midterm 3 Flashcards
stroop effect
tendency to experience difficulty naming a physical colour when it’s used to spell the name of a different colour
○ Reading words is an automatic process, identifying colours is a more controlled process
○ Automatic processing of the word interferes with attempts to identify colour
moral intuitionist model
Moral judgement is in most cases the result of quick, automatic evaluations (intuitions), not the deliberated outcome of some reasoning process
representativeness heuristic
- Judging the probability that an object or event belongs to a group or class based on how similar it is to a prototype we have in our mind
- Often involves base rate neglect
- Conjunction fallacy: idea that two events are more likely to occur together rather than independently (not true)
E.g., guy wearing a suit so must be a lawyer (look like stereotype of lawyer)
availability heuristic
Judging the frequency of an event based on how easily examples of it come to mind
- Probability Neglect
E.g., horrific plane crash scene on the news makes you scared of flying, but likelihood of dying from car crash is far higher
anchoring effects
- Tendency to rely on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions
- Example of jacket being marked down
- Most often quantitative data or numbers
framing effects
- The way we present or frame an issue can significantly affect our decisions and judgment
○ We are particularly adverse to loss
○ Emphasis on the risk rather than the success changes the response even though the information is inherently the same
○ E.g., more likely to think condoms are ineffective if told that they’re 5% ineffective rather than 95% effective
confirmation bias
- Tendency to search for, evaluate, and recall information in a way that supports our preexisting beliefs or hypotheses
○ Searching for information, interpreting information, remembering information
supervisory attention system (SAS)
- controlled processing
- Control of conscious attention required for new tasks
- Tends to be more accurate
contention scheduling system
- automatic processing
- Control of well learned actions
- Tends to require fewer resources but is more vulnerable to errors
Rule-based categorization
Categorizing objects or events according to a certain set of rules or by a specific set of features (like a dictionary definition of a triangle)
Graded membership - arises from rules not telling the full story of how categorization works. What is it?
the observation that some concepts appear to make better category members than others.
Exemplar vs prototype
Exemplar: a specific, real example that best represents a category;
Prototype: an image that combines typical features of category
Basic-level category
Located in the middle row of the diagram. Properties:
- terms most often used in conversation
- easiest to pronounce
- level at which prototypes exist
- level at which most thinking occurs
e.g., bird
Superordinate category
Located at the top row of the diagram. They’re generally used when someone’s uncertain about an object or when they wish to group together multiple examples from the basic-level category e.g., animal
Subordinate-level category
Located at the bottom row of the diagram. It suggests that there’s something special about this particular type of basic-level thing. It may also indicate that they have expert-level knowledge on this thing.
Lexical decision task
A person should be quicker to identify something as a word if it follows a word that is semantically related. e.g., identifying apple as a word if it follows fruit
What is category specific visual agnosia (CSVA)?
Damage to certain parts of the brain can impair the ability to recognize some categories while leaving other unaffected. e.g., patients couldn’t identify pictures of animals or vegetables despite the fact that they were able to describe the different shapes that made up those objects.
Who began the systematic attempt to measure intelligence in the modern era, and what was their belief on indicating intelligence?
Francis Galton believed that because people learn about the world through their senses, those with superior sensory abilities would be able to learn more about it. So, sensory abilities should be an indicator of intelligence.
Anthropometrics
“The measurement of people” - Methods of measuring physical and mental variation in humans
From Alfred Binet’s theory (intelligence should be measured by complex mental processes), how do we now define intelligence?
The ability to think, understand, reason, and adapt to or overcome obstacles; intelligence reflects how well ppl are able to reason and solve problems plus their accumulated knowledge.
Mental age
The average intellectual ability score for children of a specific age
Stanford-Binet test
test intended to measure innate levels of intelligence
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
Provides a single IQ score for each test taker (the full scale IQ), but also breaks intelligence into a General Ability Index (GAI), and a Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI).
John Raven developed Raven’s Progressive Matrices, which is what kind of test?
An intelligence test that is based on pictures, not words, thus making it relatively unaffected by language or cultural background
Social Darwinism and eugenics
Many people viewed eugenics (“good genes”) as a way to improve the human gene pool. Their definition of improve meant helping “civilize” other cultures by assimilating them into the “superior” cultural system. People thought that intelligence was largely genetic and so unintelligence good be bred out.
self-actualization
the point at which a person reaches his or her full potential as a creative, deep-thinking, and accepting human being
- the peak of maslow’s hierarchy of needs
order of maslow’s hierarchy of needs (least to most important)
- self-actualization needs
- aesthetic needs
- cognitive needs
- esteem needs
- belongingness and love needs
- safety needs
- physiological needs
terror management theory (TMT)
A psychological perspective asserting that the human fear of mortality motivates behaviour, particularly behaviours that preserve self-esteem and our sense of belonging
approach goal
an enjoyable and pleasant incentive that a person is drawn toward, such as praise, financial reward, or a feeling of satisfaction
avoidance goal
an attempt to avoid an unpleasant outcome such as shame, embarrassment, losing money, or feeling emotional pain
what are the 3 universal needs
relatedness: feeling connected to others
autonomy: the need to feel control in your own life
competence: the ability to perform a task at the skill level that is satisfying to the individual
The Bell Curve
Book that looked at race differences in IQ, and argued that those of high intelligence were reproducing less than those of low intelligence. A healthy society would be one where people who had the most ability and worked hardest would receive the most wealth, power, and status.
Entity theory
The belief that intelligence is a fixed characteristic and difficult or impossible to change
Incremental theory
The belief that intelligence can be shaped by experiences, practice, and effort
What kind of person is a savant?
An individual with low mental capacity in most domains but extraordinary abilities in other specific areas such as music, math, or art.
What did Charles Spearman do?
He began developing techniques to calculate correlations among multiple measures of mental abilities. He also hypothesized the existence of a general intelligence factor.
General intelligence factor (“g”)
g represented a person’s “mental energy”, reflecting Spearman’s belief that some people’s brains are simply more “powerful” than others
What are limitations of g?
Correlation doesn’t equal causation, so it’s possible that correlations between g and job performance are due to a third variable like motivation. Also, measures of g don’t tell us about how much intelligence works, only whether people tend to do well on various types of tasks.
What is “s”?
s represents the specific-level skill-based intelligence. Individual differences on these skills explains some of the variability on intelligence tests that isn’t accounted for by g.
Who was Louis Thurstone and what was his influence?
examined scores of general intelligence tests using factor analysis, and found seven clusters that he termed primary mental abilities
Thurstone’s seven factors termed primary mental abilities
1) Word fluency - ability to produce language fluently
2) Verbal comprehension
3) Numeric abilities
4) Spatial visualization
5) Memory
6) Perceptual speed
7) Reasoning
Fluid intelligence (Gf) vs crystallized intelligence (Gc)
Gf: a type of intelligence used in learning new info and solving new problems not based on knowledge the person already possesses;
Gc: a type of intelligence that draws upon past learning and experience
Howard Gardner proposed the Theory of multiple intelligences, which is what?
a model claiming that there are seven (now updated to at least 9) different forms of intelligence, each independent from the others
Gardner’s proposed forms of intelligence
1) Verbal/linguistic intelligence - read, write, speak effectively
2) Logical/mathematical intelligence - think w/ numbers and use abstract thought
3) Visuospatial intelligence - create mental pictures & manipulate them
4) Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence - control body movements
5) Musical/rhythmical intelligence - produce/comprehend tonal & rhythmic patterns
6) Interpersonal intelligence - detect ppl’s emotional states, motives, & thoughts
7) Self/intrapersonal intelligence - self-awareness
8) Naturalist intelligence - recognize/identify processes in natural world
9) Existential intelligence - ask questions about purpose in life & meaning of existence
In what two steps do cognitive appraisals of stress occur?
1) Person perceives the potential threat and begins the primary appraisal by asking “is that a threat?”. If no, no stress, if yes, then they’ll experience a physiological stress reaction;
2) Next is the secondary appraisal where they determine how to cope w/ the threat. If they find they know how to cope w/ the stressor, won’t feel much stress, but if the stressor goes beyond their ability to cope, the physiological and emotional reactions to the stress will continue.
Individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF)
a range of emotional intensity in which he or she is most likely to perform at his or her best
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
a theory of stress responses involving stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
Alarm
Your recognition of the threat and the physiological reactions that accompany it (blood pressure, muscle tension, heart rate, adrenaline release).
Resistance
Someone using their physical and mental resources to respond to the stressor in an appropriate way (studying for a quiz, running away from predators).
Exhaustion
Occurs when the stressful experience depletes your physical resources and your physiological stress response, thus your ability to cope declines
The influence of stress on immunity
Acute stressors tend to activate the immune system, whereas chronic exposure to stress generally causes suppression of the immune system
Coping (problem-focused vs emotion-focused)
Coping refers to the processes used to manage demands, stress, and conflict;
Problem-focused - cope by defining the problem and working towards a solution;
Emotion-focused - finding ways to reduce the negative effects your emotions are having on yourself and others.
Negative affectivity
tendency to respond to problems w/ a pattern of anxiety, hostility, anger, guilt, or nervousness; these negative emotions make it difficult for these ppl to choose an appropriate coping strategy for a given problem.
