psych_105_20140916033229 (1/3) Flashcards
What are the Two Methods of Belief?
Dogmatism and Empiricism.
What is Dogmatism?
The tendency of people to cling to their assumptions. Being selected for ‘random’ frisking for your skin colour.
What is Empiricism?
When an individual attempts to acquire knowledge by observing objects or events.
What to Psychologists Do?
ask how millions of neurons constitute the brain and give rise to thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Difficulty in Studying People:
• Complex. • Variable. No two people are the same. • Reactivity. Front stage and back stage. When we are in public, we act one way. We accommodate our actions to what is expected of us. Back stage is when there is no expectations. If you know you’re being studied, you do what you think the researcher wants you to do.
Describe the Two Steps of Measurement.
• First Step: Define the property (ex. happiness) you wish to measure. Correlate two things so it is measurable (muscle contractions- a smile- indicates happiness), • Second Step: Identify the device (ex. electromyograph EMG) to detect the concrete conditions/events (happiness).
What is an Operational Definition?
It describes the property’s concrete condition in measurable terms (ex. muscle contractions).
What is Validity?
The characteristic of an observation that allows one to draw accurate inferences from it.
What are the Two Types of Validity?
Construct Validity and Predictive Validity.
What is Construct Validity?
The tendency of an operational definition and a property to have a clear conceptual relation. Invalid if you correlate two completely different things ie. hand size to happiness.
What is Predictive Validity?
The tendency for an operational definition to be related to other operational definitions.
Measurement is Inadequate If:
• Operational definition is inadequate. • Measure inadequate.
A Measure Must Be:
• Valid. • Reliable. o The tendency for a measure to produce the same results whenever it is used to measure the same thing. Consistent measurements. • Powerful. o The tendency for a measure to produce different results when it is used to measure different things. Ability to detect differences.
Case Studies:
Examine the exceptional individuals or outliers to gain in-depth insight into human psychology.
Many Observations:
Examining ordinary people to understand the average population.
Population:
The complete collection of objects or events that might be measured.
Sample:
The partial collection of objects or events measured.
Law of Large Numbers
AS the sampel size increases, the attributes of the sample more closely reflect the attributes of the population from which the sample was drawn.
Mode:
The ‘most frequent’ measurement in a frequency distribution.
Mean:
The average of the measurement frequency.
Median:
The ‘middle’ measurement in a frequency distribution.
Range:
The numerical difference between the smallest and largest measurements in a frequency distribution.
Big Five Traits:
Conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, and extraversion.
Rationalization
A defence mechanism that involves supplying a reasonable sounding explanation for unacceptable feelings and behaviour to conceal one’s underlying motives or feelings.
Reaction Formation
A defence mechanism that involved unconsciously replacing threatening inner wishes and fantasies with an exaggerated version of their opposite.
Projection
A defence mechanism that involves attributing one’s own threatening feelings, motives, or impulses to another person or group.
Regression
A defends mechanism in which the ego deals with internal conflict and perceived thread by reverting to an immature behaviour or earlier stage of development.
Displacement
A defence mechanism that involves sifting unacceptable wishes or drives to a neutral or less threatening alternative.
Identification
A defends mechanism that helps deal with feelings of threat and anxiety by enabling us unconsciously to take on the characteristics of another person who seems more powerful or better able to cope.
Sublimation
A defence mechanism that involves channeling unacceptable sexual or aggressive drives into socially acceptable and culturally enhancing activities.
Joint Attention
The ability to focus on what another person is focused on.
Social Referencing
The ability to use another person’s reaction as information about the world.
Imitation
The ability to do what another person does, or what another person meant to do.
False Belief Test
Maxi puts chocolate in box 1. Someone else comes and moves it to box 2. The children are then asked where Maxi would look for the chocolate.
Attachment
The emotional bond that forms between newborns and their primary caregivers.
Children’s moral thinking tends to shift from ___ to ___ (3 answers).
Realism, relativism. Prescriptions, principles. Outcomes, intentions.
Preconventional Stage
A stage of moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by it’s consequences for the actor.
Conventional Stage
A stage if moral development in which the morality of an action is primarily determined by the extent to which it conforms to social rules.
Postconventional Stage
A stage of moral development at which the morality of an action is determined by a set of general principles that reflect core values.
Demand Characteristics
Aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave the way they think an observer wants or expects them to behave.
Naturalistic Observation
A technique for gathering scientific knowledge by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.
Two Issues with Naturalistic Observation
- If an event does not occur naturally or very often. 2. If an event only occurs through interaction.
Surveys are good for observing:
Attitudes, beliefs, then behaviours, in that order.
Measures to Avoid Demand Characteristics
Privacy, anonymity, involuntary reactions, blindness.
Privacy
No one is watching or looking.
Anonymity
Removing name, giving number. The participant cannot be held accountable for their actions, and are more likely to act naturally.
Example of Involuntary Reaction
Pupils dilating when excited.
Blind Studies
Keep true purpose of research study hidden through cover stories or filler items/measures (lying to participant).
Observer Expectations Can Influence:
-How something is observer. -How someone behaves.
Double Blind Study
An observation whose true purpose is hidden from both the researcher and the participant. Can be facilitated through the use of computers or research assistants.
Correlation
Used to determine relation and causation, and explain why. The co-relationship or pattern of co-variation between wo variables, each which has been measured several times.
Variable
A property whose value can vary and change. Example, insulted or not insulted and agreed to give time or not.
Two Types of Correlation Coefficient
Positive and negative correlation.
Positive Correlation
More-more or less-less (spinach increasing longevity).
Negative Correlation
More-less or less-more (bacon decreasing longevity.
r
Measures direction and strength of relationship between two variables.
r=1
Perfect positive relationship.
r=-1
Perfect negative relationship.
r=0
No relationship.
Natural Correlation
A correlation observed between naturally occuring variables.
Example of: all variables that are causally related are correlated, but not all variables that are correlated are causally related.
Three possibilities (X=watching violent TV, Y=aggressiveness, Z=lack of parental supervision). o X can cause Y, o Y can cause X, or o Z can cause X and Y.
Third Variable Correlation
Two variables (X and Y) are correlated only because each is causally related to a third variable (Z).
Observational Techniques
Matched samples and matched pairs.
Third Variable Problem
When measuring natural correlations you can NEVER eliminate the possibility of third variable correlation.
Experiment.
A technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables.
An experiment is comprised of:
Manipulation and Randomization.
Manipulating the independent variable creates:
The control and experimental groups (exposure to violent TV).
After creating a pattern of variation through manipulation, we measure the:
Dependent variable (aggression).
After we measure the dependent variable, we:
Check whether variations in the independent and dependent variable are synchronized (correlation coefficient). Is there a causal relation?
Two types of randomization:
Self-selection and random assignment.
Self-Selection Problem:
Problem that arises when a participant’s inclusion in the control or experimental group is determined by the participant.
Random Assignment:
A procedure that uses random events to ensure that a participant’s assignment to the experimental or control group is not determined by any third variable (flip a coin or pull from a hat).
Flaw in Random Assignment?
Third variable problem can still exist. We cannot conclude that there is a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variable.
Inferential Statistics.
Calculations that are used to tell whether or not random assignment worked or failed. Worked only if p
Srtatistical Significance Can Be Claimed If:
There is a 95% or greater chance that random assignment worked.
Internal Validity
The characteristic of an experiment that allows one to draw accurate inferences about the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
Internal Validity Can Be Claimed If:
-Independent variable was effectively manipulated. -There was random assignment. -The dependent variable was measured in a valid, unbiased manner, with reliability and powerful measure. -A correlation was observed between the pattern of variation in the independent variable nad the pattern of variation dependso n the dependent variable.
External Validity.
A characteristic of an experiment in which the independent and dependent variables are operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way. Does not happen often, as experiments are rarely replicated in the real world.
Theory.
A hypothetical account of how and why a phenomenon occurs, usually in the form of a statement about the causal relationship between two or more properties.
Hypothesis.
A specific and testable prediction that is usually derived from a theory.
Random Sampling.
The technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Mostly impossible.
Research and Ethics Board Consider:
-Informed consent. -Freedom from coercion. -Protection from harm. -Risk-benefit analysis. -Debriefing. -Populations at increased risk. -Compensation. -Confidentiality.
Significance of International Declaration of Helsinki 1964.
Cornorstone document for experimenting involving humans. Developed by World Medical Association. Not binding.
Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.
Canada’s history- Section 6 deals iwth research involving aboriginal peoples.
Pure vs Theoretical Science.
Pure science is exclusively theoretical, while theoretical research is both theoretical and applied.
Community Mental Health.
Developed in the 1950’s-70’s, focused on the dsinstitutionalization of mental health practies and social integration.
Community Support.
1970’s to present, treats mental health as a social welfare problem.
First Order vs. Second Order Change.
First order fixes the problem by changing the individual, while second order fixes the problem by changing the environment.
Three Levels of Research:
- Micro-level (individual). 2. Meso-level (middle). 3. Macro-level (in general).
Purpose of Community Psychology.
Enhancces quality of life through collaborative research and action.
Community Research Focuses On:
Prevention, diversity, equality, and oscial justice, no ‘helicopters’, grounded in research, interdisciplinary, co-learning.
‘Helicoptor’ Research.
Taking what you need, then leaving.
Co-Learning.
Individuals learn from the community, and the community learns from individuals.
Action Coalition on Human Trafficking (ACT) is an example of? What level of research is it?
Community based research. Because you are talking to individuals, then paplying it to society, it is a meso- project.
Steps to Research:
-Question. -Lit review. -Methodology. -Method. -Theoretical framework. -Analysis. -Verify. -Results. -Implement. -Evaluate.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative.
In depth, words, and words vs. surface numbers.
What is Language?
A system for communicating with others using signals that convey meaning and are combined according to rules of grammar.
Human Language is used to:
- Allow hunans to express a wide range of ideas and conceptions. 2. Allow humans to use words to refer to abstract ideas. 3. Allow humans to use language to name, categorize, and to describe things to ourselves when we think.
4 Building Blocks of Language:
- Phonome. 2. Morphemes. 3. Grammar. 4. Syntactical Rules.
Phoneme.
The smallest unit of sound that is recognizable as speech rather than random noise (ex. kill or kiss).
Phonological Rules.
A set of rules that indicate how phonemes can be combined to produce speech sounds.
Morpheme.
The smallest meaningful units of language (ex. un-break-able).
Morphological Rules.
A set of rules that indicate how morphemes can be combined to form rules.
Two Types of Morphemes.
Function morphemes and context morphemes.
Function Morphemes.
Tie sentences together or indicate time.
Context Morphemes.
Things and events.
Grammar.
A set of rules that specify how the units of language can be combined to produce meaningful messages.
Syntactical Rules.
Indicate how words can be combined to form phrases and sentences.
3 Characteristics of Language Development:
- Children learn language at a rapid rate. 2. Children make few errors. 3. Passive mastery vs. active mastery.
Passive Mastery.
Understanding or listening.
Active Mastery.
Being able to make a sentence as an example.
Distinguishing Speech Sounds.
Infants at birth can distinguish between contrasting sounds, 4 months later, they can only distinguish between contrasting sounds in the language they hear around them, and in 4-6 months, they begin to babble. Deaf infants using ASL begin to babble around the same time.
Fast Mapping.
Refers to the fact that children can map a word onto an underlying concept after only a single exposure.
Language Milestones:
24 Months- Two word sentences illustrate understanding of syntactical rules. 2-3 Years- Use past tense correctly. 3 Years- Can produce simple but complete sentences. 4-5 Years- Learn frammatical rules, but tend to overgeneralize. Language acquisition is complete, and becomes more complete.
Two Theories of Language:
Nativist and Interactioninst.
Nativist Theory of Language.
Infants can distinguish between phonemes regardless of language. Specific time frame for acquiring language. However, only explains why.
Interactionist Theory of Language.
Developed by Lev Vygotsky, explains how language develops. Although infants are born with an innate ability to acquire language (nativist), social interaction plays a critical role (experience).
Broca’s Area.
Located in the left frontal cortex. Involved in production of sequential patterns in vocal and sign languages.
Wernicke’s Area.
Located in the left temporal cortex. Involved in language comprehension.
Aphasia.
Difficulty in producing or comprehending language.
Study of Apes
Research suggests that the neurological wiring that allows us to learn language overlaps with apes (to some degree). However, their conceptual repertoire is smaller and simpler than humans.
Necessary Conditions.
Something that must be true of the object in order for it to belong to the category (all cats are mammals).
Sufficient Conditions.
Something that, if true to tthe objecct, proves that it belongs to the category (since it is a Tabby, it is a cat).
Concepts.
Refers to a mental representation that groups or categproes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli.
Concepts are fundamental for ___ and ___.
Thinking and making sense of the world.
Mindbug.
When our brain stops working in some way, we learn what that part of the brain does for us.
Category Specific Deficit.
An inability to recognize objects that belong to a particular category while leaving the ability to recognize objects outside the category undisturbed.
What does the case of Adam suggest?
Our brains are prewired to organize perceptual and sensory inputs into broad-based categories.
Family Resemblance Theory.
Members of a category have features that appear to be characteristic of category members, but may not be possessed by every member. Series of overlapping similarities.
Prototype Theory.
Category members that have many features in common with other members are reated as more typical of the category than members that share few common features. When in the category furniture, chair is mentioend more often than stool. Holistic processes and image processes.
Exemplar Theory.
A theory of categorization that argues that we make category judgements by comparing a new instance with stored memories for other instances of the category. Analysis and decision making.
Rational Choice Theory.
The classical view that we make decisions by determing how likely something is to happen, judging the value of the outcome, and multiplying the two.
Availability Bias.
Items that are more readily available in memory are judged as having occured more often. Direct relation between memory strength and frequency of occurance.
Heuristic.
A fast and efficient strategy that may facilitate decision making but does not guarantee that a solution will be reached.
Algorithm.
A well defined sequence of procedures or rules that guarantees a solution to a problem.
The Conjunction Fallacy.
When people think that two events are more likely to occur than either individual event. In many cases, the two things happen more readily separately.
Representativeness Heuristic and Framing Effects
A mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgement by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event.
Framing Effects.
When people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is phrased or framed (ex. 30% failure or 70% success).
Sunk-Cast Fallacy
A framing effect in which people make decisions based on what they hace previously invested in the situation (ex. moving and attending school).
People make decisions that maximize ___ and minimize ___.
Benefit, Risk.
Prospect Theory.
Argues that people choose to take on risk when evaluating potential losses and avoiding risks when evaluating potential gains. Tversky and Kahneman.
Identify and describe the two phases of decision making:
Phase 1: Simplify available information. Phase 2: Choose the prospect (what offers best value).
Certainty Effect.
When making a decision, people give greater weight to outcomes that are a sure thing. Certainty over expected payoffs. Choosing discount over payoffs.
Frequency Format Hypothesis.
Our minds evolved to notice how frequently things occur, not how likely they are to occur.
Means-End Analysis.
Developed by Karl Dunker, refers to a process searching for the means or steps to reduce the differences between the current situation and the desired goal.
Analogical problem solving states that successful problem solving depends on…
Learning the underlying principles.
Flashes of insight help us…
Reconstruct the problem.
Gestalt psychologists believed a flash of insight meant the…
Spontaneous reconstructing of a problem.
What did Metcalfe and Wiebe find regarding flashes of insight?
People are more likely to solve an insight problem if they felt they were gradually getting closer, but incremental steps did not predict the likelihood of solving the ptoblem.
What did Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard, and Parker find regarding flashes of insight?
Insightful problem solving is an incremental process (priming leads to flash of insight).
What are the steps leading up to flashes of insight?
- Activation of relavent information. 2. Recruiting of additional information. 3. Activating sufficient information. 4. Crosses awareness threshold. 5. Flash of Insight.
Functional Fixedness.
When we see something one way, it is hard for us to imagine it can be used in another way (candle, matchbox, and tacks).
Reasoning.
A mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps to reach conclusions.
Practical Reasoning.
Figuring out what to do, or reasoning directed towards action.
Theoretical Reasoning.
Reasoning directed towards arriving at a belief.
Belief Bias.
People’s judgements about whether to accept conclusions depends more on how believable the conclusions are than on whether the arguments are logically valid.
Syllogic Reasoning.
Determining whether a conclusion follows from two statements that are assumed tto be true. Major Premise- All mortals die. Minor Premise- All humans are mortals. Conclusion- All humans die.
Belief-Laden Syllogism.
Syllogism provides opportunity to use knowledge to influence believability of conclusion.
Belief-Neutral Syllogism.
Syllogism did not provide opportunity to use knowledge to influence believability of conclusion.
What is Intelligence?
The ability to direct one’s thinking, adapt to one’s circumstances, and learn from one’s experiences.
Binet-Simon Scale.
The scale consisted of thirty tasks of increasing difficulty. Estimate a child’s “mental level” by calculating the average test score of children in different age groups.
Natural Intelligence.
Measure a child’s aptitude for learning independent of prior educational achievement.
What did Goddard do?
Used this scale to justify meritocracy.
Meritcracy.
The more merit you have, the more you obtain in society.
What was the Binet-Simon scale used for in the United States under Goddard?
This scale was used to allow or disallow people to immigrate into the United States , and was used in the advancement in the eugenics movement.
Eugenics.
Selecting people who have a particular trait, and eliminating the others.
Problem with race:
-Most people are 99.9% identical. - Race has no genetic or scientific basis. -Variation has more to do with geography than genetics. -Social construct.
What did William Stern suggest in 1914?
Mental level=mental age. You can determine normal development by examining the ratio of the child’s mental age to the child’s physical age.
What did Lewis Terman do in 1916?
Formalized comparison with the intelligence quotient (IQ).
Ratio IQ.
A statistic obtained by dividing a person’s mental age, and then multiplying the quotient by 100.
Deviation IQ.
A statistic obtained by dividing a person’s test score by the average test score of people in the same age group and then multiplying the quotient by 100.
What are the most common tests for IQ?
Stanford-Binet and WAIS.
Benefits of Measuring IQ.
-Creates dorrelation between standard intelligence and academic performance. -Predict occupational status and income. -Correlation between average score and overall -economic status. -Job performance.
Drawbacks of Measuring IQ.
-Knowledge is power. -Tests are culturally biased. -Western concept of intelligence. -Skills tested test intelligence.
Factor Analysis.
A statistical technique developed by Spearman that explains a larger number of correlation in terms of a small number of underlying factors.
Two-Factor Theory of Intelligence.
Spearman’s theory suggests that every task requires a combination of a general ability (which he called g) and skills that are specific to the task (which he called s).
What did Thurstone argue in 1920?
There is no such thing as a general ability.
Bottom-up Approach
Administer test, examine responses to identify independent clusters that the responses form.
Crystallized Intelligece.
Accuracy and amount of information available for processing.
Fluid Intelligence.
The ability to process information.
Top-down Approach.
Administer broad survet of human abilities, then identify which abilities the survey measured or failed to measure.
Why did Sternberg criticize IQ tests?
They are missing something. Do not provide the same intelligence that tape measures provide for height.
Three types of intelligence for the triarchic model:
- Analytical intelligence. 2. Creative intelligence. 3. Practical intelligence.
Analytical Intelligence.
The ability to identify and define problems and to find strategies for solving them. How an individual relates to the internal world.
Creative Intelligence.
The ability to generate solutions that other people do not. How an individual relates to the internal world and how this is used to make sense of the external world.
Practical Intelligence.
The ability to apply and implement these solutions that other people do not. Street smarts.
Triangular Theory of Love.
Intimacy: Encompasses feelings of attachent, closeness, connectedness, and bondedness. Passion: Encompasses drives connected to both limerence and sexual attaction. Commitment: Encompasses, in the short term, the decision to remain with another, and in the long term, plans made with that other.
Gardner’s Research.
Prodigies, savants, eight types of intelligence, and emotional intelligence.
Prodigy.
A person of normal intelligence who has an extraordinary ability.
Savant.
A person with low intelligence who has an extraordinary ability.
Emotional Intelligence.
The ability to reason about emotions to enhance reasoning.
Identical (Monozygotic) Twins.
Develop from the splitting of a single egg that was fertilized by a single sperm.
Fraternal (Dizygotic) Twins.
Twins who develop from two different eggs that were fertilized by two different sperm.
Charlemains argues that the studies on twins have led us to believe that…
There is a genetic origin of many behavioural characteristics.
Utility of twins completely based upon the assumption that…
Twins are identical.
There is growing evidence that monozygotic twins may not be ___.
Identical.
Heritability Coefficient.
A statistic that describes the proportion of the difference between people’s scores that can be explained by differences in their genetic makeup.
Terman’s Suggestions.
Intelligence is influenced by genes, and some groups perform better on intelligence tests.
Plomin’s Observations.
High heritability tells us about the variation, not the causes- does not tell us if environmental changes or interventions have a significant impact.
Flynn Effect.
Refers to the accidental discovery that the average intelligence test score has been rising by 0.3% every year.
