Learning
In this basic type of learning, a stimulus is repeatedly paired with a behavior until that behavior becomes automatic. There are two basic types.
What is conditioning?
While many parts of the brain play a role in memory, this one (shaped like a seahorse) is probably the most important.
What is the hippocampus?
This lobe of the brain is probably the most important for decision making. It controls our "Executive functions".
What is the frontal lobe?
The part of the brain is most strong associated with emotions, especially fear, anxiety, and aggression.
What is the amygdala?
This psychologist had an unusual theory of personality based on childhood development and his three famous concepts: Id, Ego, & Superego.
Who was Sigmund Freud?
In this type of conditioning, a neutral stimulus (e.g. a horn honking) is paired with a desired stimulus (e.g. candy) until the neutral stimulus triggers the behavior on its own.
What is classical conditioning?
When remembering lists of information, we tend to group smaller pieces together into meaningful units, also called these.
What are "chunks"?
This is generally considered the most basic problem solving strategy. It requires you to make a lot of mistakes, but you also get to explore all your options.
What is trial & error?
If someone is engaged in an activity because they find it genuinely fulfilling, they are said to have THIS kind of motivation.
What is Intrinsic Motivation?
One ancient (and false) theory of personality claimed that four bodily fluids, collectively called these, were responsible for all emotional differences.
What are (the four) humors?
In this type of conditioning, rewards and/or punishments are offered to either increase or decrease a particular behavior.
What is operant conditioning?
This kind of memory can hold information for around 30 seconds to a few minutes.
What is short-term memory (STM)?
This word describes a kind of "rule of thumb", a mental shortcut we tend to take. It can make problem solving quicker, but less accurate.
What is a heuristic?
If you're only motivated by some kind of reward, like money, you have THIS kind of motivation.
What is extrinsic motivation?
Rather than having personality TYPES, most psychologists argue we have these. Each of us has some degree of each, on a sliding spectrum.
What are traits?
A major part of cognitive development is the formation of new mental models, called these, which change and adapt to new information.
What are schemas?
These kind of memories are very vivid and detailed. They often focus on important, emotional parts of a persons life.
What are episodic memories?
Sometimes previous information, even inaccurate information, can bias our decision making. When this information swings our decision towards one extreme or another, it's called this.
What is anchoring?
One common theory of emotions places ALL emotions on a 2D graph, called this. One dimension is for arousal (i.e. how keyed up you are) and the other is for valence (i.e. does it feel good or bad?).
What is the emotional circumplex?
The "N" in the Five factor model of personality (i.e. the big 5) stands for this. It describes our tendency to experience negative emotions.
What is neuroticism?
This psychologist was a pioneer in processive education, arguing that students should be actively engaged in interactive projects, rather than just learning by rote.
Who was John Dewey?
This part of the brain, attached to the hippocampus, is vital for a type of memory called "emotional conditioning".
What is the amygdala?
This term describes our tendency to assume we see the world completely accurately, while those that disagree with us are biased or mistaken. It can be a major barrier to group problem solving.
What is Naïve Realism?
According to this hypothesis emotions and facial expressions work both ways. You might smile because your happy, but you can also force a smile to FEEL happiness.
What is the facial feedback hypothesis?
This perspective on personality argues that personality arises out a a quest to define ourselves. We all have to decide who we're going to be, and these decisions gradually shape our personality.
What is the humanistic-existential perspective?