exam 4 psy 3341

social cognition

Thinking about the thoughts, feelings, motives, and behavior of the self and other people.

theory of mind

The understanding that people have mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, intentions) and that these states underlie and help explain their behavior.

desire psychology

The earliest theory of mind: an understanding that desires guide behavior (for example, that people seek things they like and avoid things they hate). Contrast with belief-desire psychology.
- age 2

belief-desire psychology?

The theory of mind reflecting an understanding that people's desires and beliefs guide their behavior and that their beliefs are not always an accurate reflection of reality; evident by age 4.

false-belief task

A type of task used in theory-of-mind studies, in which the child must infer that another person does not possess knowledge that he or she possesses (that is, that other person holds a belief that is false).
- 85% of age 4 children pass
- indicates development of self desire
- recognize that incorrect beliefs influence behavior

What are some things that promote development of theory of mind?

- imitation of others (mirror neurons)
- pretend play (18-24 mo)
- emotional understanding

Children with what disorder have trouble with Theory of Mind?

Autism

moral development

- deciding/ knowing what is right and what is wrong (cognition)
- Action (behavior)
- Feelings: pride/ guilt (emotions)

three components of morality (Kohlberg)

cognition, action, emotion

which level is emphasized in Kohlberg's theory

cogntion

Kohlberg's three stages

preconventional, conventional, postconventional

preconventional morality

goodness and badness depends on consequences and rules are external.
- avoid punishment
- gain rewards (instrumental hedonism)

conventional morality

rules/ values are internalized, strive to obey rules
- good boy good girl (right is what pleases, intent) ADOLESCENTS
- Legal: Legitimate authority

post conventional morality

broad principles of justice, transcends laws and specific authorities, legal vs moral distinction
- social contract (rules put majority first)
- individual principles (self chosen, ideal, considers all POV)

adult moral reasoning

Most at stage 3/4, a minority at stage 5

What promotes moral growth?

- clarification & awareness of your position
- parents with higher levels of moral reasoning
- "Other role taking"
- knowledge of alternative ways of thinking
- discussions with peers
- "Education breeds tolerance"
- living in a complex society
(goodness of fit model)

parenting recommendations for moral growth

reinforce moral behavior, punish immoral behavior, serve as models of moral rather than immoral behavior.

3 approaches of disciplining children

- love withdrawl
- power assertion
- induction

empathy

The vicarious experiencing of another person's feelings.

Damon's Theories

- none
- equality
- merit
- need
- multipule claims

Damon's Theory: None

Aint got no justice
- ill get it because I want it
- I get 4 cookies because im 4

Damon's Theory: equality

Strict equality
- everyone gets equal share
- problems if it cant be divided

Damon's Theory: Merit

They earned it

Damon's Theory: Need

They need it

Damon's Theory: Multiple claims

Need, merit and equality considered for fair share

Dodge's Information Processing theory

1) encoding of cues
2) interpretation of cues
3) clarify goals
4) response search
5) response evaluation/ decision
6) behavior enactment

Dodges brain areas for moral development

1) frontal lobe: response inhibition and rational thought
2) Limbic system for guilt and pride

love withdrawal

A form of discipline that involves withholding attention, affection, or approval after a child misbehaves.

power assertion

a method of child rearing in which the parent uses punishment and authority to correct the child's misbehavior

induction

A form of discipline that involves explaining why a child's behavior is wrong and should be changed by emphasizing its effects on other people. Most effective

amoral

lacking any sense of morality, infants

To develop morality infants must...

- moral emotions—learning to associate negative emotions like guilt with violating rules, and learning to empathize with people who are in distress, and
- self-control—becoming able to inhibit one's impulses when tempted to violate internalized rules
-18-24 mo

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

prosocial behavior

Positive actions toward other people such as helping and cooperating.

moral rules

Standards of conduct that focus on the basic rights and privileges of individuals. Contrast with social-conventional rules.

social-conventional rules

Standards of conduct determined by social consensus that indicate what is appropriate within a particular social setting. Contrast with moral rules.

Uta Frith found that 3-5 year old autistic children do not always show evidence of understanding that other people may have thoughts different from their own. In one study, 80% of autistic children did not pass the _________ test. For example, if Sally puts a ball in BASKET and leaves, then Anne moves the ball to a BOX, they believe Sally will look for the ball in the BOX (even though Sally didn't see Anne hide it).

false belief test

Uta Frith word for theory of mind

mentalizing

Infant attachment

undiscriminating social responsiveness, discriminating social responsiveness, true attachment, goal-corrected partnership

undiscriminating social responsiveness

(birth to 2-3 months)
- infants responsive to voices, faces, and other social stimuli, any human interests them

discriminating social responsiveness

2-3 mo to 6-7 mo
- show preferences for familiar companions
- still friendly to strangers

true attachment

6-7 mo to 3 yrs
- follows mom and protests when she leaves
- greets mother when she comes back
- become attached to other figures as well (father, siblings, etc)

goal-corrected partnership

3 years and older
- taking parents goals and plans into consideration
- adjusting behavior accordingly
- lasts a lifetime

social referencing

Infants' monitoring of companions' emotional reactions in ambiguous situations and use of this information to decide how they should feel and behave.

emotional regulation

the ability to control when and how emotions are expressed

Konrad Lorenz

researcher who focused on critical attachment periods in baby birds, a concept he called imprinting

imprinting

An innate form of learning in which the young of certain species will follow and become attached to moving objects (usually their mothers) during a critical period early in life.

oxytocin

A hormone that plays important roles in facilitating parent-infant attachment as well as reducing anxiety and encouraging affiliation in other social relationships.

John Bowlby

Attachment theory. Identified the characteristics of a child's attachment to his/her caregiver and the phases that a child experiences when separated from the caregiver.

attachment theory

the idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person's whole life

Mary Ainsworth

developmental psychology; compared effects of maternal separation, devised patterns of attachment; "The Strange Situation": observation of parent/child attachment

Harry Harlow

development, contact comfort, attachment; experimented with baby rhesus monkeys and presented them with cloth or wire "mothers;" showed that the monkeys became attached to the cloth mothers because of contact comfort

contact comfort

The pleasurable tactile sensations provided by a parent or a soft, terry cloth mother substitute; believed to foster attachments in infant monkeys and possibly humans.

attachment

A strong affectional tie that binds a person to an intimate companion and is characterized by affection and a desire to maintain proximity.

separation anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

secure base

A point of safety, represented by an infant's attachment figure, that permits exploration of the environment.

According to Bowlby, what purpose does the baby's crying, clinging, cooing and smiling serve

a result of attachment, doing whatever it takes to maintain the desired closeness to her and expressing his displeasure when he cannot.

secure parental style

synchronous interaction, sensitive, responsive

How is attachment assessed?

stranger anxiety
separation anxiety
exploratory behavior
reactions to reunion

avoidant parenting style

rejective or intrusive

disorganized parental style

abuse/ neglect, unpredicable

Strange Situation Test

A parent-infant "separation and reunion" procedure that is staged in a laboratory to test the security of a child's attachment
- mary ainsworth

secure attachment

65-70%
- easy going
- upset with separation but can be comforted
- mothers are secure base, outgoing with strangers

resistant parental style

Inconsistent, frequently unresponsive.

resistant attachment

10%
- anxious
- stranger anxiety
- very upset by the separation
- reunion is ambivalent

Avoidant attachment

15%
- explores, but play is not constructive
- indifferent

disorganized attachment

5-10%
- no exploration, confused by stranger
- separation anxiety is variable
- reunion is confused

strange situation test Japanese babies

rarely seperated from mothers so become very agitated.

strange situation test german babies

German infants make few emotional demands on their parents and are often classified as avoidantly attached
- parents encourage independence

3 parenting behaviors

synchronous, responsive
impatient, unresponsive
neglect, abuse

attachment and intellectual competence

children who were securely attach tend to be more curious, self directed, and eager to learn

attachment and social competance

children who were securely attached tend to be more sensitive towards the needs of others and are more popular and socially competant

attachment and emotional regulation

secure attachment leads to good emotional regulation later. Received comfort from parents, less reactive to stress

childcare and attachment

overall, infants who received routine care from someone other than their mothers were no less securely attached than infants tended to by mothers

Mildred Parten's types of engaging in play

1) solitary play
2) parallel play
3) associative play
4) cooperative play

rule governed play

By age five or six, children begin to prefer rule-governed pretending and formal games. Piaget suggested that this preference for rule-governed play indicates that they are about to make the transition to the next stage of cognitive development, concrete operations, in which they will acquire an understanding of rules.

peer acceptance categories

popular, rejected, controversial, neglected, average

What is peer acceptance based on?

- Physical attractiveness
- Academic or physical competencies
- Social competencies

adult attachment styles

secure, preoccupied, dismissive, fearful

secure adult attachment

exhibits a coherent valuing of attachment; freedom to evaluate past and current relationships
- low anxiety/ avoidance

preoccupied attachment

resistant, desperate for love, worry about abandonment, openly express anxiety and anger
- high anxiety/ low avoidance

dismissing attachment

avoidant, self-reliant and uninterested in intimacy; indifferent and independent
- low anxiety and high avoidance

fearful attachment

An attachment style in which individuals are high in both attachment anxiety and avoidance: they fear rejection and thus shun relationships, preferring to avoid the pain they believe is an inevitable part of intimacy.
- high anxiety and high avoidance

Women's friendships

expressive

male friendships

instrumental

socioemotional selectivity hypothesis

Carstensen's notion that our needs change as we grow older and that we actively choose to narrow our range of social partners to those who can best meet our emotional needs.

Sternberg's triangle of love

passion: sexual attraction
intimacy: feelings of warmth, caring and closeness
commitment: deciding you love each other and committing to a long term relationship

liking

intimacy alone

romantic love

intimacy and passion

infatuation

passion alone

fatous love

passion and commitment

empty love

commitment only

companionate love

intimacy and commitment

consumate love

intimacy, passion, commitment

phases of dating

- initiation phase
- status phase
- affection phase
- bonding phase

intelligence

ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to a new situation
- multiply defined
- assigned to qualities that enable success in a particular culture/ time

Binet-Simon IQ Test (france)

- attempting to identify school children needing special help
- Age graded
- chronological age that typically corresponds to a given level of performance

mental age (MA)

A measure of intellectual development that reflects the level of age-graded problems that a child is able to solve; the age at which a child functions intellectually.

intelligence quotient (IQ) formula

mental age/chronological age x 100
- average is 100