Psych 101 Exam 2 GVSU with 113 questions and answers

Nature

Biology, genetics, instincts

Nurture

Environmental factors, education, social

Behavior geneticist study

These people study Nature and Nurture

Genes

Biochemical units of heredity that make up chromosomes

Number of genes in human body

30, 000 gene words that code for a specific trait

The human genome project (national instituttion of health)

The reason we know how many genes are in the body and the map of human DNA

Shared genetic material between humans

99.95% shared genetic material

How genes determine traits

Active or inactive genes that make up your characteristics

Active gene

A gene that releases proteins that affect physical development

Inactive gene

A gene that doesn't get activated

Identical twin

Twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two.

Fraternal twin

Twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. Just as similar as a brother and sister born separate.

Twin (twin study)

The objective: differences in genetic relatedness but in the same environment.

Adoption (twin study)

The objective: Same genetic relatedness but in different environments.

Conclusion of Minnesota twin study

Identical twins raised apart were strikingly similar and this was found repeatedly.

Heritability

Extent to which variation between people can be attributed to genetics.

Minnesota twin study findings regarding Heritability and personality

40 to 50% heritability due to genetics

Personality

A persons characteristic way of thinking and acting. Nurture has little effect on it.

Minnesota twin study findings regarding mental ability

Early life environment has the biggest influence. Age 5 is 20%, and older than 75 is 50-60% due to genetics.

Minnesota twin study findings regarding psychological disorders

Differs depending on type

Schizophrenia

Psychiatric disorder 80% due to genetics.

Anxiety

Psychiatric disorder 20-40% due to genetics.

Depression

Psychiatric disorder 40% due to genetics

Alcoholism

Psychiatric disorder 50-60% due to genetics

4 critiques of the Minnesota twin study

May cause implications->

1) People looking for even unusual similarities can find them. 2) Same physical appearance. 3) The placement of babies 4) Time spent together

Adoption studies personality

"Two adopted children reared in the same home are no more likely to share personality traits with each other than with the child down the block." (Myers, 2010)

Adoption studies attitudes and values

Some parents may be pessimistic or optimistic. You can learn a new way despite your genetic disposition.

Hormonal influence key periods

At 7 weeks and 4th/5th month.

7 week period (hormonal influences)

Genes activate our 23rd pair of chromosomes and hormone production begins to stimulate growth of sex organs.

4th and 5th month period (hormonal influences)

Hormones are released and act on the brain. Females show thicker areas of prefrontal cortex associated with speech(verbal) and males show thicker areas of parietal lobe associated with spatial reasoning.

Gender

Biological and social characteristics by which people define male and female.

Gender roles

Are societies expectations about the way men and women should behave. More nurture than nature because we can see the change throughout time. Biological factors would't change that much. Differs across societies.

Natural selection

Physical/Psychological traits that aid survival are more likely to be passed on.

Evolutionary Psychology

Seek to describe, explain, and study our similar thoughts and behavior through natural selection.

Men prefer (mate selection)

Furthering genes is about reproduction. Youth, Physical beauty (waist to hip ratio = .70), Fidelity (faithful).

Women prefer (mate selection)

Furthering genes is about raising a healthy child. Resources (wealth), Social status, older (about 3.5 years older), Love and commitment, Size and strength.

David Buss' experiment (methods and findings)

10,047 participants in 37 countries were asked what they prefer in a mate. Both men and women want to pass on genes, but go aout it differently. The drive to pass on genes is unconscious; deeply routed inside us from our ancestors.

Townsend and Levy experiment (methods and findings)

Participants were showed pictures of different people wearing different(BK vs Suit) clothing and were asked to rate there attractiveness to the person for a potential relationship.

Men tended to be more attracted to the attractive women regardless of there clothing and women tended to be more attracted to the high SES male regardless of attractiveness.

Clark and Hatfield experiment (methods and findings)

Participants were told to ask questions to the oppostite sex like "Hi, I've noticed you for a while, would you go on a date with me?"

- "would you go back to my apartment with me?"

-"would you have sex with me tonight?"

The date question: 55% female said yes, and 50% male said yes.

The apartment question: 5% female said yes, and 69% male said yes.

The sex question: 0% female said yes, and 75% male said yes.

Conception

The moment in time when sperm fertilizes the egg.

Zygote

Fertilized egg, Survival beyond 2 weeks? - only 50%.

Embryo

The zygote attaches to the uterine wall and is now called ___.

Happens after 2 to 8 weeks.

Fetus

9 weeks to birth is now called ___.

Placenta

Provide nutrients to fetus; screens out some dangerous substances.

Teratogen

Substances that can harm a developing fetus (nurture). Examples: Nicotine, Alcohol, Drugs

Baby senses and preferences

Information processing more complex than initially thought, Infants focus on face rather than body (adaptive?), Sensitive to human voices (preference to mothers voice and face), Smells(very early), They've heard their mothers voices in the womb.

habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations.

Neural connections at birth

Most of the brain cells you will ever have present are at birth, Only branches and neural networks "immature".

Most neural development

15 months after birth.

Last areas developed in the brain

Intelligence, language, decision making.

Infantile amnesia

Most of us can't remember things before age 3.5 years

Brain after puberty

"Use it or Lose it" Neuron regeneration means that you can learn easily.

Rovee-Collier experiment (methods and findings)

Babies do learn and have memories.

why infantile amnesia exists (contemporary thought)

The brain changes too much so the babies memories get lost.

Jean Piagets interest in cognitive development

He studied his kids and others and the way they make similar mistakes.

Piaget's theory

4 stages of cognitive development.

Sensorimotor (Stage 1 Piaget's theory)

From birth to 2 years, sensory motor experiences.

Milestone: Object permanence at 6 months are soon after.

Pre-operational (Stage 2 Piaget's theory)

From 2 to 7 years, Understand world symbolically through words and images.

Difficulty with mental operation(manipulating objects in the mind), Difficulty with egocentrism(Taking the perspective of another person).

Exception: Theory of mind(see emotions of other people, can take an emotional persepctive) social development.

Concrete operational (Stage 3 Piaget's theory)

From 7 to 12 years, Understand concrete mental operations.

Problem with abstract(non-concrete thought) e.g.) Where would you put a third eye? answer of kids this age: forehead.

Formal operational (Stage 4 Piaget's theory)

From 12 years an on, Abstract thought and systematic reasoning, Form hypothesis and test them; can do "brain-teasers".

Where would you put a third eye? Answer for an individual at this stage: Back of the head.

Schema

Frameworks organize and interpret information.

Assimilation

Interpret new informatin in terms of existing schemas.

Accommodation

Adujust, Adapt, and Change schemas to incorporate new information.

e.g.) Think cat is the word for all animals, but adding a new schema makes you realize cats are only one kind of animal.

Strengths of Piaget's theory

Sequence of cognitive milestones seem accurate across cultures.

Criticisms of Piaget's theory

Children may enter theses "stages" at earlier ages, infants smarter than he thought, they recognize violations of physics. The social environment was ignored.

Theory of mind

Can see emotions of other people, can take an emotional persepctive) social development.

Attachment (definition, purpose, and determining)

An emotional tie, seek to be close to a person, distressed when separated(Contact determines it). Happens because baby is incapable of taking care of itself.

Harlow and Harlow experiment (methods and findings)

Put a baby monkey in a cage and gave it the option to hold onto a fake mother with no blanket but had food and the option to hold onto a fake mother with a blanket but no food. Found that nourishment isn't apart of attachment, it's contact.

Responsiveness

Important parental quality Ainsworth found related to attachment. Caregivers sensitive to childrens emotional needs, show affection, and spend considerate time with them. Creates a sense of basic trust. Environmental factors.

Secure attachment

Explore, attached to mother, crys when mother leaves, 60% of children show this.

Insecure attachment

Don't explore, clingy to mother, crys when leaves and comes back, 10-15% of children show this, Monkeys with this show extreme effects of stress and fear in strange situations.

Avoidance attachment

Indifference, doesn't cry, explores but is more anxious, 20-25% of children show this.

Hazan and Shaver experiment (methods and findings)

Found significant associatoins between parent-child attachment style and adult love relationships.

Secure effect adult relationship

Happiness, trust, acceptance, and support. (Longest lasting)

Insecure effect adult relationship

Obsessive love, desire for recprocation, jeoulosy, and emotional ups and downs.

Avoidance effect adult relationship

Fear of intimacy, less long, fear of commitment, emotional ups and downs.

Hazan and Shaver's experiment criticisms

Examining retrospective reports of parent-child attachment, No longitudinal studies.

Consequences of interrupted attachment or never forming attachment

Emotional problems, withdrawn behavior, cognitive delays

Attachment

Around 2 years ____ needs to be made.

Self-concept (begin, form , and stabilizes)

Answers to the question, who am I? Starts to form around the same time as self-awareness. By age 8 to 10 it is relatively stable, and has been correlated with other characteristics: Independence, assertiveness, sociability, optimism.

Warmth (Parental behaviors important for developing self-concept)

Affectionate, respond to childs emotional needs, spends considerable time with them.

Control (Parental behaviors important for developing self-concept)

Control childs behaviors, establishes rules, punishment, and expectations.

Authoritative (parenting style)

Rules up for discussion, affection, invloved. (High Warmth and High Control)

Kids of these tend to have Postitive self-concept, High self-steem, high motivation, and high achievement.

Authoritarian (parenting style)

Less involved, rules not up for debate, and less affection. (Low Warmth and High Control)

Kids of these tend to be unhappy, have low self-esteem, and be overly aggressive.

Permissive (parenting style)

Affectionate, sensitive, no rules. (High Warmth and Low Control)

Kids of these tend to have postitive self-concept, high self-esteem, specific competencies, achievement in areas they are interested in.

Neglectful (parenting style)

No rules, no affection. (Low Warmth and Low Control)

Kids of these tend to have low self-concept, low self-esteem, low achievement, and are deliquents.

Recognition

Older adults and younger adults tend to score evenly on ____.

Recall

Older adults tend to score lower on ____ than the younger adults.

Crystalized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills. Increases with age, but eventually falls.

Writers and historians rely on this to have better career(peak performance later in life).

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to reason quickly and abstractly. Declines with age.

Scientists and Mathmaticians rely on this to have better careers(peak performance in career early in life).

Kohlberg's moral reasoning stages

3 stages of moral reasoning.

Pre-conventional, Conventional, and Post-conventional.

Pre-conventional Morality (Kohlberg's moral reasoning stage)

Before age 9 kids tend to look at whats right and wrong by seeing when they gain rewards and avoid punishment.

Conventional Morality (Kohlberg's moral reasoning stage)

Early adolescent kids tend to look at what is deemed right and wrong by society.

Post-conventional Morality (Kohlberg's moral reasoning stage)

Last stage that most people don't reach, People tend to affirm agreed-upon right or follows personally perceived ethical principles.

Perception

Process by which sensory information is organized and interpreted. (top down processing)

Sensation

Process by which our nervous system receives and represents environmental stimuli. (bottom-up processing)

Absolute Threshold

Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time. Varries depending on sense and age/Psychological states can change it.

Signal detection theory

There is no real constant of absolute theshold; depends on experience, expectations, motivation at the time.

Subliminal stimulation

It is a threshold which is below the required intensity which was meant to elicit a certain response.

E.g.) If we did find an absolute theshold that did take into account experiences, motivations, and all of that signal detection, theoriest say matters, would we never hear anything, see anything, feel anything below that level? answer: No, we may just detect it a smaller % of time.

Can affect us long-term.

Sensory adaptation

After constantly being exposed to a stimulus then we adapt to it. (it isn't noticable as much before)