Exam 1 Flashcards
Naive Realism - what is it and give an example
the belief that we see the world precisely as it is
-i.e. magical flowers: appear to be purple in the day and black at night; thus, the flowers must change colors throughout the day
Scientific Theory - what is is and what does it allow us to do?
An explanation for the large # of findings in the world
-allows for us to generate testable predictions/hypothesis’
Conformation Bias - what is it and give an example
When one seeks out information/evidence that confirms/validates what they belief, and disregards contradiction evidence
-i.e. the belief that small town folks are friendlier than city folk; thus, they disregard (when in the city) all of the friendly gestures and only pay attention to when someone is unfriendly, and vice versa
Pseudoscience- define and give an example; what does it lack?
a set of claims that seem scientific but aren’t
- e.g. fortune teller
- Lacks: Safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance
Warning signs of pseudoscience
- reliance on Ad hoc immunizing hypothsis (loopholes)
e. g. “I’m psychic but your bad vibes prevent me from seeing anything
-Lack of self correction
- Overreliance on anecdotes
e. g. “I know someone who lost 30 pounds after this….”- –>Utilizing claims of a few dramatic instances
Why are we drawn to pseudoscience?
- Making order out of disorder -> adaptive
- –>patternicity
- May give us a sense of control in an “unpredictable” world
Patternicity - define and give an example
An act of finding meaningful patterns in a small, meaningless event
Scientific Skepticism - define
open to all claims but won’t accept until given evidence
Critical Thinking - define
Set of skills used to evaluate claims in the world
Principles of Scientific Thinking - what are they? List them
- Ruling out rival hypothesis
- Correlation isn’t causation
- Falsifiability: a theory that can be proven wrong with the right evidence; no black swans vs. there are pink elephants
- Replicability
- Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
- Occam’s Raxor: principle of Parsimony-> does a simpler explanation fit the data just as well?
Wundt - what did he do?
Opened first psych lab (in Germany)
Theoretical frameworks - what are they? List them, don’t define
- Structuralism
- Functionalism
- Behaviorism
- Cognitivism
- Psychoanalysis
Structuralism - Founder? What is the goal?
Titchener
- identify basic elements of experience using introspection
- –uses systematic observation
What are some cons of introspection?
- using people: response bias
- some thoughts are “imageless”; i.e. phone #
Functionalism - Founder? What is the goal?
James (father of American psychology)
- to understand the functions of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
- —-focused on “Why?”
Behaviorism - Founder? What is the goal?
Watson, Skinner
-to uncover general principles of learning
Cognitivism - Founder? What is the goal?
Piaget, Neisser
-to examine the role of mental processes on behavior
Psychoanalysis - Founder? What is the goal?
Freud
-to uncover the role of unconscious psychological processes and early life experiences in behavior
What are the five research methods? Just list them
- Naturalistic observations
- Case studies
- Self-reports and Surveys
- Correlational designs
- Experimental designs
Naturalistic Observations - what is it?
Observe people in their natural settings
Pro’s of Naturalistic Observations
-High in external validity
Con’s of Naturalistic Observations
-Low in internal validity
Define External Validity
How much we can generate this in the real world
-How much we can generalize this to the real world
Define Internal Validity
The ability to draw cause/effect conclusions/inferences
Case Study - what is it?
Examine one person/small group in depth
Pro’s of Case Studies
- Can provide an existence proof
- Good for rare phenomenon
- Can lead to systematic observations
Con’s of Case Studies
- Misleading conclusions are possible bc of small sample size
- Low in internal validity
Self Reports and Surveys - What are the two key elements? Just list them
Sample selection and Measure quality
What is sample selection? Why is it important, and how do you attain it?
Population vs sample
-Representativeness through random selection crucial for generalization
What is Measure quality? How do you test for it, and why is it important?
Reliability (ability to get consistent results)
-Test-retest
—-focuses on consistency over time
-Interrater
—-interested in rate (i.e. how often a child stands up)
———to test, would have two “raters”
————therefore, it measures the consistency btw. the
two raters
Validity
-Internal validity
-External validity
-Convergent
-----"the degree to which diff. tests measuring the same
construct yield similar results"
Pro’s of Self reports and surveys
- Work well with things that are easily reportable
- Easy to administer
Con’s of Self reports and surveys
- rely on participant honesty and insight
- Response bias
- low in internal validity
Correlational designs - what is it?
Examine the extent to which two variables are associated (to one another, statistically)
-correlations range from -1 to 1
Pro’s of correlational designs
Lead to additional studies and prediction of behavior
Con’s of correlational designs
Low in internal validity
Experimental design - what are the two main parts?
- Random assignment
- Manipulation of an independent variable
Pro’s of Experimental designs
-High in internal validity
Con’s of Experimental designs
- Low in external validity
- May not always be possible to carry out
- —-i.e. may not be ethical
Possible issues of an Experimental design - what are they and what can you do to combat them?
- Placebo effect
- —Blind
- Experimenter expectancy effect
- —Double-blind
Possible issues with a correlational design?
- Directionality problem
- —which one leads to which?
- 3rd variable problem
- —i.e. bars and churches: 3rd variable is pop size
What are the common characteristics of intelligence?
abilities to….
- reason abstractly
- learn to adapt to new and diff. environmental circumstances
- acquire knowledge
- benefit from experience
What are the five conceptual ideas, in terms of what intelligence is?
- Sensory capacity
- Abstract thinking
- General vs specific abilities
- Fluid and crystallized intelligence
- Multiple intelligences
Sensory capacity - define and list some problems with it
The belief that knowledge comes from the senses
-ppl. w/sensory impairments who are highly intelligent
Abstract thinking - who are the leading thinkers, and what did they do?
Binet and Simon
- Developed an intelligence test focused on abstract thinking
- —-found many correlations btw areas
General vs specific abilities - what are they?
g - general intelligence
s - specific abilities ( particular abilities within a specific area, such as reading comprehension)
Fluid and crystallized intelligence - who are the leading thinkers? Define
Cattell and Horn - proposed 2 diff things that make up intelligence:
- Fluid: finding new ways to solve new problems
- Crystallized: accumulated knowledge accumulated over time (i.e. state capitals)
*Use fluid intelligence to solve new problems, and it then can become crystallized
What are the differences between fluid and crystallized intelligence?
Fluid
-more likely to decline with age
-more related to “g” (power of mental engine)
Crystallized
-more likely to increase with age
-positively associated with openness to experience
Multiple Intelligence’s - who is the leading thinker and what are the different types of intelligence?
Gardner - believed that there are diff ways to be smart
- Linguistic
- Logico-mathematical
- Spatial
- Musical
- Bodily kinesthetic
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalist
Linguistic intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to speak and write well (“mastery of language”)
-i.e. Martin Luther King Jr.
Logico-mathematical intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically
-i.e. Einstein
Spatial intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to manipulate and create mental images in order to solve problems
-i.e. Frank Lloyd Wright
Musical intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms
-i.e. Mozart
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to use one’s mental abilities to coordinate one’s own bodily movements
-i.e. Tom Brady or Nick Foles
Interpersonal intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to understand and discern the feelings and intentions of others (“ability to work well with others”)
-i.e. Ghandi
Intrapersonal intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Ability to understand one’s own feelings and motivations (“insights about yourself”)
-i.e. Anne Frank
Naturalist intelligence - give an example of someone with this and state the characteristics
Understanding of plants or of other living things
-i.e. a botanist (Martian movie)
Behavioral designs - list 3
- Family studies
- Twin studies
- Adoption studies
Family studies - define it, state a con, and talk about it in terms of IQ studies done from the leading thinker
Analysis of characteristics run in intact families
- Con: share both genes and environment, so hard to disentangle to differences
- –Galton (leading thinker): relationship declines with inc. biological distance. Therefore, can’t conclude due to genetics w/twins bc diff environments
Twin studies - define it and talk about it in terms of IQ studies done from the leading thinker
Analysis of how traits differ in identical (monozygotic-more similar genetically) vs fraternal (dizygotic) twins
- > Can infer a genetic influence if mono twins are more sim. than dizygotic twins
- –Correlations are higher for monozygotic (.7-.8; bc less than 1, also includes some environmental factors) than dizygotic twins
Adoption studies - define it and compare the two main influences
Share genes but not environment with biological parents
-Environmental vs genetic influence: IQ’s tend to be more similar to biological parents than adoptive parents; thus, suggesting a genetic influence
Expectancy effect - define it and describe the study
Teacher expectancy effects
- administered IQ tests and gave results to teachers-some were labeled as “bloomers”
- —retested a year later and “bloomers” tended to do better
Poverty - describe the effect it can have on IQ
- Nutrition (poor), especially prolonged
- Lead exposure
Flynn Effect - define it and list possible reasons
Avg IQ scores rise over time by relatively 3 points per decade (not genetic bc too fast)
- better nutrition?
- more access to knowledge (internet)?
- have to process more info than ever before (i.e. tech, multitasking, etc.)
List three different environmental factors that influence IQ
- Expectancy effect
- Poverty
- Flynn Effect
Differences in IQ between males and females
- Males: tend to be more variable
- —tend to do better with spatial tasks
- Females: tend to do better with verbal arithmetic calculations (diff btw genders only present in childhood)
Believed IQ hierarchy within race
African american< Caucasian< Asian american
Stereotype threat - define it
The fear that we may confirm a negative group stereotype
Post hoc fallacy - define it and give an example
Just bc something happened before something else doesn’t mean we can say it caused it
-I.e. all serial killers drank milk as children
What is an example of a bidirectional influence?
Children’s development and children’s experiences
Cross-sectional design - define and state a downside
Look at different subjects (i.e. kids) at diff points (i.e. 5 yrs, 7 yrs, and 10 yrs)
-Con: cohort effect
Cohort effect - define it
Effects due to the fact that sets of ppl. who lived during one time period (cohorts) have systematic differences from those from another time pd
Longitudinal design - define and state a downside
Follow same (i.e. kids) when they're 5, 7, 10, 12, etc. -Con: Attrition
Attrition - define and state problems with it
The tendency of some to be more likely to drop out of studies
- Participants dropping out of studies
- Implications on conclusions bc results no longer representative of original sample -> hard to then generalize to general population
Three stages of development - list them in order and include time pd
- Germinal stage (0 - 2nd week)
- Embryonic stage (2nd - 8th week)
- Fetal stage (8th week - roughly 38 weeks)
Germinal stage - what signals the start and end of this stage?
Start: Conception -> fertilization of zygote
End: Attachment to uterine wall
Embryonic stage - what signals the start and end of this stage?
Start: Attachment to uterine wall
End: Formation of bone cells
Fetal stage - what signals the start and end of this stage?
Start: Formation of bone cells
End: Birth
Critical period - what stage(s) does this fall in? Define it
- Embryonic stage
- A period of time in which a developing organism is most sensitive to outside agents
What are the “outside agents” when talking about the critical period? What is the significance of it and give an example
Teratogens
- Baby most susceptible during the embryonic stage
- I.e. fetal alcohol syndrome
Early reflexes - define
“Automatic responses to a stimuli”
What characterizes newborn reflexes? What are the three main types?
Innate, automatic, not learned, responsive
- Swallowing, sucking, rooting
- Grasping, stepping
- Babinski, Moro
Babinski - what is it?
A newborn reflex in which the infant will curl toes and fan out when finger trails foot
Moro - what is it?
A newborn reflex in which, if the baby were to “be dropped”, the baby would fling arms out and then in
How long do the main infant reflexes last in a typically developing baby? Why is the timeline significant?
Usually fades within a year - can be used as an assessment tool
Who was the leading thinker of cognitive development? What did (s)he believe?
Jean Piaget - believed children are active learners and are intrinsically motivated to learn (really want to understand world; discoveries made on own)
What were the three main processes within Piaget’s theory? What do these processes do (why are they significant?)?
They propel understanding
- Assimilation
- Accommodation
- Equilibration
Assimilation - define
Absorbing new experiences into our current knowledge structures
Accommodation - define
Altering a belief to make it more compatible with experience
Equilibration - define
Maintaining a balance btw experience of the world and understanding of it
What did Piaget think about development?
Thought it was stage-like
- Domain-general -> pervades all areas of thinking
- Stages are discontinuous -> each stage qualitatively diff.
What are the four stages to Piaget’s Theory? - List them and give timeline
- Sensorimotor -> birth-2 yrs
- Pre-operational -> ~2-7 yrs
- Concrete operational -> ~7-11 yrs
- Formal operational -> ~11 yrs and up
Sensorimotor pd - what happens during this developmental stage?
- reflexes (tools to learn about world)
- orienting
- lack obj permanence (through 8 months)
- deferred imitation (i.e. repeat cuss words later that day)
Pre-operational stage - what happens during this developmental stage? What are some limitations?
- symbolic representation (i.e. drawing pic, using banana as phone, etc.)
- —language -> words stand for ideas
Limitations:
- lack of conservation (merely changing appearance of obj doesn’t change key properties i.e. volume)
- egocentrism (inability to take others’ perspective) -> 3 mountains problem
3 mountains problem - what was it? What did it test for?
Used to test for egocentrism
- 3 mountains on table
- —What does the doll see? Children <6 tend to pick what they see, not the doll
Concrete operations stage - what happens during this developmental stage?
- more logical, flexible, organized cognition
- mastery of spatial operations
- difficulties w/abstract reading
Formal operations stage - what happens during this developmental stage?
- abstract and scientific reasoning developed -> able to think hypothetically
- internal reflection
Criticisms for Piaget’s theory - what were some of them?
- development is more continuous than stage-like
- some tests may require “skills” that are not yet developed
- culturally based methods
- demanding tasks
Object permanence - what was Baillargeon’s stance on it? What test did this lead to?
What if infant has it but not the skills necessary to search?
-Need non-search test -> violation of expectation method
Violation of expectation method - what is it?
A non-search test to test presence of object permanence in children
-Show infants:
—possible event-> consistent w/obj perm.
—impossible event-> violates obj. perm
>if infant has obj permanence, (s)he will look longer at the impossible, rather than the possible, event
———If not, will look evenly at both
Baillargeon’s rolling cart study - what did it test for and what did it show?
Violation of expectation method test
-Both 8 and 6.5 month old’s look longer at impossible event
>Infants show evidence of object perm at 6.5 months!
Influence of Piaget’s theory
- Kids thinking =/= adults thinking
- ——-diff in kind, not degree
- Learning is an active process
- Proposes general cognitive processes
Temperament - define and state the study that examined this
Basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin
-New York Longitudinal Study
What are the four types of Temperament- list them
- Easy
- Difficult
- Slow-to-warm-up
- Average
Easy temperament type - what are the characteristics?
Positive mood, regular and rhythmic body functions, and adaptable
-low to moderate intensity reactions
Difficult temperament type - what are the characteristics?
More negative mood, irregular and arrhythmic body functions, and not adaptable
-intense emotional reactions
Slow-to-warm-up temperament type - what is another word for this type? what are the characteristics?
“Shy”
- withdrawal from novelty, slow to adapt, lower activity level
- low to moderate intensity reactions
What brought out the question of nurture vs nature?
Longitudinal profiles later in childhood
“Goodness of fit” model - what is it?
Child development is optimized when environment is sensitively adapted to temperamental conditions
Attachment - what is it? What is one of the first attachments?
The strong emotional connection we share w/those to whom we feel closest
-one of first is to caregiver(s)
Harlow & Zimmerman - what did they do? What were the findings?
Research with Rhesus monkeys
- Is feeding the basis of attachment?
- > monkeys were placed in cage with 2 surrogate moms: one with cloth and no food, one with wire and food
- –Monkeys were always with cloth mom-> security or texture?
- > monkeys were scared and ran to soft mom-became comforted and then threatened the scary object
What was significant about Harlow and Zimmerman’s study? What question did it bring up?
Food is not the only basis of attachment
-What is the basis of attachment then?
Ethology - what is it? who was one leading thinker? what did he do?
Study of adaptive functions of animal behaviors
-Lorenz: Imprinting - usually with first large object that is seen
Bowlby’s ethology theory - what is it? what was a main influence on this theory?
Attachment serves as an adaptive function
-keeps baby close to caregiver for safety
> drew on psychoanalysis -> early relationships with caregivers provide a foundation for future relationships
How is infant attachment assessed?
Strange situation procedure (Ainsworth)
Strange situation procedure - what is it? What were the findings?
Series of separations and reunions btw caregiver and infant -> looked at how baby reacted
- Reacted in 1 of 4 ways when reunited
- —secure
- —insecure-avoidant
- —insecure-anxious
- —disorganized
“Secure” infant reaction to separation - describe the reaction observed
Freely explores when the caregiver is present
-upset when caregiver leaves, but is good at calming down once caregiver returns
“Insecure-avoidant” infant reaction to separation - describe the reaction observed
Usually shows little distress upon separation, but may turn around/not greet caregiver upon return
“Insecure-anxious” infant reaction to separation - describe the reaction observed
Extremely distressed upon separation
-upon return of caregiver, not easily soothed
“Disorganized” infant reaction to separation - what is unique about this category? Describe the reaction observed
Is unique bc was included by other researcher - not an original category
- May do strange/confused things upon separation -> no pattern in response (i.e. throws self on floor)
- –may be due to parents display of lack of patternicity -> may not know what to expect
Influences on secure attachment
Quality of care -> caregiver sensitivity
Benefits of secure attachment
- Preschool: displays competence across roughly all domains
- Beyond preschool: displays emotional health (i.e. higher self-esteem & lower anxiety)
Baumrind’s parenting styles - how were they developed? what did they measure?
- Developed through interviews w/parents & home/lab observations
- Measured dimensions (high or low) of:
- —control/demandingness
- —warmth/responsiveness
Baumrind’s parenting styles - what are they? List them and give a brief description
- Authoritarian: “bc I’m the parent”
- Authoritative: open to discussion, reasonable demands, listens to child
- Permissive: child in control
- Uninvolved: if taken to extreme, would be neglect
Authoritative - what are the measured dimensions? High/low in warmth/responsiveness? High/low in control/demandingness?
Warmth/responsiveness: High
Control/demandingness: High
Authoritarian - what are the measured dimensions? High/low in warmth/responsiveness? High/low in control/demandingness?
Warmth/responsiveness: Low
Control/demandingness: High
Permissive - what are the measured dimensions? High/low in warmth/responsiveness? High/low in control/demandingness?
Warmth/responsiveness: High
Control/demandingness: Low
Uninvolved - what are the measured dimensions? High/low in warmth/responsiveness? High/low in control/demandingness?
Warmth/responsiveness: Low
Control/demandingness: Low
What is, arguably, the best parenting style? Why?
Authoritative -> children tended to be more sociable, involved, get higher grades, etc.
What are some limitations to Baumrind’s study?
- Direction of causality
- —doesn’t rule out the poss. of child’s personality influencing the parenting styles
- Generalizability
- —sample not representative of American families - only white, middle class
What is the terror management theory?
Theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews
What is the decline effect?
Fact that the size of certain psychological findings appears to be shrinking over time
What is basic research?
Research examining how the mind works
What is applied research?
Research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems
Define heuristic
Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps us to streamline our thinking and make sense of our world
Define response set
Tendency of research participants to distort their responses to questionnaire items
What is an illusory correlation?
Perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists
What is an operational definition?
A working definition of what a researcher is measuring
What are demand characteristics?
Cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypothesis
What is a central tendency?
Measure of the “central” scores in a data set or where the group tends to cluster
What is the triarchic model?
Model of intelligence proposed by Sternberg positing three distinct types of intelligence:
- analytical
- practical
- creative
What is eugenics?
A movement in the early 20th century to improve a population’s genetic stock by encouraging those with good genes to reproduce, preventing those with bad genes from reproducing, or both
What is deviation IQ?
Expression of a person’s IQ relative to his or her same-aged peers
What is the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale)?
Most widely used intelligence test for adults today, consisting of 15 subtests to assess different types of mental abilities
What is mental retardation?
Condition characterized by an onset prior to adulthood, an IQ below about 70, and an inability to engage in adequate daily functioning
What is between-group heritability?
Extent to which differences in a trait between groups is genetically influenced
What is within-group heritability?
Extent to which the variability of a trait within a group is genetically influenced
What is test bias?
Tendency of a test to predict outcomes better in one group than another
What is divergent thinking?
Capacity to generate many different solutions to a problem
What is convergent thinking?
Capacity to generate the single best solution to a problem
What is the ideological immune system?
Our psychological defenses against evidence that contradicts our views
What is a blastocyst?
Ball of identical cells early in pregnancy that haven’t yet begun to take on any specific function in a body part
Define menarche
Start of menstruation
Define spermarche
Boy’s first ejaculation
What is menopause
The termination of menstruation, marking the end of a woman’s reproductive potential
Define object permanence
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view
Define scaffolding
Vygotskian learning mechanism in which parents provide initial assistance in children’s learning but gradually remove structure as children become more competent
What is the zone of proximal development?
Phase of learning during which children can benefit from instruction
Define theory of mind
Ability to reason about what other people know or believe
What is stranger anxiety?
A fear of strangers developing at 8 or 9 months of age
Define temperment
Basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in nature
Define psychosocial crisis
Dilemma concerning an individual’s relations to other people
Preconventional morality
Marked by a focus on punishment and reward
Conventional morality
Marked by a focus on societal views
Postconventional morality
Marked by a focus on internal moral principles that may differ from conventional societal values
What is empty-nest syndrome?
Alleged period of depression in mothers following the departure of their grown children from the home
