinking, and reasoning.
Operant conditioning - Answers - type of conditioning which focuses on how behavior is
strengthened by presentation of positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or
withdrawal of negative reinforcers, such as shock or social rejection
Process model - Answers - a model that represents the processes involved in cognition
-ex: the flow diagram for Broadbent's filter model for attention
Reaction time - Answers - the time it takes to react to a stimulus
-usually determined by measuring the time between presentation of a stimulus and the
response to the stimulus
-ex: pushing a button, saying a word, moving the eyes, and the appearance of a
particular brain wave
Savings - Answers - measure used by Ebbinghaus to determine the magnitude of
memory left from initial learning. Higher savings indicate greater memory.
Savings curve - Answers - plot of savings versus time after original learning
Simple reaction time - Answers - reacting to the presence or absence of a single
stimulus (as opposed to having to choose between a n umber of stimuli before making a
response)
Structuralism - Answers - an approach to psychology that explained perception as the
adding up of small elementary units called sensations
Structural model - Answers - representation of a physical structure
-ex: a model of the brain or structures within the brain and their connections
The Mind-Body Problem - Answers - reflects the difficulty in understanding the
relationship between the mind (sensations, emotions, thoughts, beliefs) and the body
(matter, cells, etc.)
Donders (1868) - Answers - measured how long it takes to make a decision (interval
between the Stimulus (S) and Response (R)), for a simple RT and choice RT tasks
(Choice RT) - (Simple RT) = time to make a decision
-his subtractive methodology can be said to be the basis of modern neuroscience
Wundt (1897) - Answers - first psych lab, University of Leipzig, Germany
-structuralist approach
