Thinking, Intelligence, Motivation, and Emotion

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms, psychological theories, researchers, and measurement concepts from Chapter 7 (Thinking and Intelligence) and Chapter 8 (Motivation and Emotion).

Thinking

A broad term that refers to how we use knowledge to analyze situations, solve problems, and make decisions.

Cognition

Mental activities involved in acquiring, retaining, and using knowledge.

Analogical Representations

Mental images that resemble the physical characteristics of the object they represent.

Symbolic Representations

Abstract symbols, such as words, that have no physical resemblance to the object they represent.

Mental Images

Representations of objects or events that are not physically present, which can include sensations of taste, smell, hot, or cold.

Concepts

Mental categories of objects or ideas based on shared properties (e.g., food, furniture), which make it easier to communicate and remember information.

Prototypes

The most typical example of a particular concept (e.g., an apple for fruit, or a car for vehicles).

Problem Solving

Thinking and behavior directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available, involving finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal.

Decision Making

Attempting to select the best alternative among several options.

Mental Sets

The tendency to approach a problem in a way that has worked in the past, which may make the problem harder to solve.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual way, which may prevent seeing the variety of ways an object can be used (exemplified by The Candle Problem).

Availability Heuristic

A strategy in which the likelihood of an event is estimated on the basis of how readily available other instances of the event are in memory.

Representative Heuristic

A strategy in which the likelihood of an event is estimated by comparing how similar it is to the prototype of the event, or the tendency to place people or objects in a category if they are similar.

Intelligence

The ability to acquire and use knowledge as well as to learn from experiences.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A measure of intelligence comparing an individual's score with scores of others in the same age group, calculated as mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by $100$.

General Intelligence

A theory developed by Charles Spearman stating that one general factor underlies all intelligence.

Multiple Intelligences

A theory developed by Howard Gardner stating that people have many different types of intelligence that are independent of each other.

Triarchic Theory

A theory proposed by Robert Sternburg stating that people have three distinct types of intelligence: Analytical Intelligence, Creative Intelligence, and Practical Intelligence.

Alfred Binet

Developed the first widely accepted intelligence test designed for use with children, based on the idea that mental age is different from chronological age.

Lewis Terman

Adapted Alfred Binet's test for use in the United States and defined the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).

David Wechsler

Developed the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) to assess intelligence.

Achievement Test

A psychometric test designed to test what knowledge and skills a person has learned (e.g., the ACT test).

Aptitude Test

A psychometric test designed to test a person's innate ability, potential, and future performance (e.g., the SAT).

Validity and Reliability

Psychometric test standards: Validity describes whether test results measure what they intended to measure (high) versus not (low), while Reliability describes whether results are similar from one time to another (high) versus different from one time to another (low).

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

An intelligence framework comprising four abilities: managing our own emotions, how emotions guide our thoughts and actions, the ability to recognize other people's emotions, and understanding emotional language.

Motivation

Biological, emotional, cognitive, and social factors and how they activate or direct behavior.

Arousal Theory

The view that people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal that is not too high or too low, leading bored individuals to seek excitement and overstimulated individuals to seek less stimulating environments.

Sensation Seeking

The degree to which an individual is motivated to experience high levels of sensory and physical arousal associated with a variety of activities (e.g., thrill, relaxation, social interaction).

Need to Belong

The drive to form and maintain lasting positive relationships that are characterized by mutual concern and caring.

Self-Determination Theory

A contemporary theory of motivation that identifies three universal needs: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness.

Emotion

A complex psychological state that moves us to act, motivating behaviors, and involves three distinct but related components: cognitive experience, physiological response, and behavioral or expressive response.

Moods

A milder emotional state that is more general and prevalent than distinct emotions.

Evolutionary Explanation of Emotion

Charles Darwin's view that facial expressions, body movements, and postures evolved in humans and animals to motivate actions that move organisms toward potential resources and away from potential dangers.

Basic Emotions

A fundamental set of emotion categories that are biologically innate, evolutionarily determined, and culturally universal: Fear, Surprise, Disgust, Happiness, Anger, and Sadness.

Interpersonal Engagement

The degree to which emotions involve a relationship with another person or people.

Emblems

Nonverbal gestures that vary across cultures, such as shaking the head side-to-side meaning 'no' in the US but 'yes' in parts of India and Bulgaria, or nodding meaning 'yes' in the US but 'maybe' or 'no way' in Japan.

Paul Eckman

A researcher who investigated facial expressions for over four decades, analyzing facial muscles to estimate that the human face can make over 7,000 different expressions.

Display Rules

Social and cultural regulations governing emotion expression, especially facial expressions.

Polygraph

A 'lie detector test' that monitors physiological changes (heart rate, blood pressure, respiration) associated with emotions like fear and anxiety; it does not detect lies directly and can yield false negatives or false positives.

James-Lange Theory of Emotion

The theory that emotions arise from the perception of body changes through a three-step sequence: 1. Perceive a stimulus, 2. Physiological and behavioral changes occur, 3. Experience a particular emotion.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

The hypothesis that expressing a specific emotion, especially facially, causes the subjective experience of that emotion.

Two-Factor Theory of Emotion

Schacter and Singer's theory stating that emotion is the interaction of physiological arousal and the cognitive label applied to explain that arousal.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion

The theory that emotional responses are triggered by cognitive evaluations, cognitive interpretations of events, and the personal meaning of the event or experience.

Self-Efficacy

The degree to which people are convinced of their ability to meet the demands of a specific situation; high self-efficacy promotes motivational effort, persistence against obstacles, and creative problem-solving.