ap psych test - all vocab

Scientific Foundations of Psych (10-14%)

• Psychology is derived from physiology (biology) and philosophy

• EARLY APPROACHES

  • Structuralism – used INTROSPECTION (act of looking inward to examine mental experience) to determine the underlying STRUCTURES of the mind

  • Functionalism – need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior

• APPROACHES KEY WORDS

  • Psychoanalytic/dynamic – unconscious, childhood

  • Behavioral – learned, reinforced

  • Humanistic – free will, choice, ideal, actualization

  • Cognitive – Perceptions, thoughts

  • Evolutionary – Genes

  • Biological – Brain, NTs

  • Sociocultural – society

  • Biopsychosocial – combo of above

• PEOPLE:

  • Mary Calkins: First Fem. Pres. of APA

  • Margaret Floy Washburn–1st fem. PhD

  • Charles Darwin: Natural selection & evolution

  • Dorothea Dix: Reformed mental institutions in U.S.

  • Stanley Hall: 1^st pres. of APA1^st  journal

  • William James: Father of American Psychology – functionalist

  • Wilhelm Wundt: Father of Modern Psychology – structuralist

• RANDOM TERMS

  • Basic research – purpose is to increase knowledge (rats)

  • Applied research – purpose is to help people

  • Psychologist – research or counseling – MS or PhD

  • Psychiatrist – prescribe medications and diagnose – M.D.

Research Design

• EXPERIMENT : 

Adv: researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect Disadv: difficult to generalize

• Independent Variable: purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

  • Experimental Group: received the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple exp, groups

  • Control Group: placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1

  • Placebo Effect: show behaviors associated with the exp. group when having received placebo

• Dependent Variable: measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

  • Double-Blind: Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

  • Single-Blind: only participant blind – used if experimenter can’t be blind (gender, age, etc)

• Quasi-experimental design – random assignment to conditions is impossible (can’t randomly assign gender)

• Operational Definition: clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables – allows replication

• Confound: error/ flaw in study

• Random Assignment: assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random –increase chance of equal representation among groups (spreads the lefties across both groups)

• Random Sample (selection): method for choosing participants for your study –everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

  • Assignment and sampling can be done via names in a hat, computer generation, etc

• Representative Sample: Sample mimics the general pop. (ethnic, gender, age)

• Stratified Sampling: if you need to ensure a rep. sample you can separate your population before you sample (ex. make sure get 80% women, 20% men)

• CORRELATION: 

Adv: identify relationship between two variables Disadv: No cause and effect (CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION)

• Positive Correlation – variables increase & decrease together

• Negative Correlation – as one variable increases the other decreases

• The stronger the # the stronger the relationship REGARDLESS of the pos/neg sign. Cannot be < or > than 1.

• Stronger relationships = tighter clusters on graph

  • 3^rd variable problem (lurking variable)– diff. variable is responsible for relationship (breast implants & suicide)

  • Illusory correlation – belief of correlation that doesn’t exist (old man predicts rain from arthritis)

• SURVEYS: usually turned into correlation. Subject to:

  • Social desirability – ppl lie to look good

  • Wording effects – how you frame the question can impact your answers (see Loftus in Cognition)

• NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION: Adv: real world validity (observe people in their own setting) Disadv: No cause and effect

• CASE STUDY: 

Adv. Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail – lots of info Disadv: No cause and effect

• DESCRIPTIVE STATS:shape of the data

  • Measures of Central Tendency:

    • Mean: Average (use in normal distribution)

    • Median: Middle # (use in skewed distribution)

    • Mode: occurs most often

• Skews – created by outlers

  • Neg skew = left skew

  • Pos skew = right skew

• INFERENTIAL STATISTICS: establishes significance (meaningfulness) 

• STATISTICAL SIGNIFANCE = results not due to chance, exp.manipulation caused the difference in means

• ETHICAL GUIDELINES (IRB APPROVAL NEEDED FOR PPL)

  • Confidentiality: names kept secret

  •  Informed Consent: must agree to be part of study

  • Debriefing: must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

  • Deception must be warranted

  • No harm– mental/physical

Biological Basis 

(8-10%)

*NT = neurotransmitter, AP = action potential, NS = nervous system

• NEURON: Basic cell of the NS

  • Dendrites: Receive incoming NTs

  • Soma: Cell body (includes nucleus)

  • Axon: AP travels down this

  • Myelin Sheath: speeds up AP down axon, protects axon, MS destroys this

  • Terminals: release NTs – send signal onto next neuron

  • Vesicles: sacs inside terminal contain NTs (rhymes w/?)

  • Synapse: gap b/w neurons

• Action Potential: movement of Na and K ions across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon (more Na outside – like a salty banana)

  • All or none law: stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)

  • Refractory period: neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets

• Sensory neurons – receive sense signals

• Afferent neurons  brainAccepts signals

• Motor neurons –  signals to move

• Efferent neurons – signal Exits brain

• Interneurons – cells in spinal cord responsible for reflex loop

• CENTRAL NS: Brain and spinal cord

• PERIPHERAL NS: Rest of the NS

  • Somatic NS: Voluntary movement

  • Autonomic NS: Involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)

    • Sympathetic NS: Arouses the body for fight/flight (generally activates – sympathetic to you getting eaten by a tiger helps you run away)

    • Parasympathetic NS: established homeostasis after a sympathetic response (generally inhibits)

• NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NT): Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons

  • GABA: Major inhibitory NT

  • GlutamatE: Major Excitatory NT (get excited when seeing your mates!

  • Dopamine: Reward & movement

  • Serotonin: Moods and emotion

  • Acetylcholine (ACh): Memory

  • Epinephrine & Norepinephrine: sympathetic NS arousal

  • Endorphins: pain control

  • Oxytocin: love and bonding

• Agonist: drug that mimics a NT

• Antagonist: drug that blocks a NT

• Reuptake: Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake – treatment for depression

• AREAS OF THE BRAIN:

• Hindbrain: oldest part of the brain

• Cerebellum – movement/balance (walking a tightrope balancing a bell)

• Medulla – vital organs (HR, BP)

• Pons – bridge b/w regions – basic functions

• Midbrain

  • Reticular formation: alertness 

• Forebrain: higher thought processes

  • Limbic System

    • Amygdala: emotions, fear (Amy, da! You’re so emotional!)

    • Hippocampus: memory (if you saw a hippo on campus you’d remember it!)

    • Hypothalamus: Reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors – link to endocrine system

• Thalamus: relay center for all but smell (you MUST (thalaMUST) use your thalamus, unless its MUSTY – smell)

• Cerebral Cortex: outer portion of the brain – higher order thought processes

  • Occipital Lobe: vision – mom’s eyes!

  • Frontal Lobe: decision making, planning, judgment, movement, personality

  • Parietal Lobe: sensations

  • Temporal Lobe: hearing and face recognition

  • Somatosensory Cortex: map of our touch receptors –in parietal lobe *can only mention touch in FRQ

  • Motor Cortex: map of our motor receptors – located in frontal lobe

• Left hemisphere only – damage results in aphasia (damaged speech)

  • Broca’s Area: Inability to produce speech (Broca – Broken speech) 

  • Wernicke’s Area: can’t comprehend speech (Wernicke’s what?)

• Corpus Callosum: bundle of nerves that connects the 2 hemispheres – sometimes severed in patients with severe seizures – leads to “split-brain patients”

  • Split-brain experiments: done by Sperry & Gazzaniga. 

  • Image shown to R eye processed in L hemi – patient can say what they saw; image shown to L eye processed in R hemi, can’t say what was seen

• BRAIN  PLASTICITY: Brain can “heal” itself (brain is malleable)

• NATURE VS. NURTURE: ANSWER IS BOTH

  • Twin Studies: 

    • Identical twins – Monozygotic (MZ)

    • Fraternal twins – Dizygotics (DZ)

  • Genetics: MZ twins will have a higher percentage of also developing a disease

  • Environment: MZ twins raised in different environments show differences

• ENDOCRINE SYSTEM: sends hormones throughout the body

  • Pituitary Gland: Controlled by hypothalamus. release growth hormones

  • Adrenal Glands: related to sympathetic NS: releases adrenaline

• BRAIN IMAGING:

  • EEG: brain activity – not specific 

  • XRAY: not useful, doesn’t show tissues

  • CT / MRI: shows structures (tumors)

  • PET: glucose shows brain activity (when in doubt pick this one)

  • fMRI: oxygen shows activity: real time

  • lesion – destruction of brain tissue 

• STATES of CONSCIOUSNESS: 

  • Higher-Level: controlled processes – totally aware

  • Lower-Level: automatic processing (daydreaming, phone numbers)

  • Altered States: produced through drugs, fatigue, hypnosis

  • Subconscious: Sleeping and dreaming

  • No awareness: Knocked out

• SLEEP:

  • Beta Waves: awake (you betta be awake for the exam)

  • Alpha Waves: high amp., drowsy

  • NREM (non REM) stages-

  • Stage 1: light sleep

  • Stage 2: bursts of sleep spindles

  • Stage 3 Delta waves: Deep sleep

  • Rapid Eye Movement (REM): dreaming, cognitive processing

Entire cycle takes 90 minutes, REM occurs inb/w each cycle. REM lasts longer throughout the night

• CIRCADIAN RHYTHM: 24 hour biological clock of Body temp & sleep

  • Controlled by the Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain

  • Explains jet lag 

• SLEEP DISORDERS

  • Insomnia: Inability to fall asleep (due to stress/anxiety)

  • Sleep walking/talking: (due to fatigue, drugs, alcohol) – NOT during REM

  • Night terrors: extreme nightmares – NOT in REM sleep – typical in children 

  • Narcolepsy: fall asleep out of nowhere (due to deficiency in orexin)

  • Sleep Apnea: stop breathing suddenly while asleep (due to obesity usually)

• DREAM THEORIES: 

  • Freud’s Unconscious Wish Fulfillment: Dreaming is gratification of unconscious desires and needs

    • Latent Content: hidden meaning 

    • Manifest Content: obvious storyline 

• Activation Synthesis: Brain produces random bursts of energy – stimulating lodged memories in limbic sys. Dreams start random then develop meaning

• PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS:

  • Triggers dopamine release in the brain

  • Depressants: Alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates (narcotics)

    • Decrease sympathetic NS activation, highly addictive

  • Stimulants: Amphetamines, Cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), Caffeine, Nicotine

    • Increase sympathetic NS activation, highly addictive

  • Hallucinogens: LSD, Marijuana

    • Causes hallucinations, less addictive

  • Tolerance: Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects

  • Dependence: Become addicted to the drug – must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms

  • Withdrawal: Psychological and physiological symptoms associated with sudden stoppage. Unpleasant – can kill you. 

Sensation & Perception

(6 – 8%)

• ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD: detection of signal 50% of time (is it there)

• DIFFERENCE THRESHOLD (also called a just noticeable difference (JND) and follows WEBER’S LAW: two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum proportion. (Can you tell a change (stronger / weaker?)

• SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY: detection depends on experience, expectations, alertness, etc. (more likely to notice a door slam outside when waiting on the pizza guy)

• Sensory Adaptation: diminished sensitivity as a result of constant stimulation (can you feel your underwear?) 

• Sensory Habituation: diminished sensitivity due to regular exposure (do you notice the train?)

• Perceptual Set: tendency to see something as part of a group – speeds up signal processing

• Inattentional Blindness: failure to notice something added b/c you’re so focused on another task (gorilla video)

• Change Blindness: failure to notice a change in the scene (door study)

• Cocktail party effect: notice your name across the room when its spoken, when you weren’t previously paying attention

• VISUAL SYSTEM:

  • Cornea – protects the eye

  • Pupil/iris – controls light entering eye

  • Lens – focuses light on retina

  • Retina – contains rods and cones

  • Fovea–area of best vision(cones here)

  • Rods – black/white, dim light

  • Cones – color, bright light (red, green, blue)

  • Bipolar cells – connect rods/cones and ganglion cells

  • Ganglion – create optic nerve

  • Blind spot – occurs where the optic nerve leaves the eye

  • Feature detectors – specialized cells that see shapes, lines, etc. located in occipital lobe (experiments by Hubel & Weisel)

• THEORIES OF COLOR VISION:

  • Trichromatic – three cones for receiving color (blue, red, green)

    • Explains color blindness - they are missing a cone type

  • Opponent Process – complementary colors are processed in ganglion cells – explains why we see an after image

• Visual Capture: Visual system overwhelms all others (nauseous in an IMAX theater – vision trumps vestibular)

• Constancies: recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input (size, shape, brightness)

• Phi Phenomenon: adjacent lights blink on/off in succession – looks like movement (traffic signs with arrows)

• Stroboscopic movement: motion produced by a rapid succession of slightly varying images (animations) 

• MONOCULAR CUES (how we form a 3D image from a 2D image)

  • Interposition: overlapping images appear closer

  • Relative Size: 2 objects that are usually similar in size, the smaller one is further away

  •  Linear Perspective: parallel lines converge with distance (think railroad tracks)

  • Relative Clarity: hazy objects appear further away

  • Texture Gradient: coarser objects are closer

  • Relative Height: things higher in our field of vision look further away

  • Motion Parallax: closer objects appear to move faster than objects that are farther

• BINOCULAR CUES: (how both eyes make up a 3D image)

  • Retinal Disparity: Image is cast slightly different on each retina, location of image helps us determine depth

  • Convergence: Eyes strain more (looking inward) as objects draw nearer

• TOP-DOWN PROCESSING: Whole 🡪 smaller parts (painting w/ faces)

• BOTTOM-UP PROCESSING: Smaller Parts 🡪 Whole (dog of bunch of dots)

• AUDITORY SYSTEM:

  • Pathway of sound: sound 🡪 pinna 🡪 auditory canal 🡪ear drum (tympanic membrane) 🡪 hammer, anvil, stirrup (HAS) 🡪 oval window 🡪 cochlea 🡪 auditory nerve 🡪 temporal lobes

  • Outer Ear: pinna (ear), auditory canal

  • Middle Ear: ear drum, HAS (bones vibrate to send signal)

  • Inner Ear: cochlea – like COCHELLA (sounds 1^st processed here); basilar membrane is IN the cochlea 

• THEORIES OF HEARING: both occur in the cochlea

  • Place theory – location where hair cells bends determines sound (high pitches)

  • Frequency theory – rate at which action potentials are sent determines sound (low pitches)

• COMMON ILLUSIONS:

  • Muller-lyer – doesn’t work on cultures w/o exposure to modern architecture 

  • Ponzo – happens due to linear perspective

  • McGurk effect – see mouth saying ba or fa overrides what you actually hear (va)

• OTHER SENSES:

  • Touch: Mechanoreceptors 🡪 spinal cord 🡪 thalamus 🡪 somatosensory cortex

  • Vestibular: Sense of balance (semicircular canals in the inner ear effect this)

  • Kinesthetic (proprioception): Sense of body position (neurons in ligaments & body tell you this)

  • Pain (nociception): Gate-control theory: we have a “gate” to control how much pain is experienced

  • Taste (gustation): 5 taste receptors: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, umami (savory)

  • Smell (olfaction): Only sense that does NOT route through the thalamus 1st. Goes to temporal lobe and amygdala

• GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY: Whole is greater than the sum of its parts

  • Gestalt Principles: 

    • Figure/ground: organize information into figures objects (figures) that stand apart from surrounds (back ground)

    • Closure: mentally fill in gaps

    • Proximity: group things together that appear near each other

    • Similarity: group things together based off of looks

    • Continuity: tendency to mentally form a continuous line

Learning

(7-9 %)

   CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: PAVLOV!

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): causes response w/o needing to be learned (food)

• Unconditioned Response (UCR): response that naturally occurs w/o training (salivate)

• Neutral Response (NS): stimulus that normally doesn’t evoke a response (bell)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): once NS that now brings about a response (bell)

• Conditioned Response (CR): response after conditioning, follows a CS (salivate)

• Contiguity: Timing of the pairing, NS/CS must be presented .5-1 sec BEFORE the US

• Acquisition: process of learning the response pairing

• Extinction: previously conditioned response dies out over time

• Spontaneous Recovery: After a period of time the CR comes back out of nowhere

• Generalization: CR to like stimuli (similar sounding bell)

• Discrimination: CR to ONLY the CS (only drool to that one bell, no others)

CONTINGENCY MODEL: Rescorla & Wagner – classical conditioning involves cognitive processes

CONDITIONED TASTE AVERSION (ONE-TRIAL LEARNING): John Garcia – Innate predispositions can allow classical conditioning to occur in one trial (food poisoning)

John Watson (father of behaviorism) and Little Albert – conditioned a fear in a baby – eventually leads to behavioral treatments for fear (counterconditioning) 

OPERANT CONDITIONING: SKINNER!

• LAW OF EFFECT (Thorndike): Behaviors followed by pos. outcomes are strengthened, neg. outcomes weaken a behavior (cat in the puzzle box)

• PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT COND:

  • Pos. Reinforcement: Add something nice to increase a behavior (gold star for turning in HW)

  • Neg. Reinforcement: Take away something bad/annoying to increase a behavior (put on seatbelt to take away annoying car signal)

  • Pos. Punishment: Add something bad to decrease a behavior (spanking)

  • Neg. Punishment: Take away something good to decrease a behavior (take away car keys)

  • Primary Reinforcers: innately satisfying (food and water)

  • Secondary Reinforcers: everything else (stickers, high-fives)

    • Token Reinforcer: type of secondary- can be exchanged for other stuff (game tokens or money)

  • Generalization: respond to similar stimulus for reward

  • Discrimination: stimulus signals when behavior will or will not be reinforced (light on means response are accepted)

  • Extinction / Spontaneous Recovery: same as classical conditioning

  • Overjustification Effect: reinforcing behaviors that are intrinsically motivating causes you to stop doing them (give a child 5$ for reading when they already like to read – they stop reading)

  • Shaping: use successive approximations to train behavior (reward desired behaviors to teach a response – rat basketball)

  • Continuous Reinforcement schedule: Receive reward for every response

  • Fixed Ratio schedule: Reward every X number of response (every 10 envelopes stuffed get $$)

  • Fixed Interval schedule: Reward every X amount of time passed (every 2 weeks get a paycheck)

  • Variable Ratio schedule: Rewarded after a random number of responses (slot machine

  • Variable Interval schedule: Rewarded after a random amount of time has passed (fishing)

  • Variable schedules are most resistant to extinction (how long will keep playing a slot machine before you think its broken?)

SOCIAL (OBSERVATIONAL) LEARNING: BANDURA!

• Modeling Behaviors: Children model (imitate) behaviors. Study used BoBo dolls to demonstrate the following

  • Prosocial – helping behaviors

  • Antisocial – mean behaviors

• MISC LEARNING TYPES

  • Latent learning (Tolman!) – learning is hidden until useful (rats in maze get reinforced half way through, performance improved

    • Cognitive maps – mental representation of an area, allows navigation if blocked

  • Insight learning (Kohler!) – some learning is through simple intuition (chimps with crates to get bananas)

  • Learned Helplessness – no matter what you do you never get a positive outcome so you just give up (word scrambles)

Cognition

(13 – 17%)

ENCODING: Getting info into memory

• Automatic encoding – requires no effort (what did you have for breakfast?)

• Effortful encoding – requires attention (school work)

• Shallow, intermediate, deep processing: the more emphasis on MEANING the deeper the processing, and the better remembered

• Imagery – attaching images to information makes it easier to remember (shoe w/ spaghetti laces)

• Self-referent encoding – we better remember what we’re interested in (you’d remember someone’s phone number who you found extremely attractive)

• Dual encoding – using multiple methods of processing to remember (photo + words)

• Chunking – break info into smaller units to aid in memory (like a phone #)

• Mnemonics – shortcuts to help us remember info easier 

  • Acronyms – using letter to remember something (PEMDAS)

  • Method of loci – using locations to remember a list of items in order

  • Peg-word – using a rhyme w/ imagery to remember lists in order

• Context dependent memory – where you learn the info you best remember the info (scuba divers testing)

• State dependent memory – the physical state you were in when learning is the way you should be when testing (study high, test high)

• Depth of Processing – the deeper (more effort, thought) you think about something the more you remember

STORAGE: Retaining info over time

• Information Processing Model – Sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory model

• Sensory Memory – stores all incoming stimuli that you receive (first you have to a pay attention)

  • Iconic Memory – visual memory, lasts 0.3 seconds

  • Echoic Memory – auditory memory, lasts 2-3 seconds

• Short Term Memory – info passes from sensory memory to STM – lasts 30 secs, and can remember 7 ± 2 items

  • Rehearsal (repeating the info) resets the clock

• Working Memory Model splits STM into 2 – visual spatial memory (from iconic mem) and phonological loop (from echoic mem). A “central executive” puts it together before passing it to LTM

• Long term memory – lasts a life time

  • Explicit (Declarative): Conscious recollection

    • Episodic: events

    • Semantic: facts

  • Implicit (Nondeclarative): unconscious recollection

    • Classical conditioning

    • Priming: info that is seen earlier “primes” you to remember something later on 

    • Procedural: skills (muscle memory)** needs to CLEARLY be an example w/o conscious thought on FRQ

• Memory organization

  • Hierarchies: memory is stored according to a hierarchy

  • Semantic networks: linked memories are stored together 

  • Schemas: preexisting mental concept of how something should look (like a restaurant)

• Memory storage

  • Acetylcholine neurons in the hippocampus for most memories

  • Cerebellum for procedural memories

  • Long-term potentiation: neural basis of memory – connections are strengthened over time with repeated stimulation (more firing of neurons)

RETRIEVAL: Taking info out of storage

• Serial Position Effect: tendency to remember the beginning (primacy effect) and the end (recency effect) of the list best

• Recall: remember what you’ve been told w/o cues (essays)

• Recognition: remember what you’ve been told w/ cues (MC)

• Flashbulb memories: particularly vivid memories for highly important events (9/11 attacks)

• Repressed memories: unconsciously buried memories – are unreliable

• Encoding failure: forget info b/c you never encoded it (paid attention to it) in the first place (which is the real penny)

• Encoding specificity principle: the more closely retrieval cues match the way we learned the info, the better we remember the info (like state dependent memory)

• Forgetting curve: recall decreases rapidly at first, then reaches a plateau after which little more is forgotten (EBBINGHAUS)

• Proactive interference

OLD info blocks new info

• Retroactive interference

NEW info blocks old info

• Misinformation effect: distortion of memory by suggestion or misinformation (Loftus – lost in the mall, Disney land)

• Framing – the way a question is framed impacts how info is recalled / perceived (how fast were the cars going when they smashed)

• Anterograde amnesia: amnesia moves forward (forget new info – 50 first dates)

• Retrograde amnesia: amnesia moves backwards (forget old info)

• Source Amnesia: forget who told you, where you heard it

• ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: caused by destruction of acetylcholine in hippocampus

LANGUAGE

• Phonemes: smallest unit of sound (ch sound in chat)

• Morpheme: smallest unit that caries meaning (-ed means past tense)

• Grammar: rules in a language that enable us to communicate

• Semantics: set of rules by which we derive meaning (adding –ed makes something past tense)

• Syntax: rules for combining words into sentences (white house vs casa blanca)

• Surface structures: actual written/ spoken message 

• Deep structures: intended meaning (I never said she stole my money – has 7 different interpretations)

• Babbling stage: 1^st stage of speech

• One-word stage: duh

• Two-word stage: duh duh (telegraphic speech)

• Theories of language development:

  • Behavioral Theory (SKINNER): learn language through pos. reinforcement

    • Imitation: Kids repeat what they hear 

  • Nativistic theory (lang. acquisition device): NOAM CHOMSKY –language is innate / biological; we are predisposed to learn

    • Overregularization: grammar mistake- children over use certain morphemes (I go-ed to the park)

  • Critical period: period of time where something must be learned or else it cannot ever happen (language must be learned young – Genie the Wild Child)

  • Linguistic determinism: language influences the way we think (Hopi have no words for past, do not think about the past) developed by WHORF

THINKING

• Metacognition: thinking about (reflecting upon) the way you think

• Concepts: mental categories used to group objects, events, characteristics

• Prototypes: all instances of a concept are compared to an ideal example (what you first think of)

• Algorithms: step by step strategies that guarantee a solution (formula)

• Heuristics: short cut strategy (rule of thumb)

  • Representative Heuristic: make judgment based on your experience (like a stereotype) – assume someone must be a librarian b/c they’re quiet

  • Availability heuristic: make a judgement based on the first thing that pops in your head (assume planes are dangerous b/c crash in the news)

• Mental Set - keep using one strategy to solve a problem – cannot think outside the box

• Functional Fixedness: can only see one (common) use for an item– cannot think outside of the box

• Belief bias: tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning by making invalid conclusions

• Belief perseverance: cling to our beliefs in the face on contrary evidence

• Confirmation bias: look for evidence to support what we already believe

• Inductive reasoning: data drives decisions,(inductive ends with an idea (I/I)

• Deductive reasoning: driven by logic, deductive ends w/ data (d/d)

• Divergent thinking: ability to think about many different things at once (Creative)

• Convergent thinking: limits creativity – one answer 

INDIVIDUAL THEORIES ABOUT INTELLIGENCE

• GALTON: 1^st to suggest intelligence was inherited. Supported eugenics. 

• CATTELL: 2 clusters of mental abilities

  • Crystalized intelligence: language skills and facts - what you learn in school –hard (like crystals!) facts, increase w/ age

  • Fluid intelligence: spatial abilities, processing speed, abstract thinking – can’t learn in school. decrease w/ age

• SPEARMAN’S G FACTOR: said a general intelligence (g) underlies all mental abilities (typical IQ of today)

• GARDNER: multiple intelligences (8): linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (self), interpersonal (others), naturalist

• STERNBERG: TRIARCHIC THEORY

  • Analytical: mental components to solve problems, what IQ tests assess (book smarts)

  • Practical: ability to size up new situations and adapt to real-life demands (street smarts)

  • Creative: intellectual and motivational processes that lead to novel solutions, idea, products

• BINET: developed 1^st intelligence test, combined with TERMAN – developed the STANFORD-BINET IQ TEST

• Chronological age = actual age

• Mental age = tested age compared to other of that age

• 100 is average

• WECHSLER: developed the WAIS and WISC – most commonly used today

• FLYNN effect: IQ has steadily risen over the past 80 years – probably due to education standards and better IQ tests

• Extremes of Intelligence: high IQ = above 135; intellectually disadvantage = below 70

• Causes of mild intellectual disadvantage:

  • PKU – liver fails to produce an enzyme needed to breakdown chemicals – leads to brain damage

  • Down syndrome – extra copy of 21^st chromosome

  • Fragile X – higher chance in boys due to ONE X chromosome

• Influence on IQ:

  • Genetics: MZ twins have similar IQ, adopted kids more similar to biological parents

  • Environment: early neglect leads to lower IQ, good schooling to higher IQ

• Types of Tests:

  • Aptitude: predicts your abilities to learn a new skill (ASVAB)

  • Achievement: tests what you know(SAT)

• TEST CREATION:

  • Standardization: administer a test to a representative sample of future test takers to establish a basis for meaningful comparison (test it out 1^st)

  • Should be reliable: same results over time

    • Split-half reliability: compare two halves of the test

    • Test-retest reliability: use the same test on 2 different occasions

  • Should be valid: test is accurate – measures what it is intended to

    • Content validity: test measures what you want it to (an IQ test actually measures IQ)

    • Predictive validity: test is able to accurately predict a trait (high math scores predicts good engineer)

• Standardized tests establish a normal distribution

• Standard deviations are used to compare scores.

Standard deviation measures how much the scores vary from the mean. The percentages stay the same in every curve 

Development

(7-9%)

• Prenatal Development: 

  • Zygote: 0 – 14 days, cells are dividing

  • Embryo: until about 9 weeks, vital organs being formed

  • Fetus: 9 wks to birth

  • Teratogens: external agents that can cause abnormal prenatal development (alcohol, drugs, etc)

    • Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): large amount of alcohol leads to FAS, causes deformities, mental disability, death

• Physical Development: 

  • Maturation: natural course of development, occurs no matter what (walking)

  • Reflexes: innate responses we’re born w/

    • Rooting, sucking, swallowing, grasping, Moro (startle), stepping, Babinski (toes spread when foot touched)

  • Eyes have the most limited development, takes till 1 year

    • Visual cliff: babies have to learn depth perception, so they will cross a “cliff”

  • Other senses are fairly developed

• JEAN PIAGET’S COGNITIVE DEV.

• Schemas – concepts or frameworks that organize info

• Assimilation: incorporate new info into existing schema (aSSimlation – same stuff). Cat is a dog b/c 4 legs. 

• Accommodation: adjust existing schemas to incorporate new information (ACcommodation -  All Change). Cat and dogs = different.

• Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years: focused on exploring the world around them

  • Lack Object Permanence: Objects when removed from field of view are thought to disappear (peek-a-boo)

  • Dev. Sense of Self: by 2 yrs can recognize themselves in the mirror (blush test)

• Pre-operational Stage: 2 – 7 years: use pretend play, developing language, using intuitive reasoning

  • Lack Conservation: recognize that substances remain the same despite changes in shape, length, or position (girls with juice in glasses)

  • Lack Reversibility: cannot do reverse operations (count out both 4+2 and 2+4)

  • Are egocentric: inability to distinguish one’s own perspective from another’s – think everyone sees what they see

• Concrete Operational Stage: 7-11 yrs: use operational thinking, classification, and can think logical in concrete context

• Formal Operational Stage: 11-15 yrs: use abstract and idealist thoughts, hypothetical-deductive reasoning

• Problems with Piaget’s theory: stages too discrete, dev. differs b/w kids

• VYGOTSKY’S THEORY: cognitive development is a social process too, need to interact w/ others

  • Zone of Proximal Development: gap b/w what a child can do on their own and w/ support. Need scaffolding (teachers)

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Temperament: patterns of emotional reactions and babies (precursor to personality)

• Imprinting: baby geese believe the first thing they see after hatching is their mom – happens during a critical period (from LORENZ)

• HARRY HARLOW: discovered that contact comfort is more important than feeding (monkeys fed on wire or cloth mothers). Monkeys raised in isolation couldn’t socialize

• BAUMRIND: parenting styles

  • Authoritarian: rules & obedience, “my way or the highway” – kids lack initiative in college

  • Permissive: kids do whatever – no rules – kids lack initiative in college

  • Authoritative: give and take w/ kids – kids become socially competent and reliable – best type

• MARY AINSWORTH: developed the strange situation paradigm (children left alone in a room w/ a stranger, then reunited w/ mom – determines your attachment style

  • Secure attachment (60% of infants): upset when mom leaves, easily calmed on return. Tend to be more stable adults

  • Avoidant attachment (20% infants): actively avoids mom, doesn’t care when she leaves

  • Ambivalent attachment(10% infants): actively avoids mom, freaks out when she leaves

  • Disorganized attachment (5%): confused, fearful, dazed – result of abuse

• KOHLBERG’S MORAL DEV

  • Preconventional morality: Children: they follow rules to avoid punishment 

  • Conventional morality: adolescents:  follow rules b/c it’s the law, or to gain social approval

  • Postconventional morality: adults: they do what they believe is right (even if it goes against society)

• Carol Gilligan: said moral reasoning and moral behaviors are two different things (what you say isn’t always what you do)

• Also said mean use “justice” for postcon. women use “caring for others”

• ERIKSON’S SOCIOEMOTINAL DEV. : each stage represents a crisis that must be resolved, results in competence or weakness

  • Trust vs Mistrust (birth – 18 months): if needs are met infants dev basic trust

  • Autonomy vs shame&doubt (1 -3 yrs): learn to exercise their will (I WANT TO DO IT – pours milk)

  • Initiative vs guilt (3-6 yrs): learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans (WHY kid)

  • Industry vs inferiority (6 yrs to puberty): learn what you’re good or accomplished at (school / sports success)

  • Identity vs role confusion: (adolescence thru 20s): refine a sense of self by testing roles and forming an identity

  • Intimacy vs isolation: (20s—40s): form close relationships and gain capacity for love

  • Generativity vs stagnation: (40s-60s): discover sense of contributing to the world, thru family & work

  • Integrity vs despair: (60s and up): reflect on your life, feel satisfaction or failure

• PUBERTY! (rapid skeletal and sexual maturation)

  • Primary sex characteristics: necessary structures for reproduction (ovaries, testicles, vagina, penis)

  • Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive characteristics that dev during puberty (breasts, hips, deepening of voice, body hair)

  • Frontal lobe continuous dev (not fully developed till 25)

• GENDER DEVELOPMENT: sex = chromosomes, gender = what you identify yourself as

  • Gender roles: expected behaviors (norms) for men/women

  • Social learning theory: we learn gender roles and identity from those around us

• AGING: 

  • Cellular clock theory: cells have a maximum # of divisions before they can’t divide anymore

  • Free-radical theory: unstable oxygen molecules w/in cells damage DNA 

  • Over time skills decrease (reaction time, memory)

• CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY: studies ppl of different ages at the same point in time

  • Adv: inexpensive & quick

  • Disadv: can be differences due to generational gap

• LONGITUDINAL STUDY: studies same ppl over time

  • Adv: eliminates groups (cohort) differences, lots of detail

  • Disadv: expensive, time consuming, high drop out rates

Motivation, Emotion, and Personality

(11-15%)

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

• INSTINCT: complex behaviors have fixed patterns and are not learned (explains animal motivation) 

• DRIVE REDUCTION: physiological need creates aroused tension (drive) that motivates you to satisfy the need (driven by homeostasis:  equilibrium). “I’m hungry, I seek out food to decrease my hunger”

  • Primary drive: unlearned drive based on survival (hunger, thirst)

  • Secondary drive: learned drive (wealth or success)

• INCENTIVE THEORY: driven by external rewards 

  • Intrinsic motivation: inner motivation – you do it b/c you like it

  • Extrinsic motivation: motivation to obtain a reward (trophy)

• COGNITIVE DISSONANCE:  (FESTINGER): two opposing thoughts conflict w/ each other, causing discomfort (dissonance), which makes us find ways to justify the situation (cult that was going to be abducted by aliens, smokers)

• OPTIMUM AROUSAL (ALSO CALLED THE YERKES DODSON LAW): humans seek optimum levels of arousal –easier tasks requires more arousal, harder tasks need less

• HIERARCHY OF NEEDS: theory derived by MASLOW – needs lower in the pyramid have priority over needs higher in the pyramid

HUNGER

• Signals of hunger:

  • Stomach contractions tell us we’re hungry

  • Glucose (sugar) level is maintained by the pancreas (endocrine system).

  • Insulin decreases glucose. Too little glucose makes us hungry. 

  • Hormones signal eat: orexin, Ghrelin

  • Hormones signal stop: PYY, leptin

  • Lateral hypothalamus: stimulated makes you hungry; lesioned you will never eat again. (I’m LATE for lunch. I’m hungry. The LATEral hypothalamus makes you hungry.)

• Ventromedial hypothalamus: when stimulated you feel full, when destroyed you eat eat eat eat 

• Obesity:

  • Increased risk of heart attack, hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes

  • Can be genetic – adopted children resemble their biological parents

  • Set point: control system dictates how much fat you should carry – every person is different

Eating Disorders:

• Anorexia: weight loss of at least 15% ideal weight, distorted body image

  • Causes: overly critical parents, perfectionist tendencies, societal ideals

• Bulimia: usually normal body weight, go through a binge-purge eating pattern (eat massive amounts, then throw up)

  • Causes: same as anorexia

• Binge Eating: engage in binge patterns only, no purge

SEXUALITY

• Biology of sex:

  • Hypothalamus: stimulation increases sexual behavior, destruction leads to sexual inhibition

    • Males – testosterone

    • Females - estrogen

  • Sexual Response Pattern: Excitement phase, plateau, orgasm, refractory period  (resolution phase) (cannot “fire” again until you reset, guys only)

  • Alfred Kinsey: created Kinsey scale of homosexuality (ranges on a spectrum) Studies lacked a representative sample

  • Homosexuality: biological roots: differences in the brain, identical twins more likely to both be gay, later sons more likely to be (hormones from mom)

THORIES OF EMOTIONS

Older Theories

• James Lange – Stimulus 🡪 Arousal (SNS) 🡪 Emotion

• Canon Bard – Stimulus 🡪 Arousal / Emotion simultaneous

New Theories

• Schacter Two Factor – Stimulus 🡪arousal 🡪 label / emotion simultaneous

• Lazarus Appraisal – Stimulus 🡪 Label 🡪Arousal / Emotion (LL – Lazarus Labels First)

Biological Theory (Le Doux)

• Some stimuli are routed directly to the amygdala bypassing the frontal cortex (gut reaction to a cockroach) 

• Behavioral factors: there are SIX universal emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, surprise, disgust, feat) seen across ALL cultures (Eckman’s theory)

• Non-verbal cues: gestures, duchenne smile (you can tell a real smile from a fake one)

• Facial feedback hypothesis: being forced to smile will make you happier (cartoon study with pen in mouth)

• Display Rules: social group or culture’s norms of how to express certain emotions

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCH

• Industrial / Organizational Psych: psychof the work – employee recruitment, training, satisfaction, productivity

• Ergonomics / Human Factors: intersection of engineering and psych – focuses on safety and efficiency of human-machine interactions

• Hawthorne effect: productivity increases when workers are made to feel important (teacher teaches when principal comes in)

• Theory X management: manager controls employees, enforces rules. Good for lower level jobs

• Theory Y management: manger gives employees responsibility, looks for input. Good for high level jobs

STRESS AND HEALTH

•  Problem-focused coping: solving or doing something to alter the course of stress (planning, acceptance)

• Emotion-focused coping: reducing the emotional distress (denial, disengagement)

• GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS): three phases of a stress response (SELYE came up w/ this)

  • Alarm: body/you freak out in response to stress

  • Resistance: body/you are dealing with stress

  • Exhaustion: body/you cannot take any more, give up

  • FRQ – MUST REFERENCE A PHYSIO REPSONSE

• Type A Personality: rigid, stressful person, perfectionist. At risk for heart disease

• Type B Personality: laid back, nonstressed. 

Theories of Conflict (Lewin)

• Approach approach conflict: win – win situation; conflict is which win you have to choose (you can eat out at ONE of your two favorite restaurants – you can only choose one though)

• Approach avoidance conflict: win – lose situation; outcome has positive and 

• negative aspects (marriage)

• Avoidance avoidance conflict : lose – lose; both outcomes are bad but you have to choose one (clean your room or do your homework)

• Multiple approach avoidance conflict: two (or more) win-lose situations; conflict is which to choose (College A is good for your major but no scholarship, College B is bad for your major but has a scholarship)

PERSONALITY THEORIES

PSYCHODYNAMIC EXPLANATION

SIGMUND FREUD said personality was largely unconscious. 

• Conscious: current awareness

• Preconscious: available to awareness (phone #s)

• Unconscious: unavailable to awareness 

• id: our hidden true animalistic wants and desires – operates on the pleasure principle, all about rewards and avoiding pain (devil on your shoulder – entirely unconscious)

• superego: our moral conscious (angel on your shoulder, all 3 consciousness)

• ego: reality principle, has to deal w/ society, stuck mediating b/w the id and superego (its you! – conscious and preconscious)

When ego cannot mediate b/w the id and superego, we use defense mechanisms

• Repression: push memories back into the unconscious mind (sexual abuse is too traumatic to deal w/ so you repress it)

• Projection: attribute personal shortcomings & faults on to others (man who wants to have an affair accuses his wife of one)

• Denial: refuse to acknowledge reality (refuse to believe you have cancer)

• Displacement; take feelings out on something else (can’t tell at teacher, go home and yell at the dog)

• Reaction formation: transform unacceptable motive into his opposite (woman who fears sexual urges becomes a religious zealot)

• Regression: go into an earlier development period in the face of stress (during exam week you start to suck your thumb)

• Rationalization: replace a less acceptable reasoning with a more acceptable one (don’t get into your college – justify it was a sucky college anyway)

• Sublimation: replace unacceptable impulse w/ a socially acceptable one (person who likes fighting becomes professional kickboxer)

FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES

• Oral stage (0-18 months): focuses on the mouth (born entirely id)

• Anal stage (18 – 36 months): involves eliminative functions (ego forms)

• Phallic stage (3 – 6 yrs): focuses on genitals (superego forms)

  • Oedipal complex: young boys learn to identify w/ their father out of fear of retribution (castration anxiety)

  • Electra complex: young girls learn to identify w/ their mother b/c they cannot with their father (penis envy)

• Latency stage (6 yrs to puberty): psychic time out – personality is set

• Genital State (adulthood): sexual reawakening – oedipal and electra “feelings” are repressed, turn sexual wants onto an appropriate person

• FIXATION: can become “stuck” in an earlier stage – influences personality (oral stage smokes/drinks, anal is “anal retentive”, phallic is promiscuous)

What’s wrong w/ Freud theory? – unverifiable, descriptive not predictive

What’s good about it? – 1^st theory about personality, sparked psychoanalysis

How do we test this approach?

• Psychoanalysis: analyze a person’s unconscious motives thru the use of:

  • Free Association: say aloud everything that comes to mind w/o hesitation

  • Transference: looks for feelings to transferred to psychoanalyst

  • Dream interpretation: analyze the manifest (seen message) and latent (hidden messages) content

  • Projective Tests: ambiguous stimuli shown to look at your unconscious motives (THESE ARE BAD B/C THEY ARE VERY SUBJECTIVE)

    • Thematic apperception test (TAT) : tell a story about a picture (when someone has a tattoo (tatt) you ask what it means

    • Rorschach inkblot: show an inkblot

NEO-FREUDIANS

• CARL JUNG: believed in the collective unconscious (shared inherited reservoir of memory – explains common myths across civilizations  & time)

• KAREN HORNEY: said personality develops in context of social relationships, NOT sexual urges (security not sex is motivation, men get womb envy)

• ALFRED ADLER: coined “inferiority complex” also argued a social nature

TRAIT PERSPECTIVE

• Traits: enduring personality characteristics, people can be described by these – have strong or weak tendencies. They are stable, genetic, and predict other attributes.

• Use factor analysis: statistical procedure used to identify similar components

• TRAIT THEORIES:

• Big Five: (by Costa & McCrae) (acronym OCEAN) You vary on each of these

  • Openness : high levels = imaginative, independent, like variety

  • Conscientiousness: high levels = organized, careful, disciplined

  • Extraversion: high levels = sociable, fun-loving, affectionate (opposite is introversion: shy, timid, reserved)

  • Agreeableness: high levels =  soft hearted, trusting, helpful

  • Neuroticism (emotional stability): low neuroticism (high stability) = calm, secure 

What’s wrong with trait theory? – ignores the role of the situation in behavior

What’s good about it?  - identifying traits gives us perspectives about careers, relationships, health

How do we test this approach?

• Personality Inventories like:

  • MMPI –for mental health and jobs

What’s wrong w/ these tests?

• They’re long, social desirability can be an influence, and they’re too broad

HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE

• Emphasized personal growth and free will. You don’t like yourself? So change!

• CARL ROGERS: talked about our self-concept (idea of who we are). Your self-concept is the center of your personality

  • Actual (social) self: what others see

  • Ideal (true) self: who you WANT to be

  • A positive self-concept makes us perceive the world positively (optimist)

  • A negative self-concept makes us feel dissatisfied and unhappy 

What wrong with humanistic theory?  - too optimistic about human nature, abstract concepts are difficult to test

What’s good about it? – emphasizes conscious experiences and change

• Individualistic Cultures: give priorities to own goals over group goals. Define your identify in terms of you (American society)

• Collectivistic Cultures: give priority to the goals of the group, your identity is part of that group (China)

SOCIAL-COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

• Behavior is a complex interaction of inner process and environmental influence – which influences personality

• Emphasizes conscious awareness, beliefs, expectations, and goals

• BANDURA! Talked about RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM: interaction of behavior, cognitions, and environment make up you.

{I’m outgoing (behavior), I choose to teach b/c it lets me be outgoing (environment), and I have thought this through which is why I teach despite making less money (cognitive)}

• Self-efficacy: belief that one can succeed, so you ensure you do through actions *****FRQ FAVORITE

• Internal locus of control: you control your own fate

• External locus of control: chance / outside forces control your fate

What’s wrong with social-cognitive? – Too specific, cannot generalize

What’s good about it? – Highlights situations, and cog. explanations 

How do we test it? – Observations & interviews (time consuming)

Clinical Psychology

(12 – 16%)

• Defining abnormal behavior:

  • Requires “clinically significant” disturbance in cognition, emotional regulation or behavior AND

  • Significant distress or disability social situations, occupations or other important activities

• Historical causes: biology, psychological issues, supernatural issues (demons)

• Medical model: emphasizes treatment of disorders, as they have a biological origin. 

• Biopsychosocial model: currently used model – stress biological, psychological, and social causes

• Diagnosing abnormal behavior:

  • DSM: manual listing all currently accepted psychological disorders. Classifies them based on criteria – provides no explanation of causes or treatments

• Dorothea Dix – reform movement – helped reform psychiatric care in early America

• Rosenhan study – indvs. Purposefully got admitted to institutions, caused reform in institutions again

ANXIETY DISORDERS

Most common disorders in the U.S.

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): person is generally anxious, all the time, for NO REASON

• Panic Disorder: person is prone to frequent panic attacks (feeling like you’re having a heart attack). Can come w/ agoraphobia: anxiety about being in places you cannot escape (fear of public spaces / people)

• Phobias: irrational fear that disrupts your life

CAUSES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS:

• Psychodynamic: repressed thoughts & feelings manifest in anxiety and rituals

• Behaviorist: fear conditioning leads to anxiety, which is then reinforced. Phobias might be learned through observational learning

Biological: natural selection favored those with certain phobias (heights). Twins often share disorders. Often see less GABA in the brain

SOMATOFORM DISORDERS

• Psych disorders w/ no physical cause

  • Conversion disorder: loss of feeling or usage of a limb or body part (sight) – absolutely no physiological cause though

  • Illness Anxiety Disorder: person obsesses over the possibility of having an illness (no physical symptoms)

  • Somatic Symptom Disorder: person interprets normal symptoms as a major disease

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

• Dissociative Identity Disorder: formerly multiple personalities – person fractures into several distinct personalities who normally have no awareness of each other. 

NOT SCHIZOPHRENIA!

• Usually caused by childhood abuse

• Dissociative Amnesia + Fugue: following a traumatic event a person leaves, taking on a whole new life & personality w/ no memory of the previous one

SCHIZOPHRENIA

NOT MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES! THEY HAVE ONE PERSONALITY! 

• SYMPTOMS

  • Positive Symptoms (not good – means something added))

    • Hallucinations: sensory experiences w/o sensory stimulation (seeing and/or hearing things)

    • Delusions: fixed, false beliefs (people are out to get them, grandiose thoughts (I am God)

    • Disorganized thinking, Disorganized speech

  • Negative Symptoms (something taken away)

    • Flat affect: lack ability to show emotions

    • Impaired decision making, inability to pay attention

  • Catatonia: become frozen over periods of time (exhibit waxy flexibility: can move them into new positions)

• CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

  • Brain abnormalities: enlarged ventricles (atrophy), smaller frontal cortex

  • Genetics: runs in families, MZ twins at higher risk

  • Dopamine hypothesis: too much dopamine in the brain 

  • Diathesis – Stress: individual has a genetic predisposition, disease must be “turned-on” by environmental stimuli (like stress) –most commonly developed during college years

DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

• Major depressive disorder: extreme sadness and despair, apathy towards life

• Disruptive mood regulation disorder: Frequent temper tantrums inconsistent with developmental level

• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): form of depression that occurs typically winter – found mostly in Northern areas (Alaska, Ireland) UNIQUE TREATMENT = LIGHT THERAPY

BIPOLAR DISORDERS

• Bipolar disorder: bouts of severe depression & manic episodes

  • Mania: heightened mood, characterized by risky behaviors, fast talking, flights of ideas

CAUSES OF DEPRESSIVE AND BIPOLAR DISORDERS

• Biology: lower levels of serotonin & norepinephrine linked to depression, higher levels of norepinephrine linked to mania. Runs in families suggesting GENES. Twin studies also support this.

• Cognitive: negative thought patterns leads to depression

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

• Marked by disruptive, inflexible, enduring behavior patterns – makes this very difficult to treat!

  • Antisocial: NOT “avoidant of socialization” – more like “anti-society” – disregard for others, manipulative, breaks laws

  • Borderline: instable interpersonal relationships & self-image

  • Histrionic: excessive emotionality & attention seeking 

  • Narcissistic: need for admiration & lack of empathy 

OTHER DISORDERS

• Obsessive-compulsive Disorders (OCD): person is overwhelmed with both:

  • Obsessions: persistent unwanted thoughts (did I leave the stove on?)

  • Compulsions: senseless rituals (hand washing)

• Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD): flashbacks, problems w/ concentration, and anxiety following a traumatic event (war, natural disasters)

• Autism Spectrum Disorder: usually diagnosed in childhood, characterized by an impairment in social relationships, communication, and activities

TREATMENT OF DISORDERS 

• PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH: SEE PERSONALITY SECTION

• HUMANISTIC APPROACH: 

  • Client-centered therapy: (developed by CARL ROGERS) techniques include active listening, accepting environment, focuses on patient growth (you figure out what needs to change and do it)

• COGNITIVE APPROACH:

  • Rational-emotive therapy: (developed by ELLIS) techniques include analyzing self-defeating behaviors to change thought patterns – and then change behaviors associated w/ said patterns

    • Best for anxiety disorders

    • Very confrontational

  • Cognitive therapy: (developed by BECK) illogical thoughts 🡪 psychological problems, challenges those thoughts 

    • Best for depression

    • Self-directed – you figure out your errors

• BEHAVIORAL APPROACH (typically used for anxiety disorders / phobias)

  • Classical Conditioning:

    • Counterconditioning Little Albert & Watson

      • Aversive conditioning: associate an unpleasant experience (e.g. nausea) w/ an unwanted behavior (e.g. drinking alcohol)

    • Exposure therapy: slowly expose people to whatever it is that makes them anxious

      • Systematic desensitization: associate a pleasant relaxed state w/ gradually increasing anxiety triggering stimuli (create a desensitization hierarchy – ex. List of things about flying that makes you nervous – step through each one till you can do it)

      • Intensive exposure therapy (Flooding): force someone to experience the fear (afraid of drowning, throw you in a pool)

  • Operant Conditioning: use behavior modification (reward good behaviors w/ token reinforcers ). Used in schools, w/ autistic children, etc.

• OTHER THERPAIES: 

  • Family therapy: treats the family as a system, individual behaviors are influenced by family dynamics

  • Group therapy: therapy through a group – lets patients see “they’re not alone”

• BIOLOGICAL APPROACH: CALLED BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES

  • Drug therapies (psychopharmacology): 

    • Anti-psychotics: decrease dopamine: treats schizophrenia

      • Side effects: TARDIVE DYSKINESIA: hand tremors (similar to Parkinson’s-  due to lack of dopamine), worsening of negative symptoms, extreme sedation

      • Drug names: thorazine, clozapine

    • Mood stabilizers: used in the treatment of BIPOLAR disorder  : LITHIUM

    • Anti-anxiety drugs: depress the central nervous system (dangerous in combo w/ alcohol) Xanax, Ativan

    • Anti-depressants: increase serotonin through REUPTAKE inhibition

      • Side effects: drowsiness, anxiety, can increase suicide risk in teens

      • Drug names: SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil. SNRIs (selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) Cymbalta, Effexor

  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): send electricity to induce minor seizures. Used (rarely) to treat depression (when nothing else works). Thought to “reboot” the brain

  • Psychosurgery (frontal lobotomy): frontal lobe is surgically destroyed. Used to treat depression or violent individuals – almost never used anymore

Social

(8-10%)

SOCIAL COGNITION

• Attribution theory: we explain others behaviors by crediting the situation or the person’s internal disposition (they only passed b/c they cheated)

• Actor-observer bias: when its others – blame the person, when its you, blame the situation

• Fundamental attribution error tendency for observers to underestimate the importance of the situation and overestimate the impact of personal disposition (that guy cut me off b/c he’s a jerk – not that his wife could be in labor)

• Central route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through logical arguments and explanations. Leads to long term behavior change

• Peripheral route to persuasion: change people’s attitudes through incidental cues (like a speaker’s attractiveness). Leads to temporary behavior changes

• Foot in the door phenomenon: complying w/ a small request then leads to going along w/ a larger request (can I have $5? Yes. Now can I have $25?)

• Door in the face phenomenon: a large request is turned down, when then leads you to be more likely to comply w/ a small request (can I have $100? Heck no! How about $20? Okay) 

• Halo effect: if your 1^st impression someone is good you’ll interpret other info about them in a good way

• STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT (ZIMBARDO): classic “experiment” where individuals were assigned to be guards / prisoners. w/in days they took on their roles and went too far. Highly unethical

SOCIAL INFLUENCE

• Conformity: classic experiment done by ASCH – showed lines of different lengths, confederates gave wrong answers to see if others would go along w/ it 

  • Normative social influence: we conform to gain approval or to not stand out from the group (be part of the norm)

  • Informational social influence: we conform to others b/c we think their opinions must be right (change answers to math hw)

• Obedience: classic experiment done by MILGRAM: participants were to “teach” another individual using shocks. 60% of participants would administer lethal shocks to another person simply b/c they were told 

GROUP INFLUENCE

• Social facilitation: perform better on simple or well learned tasks in the presence of others

• Social inhibition: perform worse on difficult or unpracticed tasks in front of others

• Social loafing: tendency for ppl in a group to exert less effort when pooling their effort together (tug of war)

• Deindividuation: loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity (mob mentality)

• Group polarization: the more time spent w/ a group the stronger their thoughts / opinions will become

• Groupthink: desire for harmony w/in a group leads to everyone going along w/ the same thinking, ignoring other possibilities or bad ideas

• Risky shift: groups make riskier decisions together rather than alone

PREJUDICE

• Ingroup: “US” – ppl w/ whom we share a common identity

• Outgroup: “them” – ppl perceived as different or not part of the group

• Ingroup bias: tendency to favor our own group

• Outgroup homogeneity bias: we are different, they are alike 

• Scapegoat theory: prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone else to blame

• Ethnocentrism: tendency to see your own group as more important than others

• Just-world phenomenon: tendency for ppl to believe that the world is just and therefore ppl get what they deserve (homeless ppl)

          AGGRESION

• Social learning theory (BANDURA) – observing violence in others makes us more violent for a time

• Frustration-aggression hypothesis: frustration creates anger, which leads to aggression

• Hostile aggression: emotional / impulsive anger (setting car on fire)

• Instrumental aggression: premediated – goal is to get something (give me your lunch money)

         ATTRACTION

• Mere exposure effect: repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them (the more time you spend around something the more you like it)

• Physical attractiveness: pretty ppl are thought to be more credible, less likely to do bad things

• Similarity: we prefer ppl similar to us

• Passionate Love: Early stage of romance – intense pos. obsession w/ another (due to arousal)

• Companionate Love: Later stage – deep attachment to someone who your life is intertwined w/ - best with equality and self-disclosure (revealing intimate details about self)

          ALTRUISM

• Altruism: unselfish regard for the welfare of others

• Bystander effect: the more ppl around the less likely we are to help someone in need (Kitty Genovese)

• Social exchange theory: social behavior (helping) is an exchange process – aim is to maximize benefits and minimize cost

• Reciprocity norm: we give so we can get 

        CONFLICT

• Social trap: conflicting parties pursue their own best interests, which can result in destructive results (prisoner’s dilemma – game theory) (choose 5 or 15 demo)

• Superordinate goals: two or more groups work together to achieve a common goal, creates cohesiveness

         SOCIAL SELF

• False-consensus effect: we overestimate the degree to which everyone else thinks / acts the way we do

• Self-fulfilling prophecy: a belief that leads to its own fulfillment (I expect you all to pass, you know this, you study – fulfilling my prophecy)

• Self-serving bias: readiness to perceive ourselves as favorably 

• Spotlight effect (self-objectification) : tendency of an individual to overestimate the extent to which others are paying attention to them

• Stereotype threat: feel at risk of conforming to the group, influences your behaviors, cognitions

AP Exam Formatting:

100 Multiple Choice Questions – 70 minutes

10 minute break

TWO FRQs – 50 Minutes

• One FRQ specific to research methods

• One FRQ conceptually based

FRQ TIPS:

Remember SODA CANS. 

Spacing – leave a space between each term that you are writing about. The directions tell you not to. Do it anyway.

Order– write in order 

Define – DEFINE EVERY TERM.**

**w/ the exception of IV / DV; experimental group and control goup

Apply –     apply the concept to the Context -    scenario given – make sure 

to refer to the prompt, don’t give random examples with no context. Use the terms from the prompt.

Apply -    use the person’s name in 

Names -   the prompt

Synonyms – don’t parrot the prompt – try to use synonyms when possible

THOMPSON’s FRQ Tips:

1. Handwriting – FRQs are scanned in. Its IMPERATIVE that you write in pen and write legibly. Skip lines between each line if you have bad handwriting to make it easier. 

2. If you accidently indicate you’re answering question one instead of question two or vice versa, label at the top of the page which question you’re answering, and how many pages you took (page 1 of 2, etc).

3. Answer BOTH questions. It’s not a choice. 

4. Answer what you know on EACH FRQ first. (you have MORE than enough room to space out your terms and keep them in order)

5. Then answer what you think you know

6. Check your time – if you have <5 minutes reread what you’ve wrote and fix anything – if you have >10 minutes –BS the terms you didn’t know at all, then reread and fix what you wrote on the ones you did

7. Finally, DEFINE DEFINE DEFINE. 

THOMPSON’s Last Minute 

Cramming Tips:

1. Review Social. 95% likeliness to be on the FRQ

2. Review Cognition. 90% likeliness to be on the FRQ.

3. Review Research – ENTIRE FRQ GUARANTEED

4. Review Confusing Pairs. 

5. Make sure you know what the sympathetic nervous system does and what correlation means. 

6. Sleep. 

7. Eat.

8. Don’t chug 3 Red Bulls.