Psychology 101 Sandi Mclaughlin Final Exam

Psychology

The scientific (systematic methods) study of behavior (what is directly observable) and mental processes (thoughts, feelings, and motives)

Learning Style

Individual's preferred way of learning; has been proven to not be effective because of a lack of empirical support and overemphasis on fixed traits

Fixed Mindset

Belief abilities are fixed; Carol Dweck's research

Dualism

Belief that the mind and body are separate entities.

Structuralism

Understanding conscious experience through introspection; Titchener "Father of Structuralism" was a student of Wundt

Tabula Rasa

Blank slate at birth; associated with John Locke

Behavioral Perspective

Focus on observable behavior

Gestalt Perspective

Emphasizes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, associated with Heimer

Wundt

Established first psychology lab; structuralism

Watson

Behaviorism; Little Albert study

Skinner

Operant conditioning; reinforcement; Skinner box

Pavlov

Classical conditioning; Pavlov's study on dog salivation with UCR and CR

What is the focus of the Milgram Study?

Obedience to authority

Why is the Milgram Study considered unethical?

Deception, psychological harm, lack of informed consent, and no right to withdraw

What is the Scientific Method?

A systematic approach to research

What are the steps of the Scientific Method?

1. Observe a phenomenon with curiosity and critical thinking, 2. Formulate or challenge a theory to explain observations, 3. Hypothesize a testable guess, 4. Test, 5. Draw conclusions, and 6. Evaluate the theory

Nature vs Nurture

Influence of genetics vs environment

Correlation Coefficient

Statistical measure of relationship between two variables

Reactivity

Altering behavior due to awareness of being observed

Random Sampling

Selecting a sample randomly to ensure representativeness

Observer Bias

the tendency for observers' expectations to influence both what they believe they observed and what they actually observed

Psychologist

Studies behavior and mental processes, goes to school for 5-7 years

APA

American Psychological Association

DSMV-5

Current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Version 5

Reinforcement

Stimulus that strengthens a wanted behavior

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus to increase wanted behavior

Classical Conditioning

Learning through association; Pavlov's dogs

Operant Conditioning

Learning through consequences; Skinner's box

Observational Learning

Learning by observing others

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire when observing others

Empiricism

Philosophical approach that emphasizes the importance of empirical evidence and experience. Asserts that knowledge comes from experiences, not solely on brain power

Functionalism

Understanding the mind's interactions with the outside world; William James "Father of Functionalism"

Heimer

Believed that things couldn't be broken down

Psychodynamic

Unconscious processes and childhood experiences shape personality and behavior. Developed by Freud

Humanism

Emphasizes motivation, emotion, & self-esteem. Associated with Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow

Formed the hierarchy of needs; base is need of food, water, and sex. Middle is fulfilling relationships. Top is self-actualization

Biological Perspective

Emphasizes the role of biological factors in shaping behavior and mental processes

Evolutionary Perspective

Seeks to understand human behavior through the Evolutionary Theory; associated with David Buss, who worked with chimpanzees

Evolutionary Explanations

Adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection; associated with Charles Darwin

Sociocultural Perspective

Focus on social and culture environments

Biopsychosocial Perspective

Understanding human behavior requires looking at biological, psychological, and social factors

Sigmund Freud

Created the psychodynamic approach, did unscientific case studies, formed the psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital), proposed the id (immediate want), ego (reality), and superego (conscious) iceberg

Titchner

Structuralism; founder of school focused on consciousness, studied introspection, student of Wundt

John Locke

We are born with tabula rosa; blank slates

Albert Bandora

Did the Bobo Doll Experiment, resulting in the Social Learning Theory.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Children watching adult of the same sex punch doll were more likely to replicate behavior when left alone

William James

"Father of Functionalism," stream of consciousness

Thorndike

Made the Law of Effect - behavior is strengthened with reinforcements. Behaviorist

Wertheimer

Founded gestalt psychology

Carl Rogers

Person-centered therapy, unconditional positive regard, empathy

Margaret Washburn

First woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology

Erik Erikson

Created the Psychosocial Stages of Development; believed they were rigid, not flexible

Trust vs. Mistrust

Infancy

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Toddlerhood

Initiative vs. Guilt

Pre-schooler

Industry vs. Inferiority

-Erikson psychosocial crisis

-Resolved age 7-12 years

-Ability to learn new tasks

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Adolescence

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Early Adulthood

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Middle Adulthood

Ego Integrity vs. Despair

Late Adulthood

Jean Piaget

Swiss psychologist who pioneered the study of cognitive development in children; showed that children have different minds from adults

Mary Ainsworth

Studied how different attachment styles affected children; Strange Situation Procedure

Strange Situation Procedure

Done by Mary Ainsworth and identified secure attachment, insecure-avoidant attachment, and insecure-resistant attachment

Harry Harlow

Studied attachment in monkeys with artificial mothers; significantly more time spent with cloth mothers than with wire monkeys

John Gottman

Psychologist on relationships and factors influencing successful marriages; the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" are criticism, contempt (worst), defensiveness, and stonewalling. 5: 1 ratio in relationship

Carol Dweck

Mindset Theory, fixed vs. growth mindset. Importance of student's beliefs about their own intelligence. Wellbeing.

Leon Festinger

Cognitive Dissonance Theory, did the $1 vs $20 experiment.

Pavlov's study on classical conditioning

Did an experiment using dogs. He showed the dogs food and rang a bell at the same time, after some time the dog would associate the bell with the food. Eventually just ringing the bell made the dog salivate. The food is the unconditioned stimulus, the salivation is the unconditioned response. When the unconditioned stimulus (food) is paired with something that was neutral (bell), the bell becomes the conditioned stimulus.

Little Albert Study

Demonstrated classical conditioning, generalization because of Albert's fear of anything white and fuzzy from the conditioned association of the loud gong with the white rabbit

Stanford Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo's study of the effect of roles on behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to play either prisoners or guards in a mock prison. The study was ended early on day 6 because of the "guards'" role-induced cruelty.

Wakefield Study

A study suggesting a link between MMR vaccination and autism; later retracted and shown to have many issues (low number of patients studied, fixed data, based on parental recall). The main author of the study had conflicting financial interest with an alternative MMR vaccine.

Solomon Asch Experiment

70% of subjects conformed to a wrong answer rather than giving a correct answer; normative conformity

Experiment

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Correlation Study

A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena

Interview

May be used in case study, research, or in clinical assessment

Survey

A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Psychiatrist

Goes to school 7-9 years

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience

Punishment

An event that decreases the behavior that it follows

Reinforcement vs. punishment

Reinforcement = Increase in behavior; punishment = decrease in behavior

Negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

Positive vs. negative reinforcement

Positive- increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforcer is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response. Negative- increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock, a negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

In classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

Unconditioned Response (UR)

In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation when food is in the mouth.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Taste Aversion

A learned avoidance of a particular food; only needs one pairing

Schedule of Reinforcement

A timetable for when and how often reinforcement for a particular behavior occurs

Interval Schedule

A program by which reinforcement depends on the time interval elapsed since the last reinforcement.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

A program by which reinforcement depends on the number of correct responses.

Continuous Reinforcement

Reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

Fixed-Interval Schedule

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

Variable-Ratio Schedule

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Variable-Interval Schedule

In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

Premack Principle

A principle that states that making the opportunity to engage in a high-probability behavior contingent on the occurrence of a low-frequency behavior will function as reinforcement for the low-frequency behavior.

Latent Learning (Tolman)

Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

Insight learning

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

ABC'S of Behavior

Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence