psyc

Vulnerable populations

children, individuals with varying abilities, disadvantaged groups need extra protection.

Informed consent

tells potential participants about the study and allows them to agree to participate.

Risk

minimal risk = risk normally associated with everyday activities.

Cost-benefit analysis

the risks to participants are weighed against the potential benefits of the research.

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

reviews proposals for research with humans

IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee)

reviews proposals for research with non-human animals.

Alarm

triggers fight-or-flight response.

Resistance

body adapts to the stressor or finds ways to cope. If the stress continues...

Exhaustion

resistance breaks down. Short-term stress responses help us fight stressors, but chronic stress can lead to physical depletion.

Primary appraisal

Is this event harmful?

Secondary appraisal

How well can I cope?

Social support

the soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances.

Berkman & Syme (1979)

longitudinal study of Alameda County residents. Method, measured people's social connections, then tracked them over 9 years. Result, people with fewer social connections were more likely to die during follow-up (for both men and women). Conclusion, social ties are linked to better health and survival.

Problem-focused coping

attempt to manage or alter the stressor (e.g., applying for new jobs after being fired).

Emotion-focused coping

change or reduce the negative emotions tied to the stressor (e.g., mentally restructuring how you think about it).

Informational control

acquire information about the stressor (e.g., learning what a surgery involves).

Proactive coping

preparing ahead of time for potential stressors.

Optimism

focusing on the positive side; associated with productivity and health.

Hardiness

a set of attitudes courage/motivation; associated with health. Challenge = potential for gain or growth. Eustress = stress associated with positive feelings and optimal performance (" good stress").

Challenge

perceived resources exceed demands. Pattern, improved cardiac efficiency and dilated blood vessels.

Threat

perceived demands exceed resources. Pattern, decreased cardiac efficiency and constricted blood vessels.

Jamieson et al., 2010

students planning to take the GRE were randomly assigned to be told that arousal signs predict better performance, or to a control group.

Jamieson et al., 2016

double-blind field experiment with community college developmental math students, reappraisal vs. placebo before Exam. Reappraisal group, more coping resources, less math evaluation anxiety , better Exam performance, marginally higher final grades; no effect on course retention.

Post hoc fallacy

assuming that because B came after A, A caused B. .

Bidirectional influences

child and environment/caregiver influence each other.

Cross-sectional design

compare different age groups at one time. Weakness, cohort effects (groups differ because of when they grew up, not age).

Longitudinal design

follow the same people over time. Weakness, attrition (participants drop out).

Three core differences across theories

stage-like vs. continuous change; domain-general vs. domain-specific; nature vs. nurture.

Piaget

children are active learners

Assimilation

absorbing new experiences into current knowledge structures (calling a TV car a "truck" because you know trucks).

Accommodation

altering a belief/schema to fit experience (revising "all red go-carts are fast" after driving a slow one).

Equilibration

maintaining balance between experience and understanding. Theory is stage-like, domain-general, and involves nature AND nurture.

Sensorimotor

Reflexes; lack object permanence (birth-2y/o)

Preoperational

symbolic representation; rigid thinking; lack of conservation (2-7 y/o)

Concrete operational

more logical, flexible, organized, mastery of spatial operations, difficulty with abstract reasoning (7-11 y/o)

formal operational

abstract and scientific reasoning, internal reflection (11 y/o+)

Conservation

changing the appearance of objects does not change their key properties (e.g., volume).

Preconventional (externally controlled)

Stage 1 punishment and obedience
(avoid punishment); Stage 2 instrumental and exchange (satisfy own needs,
"is it worth the risk?").

Conventional (maintain social order)

Stage 3 mutual interpersonal expectations (" good girl nice boy ," win approval); Stage 4 social system and conscience (laws matter , duty to uphold them).

Postconventional (abstract principles)

Stage 5 social contract (laws are
flexible; follow when consistent with human rights); Stage 6 universal ethical principles (self-chosen principles, e.g., preservation of human life)

Kohlberg

moral reasoning, stage-like, domain-general, more nature

Vygotsky

socioculture theory, studied the role that social and cultural factors play in shaping children’s development, continuous

Zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding

a more skilled partner provides support just beyond what the child can do alone, then withdraws it as skill grows.

Evaluation

helps explain cultural variations, but does not address biological contributions

Germinal (conception to ~week 2)

ends with attachment to the uterine wall.

Embryonic (~week 2 to 8)

begins at attachment, ends with formation of bone cells. Most major organs form, so this is the period of greatest vulnerability to major abnormalities.

Fetal (~week 8 to ~38)

from bone cells to birth.

Teratogen

an environmental agent that causes harm during the embryonic period.

Critical period

a window when a body part /system is especially vulnerable.

Birth

average length ~20 inches, average weight ~7.5 pounds

Reflexes

inborn, automatic responses to particular stimuli

Milestones (average ages)

sitting without support ~6 mo, crawling ~9 mo, standing ~11mo, cruising ~12 mo, walking without help ~13 mo, running ~18-24 mo

Attachment

an enduring bond with others; infants form attachments to caregivers.

Harlow & Zimmerman

infant rhesus monkeys in a cage with two surrogate "moms."One soft the other wired and hard. Result; monkeys liked the soft monkey better, feeding is not the only basis for attachment. Comfort contact matters too.

Bowlby's ethological theory

ethology = the adaptive functions of behavior;
attachment helps inf ants survive. (Bowlby also drew on psychoanalysis.)

Strange Situation procedure

a series of separations and reunions with the caregiver; researchers watch how the baby reacts. Four classifications

Secure

upset when caregiver leaves, seeks contact and is easily comforted on return; uses caregiver as a safe base.

Insecure-avoidant

little distress at separation; ignores or avoids the caregiver on return.

Insecure-resistant

very distressed at separation; wants contact on return but also resists it (angry clingy), hard to soothe.

Disorganized

confused or contradictory behavior (e.g., approaches then freezes). Correlates of secure attachment

Benefits of secure attachment

better conflict management, less aggression, more empathy and prosocial behavior, better social competence peer relations

General intelligence (g)

a single f actor that predicts performance across many different mental tasks.

fluid

reasoning and solving novel problems

crystallized

accumulated knowledge and skills (vocabulary, facts).

Sternberg's triarchic theory

Analytical: analyze, evaluate, judge, compare, contrast ("book smarts").

Creative: produce new ideas/products, novel solutions.

Practical: apply knowledge to real-world, everyday problems ("street smarts").

Gardner's multiple intelligences

intelligence is a set of separate abilities (e.g., linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist).

Family studies

how traits run in families; similarity declines with biological distance.

Twin studies

correlations are higher for identical (MZ) than fraternal (DZ) twins → evidence for genetic influence.

Adoption studies

compare people raised apart from biological relatives; show evidence for both genetic and environmental contributions.

Environmental influences

poverty (negative) and early intervention (positive)

Woolley, Aggarwal & Malone (2015), Collective Intelligence

groups of 2-5 people spent ~5 hours doing varied tasks (brainstorming, verbal/math puzzles, negotiation, moral reasoning).

Top down: communication and participation

Bottom up: moderate diversity and social perceptiveness