Lectures

Question 1

Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist

Answer 1

Structured interview w/trained psychiatrist; 0-2 on each factor, 40 is highest possible score; example factors = aggressive narcissism, socially deviant lifestyle; generally 30/40 scores you as a psychopath

Question 2

Psychopathy is primarily an ______ deficit; they (do/do not) learn from their mistakes

Answer 2

emotional; DO NOT

Question 3

How do psychopaths respond with train morality experiment?

Answer 3

they think it’s morally permissible to push a fat man off a bridge to save the lives of the 5 people on the train

Question 4

What is the effect of putting psychopaths in therapy to teach them emotional skills?

Answer 4

helps them better manipulate other; since they lack intuitive understanding of emotions, it gives them a tool kit

Question 5

What is the effect of putting psychopaths in therapy to teach them emotional skills?

Answer 5

helps them better manipulate other; since they lack intuitive understanding of emotions, it gives them a tool kit

Question 6

What is the difference between reliability and validity in measurement? Example

Answer 6

Reliability- will repeated measurements yield a similar answer? (consistency of measurement)
Validity- is the measurement assessing what it is supposed to assess? (accuracy of measurement)
if I want to measure intelligence, and I measure diameter of head with tape, and it yields same answer every time, it is reliable, but definitely not accurate

Question 7

Name 3 Projective tests

Answer 7

1) inkblot
2) house tree person
3) Thematic Apperception Test

Question 8

What are the dimensions of temperament?

Answer 8

1) Activity Level- general arousal
2) Impulsivity- time taken to express emotion
3) Positive Emotionality- smiling, laughing, sociability
4) Negative Emotionality- irritability, fearfulness, soothability

Question 9

What are the 2 big points of social psychology?

Answer 9

1) The Power of the Situation- our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are powerfully shaped by the social environment i.e. Milgram experiment
2) The Self/Other Divide- our perception of other ppl is fundamentally different than our perception of ourselves

Question 10

What did the hand sanitizing experiment show?

Answer 10

Students primed with hand sanitizing reminder reported higher conservative political views; shows power of situation

Question 11

The Self/Other divide occurs because of which two reasons?

Answer 11

#1 Motivational- we want to maintain a positive view of ourselves because it feels good
#2 Informational- We have imperfect access to info about ourselves and about others

Question 12

What is the spotlight effect?

Answer 12

We think ppl notice us more than they actually do i.e. wearing embarrassing shirt

Question 13

If you are asked to predict what you will get on the next exam, what will happen?

Answer 13

you are not good at predicting your own behavior; if you predict someone else, it will on average be closer because your mind is getting messed up about thoughts like i.e. you’re gonna do better

Question 14

Mood (does/does not) affect behavior. Example?

Answer 14

DOES; more likely to help experimenter in front of Cinnabon b/c of good smell

Question 15

What did the pastor experiment show?

Answer 15

Pastors who were told to give sermon about helping people on the side of the road (Samaritan parable) but those that were told to rush would ignore injured person on the side of the road; situation can supersede even deeply held values

Question 16

Name some self-serving biases

Answer 16

• better than average effect
• overconfidence i.e. schoolwork over break
• overestimate our contributions
• selective attention i.e. smokers avoid reading bad info about smoking to reduce cognitive dissonance

Question 17

Describe attributions about the self

Answer 17

We attribute our failures to situational, unstable, or uncontrollable factors in a way thatcasts us in a positive light
We attribute our successes to personal, permanent factors in a way that gives us credit for
doing well
-Did poorly on the test? Didn’t get enough sleep; the professor created a bad exam
-Did well on the test? I’m smart.

Question 18

What is the reliable trend in happiness over an individual’s lifespan?

Answer 18

theres a reliable finding that there’s a dip around middle age; having children starts the dip

Question 19

What are the two components/measures of happiness?

Answer 19

1. How happy are you? (emotional)

2. How satisfied with life are you? (cognitive)

Question 20

What are 8 ways you can be happier?

Answer 20

1. Be with people
2. Be in the moment
3. Favor relative over absolute (salary just has to be more than others)
4. Buy experiences (usually involve other ppl, harder to compare than material goods)
5. Spend $ on others
6. Mind Peaks and Ends (Peak of pain and stopping reports higher pain than peak of pain followed by less severe pain than stopping)
7. Find Religion
8. Be grateful

Question 21

Name 3 superstitious fallacies

Answer 21

1. Gamblers fallacy
2. Hot hand fallacy
3. Lucky Socks

Question 22

Why do we persist in believing superstitions despite evidence to the contrary?

Answer 22

confirmation bias- we favor info that is consistent w/our beliefs
we develop causal theories

Question 23

What are 2 explanations for belief in religion?

Answer 23

1) We are motivated to believe b/c life is hard
2) Supernatural beliefs are cognitive by-product; combines our tendency to see patterns, develop causal theories, and selectively attend to confirmatory evidence with tendency to see intentionality i.e. describing animation with intentional action

Question 24

3 Reasons for Humor

Answer 24

1. Incongruity
2. Superiority
3. Benign Violation= often moral, but not threatening
4. Tension-release= may be shared expression of relief at passing of danger