Psychology (MCAT)

personality traits

openness to experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

psychoanalytic perspective

Sigmund Freud, personality shaped by unconscious and childhood

libido- life instinct, drives behavior focused on pleasure, survival, and avoidance of pain

death instinct- drives dangerous behavior, desire to hurt others/oneself

id- generally unconscious, pleasure principle is to avoid pain and seek pleasure

ego- generally conscious, reality principle uses logic and reality, deals with the id and the superego, attempts to compromise

superego- morality, right and wrong

consciousness

conscious- aware
preconscious- not aware but can be made aware
unconscious- inaccessible instinct and desire

Freud does not speak of subconsciousness

ego defense mechanisms (8)

repression- completely forget a memory

denial- refuse to acknowledge a memory

reaction formation- express opposite emotion (I hate her, not sexually attracted to her)

projection- attribute feelings to someone else or thing (computer is dumb, not you)

displacement- redirect forbidden impulses onto less dangerous one (kick dog, not boss)

rationalization- justify impulsive behavior

regression-revert to earlier stage in development (adult wets bed after trauma)

sublimation- channel forbidden impulses into positive activities (paint picture, don't kill)

Freud's stages of development (5)

oral- 0-1, mouth, weaning

anal- 1-3, anus, toilet training

phallic- 3-6, genitals, gender, oedipus/electra

latency- 6-12, sexual feelings dormant to focus on friendship

genital- 12+, other people's genitals, intimacy

if a child does not resolve the conflict, he becomes fixated and struggles with things later in life

Erikson's stages of development (6)

includes social and interpersonal factors

trust/mistrust- infancy

autonomy/shame- early childhood

initiative/guilt- preschool

industry/inferiority- school

identity/role confusion- adolescent

intimacy/isolation- young adult

generativity/stagnation- middle age

integrity/despair- later life

humanist perspective

Abraham Maslow says that self-actualization is an innate drive, we have free will

Carl Rogers says that humans are driven to realize their highest potential, personality conflicts arise when this is blocked

unconditional positive regard from parents is key to self-actualization

goal of development is to establish self-concept

incongruence- contradiction between ideal self and real self

behaviorist perspective

B.F. Skinner says that humans learn behaviors based on environment, conditioning

determinism- people are blank slates, personality determined by reinforcement and punishment

babbling is reinforced by adults, babies learn

behavioral therapy- use conditioning to shape patient's behavior, desensitization and relaxation techniques

cognitive behavioral therapy- thoughts are behaviors, Beck's cognitive triad describe how depression comes from negative views of self, world, and future

classical conditioning

unconditioned response- original, natural response to stimuli

Ivan Pavlov did first experiment with bell and dog

phobias are conditioned through classical conditioning, can be made extinct through exposure therapy

extinction

gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing

occurs with both classical and operant conditioning

operant conditioning

continuous reinforcement- during initial part of acquisition phase, teach subject the correct behavior, type of fixed ratio reinforcement

shaping- reinforcing simple steps to condition a more complex behavior

instinctual drift- conditioned responses are replaced by instinctual behavior

primary/secondary reinforcement

primary reinforcers- biological like food, drink, and pleasure

secondary reinforcers- conditioned over a lifetime, like money, grades in schools, and tokens

positive/negative reinforcement

positive reinforcement- give good when desired behavior performed

negative reinforcement- remove bad when desired behavior performed

positive punishment- give bad when desired behavior not performed

negative punishment- remove good when desired behavior not performed

partial reinforcement schedules (4)

partial reinforcement- learning is slower than continuous reinforcement, but more resistant to extinction

fixed ratio- reinforcement after set number of behavior, dip in response after each reinforcement

variable ratio- reinforcement after random number of behaviors, strongest schedule with no dips after reinforcements

fixed interval- reinforcement after set time, worse than ratio, dip in response after each reinforcement

variable interval- reinforcement after random times, worse than ratio but still no dips after reinforcements

social cognitive perspective (2)

Albert Bandura says that personality is not just behavioral, but also affected by cognitive and environmental factors

observational learning- Bobo doll study, behaviors are learned, mirror neurons for imitation

reciprocal determinism/causation- complex interactions of behavior, cognition, environment influencing each other

latent learning

latent learning- learning without reinforcement, learning with no explicit change in behavior while being taught, but it manifests later when the learned behavior is needed

insight learning- previously learned behaviors are combined in unique ways

related to social cognitive perspective and observational learning

trait perspective

personality is a result of traits, which are stable over time

cardinal traits- dominate person's life, rare and tend to develop later in life, Hitler is ruthless

central traits- terms you would use to describe someone, major characteristics

secondary traits- attitudes or preferences, situational aspects

INTP, OCEAN, dimensions of personality, etc.

biological perspective

Hans Eysenck says that personality is brain biology and genetics

personality traits are hierarchical, basic traits giving rise to larger array of traits

graph of extraversion and neuroticism explain array of personality

temperament, social potency, and other fixed traits

behavioral genetics

individuals explained by nature and nurture, differences in behaviors, personality, disease incidence

shared environment- shared by siblings in the same family

nonshared environment- environment unique to individual

heritability- how much variation is caused by genetics, need large sample sizes

epigenetics differences- posttranslational changes in DNA, caused by environment, development, can be inherited

methodologies- family studies (not helpful, b/c environment and genetics play role), twin studies (study genetics), adoption studies (study environment)

phenylketonuria (PKA)- when treated, people are perfectly normal

autism- pesticides, plastics, drugs taken while pregnant, early diagnosis key

attitude (3)

evaluation of people and things, formed from experiences

3 components:

1. cognition- thoughts and beliefs about it
2. affect- feelings about it
3. behavior- response to it

attitude influences behavior (4)

attitude predicts behavior when:

social influences are reduced

talking about general behaviors not specific instances, principle of aggregation- attitude affects person's average behavior

talking about specific attitudes, which are good at predicted specific behavior

self-reflection occurs, not impulse

behavior influences attitude (3)

behavior has more powerful effect on attitude than the other way around

role-playing- we adjust attitude to align with expected behavior of role, Stanford prison experiment

public declarations- the more we express ourselves, the more we believe what we say

justification of effort- convince ourselves that the effort we put into something is worthwhile

cognitive dissonance

don't like to hold two thoughts that are incompatible, so we do something to reduce the unpleasant tension

we prefer to change attitude rather than behavior

post-decisional conflict

after making a decision, we consider that it might be wrong

motivation

instinct- unlearned behaviors

needs- physiological needs and higher-level needs, creates a drive

drives- aroused internal state created by a need (need is water, drive is thirst)

arousal- need optimal level of stimulation

external motivator- external incentive triggers action
internal motivator- internal desire triggers action

3 components:

1. behavioral
2. cognitive
   3 emotional/affective

drive-reduction theory

physiological needs creates arousal that drives organism to act to reduce arousal, seeking return to homeostasis

depression is a reduction in the motivating forces of arousal

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem needs, self-actualization

while you cannot achieve higher needs until lower needs are met, you still have those higher needs

differs from Freud and Erikson, who say you don't have to resolve lower stage to move to higher ones

emotion

universal emotions- happy, sad, anger, fear, surprise, disgust

facial expressions are recognized by almost all cultures

Yerkes-Dodson Law- emotion is adaptive, there is an optimal emotional arousal for performance

3 components:

1. physiological- arousal
2. behavioral- expressions
3. cognitive- subjective experience, appraisal, interpretation

theories of emotion (3)

James Lange- physiological arousal causes emotion

Cannon Bard- physiological arousal and emotion happen at same time

Schachter Singer- use situation to cognitively interpret physiological arousal to determine emotion

limbic system (4)

thalamus- center for incoming/outgoing stimuli

hypothalamus- homeostasis, base drives (sex, pain, hunger, etc.), send info to body via hormones and autonomic nervous system

hippocampus- consolidates STM into LTM

amygdala- emotions and fear, irrational thinking, electrical stimulation causes aggressive behavior, PTSD has overactive amygdala that prefrontal cortex cannot inhibit

stress

4 types of stressors:

1. catastrophes- large scale events, natural disasters and war, associated with PTSD, depression, anxiety
2. significant life changes- moving, losing job, death
3. daily hassles- everyday irritations, traffic, bills
4. ambient stressors- environmental, pollution

3 more types of stressors: distress, eustress, neustress

anger, anxiety, addiction

managing stress

3 components of stress:

1. physiological- sympathetic NS releases epinephrine and norepinephrine (fast response to increase HR and RR), HPA releases cortisol (slow response to save glucose for brain), cortisol inhibits immune system, increases brain activity, increases glucose metabolism
2. emotional- negative mood causes worst medical things
3. behavioral- PTSD involves avoidance, hyperarousal, and re-experiencing

learned helplessness- believe you cannot control situation and averse stimuli, stress causes PTSD

adaptive ways to manage stress:

1. exercise
2. biofeedback- adjust physiological with yoga, meditation
3. social support

maladaptive ways to manage stress:

1. aggression
2. dependence
3. status-seeking

theories of stress

appraisal theory of stress- stress arises from interpretation

1. primary appraisal- consider how significant an event is, whether it is a good or bad event
2. secondary appraisal- consider ability to cope or take advantage of the event

Selye general adaptation syndrome- human stress response is not specific to the type of stressor

1. alarm- stress reaction kicks in
2. resistance- flee, all the cortisol
3. exhaustion- if no recovery, then tissue damage and decreased immune system (long term affects of stress)

approach-avoidance conflict

approach-approach conflict- both options are positive

avoidant-avoidant conflict- both options are negative

approach-avoidant conflict- one option is positive and negative

double approach-avoidant conflict- both options are positive and negative

psychological disorders

diagnosable, treatable

psychological influences (paranoia, anxiety), sociocultural influences (isolation, stigma), biological influences (neurotransmitters)

anxiety disorders are most common (20%), then dissociative and mood disorders, then personality disorders

neurodevelopmental disorders (2)

manifest early in development, intellectual disability, communication disorders

ADHD- impulsivity (can hinder performance on questions), motor restlessness, distractability

autism- males more more likely to have it, impaired social interaction, repetitive behavior

neurocognitive disorders

delirium- problems with attention/awareness

alzheimer's, parkinson's

Parkinson's disease

caused by low dopamine levels, dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra of basal ganglia die off

basal ganglia- voluntary motor movement, procedural learning, routine behavior

symptoms include tremors, hypokinesia

Lewy bodies- protein aggregates of alpha-synuclein inside neurons

Alzheimer's disease

abnormalities in brain include amyloid plaques (amyloid beta, protein aggregates outside cells), neurofibrillary tangles (tau tangles, protein aggregates inside cells)

death of neurons cause memory failure and personality changes

cognitive dysfunction reduces performance on all tasks

sleep disorders (2)

dyssomnias- abnormalities in amount or quality of sleep

1. insomnia- can't fall asleep or remain asleep
2. narcolepsy- periodic overwhelming sleepiness
3. sleep apnea- intermittent cessation of breathing during sleep, causes awakening

parasomnias- abnormal behavior during sleep

1. somnambulism- sleep-walking, occurring during stage 3, first 3rd of the night, children can grow out of it
2. night terrors- terrified, screaming during stage 3

unlike nightmares, which occur during REM sleep closer to the morning

stages of sleep (5)

sleep cycle lasts 90 minutes

awake- beta waves

sleepy- alpha waves

stage 1 sleep- theta waves

stage 2 sleep- theta waves, K-complexes, sleep spindles that suppress awakeness

stage 3 sleep- delta waves (slow waves, regular RR/HR)

stage 4 sleep- delta waves

REM sleep- dreaming, quick eye movements, paradoxical sleep (small muscle movements)

theories of dreaming (4)

1. Freud says dreams have manifest content, symbolic of unconscious latent content

2. activation-synthesis theory- random brain activation

3. evolutionary purpose for threat simulation and problem solving

4. sleep helps encode to LTM

diathesis-stress theory

genes predispose people to certain disorders, stressors elicit onset of disease

opponent process theory

each emotion comes with a secondary opposite emotion that pushes in the other direction

give a baby a toy, baby is happy
take the toy away, baby is sad
eventually baby returns to neutral

addiction- with repeated exposures, withdrawal (sad) starts to outweigh the high (happy)

colors- opposite colors cannot both be activated

anxiety disorders (4)

fear is immediate, anxiety is anticipatory, avoidance behavior

phobia- specific fear/anxiety, agoraphobia is fear of crowds

social anxiety disorder- fear/anxiety around social situations

panic disorders- panic attacks, anxiety about future attacks

generalized anxiety disorder- excessive anxiety without a cause

withdrawal and medical conditions can mimic anxiety symptoms

anxiety disorders (trauma)

PTSD- flashbacks, distress around similar experiences, derealization (everything feels unreal), depersonalization (out of body experience), hypervigilance

acute stress disorder- symptoms last longer, more persistent

adjustment disorders- severity of trauma not correlated to severity of symptoms (milder)

mood disorders (4)

major depressive disorder- fatigue, insomnia, loss of interest

monoamine hypothesis- basis of depression is decreased serotonin, norepinephrine, and/or dopamine

bipolar I disorder (manic-depressive)- mainly manic, needs manic episode, doesn't need depression to diagnose

bipolar II disorder- mainly depressive, needs depression, no manic episode, just hypomania

dysthymia- chronic depression, milder symptoms

hypomania- lots of energy, creativity

cyclothymic disorder- cycles of dysthymia and hypomania

schizophrenia

positive symptoms: hallucinations (sensation), delusions (beliefs), disorganized speech

dopamine may be hyperactive, creates euphoria, explains positive symptoms

negative symptoms: avolition (loss of motivation, flattened affect, reduced social interactions), alogia (decreased speech)

frontal lobe may be be hypoactive, explains negative

cognitive symptoms- poor WM, attention, executive functioning

genetic factors- only influence risk
environmental factors- stress/cortisol during pregnancy

types of schizophrenia:

1. paranoid- delusions and hallucinations, normal cognitive function
2. catatonic- extremes of behavior
3. disorganized- disorganized behavior and speech
4. undifferentiated- mixed symptoms

other types:

1. schizophreniform disorder- milder, not life-long
2. schizoaffective disorder- mood disorder
3. prodrome- deterioration before schizophrenia diagnosis

neuroleptics were first antipsychotics used, increased negative symptoms though

substance-related disorders

psychological dependence- anxiety, depression

physical dependence- taking away the drug triggers withdrawal has physical symptoms, usually the opposite of the symptoms of the drug

tolerance- sensitivity to drug decreases

craving- strong desire to ingest a drug

reinforcing effects- operant condition, when you take the drug it feels good, when you don't take the drug it feels bad, so withdrawal due to an inhibitor of the drug would strengthen the reinforcing effects of the drug

nucleus accumbens- pleasure center that produces dopamine, responsible for addiction

Korsakoff's syndrome- long term memory loss from alcohol abuse, due to deficiency of thiamine

personality disorders (3)

inflexible pattern of socially deviant behaviors, begins in adolescence and not diagnosed in children

odd/eccentric (cluster A):

1. paranoid- mistrust everything
2. schizoid- detached loner
3. schizotypal- odd/magical beliefs and behaviors

dramatic/erratic (cluster B):

1. antisocial- disregard safety and rights of others, common in criminals
2. borderline- mood swings, self-harm
3. histrionic- dramatic, attract attention
4. narcissistic- grandiose and egotistical

anxious/fearful (cluster C):

1. avoidant- avoid people, fear of criticism/conflict
2. dependent- submissive and clingy to people, doesn't take responsibility
3. obsessive-compulsive- perfectionist, needs control

disruptive disorders (5)

oppositional defiant disorder- annoyed and angered easily, argue with authority

intermittent explosive disorder- bursts of anger greater than cause

conduct disorder- most severe, recurring destructive/aggressive behavior, feeling no remorse (may be diagnosed with antisocial), ex. bullying, fights, weapons, torturing

pyromania- impulsive fire-starting

kleptomania- impulsive stealing

obsessive-compulsive disorders (4)

obsessions (urges) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors)

OCD- no distinct emotions, impossible to control

body dysmorphic disorder- obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed

hoarding disorder- distress at the thought of getting rid of personal items

trichotillomania- urges to pull out body hair

somatic symptom disorders (5)

medically unexplainable symptoms

somatic symptom disorder- general, vague symptoms

illness anxiety disorder- fear of illness even w/o symptoms

conversion disorder- specific disruption of nervous system, unexplainable paralysis or blindness, emotion is converted to neurological symptom

factitious disorder- falsification, to get attention, Munchhausen syndrome

eating disorders (4)

pica- eating non-food items

anorexia nervosa- starving

bulimia nervosa- binge eating and purging

binge eating disorder- no purging

dissociative disorders (3)

DID- abnormal integration of consciousness

dissociative amnesia- lost part of autobiographical memory, wander aimlessly in dissociative fugue

can also selectively forget distracting elements of autobiographical memory

depersonalization/derealization disorder- associated with PTSD

common with abuse and trauma

consciousness altering drugs (3)

depressants depress sympathetic NS, decrease brain activity, decrease glucose metabolism:

1. alcohol- stimulate GAPA and dopamine, suppress REM
2. barbiturates- sedatives, sleep aids, depress sympathetic NS
3. opiates- mimic endorphins to relieve pain, examples are morphine and heroin
4. benzodiazepines- stimulate GABA, anti-anxiety

stimulants activate sympathetic NS, increase brain activity, increase glucose metabolism:

1. release neurotransmitter or prevent reuptake
2. caffeine, nicotine- cause a rush
3. cocaine- release dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine
4. ecstasy- release dopamine and serotonin
5. amphetamines- meth

hallucinogens make you see things, can be either stimulating or depressing, no dependence:

1. marijuana- THC stimulates cannabinoid receptors, amplifies sensory perception
2. LSD- emotional, out-of-body

serial position effects

primacy effect and recency effect, hard to remember things in the middle

sensation/perception

psychophysics- study of how stimuli is translated to psychological experience

sensation- detecting and encoding physical stimuli

perception- selecting and interpreting sensations

sensory thresholds

absolute threshold- lowest level of stimuli to detect 50% of time

difference threshold- minimum difference between two stimuli to detect 50% of time, known as Just Noticeable Difference

subliminal stimuli- stimuli below aboslute threshold

Weber's Law

size of just noticeable difference is proportional to original stimuli value, its more like a noticeable percentage

signal detection theory

type I error- false positive

type II error- missed

signal depends on acquisition of information and application of criteria

external noise (instrument) and internal noise (physician) can cause errors

ROC curve

receiver operating characteristic curve compares false alarm rate on x axis to hit rate on y axis

steeper curve means more accurate

habituation

sensory adaption, decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

encoding of sensory stimuli

modality- type of stimuli, encoded by type of receptor firing

location- encoded by receptive field of stimulus

intensity- how strong, encoded by rate of firing of action potentials (frequency matters since action potentials are 1 or 0)

duration- how long stimulus is present

encoding specificity principle

conditions of encoding match conditions of testing

sensory receptors

tonic receptors- generate action potential as long as stimuli is present, may decrease over time due to habituation (sensory adaption), noiceptors (pain receptors)

phasic receptors- generate action potential only at changes in stimuli, depolarization/hyperpolarization can occur

feature detection theory

parts of brain are activated for specific features of visual stimuli, visual cortex passes sensory info to parts of the brain responsible for shape, angle, motion, etc.

ex. one feature detection neuron fires more action potentials at straight vertical lines

parallel processing

many aspects of visual stimulus are processed simultaneously rather than serial processing

retinal processing- rods and cones activated

1. feature detection- feature neurons activated in visual cortex
2. abstraction- higher level visual cortex
3. recognition- match to memory

automatically process space, time, frequency, but need conscious effort to process novel information and interpret

kinesthesis

proprioception, allows us to sense position of body in space

mechanoreceptors that detect mechanical movement- muscle spindle (muscle stretching), Golgi tendon organs (tension in tendons), joint capsule receptors (pressure/tension in joints)

perception

stimulus- environmental, attended, receptors

electrochemical processes- transduction (activating receptor), transmission, processing

experience- perception, recognition, action

types of stimuli

distal stimuli- objects and events out in the world

proximal stimuli- patterns from these objects and events that actually reach your senses

types of processing (2)

bottom-up processing- starts with sensory information to construct final representation in mind, learning Chinese, inductive reasoning is always correct

top-down processing- starts with a concept/idea that is imposed on sensory details, reading English, deductive reasoning can be wrong

gestalt psychology

sum is greater than the parts

perceptual organization- to transform sensory information, we organize it

Gestalt principles:

1. emergence- patterns from randomness
2. pragnanz- seeing simplest form rather than complex one
3. figure/ground- focus on an object, turns everything else to background
4. multistability- 3d illusions, switching between two logical interpretations
5. laws of grouping- group by proximity, continuity, closure, common fate, connectedness

categorical perception

a continuous change in one dimension is perceived as distinct categories

binocular cues for depth

retinal disparity- greater difference in image between eyes, the shorter the distance

convergence- greater extent to which eyes converge to look at object, the shorter the distance

monocular cues for depth

relative size- smaller is closer

interposition- object blocking another is closer

relative clarity- sharper is closer

texture gradient- coarse is closer

relative height- higher in visual field is further

motion parallax- faster objects as we move are closer

linear perspective- greater convergence the further

light and shadow- brighter is closer

motion perception

assume that changing size of object suggests object is moving towards or away

larger objects should change size slowly

phi phenomenon- blinking lights next to each other give illusion of movement

perceptual constancy

shape constancy- despite changes in dimensions or orientation

size constancy- despite changes in depth

brightness constancy- despite changes in lighting

attention

focus awareness on some stimuli and not others, selective attention and divided attention

resource model, spotlight model, filter model (Broadbent), attenuation model (Treisman)

Broadbent filter model of selective attention

input enters sensory store, selective filter removes unattended input and allowed to decay, then input goes to higher level processing and WM

Treisman attenuation model of selective attention

some information not attended to can be detected, just turned down to lower volume, processed but not consciously

cocktail party effect- name is salient and shifts your attention

shadowing- repeating out loud what you hear in attending ear

sensory memory

activated before working memory

working memory

7+/-2 items

Baddeley's model of working memory (4)

central executive- coordinates slave systems, selective attention and inhibition, task shifting

phonological loop- short-term store, auditory rehearsal, links to semantic verbal memory

visuospatial sketchpad- temporary store of spatial and visual information, links to semantic visual memory

episodic buffer- integrate information across domains, links to episodic memory and links to LTM

types of memory

procedural memory

sensory memory
working memory

short term memory
long term memory

STM and LTM are separate memory systems

implicit memory- responses influenced by experience, no awareness of remembering
explicit memory- intentional retrieval, semantic and episodic are the two types

semantic- facts and general knowledge
episodic- declarative memory, events

iconic memory- visual memory
echoic memory- auditory memory

retrograde- memory before event, going back in time
anterograde- memory after event, going forward in time

rehearsal (3)

maintenance rehearsal- repetition, encodes to STM and working memory

elaboration rehearsal- connection to info already stored in memory, encodes to LTM

chunking- organize items into group to hold more in memory

schema (2)

mental framework to organize experiences and respond to new ones, created by implicit attitudes and memories

assimilation- new info interpreted using old info

accommodation- new info is incorporated into old info

spreading activation theory

originates from hierarchical semantic network, where categories order the nodes

but this semantic network has no hierarchy, activating one node increases the likelihood of associated nodes becoming active

activation increases the ease of access to that material and makes retrieval of that node easier

confabulation- false memories can be triggered by activation of associated nodes

interference

retroactive interference- newly learned information interferes with recall of previously learned information

proactive interference- previously learned information interferes with recall of new learned information

interference cannot occur if you have retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia, or a memory disorder like Alzheimer's, Korsakoff syndrome, etc.

priming

A retrieval cue by which recall is aided by a word or phrase that is semantically related to the desired memory

increases likelihood of activation of nearby nodes

relies on implicit memory to work

autobiographical memory

childhood amnesia- no memory of first 5 years, although during childhood you can of course form LTM

reminiscence bump- heightened autobiographical memory for events that occurred between ages 10 and 30

source monitoring error

a specific type of recollection where a memory is incorrectly attributed to the wrong source

memory over time

semantic memory improves, episodic memory declines

implicit memory is stable, explicit memory declines

emotional reasoning improves, attention/processing declines

recognition memory is stable, recall memory declines

prospective memory decreases, where you remember to do something in the future

Piaget's stages of cognitive development (4)

sensorimotor- 0-2, achieve: object permanence, stranger anxiety

preoperational- 2-7, achieve: pretend play, egocentrism

concrete operational- 7-11, achieve: conservation, logical reasoning

formal operational- 11-17, achieve: hypothetical reasoning, moral reasoning

Kohlberg's stages of moral development (3)

preconventional:

1. obedience (avoid punishment)
2. self-interest (personal gain)

conventional:

1. conformity (approval)
2. authority (social order), most adults are here

postconventional:

1. social contract (fairness)
2. universal principles (ethics)

problem solving techniques (4)

trial-and-error- attempt potential solutions

algorithm- step-by-step procedure to exhaust all possible options, guarantees solution

heuristic- mental shortcut or guideline

insight- complete solution comes all at once, incubation gives time for this to occur

problem solving obstacles (4)

fixation- structuring a problem in a certain way, unable to rethink it

mental set- tendency to approach problem in same way because it worked in the past

functional fixedness- think of objects only based on their typical use

framing- good things make us avoid risk

availability heuristic

rely on examples that immediately come to mind

representative heuristic

comparing to existing prototype already existing in our mind

belief perseverance

belief bias- cling to old beliefs despite contrary evidence

hindsight bias- overestimate their ability to have predicted an outcome

confirmation bias- seek evidence to support ideas more than we seek evidence to refute, stronger for emotional topics, affects the way we search for and interpret evidence

leads to overconfidence