Final Flashcards
Describe how cognitive maps develop, according to Edward Tolman. Give an example to illustrate this development.
Rats learning mazes. No- S-R connections when learning a maze. Instead an overall
understanding of the maze’s spatial pattern.
Ex-“response learning” group, always food R (S2). The “place learning” group (F1),
same location. Place faster, supporting T’s theory that the rats learn a map
Hypothesis, expectancy, belief.
What is the Human Dilemma, according to Rollo May?
The paradox results from the dual nature of humans as objects to which things
happen and as subjects who assign meanings to their experiences.
Free will brings despair so ppl try to escape from freedom
Personality reflects the way that we cope with our difficulties and makes meaning
Name and describe three Gestalt principles of perception. Feel free to include a diagram to illustrate these principles.
Figure Ground Relationship- the tendency to separate whole figures from
their backgrounds. Figures have distinct features that enable them to be
isolated from backgrounds. The figure is more memorable than the ground.
Ex- two faces/vase. Same visual input, two diff organizations. This relation
can be influenced by the context (which story) and perspective
- Principle of proximity- the tendency to perceive as units stimuli that are
physically similar to one another, ex- dots in a square
- Principle of continuity - tendency to experience stimuli that follow some
predictable pattern as a perceptual unity. smoothly flowing directions. Ex-
two wavy intersecting lines or X
Compare and contrast John B. Watson’s classical conditioning and B.F. Skinner’s operant conditioning. Be sure to discuss both similarities and differences.
Similarities
Focus on environment, learning through experience, observation of publicly
observable behaviour, both used animal research
Differences
Reflexive vs. complex behaviour
Environmental stimulus vs. consequence
Active vs. passive subject
Watson- CC
Innate R comes from an unconditioned S. Pairing the US w a conditioned S results in
the initial innate response being achieved with the presentation of the CS.
Rejection of introspection/ “Radical Environmentalism”/ 4 types of B: Explicit
learned, implicit learned, explicit unlearned, implicit unlearned/ S-R psychology
Little Albert study
Skinner- Radical/ Respondent B vs. Operant B
+ reinforcement, - reinforcement, + punishment, - punishment
- OC occurs when behaviour is shaped by its immediate consequences.
- Some behavior is emitted by the organism and is controlled by the immediate
- consequences of the behaviour, not be an eliciting stimulus. A behaviour is emitted,
- followed by a consequence and the future chances of that behaviour occurring are determined by those consequences.
- Reinforcement increases the frequency of desirable behave.
Punish- decrease the frequency of undesired behaviour.
Skinner -the B “operates” on the enviro—when the behavior happens, it produces a predictable outcome.
What are intervening variables, according to Clark Hull?
IV were internal conditions such as habit strength that intervened b/w stimulus and
response. SER refers to the probability (“potential”) that a response will occur at a
given time and can be inferred from several kinds of measurable B (“response
latency”—how long an animal to respond).
What is the Zeigarnik Effect? Give an example. Why, according the Gestalt psychologists, do we see this effect?
Zeigarnik effect: the tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than
completed ones (due to unresolved tension)
Once the bill was paid, the task was completed and the tension dissipated, closure
had been achieved, and equilibrium had been restored—no need to remember the
order any more. We see this enhanced memory was the result of the unrelieved
tension of the incomplete task.
Lewin- basic state of balance or equilibrium between the person and the environment.
Any disturbance of this equilibrium will lead to tension, which will lead to some action in
an effort to relieve the tension and, hence, restore to the balance.
B involves a cycle of tension-states followed by activity and relief- motivation.
Explain the difference between nomothetic and idiographic approaches to the study of the person. What kinds of research methods are best suited to each?
Nomothetic: the search for general laws across persons- observational studies
Idiographic: the attempt to understand the personal uniqueness of an individual. Case studies.
According the Abraham Maslow, what is self-actualization? Name and describe the kind of experience that people who are self-actualized tend to have more of?
Basic- physiological, shelter, security, order and stability
Psychological- Belongingness and love: having affectionate and meaningful relations
with others Esteem: requirements for adequacy, and competence; as well as
recognition from others
Self-Actualization- An innate, human tendency toward wholeness, to reach one’s full,
human potential, and to be true to one’s nature; the self – actualized person is open
to experience and embraces the higher values of human existence.
- perceive reality accurately and fully,
- a high degree of acceptance both of themselves and of others
- spontaneity, independence, and a tendency to have peak experiences—limitless
horizons, pure joy
What is the Values and Lifestyle approach to marketing described in The Century of the Self? How did corporations use it to figure out how to effectively market to the new “expressive self”?
Use peoples desire to be individual as a marketing ploy
People feel like they are in charge but not- get whatever you want! Rise of the self
was promoted by business. Used ideas of psychoanalysis. To read inner desires of
individuals and fulfill them with products.
Humanistic psychology is unique amongst the many perspectives on human psychology proposed throughout the years. Specifically, Humanistic psychologists make two philosophical assumptions that set them apart from all other perspectives. Discuss these two assumptions and how they lead Humanistic psychologists to focus on very different things.
Humanistic psychologists make two ontological assumptions that are fundamentally
different from other approaches to psychology. These are assumptions that relate to
the nature of reality – what something is. Rather than seeing human beings as fully
determined, they assume that we have free will. That is, we make choices (have
agency). They also make the assumption of subjectivism. Reality is dependent upon
our subjective experience of it.
Briefly describe what a focus group is and where it originated from. Using an example from the Century of the Self, explain one way the focus group has been used by corporations to influence consumer behaviour.
The focus groups were created by psychoanalysts, employed by US corporation- to
read the inner desires of consumers. Aim- to allow consumers to express their needs
so they could create new products to fulfill those desires.
Consumers free associate how they feel about products, revealing desires.
Ex- data from polls used to classify people into consumer groups, could predict the
products they would buy and who they would vote for Regand- new individualism.
Title “let the people rule”. Get the gov off your back, free the ppl!
Behaviorism contains empiricism and determinism as fundamental assumptions. When combined with positivism (a philosophy of science), the result is a framework of strong environmental determinism. What are empiricism, determinism, positivism, and environmental determinism? Discuss the implication of environmental determinism for society and interpersonal relationships. Where do we place responsibility for action and what does that mean for accountability for our behaviour?
Empiricism- All learning is the result of experience (Behav)
Determinism- all events in the world, without exception, are effects, i.e., are
inevitable consequences of antecedent states of affairs. (Behav)
Positivism (a philosophy of science)- we can only be certain of knowledge
resulting from publicly observable events. Compte.
Environmental Determinism- all events in the universe have prior causes.
belief that a physical environ affects social and cultural development.
Explain the relationship between conditional positive regard, conditions of worth, the organismic valuing process, and whether a person develops into a congruent, fully-functioning person or an incongruent person (according to Carl Rogers). Be sure to describe all the italicized concepts in your explanation. How would a client-centered therapist help an incongruent person?
Innate tendency towards SA can be greatly helped or hindered by experience.
Conditional positive regard- acceptance without conditions from caregivers
Conditions of worth- the child will learn that, in order to receive love, he/she
must act and think in accordance with the values of relevant people in their
lives.
The organismic valuing process- In order to live an authentic life,– the innate,
internal guidance system which guides individuals toward SA
Incongruent person- one who restricts and/or denies aspects of experience
and self, and who therefore cannot be true to his/her own feelings, desires,
and inclinations. If the conditional values of others are internalized, the
developing individual cannot become a fully functioning person (i.e., a
congruent or “authentic” person) because she or he cannot be open to a full
range of life experiences
Congruent fully- function person- living a congruent, or “authentic”, life.
Client-centred therapy emphasized the role of therapist as being non-
directive, and expressing an attitude of warmth and understanding.
The aim is to encourage the client to reach a state of realization so that they
can help themselves.
What are emotional habits, according to John B. Watson?
Explicit learned, implicit learned, explicit unlearned, implicit unlearned
Stimulus-Response (S-R) psychology
Little Albert study- CC, fear, rage or love.
Describe Wolfgang Köhler’s experiments with Sultan the chimp. How did Köhler explain Sultan’s behaviour? Discuss this in terms of Gestalt views on productive thinking.
Intelligence apes- they needed to solve a problem using things found in their
environ
Experiment-he suspended a desired object in the air just out of the animal’s
reach. In the room there were objects such as boxes and sticks,
However, the chimp would have to be creative with its use of these
implements in order to actually reach the banana, Concluded that some of the
behaviour was insightful, and problem-solving.
Such learning clearly is to be contrasted with S-R kind of learning, which is
based solely on the principles of association. By contrast insightful learning
is learning which involves perceiving the solution to a problem after a period
of cognitive trial and error.
