Chapter 7: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence & Chapter 8: Motivation Flashcards
PROBLEM SOLVING definition
Necessary when we need to overcome obstacles in order to answer a question or achieve a goal
3 strategies of Problem Solving?
Algorithm, Analogy Approach, and Mental Simulation
Algorithm definition? Examples? Issue?
Def: a step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution
Examples:
Spell check on document; internal dictionary; looking at every word
Summer barbecue; Algorithm: one person times 2 for hotdogs
Problem: NOT always practical or efficient
Examples:
Sq root of 16,129; you could keep square rooting
Summer barbecue; starting in aisle 1 to find hotdogs
Analogy Approach Definition? Example? Problem?
Def: using a solution to an earlier problem to help solve a new problem
Ex: trying reduce fat consumption, substitute whole milk to regular sour cream, skim milk to light sour cream
Problem: when getting new recipe, don’t know how to make it low fat because there’s no milk
Problem: Often people focus on superficial features rather than underlying similarities
Mental Simulation Definition? Examples?
imagining the steps involved in solving a problem mentally before tackling the problem
Examples:
Going over how to break up with someone
Submit late paper, practicing what to say to professor
Figure out best route for errands on the way home
Mental Simulation – Is “thinking positively” alone helpful?
No.
Study Ex: told psyc students 1st group to imagine the grade they want; 2nd group told to visualize the steps to get the grade they want (notes, tutoring)
PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEMS
Confirmation Bias: Definition? Examples?
searching for information that confirms our ideas, that we’re right
Making little or no effort to search for information that might disprove the belief
Examples:
Subjects generated number sequence that follow the rule; search and gave examples to what they thought and already believed it was true
Social media “11 facts that support all your opinions”
PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEMS Functional Fixedness: Definition? Examples? Non-Example?
our tendency to perceive the functions of objects as fixed and unchanging
Examples:
Toy needed new battery, couldn’t find the screwdriver, so gave up, and didn’t think about other methods to unscrew toy
Connect 9 dots by 4 lines
6 matchsticks make 3 triangles → 3D triangle
Non-Ex: criminals use coat hanger to break into car
PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEMS Creativity Definition?
ability to produce valued outcomes in a novel way
PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEMS: Creativity: How to measure?
divergent thinking
PROBLEM SOLVING PROBLEMS: Creativity: Divergent Thinking definition? example?
ability to generate a variety of unusual solutions to a problem
Ex: given a brick, name all the ways to use it
Personality traits linked to creativity
Intrinsic motivation, nonconformity, curiosity, persistence
Intrinsic motivation definition?
pursue task for internal reasons: enjoyment, satisfaction, NOT external reasons: fame, money
Nonconformity definition?
not overly concerned with other people’s opinion, risk ridicule
Curiosity definition?
open to new experiences; notice when reality contradicts their expectations
Persistence, most or least important attribute?
most important attribute
Decision Making definition
weighing the pros and cons in order to make choice
Heuristics definition
mental shortcuts people use to make judgements quickly and efficiently
Rule of Thumb – to save time
REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTIC definition? examples?
Mental shortcut where people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case
Examples:
Bob likes opera, plays chess, goes to museums → sounds like he’d be a trumpet player over a farmer
Who graduated from Harvard? Sonia Dara or Bill Gates? Sonia Dara.
Steve shy, anti-social, need for order → sounds like librarian over salesman
Base Rate definition? example? issue?
information about the relative frequency of members of different categories
Ex: Percentage of librarians and salesmen in the US. there’s more salesman, so you should assume Steve’s more likely to be a salesman
Problem: People tend to ignore the base rate
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC definition? examples?
People base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind
How easily you can retrieve from memory
Mental shortcut
Examples:
How many working moms? Can’t google, so you base judgment on people you know
Most doctor women? Child has only seen female doctors
People think homicides>suicides, but it’s actually suicide>homicide
More tornadoes in Oklahoma or Kansas? Kansas because of Wizard of Oz, but it’s actually Oklahoma
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC: Mental Shortcut – Problems with bias example?
Ex: celebrities talking about mental illness, more in your mind
6 Properties of Language?
Communicative, Arbitrary, Meaningfully Structured, Multiplicity of Structure, Productive, Dynamic
property of lang – Communicative definition
Writing down what you’re thinking and feelings and have someone understand it
property of lang – Arbitrary definition, ex, exception
symbols, sounds, objects that represent other things, particular things are meaningful to us, but not of the actual thing
Ex: Water bottle, we don’t call it swiffa boofa
Exception: onomatopoeia words (ex: buzz)
Meaningfully Structured definition
patterns of sounds and letters that form meaningful words, patterns of words that form meaningful sentences… etc.
Multiplicity of Structured definition, ex
Any meaningful utterance can be analyzed at any level, more than one way. Patterns of words can have more than one meaning
Ex: the cat ate the bird = the bird was eaten by the cat
Productive defintion
produce an infinite number of sentences, meaningful combinations of words of what we’re feeling, thinking, we can express that. Can come up with different ways to express ourselves
Dynamic
constantly evolving, new words, phrases, meanings,
Ex: .com, “i” in Apple products, slang
Sapir-Whorf 2 Hypotheses, what did they study
Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativity, how language is related to thought
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis – Linguistic relativity definition, examples
language shapes thought
Speakers of different languages may have different cognitive systems as a result of their language; language shapes thought
Examples:
“He” as a generic pronoun
Outdated terms – Flight attendant used to be Stewardess (Waitress)
Sexist terms – No “Mistress” word for men; No “Bossy” word for boys, Men = Assertive
Gender neutral options – Chair person instead of Chairmen, Fireman → Firefighter, Policeman → Police Officer
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis – Linguistic determinism definition, any support?
language strongly influences or determines perception and reasoning; Determines thought
No support
Color identification task study, what did they do, conclusion?
match different color sticks
Subjects: english speakers, Dani people of New Guinea
English – 11 words for common colors
Dani – 2 words (light and dark)
Who can match color chips better?
If language determines thought, Dani should fail this task.
Dani did just as good as English
Conclusion – Linguistic determinism NOT correct
Languages with Grammatical Gender Study, what did they do, conclusion?
gendered nouns
Does speaking 1 of these languages make it easier or harder for its speakers to think about gender in non-binary terms?
Study using Spanish and German words for same object
Describe object with stereotypical gender terms
“Key” is fem in Spanish, masculine in German
Results – Yes, it’s harder they describe it differently
Conclusion: Language shapes thought
Relevance for bilingual speakers
people think of the world differently depending what language you speak
what did Descartes believe about language
Descartes believed language is what distinguishes humans from other species
Distinction between communication and language
Video Ex conclusions about students and pigeons listening to tick patterns, Can pigeons identify human objects, Can dogs understand language, Can dolphins accurately use syntax?
Students and Pigeon listen if there was a tick after different patterns
Pigeons find it easy, but humans fail because we try to find meanings of relationships and connections
Pigeons can identify human objects
Dogs can understand language
Doesn’t stop his brain from working
Dolphins ability to call semantically reversible sentences – syntax
Does it accurately
INTELLIGENCE defintion 3 abilities
Ability to understand and control thinking processes
Ability to learn from experience
Ability to adapt to the surrounding environment
Single factor theory definition; Factor “g” =? Who invented
single factor underlies all our intelligent behavior Factor “g” = general intelligence
Charles Spearman
Multiple intelligences theory definition; example, who invented
don’t have an intelligence, MULTIPLE intelligences; some are we don’t even think about it
Each intelligence is independent of the others
Ex: good hand-eye coordination (sports)
Howard Gardner
Binet’s 1904 test; Age graded; Mental age score
identify kids who need help in school
Age graded – items the kid would mostly get right depending on their age
Mental age score – how well you do compared to others the same age
Terman created Stanford Binet Test, what else did he create, equation?
Translated to English, adjusted
Created the IQ score
IQ = Mental Age/Chronological Age x 100
Wechsler – WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence for Children Scale)
Looked at what
verbal and non-verbal ability (visual spatial tasks)
PROS AND CONS OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS VIDEO EXAMPLE
Believed intelligence was inborn and fixed characteristic
Provide single summary score allow placement children into proper classroom,
Cons leadership in US army needed; needed in WWI; screen certain immigrant populations into US De facto means of shaping nature of immigration in US
No adjustment for cultural background
Popularized notion that false conclusions of intellectual capacity
May not get at real life intelligence in practical sense; may not give us info of every aspect of a person
Until 1950s Wechsler – WAIS can see breakdown of strengths and weaknesses
what are the ASSESSING INTELLIGENCE TESTS: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES
Standardization, Reliability, Validity
Standardization def; normal IQ score range? average score, standard deviation, genius IQ, example
Test must have established norms – given to large population to figure out average, below average, above average scores
“Normal” IQ scores range from 85 to 115 – the average score of 100, plus of minus 15 points (IQ Score Standard Deviation)
130> Genius IQ
Testing procedures must be standardized – tested in quiet room compared to noisy room; can conclude any differences in score is due to differences in only ability
Reliability def, correlation coefficient what was Wechsler’s
consistency of scores
Take it 1 day, take it again 6 months later, and score is same
Within narrow range
Correlation Coefficient – Wechsler .9; pretty accurate
Validity def
a test’s accuracy in measuring what it’s supposed to measure
Validity –> Criterion-related validity def, if yes, if no
does the test correlate with other measures that you would expect it to?
Yes – good Criterion-related validity GPA, SAT, etc.
No – Good employee? Enjoy job? Motivated take LSAT?
Content validity def, if yes, if no
is the content of the test representative of the domain it is designed to assess?
Yes – good content validity, depends on your definition of intelligence (Single Factor Theory)
No – measuring interpersonnel, musical, gardener intelligences, etc. (Multiple intelligences theory)
Heritability def,
the extent to which differences among people are attributable to genes
Can’t point to someone and say percent of intelligence is heredity
50-70% of difference among people are due to heredity/genes
What impact does the environment have?
Neglectful upbringing, no stimulation, likely have lower IQ score than their genes would have predicted
Extra simulation helpful? No.
Researchers argue normal human contact, speech, etc. baby will thrive
Benefits of Head Start – Preschool enrich low income babies’ intelligence
Results: high quality Head Start programs showed short-term gains, more importantly tend to increase school readiness to learn
Racial groups differ in their average scores on IQ tests; possible explanations?
White – 100
Blac – 85-90
Hispanic – somewhere between the 2^
Possible explanations:
Genetic differences? FALSE
“Whites have more intelligence”
Testing Bias? No
Geared towards white middle class culture
Maybe account for 1-2 points
Socioeconomic/environmental explanation
Both groups having equal educational, economic, health resources
MOTIVATION def?
3 basic characteristics?
Concept has to do with the question WHY
Refers to factors within an individual that activate, maintain, and direct behavior toward a goal
Activation, Persistence, Intensity
Activation def ex
initiation or production of behavior; in order to achieve a goal, you first have to start something
Ex: New Year’s Day Resolution
Persistence – def
continued effort and determination
Intensity – def
need to increase intensity to get desired outcome
What factors are important in initiating eating behavior?
3 possible physiological changes?
stomach contractions, insulin and blood glucose levels, hormone gherkin
Stomach contractions
we start feeling hungry when stomach is 60% empty HOWEVER if the brain can’t get the signal and the stomach is severed, people still feel hungry
Insulin and blood glucose changes
30 mins before eat, slight increase in insulin, accompanied by decrease in blood glucose; slight change triggered eating in humans and animals
Hormone ghrelin def, pumping in rats
blood levels of ghrelin rise before you eat, and fall after you eat
Pumping ghrelin in rats, they won’t stop eating , but with others and block ghrelin, they don’t have any interest in food
Action of cholecystokinin (CCK)
hormone that signals when you’re full; secreted by small intestines and enters bloodstream once gets to brain acts as neurotransmitter, reduces need to eat
What factors maintain or regulate our weight?
3 internal signals
Leptin, Insulin, Neuropeptide Y (NPY)
Leptin def, what happens when level decrease, increase
hormone secreted by body’s fat tissue; circulatory system travels to hypothalamus (responsible for 4 F’s)
Leptin levels decrease when you lose weight (fat), which makes you hungry
Leptin level increase when fat mass increases, which helps suppress appetite
Insulin
increased brain levels are associated with reduction of food intake
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) def, what does increased levels trigger
neurotransmitter is secreted during periods of weight loss
Increased levels trigger eating behavior
what part of the brain is detecting changes at all these different levels to regulate weight
Hypothalamus
Hunger and Eating Video Example
Positive energy balance
more glucose than body requirements
Taste preferences – genetic or learned?
Both.
– aversion
Get sick to food
Rate of obesity increasing
65% of Americans are either overweight or obese
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY
Genetics risk factor
2-3x risk factor of being obese
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY
Cafeteria diet effect
tend to eat more when presented variety of foods
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY
Social situations
holiday parties, get together with others
FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY
Lack of exercise, % of adults not getting recommended amount, recommended amount
80% of adults don’t get recommended amount of exercise
2.5 hours per week of moderate intensity exercise (5 days per week 30 mins)
Lack of sleep, sleep deperived
people who get 7 hrs or less tend to be heavier
Sleep deprived, calorie-dense food is more desired
what affects in metabolism
dieting affects metabolism
Importance of sex drive
rooted in biology, but not needed for survival
Role of hypothalamus
stimulates pituitary gland (master gland) and it releases hormones increase production of sex hormones
Role of hormones
Animals vs. Humans
short term changes
Animals – a lot of estrogen, females will want to have more
Humans – increase in estrogen no connection to sex drive, testosterone levels same, no change
Short-term changes (treatment for sex offender hormone severely decrease sex drive) vs. large shifts (puberty)
Biology is necessary but
not sufficient explanation of human sexual behavior
Biology – like fuel in a car, need to have a certain amount to go
Biology is necessary but
not sufficient explanation of human sexual behavior
Biology – like fuel in a car, need to have a certain amount to go
Most important sex organ ; example?
= brain
Where perceptions, values, expectation, fantasies, beliefs affect sexual desire and responsiveness
Ex: “jolt of electricity” from teenage boy vs. elderly man
Mind can interfere in sexual activity
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Examples of positive motives:
Primary express love/intimacy, feel desirable, feel erotic pleasure, have a child
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Examples of negative motives
Revenge sex, get pregnant to trap a man
College campus research; women, men
large numbers of men and women are reporting they’re having sex when they don’t want to
Women – “easier than to get into a fight, lose the relationship, felt obligated, man made her felt guilty”
Men – “peer pressured, inexperience, desire for popularity, she would think they’re immasuline or gay
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION def, how is different from hunger and sexual motives
Difference to hunger and sexual motives (these have biological, environment, psychological factors)
Not needed for survival
A desire for significant accomplishment, mastering skills, overcome obstacles, achieve high standard, persist in face of failure
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION: Relationship to task difficulty
People very low on this, prefer tasks very easy, don’t want to exert themselves OR also like very difficult tasks because they can say that’s too hard and then not even try.
Those with high desire, like tasks with moderate difficulty because they are the best source of info for their abilities, if they can do it, then they want to be challenged more, and if they struggle, they’ll realize they need to learn a little more
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION: Positive Correlation examples
Positively related to grades in school, as one goes up, the other goes up
Positively related to job performance
Positively related to persistence especially in situations of failure occur
Do those high in achievement motive really achieve more?
Research Study: Followed 1000 kids for 40 years; had IQ’s in the top 1%
Distinguished Motivational difference; those more successful were more ambitious, motivated, self-disciplined, willing to dedicate hours, persistent
Not distinguished by natural ability
Origins
learned motivate, NOT innate
Kids with high achievement motive usually have parents that encourage independence at early age, push to try more, praising and rewarding for success
Kids figure out when they try really hard on something, their parents will be proud, makes them excited
Parents encourage beyond their reach, discourage complaining
Relationship to birth order
Why?
research suggests first borns and only children tend slightly higher GPA, IQ scores than later born siblings more likely to get into prestigious universities
possible these kids are given more parental attention in first years of life, but doesn’t happen in every family
3 COMPONENTS OF EMOTION
Subjective, Physiological, and Behavioral experience
Subjective experience def, ex
conscious experience of your feelings
Ex: what’s your mood like? Some people are good at describing their feelings, but others can only have 2 words like happy and mad; also includes your thoughts
Physiological experience def
emotions are often accompanied by arousal, if you’re afraid, you may hae your heart pounding, breathing heavier, is sad, pit in your stomach
Behavioral experience def, ex
emotions revealed through facial expressions, body language
Ex: if someone comes at your with clenched fists, you back up; at a job interview, bouncing your leg shows you’re anxious
BEHAVIORAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
def, ex
Evidence for culturally universal emotions
Essentially the same in all cultures
Ex: no matter where you go in the world, a wide smile is never going to mean you’re angry
BEHAVIORAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS: 6 categories?
Happiness/Joy
Surprise/Amazement
Fear
Sadness
Anger
Disgust/Contempt
BEHAVIORAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS: How well can we distinguish emotions? how many points away
research suggests we can distinguish emotions 3-5 points away: distinguished happiness from sadness or happiness from anger; but NOT 1 point away: can’t distinguish surprise or fear
BEHAVIORAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS: Display rules def, what norms are involved, ex of norms
refers to how, when, and where we display our emotional expressions
All about social, gender, cultural norms
Ex: still not acceptable for man to be crying in public; in Japan, women shouldn’t exhibit wide smile; Greece and Italy you can tell by facial expressions
EMOTION AND THE BRAIN
Emphasis on? importance of what brain part?
emotion of fear
amygdala
EMOTION AND THE BRAIN: Importance of Amygdala; part of what system, activates what, ex?
Part of the limbic system
Activates when you view threatening or fearful faces or anticipate threatening stimulus (ex: watching horror movie, expecting jumpscare)
All visual stimuli first goes to the “traffic officer” ??
2 simultaneous pathways:
example for each and why
thalamus and then directs it to different parts of the brainThalamus → cortex
Ex: at dinner with boyfriend, starts saying he needs to focus on himself, take break, see other people; thinking it through, no threat to your life
Slower pathway to fear
Thalamus → amygdala
Ex: walking at night, friend sees you and pulls prank on you; before cortex can catch up
Fear is automatic and quick and speedy
when was One of the earliest theories of emotion and what was it
1890
Common sense approach = perceive event, event leads to emotion, emotion leads to physiological response
THEORIES OF EMOTION: JAMES-LANGE THEORY: J-L suggests
the opposite: perceive an event, physiological response, interpretation of emotion; physiological response causes the emotion
Bodily changes cause emotion
THEORIES OF EMOTION: JAMES-LANGE THEORY: Limitations:
example? Are there distinct patterns of arousal for each emotion?
fails to acknowledge physical arousal doesn’t always lead to emotional response
Ex: running on treadmill, there’s bodily changes, but no result of emotion
People aren’t very aware of slight changes in heart rate, breathing
FACIAL FEEDBACK HYPOTHESIS
Similar to J-L
Suggests? examples?
we feel emotion as a result of feedback from the face; facial expression → emotion
Ex: “put a smile on your face” to feel happy
Ex: I see a man by that parked car. I am trembling and running away. I am afraid!
Research shows that people who hold a pen with their teeth feel happier than those who hold a pen with their lips. These 2 postures cause contraction of the muscles associated with smiling and frowning, respectively
SCHACTER-SINGER THEORY
AKA the 2-factor theory
Agree with who?
Emotion depends on 2 factors:
We look to what to label our emotions?
examples?
J-L; arousal comes first before emotion
Physiological arousal
Cognitive labeling of that arousal
we look to external cues to label our emotions
Ex: rollercoasters with high drop, your heart’s pounding because you’re afraid, but I have the same arousal and I’m excited
Ex: I see a man by that parked car. I am trembling. My trembling is caused by fear. I am afraid!
SCHACTER-SINGER THEORY: CAPILANO BRIDGE STUDY
Female researcher, 2 different bridges, safe sturdy, super high
Supposed purpose of study?
IV? DV? Results?
Scenery and creativity; write story about this picture
Independent Variable = type of bridge
DV = amount of sexual imagery in stories and whether or not they called her
Heart rates up, breathing increase, sweating, man labes it as attraction for the hot researcher
Results
Scary bridge led to more sexul imagery and more subjects calling research assistant
Fear had been transformed into attraction
SCHACTER-SINGER THEORY: CAPILANO BRIDGE STUDY: How do we know it was arousal that caused the findings?
Because they did the study again, and didn’t approach the guy for 20 minutes, enough time for the arousal to go down, so there was no difference → definitely physiological arousal
SCHACTER-SINGER THEORY: CAPILANO BRIDGE STUDY: Limitations of theory
idea you have to have arousal to experience emotion is FALSE, may intensify the emotions but it is NOT necessary
LAZARUS’ COGNITIVE MEDIATIONAL THEORY
Suggests?
example?
there cognitive appraisal is…
that your cognitive appraisal (they way you think about something) of a stimulus mediate (determines) your emotional response
Ex: your sister dumps her boyfriend, what’s your family’s reaction?
Your mom liked him → she’s feeling sad, disappointed
You hated him → you’re feeling relief, happy
Therefore cognitive appraisal is the trigger for the emotion, and physiological arousal follows the appraisal
Appraisal → emotion → arousal
SCHACTER-SINGER VS. LAZARUS
schachter-Singer:
Physiological arousal + cognitive label = emotion
Lazarus
Cognitive appraisal → emotion, physiological arousal follows
