Psych 1 Midterm 2

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

• prove that we can examine concept of memory scientifically

• use himself = control for individual differences

• used nonsense syllables = control for stimulus differences

• research applied to a “normal” individual

• determine how we can “acquire” and “forget” information

Studies of Ebbinghaus

• varied list sizes

• varied time after “learning” material

• varied time after reading material

• varied number of reads

• memory capacity (7+-2 items)

• learning & forgetting curves

Free Recall Test

memory experiment where a person is asked to remember a list of items in any order they choose, without any hints or cue

Cued Recall Test

asks you to remember items after being given a hint, partial prompt, or associate (paired associates) (Ebbinghaus)

Recognition Tests

Ebbinghaus tested himself using nonsense syllables (three-letter consonant-vowel-consonant combinations like DAX or BIH) to strip away pre-existing meaning and measure pure memory

Savings Tests

measure memory retention indirectly by comparing the time or number of repetitions required to relearn a list of material versus learning it the first time (20 min vs 30 days) (Ebbinghaus)

Anterograde Amnesia

a memory disorder that prevents a person from forming new long-term memories after an inciting event or brain injury, while leaving pre-existing older memories largely intact

3 steps for memory

1) encoding

2) storage

3) retrieval

Encoding

the process of converting information into a form that will allow us to retrieve that information later

Storage

the process of retaining critical information for later use

Retrieval

the process of accessing the stored information that we have encoded in order to use it in a situation

Sensory Memory

• involves all senses

• last in memory for fraction of a second

• infinite capacity

• remember only relevant information

Sperling’s Sensory Memory Experiment (1960)

• measured the capacity and duration of iconic memory (visual sensory memory) using a grid of 12 letters flashed for 1/20th of a second

• This suggested human visual memory had a very small capacity. However, participants reported they had seen more letters but that the image faded before they could name them all

Short Term Memory

• capacity of 7 ± 2 items

• relevant information

• information can be stored from between 10 seconds to a few days

• memories are either forgotten or long-term memory

Long Term Memory

• information from short term memory that was deemed as important

• complex, susceptible to distortions and fabrications

Declarative Memory

• things you know that you can tell others

• episodic: remember first day of school

• semantic: knowing the capital of France

Nondeclarative (Procedural) Memory

• things you know that you can show by doing

• skill learning: knowing how to ride a bicycle

• priming: being more likely to use a word you recently heard

• conditioning: salivating when you see a favorite food

The Serial Order Effect

psychological tendency to remember the first and last items in a series best while forgetting the items in the middle, creating a U-shaped recall curve

Primacy Effect

the ability to remember information at the beginning more easily

Recency Effect

the ability to remember information at the end more easily

Proactive Interference

new material is lost (not easily stored) due to old material

Retroactive Interference

Old material is lost (forgotten) due to new material

The Reconstruction Effect

tendency to include inaccurate information into our memories to “fill in the gaps” or “fix the errors”

Hindsight Bias

the ability to understand an event, decision, or situation only after it has already happened

Levels of Processing

successful conversion of the information from STM to LTM impacted by approach to make sense of the information

Deep Processing

broad connections, more assessment, attempt to explain

Shallow Processing

narrow or no connections, rote learning, no assessment or attempts to explain

Situation Dependency

taking a test in the same classroom that you studied in

State Dependency

drinking coffee before studying and a test

Memory Tricks

• increased learning sessions

  • deeper processing efforts

  • increase primacy and recency effects

• mnemonic devices

  • encoding/storage techniques that aid in the process of information retrieval

Chunking

groups individual bits of information into larger, meaningful units (called chunks) to expand short-term and working memory capacity

The Method of Loci

uses spatial memory and visual imagination to store and recall information

“g” factor

• one specific overall level of intelligence

• can be result of outside factors (health)

• Spearman

Triarchic theory of intelligence

• 3 main levels of intelligence

• Sternberg

• analytiical, creative, practical

Theory of multiple intelligences

• Gardner

Alfred Binet (1857-1911)

• one of first to explore intelligence

• tested student Theodore Simon on

  • sentence generation

  • naming body parts

  • remembering number strongs

The Binet-Simon Test

• compare children of different ages in how well they performed skills

• Mental age: the age the child’s responses were most indicative of

• Chronological age: actual age of the child

Stanford-Binet IQ Test

• designed by Lewis Terman at Stanford

• wide range of ages

• more topics: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, etc

• IQ = MA/CA * 100

• inborn ability to learn (Eugenics)

The Wechsler Scales

• developed by David Wechsler

• standardized the scoring system (avg=100, sd=15)

• WAIS: 16+

• WISC: children

• verbal/non-verbal skills

• minimize cultural and language biasing

Other IQ Tests

• Raven’s progressive matrices tests

• Kohs block design tests

Heritability

the proportion of a characteristic that can be attributed to biology/genetics

• nature: attributed to biology (high)

• nurture: amount that can be attributed to environment (low)

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

• assess work of Alfred Binet

• cognitive development of children → theories of normal children cognitive development

• studied his own children

Schema

a concept or mental framework that organizes and interprets information in the world

Equilibrium

a cognitive state of mind that comes from harmony between a child’s environment and present schema

Disequilibrium

a cognitive state of mind caued when new information contradicts current schemas

Assimilation

interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schema

Accommodation

adating one’s current schemas to incorporate new information

Equilibration

shifting from one frame of mind to the next

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

1) Sensorimotor

2) Preoperational

3) Concrete Operational Stage

4) Formal Operational Stage

The Sensorimotor Stage

• 0-2 years

• learning outcomes through senses

• object permanence

• sense of self

The Preoperational Stage

• 2-7 years

• overcoming egocentrism

• pretend play

• symbolism (vocabulary, why?)

The Concrete Operational Stage

• 7-11 years

• conservation

• metacognition: think about your thinking

• analogies, operations

The Formal Operational Stage

• 11-15 years

• abstract reasoning

• adolescent egocentrism: imaginary audience and personal fable

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

• researched cognitive development at the same time as Piaget

• argued that developement can be accelerated

• zone of proximal development + scaffolding

Zone of Proximal Development

areas where a learner can accomplish a cognitive task with guidance

Scaffolding

the process of teaching slightly above the current level of cognitive development in order to help the learner better understand

Developmental psychology

study of how and why the mind and related systems change throughout the lifespan

Apgar Scale

identifies physical and mental development as well as the ability to handle stress

Puberty

• process of physical and mental change from childhood to adulthood

• women: earlier (9-13) and slower, estrogen increases, testosterone 2x

• men: later (11-15), testosterone 8x and estradiol (small increase)

Precocious Puberty

• early onset and rapid progression of puberty

• occurs more often in girls than boys

Genes

• human cell has 20,500 genes

• human genome: complete set of genes contained within each of us

Social Psychology

examine topics in a social context

Self-fulfilling prophecies

someone’s expectations changes their behavior as to increase the probability of the predicted event

• phone conversation study

Stereotypes

over-generalized belief or expectation about a category of people, often problematic

Prejudice

an unjustified attitude toward a member of a group solely because they are a member of that group

Discrimination

unfair treatment of a member of a group, solely because they are a member of that group

Attributions (Internal and External)

the processes that we use in order to assign causes to behavior

• Internal: explaining behaviors based on the internal characteristics of the person in question

  • skills, exhaustion, motivation

• External: explaining behaviors based on the situation and surrounding environment

  • time, teacher

The Fundamental Attribution Error (correspondence bias)

our tendency to put greater weight on internal attributions when explaining the behavior of others

Actor-observer effect

the tendency to make internal attributions for the actions of others, while making external attributions for our own actions

Self-serving bias

the tendency to attribute personal failures to the situation, while attributing personal successes to ourselves

Conformity

maintaining or changing one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of others

Norms

social standards of behavior and thought that are set by a group

Public compliance

conforming to other people’s behavior publicly without necessarily believing in what the other people are doing or saying

Normative social influence

conforming to others in order to be accepted or belong to a group

Private acceptance

conforming to other people’s behaviors out of a genuine belief that what they are doing or saying is right

Informational social influence

changing opinions when we conform to people who we believe have accurate information

Requirements to conform

1) need for a quick response

2) need for a unanimous

3) no incentive for being correct

The bystander effect

decrease in likelihood of helping when with others

Pluralistic ignorance

a situation where a group rejects a norm privately, but incorrectly assumes the norm because of the inactivity of others

Diffusion of responsibility

people feel responsibility for their actions/inactions when they are in a group

Algorithms

• mechanical

• procedural

• accurate

• but time consuming

Heuristics

• shortcuts

• based on experience

• prone to human errors

• quick

Maximizing

• in search of the best possible choice

• quest for best can be unfulfilling

• algorithmic approach

Satisficing

• in search of the first satisfactory choice

• may regret choice if presented with more information

• heuristic approach

Representative Heuristic

a mental shortcut where you judge the probability of an object, person, or event by how closely it matches your existing mental prototype or stereotype

• Base-rate information: how common each category is

Availability Heuristic

Assumption that if we can easily think of examples of a category then that category must be common

Confirmation Bias

tendency to accept a hypothesis and then look for evidence to support it instead of considering other possibilities or disconfirming information

Functional Fixedness

a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally or customarily used

Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

1) trust vs mistrust (infant)

2) autonomy vs shame and doubt (toddler 1-3 years)

3) initiative vs guilt (preschool 3-6 years)

4) industry vs inferiority (preadolescent 6-12 years)

5) identity vs role confusion( adolescent teens)

6) intimacy vs isolation (young adult 20s)

7) generativity vs stagnation (late 20s to retirement)

8) ego integrity vs despair (after retirement)

James Marcia’s Identity Status Theory

• Identity Achievement: explored, decisions made

• Identity Foreclosure: not explored, decisions made

• Identity Moratorium: explored, decisions not made

• Identity Diffusion: not explored, decisions not made

John Bowlby (1907-1990)

• infants predisposed to bond/attach to caregivers

• Proximity maintenance: stay nearby/protest separation

• Secure base: feel secure to explore

• Safe Haven: have a caregiver to return to for comfort

Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

• Secure

• Anxious/Resistant

• Avoidant

• Disorganized

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987)

• theory stems from Piaget

• Level 1: 9 and younger

  • preconventional → values in external events

• Level 2: adolescents & adults

  • conventional → performing right roles

• Level 3: postconventional

  • shared standards, rights and duties

Attraction

pull to evaluate another person a positive or negative way

Factors that establish relationships

1) proximity, mere-exposure effect

2) similarity

3) equity/exchange

4) physical attractiveness

5) gender preferences

Gender Bias in Mate Selection

• much discretion for male partner

• little discretion for female partner