PSY201 Exam 3

what is thinking

the mental representation of manipulation of information

what are the three forms of information

mental images, words, concepts

how do concepts function as the building blocks of cognition

helps bring a sense of order to the world, allows us to distinguish threatening from harmless stimuli, helps us to respond more quickly to events

what is cognitive complexity

how simple or elaborate a person’s system of personal constructs is 

what strategies do people use to solve problems

algorithms and heuristics

what is an algorithm

methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

what is a heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently

what is functional fixedness

the inability to use familar objects in a new way

what is mental set effect

bias towards the use of certain problem-solving approaches because of past experience

what is confirmation bias

committing to one hypothesis without adequately testing another

what is representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

what is availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in the memory

what is the difference between algorithms and heuristics

algorithms take longer but are more likely to be correct; heuristics are faster but more error-prone

what is language

methods of human communication conveyed by speech, writing, or gestures

how does language develop

through a combination of innate abilities and environmental influences, including genetics, exposure to language from caregivers, and social interaction

how are language and thinking related

language does not determine thought but it does influence how we think about the world

what is intelligence

the global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, deal effectively with the environment

what are the different ways intelligence was attempted to be measured

mental age, stanford-binet, IQ, wechsler adult intelligence scale

what is mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by binet that assigns a chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

what is the stanford-binet test

the widely used american revision of binet’s original intelligence test

what is intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally the ratio of mental to chronological age 

what is the wechsler adult intelligence scale (wais)

the most widely used intelligence test that uses verbal and performance subtests

what is standardization

the administration of the test in a constant way with a representative sample

what is reliability (consistency)

the different ways to calculate IQ

what is validity (accuracy)

if the test is accurately measuring what it’s supposed to be measuring

what is the relationship between reliability and validity

if it’s valid, it has to be reliable too; but it can be reliable and invalid

what is the principles of test construction 

standardization, reliabilty, validity

what is the genetic basis for intelligence

There is evidence that intelligence has a strong genetic component

what is the environmental basis for intelligence

there is also important environmental influences like verbal interaction, reading, and exploration

what is spearman’s general intelligence “g” theory

intelligence is based on a single mental ability called the “g factor” or general intelligence

what is thurstone’s primary mental abilites

intelligence is not a single general factor, but a combination of seven distinct and independent abilities

what is gardner’s model of multiple intelligences

it proposes that intelligence is not a single, unified ability, but rather a spectrum of distinct intelligences, each relatively independent of the others

what is sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence

it proposes that intelligence has three main components: analytical, creative, and practical

what is motivation

physiological psychological factors that account for arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior

what is a motive

it explains the behavior

what is an internal motive

the drive to do something because it is personally satisfying, enjoyable, or aligns with your personal values,

what is an external behavior

a driver for behavior that comes from outside the individual

what are instincts

unlearned, species-specific behaviors that are more complex than reflexes and triggered by environmental events called releasing stimuli

what is drive-reduction theory

it views motivated behavior as designed to reduce a physiological imbalance and return the organism to homeostasis

what is optimum-level theory

states that the body functions best at a specific level of arousal, which varies from individual to another

what is instinct theory

behavior is motivated by instinct

what are cognitive-consistency theories

we are motivated to achieve a psychological state in which our beliefs and behaviors are consistent because inconsistency between beliefs and behaviors is unpleasant

what is cognitive dissonance

psychological discomfort experienced when holding two or more conflicting beliefs, ideas, or values, or when your beliefs conflict with your actions

what is incentive theories

motivated behavior is being pulled by the incentive or goal

what is arousal theory

people are driven to maintain an optimal level of physiological and psychological arousal

what is the achievement motive

the drive to succeed and excel in challenging tasks, characterized by setting high standards, a desire for mastery, and perseverance in the face of obstacles

what is surgical coldness

not driven by others

what is the sexual response cycle

excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution

what is excitement

increase in heart rate, flushed face, engorged or lubrication of genital

what is plateau

ongoing engagement of sexual activity

what is orgasm

ejaculation, etc

what is resolution

the refractory period of the cycle

who coined the sexual response cycle

masters and johnson

who coined the sexual orientation continuum

kinsey

what is the kinsey continuum

there is a spectrum between gayness and straightness

what is emotion

physiological changes and conscious feelings of pleasantness or unpleasantness, aroused by external and internal stimuli, that lead to behavioral reactions

what is mood

feelings associated with emotions for an extended period of time

whats the difference between emotion and mood

emotions are short-term feelings while moods are longer lasting

what is the james-lange theory

a stimulus causes an autonomic arousal causing a conscious feeling of fear

what is the cannon-bard theory

A stimulus causes subcortical brain activity, causing a conscious feeling of fear and autonomic arousal at the same time

what is the two factory (schacter-singer) theory

a stimulus causes autonomic arousal causing cognitive appraisal creating the conscious feeling of fear

“i feel afraid because i tremble”

james-lange theory

“the dog makes me tremble and afraid”

cannon-bard theory

“i label my trembling as fear because i appraise the situation as dangerous”

two factor/schacter-singer theory

what is a polygraph

electronic device that senses and records changes in several physiological indicators including blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and galvanic skin response

what is a way we attempt to identify deception/lying through the use of facial expressions

we look for microexpressions, duchenne smile

what are microexpressions

very brief, involuntary facial expressions that show a person's true emotion, even when they are trying to hide it

what is a duchenne smile

faking/ingenuine smile

what are the six basical emotional expressions

anger, fear, disgust, sadness, happiness, surprise

what is the psychoanalytic perspective on personality

the id, ego, superego

what is the id

entirely unconscious, impulsive and instant gratification motivated, pleasure principle

what is the ego

reasoning, reality-based, tries to find a socially acceptable way to meet the needs of ID, fully conscious, the mediator, reality principle

what is the superego

the conscience, angel on shoulder, holds urges in check with morality subconscious, moral imperatives

what are defense mechanisms

occur when there is conflict between the id, ego, and superego

when are defense mechanisms good

if employed on a short-term basis

when are defense mechanisms bad

if employed on a long-term basis

what are examples of defense mechanisms

repression, denial, rejection

what are the psychosexual stages

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

what is the oral stage

from 0-1; erotic focuses on mouth (sucking, biting); must achieve weaning from breast or bottle; can lead to overeating, drinking, chewing excessively

what is the anal stage

from 2-3; erotic focus on anus (expelling or retaining feces); must achieve toilet training, can lead to anal-retentive: perfectionism, holding onto “poop” or anal explosive: “enjoy expelling poop”

what is the phallic stage

from 4-5; erotic focus on genitals (masturbating); must achieve identifying with adult role models/coping with oedipal crisis (start engaging or acting like mom or dad/woman or man roles)

what is the latency stage

from 6-12; no erotic focus; must achieve expanding social contracts

what is the genital stage

from puberty onward; erotic focus on genitals (being sexually intimate); must achieve establishing intimate relationships, contributing to society through working

what is the historical context in freud’s life in which psychodynamic theory developed

freud grew up in a time of sexual repression, as a jewish physician with female patients, with a very close relationship with mom, and smoked cigars and did cocaine

what positive aspects have come from the psychoanalytic perspective

research supports focus on childhood is important, we are motivated by “unconscious” wishes and desires, defense mechanisms occur, and psuchotherapy can effectively alleviate psychological suffering

what are the differences between object or self-report inventories and projective tests

Self-report inventories use structured, objective questions to assess traits, while projective tests use ambiguous stimuli and require subjective interpretation to uncover unconscious thoughts

what is the humanistic perspective on the development of personality

views personality development as an innate drive toward self-actualization, where individuals strive to reach their full potential

when are you likely to experience the barnum effect

when hearing a very general description of traits

why are you likely to experience the barnum effect

it satisfies a need for self-validation making them feel understood

what is the trait approach to personality

a theory that describes personality in terms of stable, characteristic behaviors called traits

what are the “big five” personality traits

openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

is behavior consistent across time and situations

no