Psychology Flashcards

Which brain structure is primarily responsible for processing and consolidating emotional memories, especially fear?

Answer: Amygdala

The amygdala evaluates emotional significance of stimuli and is central to the formation of fear memories.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which level must be satisfied before a person is motivated to seek esteem needs?

Answer: Love and belonging

Love and belonging (social needs) must be met before esteem needs become motivating, per Maslow's hierarchy.

A therapist helps a patient identify and challenge irrational automatic thoughts. This technique is central to:

Answer: Cognitive-behavioral therapy

CBT focuses on identifying distorted cognitions and replacing them with more rational, adaptive thoughts.

The DSM-5 diagnostic criterion requiring that symptoms cause significant distress or impairment is called the:

Answer: Clinical significance criterion

The clinical significance criterion ensures symptoms rise to the level of functional impairment before a diagnosis is made.

Which concept refers to an individual's belief in their own ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks?

Answer: Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy, introduced by Bandura, is the conviction that one can execute the behaviors required to produce specific outcomes.

A child watches an adult aggressively beat a Bobo doll and later imitates that aggression. This best demonstrates:

Answer: Observational (social) learning

Bandura's Bobo doll experiment showed children learn behaviors by observing and imitating models.

Which statistical concept represents the probability that a study's results occurred by chance, used to determine statistical significance?

Answer: p-value

The p-value indicates the probability of obtaining the observed results if the null hypothesis were true; typically p < .05 is significant.