PSY 383 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
ANSWERS
Associationism - ANSWER The principle that memory depends on the formation of
linkages ("associations") between pairs of events, sensations, and ideas, such that
recalling or experiencing one member of the pair elicits a memory or anticipation of the
other.
Behaviorism - ANSWER A school of thought that says psychology should restrict itself to
the study of observable behaviors (such as lever presses, salivation, and other
measurable actions) and not seek to infer unobservable mental processes
Blind design - ANSWER an experimental design in which the participants do not know
the hypothesis being tested or whether they are, for example, receiving an experimental
treatment or a placebo
Classical conditioning - ANSWER A type of learning in which the organism learns to
respond to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly presented along with
a biologically significant stimulus; also called Pavlovian conditioning.
Cognitive Approach - ANSWER A subfield of psychology that emphasizes higher mental
activities, such as language, memory, and perception.
cognitive map - ANSWER An internal psychological representation of the spatial layout
of the external world.
Connectionist models - ANSWER Models that represent learning and other thought
processes as networks of connections between simple processing units called nodes.
Contiguity - ANSWER Nearness in time (temporal contiguity) or space (spatial
contiguity).
, Data - ANSWER Facts and figures from which conclusions can be inferred.
Dependent variable - ANSWER In an experiment, the factor whose change is measured
as an effect of changes in the independent variable.
Distributed representation - ANSWER A representation in which information is coded as
a pattern of activation distributed across many different nodes.
Double-blind design - ANSWER An experimental design in which neither the
experimenters nor the subjects know group assignment.
Dualism - ANSWER The principle that the mind and body exist as separate entities.
Empiricism - ANSWER A philosophical school of thought that holds that all the ideas we
have are the result of experience.
Evolution - ANSWER The change that species undergo over time, with new traits or
characteristics being passed from one generation to the next; natural selection is one
mechanism by which evolution occurs.
Experimenter bias - ANSWER The influence an experimenter's prior knowledge or
expectations can have (consciously or unconsciously) on the outcome of an experiment.
Extinction - ANSWER The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by
ceasing to pair that stimulus with a reward or punishment.
Experimenter bias - ANSWER The influence an experimenter's prior knowledge or
expectations can have (consciously or unconsciously) on the outcome of an experiment.
Extinction - ANSWER The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by
ANSWERS
Associationism - ANSWER The principle that memory depends on the formation of
linkages ("associations") between pairs of events, sensations, and ideas, such that
recalling or experiencing one member of the pair elicits a memory or anticipation of the
other.
Behaviorism - ANSWER A school of thought that says psychology should restrict itself to
the study of observable behaviors (such as lever presses, salivation, and other
measurable actions) and not seek to infer unobservable mental processes
Blind design - ANSWER an experimental design in which the participants do not know
the hypothesis being tested or whether they are, for example, receiving an experimental
treatment or a placebo
Classical conditioning - ANSWER A type of learning in which the organism learns to
respond to a previously neutral stimulus that has been repeatedly presented along with
a biologically significant stimulus; also called Pavlovian conditioning.
Cognitive Approach - ANSWER A subfield of psychology that emphasizes higher mental
activities, such as language, memory, and perception.
cognitive map - ANSWER An internal psychological representation of the spatial layout
of the external world.
Connectionist models - ANSWER Models that represent learning and other thought
processes as networks of connections between simple processing units called nodes.
Contiguity - ANSWER Nearness in time (temporal contiguity) or space (spatial
contiguity).
, Data - ANSWER Facts and figures from which conclusions can be inferred.
Dependent variable - ANSWER In an experiment, the factor whose change is measured
as an effect of changes in the independent variable.
Distributed representation - ANSWER A representation in which information is coded as
a pattern of activation distributed across many different nodes.
Double-blind design - ANSWER An experimental design in which neither the
experimenters nor the subjects know group assignment.
Dualism - ANSWER The principle that the mind and body exist as separate entities.
Empiricism - ANSWER A philosophical school of thought that holds that all the ideas we
have are the result of experience.
Evolution - ANSWER The change that species undergo over time, with new traits or
characteristics being passed from one generation to the next; natural selection is one
mechanism by which evolution occurs.
Experimenter bias - ANSWER The influence an experimenter's prior knowledge or
expectations can have (consciously or unconsciously) on the outcome of an experiment.
Extinction - ANSWER The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by
ceasing to pair that stimulus with a reward or punishment.
Experimenter bias - ANSWER The influence an experimenter's prior knowledge or
expectations can have (consciously or unconsciously) on the outcome of an experiment.
Extinction - ANSWER The process of reducing a learned response to a stimulus by
