Psychology Exam 2

Dreaming: Freud Theory

dreams stem from unconscious thoughts

Freud: Manifest content

the actual images in the dream

Freud: Latent content

the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and wishes behind the manifest content

Dreaming: Activation synthesis

brain’s internally generated signals form dreams

Dreaming: Information processing

memories of events form dreams

Dreaming: Preserving neural pathways

purpose of dreaming is to provide brain stimulation

Adoption studies

compare adopted children to adoptive families and biological families

Twin studies

compare pairs of monozygotic and same-sex dizygotic twins

Monozygotic twins

share 100% of genes

Dizygotic twins

share 50% genes

Adoption twin studies

compare MZ twins separated in infancy and MZ twins reared together

Primitive reflexes

Sucking, Rooting, Moro, Grasping, Babinski

Piaget: Assimilation

fitting new information into present system of knowledge (schema)

Piaget: Accommodation

as a result of new information, changes existing schema

Sensorimotor Stage

• birth to 2 years

• looking, sucking, touching

• develop object permanence

Preoperational Stage

• age 2 to 7

• Egocentric

• Animistic thinking

• Can’t grasp concept of conservation

Concrete Operations Stage

• age 7 to 11

• Can understand conservation

• Can understand reversibility

• Can understand transitivity

Concrete Operations: Reversibility

the idea that a stimulus that has been changed can return to its original state

Concrete Operations: Transitivity

understanding how components in a series are related

Preoperational: Egocentric

only use own frame of reference

Preoperational: Animistic thinking

attribute life to objects

Preoperational: Conservation

understanding that physical properties do not change when its appearance changes

Sensorimotor: Object Permanence

understanding that something continues to exists when it is not seen

Formal Operations Stage

• age 11 to adulthood

• abstract and systematic reasoning

• thinking about future possibilities

Vygotsky: Zone of Proximal Development

level at which a child can almost perform a task independently; difference between what the child can do alone and with assistance

Vygotsky: Scaffolding

teacher adjusts amount of support to child’s level of development

Theory of Mind

understanding of how other people think

Band-Aid Box Study

1. Kids shown Band-Aid box, asked what was inside

2. Kids were surprised to find pencils in box

Erikson: Trust vs. Mistrust

• infancy

• if needs are dependably met, infants develop sense of basic trust

• develops when caregiving is sensitive, responsive, and consistent

• Issue: Who can i trust?

Erikson: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

• toddlerhood

• toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities

• autonomy - independence, self-control

• Issue: How can I do what I want without feeling bad about myself?

Erikson: Initiative vs. Guilt

• preschool

• preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilt about their efforts to be independent

• Issue: What can I do without causing trouble?

Erikson: Competence vs. Inferiority

• elementary school

• children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior

• sense of competence or inadequacy

• Issue: What activities am I good at? How do I compare with other?

Harlow’s Studies of Infant Attachment

• soft contact is important

• Rhesus Monkeys - cloth (no food) vs. wire (food) mother

Ainsworth: Secure

Adult as secure base from which to explore

Secure Base

Provided through a relationship with one or more caregivers offer a reliable base to explore and for a safe haven for reassurance during difficulties

Causes of Attachment Styles

temperament, stressful home life, parenting

Long Term Effects of Attachment

size of vocabulary, interpersonal interaction, emotions

Langlois’s Study of Attachment

• infants gain attachment due to attractiveness

• Mothers observed interacting with infants and behavior rated

• Results: attractiveness —> affection, attention

Baumrind’s 2 Dimensions of Parenting

warmth (responsiveness) and control (demandingness)

Baumrind’s 4 Parenting Styles

authoritarian, permissive, uninvolved, authoritative

Parenting Style: Authoritarian

• low warmth, high control

• controlling, demanding, high emphasis on obedience

• very restrictive, lots of rules

• Outcome (most optimal) - higher grade, cooperative

Parenting Style: Permissive

• high warmth, low control

• very few rules or restrictions

• Outcome: easily frustrated, low self-control

Parenting Style: Uninvolved (neglectful)

• low warmth, high control

• least effective, most detrimental

• Outcome: low self-esteem, emotionally detached

Parenting Style: Authoritative

• high warmth, high control

• not overly demanding or hostile

• child-centered

• Outcome: lower grades, lower self-esteem

Kohlberg’s 3 Stages of Moral Development

1. Preconventional morality

2. Conventional morality

3. Postconventional morality

Kohlberg: Preconventional Morality

• ages 4-10

• avoid punishment or gain reward

Kohlberg: Conventional Morality

• after age 10

• “law and order”

Kohlberg: Postconventional Morality

• early adolescence/young adulthood

• individual principles and conscience

Heinz Dilemma

Heinz needs a particular expensive drug to help his dying wife.  The pharmacist who discovered and controls the supply of the drug has refused Heinz’s offer to give him all the money he now has, which would be about half the necessary sum, and to pay the rest later.  Heinz must now decide whether or not to steal the drug to save his wife; that is, whether to obey the rules and laws of society or to violate them to respond to the needs of his wife.  What should Heinz do, and why?

Delay of Gratification

ability to forego smaller, immediate rewards for greater rewards later

The Marshmallow Test

• choice of 1 marshmallow now or 2 marshmallows in a few minutes

• ability to delay gratification —> positive social and academic outcomes

Erikson: Identity vs. Role Confusion

• adolescent

• stable sense of who one is and what one’s values are or identity confusion

• Issue: Of all the social roles, which ones fit me and how can I develop a role that is uniquely my own?

Erikson: Intimacy vs. Isolation

• young adult

• establish enduring, committed relationships

• Issue: Whom can I trust with intimacy and love?

Erikson: Generativity vs. Stagnation

• middle adult

• generativity - generate things that contribute to the future of society

• stagnation - see life as meaningless

• Issue: How can I continue to grow as a person?

Erikson: Integrity vs. Despair

• elder

• Ego Integrity - feeling that one’s life has coherence and purpose

• Despair - disappointment, regret

• Issue: How can I feel content with my life, so I can face death calmly?

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

model of social activity; old age - smaller social network; very close relationships maintained, superficial relationships

Sensation

process by which sensory organs obtain information about the environment and transmit it to the brain

Perception

the organization of sensations into interpretations

Transduction

translation of physical energy into electrical signals

Bottom-up Processing

starts with raw sensory data that gets communicated to the brain

Top-down Processing

starts with observer’s expectations and knowledge

Absolute Threshold

minimal amount of stimulation that can be detected half of the time; occurs when person can detect signal 50% of the time

Difference Thresholds (The JND)

smallest difference in intensity between 2 stimuli that a person can detect

Weber’s Law (fraction)

for 2 stimuli to be perceived as different in intensity, the second must differ from the first by a constant proportion

Signal Detection Theory

• perception results from both sensory information, and making a judgement

• detection (perception of stimulus) depends on sensitivity of sensory systems and response bias

Response Bias

person’s readiness to report detecting a stimulus

Signal Detection Theory: Hits, Misses, False Alarms, Correct Rejections

Hits - signal present, response given

Misses- signal present, no response given

False Alarm: no signal present, response given

Correct Rejection: no signal present, no response given

Factors Affecting Response Bias

expectations and motivation (history of signal detection errors may affect future response bias)

Gestalt Approach

we perceive objects as whole rather than as sum of the individual parts

Figure-Ground Perception

we inherently distinguish between object and background

Grouping Principles

proximity, similarity, continuity, closure

Proximity

we tend to group together objects that are close to one another

Similarity

we tend to group together objects that are similar to one another

Continuity

brain organizes stimuli into continuous lines or patterns

Closure

we tend to perceive incomplete figures as complete

2 Kinds of Visual Information for Depth

binocular and monocular cues

Retinal (Binocular) Disparity

images produce different image on each retina - greater disparity —> less depth

Binocular Cues: Convergence

turning inward of eyes towards nearby object; closer object —> greater convergence

Monocular Cues

can use only 1 eye; when objects are far away —> relative size, relative clarity, linear perspective

Perceptual Constancy

interpretation of changing sensations as perception that is relatively consistent

Color Constancy

consistent perception of color of objects although the amount of light changes

Lightness Constancy

consistent perception of shade of objects although the amount of light changes

Shape Constancy

perception that object’s shape remains constant despite changing shape of retinal image

Size Constancy

perception that the size of objects remains constant despite different sizes of images on retina

Classical Conditioning

learning to respond to new stimulus that has been associated with another stimulus that normally produces the response

Pavlov’s Study of Classical Conditioning

• studied digestion

• noticed that dogs salivated at mere sight of food dish - learning to associate dish with food

• presented food with neutral stimulus (bell) & measured salivation in response to neutral stimulus (bell) presented alone

Unconditioned Stimulus

stimulus that automatically elicits response without prior conditioning

Unconditioned Response

innate response to unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

previously neutral stimulus; elicits a conditioned response due to its association with unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response

learned response to a stimulus that did not originally elicit response