Midterm Flashcards
Midterm prep
Psychology
philosophy + biology
- Study of behaviour and mind
- William James- “Science of mental life, eg. feelings, desires, cognitions, reasonings, decision.”
Empiricism
Hypotheses and theories about the nature of mind need to be confirmed or disconfirmed by observation.
- Several empirical methods permitting proper observation, descriptive methods & experimental methods
- Short history in psychology
- Opposite = Rationalism
Monism
Also materialism: Mind is within brain
Dualism
René Descartes
- Brain is not mind
- Res cogitates (not matter) vs res extends (matter)
- Epiphenomenalism and interactionism
Epiphenomenalism
A type of dualism
- Brain activity produces mind, mind cannot influence brain
- similar to Interactionism
Interactionism
A type of dualism
- Mind can influence brain and vice versa
- Majority opinion
Materialism
Monism, brain = mind
Structuralism
School of thought: (Wilhelm Wundt) Basic elements form the parts of more complex mental events
- Introspection
- Sensations = raw sensory content
- Perceptions = combinations of sensations
Introspection
A technique requiring intensive training to analyze conscious experience into its basic elements (sensations)
- Wundt, structuralism
- Problem = No objective, independent evaluation and reproducibility is low
Functionalism
School of thought: (William James) Psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, not structure
- Influenced by natural selection
- Characteristics have purpose
- How people adapt their behaviour to demand of world
- New: Mental testing, developmental patterns, education
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of psychology
- Structuralism
- First research laboratory
Gestalt psychology
School of thought: (Max Wertheimer) The whole of personal experience is different from the sum of its parts
- Perception of objects is subjective
- Gestalt laws: built human tendencies
- Not predicted by stimulus (opposite = behaviourism)
- 1 stimulus = multiple responses
Behaviourism
School of thought: (John Watson) Prediction and control of behaviour, stimulus = response
- Purely objective, no introspection
- Biology, not experiences
- What you observe on outside
Cognitive revolution
- Increase brain size, 25% energy
- Consequences: looking for food, muscle atrophy, premature birth (bigger brain, smaller pelvis to walk, plastic babies)
- cooking = more nutrition, faster digestion
- Language: cooperation strangers, innovation of social behaviour (max 150 p), increase size of society
Psychophysiological model of mind
Model of mind: Explains human behaviour based on biology
- Form of reductionism
- Nervous system
Assumptions:
- Behaviour determined by structures and inherited processes
- Experience can modify behaviour by changing biology
- Aplysia slug (Kandel) w reductionism
Problem: Doesn’t explain how thoughts really work
Psychodynamic model of mind
Model of mind: (Sigmund Freud) All behaviour can be explained in terms of drives or other intra-psychological forces
- Behaviour arises from drives and reflexes & attempt to solve conflicts between self & socially adapted behaviour
- Psychoanalysis
- Id, ego, superego
Behaviourist model of mind
Model of mind: (Pavlov & Watson) Overt and observable behaviour is the proper level of analysis
- Tries to determine what factors control behaviour
- S-R model
- Can be controlled
- Pavlov’s experiment & little Albert
Cognitive model of mind
Model of mind: Assumes that cognitions (all structure & processes that are mental) are the principal subject matter of psychology
- Philosophy, linguistics, compsci, anthro, neuroscience
- Behaviour explained by analysis information processing
- Humans create/construct reality
- Info processing account of memory models
Humanistic model of mind
Model of mind: (Maslow & Rogers) Assumes that humans are neither motivated by strong deterministic biology drives or environmental factors - active beings, naturally good w free will
- Understands behaviour by detecting patterns in life histories
- World experienced by subject, not external observer
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Id
Follows the pleasure principle. Attempts to avoid pain and increase pleasure. Primal drives, basic nature (the wild animal within).
Ego
Reason and self-control, tries to mediate superego and id.
Superego
Morality, conscience, ideals, aspirations (your perfect self)
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- Physiological: The desire for food, shelter, and clothing
- Security: The desire for job security
- Social: The desire for affiliation and acceptance
- Self-Esteem: The desire for status and position
- Self-actualization: The desire for a fulfilling life and to fulfill one’s potential
William James
Founding parent: Functionalism
- Prof at Harvard
- Course: “The relations between physiology and psychology”
- Stream of consciousness
- Studied under Wilhelm
- Book - “The science of mental life”
- Inspired by functionalism, emphasis on purpose and utility
John Watson
Founding parent: Behaviourism
- Took over psychology department at John Hopkins
- Shifted away from philosophy toward bio
- Research on non-humans, opposed introspection (Based on private experiences therefor inaccessible to investigator)
- Redefined psychology in behaviourist manifesto
Sigmund Freud
Developed psychoanalysis and psychodynamic model
- Founded first major movement of clinical psychology
- Unconscious = main motor of behaviour
- Id, ego, superego
- Most of psyche is unconscious (inaccessible), preconscious (can try to make conscious) & conscious (fully aware)
- Assumes humans = evil, aggressive, driven by sexual impulses
- Psychosexual phases of development, “neurotic” behaviours & problems = trauma during phase
René Descartes
Person who was behind dualism
Abraham Maslow
Who was behind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
BF Skinner
- Endorsed the behaviourist manifesto
- Operant conditioning with “skinner box”
- Tested variables vs. reinforcement
Little Albert
- John B Watson
- Fear conditioned a small child
- Banging noise with animals
- After = child is afraid of animals and fluffy things, fear
- Generalized: Conditioned response evoked with similar stimuli
Social psychology
Type of psychology: The study of anything that happens in groups, more than one person
Attribution theory
A framework used to explain the actions of others as the result of either dispositional or situational causes.
Dispositional/internal attribution
Whether another’s behaviour is assumed to be a result of their personality traits and characteristics.
Situational/external attribution
Whether another’s behaviour is assumed to be a result of environmental causes that are beyond one’s control.
Kelley’s covariation model
An attribution theory in which people make causal inferences to explain why other people and ourselves behave in a certain way
3 Things to look at before attributing:
E.g. She’s late
1. Consistency: Is she always late?
2. Distinctiveness: Is she late to other classes?
3. Consensus: Are others also late?
Self-serving bias
Attributing one’s successes to internal causes and one’s failures to external causes (helps preserve self-esteem).
Fundamental attribution error/actor-observer bias
The tendency to attribute the behaviour of others to internal/dispositional causes and one’s own behaviour to external/environmental causes.
False consensus effect
An overestimation regarding the extent that others share our beliefs.
First impression
The tendency for our initial impression that we have about other persons to be rapid and enduring.
Primacy effect
The initial information learned about another person has the strongest effect on impression formation, which is most pronounced with the initial information is negative.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
When expected outcomes regarding the actions of others are more likely to occur because individuals unwittingly act in ways to bring about the behaviour (connected = confirmation bias)
Confirmation bias
The tendency to pay attention to information consistent with one’s existing beliefs and ignore or discard information inconsistent with their beliefs.
Cognitive dissonance
When attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent, a state of unease is felt, which the individual is then motivated to reduce.
Methods to reduce conflict
- Change attitude- climate change doesn’t exist
- Change behaviour- I won’t take the flight
- Change relationship between attitude and behaviour- Rationalize, it’s already too late for climate change
Stereotype threat
Refers to the risk of confirming negative expectations about one’s own social group.
Mere exposure effect
The more time and experience that we have to someone is associated with an increased liking of that person.
Yerkes-dodson law
levated arousal levels can improve performance up to a certain point.
Conformity
The extent to which persons modify their behaviour to be consistent with the behaviour of the surrounding group Depends on: - Group size - Ambiguity of task - Gender - Personality
Groupthink and why it happens
When high degrees of conformity and consistency in a group are highly valued, to the exclusion of opposing information and ideas
Why?
1. Overestimating group: Illusion of invulnerability
2. Closed mindedness
3. Pressure for uniformity
Rationalisation/confabulation
After the fact, false explanation for why you did something (rationalization)
- We don’t know when we explain something whether it is true or a confabulation
- Like convincing yourself — more time to confabulate, stronger attitude change
Choice blindness
When you don’t notice when the outcome of your decision is swapped
Festinger study
Do a boring task, give small amount and big amount to tell next “participant” that the task was interesting (a lie).
- Group that were payed less reported after that they actually did find the thing more interesting
- People try to rationalize why, i.e. if I’m doing something I don’t believe in for a very small amount, I must have found it pretty interesting. If I’m doing something I don’t believe in, I will happily do it if I’m being payed a large amount
Social influence
A process by which our thoughts and actions are strongly influenced by the presence of others.
Social norm
Prescribed behaviors that vary across context, culture, and time.
Individualistic society
Cultures that place emphasis on the individual rather than the group.
Collectivistic society
Cultures that place emphasis on the group instead of the individual.
Obedience
Conforming to authority, tested in Milgram experiment
Milgram study
Shock experiment, most people delivered the max amount of voltage because a person of authority told them to
- 15-450V
- 65% went to max
Bystander effect
A person in need is less likely to receive help as the number of people who are present increases.
Theories of aggression
Agression is..
- Biological: inherited, 60% genetics, amygdala
- Environment: Behaviour modelling, social learning, Bandura experiment
Bandura behaviour modelling and social learning
Theories of prosocial behaviour/altruism
Helping others without the expectation of anything in return.
- pure altruism, reciprocal altruism
- biological or psychological
Reciprocal altruism
Engaging in what appears to be prosocial behaviours with the expectation of getting something in return.
Reciprocity norm
The idea that if others help us, then we should provide something in return.
Compliance
A type of social influence where an individual does what someone else wants them to do, following a request or suggestion.
Foot-in-the-door
Initial request is small so people willingly participate. Later make a larger request. (commitment)
Door-in-the-face
Initial request is large and rejected, so smaller request is made and accepted. (reciprocity norm)
Ockham’s razor
Given several explanations for a phenomenon, the most simple one should be accepted