Psychology and Sociology Review

Briefly describe Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development - age and key milestones (Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational)

Sensorimotor: birth to 2 years, children explore their surroundings, key milestone: object permanence

Pre-operational: 2-7 years, symbolic thinking, egocentrism, do not understand conservation

Concrete operational: 7-11 years, overcome milestones above and engage in logical thought

Formal operational: 11 and above, engage in abstract thinking and hypothetical reasoning

What is the role, location, and effects of damage to Broca’s and Wernicke’s area?

Broca’s area: left frontal lobe, involved in production of speech, damage leads to broken speech (expressive aphasia)

Wernicke’s area: left temporal lobe, involved in speech comprehension, damage leads to an inability to understand language properly, speech is fluent but doesn’t make any sense (receptive aphasia)

What are the primary factors of motivation for each motivation theory (Instinct, Arousal, Drive-Reduction and Need-Based theory)?

Instinct: instincts

Arousal: Arousal: state of being awake and active

Drive-Reduction: drive to rid yourself of an uncomfortable state

Need-Based: unmet needs

What are the 3 elements of emotion?

Physiological response: change to heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature, blood pressure

Behavioural response: facial expressions and body language

Cognitive response: subjective interpretation of the feeling

What are the differences between the 3 theories of emotion (based on their first and second response)?

James-Lange: first response is physiological arousal, second response is consious experience of emotion

• I must be angry because my BP is high

Cannon-Bard: first response is physiological arousal and consious experience of emotion, second response is behavioural/action

• I saw a snake…I’m scared and my heart is racing, I better run!

Schacter-Singe: first response is physiological arousal and cognitive labelling of emotion, second response is consious experience of emotion

• I am excited because my heart is racing and everyone else is happy

Briefly describe the two stages of stress appraisal?

Primary appraisal: initial examination of determining whether the stressor is irrelevant, intermediate, or stressful

Secondary appraisal: evaluating one’s ability to cope with the stressor based on harm, threat, or challenge

Briefly describe the 3 levels (2 stages within each) of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development (pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional morality)

Pre-conventional: reasoning based on individual rewards and punishments (pre-adolescence)

• Obedience: avoiding punishment

• Self-interest: gaining rewards

Conventional: based on relationship of individual to society (adolescence to adulthood)

• Conformity: seeking approval of other

• Law and order

Post-conventional: reasoning based on abstract principles (adulthood if at all)

• Social contract: views moral rules as designed to ensure the greater good

• Universal human ethics

What is the outcome of an individual who failed to complete a developmental stage according to Freud, Erikson, and Kohlberg?

Freud: fixation of oneself in a developmental stage leads to anxiety which becomes neurosis in adulthood

Erikson: person can move on to the next stage and learn the social skill later in life

Kohlberg: person advances as their thinking matures

Briefly describe Freud’s stages of psychosexual development and what fixation in each stage can lead to?

*Mnemonic: Old Aged People Love Grandchildren

Oral: Focus is on the mouth (0-1 years)

• fixation can lead to excessive dependency

Anal: Focus is on the anus; toilet training occurs during this time (1-3 years)

• fixation can lead to excessive orderliness or messiness

Phallic: Focus is on the genitals; Oedipal or Electra conflict is resolved during this stage (3-6)

• fixation can lead to sexual dysfunction of personality issues

Latency: Libido is sublimated; energy channeled towards social or intellectual pursuits (6-12 years)

Genital: Person will mature and enter into heterosexual relationships (Begins at puberty - 12+)

What are Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development?

Trust vs. mistrust: 0-1 year; Can I trust the world?

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt: 1-3 years; Is it okay to be me?

Initiative vs guilt:3-6 years; Is it okay for me to do, move and act?

Industry vs. inferiority: 6-12 years; Can I make it in the world of people and things?

Identity vs. role confusion: 12-20 years; Who am I? What can I be?

Intimacy vs. isolation: 20-40 years; Can I love?

Generativity vs. stagnation: 40 to 65 years; Can I make my life count?

Integrity vs. despair: 65 years to death; Is it okay to have been me?

How do each of the following theories of personality describe personality?

Psychoanalytic, humanistic, type, trait, behaviourist, social cognitive, and biological theory

*note: this is intuitive and need not be stressed over

Psychoanalytic: personality is determined by unconscious internal states

Humanistic: personality comes from conscious feelings of oneself resulting from healthy striving for self-realization

Type: Personality is one of many types that categorizes certain traits into types

Trait: Personality is the sum of a person’s characteristic behaviours/traits

Behaviourist: Personality is a reflection of behaviours reinforced over time

Social-cognitive: Focuses on how environment influences behaviour and how we interact with that environment

Biological: Personality is a result of genetic expression/gene differences

What are the functions of the following primary parts of the brain?

Basal ganglia, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, reticular formation, brainstem

• Basal ganglia: Smooth muscle movement

• Cerebellum: Coordinated movement

• medulla oblongata: vital functions (heart, vital reflexes)

• reticular formation: arousal and alertness

• Brainstem: critical involuntary survival functions (includes medulla oblongata and pons)

What are the functions of the following primary parts of the brain?

cerebrum, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, inferior and superior colliculi, limbic system, thalamus, hippocampus

• Cerebrum: High level functions - thought, reasoning, sensory processing (includes 4 main lobes)

• Cerebral cortex: Complex processes

• hypothalamus: hunger, thirst, and emotion (hormones)

• inferior and superior colliculi: sensorimotor reflexes

• limbic system: emotion and memory

• thalamus: sensory relay station

• hippocampus: storage and retrieval of memories

Briefly describe the differences between the 3 types of personality disorders (cluster A, B, and C)

A: odd or eccentric behaviour

B: dramatic, emotional, erratic behaviour

C: anxious or fearful

List the psychoactive drugs that are stimulants and depressants + what physiological change each is associated with

• Increase Gaba activity: Alcohol and sedatives (barbiturates and benzodiazapenes)

• Increase serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine: amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy