Intro to Psych Flashcards
unit 4a and 4b
Intelligence tests
- used to measure general mental ability.
- aptitude tests and achievement tests
Achievement tests
measure learning in a given field. tests designed to access what a person has learned like psychology and math
Aptitude tests
assess specific types of mental abilities. standardized tests like the ACTs or
SATs
Intelligence
- intelligence is the general abilities that help people achieve their goals.
- Alfred Binet developed the first modern intelligence test.
- designed to predict school performance in children.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
- IQ of the average child via the Stanford-Binet is 100.
- take the person’s mental age, divide it by their chronological age and multiply by
100: mental age / chronological age) x 100 = IQ
MA / CA x 100 = IQ
- bright child would perform like a normal child of an older age.)
- chronological age (CA): number of years since
birth. - mental age (MA): the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of intelligence test performance.
Stanford-Binet
- Lewis Terman from Stanford University revised Binet’s IQ test for use in the United States
- presently called the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
- designed to produce a score of general intelligence
Standardization
process used to develop norms
* norm is the comparison average
Valid test
the test must measure whatever attribute it is suppose to be measuring
Reliable test
it must produce about the same result every time it is used to measure the same thing (the consistency of the measuring device)
Bell Curve
displays a normal distribution
Nature v.s. Nurture
- intelligence is inherited and is a product of an individual’s environmental experiences
- intelligence is dependent on both heredity and life experiences
- IQ scores not very dependable till about age 6
- IQs tend to be stable, thereafter, may continue to gradually increase until middle age
- around the age of fifty, for some people, IQ scores may decline slightly.
- performance based portions of IQ tests tend to show a decrease with age, but verbal based portions do not
- not everyone shows age related IQ declines
Gardener: multiple intelligence
- Gardener believes that there are different
types of intelligence. - musical, verbal, mathematical, spatial, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic, etc
- each of the intelligences involve unique
cognitive skills and can be destroyed
by brain damage - each of the intelligences can show up in
exaggerated fashion in individuals who have mental retardation
Creativity
the ability to think of things in novel and unusual ways
* creativity is primarily associated with
divergent thinking
Divergent thinking
One tries to expand the range of alternatives by generating many possible solutions.
Convergent thinking
- one tries to narrow down a list of alternatives converge on a single correct answer
- convergent thinking is commonly required on IQ tests
Psychological tests
- a standardized measure of a sample of a person’s behavior
- used to measure individual differences
- mental ability (intelligence) and personality tests
Personality tests
- measure various aspects of personality;
(motives, interests, values, attitudes) - (example: MMPI.)
Basic Process of Memory
- Three basic processes:
encoding, storage, retrieval. - Order of the processes in which
information enters our memory
system and is later used: - encoding->storage->retrieval.
Encoding
- Information in via sensory
processes. - Is the process of registering
information. - (via a code, acoustic, visual,
tactile)
Storage
The maintenance of information
over time.
Retrieval
- Information out.
- Finding information in memory
stores and bringing it to
awareness. - The process of recalling a
memory.
Memory function
- Sensory memory holds
information only long enough
for it to be processed and for
stimulus identification to occur
(a few seconds).
Short Term Memory (working memory)
- 2nd component of the human
memory system. - Capacity is very limited (can hold an average of 7 items, including chunks).
- chunking: putting items into
meaningful “chunks”, units - Information reaching
short-term memory can
be consciously
manipulated and thought
about; - Helps you solve
problems by storing,
organizing and
integrating facts. - (ex. listen to a lecture, the
information is held in
STM until you write it
down in your notes).
Long term memory (LTM)
- Is the system that holds our
memories. - Has an almost unlimited storage
capacity
Episodic Memory
Made up of temporally dated
recollections of personal
experiences
* (events at which you were
present)
* (ex. vacation memories)
Semantic Memory
- General knowledge that is not tied
to the time when the information
was learned. - not necessarily tied to memory of a
specific event. - (ex. capital of OR (Salem))
Procedural Memory
- Memory for actions, skills, and
operations. - (ex. Knowing how to ride a
bike).
Prospective Memory
- Involves remembering to perform
actions in the future. - (ex. Dentist appointment next
Wednesday.)
Retrospective Memory
- Involves remembering events from
the past or previously learned
information
Recall Measure
- A measure that requires subjects
(people) to reproduce
knowledge w/o cues. - (ex. A fill in the blanks type
exam.)
Recognition Measure
- Asking one to answer a
question based on cues, such as
a multiple-choice question
Forgetting
- Often occurs due to decay.
- Decay occurs when unused memory
representations slowly fade over time.
Interference
- Causes “forgetting” when one
piece of information impairs
either the encoding or retrieval
of another piece of information
Retroactive Interference
- Occurs when new information
impairs the retention of
previously learned information,
when new learning interferes
with the retrieval of older
learning. - (ex. Move to new home, have a
new phone #; can no longer
remember old phone #.)
Proactive Interference
- Occurs when previously learned
information interferes with the
retention of new information; - occurs when old learning
interferes with remembering
new learning
Motivated Forgetting
- Tend to forget those things we
don’t want to remember or
don’t want to do.
psychological disorder (mental disorder)
“a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning.
Psychopathology
the study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes), and treatment. the inability to behave in ways that foster personal
well-being; engaging in abnormal or maladaptive
behavior.
comorbidity
the co-occurrence of two disorders. For example, the DSM-5 mentions that 41% of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) also meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. often the symptoms of each can interact in negative ways.
supernatural perspective
attributed to a force beyond scientific understanding. Those afflicted were thought to be practitioners of black magic or possessed by spirits.
specific ___ and genetic mutations that contribute to mental disorders
genes
diathesis-stress model by Zuckerman 1999
integrates biological and psychosocial factors to predict the likelihood of a disorder. This diathesis-stress model suggests that people with an underlying predisposition for a disorder are more likely than others to develop a disorder when faced with adverse environmental or psychological events, such as childhood maltreatment, negative life events, trauma, etc.
Many theories suggest that phobias develop through ___.
learning
first pathway
The first pathway is through classical conditioning. For example, a child who has been bitten by a dog may come to fear dogs because of a past association with pain. In this case, the dog bite is the UCS and the fear it elicits is the UCR. Because a dog was associated with the bite, any dog may come to serve as a conditioned stimulus, thereby eliciting fear; the fear the child experiences around dogs, then, becomes a CR.
third pathway
The third pathway is through verbal transmission or information. For example, a child whose parents, siblings, friends, and classmates constantly tell them how disgusting and dangerous snakes are may come to acquire a fear of snakes.
