Midterm 1 Flashcards
three other sources of evidence for behavior
your experience, intuition, and an authority
Empiricism
using evidence from the senses as the basis for conclusions
What is normal distribution?
bell curve; symmetrical with a central peak; tails off to both ends
variability
how much measurements differ from one another
Range
value of largest measurement minus the smallest
Standard deviation
describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution; how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean
What makes a good theory?
testable/falsifiable; supported by research; conforms to law of parsimony
operational definition
defines a variable in terms of specific procedures used to produce or measure it
self-report measures
participants report their own knowledge, beliefs, and experiences
social desirability bias-
desire to make a good impression
measures of overt behaviour
observers record observable behaviour
-however, participants change behaviour knowing they are observed
psychological tests
specialized tests to measure particular variables such as personality and intelligence
descriptive research
seeks how an individual behaves especially in natural environments
naturalistic observations
observing people or animals in their natural environment
population
entire set of individuals
sample
subset of individuals from a population
representative sample
a sample that reflects the important characteristics of the population
random sampling
every member of the population has an equal probability of being chosen
correlational research
association between two or more measured variables and their relationship
Correlation coefficient (r)
describes the relationship between two variables
-1.0 to +1.0
-sign indicates direction
value indicates strength
postive correlation
same direction; increase in one=increase in the other
negative correlation
different direction; increase in one=decrease in the other
between groups/between subjects research design
each group in the experiment has different sets of paticipants
repeated measures/within subjects research design
each participant is exposed to all the conditions of an independent variable
Ethic standards in research
must protect and promote the welfare of all participants with consent
definition of language
a system of symbols and rules
psycholinguistics
the scientific study of the psychological aspects of language
grammar
set of rules for how symbols can be combined for communication
semantics
the meaning of words and sentences and rules for connecting the symbols
generativity
combine symbols to generate an infinite messages and new meanings
displacement
can communicate about things not physically present
surface structure
ways symbols are combined
syntax
grammar and the order of words
deep structure
underlying meaning of combined symbols
morphemes
smallest units of meaning; a combination of phonemes
phonemes
smallest units of sound recognized as separate
pragmatics
a knowledge of practical aspects of using language
-clarity and tone
- context matters
Language acquisition device
universal grammar; all languages have a common deep structure
social learning processes for language
parents and operant conditioning
Broca’s area
speech and generating words
Wernicke’s area
speech comprehension
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
language influences and determines our thinking
Language influences:
perceptions, decisions, thinking
analogical representations
mental representations that have some physical characteristics of what they represent
symbolic representations
abstract mental representations that do not correspond to the physical features of objects or ideas
propositional thought
expresses a statement
imaginal thought
consists of images that we can see, hear, or feel in our mind
motoric thought
relates to mental representations of motor movements
aphantasia
people who lack mental imagery
concepts
a category of related things that consist of mental presentations of that thing;
categorization
grouping things together that have overlapping properties and characteristics
prototypes of a concept
the most familiar and best example of that category/concept
exemplar of a concept
all examples of that category-based on experiences
schema
mental blueprint; ways we organize knowledge into a mental concept; guide to your behaviour; organize knowledge and guide cognitive processes and behaviour
scrips
schema that directions behaviour over time within a situation; sequence of expected behaviours
problem solving
barrier between where you are and where you want to be
functional fixedness
in problem solving, having fixed ideas about the typical functions of objects
algorithms
automatically generate correct solutions; guide to the correct answer
heuristic
general problem-solving strategies
means-ends analysis
identify differences between present situation and desired state
subgoal analysis
the purpose of the set of steps to reach goal
availability heuristic
mental shortcut relying on psychologically easily imagined examples instead of facts; tendency to estimate the likelihood or importance of something based on how easily we can think of an example
confirmation bias
look for evidence that will confirm beliefs
intelligence
the ability to acquire knowledge, to think and reason effectively, and to adapt
intelligence is a _____
construct- make it up and define it
Binet’s assumptions for intelliegence
mental abilities develop with age; rate in which people gain competence
mental age
child’s intellectual standing compared that of same age group
Stanford-Binet and Wechsler Scales for intelligence
relies on verbal and performance abilities- more on verbal
the psychometric approach
attempts to map intelligence and performance
achievement tests
how much someone knows
aptitude tests
potential for future learning
G-factor
general intelligence; factor that contributed to performance on any intellectual task, such as educational success and work success (and sometimes also health); if you do well on one intelligence test, you’re likely to do well on another type
Primary mental abilities
7 distinct abilities and skills people have and are tested on for intelligence
fluid intelligence
deal with novel situations without previous knowledge; problem solving
crystallized intelligence
retrieve info and experience to apply previously learned knowledge
Carroll’s three-stratum model
describes intelligence as consisting of three strata/levels; narrow abilities (stratum I), broad abilities (stratum II) and general abilities (stratum III); correlation of individual-difference variables from data
eight relatively interdependent intelligences
proposed that there are eight types of intelligences that are independent from one another
Triarchic theory of intelligence
a theory of intelligence in which three key abilities—analytical, creative, and practical and are comprised of meta-, performance, and knowledge-acquisition components
The mayer-salovey-caruso emotional intelligence test
the four branches of emotion detection and control abilities; ability for one to be aware and respond to emotions; perceiving, facilitate thought, understanding, managing
the flynn effect
a secular increase in population IQ observed throughout the 20th century. The changes were rapid, with measured intelligence typically increasing by around three IQ points per decade
raven progessive matrice
a non-verbal test typically used to measure general human intelligence and abstract reasoning and is regarded as a non-verbal estimate of fluid intelligence; doesn’t rely on traditional knowledge or schooling-just problem solving
reliability=______
conistency
test-retest reliability
same score on same test taken twice
internal consistency
stuff on the test should measure/test the same thing and are related
interjudge reliability
consistency of measurement when different people score the same test
validity=______
accuracy
construct validity
if the test measures what it’s supposed to measure
content validity
does the items on teest measure knowledge or skills that comprise the construct
criterion-related validity
how well does test score predict criterion measures
neural measures of intelligence
correlation between IQ and electrical responses
brain plasticity
the ability for the brain to change by forming new connections among neurons in response to input from our environment; processing speed efficiency
intellectually gifted
tend to be gifted in one aspect but normal in everything else; high IQ
intellectually disabled
mild, moderate, severe, or profound; low IQ and struggles with every day tasks
Eminence
highly developed abilities; creative problem solving; motivation
case study
the descriptive research method that involves intense examination of an atypical person
