Psych Exam #1// Lecture #2 Chp 2-3 (ToM & Self-Awareness)

Question 1

Theory of mind

Answer 1

capacity to know that another mind has different perception, intentions, or knowledge than your own (limited: humans, non-human apes, cetaceans, elephants, dogs, some

Question 2

Gordon Allport (1954):

Answer 2

social psychology is the scientific attempt to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals are influenced by the real, implied, or imagined presence of others.

Question 3

Real

Answer 3

any other humans (Triplett’s study of social facilitation, 1897)

Question 4

Implied/imagined

Answer 4

Empty concert hall might also show social facilitation compared to a private practice room, due to the implied audience

Question 5

Levels of TOM

Answer 5

• Low level: Can I tell what you see?
• Mid level: Can I tell your intentions?
• High level: Can I know what you know?

Question 6

Selective imitation

Answer 6

requires understanding the goals and intentions of another, as opposed to merely imitating their actions
* Found in humans after about a year or so (light task w 14 mo olds)

Question 7

SOCIAL REFERENCING

Answer 7

(roots of cultural norms and informational influence). Looking to others for information

Question 8

Future orientation

Answer 8

humans can imagine themselves in the future and can plan for it (rare in other animals, even in apes). Allows us to sacrifice short term desire for larger abstract goals (even those we personally won’t be around to experience)

Question 9

Inhibitory control

Answer 9

• ability to regulate unwanted behavior
  
  • “nature says go, culture says stop”. . .mostly
  • Culture’s rules and norms require us to engage in behavioral control (we may want to hit someone who annoys us, but most often, we don’t do it). We internalize others’ expectations and use them to control our own behavior

Question 10

Duplex Mind

Answer 10

2 systems, automatic & conscious

Question 11

Automatic system

Answer 11

acts outside of consciousness to process information

    * Fast
    * Requires few cognitive capacities (multiple processes can run at the same time)
    * May be felt as ‘intuition’
    * Relatively inflexible-  activates overlearned, habitual, or biological impulse

Question 12

Conscious system

Answer 12

performs complex operations, we have awareness of conscious processes

    * Slow –requires more time
    * Requires more capacity, can be overwhelmed by physiology (e.g., too much or too little arousal) or even by too much information (cognitive business) or simply by cognitive laziness
    * Flexible!  Can allow for novel problem solving –also can override the automatic system (for example, can inhibit a biological impulse like hunger to act in a socially appropriate way, or can replace an overlearned automatic stereotype with our own individual values)

Question 13

• The I: self as thinker

Answer 13

• the knower (self-awareness)

* the doer (self-regulation –ability to control and alter one’s own behavior, often in pursuit of goals)

Question 14

• The me: self as object of thought

Answer 14

• self-concept, what is known about self

* self-evaluation or esteem