PSYC 2015 Unit 1 Exam Flashcards
Nature vs Nurture Debate
are human behaviors and development due to or more influenced by genetics or environment? Are behavior and development innate or affected by one’s upbringing?
levels of analysis
the interrelatedness of different perspectives: biological, psychological, and environmental; “neurons to neighborhoods” impact; a question of how the most (environmental) and least inclusive (biological) perspectives affect the most central and personal (psychological)
multiply determined
almost all behavior is produced by many factors
Research Design Themes
(how does good RD help?)
Nonmaleficence: RD help to do no harm
Beneficence: RD prioritizing patient/participant well-being
Ethics: RD helps balance the two
trait analysis
(definition and types)
measures trait variance; types: family, twin, and adoption studies
empiricism
premise that facts can be observed and tested (either explicitly or theoretically)
Non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA)
(definiton and theorist)
a model that separates the domains of science and religion, and the idea that they** do not conflict** because their areas of expertise do not overlap. (Stephen Jay Gould)
Bloom’s Level 1
Recollection–recall the facts and key concepts:
(L.I.D)
List key components
Identify: key people, studies
Define the topic (key terms)
Bloom’s Level 2
Understanding: explain ideas or concepts
(R.E.C.)
Recognize principles and provide meaning through deduction and inference
Explain principles of topic
Categorize (school, research method, Pearson Scientific Thinking Principles, etc.)
Bloom’s Level 3
Application: use information in new situations
(E/E.U.)
* Employ: how might the inductions and deductions (I&Ds) from previous levels be employed in the field?
* Experiment: how might these I&Ds be used in future experimentation?
* Use: how can we use/apply these I&Ds in the real world/everyday life?
Blooms Level 4
Analysis: draw conclusions among ideas
(D.C.I.)
* Distinguish b/t two or more topical concepts
* Compare them/opposing approaches
* Integrate them
Bloom’s Level 5
Evaluation: justify a stand or decision (“RFD”)
(JW.PE)
* Judge topic (especially the process and implementation and its impact on society)
* Weigh important factors (is it empirical, effective, essential, elegant?)
* Prioritize A/B of topic
* Evaluate its rightness in this light; it’s value to me personally
Bloom’s Level 6
Creation: produce new or original work
(DCR)
- Develop a new/nuanced approach
- Create a new theory
- Recommend an approach
Cognitivism
(4-fold focus)
focuses on insight, interpretation, order and organization of cognitive processes: thoughts build on themselves (vs structuralist focus on the nature of the mind)
Piaget
(Note: direct answer to structuralist question)
Cognitivism
(focus/key argument, key people)
focuses on the fact that how we interpret (a function of cognition) rewards and punishments determines our behavior
Chomsky, Bandura, Piaget, Miller/Neisser
(Note: direct answer to structuralist question)
In what way did Skinner “break” from classical behaviorist thought
believed behaviorism can and should be applied to unobservable thoughts and feelings; included insight as a means of learning in addition to rewards and punishments
Piaget
cognitivist; theory of cognitive development (4 stages that build on each other)
Watson
Founder of behaviorism
Chomsky
unofficial founder of cognitivism
Behaviorism key points
- (black box):
- “the laws of learning: rewards and punishments”
- “psychological science must be objective” and subjectivity has no place in the field of psychology;
- all behaviors are the product of basic learning principles;
- cognition viewed as a behavior; indistinguishable from behavior
Cognitivism key points
opens the black box
reaction to behaviorism’s “neglect of cognition” theorizing cognition has great impact on behavior
Bandura
creator of the Social Learning Theory: new behaviors can be acquired by social observation and imitation; bridge between cognitivism and behaviorism
Arguments against cognitivism
- Imageless thought (Kulpe): “thinking unaccompanied by conscious experience” -> “imp. aspects of psychology lie outside conscious awareness.”
- stream of consciousness (James): how discrete are our cognitions?
- psychoanalysis argues that R&Ps as well as cognition are inadequate as most behavior is motivated by drives: namely aggressive and sexual; response to behaviorism but most attacks structuralism; introspection can never “work”. The unconscious cannot be directly accessed
Miller/Neisser
cognitivists who believed cognition should be a separate disciple
Cognitive neuroscience
integration of the B vs C polarity/forced choice. Also harkens the nature-nurture debate
Limbic system personal theory
-main parts deeply embedded in the brain, more protected (like the (possibly stating these fxns are more critical to survival than the higher cognitive functions of the cortex; this is not intuitive; perhaps bc evolution hasn’t had time to add protection to newest parts of brain that prefrontal)
3 Main Perspectives in Field of Psych
Mind
Brain
Behavior
Unit 1 Key Themes
Bias leads to misperception
Illusion
Empiricism
Levels of Analysis: 3 Main Perspectives on what most determines human behavior
Biological Perspective: brain and brain processes
Psychological Perspective: thoughts, emotions, cognition
Environmental perspective: social and cultural influences
Pearsons’ 5e
6 Principles of Scientific Thinking
Exclusion (“alternatives”; “ruling out rival hypotheses”)
Correlation vs Causation
Falsifiability
Replicability
Generalizability
Skepticism (“extraordinary claims”; Hume, Sagan”)
5 Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology
Structuralism
Functionalism
Behaviorism
Cognitivism
Psychoanalysis
Structuralism Shool
(key people, main focus, main goal; main contribution)
Titchener
Introspection
Goal: to** identify structures of experience**;
Contrib: systemic observation of conscious behavior
Functionalism School
(key people, main focus, main goal)
William James, Darwin
focus: natural selection
goal: understand functional and adaptive purposes of psychological phenomenon
Behaviorism School
(key people, main focus, main goal)
Pavlov, Watson, Skinner
focus: objective models and research
goal: uncover general principles of learning underlying all behavior
Cognitivism School
(key people; goal)
Piaget, Neisser/Miller
Goal: to exam the role of mental processes on behavior
Psychoanalytic School
(KP, focus, goal, contribution)
Freud, Jung, Adler
Focus: unconscious drives and urgers
Goal: uncover the role of the unconscious on behavior
Contribution: much behavior occurs outside conscious awareness
Essay main point of C vs B and Nature vs Nurture
Rousseau: man is born free but everywhere in chains (speaking of the social contract); the same idea applies to these false, forced choices.
B vs C: “two sides of the same coin” as 1) things are twice created: first in the mind… 2) all thoughts/cognitions/cognitive processes are behaviors and preceded by behavior. 3) not all behaviors are preceded by human thought
N vs N: They are each of them “restraining forces” reflecting both the order and entropy of the natural world. They are both limiters:** nurture restrains the effects of nature; nature restrains effects nurture**
Essay main point limbic system
evolved from/related to sense of smell
amygdala: Baby Albert (Watson), Ralph Adolphs and S.M. (empathy; can’t mirror what you can’t experience); Amygdala helps with ambiguity and reading social cues-»
ASPD-correlated with abnormal fear response and lower empathy. Is it a PD or biological adaptation/mutation involving the limbic system (especially the amygdala)?
Bad Research Design Examples
facilitated communication (failed nonmaleficence= unethical)
Tuskegee Syphilis Exp (failed beneficence= unethical)
Essay main points System 1 & 2
- **naive realism biases both systems due to anchoring **
- stoic response to anchoring: don’t go beyond first impression bc of this tendency to stack judgments
- 1 (automatic, intuitive, easy) often overrules 2 (deliberate, slow, requires effort) in decision making.
- Kahneman: law of small numbers, law of least effort, prospect theory (losses more imp. than gains)
-black swan theory (Taleb) psychological blindness to uncertainty and rare events; more something hasn’t happened the less probable it seems (but is not true)
-Real world example: satisficing (Herbert Simon–decision making strategy focused on adequacy and not ideals) vs optimalization: Satisficing focuses more on system 2 (harder); Optim. on system 1 (impulsive: how do I get what I want?)
Prospect Theory
Losses are more important psychologically than gains
The law of small numbers (Kahneman)
tendency to generalize from small or incomplete data sets
The law of least effort
human mind is programmed to take the path of least resistance
naive realism
1) we see the world objectively &
2) those who disagree are ignorant, irrational, and/or biased
black swan theory
humans have a psychological blindness to uncertainty and rare events; the more something hasn’t happened the less probable it seems (but it is not true/is fundamentally incapable of being empirically calculated) (Taleb)
nonmaleficence
do no harm
beneficience
prioritizing well-being
Anchoring
initial information (“anchors”) influence subsequent judgments
