psych 101 midterm 1

Question 1

Define iconic and echoic memory.

Answer 1

Iconic – the visual form of sensory memory (held for about one-half to one second.

Echoic – the auditory form of sensory memory (about fie seconds)

Question 2

1. Describe the function and limitations of sensory memory.

Answer 2

A memory store that accurately holds perceptual information for a very brief amount of time. How brief depends on which (iconic memory, echoic memory) sensory memories disappear faster then an individual can report them.

Question 3

Describe the function and limitations of short-term memory

Answer 3

Is a memory store with limited with limited capacity and duration. It can rehearse 7 units of information before forgetting something. People can generally remember 7 units of information in their short term memory.

Question 4

1. Describe the function and limitations of long-term memory.
   Forgetting

Answer 4

Holds information for extended periods of time, if not permanently – no capacity limitations. All information that undergoes encoding will be entered in the long term memory. Just because information is stored in the LTM doesn’t mean it is always accessible.

Question 5

1. Identify the forgetting that can occur at the various memory stages.
   Retrieval: Effective Studying

Answer 5

Sensory memory – the senses momentarily register amazing detail.
Working/ short term memory – a few items are both noticed and encoded
Long term memory – some items are altered or lost
Retrieval from long-term memory – some things get retrieved, some don’t. depending on interferences, retrieval cues, mood, motives.

Question 6

1. Explain the importance of sleep.

Answer 6

Most intuitive explanations for why we sleep. – restore and protect – the idea that the body needs to restore energy levels and repair any wear and tear experienced during the day’s activities.

Preserve and protect hypothesis – suggests that two more adaptive functions of sleep are preserving energy and protecting the organism from harm.

Question 7

Encoding

Answer 7

the process of storing information in the LTM system.

Question 8

Sensory memory (sensory register

Answer 8

a memory store that accurately holds perceptual information for a very brief amount of time

Question 9

Short-term memory (working memory)

Answer 9

a memory store with limited capacity and duration (less than a minute)

Question 10

Elaborative rehearsal

Answer 10

prolonging exposure to information by thinking about its meaning.

Question 11

Long-term memory

Answer 11

holds information for extended periods of time, if not permanently.

Question 12

1. Describe the basic model of psychology and the major variables.

Answer 12

X environment (sociocultural – groups, society, culture)
-	Person (psychodynamic – subconscious forces – cognitive – thought and perception – biological – brain, evolution, genetics) -> behavior (behaviorism – overt responses) -> outcomes

Question 13

1. Describe the ABC’s of psychology.

Answer 13

• affect – feelings / emotions / mood
• behavior – actions / responses / performance
• cognition – thoughts / decisions / attitudes

Question 14

1. Describe the different perspectives and explain their focus on human experience.

Answer 14

• Psychodynamic -
• Behaviorism
• Cognitive
• Biological
• Socio-cultural
• Neuropsychological, evolution, genetics

Question 15

Describe the goals of science.

Answer 15

• understand
• explain
• predict
• control

Question 16

Explain the scientific method of refinement

Answer 16

Analyze results -> refine theory -> develop theory -> form hypothesis -> carry out observations.

Question 17

Describe the criteria of science.

Answer 17

• empirical
• replicable
• falsifiable

Question 18

Describe and explain correlational and causal relationships among variables.

Answer 18

• Correlation research involves measuring the degree of association between two or more variables

Question 19

Describe the basic design of Harlow’s research

Answer 19

Monkeys were placed in a cage with 2 pseudo-parents- one parent was a cylinder of mesh wire wrapped with a piece of terry cloth and loosely resembled an adult monkey; the other was an identical cylinder but without the cloth covering. Some monkeys were raised in cages where the wire mothers also had a bottle affixed to her thus was the infants food source and some monkeys were raised in cages where the “cloth mother” was the food provider. – no matter who had the bottle, the baby monkeys spent almost all their time with the cloth mom
- Attachment is based on feeling secure, which is based on physical comfort.

Question 20

1. Describe his results and explain how this refutes the previous theories by demonstrating that attachment is a primary need.

Answer 20

• the infant monkeys identified with the cloth monkey more and went to it for help.
• Emotional attachment is a primary motivational need that serves evolutionary purposes

Question 21

Explain how his research suggests an evolutionary function for infant attachment.

Answer 21

Infants are genetically programmed to form an attachment with ONE responsive caregiver

Question 22

5. Describe Ainsworth’s research design known as the “strange situation.”

Answer 22

A child is in a room with a stranger and a caregiver. The child is carefully observed while the caregiver and the stranger are in the room together. The child is then carefully observed when the caregiver leaves and then returns to the room.

Question 23

5. Identify and describe the 3 main patterns / styles of attachment.

Answer 23

• Secure
• Ambivalent
• avoidant.

Question 24

5. Describe how each attachment pattern appears in the strange situation.

Answer 24

Secure – the caregiver is the secure base, child turns towards occasionally “checking in”. the child shows some distress when the mother leaves and avoids the stranger. When the mother returns, the child seeks comfort and their distress is relieved.

Insecure attachment – 2 types (anxious/ resistant)
Child depends to strongly on the caregiver, exhibiting “clingy” behavior. The child is very upset when the caregiver leaves the room, and is fearful of the stranger. When the caregiver returns, the child seeks comfort but also resists it pushes away the caregiver, not allowing the distress to be easily alleviated.

Avoidant – child acts as though they do not need the caregiver. Plays in room as though they are oblivious to the caregiver. Child is not upset when the caregiver leaves doesn’t care about the stranger. When the caregiver returns, the child does not seek contact.

Question 25

1. Identify the 4 processes of social learning.

Answer 25

• attention
  
  • retention
  • motoric reproduction
  • motivation

Question 26

1. Identify and describe the factors that influence each process of social learning

Answer 26

Attention 
– characteristics of the observer 
- characteristics of model
- characteristics of event
retention 
- cognitive maturity 
motoric reproduction
- physical maturity 
- prerequisite skills
motivation
- outcome expectations
- efficiency expectations
- incentive value

Question 27

Describe the basic characteristics and features of Piaget’s theory.

Answer 27

• schema
• equilibration and disequilibration
• assimilation and accommodation

Question 28

Explain the complimentary processes of assimilation and accommodation.

Answer 28

Assimilation – is a conservative process, whereby people fit new information into the belief systems they already possess.
Accommodation – a creative process whereby people modify their belief structures based on experience.

Question 29

Describe Piaget’s stages including the key cognitive changes that take place.

Answer 29

• Sensorimotor (birth – 2) - Experience and understand the immediate world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing)
• Preoperational (2-6) - Represent things with words and symbols but lack logical reasoning; ability to pretend
• Concrete operational (7-11) - Think logically about concrete events; mental operations with symbols; perform arithmetical operations
• Formal operational (12-adult) - Think and reason abstractly; solve theoretical problems and answer hypothetical questions; moral reasoning

Question 30

Schema (schemata)

Answer 30

organized clusters of memories that constitute ones knowledge about events, objects, and ideas.

Question 31

Explain why memory can be described as sensation and perception across time.

Answer 31

basic memory process.

Encoding -> storage -> retrieval

Question 32

Describe the Stage Theory of memory.

Answer 32

sensory memory -> short term memory (attention information that passes through “trigger” is transferred to STM) -> long term memory (elaborative rehearsal: information subjected to deeper processing is transferred to LTM)

Question 33

1. Explain how external and internal triggers can influence the registration and transfer of information to short-term memory.

Answer 33

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Question 34

1. Describe the manner and purpose of creating disequilibration.

Answer 34

your schemas either work in the new situation or they don’t. If the “new situation” is in balance with the existing schema then that balance is referred to by Piaget as “equilibration” in that the existing knowledge base is working.

If the “new situation” is not in balance with existing schema then that imbalance would be referred to by Piaget as “disequilibration” in that the existing knowledge base is not working for the learner.

Question 35

Foreground and background stimuli

Answer 35

background - habituated or desensitized stimuli forgotten within seconds - not registered nor transferred to STM

foreground “information”

internal trigger - motivated and aroused to perceive certain information (arousal -> stimuli): registered and transferred to STM

external trigger - selective attention to changes in environment (stimuli -> arousal): registered to short term memory

Question 36

psychodynamics theory of infant attachment prior to Harlows research

Answer 36

primary biological needs - sex

secondary emotional needs - attachment

Question 37

behaviourist’s theory of infant attachment prior to Harlows research

Answer 37

primary biological needs - survival

secondary emotional needs - attachment.

Question 38

Describe the peer interactions between children of different attachment styles

Answer 38

secure child with a another secure child: smooth and reciprocal

ambivalent and secure: smooth secure, tolerant, caring

ambivalent and ambivalent: hot and cold

avoidant and secure: aggressive / secure / intolerant

avoidant and ambivalent: dominant - submissive

avoidant and avoidant: power struggle / mistrust.

Question 39

Cultural differences in attachment patterns

Answer 39

USA - secure: 67%, ambivalent: 12%, avoidant: 21%

Germany - secure: 35%, ambivalent: 13%, avoidant: 21%

japan - secure: 68%, ambivalent: 32%, avoidant: 0%

Question 40

Identify and describe the 3 motivational requirements for implementing
behavior

Answer 40

outcome expectations

efficiency expectations

incentive value.

Question 41

Working model of self

Answer 41

based on the caregivers behaviour towards the child.

positive and loved -> secure

unloved and rejected ->avoidant

angry and confused -> ambivalent.

Question 42

motivation

Answer 42

concerns the physiological and psychological process underlying the initiation of behaviours that direct organisms toward specific goals

Question 43

sensorimotor stage

Answer 43

(birth – 2) - Experience and understand the immediate world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing)

Question 44

pre operational stage

Answer 44

(ages 2 to 7) language development, using symbols, pretend play, and mastering the concept of conservation)

Question 45

concrete operational stage

Answer 45

(ages 7 to 11 years) children develop skills in logical thinking, and manipulating numbers.

Question 46

formal operational stage

Answer 46

(ages 11 to adult-hood) the development of advanced cognitive processes such as abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking.