ABCs of Psychology/Reflection

Ageism: Prejudice against older people.

            Ex. The angsty teenager was talking smack about elder people at the county fair.

Bystander Intervention: Willingness to assist a person in need of help.

            Ex. Sarah wanted to help her friend get past her addiction.

Catharsis: Process of expressing strongly felt but usually repressed emotions.

            Ex. Kaleb always felt strong feelings towards Beth, but always kept it in because he was afraid of rejection. Eventually he ranted to her about his undying love for her.

Decision Aversion: Tendency to avoid decision making.

            Ex. Cristian knew he had to make the decision on whether he wanted to move or not, but he repeatedly chose to put it in the back of his mind until it was too late and the decision was made for him.

Ego Defense Mechanisms: Mental strategies used by the ego to defend itself against conflicts experienced in the normal course of life.

            Ex. Sera got mad that her ego had been shot down so she took it out on someone that wasn’t even relevant.

Frame: A particular description of choice.

            Ex. Jimmy decided to jump off the bridge into the lake with his friends instead of doing his school work because he didn’t understand it.

Generativity: A commitment beyond ones self and ones partner to family, work, society and future generations.
            Ex. Douglas takes great pride in being the union steward, everyone looks up to him and goes to him for any and all questions.

Hozho: A Navajo concept referring to harmony, peace of mind, goodness, ideal family relationships, beauty in arts and crafts and health of body and spirit.

             Ex. For me, meditation is very Hozho, or peaceful.

Illusory Contours: Contours perceived in a figure when no contours are physically present.

             Ex. I kept looking at the light pole down the street and there was a bend in the middle, but when I stood in front of it there was no bend.

Job Burnout: The syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment often experienced by workers in high-stress jobs.

              Ex. Susan keeps talking about how she hates her job and she is always exhausted when she gets home, she should talk to someone so she can take a vacation and recuperate.

Kinesthetic Sense: Sense concerned with bodily postion and movement of the body relative.

              Ex. One day at work I was walking around the end of the counter and bumped into it kind of hard, my kinesthetic sense did not know what was about to happen that day.

Libido: The pychic energy that drives individuals toward sensual pleasures of all types, especially sex.

              Ex. Ambers lack of libido is a sign that she is depressed.

Motivation: Process of starting, directing and maintaining physical and psychological activities. 

              Ex. Amy was in need of some motivation to go to the gym today.

Narcolepsy: A sleep disorder characterized by an irresistible compulsion to sleep during the daytime.

              Ex. Monica "Is Haley really asleep it's 2 in the afternoon", Christina "Yes she's Narcoleptic, this happens all the time."

Out-groups: The groups with which people do not identify.

              Ex. I did not associate with a lot of people in school, I guess you could say I was apart of the out-group.

Pyschophysics: Study of the correspondence between physical stimulation and psychological experience.

               Ex. Some people like pepsi, I prefer coke and other people like both.

Q:

Ritual healing: Ceremonies that infuse special emotional intensity and meaning into the healing process.

               Ex. I was always told to burn sage or incense to bring in the healing element.

Self-report measures: The self behaviors that are identified through a participants own observations.

                Ex. I believe I may be Bi-polar because my moods change so frequently and I sometimes cannot sleep at night.

Think-Aloud Protocols: Reports made by experimental participants of the mental processes and strategies they use while working on a task.

                Ex.  People think Sarah is talking to herself, but she is really making mental notes.

Unconscious Inference: Helmboltz term for perception that occurs outside of conscious awareness.

                Ex. The wind is not blowing but I think I see the tree swaying.

Vestibular Sense: The sense that tells how ones own body is oriented in the world to with respect to gravity.

                 Ex. When I would spin in circles as a child then try to walk my vestibular sense would be impaired and i would fall over.

Wisdom: Expertise in the fundamental pragmatics of life.

                 Ex. My grandparents are full of wisdom that I hope to learn one day.

X:

Yerkes-Dodson Law: A correlation between task performance and optimal level of arousal.

                 Ex. I always do better on a test when I am a little nervous.

Zygote: Single cell that results when a sperm fertilizes an egg.

                  Ex. I have a baby growing inside of my stomach. (totally fictional!)



*Reflection*
Having to come up with my own examples for each of these terms/definitions, I think helped me understand the words a little better. Right now a friend of mine is going through vestibular therapy and at first I never understood what that meant, it was just some kind of therapy, but after looking it up and finding the definition I realize now what is wrong with her. While at work she cannot stand on our mats because it throws her balance off, it all makes sense to me now.