Psychology Ch. 2, 11, 12, 15

Structures in the nucleus of each cell that contain the genes, the units of hereditary transmission.

The complex molecule that is the constituent of genes.

A section of a DNA molecule that contains instructions for how and when to assemble a protein. These are located on chromosomes.

The complete set of an organism's genes.

The overt characteristics and behaviors of an organism.

An alternative form of a specific gene.

A term for a gene that directs the development of a particular characteristic even when the corresponding gene on the other chromosome is different.

A term for a gene that directs the development of a particular characteristic only if the corresponding gene on the other chromosome matches it

A pattern in which many genes all influence a single trait

The influences within an organism's lifetime that led to its particular traits or behaviors.

The reasons why, over many years of evolution, a particular trait or behavior helped members of a population to survive and reproduce.

the mechanism that drives biological evolution. It refers to the greater likelihood of successful reproduction for organisms whose attributes are advantageous in a given environment.

The mistaken idea that anything natural must be good.

Errors in the replication of DNA

The process in which organisms, through their own behaviors, alter the environment and create their own circumstances. (building new shelters, finding new sources of food, and creating social alliances that favored individuals with communication skills).

Pertaining to just one species

pertaining to all organisms in a species

How can intelligence be defined?

Twins that develop from two different eggs that are simultaneously fertilized by two sperm. Like ordinary siblings, they share 50% of their genes.

Twins that develop from a single fertilized egg that then splits in half. These twins are genetically identical.

A measure that describes, for a given population, what proportion of the variance of a trait is due to genetic differences.

Heritability = ?

The environment that was in place when a trait was evolving.

A mating pattern in which one male and one female form an enduring reproductive partnership.

Any mating system in which a member of one sex mates with several members of the opposite sex.

Affective responses (such as joy, sadness, pride, and anger), which are characterized by loosely linked changes in behavior (how we act), subjective experience (how we feel), and physiology (how or bodies respond).

Affective responses that are typically longer-lasting, than emotions, and less likely to have a specific object.

Cultural rules that govern the expression of emotion.

The theory that the subjective experience of emotion is the awareness of one's own bodily reactions in the presence of certain arousing stimuli.

The theory that a stimulus elicits an emotion by triggering a particular response in the brain (in the thalamus) which then causes both the physiological changes associated with the emotion and the emotional experience itself.

The theory that emotional experience results from the interpretation of bodily responses in the context of situational cues.

Someone who appears to be a research participant but actually is part of the research team.

A field that uses cognitive neuroscience research methods to study emotion and related processes.

The ability to influence one's emotions.

A form of emotion regulation in which an individual changes her emotional response to a situation by altering her interpretation of that situation.

A form of emotion regulation that involves inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior.

An assessment of whether a test measures what it's intended to measure, based on whether the test score correlates with another relevant criterion measured later.

An attempt to understand the nature of intelligence by studying the pattern of results obtained on intelligence tests. It begins with the actual test results and proceeds on the belief that patterns within these results may be our best guide to deciding what the tests measure.

A statistical method for studying the interrelations among various tests. The goal is to discover whether the tests are influenced by the same factors or by distinct factors.

A mental attribute that is hypothesized as contributing to the performance of virtually any intellectual task.

A theory of intelligence in which each person has a number or more of specialized talents in addition to general intelligence

The ability to deal with new and unusual problems

Acquired knowledge, including the person's repertoire of verbal knowledge and cognitive skills.

A measurement of how quickly someone can respond to a stimulus

A measure of the speed of mental processing that takes place when someone must choose between several responses, depending on which stimulus is presented.

The time someone needs to make simple discrimination between two stimuli

A measure of how efficiently a person can manage multiple mental processes at once.

the mental process of keeping one's goal in mind to guide the selection of the next actions

The ability typically measured by intelligence tests and crucial for academic success.

The ability to solve everyday problems through skilled reasoning that relies on tacit knowledge

Practical "how-to" knowledge accumulated from everyday experience

the ability to understand your own and others emotions an to control your emotions appropriately

In Howard Gardner's theory, the six essential independent metal capacities (linguistic, logical-mathematica, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and personal intelligence)

A syndrome in a developmentally disabled person who has some remarkable talent that contrasts with his low level of general intelligence

A worldwide increase in IQ scores over the last several decades, at a rate of about 3 points per decade. They are attributable to how quickly and flexibly people can think.

A measure that describes, for a given population in a given environment, what proportion of the variance of a trait is due to genetic factors

A mechanism through which a person's performance is influenced by her perception that her score may confirm stereotypes about her group

relatively stable patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior that characterize an individual

temporary patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior

five crucial dimensions of personality determined through factor analyses of trait terms: extroversion, neuroticism (or emotional instability), agreeableness, conscientiousness (having organized efficient and disciplined approach to life), and openness to experience

Data supplied by the research participant describing herself (usually ratings of attitudes or moods, or tallies of behavior), rather than that collected by the experimenter

data about a person derived from others who know the person well

the idea that people seem to behave much less consistently than a trait conception would predict

data about a person based on direct observation of that person's actions or behavior

a personality measure that seeks to determine the degree to which a person alters or adjusts their behavior in order to act appropriately in new circumstances

a person's characteristic level of reactivity and energy; often thought to be constitutional

data about a person derived from measurement of biological structures and processes

a predisposition to seek novel experiences, look for thrills and adventure, and be highly susceptible to boredom

The idea that people in different cultures have different personalities

an older term for a group of presumably psychogenic disorders that include a wide variety of physical and mental symptoms

symptoms believed to result from some psychological cause rather than from tissue damage

method used in psychoanalytic therapy in which the patient is to say anything that comes to her mind, no matter how apparently trivial, unrelated, or embarrassing

in psychoanalytic theory, a mechanism of defense by means of which thoughts, impulses, or memories that give rise to anxiety are pushed out of consciousness

a theory of human personality development formulated by Freud, based on assertions about unconscious conflict and early psychosexual development; also the method of therapy that draws heavily on this theory

In Freud's theory, a term for the most primitive reactions of human personality, consisting of blind striving for immediate biological satisfaction regardless of cost

in Freud's theory, a set of reactions that try to reconcile the id's blind pleasure strivings with the demands of reality

in Freud's theory, reaction patterns that emerge from within the ego, represent the internalized rules of society, and coem to control the ego by punishment with guilt

a collective term for a number of reactions that try to ward off or lessen anxiety by various unconscious means

a redirection of an impulse from a channel that is blocked into another, more available outlet

a mechanism of defense in which a forbidden impulse is turned into its opposite

a mechanism of defense by means of which unacceptable thoughts or impulses are reinterpreted in more acceptable and thus less anxiety arousing terms;

a mechanism of defense in which various forbidden thoughts and impulses are attributed to another person rather than the self

the sequence of four developmental stages from infancy through the attainment of adult sexuality that is considered universal in psychoanalytic theory: oral, anal, phallic, and genital

in psychoanalytic theory, the wish for a penis that is assumed to ensue normally in females as part of the Electra complex

a set of primordial stories and images, hypothesized by carl jung, to be shared by all of humanity, and which he proposed underlie and shape our perceptions and desires

according to carl jung, the stories and images that constitute our collective unconscious

a school of psychodynamic thought that emphasizes the skills and adaptive capacities of the ego

data about a person concerning concrete, real-world outcomes

a school of psychodynamic thought that emphasizes the real (as opposed to fantasized) relations an individual has with others

the study of individuals' own unique, first person conscious experience

the way an individual makes sense of the world around him

Carl Rogers's theory of personality, which emphasizes the individual's active attempts to satisfy his needs in a manner that is consistent with his self-concept

an organized body of knowledge about the self and that shapes one's behaviors, perceptions, and emotions

the personal narratives or stories that provide a person with a sense of direction and meaning

self-schema for whom one is at the moment

self-schemas for whom one may be in the future; these include the ideal self and the ought self

an orientation to actively pursue valued goals thought to arise when we compare our actual self to our ideal self

an orientation to avoid doing harm thought to arise when we compare our actual self to our ought self

the relative balance of positive and negative judgments about oneself

a research movement that emphasizes factors that make people psychologically healthy, happy, or able to cope well with their life circumstances

personal characterizations that contribute to a person's happiness without diminishing the happiness of others

A set of beliefs, drawn from experience, about what the consequences (rewards or punishments) of certain actions are likely to be

the sense a person has about what things he can plausibly accomplish

the dimensions used by a person to organize his or her experience

a self-protective strategy of arranges of an obstacle to one's own performance, so that failure can be attributed to the obstacle instead of one's own limitations

the way a person typically explains the things that happen in his or her life

the ability to pursue a goal while adequately managing internal conflicts about i, or to delay pursuing a goal because of other considerations or restraints