Sensation and Perception
the subjective awareness of a stimulus; the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimuli from our environment
sensation
A need or desire that energizes behavior and directs it towards a goal
motivation
at the base are physiological needs that must be satisfied before higher-level safety needs, and then psychological needs, become active
Maslow's hierarchy of human needs
A diagnostic and statistical manual for disorders used by doctors and psychologists
DSM-5
The scientific study of how individuals think, feel, and behave in a social context
social psychology
the ability to attend to only one voice among many
The cocktail party effect
similar physiologically to the fight-or-flight response
The alarm reaction
changing behavior choices in response to consequences
operant conditioning
credited with the first comprehensive theory of personality
Sigmund Freud
Influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant
normative influence or social norms
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information; enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events; helping us make sense of the world around us
perception
signs of physical weakening appear, which can contribute to sickness and disease
The exhaustion stage
learning to link two stimuli in a way that helps us anticipate an event to which we have a reaction
Classical Conditioning
8 sane patients were admitted to psychiatric wards; this showed that it was easy for a healthy person to be categorized as sick, but hard for a sick person to be categorized as healthy
Rosenhan's On Being Sane in Insane Places
unconsciously mimicking others automatically without thought or effort
The Chameleon Effect
when one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another
synesthesia
If the stressor persists, as the initial alarm reaction fades, we enter a stage in which an elevated state of arousal "settles in" for the long-haul
The resistance stage
Complex behaviors that have fixed patterns throughout different species and are not learned
Instincts
A psychological disorder with symptoms such as extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and a loss of touch with reality, two or more of which must persist for at least one month
schizophrenia
a social psychologist who is most well-known for conducting a series of controversial experiments on obedience to authority figures
Stanley Milgram
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experiences and expectations
top-down processing
The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
drive reduction theory
synonymous with Freud's unconscious in Jungian theory. It is unique to the individual. At one time it had been conscious but has been forgotten or repressed
Personal Unconscious (Jung)
- Refusal to receive treatment: stigma deters people from seeking help
-Social isolation: fear of "bringing them down" or "being a burden"
-Distorted perception of the incidence of mental illness: leads to fewer diagnoses and fewer people getting help, mental illness seems far less common than it actually is
The effects of stigma
Influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgements
informational influence