Psyc1002 - Midterm Study guide

Reliability

Consistency, test-retest reliability, expect the same answers through many circumstances.

Validity

Does the test measure what we actually want it to measure.

Aptitude

Specific, measure of potential mental ability in a specific subset.

Achievement

Gauge past knowledge as well as the ability to apply it.

Standardization

Psychological tests are standardized and based on "norms". The group the scores are based on are the standardization group.

Content Validity

Specific material or topics that are being assessed/tested.

Criterion Validity

Refers to the standard benchmark of which something is judged. It represents the desired level of performance.

Construct Validity

Is the test accurately capturing what is intended.

Alfred Binet

French psychologist who was asked to create a test to identify "mentally subnormal" children.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Verbal comprehension and problem solving using visual and spatial cues.

Gardner's Eight Intelligences

Spatial, Naturalist, Musical, Bodily-kinesthetic, Logical-mathematical, Interpersonal, Intra-personal, Linguistic.

Normal Distribution

IQ tests are not designed critically, judicially. Intelligence is looked at as it applies to the "normal" general population.

Extremes in Intelligence

Intellectual disability (two standard deviations below or more below the mean), Giftedness (two standard deviations above the mean).

Heredity vs Environment

Both intelligence and environment play significant roles in shaping human traits and behavior.

Flynn Effect

IQ performance has been steadily increasing over the industrialized world since the 1930s.

Drive Theory

We engage in behaviors to reduce tension.

Incentive Theory

There needs to be an incentive to motivate an individual.

Evolutionary Theory

Behaviors and traits have evolved over time, favoring traits that lead to success.

Hunger Cues

The hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus.

Ghrelin, Vagus Nerve, and Leptin in Hunger Processes

Ghrelin is secreted when hungry and signals the brain, CCK signals fullness, Vagus nerve stimulates various functions.

Three Key Environmental Factors for Hunger

Food availability, learned preferences and habits, obesity.

Twin Studies

Both intelligence and environment play significant roles in shaping human traits and behavior.

Affiliation Motivation

We need meaningful contact with each other.

Ostracism and Social Rejection

Being ignored and excluded by others in your social environment.

Thematic Apperception Test

Everyone has a different baseline for achievement, but achievement motivation can vary by individuals.

Three Components of Emotion

Affective forecasting, cognitive, physiological, behavioral.

Three Stages of Prenatal Development

Germinal stage, embryonic stage, fetal stage.

Placenta

Conduit for nutrients and gas exchange between mother and fetus.

Teratogens

Any external agents that can harm an embryo or fetus.

Different Temperaments

Easy, slow-to-warm, difficult.

Attachment Styles

Secure, anxious-ambivalent, avoidant, disorganized-disoriented.

Erikson's Eight Stages of Personality Theory

Trust vs mistrust, autonomy vs shame/doubt, initiative vs guilt, industry vs inferiority, identity vs confusion, intimacy vs isolation, generativity vs stagnation, integrity vs despair.

Brain Changes During Adolescence

Myelination and synaptic pruning in the prefrontal cortex increase, improving information processing and strengthening neural connections.

Consistency

Displaying a certain personality characteristic in one context.

Distinctiveness

Differences in individual personality traits.

Five Factor Model

Extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness.

Freud

Used psychoanalysis to treat patients, developed psychoanalytic theory.

Id, Ego, Superego

Three components of personality according to Freud.

Levels of Awareness

Conscious, preconscious, unconscious.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions.

Five Psychosexual Stages

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

Archetypes

Universal symbols or patterns that exist in the collective unconscious.

Bandura's "Models"

Individuals or characters whose behavior is observed and imitated by others.

Self-efficacy

An individual's belief in their own ability to successfully perform tasks.

Self-concept

Incongruence:A state of discrepancy or inconsistency between one's perceived self and ideal self.

Maslow's Hierarchy

Individuals strive to fulfill lower-level needs before progressing to higher-level ones