Gretel’s AP Psychology Blog

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS a "harmful dysfunction" in which behavior is judged to be atypical disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable. U - unjustifiable  M - maladaptive  A - atypical D - disturbing   DSM-V will classify disorders and describe the symptoms  will NOT explain the causes or possible cures Anxiety Disorders a group of conditions where the primary symptoms are anxiety or defenses against anxiety  the patient fears something awful will happen to them  they are in a state of intense apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or fear  Phobias a person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread  Panic Disorder an anxiety disorder marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, and other frightening sensations Generalized Anxiety Disorder an anxiety disorder in which a person is continuously tense, apprehensi...

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY the study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another SOCIAL THINKING: Attribution Theory  The idea that we give a casual explanation for someone's behavior  we credit that behavior either to the situation or to the person's disposition  Fundamental Attribution Error  the tendency to underestimate the impact of a situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition  Attitudes a belief or feeling that predisposes one to respond in a particular way to something  Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon  the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request  Door-in-Face Phenomenon  the tendency for people who say no to a huge request, to comply with a smaller one  Cognitive Dissonance Theory  we do not like when we have either conflicting attitudes or when our attitudes do not match ...

Motivation: a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior  Motivation  Instinct Theory : we are motivated by our inborn automated behaviors  Drive-Reduction Theory : the idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need  we are not only pushed by our needs, but pulled by our incentives: a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior  Hunger hunger is both physiological and psychological  Biological Basis of Hunger hunger does NOT come from our stomach  hunger comes from our brain; the hypothalamus  Hypothalamus  Lateral Hypothalamus : when stimulated it makes you hungry  Ventromedial Hypothalamus : when stimulated you feel full  Eating Disorders  Bulimia Nervosa : characterized by binging (eating large amounts of food) and purging (getting r...

LEARNING A relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience . the process by which experience/practice results in a relatively permanent change in behavior or potential behavior. How Do We Learn  associative learning- learning that certain events occur together   Classical Conditioning  the type of learning in which a response naturally elicited by one stimulus becomes to be elicited by a different formally neutral stimulus  Pavlov and Watson  UCS, UCR, CS, CR Operant Conditioning the type of learning in which behaviors are emitted to earn rewards or avoid punishments B.F. Skinner  Reinforcement & Punishment  Social Cognitive Learning Theory  the type of learning in which behaviors are learned by observing a model  Albert Bandura  Modeling  Classical Conditioning  an INVOLUNTARY behavior is determined by what PRECEDES it. Unconditioned Stimulu...