Theories and Perspectives; Laws and Effects (AP Psychology)

Phrenology

Associated with FRANZ GALL, the belief that bumps and other external physical characteristics on the skull indicated personality traits.

Neuroscience Perspective

(also called biological perspective)

Explores the body's role in behavior and mental processes.

Evolutionary Perspective

Explores how the natural selection of traits and behavior promotes the perpetuation of one's genes. Behavior is explained in terms of how it increases the occurrence of an individual's GENES IN FUTURE GENERATIONS.

Behavioral Genetics Perspective

Explores how our genes INTERACT with environment.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Explores how behavior arises from UNCONSCIOUS forces, drives and, conflicts.

Behavioral perspective

Explores how the behavior is controlled by our environment.

(especially, rewards and punishments)

Cognitive perspective

Explores how the cognition (i.e., encoding, processing, storing, retrieving, thinking) affects our behavior

Sociocultural perspective

Explores how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

Humanistic perspective

Explores how best to express our individual natures and to promote our psychological growth; assumes humans are fundamentally good.

experimental method

MANIPULATES variables under controlled conditions to observe effects on a behavior. Seeks to find, understand, control causes of behavior.

**The ONLY type of research that allows us to conclude that a causal connection exists.

descriptive method

Attempts to describe variables/connections of interest. CAN'T PROVE CAUSE AND EFFECT. Uses surveys, observations, case studies, naturalistic observation, correlation, etc.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion

restoration theory of sleep (aka recuperation theory)

Believes that NREM sleep relaxes the body; REM sleep relaxes the brain. Believes that the purpose of sleep is to restore the body and brain so that they can recuperate.

evolutionary/adaptive sleep theory

Believes that unique sleep patterns of animals evolved over time to help promote survival; sleep keeps us away from predators.

Freud's theory of dreams

Dreams are "the royal road to the unconscious." They symbolically reflect our unconscious wishes. They provide a release of unacceptable emotions (catharsis)

(Their MANIFEST CONTENT is on the surface and obvious; their LATENT CONTENT is latent hidden and needs to be analyzed to be understood.)

activation synthesis model of dreaming

Sleep activates the brain--perhaps consolidating memories--and dreams are the brain's way of making sense of the essentially random activity.

Neodissociation

Hilgard's theory that the mind splits during hypnosis: part is in tune with the hypnotist, part is in tune with reality--i.e., there's a HIDDEN OBSERVER, a part of our awareness is "keeping an eye" on things.

Social Cognitive theory of hypnosis

Believes that hypnotized persons are essentially role playing. They are simply complying with the what the hypnotist wants.

Weber's law

size of the just noticeable difference will vary depending on the size of the original stimulus (proportions)

opponent-process theory of vision

There are three paired types cones: red-green, blue-yellow, black-white. If one color is stimulated, the other is inhibited. Used to explain afterimages.

Trichromatic theory

Helmhotlz and Young: there are three varieties of cones: red, blue, and green. Combinations of these cones can be stimulated to create other colors using the additive method of mixing colors

place theory

Helmholtz's theory that the perception of pitch corresponds to the vibrations of different places on the basilar membrane

frequency theory

believes that the perception of pitch corresponds to the rate or frequency at which the basilar membrane vibrates

gate control theory

Neurological gates in the spinal cord open and close. So, in some instances, you can feel pain but in others, you can't. Small nerve fibers open them, large nerve fibers close them.

**Often used to explain why rubbing a painful injury may relieve the pain to a degree

McGurk effect

Our perception of sound can be affected by our visual perception.

monocular cues

cues used to judge distance of an object using only one eye (relative size, overlap, aerial perspective, texture gradient, linear perspective, motion parallax, relative height)

binocular cues

depth perception that require information from both eyes (retinal disparity, convergence)

stroboscopic movement

flashing different slightly varying images in sequence is perceived as continuous movement (animation)

phi phenomenon

when two adjacent, stationary lights blink in quick succession and are perceived as a moving light

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Phi_Phenomenon.gif.

stroop effect

Deals with automatic perception--e.g., when told to only pay attention to color of text, you can't help but read the word "blue" even when written in red letters. Remember class demonstration.

Mere Exposure effect

The more exposure to a stimulus, the more positively a person will feel about it.

Harlow's attachment theory

studied baby monkeys and which mother they prefer, a hard wire one that provides biological needs (food) or a soft, cloth one that provides feeling of safety. attachment to mothers is more nurture than nature

Ainsworth's attachment theory

three types of attachment

1. secure: child plays comfortably with mom, cries when she leaves, then is calmed when she returns

2. anxious/ambivalent: anxious with mom, protests when she leaves, not comforted when she returns

3. avoidant: little contact with mom, not distressed when she leaves

Erikson's theory psychosocial development

We progress through 8 stages of conflicts over the course of our lives.

1. trust v mistrust

2. autonomy v shame and doubt

3. initiative v guilt

4. industry v inferiority

5. identity v role confusion

6. intimacy v isolation

7. generativity v stagnation/self absorption

8. integrity v despair

Piaget's theory of cognitive development

kids go through four stages

(Terms: schemas/assimilation/accommodation)

1. sensorimotor stage: kids respond to reflexes, use senses to explore the world, gain OBJECT PERMANENCE

2. pre-operational stage: kids use symbols, names, numbers, are able to focus on one feature of a problem but neglect other aspects, are EGOCENTRIC. Difficulty with reversibility (3+2=5 is the same as 2+3=5)

3. concrete operational stage: CONSERVATION is understood, beginning to use logic

4. formal operational stage: use critical thinking and ABSTRACT CONCEPTS to answer questions

Kohlberg's theory of moral development

Believes that we make moral judgement based on three distinct ways of evaluating situations.

1. pre-conventional: morals reside in a person's own needs (will I be punished?)

2. conventional: values reside in performing well and keeping order; follow the laws set down by others.

3. post conventional: moral values reside in principles that are assessed by the individual. Follow own laws.

Gilligan's theory of moral development

Believes males base morality on individual rights and justice while women base morality on care of and responsibility for others.

CRITICIZED Kohlberg for favoring a male approach to morality

Baumrind's theory of parenting

parenting styles

1. authoritarian: imposes rules and expects complete obedience

2. permissive: submits to children's desires, makes few demands, little punishment

3. authoritative: demanding but responsive, set and enforce rules, but explain them, democratic

Kubler-Ross's stages of coping with death

Stages of Grief and Dying

1. denial

2. anger

3. bargaining

4. depression

5. acceptance

For more information: https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html

Pavlov's classical conditioning

UCS provokes an UCR. When a neutral object is presented with the UCS and still provokes the same UCR, the neutral becomes a CS that provokes the new CR

Seligman's learned helplessness

When we're exposed to repeated, inescapable and uncontrollable events, passive behavior develops--i.e., we stop trying

Thorndike's law of effect

responses followed by satisfying effects become strengthened and are more likely to occur again; behavior is controlled by its consequences

Premack principle

preferred behaviors can be used to reinforce non-preferred behaviors

(e.g., You can go outside if you finish your dinner.)

Tolman's latent learning

Some learning is not immediately reflected in a behavior change, rewards are not needed for learning, but they enhance performance

Kohler's insight theory

learning occurs rapidly as a sudden result of the coming together of the ingredients to a problem

*Challenges behavioral theories

*Instead of trial and error (i.e., getting closer and closer to correct solutions, subjects will sometimes become inactive (during which Kohler postulates that the problem ingredients are "incubating"--i.e., developing as a whole.) After a period of INCUBATION, the subject experiences an ""AHA!" feeling and the problem is solved quickly.

Bandura's observational learning (aka Modeling)

children learn by observing others and repeating the behaviors they witness (Bobo doll experiment)

Atkinson and Shiffrin's stage model of memory

(aka Information Processing Model of Memory)

how information is encoded and kept in memory

1. sensory memory

2. short term memory (also Working Memory)

3. long term memory

interference

retroactive/proactive, either old information gets in the way of learning new information(retroactive) or new information inhibits the remembrance of old information (proactive)

Loftus' misinformation effect

participants recall of an event that they witnessed may be altered by misleading information they have reconstructed

Skinner's theory of language

We imitate our parents' use of words; reinforcement encourages linguistic growth; there is an association between sight and sound

Chomsky's theory of language

We are prewired for language (we have a Language Acquisition Device--LAD), but it must be turned on by nurture during a CRITICAL PERIOD.

We all have an underlying sense of universal grammar.

(This concept is seen in Genie; her speech was never stimulated during a critical period, so it didn't develop.)

Freud's theory of personality

basic principles include the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and influence of sexual drives, includes id/ego/superego and psychosexual stages

Maslow's theory of self-actualization

physiological needs must be met before higher level needs are achieved and ultimately until an individual reaches complete and full function

Cattell's theory of personality

Used factor analysis to identify 16 source traits of personality

5-factor model of personality (Big Five Theory)

There are 5 core personality traits that each of us exhibits in individual degrees:

TWO DIFFERENT MNEMONIC DEVICES

*conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extroversion (CANOE)

*Openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism (OCEAN)

Spearman's theory of intelligence

g factor, single measure of general mental capacity can be measured by a single IQ test

Gardner's theory of intelligence

multiple intelligences are independent of each other (kinesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, etc.)

Sternberg's theory of intelligence

triarchic theory of successful intelligence (analytical, creative, and practical)

normal curve of intelligence

Bell-shaped curve: 100 is the mean; 15 is the standard deviation

Flynn effect

The observation that average IQ scores worldwide are increasing over time.

Flynn's explanation: intelligence test measure abstract problem solving, and because of the demands of the modern world, abstract problem-solving skills are increasing. If Flynn is right, this challenges the idea that intelligence is an innate trait that is unaffected by environment.

psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Client-centered therapy

(sometimes person-centered therapy)

(sometimes non-directive therapy)

humanistic therapy based on Carl Roger's beliefs that an individual has an unlimited capacity for psychological growth and will continue to grow unless barriers are placed in the way

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

a popular integrated therapy that combines cognitive therapy (changing self-defeating thinking) with behavior therapy (changing behavior)

Aaron Beck for depression

exposure therapy

a form of behavior therapy in which a survivor confronts feelings or phobias or anxieties about a traumatic event and relives it in the therapy situation all at once (flooding)

systematic desensitization

a type of counterconditioning that associates a pleasant relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli

rational emotive therapy

Albert Ellis: form of psychotherapy based on identifying and correcting irrational beliefs that are believed to underlie emotional and behavioral difficulties

cognitive therapy

teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions

instinct theory of motivation

a view that explains human behavior as motivated by automatic, involuntary, and unlearned responses

drive reduction theory of motivation

biological needs create internal states of tension or arousal- called drives- that organisms are motivated to reduce

incentive theory of motivation

theories of motivation in which behavior is explained as a response to the external stimulus and its rewarding properties

arousal theory of motivation

theory of motivation in which people are said to have an optimal (best or ideal) level of tension that they seek to maintain by increasing or decreasing motivation

affiliation theory of motivation

need for social bonds and belongingness push us to interact with others

achievement theory of motivation

the desire to direct your behavior toward excelling, succeeding, or outperforming others at some task

intrinsic/extrinsic theory of motivation

desire to perform effectively for ones own sake or to perform it to receive external rewards

opponent process theory of emotion

positive (primary) emotion is often followed by a negative (secondary) emotion

James-Lange theory of emotion

physiological responses come first, then emotion is experienced

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

physiological responses and emotion are experienced simultaneously

two-factor theory of emotion

Sometimes called the Schacter-Singer Model: 1)physiological responses and 2) cognitive label together cause emotions

adaptation level phenomenon

we judge stimuli relative to those previously experienced, lose satisfaction over time

Example: We think a new car will make us happy, but after we get it, we adapt to having it, and it becomes normal to us and we no longer experience added happiness.

relative deprivation

We think we are worse off than others we compare ourselves to

Interaction

Occurs in a factorial experimental design (more than 1 independent variable) when the effect of one independent variable is different at different levels of another independent variable.

*Noted on a graph by lines that are NOT parallel.

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

the memory phenomenon that occurs when we feel like we nearly have the answer but can't quite spit it out.

(NOTE: supports the concept of spreading activation in associative network theory of memory)

Spotlight Effect

when in social settings, individuals tend to overestimate how much others notice them.

Next-in-Line Effect

When we're expected to perform some task (say, introduce ourselves to a group), we have poor recall for information presented just before we presented. Probably the result of diminished attention as we mentally prepare what we're going to say or do.

McGurk Effect

A specific type of sensory interaction: Seeing a mouth say "ga", hearing "ba', and perceiving "da."

Overjustification Effect

The decreased motivation that results from being rewarded for doing something that was intrinsically rewarding.

Cocktail Party Effect

Filtering out then refocusing on what was background information when it is personally relevant.

False Consensus Effect

the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

Hawthorne Effect

A change in a subject's behavior caused simply by the awareness of being studied

*subjects tend to comply with what they believe researchers want them to do.

Halo Effect

tendency to allow a single positive characteristic (e.g., attractiveness) to alter our overall perception of a person.

Mere Exposure Effect

The finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it

Placebo Effect

Results caused by expectations alone.

Example: Giving people a fake sugar pill that they believe to be a "memory drug" will improve their memory performance.

Stroop Effect

A demonstration of the potential interference in reaction time due to overlearned or automatic tasks.

*If we're asked to say the colors of the image to the right, we are slowed down by our automatic reading of the words.

Levels-of-processing Effect

the differential effect of surface processing of information (e.g., whether or not it has a letter "i" in the word) and deeper levels of processing (e.g., semantic processing) on memory.

*surface processing leads to weaker memory of material

Adaptation level phenomenon

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction is relative to recent experience--i.e., we adapt (get used to) what we have at present. Objects that used to make us happy come to be expected and then become the new normal, no longer giving us additional happiness.

Reciprocal Determinism

Albert Bandura's theory stating that a person's behavior both influences and is influenced by personal factors and the social environment. Bandura accepts the possibility that an individual's behavior may be conditioned through the use of consequences

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three phases—alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

Optimal Level of Arousal

Theory that performance varies relative to task complexity and arousal

Barnum effect

The tendency to consider a personal description accurate if it is stated in very general terms.