Midterm 1: Psychology applications

Original meaning of intelligence

To discern true or important information from information that was false or unimportant

- example: to read between the lines

Aristotle theory of practical wisdom

The application of knowledge

Aristotle's theory oftheoretical wisdom

The conceptualization of underlying explanations of thoughts and actions across situations

Intelligence

The ability to gain knowledge by learning and solving problems.

The Flynn effect

a controversy when a researcher presented data showing that the mean intelligence of the population had been increasing across decades of the 20th century.

What are the 3 factors that contributed to the Flynn effect?

• better nutrition and medical care

• Better education(+ complexity of jobs)

• Increasing complexity of our environment. ( Rapidly changing technology)

Concrete thinking

• literal, and fits the lives of the person

• Example: I've only ever seen brown bears therefore white bears do not exist

Abstract thinking

• could separate themselves from the literal worldand enter the hypothetical world

• Ex: if the North Pole always snowed, and it there's snow then bears are white. What colour are the bears in the north pole?

Sir Francis Galton

• believed that intelligence is hereditary

• Conducted 17 different tests on hereditary features to see its impact on intelligence- no impact found.

• However,ne made great strides in statistics

Variability

how far scores differ from the mean.

Standard deviation

• a measure of variability

• Magnitude indicates the degree to which scores cluster around the mean

Flaws of galton's approach

Although many biological features are normally distributed, it is poor logic to assume that normally distributed traits ave necessarily biologically innate

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon

• focused on Behavioral measures of intelligence in their work

• Their tests reflected 3 abilities: direction , adaptation, and criticism

• Assigned a mental age based on the results of the test

Binet and Simon: direction

Ability to know what to do and how to do it

Binet and Simon: adaptation

Ability to create strategies for implementing this knowledge and monitoring its progress

Binet and Simon: criticism

Ability to step back and find errors in ones thinking.

Stanford-Binet Test

• ( mental age / chronological age) x 100 = iq

• A version of it still used nowadays

Terman

Demonstrated the validity of the Stanford-Binet Test

Problem with the stanford-binet Test

Intelligence would appear to level off at 16. This means that a person's mental age stays constant while their chronological age gets bigger. Iq goes down over time

David Wechsler

• Deviation IQ

• Average score for each age

• individuals are scored relative to average score for their age

Advantages of the Wechsler’s Tests

1. unaffected by the age of the particpant

2. use of a point system

3. grouped according to content

50%

the percentage of the population with an IQ below 100

Preformance test in WAIS

relies on participants ability to detect patterns an use that information to answer questions

Cognitive psychnology

• developed out of the understanding of intelligence using flowcharts and conceptualizations of the mind eg: how memory is organized

• Eg: the multi store model by atkinson and shiffrin

Inspection time testing

• proposed by Nettelbeck and Lalley

• measures how quickly an individual could identify which two lines are longer

Choice Reaction Time

• proposed by Arthur Jensen

• participant is presented with lights and when one went on, they have to quickly press the corresponding button

• based on the belief that people’s intelligence is based on how quickly neurons transmit information

componential analysis

• studying analysis by determining how complex problems are solved by breaking the complex problems down into their simpler component problems

• used by Robert Sternberg to understand problems found in IQ tests— competing analogies

Eugenics

The idea that different races and different socioeconomic classes naturally have differences in intelligence, and that governeents should encourage the “superior” races and classes to reproduce while preventing the “lower” races and classes from reproducing

• based on social darwinism

Terman’s Eugenics Results + why the results occured

• Terman’s reflected his personal beliefs that white people had the highest intelligence.

• Test is in english and many people he tested did not understand english

• Many people also had no knowledge of american culture

Stereotype threat

refers to the risk of confirming negative expectations about one’s own social group

Selection effects

• the skewing of data so that it does not represent the world accurately.

• often due to biased selection of data

factor analysis

the use of statistical measures to determine how much variables are related to each other in order to find clusters called “factors”

higher order level of general intelligence

can ablity that uou can apply to any content area

lower level of general intelligence

can only be applied to more limited content areas

general intelligence (spearman #1)

1) apprehension of one’s experience (what is important? what should i pay attention to?)

2) Education of relations

3) the education of correlates

general intelligence spearman #2

• intelligence = mental energy

• you’re more intelligent if you have more energy dedicated to tasks

Primary Mental Abilities (7)

• Louis Thurstone

• Word fluency, Verbal comprehension, numeric abilities, spacial visualization, memory, perceptual speed, reasoning

Word Fluency

Generate as many words that start with S as possible

Verbal comprehension

recognizing synonyms and antonyms

numeric abilities

23 X 15

Spatial Visualization

Similar to Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Memory

Repeat back a sequence given to you

Perceptual Speed

Trying to identify the differences and similarities between 2 stimuli (quickly)

Reasoning

Induction of a pattern from a sequence and deduction of a conclusion from some premises

Fluid intelligence

Ability to think flexibly and to handle complex and novel situations

Crystallized intelligence

ability to solve problems by applying previously accumulated knowledge

Cognitive flexibility

the ability to change how one is formulating a problem and to redirect one’s attention accordingly

4 components of emotional intelligence

1) ability to perceive emotions accurately

2) the ability to use emotions to facilitate thought

3) the ability to understand emotions

4) the ability to manage emotions

Analytical Intelligence

components are applied to the kinds of problems found in IQ tests

creative intelligence

when the components are applied to unfamiliar situations where novelty is important

practical intelligence

when the components are applied to real world settings

successful intelligence

being able to appropriately use analytical, creative and practical intelligence so that one preforms in the greatest possible variety of contexts

Howard Gardner

proposed the concept of multiple intelligence

savant syndrome

in people who score low on tests but exhibit an “island” of brilliance

knowledge illusion

thinking we know more than we do and understand more than we do

Upper peleolithic transition

period when many of the traits of intelligence we regard as distinctly human came into being

contextual focus

the ability to shift between defocused attention and focused attention

Personality

an enduring set of internally based characteristics that produce uniqueness and consistency in the expressions of a person’s thoughts and behaviours

uniqueness

personality traits are specific to each person, even among monozygotic twins, each twin has unique personality traits

consistency

how an individual behaves over time in similar situations

The iceberg model freud used describes his theory called…

the model of the mind

conscious mind

all mental activities that a person is aware of and able to freely access

preconscious mind

level of consciousness that is not the forefront of one’s thoughts; however; information can be retrieved and broughts to conscious awareness

unconscious mind

the largest and most influential part of the mind, according to freud; houses any thoughts or impulses that are considered too threatening to be in one’s conscious mind

• according to freud, failing to expose and gain access to the unconscious mind leads to hysterical reactions

free association

a technique of psychoanalysis in which a client is encouraged to freely share thoughts, words, and anything else that comes to mind in order to gain insight into their unconscious thoughts, behaviours, and motivations

manifest content

in dream analysis, the actual content of the dream that the dreamer remembers - without interpretation

latent content

the content in dreams that is expressions of the unconsious mind and a reflection of one’s true feelings, needs, and desires

the id

• A core component of personality in the unconscious that is driven by sexual and aggressive impulses.

• Primary driver in personality.

• Operates on the pleasure principle

• basic human needs for survival

• restrained by the ego

Pleasure principle

driving force of the id, the focus is on the fulfillment of all sexual urges and aggressive impulses

ego

the component of personality that mediates between the id and superego and ultimately decides the course of action

• runs on the reality principle

reality principle

the world in which the ego operates where impulses from the unconscious and if are rejected in their natural form and are expresse in socially acceptable ways

superego

one’s moral compass of what’s right and wrong

• learnt from parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc

ego ideal

sense of pride when following moral code

conscious

sense of shame, disapproval, anxiety or guilt when the individual exhibits thoughts and behaviours that violate the personal moral code

anxiety (in terms of ego)

a threat to the ego

reality anxiety

informs the ego of real danger (ex: car crash)

moral anxiety

notifies the superego that the ego is considering violating a moral code (ex: you want to cheat on test)

neurotic anxiety

warns the ego of the threatening expression of id impulses at he level of conscious awareness (ex: you want to scream as loud as possible in a boring, quiet class)

repression

a common defence mechanism where the ego removes the threatening stimulus from conscious awareness

reaction formation

unacceptable thoughts and desires in the unconscious are expressed as their opposite in the consciousness

• ex: speaking out against homosexual behaviour while fantasizing about the exact same thing yourself

projection

attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts, feelings, impulses and motives to others

• feeling better about cheating bc you believe everyone else is also cheating

regression

reacting to a threatening situation with a response characteristic of an earlier stage of development

• acting like a baby or throwing a temper tantrum when co-workers do not agree with you

sublimation

transforming inappropriate impulses and motives into socially acceptable and even valued expressions

• developing a career a scientist studying sexual behaviour to satisfy one’s own sexual needs

denial

a conscious refusal to perceive and believe painful facts or situations exist

• alcoholic will not admit to a drinking problem

rationalization

creating an acceptable and local explanation to replace a true but threatening cause of behaviour

• instead of admitting to being a thief, an employee justifies stealing supplied from his work has a a compensation for what is being perceived as an unfair salary

displacement

shifting the expression of unwanted impulse from a threatening to a less threatening one

• instead of expressing his anger at this boss for humiliating him in a meeting, an office manager yells at his child at home

Oral stage

• 0-2 years old

• pleasure centres on the mouth

• willingness to delay gratification

anal stage

• 2-3 years old

• pleasure focuses on the bower and bladder elimination and control

• there is a right time and right place

phallic stage

• 3-6 years old

• pleasure zone in the genitals

• learn to go along to get along with those more powerful than you

latency stage

• 7-11 years old

• dormant sexual feelings

• it’s good to know you are not alone

genital

• 11+ years old

• maturation of sexual feelings

• to get pleasure you must give pleasure

Collective unconscious

• proposed by carl jung

• interconnected with the experiences of past generations of different people throughout the world

• evidence is archetypes

sage

wise or holy figure, a guardian of special knowledge

• ex: dumbledore

rebel

transgressor, shows a general disregard for the rules and authority

ex: sirius black

hero

a path from the ego to a new identity, the self

ex: harry potter

jester or trickster

intellect, secret knowledge, nothing is what it seems, chaos, moral ambiguity

ex: fred & george weasley

caregiver or mother

love, home, safety, protection, nurturing

ex: molly weasley

monster

evil, destruction, forces actively working against the hero

ex: voldemort

the shadow of the doppleganger

evil twin, mirror image, the part of the self that is kept hidden

ex: draco malfoy

introversion vs extroversion

proposed by carl jung