Psych IV

Prof. Diehl at Notre Dame

Cognitive Psychology

Emerged from behavioralism; mediate the relationship between behavior and environment

Cognition

Mental process of thinking, learning, and understanding

Knowledge

Stored representations

Thinking

Manipulation of stored and experienced representations

Heuristics

Shortcuts used to reduce the amount of thinking that is needed to make decisions

thinking fast

instinctive and emotional

thinking slow

deliberative, logical, rational

Anchoring

Setting a reference point (usually first piece of information) to simplify a situation

Availability Heuristic

Decisions are influenced by how readily examples are recalled

Representativeness Heuristic

Making a judgment by comparing a person/object to a prototype

Conjuctive Fallacy

likelihood of multiple events happening together is more likely than any of those events happening individually

Stimulation Heuristic

people express more regret over outcomes that are easier to imagine, or “simulate”

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to search for information that confirms your expectation (and ignore information that refutes it)

Sunk Cost Fallacy

a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy if they are heavily invested in it (loss aversion)

Affective Forecasting

Predicting how we will feel with any given outcome (we’re horrible at this)

Binet Simon Scale

First IQ test- 1905. Eventually led to shift against intellectual disability and to eugenics.

Army Alpha/Beta Tests

Assessed cognitive abilities of recruits, ability to serve, and appropriate roles (WWI). Basis for famous Wechsler intelligence tests.

• Alpha tests for literate individuals

• Beta tests for illiterate recruits

Three theories of intelligence

One: overall (or general) intelligence - g

Two: Fluid and crystallized intelligence

Multifactor: Many

Fluid Intelligence

Natural abilities – reasoning, problem solving, in unfamiliar situations

Crystallized Intelligence

Knowledge gained from experience used to solve problems

Gardner’s 8 Intelligences

Word smart – Linguistic

Number smart – Logical-Mathematical

Picture smart – Visual-Spatial

Body smart – Bodily-Kinesthetic

Music smart – Musical

People smart – Interpersonal

Self smart – Intrapersonal

Nature smart – Naturalist

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Result of intelligence tests. Most intelligence tests will also include subtests that

can be grouped into what are called subscales

IQ Subscales

Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning, Working Memory

strengths and weaknesses

Even if believing in g, it’s most helpful to know the patient’s ____________.

Cultural and Socio-economic status (SES) bias

Intelligence tests reflect the culture of the people who wrote, administer, and take it. Stereotype threat

Aptitude Tests

Purported to be a measure of general cognitive abilities and are predictive. Ex. SAT.

Achievement Tests

Measures of learned cognitive abilities. Ex. ACT.

Profiles of Functioning

critically useful to determine strengths and areas in need of support

Communication

The use of a language, gestures, facial expressions (and a lot of other stuff) to exchange information

Language

A system for exchanging information

Speech

The act of vocal communication

Bottom-up processing

Takes sound bits and turns them into words, and then phrases

Top-Down Processing

Takes previous knowledge of concepts and applies them to sound combinations

Communication Pathway

Sound travels in the ear, and the ear translates it into signals. Brain filters human speech from noise. The brain thinks about the information, and formulates a response. Massive coordination of face, hands, body posture, lungs, lips, tongue, jaw, throat, to give a response. Sound then travels to the other person’s ear

Language in Brain

A major debate is whether language is modular in the brain, or is distributed throughout. Research suggests systems/networks in the brain rather than areas (Chomsky/Pinter thought modular)

Phoneme

Smallest component of a language: in essence, a sound (b, k, t, o, th). Rarely carry meaning in isolation. We lose perception of some as we develop language.

Language Development

1. Vocal Exploration (9-12 Months)

2. Babbling (with Prosody) (1-1.5 Years)

3. Short Phrases; Articulation Improving (1.5-2 Years)

4. Full Conversations (2-3 Years)

Morphemes

Smallest meaningful unit of language. Typically root word and its affixes.

Overgeneralization

Kids learn rules and exceptions to the rule in steps

1. Kids pair a word with a meaning before learning the rule (broke means break in the past)

2. Then kids learn a rule (-ed means past tense, breaked, and overgeneralize rule to every circumstance)

3. Then kids learn the exception to the rule, and there are a lot in English (broke is an exception to the –ed rule)

Lexicon

Vocabulary; This is directly related to concepts. The total lexicon of a language is

always changing

Syntax

The structure of language. Chomsky argued for a universal (rules that

are present in all languages)

Semantics

The meaning of language. Operates at multiple levels (Lexical and Syntactic)

Prosody

Patterns of stress and intonation in a language. Can change the meaning of words. Can also add additional information to a word. Can structure a conversation.

Types of Gestures

Beats

Iconic gestures – gesture resembles object

Emblems – gesture represents a word

Metaphoric gestures – abstract ideas/concepts

Behaviorists

Language Acquisition Theory: Language is completely learned, taught (Skinner)

Nativists

Language Acquisition Theory: The ability to understand and communicate through language is innate. Language “module” or “organ” in the brain (Chomsky, Pinter)

Interactionists

Nature and nurture (Bruner)

Emotion

A temporary state that includes unique physiological activity, cognitive states, and subjective experiences. Leads to behavior. Are universal, communicative, and triggered by internal/external events

Purpose of Emotions

Adaptive, Cognitive, Relational/Communicative

Emotion vs Moods

Immediate vs Diffuse

Subjective vs General

Evaluative (valenced) vs Subtle

Temporary reactions to environmental events vs Long-Lasting

Components of Emotions

Physiological – biological response

Cognitive – Evaluative

Phenomenological - Subjective experience of emotion, or feeling

Behavioral – What your body expresses

Appraisal

Conscious or unconscious evaluations and interpretations of a stimulus

Limbic System

Slow vs Fast Path processing

James-Lange Theory

Emotion as a consequence - Stimuli activate ANS which produces emotion

Stimulus → Physiological → Phenomenological

Cannon-Bard theory

Simultaneous, independent pathways. Stimulus triggers both physiological (arousal) and

phenomenological (emotion) experience at the same time

Physiological ← Stimulus → Phenomenological

Schachter & Singer

Two-factor theory of emotion. Arousal triggers emotion BUT, physical sensations are so similar that some type of cognition is needed

Stimulus → arousal → cognitive interpretation → phenomenological experience

Duchenne Smile

A genuine, involuntary smile that signals true enjoyment by engaging both the mouth and eyes

Social Psychology

The study of how other peoples thoughts, emotion, and behavior are influenced by other people or social norms

Social Influence

How others affect our thoughts, opinions, and behavior (Obedience to authority, Conformity, Persuasion)

On a small scale, we are always unconsciously mimicking each other (Social Contagion)

Obedience to Authority

Milgram - “Effects of punishment on learning” (Experiment: You are the “teacher,” confederate is the “learner”. Teach by giving electric shocks. Start at 15 volts, or “slight shock.” Increase with incorrect answers). On an independent survey, most indicated that they would stop at the sight of pain (120 volts) → In the real study, 63% of all participants went all the way to 450 volts (men or women)

Decreased Obedience

Lower status of study administrator or affiliated university, Close proximity to “learner”, how close the participant was to “learner”, The presence of others who resist

Unimportant for Obedience

Personal characteristics of the learner, Reactions of the learner, Gender

Groupthink

The tendency of a group to make a bad decision as a result of preserving the

group and maintaining its cohesiveness (pg. 449)

Asch Study

3 lines presented in comparison to a reference line. Study has many confederates providing wrong answers, which changes correct response rate (74% of participants gave an incorrect response at least once).

Strengthening of Conformity

Feelings of insecurity, Larger group, degree of agreement in group, proximity to those in the group (are they watching you), Culture, Status of group members, similarity to those in a group.

Why Conform?

Benefits of social acceptance

Group behavior can be helpful when you don’t know what to do

Deindividuation

Become less aware of individual values/attitudes as part of a group

Diffusion of responsibility

Diminished responsibility when others around you are acting the same way

Bystander Intervention

Likelihood of person helping decreases with many factors, including: Size of the group, Ambiguity of situation, and Diffusion of responsibility. Case of Kitty Genovese

Social Identity Theory

People derive part of their self-esteem and identity from the groups they belong to (in-groups) Prefer your group over another group (Even when you are randomly assigned to a group. Given labels “Group X” and “Group Y”)

Motivation

Activates (energizes), directs (guides), and sustains (helps persist) behavior.

Needs

Internal physiological or psychological driving force that motivates people to act

Drives

Internal tension that arises from an unmet need

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Ranges from biological needs up to self actualization

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivated to act by the presence of reward/punishment. Rewards and

punishments can be used to shape, or control, behavior

Intrinsic Motivation

You are motivated to act because the action itself is rewarding

Self-Determination Theory

(theory of intrinsic motivation) posits that the introduction of extrinsic motivation undermines intrinsic motivation

Deci Study

1971 - Two groups had three sessions to complete puzzles. First, they simply built a puzzle with no rewards. Second time, one group offered money as an incentive while the other was control. Third was identical to the first. For the incentivized group, they were faster the second time, but slower the third, and lost the intrinsic motivation.

Self-Determination

Decisions based on choice and free will, without external influence

Needs from Self Determination Theory

Autonomy (Need to actively determine one’s own behavior), Relatedness (Need to care for and relate to others), and Competence (Need to control outcomes, predict environment)

Autonomy

Feeling that you are acting on your own volition

Facilitated by ability to make choices, Involvement in the task

Undermined by Peer pressure, Punishment, Surveillance, and Deadlines

Relatedness

Feeling cared for, feeling connected to, sense of belonging with others

Facilitated by unconditional empathy, warmth, secure attachments to others

Undermined by Cold interactions, Controlling Relationships Competence

Competence

Sense of effectiveness and competence in one’s context

Facilitated by Optimal challenge, Informational rewards, Positive Feedback

Undermined by Non-optimal challenge, Negative feedback

Informational feedback

If you are genuinely interested in learning, getting information is rewarding

Positive feedback

Promotes competence; If you do something, sometimes you don’t know if your

successful without some feedback

Undermine Intrinsic Motivation

Controlling or contingent rewards (“If you do X, then you will get Y.”)

Punishments, negative feedback (Punishments undermine all aspects of intrinsic motivation)

Behavioralists and Motivation

there is no such thing as intrinsic motivation, it’s all better explained through external motivators

Is there intrinsic motivation?

Theories of intrinsic motivation acknowledge that extrinsic motivation exists, but intrinsic motivation is better and is undermined by extrinsic rewards

Social Cognition

How we, as individuals, process social information. Origin of our social behaviors. Thinking fast and thinking slow (about ourselves, others)

The Self

The person, including mental processes, body, personality characteristics, and mental representation of experiences. Stable, continuous over time

Self-schema

Integrated set of memories, beliefs, and generalizations about the self that form your self-concept

Self-Concept

your experiences in relationships, and it develops expectations for:

-Your view of the world

-How you think you should be treated

Working Self-Concept

Changes based on the context; evolves and becomes more complex overtime.

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to make situational attributions about yourself, but dispositional attributions about others

Attitudes

Feelings that predispose our reactions to a situation. Good predictors of behavior (most of the time). Biases and Stereotypes are examples.

Stereotypes

Characteristics attributed to people because they are members of a group. Attitude that is often overgeneralized, inaccurate, and inflexible. Save cognitive “energy” by simplifying a situation

Prejudice

“Prejudgment” or negative evaluation of a person based on existing stereotypes of (attitudes toward) a group of people

Discrimination

Differential treatment of people based on their group membership

Examples of Prejudice

Explicit prejudice: Conscious, planned evaluations, actions

Subtle prejudice: Evaluations of people based on things that are thought to be

related to a group, inferred but not explicit

Implicit prejudice: Automatic associations that are made without conscious

thought

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

When our actions and attitudes/beliefs don’t jive, we feel “tension”. Festinger: we change our attitudes/beliefs to match our actions, or to relieve the “tension”