psyc
PSYC 111 Quiz 2: Review Sheet & Practice
Problems
Quiz: Monday , October 19, in class (multiple choice + free response). Covers everything
after Quiz 1 through the October 14 class: ethics, stress, coping, development,
intelligence, plus the Jamieson et al. (2013) and W oolley et al. (2015) readings.
Note: the October 14 lecture (Intelligence 2) wasn't in the files I received, so intelligence
testing material is not covered here. Send those slides and I'll add them.
Instructor hints from the review sheet:
Y ou won't be asked to name researchers unless you were told to in class (Bowlby,
Kohlberg, Piaget, Vygotsky). Questions describe the idea instead.
For every study , be able to say 1-2 sentences on the method (what did participants
see/do, what was measured), the result, and the conclusion.
Use the overview and summary slides at the start and end of each lecture to find the
main points.
P ART 1: REVIEW SHEET
1. Research Ethics
Guiding question: What do we need to keep in mind to conduct psychology research
ethically?
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 human
participants.
IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee): reviews proposals for
research with non-human animals.
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Class discussion (Little Albert vs. the Office clip): age of the participant, whether
informed + consent is enough, whether any harm can be completely ruled out, and
when pranks/deception are acceptable.
2. Stress
Definition: a process by which an individual perceives and responds to events seen as
overwhelming or threatening. The events are called stressors.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), Selye, 3 stages:
1. Alarm: fight-or-flight response.
HPA axis: hypothalamus receives signals of fear → sympathetic nervous system
activates the adrenal gland → releases epinephrine (adrenaline) and
norepinephrine → body readies for fight or flight. Hypothalamus and pituitary also
orchestrate the adrenal gland's release of cortisol, which floods the body with
energy .
Body effects: pupils dilate, heart beats f aster and harder , quick deep breathing,
muscles tense, blood pressure rises, digestion slows (less saliva, fewer digestive
enzymes, slower bowel movement), skin chills/sweating.
2. Resistance: body adapts to the stressor or finds ways to cope. If the stress continues...
3. Exhaustion: resistance breaks down. Short-term stress responses help us fight
stressors, but chronic stress can lead to physical depletion.
How we study stress: the transactional view (stress as a process; looks at stressors and
how people interpret and cope with them):
Primary appraisal: Is this event harmful?
Secondary appraisal: How well can I cope?
3. Coping
Social support: the soothing impact of friends, f amily , 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.
Gaining control:
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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.
Individual differences in coping:
Optimism: focusing on the positive side; associated with productivity and health.
Hardiness: a set of attitudes: a sense of control, commitment, and
courage/motivation; associated with health.
Challenge = potential for gain or growth. Eustress = stress associated with positive
feelings and optimal performance (" good stress").
4. Reading: Jamieson, Mendes & Nock (2013), Arousal Reappraisal
Big idea: physiological arousal during stress isn't necessarily bad. T elling people to view
arousal as a tool that helps performance shifts them from a threat state to a challenge
state.
Biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat:
Challenge: perceived resources exceed demands. P attern: improved cardiac
efficiency and dilated blood vessels.
Threat: perceived demands exceed resources. P attern: decreased cardiac
efficiency and constricted blood vessels.
Both involve sympathetic activation, so arousal itself isn't the difference. The
appraisal is.
Arousal reappraisal does not eliminate or dampen arousal. It changes the type of
stress response.
Trier Social Stress T est study (public speaking): 3 groups: reappraisal, placebo (ignore
the stress), no instruction. Reappraisal group: less vasoconstriction, greater cardiac
output (approach-oriented profile), less vigilance for threat cues (emotional Stroop),
and f aster return to baseline after stress.
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GRE study (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. Reappraisal group: higher alpha amylase (sympathetic activation) and better
quantitative scores on the practice GRE and the real GRE 1-3 months later; they also
reported arousal had helped. Verbal scores were unaffected.
Classroom study (Jamieson et al., 2016): double-blind field experiment with
community college developmental math students, reappraisal vs. placebo before Exam
2. Reappraisal group: more coping resources, less math evaluation anxiety , better Exam
2 performance, marginally higher final grades; no effect on course retention.
Limits / moderators: needs motivation (stakes must be high); helps with active-
processing tasks (quant but not verbal). Mechanisms are not fully known.
Applications: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), social anxiety disorder , health
education/prevention.
5. Developmental Research Considerations
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. W eakness: cohort
effects (groups differ because of when they grew up, not age).
Longitudinal design: follow the same people over time. W eakness: attrition
(participants drop out).
Three core differences across theories: stage-like vs. continuous change; domain-
general vs. domain-specific; nature vs. nurture.
6. Cognitive Development Theories
Piaget (children as 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 f ast" after driving a slow one).
Equilibration: maintaining balance between experience and understanding.
Theory is stage-like, domain-general, and involves nature AND nurture.
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Stage Age Key features
Sensorimotor Birth-2 Reflexes; lack object permanence (through ~8
months)
Preoperational ~2-7 Symbolic representation; rigid thinking; lack of
conservation
Concrete operational ~7-11 More logical, flexible, organized; mastery of spatial
operations; difficulty with abstract reasoning
Formal operational ~11+ Abstract and scientific reasoning; internal
reflection
Conservation: changing the appearance of objects does not change their key
properties (e.g., volume).
Influence: learning is an active process; proposes general cognitive processes.
Criticisms: development is more continuous than stage-like; tasks were too
demanding (underestimates children).
Kohlberg (moral reasoning)
Uses moral dilemmas (the Heinz dilemma: law vs. human need). What matters is the
reasoning, not whether Heinz should steal.
Level 1 Preconventional (externally controlled): Stage 1 punishment and obedience
(avoid punishment); Stage 2 instrumental and exchange (satisfy own needs,
"is it worth
the risk?").
Level 2 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).
Level 3 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).
Evaluation: few people reach the higher stages; associated with level of education;
domain specificity issues; doesn't reflect everyday moral behavior.
Vygotsky (sociocultural theory)
Emphasizes social and cultural factors and social interaction.
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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.
7. Prenatal, Motor, and Social Development
Prenatal stages:
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.
T eratogen: an environmental agent that causes harm during the prenatal period.
Critical period: a window when a body part/system is especially vulnerable.
Birth: average length ~20 inches, average weight ~7.5 pounds.
Motor development:
Reflexes: inborn, automatic responses to particular stimuli: swallowing, sucking,
rooting, grasping, stepping, Babinski, Moro.
Milestones (average ages): sitting without support ~6 mo, crawling ~9 mo, standing ~11
mo, cruising ~12 mo, walking without help ~13 mo, running ~18-24 mo.
Variability! The ages are averages, and healthy babies differ a lot in when they hit
milestones.
Social development: attachment:
Attachment: an enduring bond with others; inf ants form attachments to caregivers.
Harlow & Zimmerman: inf ant rhesus monkeys in a cage with two surrogate "moms.
"
Result: 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.
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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: quality of care, especially caregiver sensitivity.
Benefits of secure attachment: better conflict management, less aggression, more
empathy and prosocial behavior , better social competence/peer relations.
8. Intelligence
What is intelligence? Ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to
new situations.
General intelligence (g): a single f actor that predicts performance across many
different mental tasks.
Fluid vs. crystallized: fluid = reasoning and solving novel problems; crystallized =
accumulated knowledge and skills (vocabulary , f acts).
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). Check your textbook figure for the full list.
Behavioral genetic designs:
Family studies: how traits run in f amilies; 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).
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9. Reading: W oolley, Aggarwal & Malone (2015), Collective
Intelligence
Collective intelligence (c): the ability of a group to perform well across a wide variety
of tasks; analogous to g in individuals.
Method: groups of 2-5 people spent ~5 hours doing varied tasks (brainstorming,
verbal/math puzzles, negotiation, moral reasoning). F actor analysis found one
dominant factor explaining 43% of variance in group performance (similar to the 30-
50% for individual intelligence).
c predicts performance on harder criterion tasks (checkers against a computer ,
architectural design) better than average individual intelligence (at least twice as
much variance). A verage/max member IQ correlated with c only moderately . Smart
people alone don't make a smart group.
Bottom-up predictors (group composition):
Average social perceptiveness of members (Reading the Mind in the Eyes test):
the strongest.
Proportion of women: significant, but largely explained by women's higher average
social perceptiveness.
Cognitive-style diversity: inverted U-shape. Moderate diversity is best; too similar
or too different hurts.
T op-down predictors (interaction): groups that communicate more and participate
more equally (turn-taking) are more collectively intelligent.
Did NOT predict c: group satisf action, social cohesiveness, psychological safety .
Replicated online (text chat) and across cultures. c predicted team learning over time
(MBA teams) and performance in a tacit coordination game.
T akeaway: unlike individual intelligence, it may be possible to increase a group's
collective intelligence.