Unit 1 Exam

Question 1

Nature vs Nurture Debate

Answer 1

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?

Question 2

levels of analysis

Answer 2

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)

Question 3

multiply determined

Answer 3

almost all behavior is produced by many factors

Question 4

Research Design Themes
(how does good RD help?)

Answer 4

Nonmaleficence: RD help to do no harm
Beneficence: RD prioritizing patient/participant well-being
Ethics: RD helps balance the two

Question 5

trait analysis
(definition and types)

Answer 5

measures trait variance; types: family, twin, and adoption studies

Question 6

empiricism

Answer 6

premise that facts can be observed and tested (either explicitly or theoretically)

Question 7

Non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA)
(definiton and theorist)

Answer 7

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)

Question 8

Bloom’s Level 1

Answer 8

Recollection–recall the facts and key concepts:
(L.I.D)
List key components
Identify: key people, studies
Define the topic (key terms)

Question 9

Bloom’s Level 2

Answer 9

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.)

Question 10

Bloom’s Level 3

Answer 10

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?

Question 11

Blooms Level 4

Answer 11

Analysis: draw conclusions among ideas
(D.C.I.)
* Distinguish b/t two or more topical concepts
* Compare them/opposing approaches
* Integrate them

Question 12

Bloom’s Level 5

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Bloom’s Level 6

Answer 13

Creation: produce new or original work
(DCR)

• Develop a new/nuanced approach
• Create a new theory
• Recommend an approach

Question 14

Cognitivism
(4-fold focus)

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Cognitivism
(focus/key argument, key people)

Answer 15

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)

Question 16

In what way did Skinner “break” from classical behaviorist thought

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Piaget

Answer 17

cognitivist; theory of cognitive development (4 stages that build on each other)

Question 18

Watson

Answer 18

Founder of behaviorism

Question 19

Chomsky

Answer 19

unofficial founder of cognitivism

Question 20

Behaviorism key points

Answer 20

• (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

Question 21

Cognitivism key points

Answer 21

opens the black box

reaction to behaviorism’s “neglect of cognition” theorizing cognition has great impact on behavior

Question 22

Bandura

Answer 22

creator of the Social Learning Theory: new behaviors can be acquired by social observation and imitation; bridge between cognitivism and behaviorism

Question 23

Arguments against cognitivism

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

Miller/Neisser

Answer 24

cognitivists who believed cognition should be a separate disciple

Question 25

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 25

integration of the B vs C polarity/forced choice. Also harkens the nature-nurture debate

Question 26

Limbic system personal theory

Answer 26

-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)

Question 27

3 Main Perspectives in Field of Psych

Answer 27

Mind
Brain
Behavior

Question 28

Unit 1 Key Themes

Answer 28

Bias leads to misperception
Illusion
Empiricism

Question 29

Levels of Analysis: 3 Main Perspectives on what most determines human behavior

Answer 29

Biological Perspective: brain and brain processes
Psychological Perspective: thoughts, emotions, cognition
Environmental perspective: social and cultural influences

Question 30

Pearsons’ 5e
6 Principles of Scientific Thinking

Answer 30

Exclusion (“alternatives”; “ruling out rival hypotheses”)
Correlation vs Causation
Falsifiability
Replicability
Generalizability
Skepticism (“extraordinary claims”; Hume, Sagan”)

Question 31

5 Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology

Answer 31

Structuralism
Functionalism
Behaviorism
Cognitivism
Psychoanalysis

Question 32

Structuralism Shool
(key people, main focus, main goal; main contribution)

Answer 32

Titchener
Introspection
Goal: to** identify structures of experience**;
Contrib: systemic observation of conscious behavior

Question 33

Functionalism School
(key people, main focus, main goal)

Answer 33

William James, Darwin
focus: natural selection
goal: understand functional and adaptive purposes of psychological phenomenon

Question 34

Behaviorism School
(key people, main focus, main goal)

Answer 34

Pavlov, Watson, Skinner
focus: objective models and research
goal: uncover general principles of learning underlying all behavior

Question 35

Cognitivism School
(key people; goal)

Answer 35

Piaget, Neisser/Miller
Goal: to exam the role of mental processes on behavior

Question 36

Psychoanalytic School
(KP, focus, goal, contribution)

Answer 36

Freud, Jung, Adler
Focus: unconscious drives and urgers
Goal: uncover the role of the unconscious on behavior
Contribution: much behavior occurs outside conscious awareness

Question 37

Essay main point of C vs B and Nature vs Nurture

Answer 37

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**

Question 38

Essay main point limbic system

Answer 38

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)?

Question 39

Bad Research Design Examples

Answer 39

facilitated communication (failed nonmaleficence= unethical)

Tuskegee Syphilis Exp (failed beneficence= unethical)

Question 40

Essay main points System 1 & 2

Answer 40

• **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?)

Question 41

Prospect Theory

Answer 41

Losses are more important psychologically than gains

Question 42

The law of small numbers (Kahneman)

Answer 42

tendency to generalize from small or incomplete data sets

Question 43

Anchoring

Answer 43

initial information (“anchors”) influence subsequent judgments

Question 43

The law of least effort

Answer 43

human mind is programmed to take the path of least resistance

Question 44

naive realism

Answer 44

1) we see the world objectively &
2) those who disagree are ignorant, irrational, and/or biased

Question 45

black swan theory

Answer 45

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)

Question 46

nonmaleficence

Answer 46

do no harm

Question 47

beneficience

Answer 47

prioritizing well-being