Download Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
The Scientific Attitude
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Scientific approach that is skeptical and open-minded
To shift away from illusions to reality, one must use Smart thinking or critical
thinking: thinking that does not blindly accept things, but approaches with
skepticism and examines the evidence carefully; Ask how did they know, on
guts and instinct? Are the evidence biased?
However, must remember to have humility as too extreme would be
stubbornness
The Limits of Intuition and Common Sense
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Intuition often ends up nowhere
Tend to use a lot hindsight bias: tendency to believe that one would have
known it after the results are shown; Seems like common sense. The answer
was right there and look how obvious it was.
Experience it usually when looking back on history; eg. Glen Clark and the
fast ferries
Humans tend to be overconfident, think we know more than we actually do
(probably result of self-serving bias)
Hindsight causes us to be overconfident as we believe we would have picked
the answer when the results are in front of us
The Scientific Method
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Scientific theory: explanation using set of principles to organise/predict
observations
No matter how good theory sounds, must put it to test
Must imply testable prediction = hypothesis
Beware of bias when testing
Good experiment can be replicated: the experiment can be repeated and
would yield constant results; done with a different group of people or by a
different person ending with constant results
Theory useful if:
(1) effectively organises range of observations
(2) implies clear predictions
Case study: research method where one person is studied in depth to find
universal principles (things that apply to all)
Drawback is that the individual being studied could be atypical, results not
universally contained
Survey: research method to get the self-reported attitudes/behaviours of
people
Looks at cases less depth and wording of question affects the response given
(framing)Tend to hang around group similar to us so using them as study is
wrong
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False consensus effect: tendency to overestimate other’s agreement with
us; eg. Vegetarians believe larger amount of pop. is vegetarian than Meateaters
Population: all the cases in the group being studied
To make a good sample, use random sampling: sample that gives each
case a good chance of being studied to ensure results within range
Naturalistic observation: observing and recording behaviour in natural
settings with any control on situation
Like case study & survey, doesn’t explain behaviour
When finding a trait that accompanies another, not resulting effect, but
correlation: the way 2 factors vary together and how well one predicts the
other
Positive correlation: direct relationship where factors increase or decrease
together
Negative correlation: inverse relationship where one factor goes up while
one goes down
Does not explain cause, simply show relationship between factors
Illusory correlation: perceiving correlation when none exist; Notice random
coincidences as not random, rather as correlated
Experiment
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To isolate cause & effect, conduct experiments
Experimental condition: condition that exposes subjects to treatment
Control condition: condition that serves as a comparison to see effects of
treatment on experimental condition subjects
Use random assignment: assigning subjects to experimental/control groups
randomly to ensure no bias
Independent variable: experimental factor being manipulated and studied
(by itself, alone, no need to depend on something) * x-axis
Dependent variable: experimental factor that depends on independent
variable and changes in response to it * y-axis
Placebo: an inert substance/condition that maybe administered instead of a
presumed active agent
Double-blind procedure: procedure in which the experimenter and the subject
both don't know which treatment is given
Chapter 2 Neuroscience, Genetics, and Behaviors
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Franz Gall developed the false theory called Phrenology – where bumps on
the head dictate personality and intelligence. But the theory did direct our
attention to brain region and function.
Psychologists that study these connections between biology and behavior are
called Biological Psychologists.
Neural Communication
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Our Neural System is basically made up of nerve cells or neurons. Each
neuron is composed of Dendrites ~ message receiving fibers and Axons ~
message sending fibers which are insulated by the Myelin Sheath ~ fatty
cells that help \speed up impulses.
Impulses or Action Potential is a brief electrical charge that travels down
the axon as it becomes Depolarized due to the movement of positively
charged ions entering the axon. After the transmission, the axon becomes
Polarized as positive ions are pumped out during the Refractory Period.
The intensity of a stimulus is called the Threshold. A stimulus must exceed
the threshold in order for a transmission to occur. The neuron will either fire
or it won’t. Much like a gun, the neuron either fires or it doesn’t, there are no
half-fires. This is called the all-or-none-response; if a stimulus is really
strong, only the number of neurons firing will increase, not their speed.
The axon terminal of the sending neuron is separated from the receiving
neuron by a tiny gap called the Synapse (or Synaptic Cleft). Once the
action potential reaches the synapse, neurotransmitters, or chemical
messengers, are released into the gap where it will bind onto specific receptor
sites on the receiving neuron.
The most well know neurotransmitter is Acetylcholine (ACh), it causes
muscles to contract in movement.
Endorphins are natural opiates produced in the body to control pain and
induce pleasure. ("Morphine within")
Agonists are molecules which mimics the shape of natural neurotransmitters
(Morphine)
Antagonists are molecules which block neurotransmitters from binding on
receptor sites
The brain has a Blood-brain barrier which filters out unwanted chemicals in
blood stream.
Neural and Hormonal Systems
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The Nervous System is composed of the Central Nervous System (CNS) –
brain and spinal cord, and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – links CNS to
body’s muscles and glands by means of nerves which are bundles of
sensory and Motor Neurons (they carry incoming and outgoing information
respectively).
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The Autonomic Nervous System (under PNS) has Sympathetic Nervous
System – arouses the body for defense (increase heartbeat, dilating pupils,
inhibit digestion etc.) and Parasympathetic Nervous System – calms the
body after stress.
A simple Reflex is an automatic response to stimuli (like knee-jerk) involving
messages from Sensory to Interneuron (Spinal Cord) to Motor Neuron.
The Endocrine System (slow hormone secreting system) communicates by
releasing Hormones (chemical messengers) into the bloodstream.
In times of stress the ANS will signal Adrenal Glands (above kidney) to
release epinephrine and norepinephrine hormones (also called adrenaline
and noradrenaline.)
Pituitary gland is the most powerful endocrine gland, and under the
influence of hypothalamus in brain, pituitary releases hormones that regulate
glands and growth.
The Brain
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Lesions – remove brain tissue
Electroencephalogram (EEG) – measures brain electric activity
Computed Tomograph (CT or CAT Scan) – taking x-ray photographs of
brain
Positron emission tomograph (PET Scan) – detects radioactive glucose
consumption in brain
Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) – generates brain images from
magnetic activity
The brainstem – oldest portion in brain forms into the Medulla Oblongata
– regulates involuntary processes like heartbeat and breathing.
Within the brainstem lies the reticular formation (looks like a finger-shaped
net) which controls arousal, when you wake or sleep.
The Thalamus lies above brainstem and is shaped like two eggs. Its function
is to act as a sensory switchboard relaying incoming signals to appropriate
brain regions. But does not relay sensory signals dealing with smell.
The Cerebellum stores partial memory and learning capacities. But it mainly
controls balance.
Limbic System includes Amygdala – influence emotions (fear, anger), and
the Hippocampus – process memory . Removal of amygdala results in
emotionless organisms upon arousal.
The Hypothalamus maintains body homeostasis (temperature, hunger,
growth) and governs pituitary.
Glial cells guide and support nerve cells in the brain.
The brain is divided into 4 regions.
Frontal Lobe – behind forehead – has Motor Cortex (located at the back of
frontal lobe, the cortex controls voluntary movement)
Parietal Lobe – top to back of head – has Sensory Cortex (located in the
beginning of parietal lobe, the cortex processes \bodily senses)
Occipital Lobe – back of head – regulates vision.
Temporal Lobe – above ears – regulates hearing
¾ of the brain is uncommitted to motor or sensory functions. Theses brain
regions are called Association Areas – areas involved in thinking,
remembering, and speaking. The larger the association area, the more
intelligent the species for they are able to anticipate future events.
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The case with Phineas Gage showed researchers that damages in the frontal
lobe could result in personality alterations because their normal "restraints" or
inhibitions are erased. This was due to a tamping rod that shot from his left
cheek and out his head, separating his internal motives and external
judgement.
Stages of Language :
1. Visual Cortex – occipital lobe (back of head) – sees the visual
stimulation (words)
2. Angular Gyrus – mid-side of parietal lobe – converts words
into auditory code
3. Wernicke’s Area – between temporal and parietal lobe (side of head) - derives
meaning from auditory code
4. Broca’s Area – mid-bottom of frontal lobe – controls motor cortex
5. Motor Cortex – back of frontal lobe – activates speech muscles to pronounce
word
Damage to (1) cannot see, (2) cannot read, (3) cannot understand, (4) and (5) cannot
speak.
Corpus Callosum joins the two hemispheres and is separated to cure epileptic seizures.
People with separated corpus callosums are referred to as Spilt-brain patients. They are
unable to say what they see in their left visual field because speech is in left hemisphere
and the hemispheres regulate opposite sides of body.
When split-brainers are asked to say what they saw, the left hemisphere will say what is
seen in right visual field; when asked to point, get, or write what they saw, the right
hemisphere will dictate what is seen in the left visual field.
Sign language is nevertheless language and is control by left hemisphere, if deaf people
get a stroke in left hemisphere, signing will be disrupted.
Left Hemisphere : Mathematics, language, logical, reasoning. meaning
Right Hemisphere : Perceptual tasks, musical, artistic, emotion, face recognition, copying
information.
Genetics and Behavior
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Chromosomes contain Genes which are made up of DNA. There are 23 chromosomes in
human egg and sperm; they are combined (fertilized) to make a 46 chromosome cell.
Evolutionary Psychologists study the effects of evolution of behavior of organisms.
Behavior Geneticists study genetic and environmental effects on behavior. – using
Linkage Analysis.
Psychologists study Identical Twins (two babies within one egg) and Fraternal Twins
(two babies in 2 separate eggs) to contrast adoption studies.
Identical twins have more similarities than fraternal twins.
Hertitability tell us what percentage of traits are because of genetic factors. Traits (height,
intelligence, eye color etc.) are either due to genetic or environment there are no half-halves. If
heritability of intelligence is 70%, that means 70% of the people will have inherited intelligence.
Chapters: 3-4 Genetics and Development
Prenatal Development and the Newborn
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At 8 weeks after conception, babies are anatomically indistinguishable; 4/5 th
month different
Sex determined by 23rd pair of chromosome
X chromosome: comes from either mother or father; females have two,
males have one
Y chromosome: comes from father, paired with x to form male
Y chromosome stimulates development of male sex organ by producing
testosterone: most important male sex hormone, but females have it too
Gender: biologically or socially influenced characteristics which people define
as male/female
zygotes: fertilized eggs; less than half survive pass 2 weeks
after 10 days, zygote attach to mother’s uterine wall and forms placenta for
nourishment, zygote becomes embryo: developing human from 2 weeks to
second month
after two months, looks human, called fetus: developing human from 2
months to birth
fetus hears muffled version of mother’s voice and prefers it after birth
harm can come when placenta gets teratogens: agents that can harm
embryo/fetus during prenatal stage; a mother who is a heroin addict will have
a heroin addicted baby
newborns are equipped with reflexes ideal to survival
rooting reflex: reflex, when touched on cheek, to open mouth and find
nipple
perceptual abilities continue to develop during first month, can distinguish
mother’s odour
Infancy and Childhood
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maturation: biological growth processes that enable orderly change in
behaviour, could be influenced by experiences
maturation sets the basic course of development and experience adjust it
lack of neuron connections reason why earliest memories rarely earlier than
third birthday (experiences help develop neural connections)
Rosenzweig and Krech reared some young rats in solitary confinement and
others in playground; found those in playground develop thicker and heavier
brain cortex
For optimum development, early years critical –use it or lose it; but
development exists through life as neural tissues changes –experiences
nurture nature
plasticity: brain ability to reoganize pathways to compensate damage; if
laser damaged spot in cat’s eye, brain area receiving input from spot will start
responding to stimulation from nearby areas in eye; brain hardware changes
with time –can rewired with new synapses
children brains most "plastic" –surplus of neurons
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when neurons are destroyed, nearby ones may partly compensate by making
new connections
experience influences motor behaviour
experience(nurture) before biological development(nature) has limited effect
Cognitive Development
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Cognition: mental activities associated with knowing, thinking, &
remembering
Piaget believed child’s mind develops through series of stages
Piaget believed children built schemas: concept or framework that organises
and interprets info; mental molds into which we pour our experience
assimilation: interpreting new experience in terms of existing schemas;
given schema for dog, child may call 4-legged animals doggies
to fit new experiences, we accommodate: adapting one’s schemas to
incorporate new info; child realises doggies schemas too broad and refines
category
Piaget’s 4 stages of Cognitive Development
1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth – 2 years old)
o Infants know world in terms of sensory impressions and motor
activities
o Lack objective permanence: awareness that things continue to exist
when not perceived; Baby believes toy only exists when it is starring
at it
2. Preoperational Stage (preschool – 6/7 years old)
o Child learns to use language, but aren’t able to comprehend mental
operations of concrete logic; lacks conservation: principle that
quantity remains the same despite changes in shape; water from tall,
thin glass poured into wide, flat glass would be the same
o Children are egocentric: inability to see another’s point of view
3. Concrete Operational Stage (6/7 – 11 years old)
o Children gain mental operations that enable logical thinking about
concrete events; understands conservation and mathematical
transformation (reversing arithmetic operations)
4. Formal Operational Stage (12 years -life)
o Reasoning expands from concrete (involving actual experiences) to
abstract thinking (involving imagined realities and symbols)
o Children able to solve hypothetical situations and its consequences
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researchers believe development more continuous than did Piaget
Social Development
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infants develop intense bond with those who care for them; prefers familiar
faces and voices
after object permanence, develop stranger anxiety: fear of strangers
commonly displayed after 8 months of age
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attachment: emotional tie with another person; shown by child seeking
closeness to caregiver (those who are comfortable, familiar, and responsive to
needs) and distress when seperated
psychologists use to believe attachment through need for nourishment, but
now consider wrong
Harlow’s Monkey Studies: Harry Harlow bred monkeys of which he separates
from mothers shortly after birth; in cages were a cheesecloth baby blanket;
baby monkeys formed intense attachment to blanket –distressed when taken
away; later, Harlow created 2 artificial mothers ("Harlow’s Mothers"), one
bare wire cylinder with wooden head, other a cylinder wrapped with terry
cloth; when reared with nourishing wire mother and nonnourishing cloth
mother, monkeys preferred cloth mother; concluded body contact more
important than nourishment
Critical period: an optimal period shortly after birth when organism’s
exposure to certain stimuli/experience produces proper development; first
moving object a duckling sees is mother, then follows only it
Developmental psychologists believe humans don’t have precise critical period
Imprinting: process by which certain animals form attachment during critical
period; humans don’t imprint, but becomes attached to "known"
Temperament: person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity;
temperaments endure; ex. easy-going, quiet, placid
Heredity predispose human differences; anxious infants have high heart rates
and reactive nervous system; identical twins more likely to have similar
temperaments than nonidentical
Sensitive, responsive mothers have infants who are securely attached while
the opposite (attend only when felt like doing and ignores at other times)
have infants who are insecurely attached
Anxiety over separation from parents peak at 13 months and gradually
declines after
Erik Erikson claims securely attached children approach life with sense of
basic trust: sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy
Deprivation of attachment causes withdraw, fear, and other negative
consequences; most abusive parents have been neglected/battered as
children
Many developmentalists believe quality infant day care doesn’t hinder secure
attachement
Divorces place children at increased risk for developing social, psychological,
behavioral, and academic problems
By age 12, most children develop self concept: sense of one’s identity and
personal worth
Children’s views of themselves affect actions; positive self-concept produces
confidence, independence, optimism
Child-Rearing Practices
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Authoritarian parents: imposes rules and expect obedience; Why? Because
I said so!
Authoritative parents: demanding, yet responsive; exert control by both
setting rules and explaining reasons; encourages open discussion and
allowing exceptions when making rules
Permissive parents: submit to children’s desires, make few demands, and
use little punishment
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Rejecting-neglecting parents: disengaged –expect little and invest little
Children of authoritative parents have the highest self-esteem, self-reliance,
and social competence
Authoritative parenting seems to give children greatest sense of control which
yields motivation and self-confidence
Gender
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Gender identity: one’s sense of being male or female
Gender-typing: acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
Social learning theory: theory that one learns social behavior by observing
and imitating and by being rewarded/punished; Mother tells daughter that
she is being "a good mommy" to her doll
Gender schema theory: theory that children learn from their cultures a
concept of what a male/female is and adjust their behavior accordingly
Genes and experiences intertwine; we are the product of interactions between
our genetic predispositions and our surrounding environments
Adolescence
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Adolescence: transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from
puberty to independence
Due to improved nutrition, sexual maturation occurs earlier nowadays
Psychologists note that adolescence is often marked by mood swings
Begins with puberty: period of sexual maturation, during which one first
becomes capable of reproducing; 2-year period of rapid development usually
beginning in girls at age 11 and in boys at age 13
Primary sex characteristics: body structures (ovaries, testes, and external
genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible
Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual characteristics –
female breasts and hips, male voice quality and body hair
Landmarks of puberty for boys are first ejaculation at about 14 and first
menstrual period for girls at about 13
Menarche: first menstrual period
Although variation in the timing of growth spurt has little effect in height,
there are psychological consequences
Early maturation is good for boys –stronger, more athletic, and tend to be
more popular, self-assured, and independent
Early maturation for girls is stressful; but later when peers catch up, helps
enjoy greater prestige and self-confidence
Reasoning is often self-focused –may believe private experiences are unique
and no one understands the feelings
Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder
1. Preconventional morality (before age 9)
 Obey to either avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards; if
you don’t feed the dog, he will die; if you do the dishes, you
can have desert
2. Conventional morality (by early adolescence)
Morality evolves to a more conventional level that upholds laws
simply because they are laws and rules; since able to see
others’ perspectives, follow actions that gain social approval or
maintain social order; if you steal, everyone would think you
are a thief
3. Postconventional morality
 Those who develop abstract reasoning of formal operational
thought; follow what affirms people’s rights or what one
personally perceives as basic ethical principles; if you steal the
drugs, you would not have lived up to your own ideal; Robin
Hood is a hero because he stole from the rich for the poor
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As our thinking matures, our behavior becomes less selfish and more caring
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To refine sense of identity, adolescents in western cultures try out different
"selves"
Different selves gradually reshape to form identity: one’s sense of self;
according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by
testing and integrating various roles
Identity searching continues past teen years; as it becomes clearer, selfesteem increases
Erikson contended that after identity stage is developing capacity for
intimacy: ability to form close, loving relationships; primary developmental
task in late adolescence and early adulthood
As identity is formed, separation from parents occur
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Adulthood
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Physical abilities peak in early adulthood; world-class sprinters and swimmers
peak in their teens or early twenties; but decline of abilities not noticed till
later in life
Women, because of early maturation, peak earlier than men
Foremost biological sign of aging in women is menopause: time of natural
cessation of menstruation; refers to biological changes a women experiences
as ability to reproduce declines
Menopause does not usually create psychological problems for women
Women’s expectations and attitudes regarding menopause influence its
emotional impact
Men experience decline in sperm count, testosterone level, and speed of
erection and ejaculation
With age, eye’s pupil shrinks and lens becomes less transparent –reducing
light reaching retina
Disease-fighting immune system weakens –more susceptible to lifethreatening disease; but due to lifetime collection of antibodies, less suffering
of short-term ailments
Since early adulthood, small, gradual loss of brain cells, but can be
compensated by active growth of neural connections in people who remain
active
Some do suffer brain ailment such as Alzheimer’s disease: progressive and
irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory,
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reasoning, language, and physical functions; deterioration of neurons that
produce neurotransmitter acetylcholine
Hard for older people to recall meaningless info, but if it is meaningful, their
rich web of existing knowledge helps them catch it
Cross-sectional study: study in which people of different ages are
compared with one another; cross the age groups
Show that younger people do better than older ones
Longitudinal study: research in which same people are restudied and
retested over long period; a group of people for a long time
Show that until late in life, intelligence remains stable
Found that because cross-sectional use people of different eras, other
variables may skew the results; but longitudinal may be at fault as those who
survive the end of test may be the healthiest, smartest
Conclude that whether intelligence increases/decreases depends on type of
intellectual preformance measured
Crystallized intelligence: one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills;
tends to increase with age; As time passes, "hardens" = stronger (increases
with time)
Fluid Intelligence: one’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to
decrease with age
Types of intelligence explain why mathematicians and scientists produce
creative work in early adulthood while those in literature produce best work in
late adulthood
Social clock: culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage,
parenthood, and retirement
2 basic aspects of lives dominate adulthood: intimacy (forming close
relationships) and generativity (being productive and supporting future
generations)
Children are the most enduring of life changes
When children leave home, the empty nest is for most people a happy place
and they report greater happiness and enjoyment of marriage
People of all ages report similar levels of happiness and satisfaction with life;
teenagers have quick changing range of moods while adults have less
extreme, but more enduring moods
Chapter 5 Sensation
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Sensation is referred to as being bottom-up processing, detecting
environmental stimuli from senses up to the brain.
Sensing the World: Some Basic Principles
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An Absolute Threshold is the lowest amount of stimulus needed to
notice it 50% of the time. For example, you turn down the radio to a
point where you only hear the faint sound half the time. Then that
loudness (decibel) is your absolute threshold for sound.
But your detection of a stimulus also depends on your state of arousal,
expectations, experiences, and motivation. This is described by the
Signal Detection Theory – predicting when we will notice a weak
stimulus (signal).
A stimulus is Subliminal if it is below your absolute threshold, you
detect it less than 50% of the time. For instance, a microscopic cell is
subliminal to you because you cannot see it with your naked eye.
Subliminal advertisements (Drink Coke, eat popcorn etc.), does have
an affect on you but do not persuade you.
The Difference Threshold (just noticeable difference or jnd) is the
lowest difference you can detect between 2 stimuli 50% of the time.
For example, you are just able to notice the difference between 1kg
and 1.02kg half the time.
Weber’s Law states that two stimuli must differ in percentages or
ratios, not amount, for a person to detect it (jnd).
Sensory Adaptation – lowered sensitivity due to constant exposure
from a stimulus. For example, when you go into someone’s house you
notice an odor…but this only lasts for a little while because sensory
adaptation allows you to focus your attention on changing
environment; it is irritating to be constantly reminded that your foot is
in contact with the floor.
Vision
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Transduction refers to Sensory energy being convert (transformed)
into Neural energy/impulses.
Light is composed of electromagnetic waves with Wavelengths
(distance from one peak to another peak on a wave) and Amplitudes
(height of the wave)
WAVELENGTH determines HUE (Color, i.e. Red, Blue, Green) and
PITCH/FREQUENCY in sound.
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AMPLITUDE determines INTENSITY (Brightness, i.e. Bright red,
dark red) and LOUDNESS in sound.
External Light entering the eye first travels through the Cornea
(protective layer) ~ Pupil (an adjustable opening) control by Iris
(muscle around the pupil) ~ Lens (an oval transparency) that changes
shape to focus light by a process called Accommodation; light is then
focused onto the back of the eye called Retina (multi-neuron surface).
There are 3 basic types of Acuity (how sharp/clear vision is) : normal,
nearsightedness (only see near things clearly), and farsightedness
(only see far things clearly)
The Retina has 2 types of receptor cells : Rods (detect brightness of
light, sensitive in dark), Cones (detect color and detail, sensitive in
daylight). Cells connecting these detectors form the Optic Nerve that
sends the impulses to brain.
Everyone has a Blind Spot, a small region in the visual field where
nothing could be seen. This is because there are no receptor cells
where the optic nerve leaves the eye in the retina. Normally, we don’t
witness this effect because we have two eyes that compensate for
each other’s blind spot, and the fact that our eyes are constantly
moving.
Fovea is the region in the retina where light is centrally focused. The
fovea has no rods, only cones.
Nobel prize winners Hubel and Wiesel discovered Feature Detectors
in the brain cortex that are sensitive to specific features in what we
see (i.e. shape, color, depth, movement, form, and even postures,
arm angle, gaze)
Parallel Processing - Our brain Processes lots of information
simultaneously. For example, looking at an orange, the brain
processes the orange color, the round shape, and the bumpy texture
all at the same time.
People who cannot consciously perceive can still remarkably locate
objects but are consciously unaware of how they knew. Such a
phenomenon is called Blind Sight.
Color processing is described in 2 stages : 1) Young-Helmholtz
trichromatic (three-color) theory – Light is detected by 3 types of
cones each specifically sensitive to Red, Blue, or Green. Combinations
of them produce intermediate colors (yellow, cyan, purple) 2)
Opponent-Process theory – Color is then processed by their
opponent colors (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white). Some cells are
excited by blue and inhibited by yellow, vice versa. Thus, you cannot
see a bluish-yellow.
Color constancy refers to the importance of surrounding background
effects on perceived color. Color constancy states that colors don’t look
different even in different illumination (i.e. sunlight or dark
room).Green leaves will still be green whether on a clear or cloudy
day.
Hearing
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Frequency (Pitch) is the number of waves travelling through a point
in one second, relates to how fast a wave travels.
Audition, or hearing, requires sounds waves converted into neural
impulses, and this is done in the ear.
Sound travels through the 3 sections of the ear to the brain :
o OUTER EAR : Auditory Canal
o MIDDLE EAR: Ear drum (tight membrane) ~ Hammer, Anvil,
Stirrup (3 small bones connected to ear drum that vibrates
when sound waves hit ear drum)
o INNER EAR : Cochlea (coiled, fluid-filled tube) that contains
the Basilar Membrane, which is lined with hair cells that vibrates
to excite nerve fibers. The fibers form the Auditory Canal
connecting to the brain.
Place theory says that we hear different pitches because specific
"places" in the cochlea are stimulated.
Frequency theory says that we hear different pitches because the
speed of neural impulses travelling to the brain matches the speed of
the sound waves ("frequency").
We can tell which direction a sound is coming from because if it is
closer to our right ear, the right ear will receive the sound slightly
faster than left ear and the brain calculates this difference.
Consequently, if the sound is directly behind or in front, where the
distance between 2 ears is the same, then it is difficult to differentiate.
Conduction Deafness – loss of hearing due to damage of eardrum,
and/or the tiny bones in middle ear. (Could be fixed by hearing aid)
Nerve Deafness – loss of hearing due to damage to cochlea, basilar
membrane, and/or hair cells in the inner ear. (Could be fixed by a
bionic ear, implanting a cochlea)
The Other Senses
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Touch is composed of 4 senses : Warmth, Pain, Cold, and Pressure
(the only sense with identifiable receptors. The other three don’t have
specific receptors)
Combinations of these create amazing feelings.
Examples:
Warmth and Cold = HOT
Pressure and Cold = WET
Pressure and Pain = TICKLING ITCH
Phantom Limb Sensations occur when pain is felt in a nonexistent
limb. Even though the leg is not present, the recepting neurons
previously connected to them are still there. And they will fire,
resulting in pain sensations.
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The Gate-Control Theory states that the spinal cord has "gates" that
opens/closes to transmit pain impulses. Small fibers open Gate =
pain. Large fibers close Gate = no pain.
Pain is merely a physical and psychological interpretation. Distraction
methods, where attention is focused elsewhere, can ease the felt pain.
Acupuncture(may affect gate-control), electrical stimulation, exercise
can also relieve pain.
Taste is a Chemical Sense composed of 4 basic senses : Sweet, Sour,
Salty, and Bitter.
Taste receptors (taste buds) regenerate every 1 or 2 weeks, but age,
smoking, and alcohol will lower taste bud number and sensitivity.
Sensory Interaction is when one sense affects another sense, thus
interacting. For example, tasting apples and potatoes seem the same if
we cannot see it or smell it.
Smell or Olfaction is also a Chemical Sense that directly transmits
information from nose to the temporal lobe. The only sense that
doesn’t first relay impulses to the Thalamus.
Kinesthesis (using sensors in muscles, tendons, and joints) while,
Vestibular sense (using fluids in semicircular canal, cochlea, and
vestibular sacs in inner ear), both senses our position, movement, and
balance.
Sensory Restriction
Psychologists use REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy),
where you are put into a warm bath with eyes closed, or in a totally dark
room, to lower stimulation and reduce stress, or unwanted behaviors (i.e.
drinking).
Chapter 6 Perception
Selective Attention
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Selective attention: focusing only on one thing at a time; focused
awareness only on limited aspect of all that is capable of experiencing; you
aren’t aware of nose in line of vision
Cocktail Party Effect: (example of selective attention) ability to focus only on
one voice in a huge crowd
Unnoticed stimuli has effect: women who had listened to tunes previously
played to them while unnoticed preferred it later on
Perceptual Illusions
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Visual capture: phenomenon when a conflict occurs between vision and
another sense, vision dominates; vision captures other senses (overrides)
in theaters, sound comes from behind (projector), yet perceive as from
screen
Perceiving voice coming from ventriloquist’s dummy
Perceptual Organization
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Humans organize clusters of sensation into gestalt: organized "whole";
human tendency to order pieces of info into a meaning picture
First perceptual task: to perceive figure (object) as distinct from ground
(background)
Figure-ground: organization of visual field into the figure(s) that stand out
from the ground
Next, organize figure into meaningful form (color, movement, like-dark
contrast)
To process forms, use grouping: rules mind follows to organize stimuli into
logical groups
Grouped into Proximity, Similarity, Continuity, Closure, Connectedness
(visuals on page 185, figure 6.5 and definition on page 186 of 5 edition)
Depth perception: ability to see objects in 3D even though image sensed by
retina are 2D; allows distance judgment; partly innate (born with)
Gibson and Walker placed 6-14 months old infants on edge of a visual cliff
(table half glass, half wood), making the appearance of a drop-off; Mothers
then tries to convince infant to crawl pass the normal part of the table onto
glass; most refused, indicating perception of depth
Visual cliff: laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants/animals
Binocular cues: depth cues that depend on both eyes
Eyes apart, slightly different images, brain sees difference –retinal
disparity: bi cue in which the greater the difference between images, the
closer the object
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Convergence: bi cue in which the more the eyes turns inward, the closer the
object
Monocular cues: distance cue that are available to either eye
Examples: relative size, interposition, relative clarity, texture gradient,
relative height, relative motion, linear perspective, relative brightness
(definitions on pages 188-189 of 5 edition)
Brain computes motion base partly on assumption that objects moving away
is shrinking & vise versa
Brain reads rapid series of slightly different images as movement;
phenomenon called stroboscopic movement
Another illusion of movement is phi phenomenon: perception of movement
when lights blink one after the other; the lighted arrow signs on the back of
parked construction trucks
Perceptual constancy: perception that objects are not changing even under
different lighting; allowing identification regardless of angle of view [a door is
a door even at 45 degree (shape constancy) angle or 20 feet away(size
constancy)]
Even at same size, linear perspective causes one to see one object bigger
(page 191 figure 6.13a)
Interpretation
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Formerly blind patients often can’t recognize objects familiar by touch
Sensory restriction like allowing only diffuse, unpatterned light does no
damage is occurring later in life; affect only at infancy, suggesting critical
period for development
Perceptual adaptation: ability for our vision to adjust to artificial
displacement (chicks do not possess this); given goggles that shift vision 30
degrees to left, humans learn to adjust actions 30 degrees to left
Roger Sperry surgically turned eyes of animals; found out Fish, Frogs,
Salamanders (Note: reptiles) CAN’T ADJUST while Kittens, Monkeys, Humans
(Note: mammals) ADAPTED
Expereinces, assumptions, and expectations give us Perceptual set: mental
set up to perceive one thing and not another; ufo-looking objects that are
really clouds; because can’t resist finding a pattern on unpatterned stimuli
Much of our perception comes not just from world "out there", but also from
behind the eyes and between the ears
ESP
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(ESP): claim perception occurring without sensory input
Parapsychology: study of paranormal phenomena (profession called
Parapsychologists)
Three varieties of ESP: Telepathy (sending or reading thoughts), Clairvoyance
(perceiving an event unfolding), Precognition (seeing future)
Vague predictions can later be interpreted to match events; Nostradamus
claimed his prophecies could not be interpreted till after the event ;
After many experiments, never had a reproducible ESP phenomenon or
individual who can convincingly demonstrate psychic ability
Chapter 7 States of Consciousness
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Consciousness is a vague concept that is usually defined by psychologists as
the awareness of our environment and ourselves.
Subconscious processing - processes different information simultaneously
(Parallel Processing)
Conscious processing - processes different information sequentially (Serial
Processing), much like passing stages in law making; thus making Conscious
processing slow.
Everyone fantasizes. Fantasizing (day dreaming) may help reduce stress,
increase creativity, and even prepare for future events.
But some 4% of the population fantasize so vividly that they have a Fantasyprone personality. As adults they spend more than half their time
fantasizing, which eventually leads to difficulties sorting fantasy from reality.
Sleep and Dreams
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Facts: Everyone dreams, the difference lies in whether they remembered it or
not; Sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams; Sleeplessness have little
affect on motivating tasks.
Circadian rhythm is our "Biological clock" that runs on a 24-hour day cycle;
But isolated individuals without clocks or daylight usually adopt a 25-hour day
cycle; And if we experience jet lag from travelling, our biological clock will
reset to adapt.
After about 1.5 hours of sleep, our eyes start to move rapidly and jerky
accompanied by increased brain activity. This is called REM sleep (Rapid
Eye Movement).
The only time you dream is if you’re in REM sleep, but you can be in REM
sleep and not dream.
Stages of Sleep:
Firstly, before you sleep, you lie in a relaxed state with slow alpha
waves showing on the EEG.
STAGE 1 – (2 minutes) You experience hallucinations (experiences
without real stimuli) such as hyponogoic sensations (floating
weightlessly, knee jerks, etc.)
STAGE 2 – (20 minutes) You are now actually asleep. Your brain
shows periodic bursts of activity called Sleep Spindles and "sleep
talking" could start now or any stage after this.
STAGE 3 – (~15 minutes) Your brain starts showing large and slow
delta waves at which you are hard to wake.
STAGE 4 – (~15 minutes) You are now in deep sleep and the brain
shows even more delta waves. Bed-wetting and sleep walking can
occur.
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After stage 4, your brain goes back to stage 3 then stage 2 then you enter
into an excited state – REM sleep (paradoxical sleep) After REM, your sleep
goes back to stage 2 and the cycle starts again. Except that REM periods get
longer over the night and stage 4 and 3 don’t happen in the couple of hours
before you wake.
Sleep-deprived effects include: suppressed immune systems, decreased
creativity, slight hand tremors, slow performance and misperceptions on
monotonous tasks. BUT a sleep-deprived person does as well as anyone on
highly motivating tasks (running, arcade games, boxing)
Sleep helps us regenerate ; our tissues are restored, energy is conserved,
and growth hormones are released from pituitary
Sleep Disorders
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Insomnia – Difficulty falling or staying asleep. REM sleep deprived one day,
makes REM sleep longer on the next (REM Rebound). Narcolepsy –
Suddenly falling asleep (very dangerous, especially when driving). Sleep
Apnea – Suddenly stopped breathing when asleep (mostly overweight men)
that would automatically wake you. Night Terrors – This is not nightmare;
when one experience night terrors, terrified appearances are observed and
only happens during 2 or 3 hours of sleep in stage 4. The next morning the
person hardly remembers what happened. In contrast, nightmares happen in
REM Sleep near the morning.
Dreams
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Using Freudian terms (depicted by Sigmund Freud), Manifest content –
what we remembered the dream to be. This is only the "cover up"; underlying
every dream is its true meaning called Latent content – our unaccepting
subconscious thoughts and drives.
One explanation for dreaming is because dreams organize our thoughts and
facilitates memory; at the same time dreaming provides constant neural
stimulation that preservers our neural pathways.
Seligman and Yellen (1987) proposed another theory that says dreams are
random bursts of activity from the brainstem and the brain tries to make
sense of it; thus hallucination images are produced in dreams.
When we dream the amygdala in the limbic system of the brain is most active
(producing emotions).
Hypnosis
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Hypnosis is a state in which you are under the influence of the hypnotist.
He/she may suggest to you that certain behaviors will automatically happen
and you, under his/her influence (depending on your degree of susceptibility),
will do exactly what is said.
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Hypnosis could be so powerful that the hypnotist can induce Posthypnotic
amnesia, temporary not remembering what happened during the hypnosis,
as well as Posthypnotic suggestion – told during the hypnotic session, the
suggestion is to be carried out when you are not hypnotized. For example,
"After the count of three, you are to awaken and from now on approach every
situation with a positive attitude."
Hypnosis can relieve pain and heal soars but it cannot give you superhuman abilities; what you can do in hypnosis, you can also do in normal
conscious states (with a little positive encouragement)
Hypnosis relieves pain with a dissociation method (divided consciousness
theory) that involves a split (dissociate) between levels of consciousness.
Such as splitting the sensation of pain from emotional pain, so your skin
might register the pain but you won’t feel the suffering.
Another method is described by the Social influence theory, where the subject
of hypnosis is merely caught up in "playing his/her role" so that he/she could
ignore the pain.
Since hypnotized people report less pain when their arms are placed in ice
water, Ernest Hilgard decided to test if a part of them realizes the pain. So,
when he asked them to press a key if "some part" of them felt pain, they
press the key. So there must be a hidden observer, a split consciousness
that involuntarily knows what is happening.
Drugs and Consciousness
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Psychoactive drugs – chemicals that change how you think and feel and
usually produces a tolerance – using larger and larger doses to experience
the same effect. If this happens, quitting will be very difficult because of
unpleasant withdrawal effects that indicate a physical dependence and a
psychological dependence on the drug.
FACTS: Using drugs medically more often don’t cause addiction; addiction is
not like a disease and can be overcome voluntarily (without therapy); being
addicted to something is not an excuse to be sympathized, you are
responsible for your actions.
Depressants (drugs that slow and calm neural activity):
Alcohol – Impairs judgement and inhibitions and prevents recent
events to go into long-term memory. Also, people who are made to
believe they are drinking alcohol exhibited less sexual restraints.
Barbiturates – (tranquilizers) This drug is similar to alcohol because
it lowers activity in Sympathetic nervous system. Large doses of
barbiturates can cause death.
Opiates – (Morphine and Heroin) Opium derivatives that depress
brain activity and brings pleasure with addiction; ultimately leading to
death. The pain of withdrawal is accompanied with these drugs
because the brain stops producing its own endorphins and becomes
dependent on it.
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Stimulants (drugs that speed up and excite body activity):
Caffeine, nicotine, Cocaine, and amphetamines – Increasing heart
and breathing rates that boost mood or athletic performances. After
the drug wears off, the user will experience a "crash" that involves
headaches, tiredness, grouchiness, and even depression. Of them,
Cocaine is the most powerful stimulant in that it blocks re-uptake of
dopamine neurotransmitters. Thus, dopamine remains in the synapse
to intensify moods.
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Hallucinogens (Drugs that create distorted perceptions and thoughts
without real stimuli):
LSD (PCP) – "acid" that makes you see shapes, colors, and even outof-body experiences accompanied by various emotions.
Marijuana – Drug containing an organic compound called THC that can
cause relaxation, euphoric high, and increases sensitivity to colors,
tastes, and sounds. Adverse effects, however, include impaired
judgement, lung damage, disrupted memory, decreasing reaction
time, and lowering sex hormones.
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Contrary to popular belief, African American high school seniors
report the lowest rates of use for all drugs (Johnston & others, 1994,
1996).
Near-death experience is a state of consciousness reported after being
close to death. These same experiences, such as seeing bright tunnels, are
often experienced from LSD (drug hallucination) or oxygen deprivation.
Dualism presumes that the mind and body are two distinct parts that usually
separate after death. Monism, however, presumes that the mind and body
are just different aspects of the same thing and that we cannot exist without
our bodies.
Chapter 8 Learning
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One of our most enduring abilities that have ensured our survival is
adaptivity, which in turn is crafted by Learning: an enduring change in
behavior and knowledge due to experience.
Organisms learn by forming associations between cause and effect (or two
events). In other words, they are exhibiting associative learning. People
associate the sight of lightning with thunder so next time they see lightning
they anticipate thunder.
Behaviorism, developed by Behaviorist John Watson, is the view that
psychology should be and objective science
Classical Conditioning
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Classical Conditioning: developed by Ivan Pavlov, the type of learning in
which stimuli is associated with an Involuntary Response. Pavlov was
famous for his dog salvation experiment in which he accustomed dogs to
salivate at the tone of ringing
Respondent Behavior: An automatic response to a certain stimuli
("responding behaviors")
o Unconditioned Response (UCR): The normal response that is
generated (unlearned) I.e. In Pavlov’s experiment, the normal
response a dog has when presented with food is salivation.
o Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): The stimulus that triggers a normal
response (UCR) I.e. The food is the UCS in Pavlov’s experiment.
o Conditioned Response (CR): The response that is learned
("conditioned") I.e. Pavlov’s dogs learned to salivate upon the
presence of a ringing tone.
o Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that triggers a
learned response. I.e. The ringing is a CS because the dogs learned to
salivate at the presence of a ringing tone as opposed to food.
o This kind of association is possible because Pavlov presented a ringing
tone every time before food is given to the dog. Eventually, the dog
learned to anticipate food at the sound of ringing, so they salivate.
o There are 5 major processes with Classical Conditioning:
1. Acquisition: The initial formation of the association between
CS and CR. This works well when the CS is presented half a
second before UCS is presented.
2. Extinction: If the UCS is not presented after CS for a couple of
times, the organism will lose receptivity to the CS. I.e. If after
the ringing tone no food arrives, the dog stops to salivate at the
presence of just a tone.
3. Spontaneous Recovery: However, if the UCS is again
presented after the CS, extinction ceases and the organism
again begins to respond to the CS. I.e., the food is again
presented after ringing: dog salivates.
4. Generalization: The tendency for organisms to respond
similarly to similar (generalization) stimuli as the CS. I.e.
o
o
Pavlov’s dog salivating to the sound of beeping that is similar to
ringing. This is good because if you teach children to watch out
for cars, they will also watch out for similar objects like trucks
and vans.
5. Discrimination: The ability to distinguish (discriminate)
between different stimuli, so you don’t react the same way to
everything.
Two contradicting facts: Rats will learn to avoid food that made them
ill even if the illness happens hours after eating it. Second, Rats will
dislike the taste that made them ill but not the sight of the food.
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning has led to a variety of practical uses
like helping drug addicts, increasing the immune system efficiency,
and treating emotional disorders.
Operant Conditioning
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Operant Conditioning developed by B.F. Skinner, is a type of learning
where organisms learn to Voluntarily respond a certain way depending on
the consequences (like reward or punishment).
Operant Behavior: The learned behavior that acts upon the situation and
this behavior produces consequences. I.e.. If you learned that eating on the
bed makes your parents mad at you, your eating behavior will change
depending on what kind of responses you want the situation (parents yelling
or not) to have.
Law of Effect: Behavior that is rewarded is more likely to occur again.
Skinner Box: The box Skinner used to research on animal behavior. The box
has a bar/button that the animal can push to obtain rewards (food). The rate
of pushing is recorded.
o Shaping: Gradually rewarding the organism as it approaches the
desired behavior. I.e.. If you want a bird to peck on a bar, you would
feed it every time it got closer and closer to the bar but ignoring every
other behavior it does. Thus, you are shaping the behavior with
successive approximations.
o Reinforcers: anything that increases the chances of the behavior
happening again
 Positive Reinforcement: Rewards, like appraisal, money, food.
 Negative Reinforcement: Removing of aversive events. I.e.,
freeing from jail, stopping someone crying, eating medicine
that rids a cold, and drinking cold water to cool you down.
(Taking away bad things)
 Primary Reinforcers: Things that satisfies Inborn biological
needs. I.e.. Food, water, warmth etc.
 Secondary Reinforcers: Learned things that are strengthened
by primary reinforcers. I.e.. Money, which can buy food:
primary reinforcer; praises, high grades, smiles, which are all
associated with basic needs of happiness.
 Continuous Reinforcement: Reinforcing the behavior every
time it occurs. This method of learning is quick. But when
reinforcement stops, extinction can happen very quickly.
Partial Reinforcement: Reinforcing a behavior parts of the
time. Acquisition/learning is slow but more resistant to
extinction.
Four schedules of Partial reinforcement:
1. Fixed Ratio: Reinforcement after "fixed" number of
responses. I.e.. Getting candy after washing the floor every 3
times.
2. Variable Ratio: Reinforcement after an "unpredictable"
number of responses . I.e.. Getting candy after washing the
floor 2 times then getting candy after washing 5 times…then 3
times…
3. Fixed Interval: Reinforcement after a "fixed" amount of
time. I.e.. Getting Candy 3 hours after every time the floor is
washed.
4. Variable Interval: Reinforcement after an "unpredictable"
amount of time. I.e.. Getting Candy 2 hours after the floor is
washed then getting candy 5 hours after washing…then 3
hours…
Punishment: Opposite of reinforcement, punishment decreases the
chances of a behavior reoccurring.
Although punishment can successfully stop the undesired behavior, it
also has drawbacks. Punished behaviors are not forgotten, just
suppressed until appropriate situations; punishment increases
aggressiveness and attributes them to the punisher.
Cognitive Map: Mental images of ones surroundings. I.e.. Mice
develop cognitive maps that represent a maze they just ran through.
Latent Learning: Demonstration of acquired knowledge only when it
is needed. I.e.. Mice who explored a maze only demonstrate that they
know the maze well by directly going to the food placed the previous
time.
Overjustification Effect: Giving a reward for something the
organism already likes to do. This is unfavorable because the organism
will lose the intrinsic interest and rely on rewards for they behavior.
I.e.. Being paid to put together your favorite puzzle.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning has many useful applications like
increasing student performance, influencing productivity in jobs, and
helping shape children behaviors.
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Learning by Observation
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Observational learning: Researched by Albert Bandura in the 1960’s, this
is a type of learning that is accomplished by Modeling: watching specific
behaviors of others and imitating them.
Prosocial Behavior: Actions that are constructive, beneficial, and
nonviolent. These behaviors can prompt similar ones in others. Thus, "Prosocial".
Experiments show that children do exactly what their models (parents) do.
Hypocritical parents say one thing and do another; their children will say what they
say and do what they do.
Chapter 9 Memory
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Memory: persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of
info
Flashbulb memory: a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or
event; San Francisco residence recalling 1989 Earthquake
Human memory like a computer
1. Get info into our brain –encoding: processing of info into memory
system
2. Retain info –storage: retention of encoded info over time
3. Get it back later –retrieval: process of getting into out of memory
storage
Humans store vast amounts of info in long-term memory: relatively
permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
Short-term memory: activated memory that holds few items briefly; phone
number just dial
Encoding: Getting Information In
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Automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental info; occurs with
little or no effort, without our awareness, and without interfering with our
thinking of other things; space, time, frequency, well-learned info
Effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort;
memorizing these notes for the AP Psychology exam
After practice, effort processing becomes more automatic; reading from right
to left for students of Hebrew
Can boost memory through rehearsal: conscious repetition of info, either to
maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
Next-in-line effect: when people go around circle saying names/words,
poorest memories are for name/word person before them said
Info received before sleep is hardly ever remembered are consciousness fade
before processing able
Retain info better when rehearsal distributed over time –phenomenon called
spacing effect: tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better
long-term retention than is achieved through cramming
When given a list of items and ask to recall, people often demonstrate serial
position effect: tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
Rehearsal will not encode all info equally well because processing of info is in
3 ways
1. Semantic encoding: encoding of meaning, including the meaning of
words
2. Acoustic encoding: encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
3. Visual encoding: encoding of picture images
Fergus Craik and Endel Tulving flashed a word to people, asking question that
required processing either visually, acoustically, or semantically; semantic
encoding was found to yield much better memory
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Imagery: mental pictures; powerful aid to effortful processing, especially
when combined with semantic encoding; can easily picture where we were
yesterday, where we sat, and what we wore
Mnemonic: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery
and organizational devices
Chunking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs
automatically
Able remember info best when able to organize it into personal meaningful
arrangements
Forgetting as Encoding Failure
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Failure to encode info –never entered memory system
Much of what we sense, we never notice
Raymond Nickerson and Marilyn Adams discover most people cannot pick the
real American penny from different ones; (See pg. 280)
Storage: Retaining Information
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Sensory memory: immediate, initial recording of sensory info in memory
system
we have short temporary photographic memory called iconic memory:
momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; photographic/picture-image
memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a sec; visual = eye, which
sounds like "I" in iconic
also fleeting memory for auditory sensory images called echoic memory:
momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere,
sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 sec; auditory = ear, which
starts with "e" like echoic
Short-Term Memory
o without active processing, short-term memories have limited life
o short-term memory limited in capacity –about 7 chunks of info; at any
given moment, can consciously process only very limited amount of
info
Long-Term Memory
o capacity for storing long-term memories is practically limitless
o though forgetting occurs as new experiences interfere with retrieval
and as physical memory trace gradually decays
Karl Lashley removed pieces of rat’s cortex as it ran through maze; found
that no matter what part removed, partial memory of solving maze stayed;
concluded memories don’t reside in single specific spot
Psychologists then focus on neurons
Long-term potential (LTP): increase in a synapse’s firing potential after
brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be neural basis for learning and memory
After long-term potential occurs, passing electric current through brain won’t
disrupt old memories, but wipe up recent experiences; football player with
blow to head won’t recall name of play before the blow
Drugs that block neurotransmitters also disrupt info storage; drunk people
hardly remembers previous evening
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Stimulating hormones affect memory as more glucose available to fuel brain
activity, indicating important event –sears events onto brain; remembering
first kiss, earthquake
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Amnesia: loss of memory
Found that people who don’t have memories can still learn, indicating 2
memory systems operating in order
Implicit memory: retention without conscious recollection (of skills and
dispositions); how to do something
Explicit memory: memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously
know and "declare"; remember it was done before
Through scans, found that Hippocampus, neural center located in limbic
system, helps process explicit memories for storage
Damage to left side of hippocampus produce difficulty in remembering verbal
info, but no trouble recalling visual designs and locations
Damage to right side produce difficulty in remembering visual designs and
locations, but no trouble recalling verbal info
When hippocampus removed from monkeys, lose recent memories, but old
memories intact, suggesting hippocampus not permanent storage
Long-term memories scattered across various parts of frontal and temporal
lobes
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Retrieval: Getting Information Out
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Recall: measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information
learned earlier; fill-in-the-blank test
Once learned and forgotten, relearning something becomes quicker than
when originally first learned
Recognition: measure of memory in which the person need only identify
items previously learned; multiple-choice test
Relearning: memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when
relearning previously learned info
Through tests on recognition and relearning, found one remember more than
can recall
To retrieve specific memory, need to identify one of the strands that leads to
it, process called priming: activation, often unconsciously, of particular
associations in memory
Retrieval cues (reminders of info) such as photographs, often prime one’s
memories for earlier experiences
Best retrieval cues comes from associations formed at time when one encodes
memory
By being in similar context (surrounding), can cause flood of retrieval cues
and memories
Being in similar context as before, may trigger experience déjà vu: eerie
sense that "I’ve experienced this before." Cues from current situation may
subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
Things we learn in one state (joyful, sad, drunk, sober, etc) are more easily
recalled when in same state –phenomenon called state-dependent memory
Moods also associated with memory; easily recall memory when mood of that
incident same as present
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Mood-congruent memory: tendency to recall experiences that are
consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
Forgetting as Retrieval Failure
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Learning some items may interfere with retrieving others
Proactive interference (forward-acting): disruptive effect of prior learning
on the recall of new info; old combination lock numbers may interfere with
recalling of new numbers; "pro"(after = new) interference = interference on
new info
Retroactive interference (backward-acting): disruptive effect of new
learning on the recall of old info; teachers who just learn students’ names
from present class have trouble recalling previous class’ students’ names;
retro (before = old) interference = interference on old info
Repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defence mechanism that
banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from
consciousness
Increasing memory researchers think repression occurs rarely
Memory Construction
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Misinformation effect: incorporating misleading info into one’s memory of
an event; miscalling a stop sign when asked about car crash
Source amnesia: attributing to the wrong source an event that we
experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
Chapter 10
Thinking and Language
Thinking
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Cognition: mental activity associated with processing, understanding , and
communicating info
To think about so many things, we group them into concepts: mental
grouping of similar objects, events, or people
Prototype: the best representation of a concept. I.e. A dog maybe a good
example of the concept of four legged animals
Algorithm: A logical procedure guaranteed to solve a problem. This method
is slow but less likely to make mistakes. I.e. unscramble the letters in SOSIA
to find the word. An Algorithmic approach would be to try all the possible
combinations of letters.
Heuristic: Using "rule-of-thumb" strategies to solve problems and make
judgements efficiently. This method is faster but more likely to make
mistakes. I.e. Unscramble SOSIA. A Heuristic approach would not try
combinations with 2 SS’s together.
Insight: A sudden flash of inspiration and the solution to problem comes to
you. This contrasts with strategic problem solving methods.
Confirmation Bias: You tend to look for answers that confirm your own
expectations/guesses
Fixation: Inability to look at a problem from a different perspective.
Mental Set: A type of fixation that works on previous solutions that are
successful. It is like your mind is set on your mental set
Functional Fixedness: You tend to think of things in their usual functions.
I.e. Inability to see that a paperclip could also be used as a hook instead of
clipping papers.
Representative Heuristics: The tendency to judge things according to how
well they match a prototype. Thinking in terms on well something
"represents" another. I.e. if I say a person is strong, muscular, and fast, you
might think the person is some sort of athlete because those qualities best
represent an athlete. However, the person could very well be a fit professor.
Availability Heuristics: The tendency to base the likelihood of events on
how vivid you remembered them. How "available" the instance is in your
memory. I.e. If your printer broke down once and took you forever to fix it so
that you remember the instance greatly, the next time you advise someone
about a printer, you’ll most likely say printers break down easily.
Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of your judgements. Same as
being Overconfident.
Framing: the way information is shown or set up. Just like how something is
"framed" as in framing of a picture. If the picture is of fruits and the frame
looks like an interwoven wooden thread, then the picture looks very natural.
If the picture is placed around a frame that is grey and metallic-like, the
effect is very different. Just like if I "frame" the statement: there is a 70%
chance of winning as opposed to 30% chance of losing.
Belief bias: The tendency to perceive what is conflicting with our beliefs to
be illogical.
Belief Perseverance: Tendency for your beliefs to remain or "preserve"
even if where you formulated the belief is a wrong source. I.e. if Jim tells you
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that dogs can run faster than cats and you believe it, then even If you find
out that Jim is a mental patient, your belief that dogs are faster than cats still
remain.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computerized systems that mimic human
thinking abilities.
Neural Networks: Computer circuitry that resemble the real "neural
networks" of interconnected neurons in the brain
Language
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Language: the combination of gestured, spoken, and/or written words to
communicate meaning.
Phoneme: the smallest sound unit. I.e. In fish there are 3 phonemes: f, i, sh
Morpheme: the smallest meaningful unit (this includes pre/suffices). I.e. I,
a, dog, -ed, un-, me ~ are all morphemes.
Grammar: Rules in a language that allows us to properly understand it.
Semantics: How we get meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences.
Syntax: How to combine words into meaningful sentences.
Babbling Stage: (3-4 months after birth) A stage in speech development
where the infant utters sounds unlike the family language.
One-word stage: (1-2 years old) A stage in speech development where the
infant speaks single words
Two-word stage: (2 years old) Infants speak in two-word phrases that
resemble Telegraphic speech – speech like a "telegram" I.e. Want candy,
me play, no eat…etc.
A child can learn any language and will spontaneously invent meaningful
words to convey their wishes. However, after age 7, the ability to master a
new language greatly declines.
Animals also communicate, whether by means of sound or behavior just as
bees dictate the location of nectar with an elaborate dance.
Allen Gardner and Beatrice Gardner, researchers of University of Nevada,
successfully taught a chimpanzee to perform sign language as means of
communication.
Thinking and Language
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Linguistic Benjamin Lee Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity states language
determines how we think. This is most evident in polylinguals (speaking 2
or more languages). I.e. Someone who speaks English and Chinese will feel
differently depending on which language they are using. English has many
words describing personal emotions and Chinese has many words describing
inter-personal emotions.
However, Thinking could occur without language. This is evident in
pianists and artists where mental images nourish the mind.
Therefore, thinking and language affect each other in an enduring cycle.
Chapter 11
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Intelligence
We use intelligence tests to give a numerical value to ones mental abilities
by comparing them to others.
The Origins of Intelligence Testing
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Francis Galton (1822-1911) had great enthusiasm in measuring human traits
that lead to the "eugenics" movement. His goal was to "quantify human
superiority" by means of tests on strength, reaction time, sensory precision
and even head size. Despite his efforts, no correlation whatsoever was found
between general mental abilities and the traits.
Alfred Binet – founder of modern intelligence testing, sought methods to
identify students who would have difficulties in regular classes by measuring
ones Mental Age – if you perform the way a typical 10 year old would, then
your mental age is 10 years old, regardless of your real age. This lead to
labelling problems. Ie, people saw your level of intelligence and not really who
you are.
Lewis Truman- developed the current Stanford-Binet intelligence test. The
test measures IQ Intelligence Quotient- mental age divided by
chronological age(real age) times 100. If you are 12 years old(chronological
age) and your mental abilities are the same as those who are 12 years old
(mental age). Then your IQ is 12/12 X 100= 100, the average IQ.
The stanford-Binet test became applied to many people of differing races. The
result, Truman realized, the reason why non-Anglo Saxons did worst is
because the test measures not only their innate abilities but also education
and cultural distinctiveness.
What is Intelligence
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We define Intelligence as the ability/capacity to be goal oriented and exhibit
adaptive behavior.
IQ is not a fixed "thing" one has; it is merely a score one obtains from a test.
Know that intelligence is always expressed in a context. Ie, in the context of
warriors, musicians, engineers, artists, different intelligence levels will be
expressed in different areas by one individual.
To determine if many factors undermine ones general mental ability,
psychologists make use of factor analysis – a statistical method that
identifies a variety of related factors in a test.
Charles Spearman believed that there is a general intelligence factor or g
factor undermining each ability/factor. Ie, those who excelled in reasoning
also did quite well in all other areas such as spatial ability, verbal, memory,
and word fluency.
People with Savant syndrome excel exceptionally in one ability/skill but has
limited mental abilities. Ie, a 12 year old who has difficulty speaking and
walking but can compute numbers as fast as a calculator. Thus, contrary to
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the g factor, Howard Gardner believes we have "multiple intelligences" that
are independent of each other.
Also supporting the multiple intelligence theory is the existance of emotional
intelligence – the ability to manage, express, understand, and perceive
emotions. People with high emotional intelligence do better in social situations
and thus are more successful in careers, marriages, and parenting. This EI is
independent, if not negatively correlated, with academic intelligence.
With modern brain imaging techniques, researchers still fail (as did with
Galton) to find significant correlation between head size and intelligence.
Brains of people with high performances are less active (intake less glucose),
quick, and registers information with more complexity. One explanation for
this could be that people with faster cognitive processes acquire more
information.
Assessing Intelligence
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Aptitude tests – predict your future performance or ability to learn new skill.
Ie, college entrance exam(designed to test your ability to do college work),
intelligence tests, physical examinations
Achievement tests – assesses your current knowledge or what you know.
Ie, final course examinations (designed to test the knowledge you already
obtained during the course), and chapter tests.
Currently, the most widely used intelligence test is the Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (WAIS); it has 11 subtests and gives a verbal score, a
performance score, and an overall score. Large differences between the
verbal and nonverbal scores indicate possible learning difficulties.
Psychological tests must meet all 3 of the following criteria in order to be
widely accepted.
1. Standardization – To standardize a test, it must first be given to a
large representative sample of people in which their scores will be set
as the standard for comparison.
Normal curve- a bell shaped curve of scores formed by standardized
test results. The majority (68%) of people fall within the center or
average of the curve.
2. Reliability – To be reliable, a test must yield consistent results. This
is done by comparing scores on two halves of a test or by retesting.
3. Validity – The degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to
measure.
Content validity – corresponds toachievements tests. The
extent to which a test measures it’s intended behavior.
Predictive validity (or criterion-related validity) corresponds to aptitude tests. The success the test has in
predicting intended behavior
Criterion – The behavior being tested.
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Flynn Effect – Intelligence tests worldwide show an increase in scores since
1960’s. BUT aptitude test scores are decreasing;Possible explanations:
Greater academic diversity, better education, and/or improved nutrition.
The Dynamics of Intelligence
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Before age 3, except for extremely impaired children, casual observations and
intelligence tests predict future aptitudes minimally; but by age 3,
performances on intelligence tests begin to predict adolescent and adult
scores
By age 7, intelligence tests become more stable and increases in stability with
age of child
Mental retardation: condition of limited mental ability as indicated by an
intelligence score of below 70 and produces difficulty in adapting to demands
of life; varies from mild to profound; ONLY one percent of population meets
criteria and males outnumber females by 50 percent
One cause of mental retardation is Down syndrome: physical disorders
caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup
Creativity: ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
Discovered that certain level of aptitude is necessary but not sufficient for
creativity, correlates, but only to certain level (score of about 120)
Those who are freed from concern of social approval demonstrate better
creativity
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
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IQ scores of identical twins are virtually the same as though one person
taking test twice whereas IQ scores of fraternal twins are less similar
Evidence of environmental influence –fraternal twins who are no more
genetically alike than any other sibling, but are treated more alike tend to
score high than other siblings
Adopted children score more similar to their biological parents than their
adopted parents
Heritability: proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute
to genes; heritability of trait may vary, depending on range of populations
and environments studied
Environment that siblings share influences their aptitudes marginally, but
significantly influences scholastic achievements
Psychologist J. McVicker Hunt tested the benefits of responsive caregiving;
trained caregivers to play vocal games with infants in which first they imitated
babies’ babbling, then led babies in vocal follow-the-leader (shifting from one
familiar sound to another) and finally begin to teach them sounds from
Persian language; results were all 11 infants could name more than 50
objects and body parts by 22 months; Hunt’s experiment shows importance
of environment on children’s intelligence
Racial groups differ in average scores on intelligence tests
Difference not mostly based on genetics unlike individual performance
differences because heritability within groups would not eliminate the
possibility of strong environmental impact on the group differences
Example -IQ performances of today’s better-fed and better-educated
population exceeds those from 1930s population by the same amount as
average white today exceed average african-american
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Girls are better spellers and are equal or surpasses average boy in math
grades, but boys tend to score better in math problem solving
David Geary and Irwin Silverman speculate that skills came from evolutionary
perspective where males tend to be stronger in skills that their ancestral
fathers needed such as tracking prey and navigating way home whereas
females were enhanced in keen memory for location of edible planes by their
ancestral mothers
Researchers discovered that some people are better emotional detectors than
others while women are better at it than men
Some speculate that through evolution where ancestral mother learned to read
emotions of infant and may have further being fueled by cultural tendencies to
encourage empathic skills.
Chapter 12
Motivation
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MOTIVATION
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Motivation- a need or desire that energizes and directs behavior
Instinct- complex behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a speciesand
is unlearned
Drive-Reduction Theory- the idea that a physiological need creates an
aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
Homeostasis- 1. tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state
2. regulation of any aspect of body chemistry around a particular level
Incentives- a positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates
behavior
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:
o
o
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begins with physiological needs that must be satisfied
the higher-level safety needs become active
then psychological needs become active
MOTIVATION-HUNGER
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Stomach contractions accompany our feelings of hunger
Glucose
o the form of sugar that circulates in the blood
o provides the major source of energy for body tissues
o when its level is low, we feel hunger
Set Point
o the point at which an individual's "weight thermostat" is supposedly
set
o when the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger weight.
Metabolic Rate- body's base rate of energy expenditure
The hypothalamus controls eating and other body maintenance functions
EATING DISORDERS
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Anorexia Nervosa
o When a normal-weight person diets and becomes significantly
underweight, yet, still feeling fat, continues to starve
o Usually and adolescent female
o When a person weighs less than 85% of their normal body weight
o 95% of sufferers are female
o most are between the ages of 18-30
o 30% of persons diagnosed with anorexia nervosa die
Bulimia Nervosa
o Disorder characterized by private "binge-purge" episodes of
overeating, usually of high caloric foods, followed by vomiting or
laxative use
SEXUAL MOTIVATION
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Sex is a physiologically based motive, like hunger, but it is more affected by
learning and values
Sexual Response Cycle
o The four stages of sexual responding described by Masters and
Johnson
1. Excitement
2. Plateau
3. Orgasm
4. Resolution
Refractory Period- resting period after orgasm, during which a man cannot
achieve another orgasm
Estrogen- a sex hormone, secreted in greater amounts by females than by
males
Forces Affecting Sexual Motivation:
o Imaginative stimuli
o External stimuli
o Physiological readiness
Sexual Disorders- problems that consistently impair sexual arousal or
functioning
o In Men
Premature ejaculation- ejaculation before they or their
partners wish
 Impotence- inability to have or maintain erection
o In Women
 Orgasmic disorder- infrequent or absent orgasms
Sexual Orientation- an enduring sexual attraction toward members of
wither one’s own gender (homosexual orientation) or the other gender
(heterosexual orientation)
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MOTIVATION
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Achievement Motivation- a desire for significant accomplishment
o For mastery of things, people, or ideas
o For attaining a high standard
o McClelland and Atkinson believed fantasies would reflect achievement
concerns
Intrinsic Motivation- desire to perform a behavior for its own sake or to be
effective
Extrinsic Motivation- desire to perform a behavior due to promised rewards
or threats of punishment
Rewards Affect Motivation
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology- sub-field of psychology that
studies and advises on workplace behavior
I/O Psychologists- help organizations select and train employees, boost
morale and productivity, and design products and assess responses to them
Task Leadership- goal-oriented leadership that sets standards, organizes
work, and focuses attention on goals
Social Leadership- group-oriented leadership that builds teamwork,
mediates conflict, and offers support
Theory X
o Assumes that workers are basically lazy, error-prone, and extrinsically
motivated by money
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o Should be directed from above
Theory Y
Assumes that, given challenge and freedom, workers are motivated to achieve selfesteem and to demonstrate their competence and creativity.
Chapter 13
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Emotion
Emotion- a response of the whole organism
o Physiological arousal
o Expressive behaviors
o Conscious experience
Emotional Arousal
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Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal
Sympathetic division (arousing)
Specific Body Part
Parasympathetic division
(calming)
Pupils dilate
EYES
Pupils contract
Decreases
SALVATION
Increases
Perspires
SKIN
Dries
Decreases
Increases
RESPERATION
Accelerates
HEART
Slows
Inhibits
DIGESTION
Activates
Secrete stress hormones
ADRENAL GLANDS
Decreases secretion of stress
hormones
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Arousal and Performance- Performance peaks at lower levels of arousal for
difficult tasks, and at higher levels for easy or well-learned tasks
Emotion-Lie Detectors
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Polygraph- machine that is commonly used in attempt to detect lies;
measures several of the physiological responses accompanying emotion (i.e.
perspiration, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing changes
Control Question
o Up to age 18, did you ever physically harm anyone?
Relevant Question
o Did the deceased threaten to harm you in any way?
RELEVANT > CONTROL = LIE
Is 70% accuracy good?
o Assume 5% of 1000 employees actually guilty... after testing all
employees 285 will be wrongly accused
What about 95% accuracy?
o Assume that 1 in 1000 employees actually guilty... after testing all
employees 50 are wrongly declared guilty and 1 of 51 testing positive
are guilty (2%)
EXPERIENCING EMOTION
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The amygdala is a neural key to fear learning
Catharsis- emotional release; catharsis hypothesis- "releasing" aggressive
energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges
Feel-good, do-good phenomenon- people's tendency to be helpful when
already in a good mood.
Subjective Well-Being- self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life;
used along with measures of objective well-being (physical and economic
indicators to evaluate people's quality of life.
Adaptation-Level Phenomenon- tendency to from judgements relative to a
"neutral" level (i.e. brightness of lights, volume of sound, level of income);
defined by our prior experience
Relative Deprivation- perception that one is worse off relative to those with
whom one compares oneself
THEORIES OF EMOTION
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Does you heart pound because you are afraid... or are you afraid because you
feel your heart pounding?
James-Lange Theory of Emotion
o Experience of emotion is awareness of physiological responses to
emotion-arousing stimuli
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Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
o Emotion-arousing stimuli simultaneously trigger: physiological
responses and subjective experience of emotion
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Schachter’s Two Factor Theory of Emotion
o To experience emotion one must: be physically aroused and
cognitively label the arousal
Emotion and cognition feed on each other
Chapter 14
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Personality
Personality
o An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
o Four basic perspectives
1. Psychoanalytic
2. Trait
3. Humanistic
4. Social-cognitive
From Freud's theory which proposes that childhood sexuality and unconscious
motivations influence personality
The Psychoanalytic Perspective
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Psychoanalysis
o Technique of treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and
interpret unconscious tensions
o Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality sought to explain what he
observed during psychoanalysis
Free Association
o Method of exploring the unconscious
o Person relaxes and says whatever comes to mind, no matter how
trivial or embarrassing
Unconscious
o Freud -a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes. Feelings
and memories
o Contemporary-information processing of which we are unaware
Preconscious - information that is not conscious, but is retrievable into
conscious awareness
Personality Structure
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ID
o A reservoir of unconscious psychic energy
o Strives to satisfy basic sexual and aggressive drives
o Operates on the pleasure principle. Demanding immediate gratification
SUPEREGO
o The part of personality that presents internalized ideals
o Provides standards for judgement and for future aspirations
EGO
o The largely conscious, "executive" part of personality
o Mediates among the demands of the id, superego and ego
o Operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways
that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain
Personality Development
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Psychosexual Stages- the childhood stages of development during which
the pleasure-seeking energies focus on distinct erogenous zones
Oedipus Complex- a boy's sexual desires towards his mother and feelings of
jealousy and hatred for the rival father
Freud's Psychosexual Stages
STAGE
FOCUS
Oral (0-18 months)
Pleasure centers on the mouth -sucking, biting, chewing
Anal (18-36 months)
Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping
with demands for control
Phallic (3-6 years)
Pleasure zone in genitals; coping with incestuous sexual
feeling
Latency ( 6 to
puberty)
Dormant sexual feelings
Genital (puberty on)
Maturation of sexual interests
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
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Identification- the process by which children incorporate their parents’
values into their developing superegos
Gender Identity- one’s sense of being male or female
Fixation- a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier
psychosexual stage, where conflicts were unresolved
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
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Defense Mechanisms- the ego’s protective methods of reducing anxiety by
unconsciously distorting reality
Repression- the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing
thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
Regression- defense mechanism in which an individual retreats, when faced
with anxiety, to a more infantile psychosexual stage where some psychic
energy remains fixated
Reaction Formation- defense mechanism by which the ego unconsciously
switches unacceptable impulses into their opposites. People may express
feelings that are the opposite of their anxiety-arousing unconscious feelings.
Projection- defense mechanism by which people disguise their own
threatening impulses by attributing them to others
Rationalization- defense mechanism that offers self-justifying explanations
in place of the real, more threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions
Displacement- defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses
toward a more acceptable or less threatening object or person... as when
redirecting anger towards a safer outlet
NEO-FREUDIANS
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Alfred Adler- importance of childhood social tension
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Karen Horney- sought to balance Freud's masculine biases
Carl Jung- emphasizes collective unconscious...concept of a shared, inherited
reservoir of memory traces from our species' history
ASSESSING THE UNCONSCIOUS
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Projective Test- a personality rest, such as the Rorschach or TAT, that
provided ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one's inner
dynamics
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)- a projective test in which people
express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up
about ambiguous scenes
Rorschach Inkblot Test- the most widely used projective test, uses a set of
10 inkblots designed by Hermann Rorschach to identify people's inner feelings
by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.
THE TRAIT PERSPECTIVE
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Trait- a characteristic pattern of behavior; a disposition to feel and act, as
assessed by self-report inventories and peer reports
Personality Inventory- a questionnaire (often with true-false or agreedisagree items) on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide
range of feelings and behaviors; used to assess selected personality traits
The "Big Five" personality Factors
Trait Dimension
Description
Emotional Stability
Calm versus anxious
Secure versus insecure
Self-satisfied versus self-pitying
Extraversion
Sociable versus retiring
Fun-loving versus sober
Affectionate versus reserved
Openness
Imaginative versus practical
Preference for variety versus preference for routine
Independent versus conforming
Extraversion
Soft-hearted versus ruthless
Trusting versus suspicious
Helpful versus uncooperative
Conscientiousness
Organized versus disorganized
Careful versus careless
Disciplined versus impulsive
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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
o The most widely researched and clinically used of all personality tests
o Originally developed to identify emotional disorders (still considered its
most appropriate use)
o Now used for many other screening purposes
Empirically Derived Test- a test developed by testing a pool of items and
then selecting those that discriminate between groups... similar to MMPI
EVALUATING THE TRAIT PERSPECTIVE
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Situational influences on behavior are important to consider
People can fake desirable responses on self-report measures of personality
Averaging behavior across situations seems to indicate that people do have
distinct personality traits
HUMAISTIC PERSPECTIVE
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Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)- studied self-actualization processes of
productive and healthy people
Self-Actualization- the ultimate psychological need that arises after basic
physical and psychological needs are met and self-esteem is achieved; the
motivation to fulfill one's potential
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)- focused on growth and fulfillment of individuals
Requires three conditions
1. Genuineness
2. Acceptance- unconditional positive regard
3. Empathy
Unconditional Positive Regard- an attitude of total acceptance toward
another person
Self-Concept- all of our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer
to the question "Who am I"?"
Self-Esteem- one’s feelings of high or low self-worth
Self-Serving Bias- a readiness to perceive oneself favorably
Individualism- giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and
defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group
identifications
Collectivism- giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one’s
extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
Value Contrasts Between Individualism and Collectivism
Concept
Individualism
Collectivism
Self
Independent (identity from individual
traits)
Interdependent (identity from belonging)
Life task
Discover and express one's uniqueness
Maintain connections, fit it
What matters
Me-personal achievement and fulfillment;
rights and liberties
We-group goals and solidarity; social
responsibilities and relationships
Coping method
Change reality
Accommodate to reality
Morality
Defined by individuals (self-based)
Defined by social networks (duty-based)
Relationships
Many, often temporary or casual;
confrontation acceptable
Few, close and enduring; harmony valued
Attributing
behavior
Behavior reflects one's personality and
attitudes
Behavior reflects social norm and roles
EVALUATING THE HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE
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Concepts like self-actualization are vague
Emphasis on self may promote self-indulgence and lack of concern for others
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Theory does not address reality of human capacity for evil
Theory has impacted popular ideas on child rearing, education, management,
etc.
SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE
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Reciprocal Determinism- the interacting influences between personality
and environmental factors
Personal Control- our sense of controlling our environments rather than
feeling helpless
External Locus of Control- the perception that chance or outside forces
beyond one's personal control determine one's fate
Internal Locus of Control- the perception that one controls one's own fate
Learned Helplessness- the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal
or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
Built from research on learning and cognition
Fails to consider unconscious motives and individual disposition
Today, cognitive-behavioral theory is perhaps predominant psychological approach to
explaining human behavior.
Chapter 15
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Psychological Disorders
Psychological Disorder- a condition in which behavior is judged
o Atypical- not enough in itself
o Disturbing- varied with time and culture
o Maladaptive- harmful
o Unjustifiable- sometimes there's a good reason
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
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Perceived Causes- movements of sun or moon; evil spirits
Ancient Treatments- exorcism, caged like animals, beaten, burned,
castrated, mutilated, blood replaced with animals blood
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
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Medical Model
o Concept that diseases have physical causes
o Can be diagnosed, treated, and in most cases, cured
o Assumes that these "mental" illnesses can be diagnosed on the basis
of their symptoms and cured through therapy in a psychiatric hospital
Bio-psycho-social Perspective- assumes that biological, sociocultural, and
psychological factors combine and interact to produce psychological disorders
ETIOLOGY
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DSM-IV
o American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders
o A widely used system for classifying psychological disorders
Neurotic disorder
o Usually distressing but that allows one to think rationally and function
socially
o Freud saw the neurotic disorders as ways of dealing with anxiety
Psychotic disorder
o Person loses contact with reality
o Experiences irrational ideas and distorted perceptions
ANXIETY DISORDERS
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Anxiety Disorders- distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors
that reduce anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder- client is tense, apprehensive, and in a state
of autonomic nervous system arousal
Phobia- persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- characterizes by unwanted repetitive
thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)
Panic Disorder- marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which
a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other
frightening sensation
DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
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Dissociative Disorders- conscious awareness becomes separated
(dissociated) from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings
Dissociative Amnesia- selective memory loss often brought on by extreme
stress
Dissociative Fugue- flight from one's home and identity accompanies
amnesia
Dissociative Identity Disorder- rare dissociative disorder in which a person
exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; also known as
multiple personality disorder
MOOD DISORDERS
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Mood Disorders- characterized by emotional extremes
Major Depressive Disorder- a mood disorder in which a person, for no
apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods,
feelings of worthlessness, and diminished interest or pleasure in most
activities
Mania- a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
Bipolar Disorder- a mood disorder in which the person alternated between
the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of
mania; formerly called manic-depressive disorder
SCHIZOPHRENIA
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Schizophrenia
o Literal translation "split mind"
o A group of severe psychotic disorders characterized by:
 Disorganized and delusional thinking
 Disturbed perceptions
 Inappropriate emotions and actions
Delusions- false beliefs, often on persecution or grandeur, that may
accompany psychotic disorders
Hallucinations- false sensory experiences such as seeing something without
any external visual stimulus
Subtypes of Schizophrenia
Paranoid
Preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations
Disorganizes
Disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion
Catatonic
Immobility (or excessive, purposeless movement), extreme negativism, and/or
parrotlike repeating of another's speech or movements
Undifferentiated or residual
Schizophrenia symptoms without fitting one of the above types
PERSONALITY DISORDERS
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Personality Disorders
o Disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns
that impair social functioning
o Usually without anxiety, depression, or delusions
Antisocial Personality Disorder- disorder in which the person (usually male)
exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family
members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist
Chapter 16
Therapy
)
THERAPY
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Psychotherapy- an emotionally charges, confiding interaction between a
trained therapist and someone who suffers from psychological difficulties
Eclectic Approach- an approach to psychotherapy that, depending on the
client's problems, uses or integrates techniques from various forms of therapy
(also know as psychotherapy integration
PSYCHOANALYSIS
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Psychoanalysis- Freud believed the patient's free associations, resistances,
dreams, and transferences- and the therapist's interpretations of themreleased previously repressed feelings, allowing the patient to gain selfinsight
Resistance- blocking from consciousness of anxiety-laden material
Interpretation- that analyst’s noting supposed dream meanings,
resistances, and other significant behaviors in order to promote insight
Transference- the patient’s transfer to the analyst of emotions linked with
other relationships
HUMANIST THERAPY
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Person-Centered Therapy- humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers;
therapist uses techniques such as active listening within a genuine, accepting.
Empathic environment to facilitate clients' growth
Active Listening- empathic listening in which the listener echoes, restates,
and clarifies
GESTALT THERAPY
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Developed by Fritz Perls
Combines the psychoanalytic emphasis on bringing unconscious feelings to
awareness and the humanistic emphasis on getting "in touch with oneself"
Aims to help people become more aware and able to express their feeling,
and to take responsibility for their feelings and actions
BEHAVIOR THERAPY
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Behavior Therapy- therapy that applies learning principles to the elimination
of unwanted behaviors
Counterconditioning
o Procedure that conditions new responses to stimuli that trigger
unwanted behaviors
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o Based on classical conditioning
o Includes systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning
Sytematic Desensitization
o Type of counterconditioning
o Associates a pleasant, relaxed state with gradually increasing anxietytriggering stimuli
o Commonly used to treat phobias
Aversive Conditioning
o Type of counterconditioning that associates an unpleasant state with
an unwanted behavior
o Nausea Alcohol
Token Economy
o An operant conditioning procedure that rewards desired behavior
o Patient exchanges a token of some sort, earned for exhibiting the
desired behavior, for various privileges or treats
COGNITIVE THERAPY
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Cognitive Therapy
o Teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting
o Based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and
our emotional reactions
Rational-Emotive Therapy
o Confrontational cognitive therapy developed by Albert Ellis
o Vigorously challenges people's illogical, self-defeating attitudes and
assumptions
o Also called rational-emotive behavior therapy by Ellis, emphasizing a
behavioral "homework" component
GROUP THERAPIES
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Family Therapy
o Treats the family as a system
o Views an individual’s unwanted behaviors as influenced by or directed
at other family members
o Encourages family members toward positive relationships and
improved communication
Types of Therapists
TYPE
DESCRIPTION
Psychiatrist
Physicians who specialize in the treatment of psychological disorders. Not all
psychiatrists have had extensive training in psychotherapy, but as M.D.'s they can
prescribe medications. Thus, they tend to see those with the most serious problems.
Many have private practices
Clinical Psychologists
Most are psychologists with a Ph.D. and expertise in research, assessment, and
therapy, supplemented by a supervised internship. About half work in agencies and
institutions, half in private practices.
Clinical or psychiatric
Social workers
A two-year Master of Social Work graduate program plus postgraduate supervision
prepares some social workers to offer psychotherapy, mostly to people with everyday
personal and family problems. About half have earned the National Association of
Social Workers' designation of clinical social work.
Counselors
Marriage and family counselors specialize in problems arising from family relations.
Pastoral counselors provide counseling to countless people. Abuse counselors work
with substance abusers and with spouse and child abusers and their victims.
BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES
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Psychopharmacology- study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior
Lithium- chemical that provides an effective drug therapy for the mood
swings of bipolar disorders
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)- therapy for severely depressed patients
in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized
patient
Psychosurgery- surgery that removes of destroys brain tissue in an effort to
change behavior
Lobotomy- now-rare psychosurgical procedure once used to calm uncontrollably
emotional or violent patients
Chapter 18
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Social Psychology
The goal of social psychologists is to study how we feel about, relate, and
influence each other
Social Thinking
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Fritz Heider’s Attribution Theory states that people "attribute" (link) others’
behaviors with their (internal) disposition or (external) situations. I.e. A
person that always smiles at a party might give the impression to others that
he is a happy guy (dispositional attribution) or the party is making him happy
(situational attribution).
Fundamental Attribution Error: When someone attributes others’ behavior
as a reflection of their "real" internal disposition not considering situational
effects. That is, one makes the mistake of underestimating situational
influence and overestimating personality influence. I.e. Observing a police
officer at work will make you think that they are forceful, non-tolerating, and
even aggressive (overestimating personality influence) but this is so because
their job demands such actions (underestimating situation influence).
However, catch them off duty in a pet shop and you might see how caring
and sincere they are.
Attitudes: Your feelings and beliefs that direct the way you respond to your
surroundings. In turn, your actions can also dictate your attitudes; so
attitudes and actions exist in an enduring cycle.
Foot-in-the-door-phenomenon: Tendency for people who have agreed on
a small request to comply later to a larger one. I.e. you are likely to agree to
a small questionnaire from a salesman at first and then also to agree to larger
request say purchasing what he has to offer.
Role: Expectations on how one should behave in a certain social position. I.e.
Adults should be responsible, professors should be intellectual, soldiers should
be brave…etc.
In Philip Zimbardo’s 1972 prison study, students were randomly assigned to
act as prisoners or guards. In less than a week, the students became so
absorbed into their "role playing" that the roles they played actually became
themselves. The guards adopted abusive attitudes and the prisoners became
discouraged and even rebellious. After the study, the students quickly grew
back into their normal roles.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: States that if what we believe and what we
do are inconsistent, we will feel cognitive dissonance (discomforting tension)
and we will reduce this tension by altering our attitudes. I.e. If you were
made to write about the advantages of a topic you disagree on (say more
homework), you’ll feel uneasy and start believing your words to comfort
yourself.
Social Influence
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Conformity: often due to group pressure, is the adjustment of your behavior
or thinking to coincide with others. Examples of conformity include: laughing
when others are laughing, going to a stand in the mall crowded with people,
giving more to charity baskets because there’s lots of money inside.
o Norms: Expected or proper behavior in a social context.
o Normative Social Influence: Person conforms because they want to
gain social approval/acceptance. (NORMative: following the social
norm)
o Informative Social Influence: Person conforms because they accept
others’ judgment on reality. (INFOrmative: accepting info/facts about
reality)
o Stanley Milgram's Obedience Study: Participants act as teachers
who deliver electrical shocks to examinee’s that answer incorrectly.
The magnitude of voltages increase as the number of questions
answered incorrectly increase. Even though screaming sounds of pain
were heard from the examinee, 63% of the participants delivered right
up to the last 450-volts. The experiment showed that obedience was
highest when: the order giver has high authority, the victim was far
away or unseen, no one was seen disobeying.
Social Facilitation: Improved performance on well learned tasks in the
presence of others (audience).
Social Loafing: Diminished effort when working in a group towards a
common goal. (slacking off others)
Deindividuation: The loss of self- restraint when one is part of a large
group.
Group Polarization: Pre-existing attitudes become enhanced when
discussed with in a group. I.e. When abusive parents talk together, they feel
their actions are more justified and become even more abusive.
Group Think: Where people in group discussions tend to agree with
whatever is being proposed in order to maintain hormony. Alternative views
are suppressed even though they are better than the presented one.
Culture: Passed on behaviors, ideas, and attitudes shared by a many people.
The minority can pursuade the majority if they are consistent and committed.
I.e. Mahatma Gandhi’s fight for independence.
Personal Space: The "zone" we like to maintain around our bodies. This is
culture-dependent. Western cultures have a relatively small personal space
because of the hugs and kisses. Eastern cultures, however, like to maintain a
relatively open personal space.
Gender Roles: Expected behaviors from males and females in a culture.
Social Relations
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Prejudice: Often negative beliefs, emotions, and actions towards a group
and its individual members. These attitudes are based on Stereotypes:
overgeneralizations about a group of people. These unjustified thoughts bring
about discrimination and social inequalities. I.e. Negro’s are perceived as
violent as they push people the same way a Caucasian would.
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Ingroup Bias: Favoring of your own group. This kind of thinking promotes
separations among the human race as people are classified as "ingroup" and
"outgroup."
Scapegoat Theory: Justification of one’s prejudice/anger is sought in
blaming someone (target). In order to boost one’s self-esteem they will resort
to degrading others.
Just-world phenomenon: Belief that the world is "just the way it is." I.e.
people get what they deserve and deserve what they get (promotes blame
and lowers the tendency to help others).
Aggression: Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy others.
People who are aggression-prone are more likely to drink and become violent.
Frustration-aggression principle: Frustration creates Aggression.
Repeated exposure to violent shows diminishes ones self-inhibition just as
watching pornography makes one’s partner seem less attractive.
Conflict: Inconsistencies of actions, goals, and/or ideas.
Social Traps: A situation in which both parties are aiming for self-interest
only and therefore gets tied in a mutually destructive situation. I.e. When
fishing companies anticipate that other companies will fish just as much or
more as themselves so they continue to rigoriously fish. Eventually this
situation results in a depletion of fish because none of the companies would
lower their fishing amount.
Mere-exposure effect: Increased liking of a stimulus due to repeated
exposure to it. I.e. The more you look at a picture the more you like it.
You will become friends with those geographically close to you (proximity).
Also, you are likely to marry someone who has the same level of physical
attractiveness as you.
Passionate Love: Usually present at the beginning of a relationship, this is
state of intense "HOT" intimate love.
Companionate Love: The affectionate attachment that replaces passionate
love and persists in marriage.
Equity: The constant sharing between partners. You freely get what you
freely give. Equity increases chances of sustained companionate love.
Self-disclosure: Telling your most intimate aspects (fears, wishes, dreams)
to another (Disclosing yourself).
Altruism: Unselfishness, being nice, unconditional help to others. This
positive social interaction dictates the very quality of a hero.
Bystander Effect: Diminished possibility of giving aid when other bystanders
are present. Or failure to take responsibility of the situation when others are
around. In order for a bystander to give aid to someone in need, 3 steps must
be achieved :
1. The incident is noticed
2. The incident is acknowledged as an emergency
3. Responsibility of the incident is achieved
Social exchange theory: (reciprocity norm) social interactions are regarded
as an exchange process where the goal is to maximize benefits and minimize
costs.
Superordinate Goals: Common goals that overlook individual differences
and acquired through total cooperation.
GRIT: Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-Reduction. Strategy for
reduction of international tensions through win-win attitudes and communication.
Chapter 19
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Statistics
Percentile Rank: A percentage that describes your rank among those also
being evaluated. I.e. if your percentile rank on a test is 90, then your score is
higher than 90% of the class. It is impossible to get 100% percentile rank
because you cannot get higher than everyone in the class, including yourself.
Mean: The average score. Add all the numbers up and divide by number of
terms. The mean of {2,2,3,10,98} is 23.
Median: The middle point of all the terms such that half is above the number
and half is below the number (50th percentile). Arrange the number from
highest to lowest or vice versa and find the number in the middle. The
median of {2,2,3,10,96} is 3.
Mode: The number that occurs the most. Count to see which number appears
the most. The mode of {2,2,3,10,98} is 2.
Range: The range of the scores is the difference between the highest number
and the lowest number. The range of GPA score is from 0.0 to 4.0.
Standard Deviation: A measurement of how far scores differ/deviate from
the mean. The standard deviation of {5,6,5,6,6,7,5,4} is very low because
terms hardly deviate from the mean of 5.5. Whereas, the standard deviation of
{5,10,8,18,-6,5,-7,22} is high.
FIND THE STANDARD DEVIATION OF {2,3,3,4}
(1) Find the mean.
(2+3+3+4)/4 = 3
(2) Subtract the mean from each term
and square it.
(2-3)² = 1, (3-3)² = 0, (3-3)² = 0, (4-3)²
=1
(3) Find the average of the deviations
from the mean.
(1+0+0+1)/4 = 0.5
(4) Square root the average and that's
the standard deviation
(0.5)^1/2 = .7071
Normally this number should be
rounded to the same decimal place as
the data. But 0.7071 is shown for
better understanding.
0.7071 => 1
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Normal curve or more commonly known as the Bell Curve is a distribution graph
that dictates 68% of the scores should circa the mean. More specifically, 68% of
the scores should fall within 1 standard deviation and 95% should fall within 2
standard deviations from the mean.
Scatterplot: A graphical representation of data by usage of dots. The degree of
cluster or formation of a slope can dictate the correlation between the two
variables.
Correlation: The relationship between 2 events. I.e. Traffic accidents increase
with increasing temperatures; businesses drop as Christmas ends.
Correlation Coefficient: A proportional number that measures correlation
- how strongly two events vary together.
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Positive Correlation: The two events increase and/or decrease
together. For example, increasing study time positively correlates
with increasing grades or decreased food consumption positively
correlates with decreased excitability. Positive correlation
coefficients are positive numbers ranging from 0.00 (no
correlation) to 1.00 (perfect correlation). In a scatterplot graph, a
positive correlation exists if a positive slope is seen.
Negative Correlation: One event increases and the other decreases
or vice versa. For example, decreasing number of hours of sleep
negatively correlates with increases traffic accidents or increasing
alcohol consumption decreases alertness. Negative correlation
coefficients are negative numbers ranging from:1.00 (perfect
correlation) to 0.00 (no correlation). In a scatterplot, negative a
correlation exists if a negative slope is seen.
* Be sure to remember that CORRELATIONS DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN
CAUSATION. If car accidents increase with increasing temperatures, it does not
necessarily mean that hot temperatures cause more traffic accidents!!
* Be aware of ILLUSORY CORRELATION: seeing relationships between
something when there is none. If you believe that black-colored dogs are more
aggressive than white-colored dogs, then you will be more likely to notice and
recall events where black-colored dogs show aggressiveness to confirm your
belief (also know as "self:serving bias").
Regression toward the mean: Tendency for extreme values to go back
("regress") to the average value (mean). I.e. If you normally get 80% on your tests
and suddenly you got an extreme (unusual) score of 50%, then on your next test
you are likely to get around 80% again.
Statistical Significance: A measure of how likely an event is due to chance alone.
I.e. If average marks concerning two classes are statistically significant, then the
marks are actually different, not due to random chance or sampling errors.
Statistical significance is usually determined by mathematical analysis of the
samples.
Graphs (should recognize and know)