Psychology Module 2

Analogical Representation

Mental representations that retain physical characteristics of the actual objects they depict. Visual/perceptual

Symbolic Representations

Abstract mental representations (words, numbers, or ideas) that do not physically resemble the object or concept they represent. Abstract/arbitrary.

Mental Maps

Combine visual layout details (analogical) with conceptual shortcuts, such as state borders or geographic categories (symbolic).

Why do Errors occur with Mental Maps?

Because memory limits analogical detail, the brain relies on symbolic shortcuts (e.g., thinking "California is west of Nevada"), which leads to incorrect spatial assumptions.

Prototype Model

Categorization is based on comparing a new item to the single "best example" or average representation of a category.

Example: When picturing a "fruit," you instantly picture a red apple

Exemplar Model

Categorization relies on comparing a new item to all stored individual memories (exemplars) of that category encountered in life.

Example: Categorizing a kiwi as a fruit by mentally checking it against past memories of apples, oranges, tomatoes, and olives.

The Difference Between Prototype and Exemplar

The prototype model relies on a single ideal average, whereas the exemplar model builds a category out of many specific memories.

Schema

A cognitive framework or organized chunk of knowledge that helps perceive, organize, and process environmental information efficiently.

Example: Your schema for a "library" tells you to sit quietly, whereas your schema for a "party" tells you to talk loudly and socialize.

Script

A specific type of schema that dictates a sequence of events or expected behaviors over time in a particular situation.

Example: Going out to eat at a sit-down restaurant. Instead of figuring out what to do from scratch each time, your brain runs an automatic sequence. Think of screenplay

Directing Behavior

Acts like an automatic mental guidebook for a multi-step routine.

Example: At a movie theater, your script leads you sequentially: purchase tickets → buy popcorn at concession → hand ticket to usher → find seat → watch previews. Think director for screenplay.

Stereotypes

Cognitive schemas that group people based on category membership to process social information quickly, often overgeneralizing traits.

Gender Roles

Unconscious scripts specifying prescribed behavioral norms for males and females within a culture.

Mechanism

Learned early in development, these schemas lead individuals to expect specific professions or traits based on demographic cues.

Example: Expecting a surgeon to be male or a nurse to be female, or children drawing a scientist exclusively as a man in a lab coat.

Decision Making

Selecting the best option among several available alternatives.

Example: Choosing whether to spend vacation in Paris or at a beach resort.

The WHAT am I going to chose out of the two alternatives?

Problem Solving

Overcoming an obstacle to reach a specific goal state.

Example: Figuring out how to earn extra money to afford a plane ticket to Paris.

The HOW am I going to solve to get the best alternative.

Heuristics

Informal guidelines, rules of thumb, or mental shortcuts used to make rapid decisions with minimal cognitive effort.

Adaptive Function Heuristics

They free up conscious cognitive resources and allow fast, efficient survival choices without getting bogged down in endless analysis.

Downside: They can introduce systematic biases and logical errors into judgment.

Anchoring Effect Heuristics

Relying heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the anchor) when making subsequent estimations or judgments.

Framing Effect Heuristics

Making decisions based on how options are presented—specifically in terms of potential gains versus potential losses.

Example: Preferring ground beef labeled "80% lean" over beef labeled "20% fat".

Loss Aversion

A psychological tendency where the pain of losing something is felt much more intensely than the pleasure of gaining an equivalent amount.

Decision Impact

Makes people excessively cautious, driving them to avoid risks.

Example: Refusing a coin-flip bet where you could win $100 or lose $100 because losing $100 feels twice as bad as gaining $100 feels good.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where you judge how likely or common an event is based on how easily a specific example comes to mind.

Example: Not wanting to swim in the ocean after seeing on the news about recent shark attacks, even though statistical data shows driving to the beach itself is more dangerous.

Retrieval Bias

Events that are vividly reported in media or highly memorable are retrieved effortlessly, causing people to overestimate their actual frequency.

Example: Fearing a shark attack after watching news reports, despite car accidents being statistically far more likely.

Representativeness Heuristic

Categorizing a person or object based on how closely they match a prototype, while ignoring actual probabilities.

Role of Base Rates

Actual statistical frequency of an event or group in the overall population.

Misleading heuristics occur when base rates are completely ignored.

Example: Hearing that someone loves opera and poetry and assuming they are a trumpet player in a symphony orchestra rather than a salesperson, ignoring that there are millions more salespeople than symphony players.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive limitation where an object is viewed solely in terms of its typical, intended function.

Obstacle Created

Prevents seeing novel, unconventional uses for tools to solve non-standard problems.

Example: Needing a screwdriver and failing to realize a flat coin on the table could tighten the loose screw.

Doing it the LONGER way.

Mental Sets

Persisting with a problem-solving strategy that worked successfully in past situations, even if it is ineffective for the current problem.

Example: Trying to pull open every door you encounter because pulling opened the last five doors.

Restructuring

Thinking about a problem in a fresh, entirely new layout or framework to bypass obstacles.

Example: Solving the "9-dot problem" by drawing lines beyond the invisible boundary box.

Insight

The sudden, unexpected realization of a problem's solution after stepping back or unconsciously restructuring the task.

Obstacle Resolution

Re-framing the situation breaks through mental sets or functional fixedness instantly.

Example: Wolfgang Köhler’s chimps suddenly stacking boxes to reach hanging bananas, or Maier's two-string problem where tying pliers to a string turns it into a swinging pendulum.

Thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX

Paradox of Choice

Having some choice is beneficial, but an excess of options leads to paralysis, decision fatigue, regret, and reduced satisfaction.

Impact of Options

When faced with too many choices (e.g., 24 jam jars vs. 6 jam jars), people are less likely to make any choice at all and feel less satisfied with what they do pick due to post-choice regret.

Intelligence

The mental capacity to use knowledge to reason, make decisions, make sense of events, solve problems, understand complex ideas, learn quickly, and adapt to environmental challenges.

Achievement Tests

Assess an individual's current accumulated knowledge and skills acquired through past instruction.

Example: An Exam 2 psychology test or a high school history final.

Aptitude Tests

Evaluate a person's capability or potential to learn new skills and perform well in future tasks.

Example: The SAT or ACT predicting college academic performance.

General Intelligence (g)

A single overarching mental factor that underlies performance across all intellectual capabilities.

Spearman's Prediction

Individuals who score high in one domain (e.g., verbal reasoning) will consistently perform well in other seemingly unrelated domains (e.g., mathematical reasoning or spatial visualization) because g fuels all tasks.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to process new information, think logically, and solve complex problems in novel situations without prior knowledge.

Lifespan Trend: Peaks in early adulthood and steadily declines with age.

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge gained through education and life experience, alongside the ability to retrieve and use that knowledge.

Lifespan Trend: Grows continuously throughout adult life.

Core Assumptions

Rejects g; proposes that humans possess multiple distinct, independent modalities of intelligence (e.g., musical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, linguistic). Being low in one area (e.g., math) does not preclude being highly gifted in another (e.g., music).

Analytical Intelligence

Academic problem-solving, logical analysis, and psychometric test performance.

Creative Intelligence

Gaining insights, solving novel problems, and thinking in inventive ways.

Practical Intelligence

Handling real-world everyday tasks ("street smarts"), such as navigating social situations or parking in tight spaces.

Working Memory

Dual-component working memory tasks (which require holding information in mind while simultaneously processing secondary tasks) correlate most strongly with intelligence test scores.

Emotional Intelligence

A social skill involving the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and utilize emotions effectively to guide thought and action.

Social Outcomes (Related to EI)

Highly correlated with better social relationships, superior impulse control, higher ratings of warmth, and lower interpersonal conflict.

Broca's (Expressive) Aphasia

Damage to Broca's area in the frontal lobe; speech comprehension remains mostly intact, but speech production is slow, labored, and fragmented.

Wernicke's (Receptive) Aphasia

Damage to Wernicke's area in the temporal lobe; fluent, effortless speech production, but language lacks logical meaning and speech comprehension is severely impaired.

Global Aphasia

Widespread damage to left-hemisphere language zones; total loss of both language production and comprehension.

Telegraphic Speech

Condensed, rudimentary phrases that omit non-essential words and grammatical markers while preserving logical word order to convey clear meaning.

Age Group: Toddlers around 18–24 months.

Example: "More milk!" or "Daddy go bye-bye".

Social Exposure and Timing

Consistent exposure to human communication within a critical/sensitive period in early childhood is mandatory.

Biological Readiness

Refers to the concept that the human brain is biologically pre-programmed to acquire language, but only within a specific, time-limited window known as the Critical Period Hypothesis

Evidence: The case of Genie Wiley who demonstrated that severe social deprivation during critical early years leads to permanent deficits in mastering complex grammar.

Emotion (Affect)

An immediate, specific response to environmental events or internal thoughts involving a physiological reaction, a behavioral expression, and a cognitive appraisal.

Example: Jumping when a dog barks loudly.

WHAT IS THIS?

Feeling

The subjective cognitive interpretation and conscious awareness of bodily states accompanying an emotion.

Example: Recognizing "I feel scared".

I AM THIS.

Mood

A diffuse, long-lasting emotional state without a clear trigger or identifiable starting point that colors general perception.

Example: Feeling generally irritable or upbeat for an entire afternoon.

Primary Emotions

Evolutionary adaptive, innate, universal emotional expressions shared across all human cultures.

List: Anger, fear, sadness, disgust, happiness, surprise, and contempt.

Secondary Emotions

Complex blends of primary emotions or culturally influenced feelings about underlying emotions.

List: Guilt, remorse, shame, pride, love, and jealousy.

Valence

Plots physiological activation (low vs. high), such as heart rate or autonomic nervous system response.

Example: "Excited" is positive valence + high arousal; "Depressed" is negative valence + low arousal.

Arousal

Plots physiological activation (low vs. high), such as heart rate or autonomic nervous system response.

Example: "Excited" is positive valence + high arousal; "Depressed" is negative valence + low arousal.

Circumplex Model of Emotion

Valence and Arousal

Insula

Integrates somatosensory signals from across the body; heavily activated during the experience of disgust, as well as guilt and anxiety.

Example: During a panic attack, your heart races and your chest feels tight. An overactive insula misinterprets these normal physical sensations as a catastrophic threat (such as thinking "I am having a heart attack")

The OVEREACTOR

Amygdala

Processes the emotional significance of environmental stimuli, triggers immediate fear responses, and evaluates emotional threats rapidly.

The "Amygdala Hijack" (Receiving a Vague Text):
When you receive a text message saying "We need to talk," the signal can bypass the logical prefrontal cortex and go straight to the amygdala. This sudden activation causes an immediate wave of panic, a spike in blood pressure, and a freeze-or-flight reaction before your logical brain has time to figure out what the message means.

James-Lange Theory

Proposes that external stimuli trigger specific physical bodily reactions first, and our conscious perception of those physiological changes causes the feeling of emotion.

Sequence: Stimulus (Grizzly bear) → Bodily response (Heart races, palms sweat) → Emotion (Fear).

TRIGGER, BODY, EMOTION

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Derived from the James-Lange theory, it posits that muscle movements in the face send signals directly to the brain to trigger or modulate emotional states.

BODY, TRIGGER, EMOTION

Cannon-Bard Theory

The brain processes emotional stimuli and sends simultaneous, independent signals to the body (physiological reaction) and cortex (emotional experience). Neither reaction depends on each other.

Going on a Date: Meeting someone new triggers excitement and happiness right along with sweaty palms or a rapid heartbeat.

OPPOSITE of James-Lange Theory

Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

 Physiological arousal occurs first, but it is generalized. An individual must perform a cognitive assessment/labeling of the environmental context to determine which emotion they are feeling.

The Racing Heart (Concert vs. Dark Alley):

• Arousal: Your heart beats fast, and your palms sweat.

• Context A: You are at a live music concert. Your brain labels the arousal as excitement.

• Context B: You are walking alone down a dark alley and hear footsteps. Your brain labels the arousal as fear.

• Takeaway: The physical response is identical, but the environment changes the cognitive label

BODY AROUSAL, ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENT

Misattribution of Arousal

Occurs when a person misidentifies the true source of bodily arousal and incorrectly attributes it to a different environmental factor.

Example: Capilano Suspension Bridge study—men walking across a high, swaying bridge felt physiological arousal (fear) and misattributed it as romantic attraction toward an attractive female researcher waiting at the end.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A pyramid model of human motivation where basic biological needs must be satisfied before higher-level psychological and self-fulfillment needs can be pursued.

Order (Bottom to Top):

1. Physiological Needs: Food, water, oxygen, sleep.

2. Safety Needs: Security, shelter, stability.

3. Belongingness and Love Needs: Acceptance, friendship, intimacy.

4. Esteem Needs: Achievement, status, respect.

5. Self-Actualization: Achieving full potential and personal growth.

Delayed Gratification

The ability to resist a smaller, immediate reward in order to receive a larger, more valuable reward in the future.

WAIT AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

Hot Cognitions in Delayed Gratification

Focusing on the emotionally rewarding, pleasurable, and sensory attributes of a desired object.

Example: Thinking about how sweet and gooey a marshmallow tastes while roasting it until it turns the perfect gold (makes waiting extremely difficult).

Cold Cognitions in Delayed Gratification

Mentally transforming the desirable item into an abstract, symbolic, or neutral object.

Example: Reimagining a marshmallow as a fluffy white cotton ball (eases the process of delaying gratification).

What did Stanley Milgram's classic experiments demonstrate regarding obedience to authority figures?

Demonstrated thatordinary people are surprisingly willing to override their personal conscience and inflict severe or potentially fatal harm on others when commanded by an authority figure.

Situational Power over Morality: The experiments showed that human behavior is shaped heavily by situational pressures and the presence of authority rather than just individual moral character.

instruments carrying out the wishes of an authority figure, transferring personal moral responsibility to the person giving the orders

Factors Increasing Obedience to obey an authority figure?

• Close physical proximity to the authority figure.

• Prestige/legitimacy of the institution or authority.

• Perceived lack of personal responsibility.

Factors Decreasing Obedience to obey an authority figure?

• Increased proximity to the victim (e.g., holding the victim's hand on a shock plate).

• Greater physical distance from the authority figure.

• Observing other participants disobey (role models for defiance)

Altruism

Providing aid to another individual without expecting any personal gain, reward, or explicit benefit, often at a personal cost.

Evolutionary Puzzle

Natural selection favors traits that maximize individual survival and reproductive success. Endangering oneself or giving up personal resources to help non-relatives appears counter-intuitive to natural selection principles.

Bystander Intervention Effect (Bystander Apathy)

The phenomenon where individuals are significantly less likely to offer help to a victim when other onlookers are present compared to when they are alone.

What are the four primary psychological causes of the bystander intervention effect?

1. Diffusion of Responsibility: Expecting someone else in the crowd to take action.

2. Fear of Social Blunders: Worrying about misinterpreting an ambiguous situation and looking foolish in front of peers.

3. Anonymity: Feeling invisible and untraceable in a large group setting.

4. Cost-versus-Benefit Analysis: Weighing potential risks or losses (e.g., physical danger, lost time) associated with intervening.

What can a person do to overcome bystander apathy when in need of help?

Direct Action: Break anonymity and eliminate ambiguity by single-pointing out a specific individual in the crowd, giving them a clear, direct instruction.

• Example: Pointing directly at someone and saying, "You in the red shirt, call 911 right now!"

How does Mere Exposure Effect Alter Attitudes?

Repeated exposure to a neutral or unfamiliar stimulus leads to an increase in positive feelings and liking toward that stimulus over time.

Example: Disliking a song on first listen, but finding yourself enjoying it after hearing it played on the radio ten times.

Cognitive Dissonance

the mental discomfort a person feels whenholding two conflicting beliefs, values, or ideas, or when their behavior does not match their beliefs.

How do individuals resolve Cognitive Dissonance?

Resolution Strategies: People reduce dissonance by changing their behavior, changing their attitude, or rationalizing the discrepancy.

Example: Knowing that smoking causes lung cancer and health damage, yet continuing to smoke daily and rationalizing it as a way to handle stress.

Insufficient Justification Effect

When individuals perform an action that contradicts their beliefs without receiving a substantial external reward, they experience high dissonance and compensate by changing their internal attitudes to align with their behavior.

Classic Study: Festinger & Carlsmith paid participants either $1 or $20 to lie and say a boring task was fun. The $1 group experienced high dissonance ("I lied for no money"), so they convinced themselves the task was actually enjoyable. The $20 group had external justification and felt no need to change their attitude.

Justification of Effort

The tendency to overestimate the value or attractiveness of a goal or group after undergoing significant pain, embarrassment, or effort to attain it.

Justification of Effort and Group Initiations

Explains why harsh fraternity or sorority hazing creates intense group loyalty. Members resolve the dissonance of going through humiliation by deciding the group must be extraordinarily special.

PLEDGES

Postdecisional Dissonance

Mental discomfort experienced after choosing between two equally attractive options.

Resolution: Individuals unconsciously elevate the positive features of the chosen option while emphasizing the negative qualities of the rejected alternative.

Example: After choosing a cheaper apartment to live in, focusing on how aesthetic the cheaper one is compared to the other apartment.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The widespread bias to explain other people's behaviors by overemphasizing internal, personal traits while underestimating external, situational factors.

Example: Assuming a driver who cuts you off is an aggressive jerk, rather than considering they might be rushing to the hospital.

Actor/Observer Discrepancy.

The asymmetry where we blaming our own actions on outside situations, while blaming other people's identical actions on their internal character.

Example: When you slip on the stairs, it's because the floor was wet (actor = situation); when someone else slips, it's because they are clumsy (observer = trait).

Proximity

Physical closeness dramatically increases interaction frequency. People become friends with those nearby due to the mere exposure effect—familiarity breeds liking.

Matching Principle

The empirical finding that people are most likely to form successful, lasting romantic relationships with individuals who are similar to them in physical attractiveness, values, background, and personality.

What physical features, such as facial symmetry and facial averaging, influence ratings of attractiveness?

• Facial Symmetry: High structural symmetry indicates genetic health and developmental stability, making symmetrical faces universally rated as more attractive.

• Facial Averaging: Computer-generated composite faces constructed by averaging multiple faces together are rated as more attractive than individual faces because averaging smooths out irregularities.

Personality

A person’s characteristic, relatively stable patterns of thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors over time and across situations.

How did Gordon Allport define personality as a dynamic organization of psychophysical systems?

Dynamic Organization: Personality is a coherent, organized whole that is adaptive, goal-seeking, and responsive to changing context.

Psychophysical Systems: Combines cognitive processes ("psycho") with biological and neural foundations ("physical").

Genetic Contribution

Twin and adoption studies show that genetics accounts for approximately 40% to 60% of the overall variance in personality traits across individuals.

Twin and Adoption studies suggest about the role of Parenting Styles

Parenting Styles: Have a surprisingly minimal impact on core adult personality traits. Adopted siblings raised together in the same home are no more alike in personality than complete strangers.

Twin and Adoption studies suggest about Peers in Personality Development

Peers and Environment: Outside environment, unique life events, and peer groups exert a far stronger influence on personal development than general parenting styles.

Temperaments

Biologically based, early-appearing tendencies to feel or act in specific ways.

What are the three infant temperaments, and what do they reflect?

1. Activity Level: Overall amount of physical energy and movement exhibited.

1. Emotionality: Intensity of negative emotional reactions (e.g., crying easily).

2. Sociability: Tendency to affiliate with and seek out others.

How do early childhood temperaments predict adult personality and behavioral outcomes?

Longitudinal Predictions: Early temperaments remain relatively stable.

Example: Children classified as highly inhibited or shy at age 3 show elevated amygdala activation to novel situations in adulthood and face higher risks for adult social anxiety.