important theories Flashcards
Sternbergs triarchic theory
A contemporary theory of intelligence-says 3 types of intelligence, relatively independent of each other so ability in one doesn’t always predict ability in another-3 parts =….
- practical intelligence: the ability to cope w the people and events in ones environment-street smarts
- analytical intelligence (logical reasoning): the ability to analyze problems and find correct answers-grades
- creative intelligence: helps ppl develop new ideas and see new relationships among concepts
theories to explain emotions: Opponent-Process theory
when you do something dangerous, initial emotional response is fear and anxiety-after completing the task, do not merely return to homeostatic baseline but instead have an opposing feeling of happiness, even euphoria-the next time you do the dangerous thing, the primary emotion of fear is reduced, but the opposing process of elation can be just as great or greater than the first time around-can trap you in pattern of drug abuse or doing dangerous activities
theories to explain emotions: Schachter-Singer theory (aka 2 Factor Theory)
adds a cognitive component to emotion-proposes that one can interpret physical sensations differently according to the context in which they occur-the same feeling of butterflies in your stomach would tell you that you are nervous before a big game, but might tell you that you’re happily excited before you open a huge bday present-there are thus two factors at work-physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation of that arousal, which sounds suspiciously like James-Lange Theory except that specific situational cues are taken into account prior to experiencing the emotion
theories to explain emotions: Cannon-Bard Theory
aka Thalamic Theory-the recognition of physiological changes and the awareness of the emotion are processed simultaneously by the thalamus-when sensory information arrives at the thalamus that message activates the sympathetic NS and alerts the cerebral cortex at the same time-ex: hiking in woods and see bear, visual stimulus triggers flight or fight response and the emotion of fear simultaneously
theories to explain emotions: James-Lange Theory
in a potentially emotional situation, we first recognize physiological changes, such as increased heart rate-only then do we identify the “emotion”-autonomic NS activation is seen as the root of an emotional experience-labeling of an emotion follows the bodily responses-the physical creates the emotional
Gardners multiple intelligences
A contemporary theory of intelligence-said 7 separate mental abilities:
- linguistic intelligence (measured on traditional IQ tests by vocab and reading comprehension tests)
- Logical-mathematical intelligence (measured in most IQ tests w analogies, math problems, and logic problems)
- Spatial intelligence (the ability to form mental images of objects and think about their relationships in space)
- Musical intelligence (the ability to perform, compose, and appreciate musical patterns, including patterns of rhythm and pitches)
- Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (the ability for controlled movement and coordination, such as they needed by a dancer or surgeon)
- Interpersonal intelligence (the ability to understand other peoples intentions, motives, actions, and work effectively with others)
- Intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to know oneself, to develop a satisfactory sense of identity, and regulate ones life)
- each of these arises from a separate module in the brain
- his book proposes 3 more intelligences: naturalistic (classify living things as members of diverse groups, like dogs, petunias, bacteria), spiritual (think in abstract spiritual terms and spiritual state of mind) and existential (think about the largest and smallest components of existence, meaning of death, deal w love)
- all equally important but diff societies value diff intelligences more
- difficult to assess some of these-through observation and assessment of a variety of life situations
Theories to explain motivation: Instinct theory
instinct: innate, preprogrammed behavior that is released in response to some stimulus-unlearned, present in most all healthy members of the species-these instincts (aha fixed action patterns) manifest themselves in response to some particular environmental event (a trigger feature or sign stimulus)-criticized cuz don’t provide a clear explanation for why we behave as we do
Theories to explain motivation: Drive reduction
based on the notion that we all have fundamental needs that must be fulfilled-if we are deprived of them we will be driven to act in ways to meet those needs and return to homeostasis, an ideal internal state of balance and equilibrium-criticized cuz it doesn’t account for the wide spectrum of human behaviors, just basic needs
Theories to explain motivation: Arousal theory
Arousal theory has to do with sympathetic nervous system. Every person has a different optimal level of arousal - some people are more sensitive than others, some hate being poked, others don’t notice until hit with a bat.
People with anxiety have low level, others are bored unless doing something exciting, high optimal level of arousal
Younger people have higher levels, do more dangerous things to reach their optimal level of arousal
motivated to behave in ways that keep you at optimal level of arousal
choose friends, hobbies, jobs etc. based on this.
-Yerkes-Dodson law: Individual’s level of arousal and outside stimulation.
Added a piece: best performance - how do I take the arousal theory and put it into specific play, how do I optimize perfomance?
Boring tasks need outside stimulation to keep people focused - play classic or southern rock (depending on location) for workers on assembly lines
If doing something really hard, take away outside stimulation cuz already at optimal level of stimulation - ex. turn radio off if lost
Theories to explain motivation: Incentive theory
comes out of Learning Theories(think Skinner and Paulos).
The idea that people’s behaviors come from rewards and punishments - motivated to do things based on this, based on incentives
1) Intrinsic motivation-internal: do something cus it makes you happy, its fun-tend to do it longer, work harder when have trouble cuz they like it
2) Extrinsic motivation: Outside motivation - do something cuz get paid, helps get into college, if don’t do it mom takes away car
bad if shift things from intrinsic to extrinsic motivation, reward people for things they like (overjustification)
With extrinsic motivation,don’t always work as hard, cuz not doing it for you, just do because minimum to be able to sty in club, keep job, get okay grades, etc but no further
Theory to explain motivation: Cognitive theories
behavior driven by the way yu think about something - takes some of these learning theories and builds off them
1) Self efficacy: you understand that the effort you put into something controls the results.
People with high self efficacy understand work hard will do well - “I can achieve what I want with hard work”, so keep working hard especially if has worked well in past.
Especially seen in little kids - find something good at so they become confident-People with high self efficacy have high intrinsic motivation, tend to pick more challenging activities, work harder
2) Cognitive consistency and cognitive dissonance: Proposed by Festinger-Match and mis-match between your attitudes and your behavior.
Theory to explain motivation: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
humanist active in 60’s
thnks about positive side of life, the good in people
Triangle:
Bottom moving up. Must meet base level to move to next and so on.
Base of triangle: Biological/physical needs
next level up: psychological needs
tip of triangle: self actualization (my potential)
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
worked w Alfred Binet, who was studying intelligence-Piaget had to interview kids for him, ask them home they thought the world worked-conclusion: kids think differently than adults, not just little adults w less knowledge-will take time to change brain wiring, have them stop making mistakes, taking things literally-he said cognitive dev hinged on phys dev-gotta wait until the kid’s brain grows-nature part-nurture important too, but Piaget thought nature was the most important
-he came up w assimilation, accommodating, and the 4 stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational)
Social Development-Erikson’s psychosocial theory
Erikson was a Neo-Freudian/psychodynamic theorist
-focused on unconscious and its role in social development
-said ppl developed soically in 8 stage
-in each stage have to resolve an unconscious concept, if can resolve successfully, can move to next stage
-unresolved conflicts get in the way of your ability to interact well with others
(see paper flashcards for stages)
Kohlberg and moral development
- 1960s-how do kids make decisions? based on cognitive development-he linked moral and cognitive dev-can’t tell right from wrong without thinking
- gave kids ethical dilemmas to solve-famous one: Heinz, wife sick, needs expensive drug to save her, steals it-most ppl our age say that’s okay, he asks them why-he came up w 6 stages of moral dev from this-combined into 3 levels: pre-conventional level (behavior/morals based on rewards and punishments) conventional level (morals based on law and society), and post-conventional level (morals based on some higher power or principle, do what you think is right even if against the law and deal with repercussions)
