Exam 4

Question 1

Emotion

Answer 1

Positive and negative feeling states involving bodily arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience and feelings.

Question 2

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

Answer 2

Suggests that our experience of emotion is a result from attention to our bodily activity.

Question 3

Facial Feedback Effect + Theory of Emotion it Supports

Answer 3

Tendency for facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear, anger, or happiness.

James-Lange, that suggests that feeling of an emotion follows the body’s behavior.

Question 4

Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion

What is one criticism they had of the James-Lange theory?

Answer 4

Suggests that our bodily responses and experienced emotions occur separately but simultaneously.

Their criticism was that our body’s responses are too similar and that they change too slowly to cause different emotions.

Question 5

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Answer 5

Suggests that emotion is experienced when an individual is physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal.

Question 6

Lazarus’s Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion

Answer 6

Suggests that cognitive appraisal may not require effort and we may not be conscious of it. Emotions are heightened when an event is appraised or labeled as harmless or dangerous.

Question 7

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system with regard to emotional responses

Answer 7

Sympathetic (arousing), triggers adrenal glands to release adrenaline and noradrenaline, mobilizing your body for action.

Parasympathetic (calming), after crisis, stress hormones slowly leave bloodstream and our body returns to a calm physiological and emotional state.

Question 8

Which side of the frontal lobes appears to be more active when we experience negative emotions such as disgust or depression?

Answer 8

The right prefrontal cortex/right frontal lobe.

Question 9

Which side of the frontal lobes appears to be more active when we experience positive moods?

Answer 9

The left frontal lobe.

Question 10

What exactly is a lie detector test and what are the major assumptions behind its use?

Answer 10

A polygraph that measures emotion-linked physiological changes such as heart rate, breathing, and perspiration for an expert to detect when people are lying. Increased arousal such as a faster heart rate or perspiration may indicate that someone is lying.

Question 11

Name and describe the functions of two brain areas that are associated with the physiology of emotion.

Answer 11

Amygdala, the emotion-control center responsible for experiencing fear or aggression.

Insula, neural center deep inside the brain that activates when we experience negative social emotions such as disgust.

Question 12

What considerations and research evidence challenge the validity of the lie detector? What kinds of errors by experts are most likely?

Answer 12

Innocent people tend to be wrongly judged to be lying. An innocent individual that is receiving a lie detector test may feel anxious about the test in general beforehand, and have similar bodily arousal as someone who is lying.

Question 13

What does Joseph LeDoux mean by “low road” and “high road”? Which of these is most relevant when trying to explain non-conscious emotional experiences?

Answer 13

Low road, neural shortcut that bypasses the cortex in which stimulus provoked by fear travels from eye to ear via thalamus directly to the amygdala. Most relevant to non-conscious emotional experiences.

High road, stimulus travels to the brain’s cortex from the thalamus and analyzed before response by the amygdala.

Question 14

Discuss how emotion theories of Schacter and Singer, Lazarus, Zajonc, and LeDoux relate to the two-track brain concept presented in the text.

Answer 14

LeDoux and Zajonc highlighted that some emotional responses happen instantly, prior to any conscious appraisal. Lazarus, Schacter, and Singer highlighted that appraisal and labeling of events determine our emotional responses.

Question 15

Whether facial expressions of emotion learned or biologically determined is controversial. Cite one piece of research evidence that supports each side of this debate.

Answer 15

Learned, there is widespread agreement on identifying facial expression across cultures when given multiple-choice alternatives.

Biological, children that are born blind make the same facial expressions as those who have sight do.

Question 16

Feel-good, do good phenomenon

Answer 16

The tendency for people to be helpful when they are in a good mood. Strengthens social relationships.

Question 17

Positive psychology movement

Question 18

Describe what research has revealed about the relationship between wealth and well-being. Does additional wealth always produce greater well-being and happiness?

Answer 18

Having money to buy food, have a sense of control over your life, and reward yourself with something special predicts greater happiness. But levels of happiness were revealed to be unchanged with increased incomes.

Question 19

A principle called _______________ argues that we make judgments relative to previous experiences we have had. In other words, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are relative and both are strongly determined by our recent experience.

Answer 19

Adaptation-level phenomenon

Question 20

A person watching a television show feels worse after noticing that she doesn’t have the nice apartment and the high paying job that several of the characters in the show she is watching have. What concept related to happiness is most relevant?

Answer 20

Relative deprivation

Question 21

Describe how well self-esteem, age, optimism, gender, relationships, religious faith, sleep, physical attractiveness, and exercise predict happiness.

Answer 21

High self-esteem, being optimistic, having close relationships, being actively religious, sleeping well and exercising all predict happiness.

Age, gender, and physical attractiveness have little to no relation to happiness.

Question 22

What are 5 research-based suggestions from the text for improving your mood, life, satisfaction, and overall happiness?

Answer 22

Prioritize close relationships to engage in more meaningful conversation.

Act happy, which allows us to act our ways into a happier state of mind.

Take control of personal time by setting goals and dividing them into daily aims.

Aerobic exercise to promote health and energy, relieving anxiety and mild depression.

Rest your body to avoid going into sleep debt.

Question 23

What are 3 different names given to developing human beings prior to birth and when are these names applied?

Answer 23

Zygote, the fertilized egg, from conception to 2 weeks.

Embryo, after 2 weeks of rapid cell division and attaching to mother’s uterine wall, zygote’s inner cells develop into an embryo, 2 to 9 weeks.

Fetus, developing human organisms 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Question 24

Harmful agents or substances that can cause malformations or defects in an embryo or fetus is called ____________.

Answer 24

Teratogens

Question 25

Describe 3 reflexes that newborn infants show.

Answer 25

Root, babies turn toward touch when something touched their cheek and open their mouth. Sucking, automatically close and beginning sucking. Startle and grasping reflex, arms and legs spring out, fists are clenched and loud crying.

Question 26

According to evidence discussed and present in lecture, what is the favorite visual stimulus of newborns?

Answer 26

Faces

Question 27

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 27

1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years old), senses and actions that allows us to experience the world. 2. Preoperational (2 to 6 or 7 years old), intuitive reasoning and representing objects with words and images. 3. Concrete Operational (7 to 11 years old), logical thinking about concrete events. Mathematical transformations. 4. Formal Operational (12 through adulthood), abstract logic or reasoning and potential for mature moral reasoning.

Question 28

Object permanence and what kind of task might a developmental psychologist use to assess whether or not a child has learned it?

Answer 28

Awareness that things continue to exist even when not seen. A developmental psychologist may assess whether a child has learned it or not by hiding objects behind a screen and visibly removing or adding one. Infants will stare longer when displayed the wrong number of objects, which shows that babies' number sense reaches to bigger numbers.

Question 29

What is conservation and during which of Piaget’s stages is it acquired?

Answer 29

Conservation is changing of the form of a substance that does not change its amount. Concrete operational. Ex. Wide glass vs. tall glass of milk. Tall = more milk.

Question 30

Piaget’s egocentrism and examples of this type of behavior.

Answer 30

The difficulty of seeing from other’s perspectives. Ex. Child makes themselves “invisible” by putting their hands over their eyes. In adolescents, they tend to overestimate how much other are noticing them.

Question 31

Describe a major criticism of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.

Answer 31

Piaget's theory of cognitive development underestimated the competence of young children. Young children tend to think like "little scientists" in which they test ideas, learn from statistical patterns, and make causal inferences.

Question 32

While Piaget emphasized the importance of the ____________ environment for shaping development, an alternative view offered by Vygotsky emphasized importance of the ___________ environment.

Answer 32

Physical ; Social

Question 33

Strange situation and the 2 styles of attachment identified by this procedure.

Answer 33

Designed and conducted by Mary Ainsworth, the strange situation experiment has shown that 60% of infants and young children show secure attachment in their mother's presence in which they become distressed when she leaves. Other infants have shown insecure attachment which is noted by anxiety or avoidance of trusting relationships.

Question 34

Key differences between the 4 different parenting styles. Which style is associated with the most positive child outcomes? What is the relevance of the limitations of correlational research to interpreting these findings?

Answer 34

1. Authoritarian, impose rules and expect obedience. 2. Permissive, make few demands, set few limits, and use minimal punishment. 3. Negligent, uninvolved by being neither demanding nor responsive, not seeking a close relationship with their child. 4. Authoritative, demanding and responsive, set rules but encourage open discussion and allow exceptions. Authoritative is associated with most positive child outcomes. Correlation does not equal causation, children’s traits may influence parenting and a third factor may be involved.

Question 35

Temperament and 2 different types of temperaments with which babies can be born.

Answer 35

Temperament is described as an individual's particular emotional reactivity and intensity. One type is difficult, in which they are irritable and intense. The other type is easy, in which they are cheerful, predictable, and relaxed.

Question 36

Pre-conventional vs. Conventional vs. Post-conventional Moral Reasoning

Answer 36

Preconventional, self-interest and following the rules to avoid punishment or obtain concrete rewards. Conventional, sustaining laws and rules to gain social approval or order. Postconventional, where actions mirror belief in basic rights and personal ethical principles.

Question 37

Fundamental attribution error and the self-serving bias.

Answer 37

Underestimate influence of situational factors and overestimate influence of personality when explaining behavior of others.

Question 38

Central route persuasion vs. peripheral route persuasion

Answer 38

Central route, aims to initiate careful thinking by offering evidence and arguments. Ex. Persuading consumers to purchase a new gadget by listing all the latest features. Peripheral route, utilizes attention-grabbing cues to influence emotion-based snap judgments. Ex. Endorsements by famous people influence people's attitudes on issues such as climate change.

Question 39

According to the foot-in-the-door phenomenon, what is a good first step if you want to get someone to agree to a request you plan to make of him later?

Answer 39

A good first step is to have someone agree to a small request in order to get them to comply later with a larger request.

Question 40

Stanford Prison experiment and how it illustrates the power of the roles people play in various situations.

Answer 40

The Stanford Prison experiment was conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo, in which volunteers were randomly assigned to be guards. The guards wore uniforms and were equipped with clubs and whistles and were told to enforce rules. After a couple of days, the guards became tyrannical and used cruel and degrading routines. This experiment illustrates that role playing power roles has been used to train people to become torturers in the real world and that people and situations interact.

Question 41

Cognitive dissonance and how it can produce attitude change.

Answer 41

When we become aware that our attitudes and actions do not concur, then we experience tension. When experiencing cognitive dissonance, we change our attitudes to help justify a troubling act.

Question 42

Informational social influence vs. normative social influence.

Answer 42

Informational social influence, willingness to accept others' opinions about reality. Normative social influence, results from a person's desire to gain social approval or avoid rejection. We feel the need to belong and conform.

Question 43

Describe Milgram’s obedience experiments and summarize his results.

Question 44

What are 3 situational factors that increase obedience?

Answer 44

When someone is perceived to be a legitimate authority figure. Authority figure is supported by prestigious or powerful institution. Victim is depersonalized or at a distance.

Question 45

Does the mere presence of others enhance or impair performance? Explain your answer by referring to the concept of social facilitation.

Answer 45

Enhances performance because our arousal heightens our reactions when being observed, allowing one to perform a task better.

Question 46

What does the concept of social loafing claim about how individuals will behave when they are part of a group completing a task?

Answer 46

Social loafing claims that individuals in a group will feel less accountable, overestimate their contributions, take advantage of others' efforts, and view individual contributions as unnecessary.

Question 47

The concept of deindividuation claims that people will lose both self-awareness and self-restraint when placed in situations that have what two characteristics?

Answer 47

Arousal and anonymity.

Question 48

What is group polarization?

Answer 48

When discussing with like-minded people our beliefs and attitudes, it allows for a group to grow stronger.

Question 49

Define, compare, and contrast the concepts of prejudice, stereotype, & discrimination.

Answer 49

Prejudice refers to the unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a particular group and it’s members. Stereotype refers to generalized beliefs about a group of people that reflect reality. Discrimination refers to acting in negative and unjustifiable ways towards members of a group.

Question 50

What is in-group bias and how it is separate from outgroup homogeneity?

Answer 50

Ingroup bias, favoring of our own group. Outgroup homogeneity, the uniformity of attitudes, personality, and appearance.

Question 51

Describe scapegoat theory.

Answer 51

Suggests that when things go wrong, we find someone to blame to provide a target for our negative emotions. Prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Question 52

How do categorization, vivid cases, and victim blaming contribute to our understanding of the roots of prejudice?

Answer 52

Victim blaming, the feeding of others’ prejudice from victims of discrimination reactions of either self-blame or anger.

Question 53

Describe the other-race effect.

Answer 53

The recognition of one’s own race more accurately than faces of other races that emerges from 3 and 9 months of age.

Question 54

What is the mere exposure effect and to which “most powerful predictor” of attraction is it related?

Answer 54

Repeated exposure to novel visual stimuli increasing our liking for them such as familiarity with faces. Proximity.

Question 55

According to research on attraction, do “birds of a feather flock together” or do “opposites attract?” In other words, are we more attracted to people similar to us or different from us?

Answer 55

Research has shown that we are more attracted to people similar to us. According to the reward theory of attraction, we tend to like those whose behavior is rewarding to us when they share our views.

Question 56

Describe Hatfield’s (1988) two different types of love.

Answer 56

Passionate love, at the beginning of a relationship, we intensely desire to be with our partner and seeing them stimulates blood flow to a brain region linked to craving and obsession. Sexual desire + growing attachment = passionate love. Companionate love, deep affectionate attachment that we develop as love matures.

Question 57

According to research, what are two important keys for successful relationships?

Answer 57

Equity, when both partners proportionately receive what they give. Self-disclosure, the revealing of intimate details about ourselves. Bonus: positive support, positive interactions outnumber negative interactions.

Question 58

What is the bystander effect? Describe the results of a study that illustrate it.

Answer 58

Bystanders are less likely to help in situations if other bystanders are present. Researchers and their assistants took 1497 elevator rides and accidentally dropped coins or pencils in front of 4813 fellow passengers. When alone with the person in need, 40% helped. With 5 other bystanders, only 20% helped.

Question 59

What are six (of a possible nine) factors that increase the odds of a person being helped?

Answer 59

``` The person is a woman. We are in a good mood. The person is similar to us in some way. The person appears to need and deserves help. We are feeling guilty. We are in small town or rural area. ```