PSY 235 MSU Cesario Exam #1 Flashcards

Replication Crisis in Psychology

failure to replicate psychological studies; samples were too small/ unreliable

"fishing expiditions"

Finding data that was not actually there

Problems of inference

Need to go beyond data, claims need to match what is measured

2 factors of the human mind

Genes + Culture

T/F: Human mind is viewed as a blank slate w/ conditioned behavior

False

Who is the person behind Evoluntionary Thoery on Social Behavior?

Charles Darwin

Natural Selection

Evolution of genes occurring naturally overtime; A physical process that that produces change

1st premise of natural selection

over reproduction within a species - not everyone will make it

2nd premise of natural selection

Variation exists among species - not all will have identical phenotype

Example of 2nd premise of natural selection

Birds beaks are shaped differently to get seeds - leads to survival of the fittest

3rd premise of natural selection

Individuals who are more fit with the enviornment produce more

Phenotype

physical characteristics of an organism (height, weight, etc)

Genotype

genetic makeup of an organism (genes)

recurrent

An environmental pressure that leads to genes being selected for

2 keys to natural selection

1. Reproductive success (Genetic material is being passed through reproduction to offspring that survive)

2. Differential fertility (Some individuals are reproducing more than others )

How does natural selection produce the minds we have?

Brain is an organ to serve a function and solve a problem

Brains function

to regulate the body and generate behavior

Recurrent problems in the brain lead to mental adaptations such as

Feelings

information processing

to extract information from the environment to help regulate the body

2 systems the brain takes information from and outputs ______

1. Internal (from own body systems)

2. External (from enviornment)

Behavior

Conflict escalation

Brains way of calculating and forming reactions

Brains way of making you behave

Emotions

Is evolutionary theory more nature in nature v nuture ?

NO

Variation

Direct genetic contribution; same algorithm with different factors and different outputs

Life history theory

Used to show trade offs in life; cues from childhood show trade off as an adult

all else equal

resources are worth more in the present than in the future

Discounting the future more than someone else means:

Fast life strategy; more likely to live in the moment

Cues that life is harsh/uncertain

Uncertainty in social support and resource availability

Example of fast life strategy

Having offspring early, more mating, smaller resources for each individual offspring

Example of slow life strategy

Smaller number of offspring, waiting longer, more resources per offspring

Inconsistency leads to:

Faster life strategy

Do men or women tend to discount the future more steeply?

Men

Gini Index

Scale from 0-1; 0 being complete equality and 1 being complete inequality

Delay of gratification

Waiting for better later; engaging in self control

Mischel's delay of gratification research

Marshmallow example: Ability to postpone smaller immediate awards for later larger rewards

Delays of gratification can lead to

SAT scores, concentration, more competent/planful, stress

Childhood self control predicts

Adult outcomes such as health, substance dependence, crime, and finances

Child rearing relationships (certain v uncertain) are key factors for

relationships, aggression, injury/illness, decision making, and emotional health

Father dependency

shows how stability is different for children with father absence

Trust of adults is an example of

Delays of gratification (waiting)

Enviornment has a huge outcome on:

Peoples psychology and outcomes

Behavioral Genetics

Study of the power and limits of genetic and environmental influence on behavior

What does environment refer to?

Every non-genetic influence from people to things around us

3 core approaches to to behavioral genetics

1. Genes

2. Shared environment

3. Unshared environment

3 laws of behavioral genetics

1. All human behavioral traits are heritable

2. Similarities are influenced more by genes than family upbringing

3. Differences are due to non-shared environment outside home

genome-wide association studies

Predictors for social ability at birth (correlation)