Exam 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
The scientific study of the mind and behavior
What is the mind-body problem?
What is the relationship between the body and the mind; are they separate or one and the same?
What is the dualism vs. monism debate?
Dualism: idea that the mind and the body are separate entities
Monism: idea that the mind and the body are one and the same
What is the nature vs. nurture debate?
What determines our behavior; is it more about “nurture” or “nature”?
Nature: our behavior is determined primarily by biological sources
Nurture: our behavior is determined primarily by experiences we have over the life course
What is the free will vs. determinism debate?
How much conscious control do we have over our own behavior; do we have free will or are our actions determined by something else?
Free will: we have complete and conscious control over our behavior; it’s our choice
Determinism: although we may feel as though we have complete conscious control over our behavior, our behavior is largely determined by other forces
Gestalt psychology
Proposed that the whole of mental experiences is more than the sum of its parts; proposed that how we perceive color, brightness, shape, size, etc. depends on context
Behaviorism
Proposed that psychologists should measure observable scientific behavior, not the mind; studies learning processes like classical conditioning and operant conditioning
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory
Used to explain possible connections between the mind (or unconscious mind) and body
Humanistic psychology
Interested in positive psychology, free will, and people’s drive towards self-actualization; Maslow proposed hierarchy of needs; Rogers developed client-center therapy
Cognitive psychology
Focuses back in on mental and brain processes using more advanced scientific methods
Why is William Wundt thought of as the “father of (experimental) psychology”?
He founded the first psychology research lab and it was one of the first labs to use empirical research methods to study mental processes
Introspection
Method for studying contents of our consciousness
What is reaction time?
Measure how much time it takes to do various mental tasks
What does it mean to use an empirical approach?
Collecting systematic, valid, and independently verifiable observations to answer questions about the world
What is an empirical vs. non-empirical question?
Empirical question: a question that can be answered using empirical questions
Non-empirical question: questions that cannot be answered using empirical observations
What are the steps of the scientific method?
- Start with a theory
- Develop a testable hypothesis
- Collect data
- Analyze the data
- Share the findings
- Conduct more research
What does it mean for a theory (or claim) to be falsifiable vs. unfalsifiable?
Falsifiable: the theory could be shown to be false using empirical observations
Unfalsifiable: not capable of being shown to be false using empirical observations
What is a variable?
Something that can be measured
What is an independent variable?
In an experiment, the variable that the experimenter manipulates to examine its impact on the dependent variable
What is a dependent variable?
In an experiment, the variable that is measured to determine how it was affected by the manipulation of the independent variable
What is a correlational design?
The researcher measures two or more variables to see if they are associated
What’s an experiment?
The researcher manipulates (changes) one variable to see how this affects another variable
What does it mean to say that an article has been “peer reviewed”?
When expert researchers provide critical feedback to make sure the research (and article) met current standards before it was accepted for publication
What is adaption?
A trait that evolved through natural selection (and is maintained by natural selection) because it increases the individual’s chance of surviving and reproducing (relative to other variants of that trait)
What is selection pressure?
Any pressure that determines which variations of traits will increase an individual’s chances of surviving and reproducing over others
- Individuals within a species are variable (and some of these variations are heritable - can be passed down from infant to offspring
- In every generation, more offspring are produced than can survive and reproduce themselves
- Which individuals survive and reproduce is not random; individuals with more traits better suited to their environment (“more fit”) are more likely to survive and reproduce
- If those traits are heritable, future generations will come to resemble those individuals over time
Darwin’s postulates
Why is the misconception that evolution always leads to progress wrong?
Evolution does not always lead to “progress”, evolution by natural selection will always favor variations of traits will reproduce
Why is the misconception that traits evolve for the “good of the species” wrong?
Traits don’t evolve for the “good of the species”. Generally, evolution favors traits that benefit the individual
Why is the misconception that evolution always gives organisms the traits they need wrong?
Evolution does not necessarily give organisms the traits they need. Evolution can only act on the variation that happens to be there
Why is the misconception that humans are more evolved than other species wrong?
Humans are not “more evolved” than other species. Evolution is more like a tree with many branches than a ladder
What is evolutionary psychology?
An approach to answering questions in all areas of psychology
Do evolutionary psychologists propose that psychological and behavioral traits are “hard-wired”?
Evolutionary psychologists propose that we are not hard-wired to behave in a certain way but instead, there is a lot of flexibility and room for culture and ecological variation
What is the first core premise of evolutionary psychology?
The mind is not a blank slate: evolutionary psychologists reject the idea that the mind is a “blank slate”. Rather the mind is prepared (by evolution) to respond to the environment in certain ways
What is the second core premise of evolutionary psychology?
Evolution has shaped the brain (and body and mind): Evolution has shaped the brain (and therefore the mind and behavior) just like it has shaped the rest of the body to carry out a variety of specialized functions
What is the third premise of evolutionary psychology?
The mind is modular: just like the rest of our body (which contains organs and organ systems specialized for different functions), the brain contains many mental “modules” - mechanisms specialized for different functions
What is a mental module?
Not physically separate units but, rather, distributed neural circuits (like a smartphone)
What are the three domains of development that developmental psychologists study
Physical, cognitive, socioemotional
What is the age range for infancy?
Birth through 18-24 months
What is the age range for childhood?
Approximately 2-10 years
What is the age range for adolescence?
10-19 years
What is the age range for adulthood?
18-death
How long is the entire prenatal period?
40 weeks (9 months)
Innate reflexes
Highly specific action that happens automatically (and involuntarily) in infants in response to a certain type of stimulation
Rooting reflex
Infant turns head toward the stimulation and “searches” for a nipple
Function: breastfeeding
Sucking reflex
Infant starts sucking and swallowing
Function: breastfeeding
Moro (startle) reflex
Infant jerks out arms and legs, throws back head, and cries; then pulls arms and legs back in
Function: alert caregiver it’s in danger
Grasping (palmer) reflex
Infant grasps the object
Function: allowed infant to grab onto mothers back
Walking/stepping reflex
Infant makes walking movements
Function: helps infants build muscle groups and muscle memory
How well is taste and smell developed in newborn infants?
Well developed at birth
How well is hearing developed in newborn infants?
Fairly well developed at birth, but continues to improve as auditory cortex develops
How well is vision developed in newborn infants?
Newborns have poor vision; begin seeing color ~2 months and have “adult” vision by ~1 year
How do newborns see the world?
Black and white
Can only see sharp contrasts
Self-recognition
Develops during infancy; when infants being to understand who they are
Object permanence
Develops during infancy; understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of view
Seperation anxiety
Occurs during infancy; distress when separated from their caregiver
Theory of mind
Develops during childhood; understanding that other people have their own desires, intentions, knowledge, and beliefs (including false beliefs)
What is early attachment?
Strong emotional bond with caregiver; involves a desire for physical closeness/comfort and separation anxiety
What was Mary Ainsworth’s “strange situation” test designed to do? How?
The test was designed to study variations in infant attachment by having an infant, the infant’s caregiver, and unfamiliar adult participation in reunions between the infant and each adult.
What are the key behavioral differences between infants who have a secure vs. anxious-avoidant vs. anxious-ambivalent attachment?
Secure attachment: the infant is happy to play alone and is friendly to the stranger as long as the caregiver is present.
Anxious-avoidant attachment: the infant does not get upset when the caregiver leaves the room and may not even notice the caregiver leaving.
Anxious-ambivalent attachment: the infant cries a lot when the caregiver leaves and both seeks and rejects caring contact when the caregiver returns
What are gross motor skills and what activities help develop these?
Big/whole body movements using large muscle groups (arms, legs, trunk, etc.)
Jumping, dancing, and clapping help develop gross motor skills
What are fine motor skills and what activities help develop these?
More exact/skillful movements using small muscles (fingers, hands, wrists, etc.)
Coloring, cutting with scissors, and puzzles help develop these
What is the difference between assimilation and accommodation (in regard to schemas)?
Assimilation: placing new information, objects, experiences, etc. into an existing schema (without otherwise changing that schema)
Accommodation: dramatically changing a schema or creating a new schema to “accommodate” new information, objects, experiences, etc.
What is egocentrism?
When in the pre-operational period the child generally only views the world through their own experiences and can’t put themselves in someone else’s shoes
What is empathy? When do we first begin to display the building blocks of empathy?
Understanding and feeling what another person is experiencing
Starts ~2 years old
What are the different play styles, and what are the average ages at which children display these styles?
Solitary (non-social) play: <2 years (infancy)
Parallel play: ~2-3 years
Cooperative (associative) play: ~4+ years
Games with rules: ~6+ years
What is synaptic proliferation?
Production of many new synapses
What is synaptic pruning?
Removal of unused neural connections
In general, what are some of the key physical changes that come about during puberty?
Primary and secondary sex characteristics, underarm and pubic hair, body odor, skin changes/acne, growth spurt.
Females: hip and breast development
Males: voice drop, growth of chest hair, increase upper body muscle mass
What are Kohlberg’s 3 main stages of moral development?
Preconventional, conventional, postconventional
Preconventional level
Lowest level of moral reasoning; at this level, self-interest and event outcomes determine what is moral
Conventional level
Middle level of moral reasoning; at this level, strict adherence to societal laws and the approval of others determines what is moral
Postconventional level
Highest level of moral reasoning; at this level, decisions about morality depend on complex reasoning, abstract principles, the value of all life, and the greater good for all people
What are some of the key elements in the socioemotional development of adolescents?
Begin forming social identities and peer groups (not parents) become central to social life
What is “emerging adulthood”?
A unique stage between adolescence and adulthood
What is a conditioned taste aversion (the Garcia Effect)?
When you are conditioned to have a taste aversion (dislike/avoidance) of certain tastes
What is non-associative learning?
A change in behavior resulting from exposure to a single stimulus (e.g., a sight, smell, or sound)
What is habituation?
A decrease in behavioral response after lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus
What is sensitization?
An increase in behavioral response after lengthy or repeated exposure to a stimulus
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus the illicit an innate response and does not require any prior learning
Unconditioned response
A response that does not have to be learned; such as some reflexes
Conditioned stimulus
A stimulus that illicit a response only after learning has taken place
Conditioned response
A response to a conditioned stimulus; a response that has been learned
Stimulus generalization
Showing the CR is response to a stimulus that merely resembles the CS
Stimulus discrimination
Showing the CR only in response to the CS, not in response to stimuli that merely resemble the CS
What is extinction (and what causes it to occur)?
CR fades away after CS is repeatedly presented without the US (thought to reflect the individual learning the CS and US are no longer associated)
What is spontaneous recovery?
Previously extinguished CR reemerges after the CS is presented again (but it won’t last long unless the CS is paired with the US)
Extinction –> CR “temporarily” recovers
If you want to extinguish a behavior, what should you do?
Stop any reinforcement for the behavior
What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect?
Actions are shaped by the effects (consequences) of previous actions
Any behavior with positive consequences is more likely to be repeated; any behavior with negative consequences is less likely to be repeated
What is shaping?
Reinforcing partial behaviors until the animal displays the full behavior
Positive reinforcement
Give something they like to increase the behavior
Negative reinforcement
Remove something they dislike to increase the behavior
Positive punishment
Give something they dislike to decrease the behavior
Negative punishment
Remove something they like to decrease the behavior
What is a continuous reinforcement schedule?
Reinforce the behavior every time it occurs
What is a partial reinforcement schedule?
Reinforce the behavior some (but not all) the time
Which one produces quicker learning: a continuous or partial reinforcement schedule?
Continuous reinforcement schedule
Which produces persistence of the behavior for a longer time after reinforcement has stopped: a continuous or partial reinforcement schedule?
Partial reinforcement schedule
What did Bandura’s “Bobo doll” studies demonstrate?
That people (particularly children) learn through observational learning
Attention: pay attention to behavior
Retention: remember what you observed
Reproduction: Be able to imitate the behavior you observed
Motivation: be motivated to learn the behavior
The four stages of Bandura’s model of observational learning
What kinds of “models” are we most likely to pay attention to? (what kinds of characteristics do they have?)
We are most likely to pay attention to models that we think are attractive, have a high status, and are somewhat similar to us
What is modeling?
Demonstrating a behavior to imitate behavior that was previously observed
What are mirror neurons?
Neurons that become activated when you observe someone making a movement that has some goal
