Psyc1002 - Midterm Study guide
Intelligence and Psychological Testing
Difference between reliability and validity
Reliability: consistency, test-retest reliability, expect the same answers through many circumstances.
Validity: does the test measure what we actually want it to measure
Aptitude vs achievement testing
Aptitude: specific, measure of potential mental ability in a specific subset
Achievement: gage past knowledge as well as the ability to apply it.
What is standardization?
Standardization: psychological tests are standardized and based on “norms”. The group the scores are based on are the standardization group.
Content vs criterion vs construct validity
content: specific material or topics that are being assessed/tested
criterion: refers to the standard benchmark of which something is judged. It represents the desired level of performance
construct validity: Is the test accurately capturing what is intended.
Who was Alfred Binet?
French psychologist who was asked to create a test to identify “mentally subnormal” children.
The behaviour will match the mental age, e.g., 5yr old with a mental age of 3yr will behave subpar
What two variables make up the intelligence quotient?
verbal comprehension and problem solving using visual and spatial cues.
Gardner’s eight intelligences
Spatial: visualizing the world in 3D
Naturalist: understanding living things and reading nature
Musical: discerning sounds, their pitch, tone, rhythm and timbre
Bodily-kinesthetic: coordinating your mind with your body
Logical-mathematical: quantifying things, making hypothesis and then proving them
Interpersonal: sensing people’s feelings and emotions
Intra-personal: understanding yourself, what you feel and what you want.
Linguistic: finding the right words to express what you mean
Understand normal distribution – BASIC understanding
IQ test are not designed; critically, judicially
intelligence is looked at as it applies to the ‘normal’ general population
vocational success == high IQ; that is not the case majority of the time.
Extremes in intelligence (how many standard deviations each way are attributed to the extremes)?
Intellectual disability: two standard deviation BELOW or more below the mean
Giftedness: two standard deviations ABOVE the mean
85% of individuals diagnosed with a mental disability are categorized into mild.
Heredity vs environment – what have we discovered from twin studies?
Originally thought that intelligence was inherited - this is not true
Both intelligence and environment play significant roles in shaping human traits and behaviour.
Flynn effect
IQ performance has been steadily increasing over the industrialized world since the 1930’s
The Flynn effect suggests a rise in cognitive abilities worldwide.
Motivation and Emotion:
Drive theory - push
we engage in behaviours to reduce the tension e.g., if we are eating but we are not hungry
Incentive theory – pull
There needs to be an incentive to motivate an individual e.g., studying to get good grades
Evolutionary theory
behaviours and traits have evolved over time , favouring traits that = and lead to success. e.g, male dominance = easy female partner (this was passed down)
What part of the brain is responsible for hunger cues?
the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus
Ghrelin, vagus nerve, and leptin in hunger processes
Ghrelin: secreted when hungry and signals brain, CCK = full
Vagus nerve: Stimulates many things (ice on the back of the neck to calm panic)
Leptin: contributes to long term regulation of hunger (high=not as hungry)
Three key environmental factors for hunger
Food availability: sensory specific e.g, buffets
learned preferences and habits
Obesity: reduced demand for limited resources, genetic predisposition
Twin studies – what does it tell us about genetic predisposition?
Twin studies reveal the extent of genetic predisposition by comparing the concordance rates for traits and conditions between identical and fraternal twins.
Parental investment theory – who invests more and what impact does this have on mate selection?
a species mating patterns depend on which sex has to invest to produce and nurture the offspring
Affiliation motivation
We need meaningful contact with each other
Belongingness hypothesis: we have strong evolutionary bases to maintain close relationships with others
Ostracism and social rejection – what are the implications on mental health?
Being ignored and excluded by others in your social environment
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
Thematic Apperception Test
Everyone has a different baseline for achievement, but achievement motivation can vary by the individuals
Two situational factors that are determinants of achievement behaviour
Strength and motivation to achieve success
(estimate the probability and the incentive value of success)
Three components to emotion
Affective forecasting: what you expect to feel
Cognitive: individuals appraisals of important events leads to emotions
Physiological: involves many areas of the brain + neurotransmitters, as well as the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system
Behavioural: Emotions expressed in body language or non-verbal behavior e.g., crying, crossing arms
Human Development Across the Life Span:
Three stages of prenatal development – understand what are the main processes in each stage
Germinal stage: first 2 weeks after conception; rapid cell division and forms blastocyst before implantation into the uterine wall.
Embryonic Stage: Until the end of the second month; most organs formed during this stage, risk of miscarriage decreased, physiological aspects formed, food aversions, HG very sick mother
Fetal Stage: second month - birth; rapid bone and muscle growth, feel movement, 3rd month; sex characteristics visible, brain cells rapidly multiplying + layer of fat for insulation, respiratory + digestive system (lungs last)
48 wks common for birth, between 23-25wks viability
Placenta and its importance
“Tree of life”
conduit for nutrients and gas exchange between mother and fetus while also providing hormonal support and protection to the developing fetus.
What are the different teratogens?
teratogen: any external agents that can harm and embryo or fetus
Maternal nutrition: impactful on fetus; folic acid, omega 3 for brain development
Maternal drug and alcohol use: all drugs are dangerous; alc risks; learning deficit, attention deficit, fetal alcohol syndrome
Stress and emotion: slow motor development, cognitive development
Maternal illness: high fever for excessive time can lead to autism
Environmental toxins: IQ deficit, toxoplasmosis- cat litter exposure = autism
Fetal origins of adult disease: schizophrenia, BPD, depression
passage of trauma- epigenetic tag.
Description of different temperaments
temperament: characteristic mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity
easy: happy, good sleeper+eater
slow-to-warm: not as easy sleepers or eaters, be with mother, take in surroundings then proceed
difficult: glum, erratic in sleeping + eating, doesn't like change
Attachment styles (secure, anxious, etc.) and how the child behaves
Secure attachment: strong emotional bond between a child and their caregiver, characterized by the child feeling safe and comfortable exploring their environment while knowing they can rely on the caregiver for support and comfort when needed.
Anxious-ambivalent: characterized by a child's inconsistent behavior in the presence of their caregiver, often displaying distress when separated from them but also ambivalence or resistance when reunited.
Avoidant: characterized by a child's tendency to avoid or minimize contact with their caregiver, showing little distress upon separation and indifference or avoidance upon reunion.
Disorganized-disoriented: characterized by a child's inconsistent and often contradictory behaviors in the presence of their caregiver, including disorientation, freezing, or bizarre movements, reflecting a lack of a coherent strategy for coping with stress or seeking comfort.
8 stages of Erikson’s personality theory
Infant-18 month: trust vs mistrust (hope)
18mths-3yrs: autonomy vs shame/doubt (will)
2-5yrs: initiative vs guilt (purpose)
5-13yrs: Industry vs inferiority (competency)
13-21yrs: Identity vs confusion (Fidelity)
21-29 yrs: Intimacy vs isolation (Love)
40-65 yrs: Generativity vs stagnation (Care)
65 and older: Integrity vs Despair (wisdom)
Brain changes during adolescence
During adolescence, myelination and synaptic pruning in the prefrontal cortex increases , improving the efficiency of information processing, and neural connections between the prefrontal cortex and other regions of the brain are strengthened.
Personality: Theory, Research, and Assessment:
Difference between consistency and distinctiveness
consistency: displaying a certain personality characteristic in one context, we can assume they will display it in another. e.g., optimistic homelife=optimistic career aspirations
distinctiveness: differences in individual personality traits.
Five Factor Model – what are the different traits and examples of the associated behaviours
Extraversion: reflects the degree to which someone is outgoing, sociable, and energetic versus reserved, quiet, and solitary.
Neuroticism: relates to the tendency to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and vulnerability, as opposed to emotional stability and resilience.
Openness to Experience: indicates the degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and preference for novelty and variety versus preference for routine, stability, and familiarity.
Agreeableness: refers to the tendency to be compassionate, cooperative, and trusting versus skeptical, competitive, and antagonistic.
Conscientiousness: reflects the degree of organization, responsibility, dependability, and self-discipline versus impulsiveness, carelessness, and lack of direction.
Freud – bulk of questions for psychodynamic theories will be on Freud.
used psychoanalysis to treat patients which eventually grew into psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory attempts to explain personality by focusing on early childhood events, unconscious conflicts, and sexual urges.
implied we are not masters of our own minds but we are governed by unconscious thoughts
Id, ego, superego + three levels of awareness
Id: primitive, instinctive component of personality that operates according to the pleasure principle. (raw urges; eat, sleep, operate)
ego: decision making component of personality that operates according to the reality principle, mediator between the id and the social world. engages in second degree things (rational, problem solving) avoid negative consequences from society
superego: moral component of personality that incorporates social standards between what is right and what is wrong.
conscious: contact with outside world
Preconscious: Material just beneath the surface of awareness
Unconscious: Difficult to retrieve material; well below the surface of awareness.
How do defense mechanisms originate and what are they?
defense mechanisms are unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions
Five psychosexual stages – what are they and what are the potential fixations?
The oral stage, occurring from birth to around one year, focuses on pleasure derived from activities such as sucking, with potential fixations stemming from issues related to feeding.
The anal stage, spanning roughly from one to three years, involves the child's interest in bowel and bladder elimination, with potential fixations arising from conflicts during toilet training.
The phallic stage, typically between ages three and six, centers on the development of libido around the genitals and potential fixations may emerge from unresolved conflicts surrounding sexual identity and parent-child relationships.
The latency stage, occurring from around age six until puberty, is characterized by a suppression of sexual impulses and a focus on social and cognitive development, with fewer fixations likely to arise during this period.
The genital stage, spanning from puberty to adulthood, marks the resurgence of sexual impulses and the pursuit of mature sexual relationships, with potential fixations influenced by unresolved conflicts from earlier stages of development.
What are archetypes?
Archetypes are universal symbols or patterns that exist in the collective unconscious, representing recurring themes or motifs found across cultures, myths, and literature
Bandura’s “models”
refer to individuals or characters whose behavior is observed and imitated by others, playing a central role in social learning theory by influencing the acquisition of new behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions through observational learning processes.
Self-efficacy
an individual's belief in their own ability to successfully perform tasks, achieve goals, and cope with challenges in various domains of life.
Self-concept – incongruence
refers to a state of discrepancy or inconsistency between one's perceived self (how one sees oneself) and one's ideal self (how one wishes to be), leading to feelings of dissatisfaction, anxiety, or inner conflict.
Maslow’s hierarchy
individuals strive to fulfill lower-level needs before progressing to higher-level ones, with self-actualization representing the pinnacle of personal growth and fulfillment.
What do the twin studies tell us about biological perspectives of personality?
Twin studies reveal the significant influence of both genetic and environmental factors on individual differences in personality traits.
Relationship between big five and brain structures
Research suggests that certain brain structures and neural activity patterns correlate with the Big Five personality traits, such as extraversion being linked to increased volume in the prefrontal cortex, while conscientiousness is associated with differences in regions related to self-regulation and planning.