Psychology 111 - Exam 1 (U of M: Hoeffner)

Schools of Thought

Empiricism, Structuralism, Functionalism, Behavioralism, Cognitive Revolution

Empirism (Who and What)

John Locke
All knowledge derived from sensory experience
Mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa)

Structuralism (Who and What)

Wilhelm Wundt and Titchener
A method of introspection, interpretation and analysis of aspects of human cognition, behavior, culture, and experience. Relied on personal description of experience in response to stimulus.

Functionalism (Who and What)

William James
Focuses on functions of the brain/mind and how they enable organisms to adapt, survive, and flourish
(based on darwinism)

Behaviorism (Who and What)

B.F. Skinner and John Watson
Solely focused on observational behavior
Believed psychology should be an objective science that studied behavior without reference to mental process. Most psychologist agree with the first part, but not the second.
Watson believed in no fundamental difference between human and animal behavior

Cognitive Revolution

Uses behavior to reveal the mind

Cognitive Revolution - Cognitive Neuroscience

Study of brain activity linked with cognition

Cognitive Revolution - Cognitive Psychology

Scientifically explore ways we perceive, process, and remember information

Wilhelm Wundt

founder of first psychology lab; modern experimental psychology

Major historical figures

Descartes, Locke, Freud, Watson, Skinner

Dualism (Who and What)

Descartes
body and soul two different concepts; the soul being uniquely human and observable only through interaction w/ body

Empiricism (Who and What)

Locke
ideas come from experience (tabula rasa)

Psychoanalysis (Who and What)

Freud
studied unconscious mind

Introspection

from structuralism;
objectively analyze content of one's own thoughts

Types of research designs

1. Case Studies
2. Naturalistic Observation
3. Survey
4. Correlational Studies
5. Experiments

Case studies

examines one individual or group in depth in hopes of revealing things true of us all; shows what can happen; susceptible to researcher bias

Naturalistic Observation

"small science," records of behavior in natural environments; no control over any factors

Surveys

asking people questions while avoiding biases

Correlational Studies

how two things are related; positive, negative, or no correlation; doesn't point to causation

Experiments

verify cause and effects w/ use of independent and dependent variable, control group, and treatment group;
total control of setting but is expensive or could cause artificial situations

Theories

explanation using an organized set of principles that organizes observations and PREDICTS behaviors or events

Hypotheses

testable predictions, usually implied by a theory

Random Assignment (of subjects)

randomly grouping people after you have randomly selected them. this allows you to cancel out preexisting differences(gender, race, age)

Independent Variable

the variable being manipulated. used to see if the independent variable causes changes in the dependent variable

Dependent Variable

measures to see if the manipulation had an effect, relies on the independent;
the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Confound or Confounding Variable

any difference between the control group and experimental group other than the independent variable. if these are present, there is no telling if the independent variable made an effect on the dependent variable

Experimental Group

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

Control Group

group that is not being manipulated by the independent variable. neutral. allows experimenters to see if the independent variable is affecting the dependent variable.

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1.00 to +1.00);
detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another

Informed Consent

informing the participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate. allows participants to not do anything they would feel uncomfortable doing

Evolutionary Psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection; Asks: How are we humans alike because of our common biology and evolutionary history?

Behavioral Genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior; Asks: How are we diverse because of our differing genes and environments?

Cross-Cultural Research

studying people of all races and cultures helps us discern our similarities and our differences, our human kinship and our diversity

Schacter Study on Anxiety and Affiliation

"The Evil Dr. Zilstein"
Create two groups by manipulating levels of fear and anxiety. One group was told that the shocks wouldn't be painful and there's nothing to worry about.
The other group was told they would be very painful. Then Dr. Zilstein said they were welcome to wait in the rooms alone or with others and the more anxious group tended to wait with others.

Habituation

a general process in which repeated or prolonged exposure to a stimulus results in a gradual reduction in responding (similar to sensory adaptation)

Classical Conditioning (Who and What)

a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response

Types of Stimuli

Unconditioned Stimulus, Unconditioned Response, Conditioned Stimulus, Conditioned Response

Unconditioned Stimulus

something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism

Unconditioned Response

a reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

a previously neutral stimulus that produces a reliable response in an organism after being paired with a unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response

a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but is produced by a conditioned stimulus

EXAMPLE FOR UCS, UCR, CS, CR

suppose that the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus, a feeling of hunger in response the the smell is a unconditioned response, and a the sound of a whistle is the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle

Extinction

the gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus
Example: for a long time, you witness the mother buying candy during checkout so the child will stop screaming. Then, one day, you notice the mother refuses to buy the child candy. The child become increasingly upset when denied candy; however, a few weeks later, you see the mother and child at the store, and the child does not scream for candy

Timing of Stimuli in Classical Conditioning

Forward pairing, Simultaneous pairing, Backward pairing

Forward Pairing

the conditioned stimulus (bell) precedes the unconditioned stimulus (food) (Easiest conditioning)

Simultaneous Pairing

the unconditioned stimulus (food) and conditioned stimulus (bell) occur together

Backward Pairing

the conditioned stimulus (bell) follows the unconditioned stimulus (food) (Most difficult)

Spontaneous Recovery

the tendency of a learned behaviour to recover from extinction after a rest period

Generalization

the conditioned response is observed even though the conditioned stimulus is slightly different from the conditioned stimulus used during acquisition

Discrimination

the capacity to distinguish between similar and distinct stimuli

Little Albert Experiment (Who and What)

John B. Watson (behaviorist)
Exposed nine month old to a series of stimuli (white rat, rabbit, monkey, masks, fire). Initially no reaction, but when same stimuli presented with a loud noise, Albert's response was fear.
Neutral Stimulus: The white rat
Unconditioned Stimulus: The loud noise
Unconditioned Response: Fear
Conditioned Stimulus: The white rat
Conditioned Response: Fear

Phobias

anxiety disorders that involve excessive and persistent fear of a specific object, activity, or situation. may be learned through classical conditioning, in which a conditioned stimulus that is paired with an anxiety-evoking unconditioned stimulus itself comes to elicit a conditioned fear response.

Systematic Desensitization

a type of exposure therapy that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli. Commonly used to treat phobias

Limits of Classical Conditioning

Any two things cannot be associated.
Biological Preparedness

Biological Preparedness

not all associations are created equal. a propensity for learning particular kinds of associations between stimuli and responses over others

Fear Modules

innate fears of certain things that were dangerous in our species past. elicit automatic fear reactions. hard to control or validate. Controlled by amygdala and hippocampus (neural circuits in limbic system)

Law of Effect (Who and What)

Thorndike
Behaviors followed by pleasant consequences are more likely to be repeated

Operant Conditioning (Who and What)

B.F. Skinner
a type of learning in which the consequences of an organism's behaviour determine whether it will be repeated in the future

Operant Chamber (Skinner box)

laboratory apparatus used to study animal behavior

Reinforcement

any stimulus or event that functions to INCREASE the likelihood of the behavior that led to it

Primary Reinforcers

bring about a pleasant state of affairs by fulfilling some biological need (food, water, air)

Secondary Reinforcers

don't in and of themselves fulfill some biological need, but they are associated with some primary reinforcer

Punishment

any stimulus or event that functions to DECREASE the likelihood of the behaviour that led to it

Limits of Punishment

not actually telling someone what they should be doing, but scolding them for something they should not. no learning experience

Shaping

learning that results from the reinforcement of successive steps to a final desired behaviour

Chaining

Linking behaviors in sequence for reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement

continuous, partial, fixed-ration, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, variable-interval

Continuous Schedule

behaviour is reinforced every single time

Partial Schedule

behaviour is reinforced sometimes

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

strict number of responses

Variable-Ratio Schedule

random, very unpredictable

Fixed Interval Schedule

based on the amount of time that goes by (ex. Sale every Friday)

Variable-Interval Schedule

random time set

Latent Learning (Who and What)

Tolman
accidental learning, example: learning how to speak your native language

Cognitive Map

a mental representation of one's physical environment

Observational Learning

Behaviors learned from parents/the people somebody is around all the time

Bandura Bobo Study

children will become more aggressive if they see adults acting in such a manner

Fixed Action Patterns

experiment with gulls. a species-specific behavior that is built into an animal's nervous system and triggered by specific stimulus

Innate Knowledge

Unlearned knowledge. Said to be universal to all of humanity. Born with rather than learned through experience

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. can only hold a few items. attention determines what makes it to the next stage

Iconic Sensory Memory

visual

Echoic Sensory Memory

auditory

Explicit Memory Tasks

Involves conscious recollection.
Participant knows they are trying to retrieve or recall information from their memory

Implicit Memory Tasks

Require participants to complete a task. The performance of the task indirectly indicates the memory

Sperling Whole Report vs. Partial Report Procedure

Flash a matrix of letters, identify as many as possible, participants usually remember 4 letters
vs.
Flash a matrix of letters, report one row at a time, participants were able to report and row

Digit Span

short-term, immediate memory

Short Term Memory

Limited capacity (about 7 items). Take in from sensory and long term memory. Persists as long as it's rehearsed

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable, units; often occurs automatically

Long Term Memory

fed by short term memory. Virtually unlimited capacity and duration. Getting something to Long term memory takes effort and often retrieval practice

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

-initial learning of information
-maintaining information over time
-ability to access information when you need it

Recall and Recognition Tests

Recall - a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill in the blank test
Recognition - A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test

Free recall, serial recall, cued recall

. Free - recalling all the words you can from the list previously
. Serial - recalling all of the previously presented words in the order they were elected
. Cued - giving participants some clue to trigger the recall

Tests of Implicit Memory

stem completion, word fragment completion.
participants are exposed to a word list
then complete word. puzzles unaware it is a type of memory test

Bahrick's Studies of Very Long Term Memories

high school yearbooks containing old student photos and names. used
392 ex-high school students took 4 different memory tests.
-free recall
-photo recognition and asked to recall name
-name recognition
-name and photo matching
Up to 30 years after high school, the memory declined and then plateaued

Levels of Processing Theory (Deep vs. Shallow processing)

Deep Processing - encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
vs.
Shallow Processing - Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Morris Study and Transfer Appropriate Processing (Criticism of Levels of Processing)

Levels of processing are incomplete
Semantic Task - filling in the blank in a sentence (supposedly leads to better memory)
-Only works sometimes
Rhyming Task - recalling something that rhymes with another
-works better than recognition task

Serial Position Effect

our tendency to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst

Primacy

tendency to recall earlier words in a series

Recency

tendency to recall later words in a series

Working Memory

refers to the system or systems involved in the temporary storage of information in the performance of cognitive skills such as reasoning, learning and comprehension