Psych -unit 2 Flashcards

Question

What is Negative Reinforcement?

Answer 1

Negative reinforcement: aversive or unpleasant stimulus removed to increase/ maintain behavior (eg. you study for your test and your parents reward you by not making you do chores for a week)

Answer 2

Used today to treat anxiety, phobias, and panic disorders by slowly introducing a patient (under controlled conditions) to the object or situation that causes distress until the reactions stop (extinction) Operant conditioning can be used to manage behavior of the general public (eg. playing classical music in the subway discourages people from loitering) Negative impacts of Behaviorism: you begin to expect rewards for doing everything; you only want to do the task for rewards, not voluntarily

Answer 3

The scientific study of the mind as an information processor Cognition: the processes and complexes of knowledge itself Try to understand the human thought process and how we acquire, process, and store information (Why we think the way we think) Try to build up cognitive models of the information processing that goes on inside people’s minds, including perception, attention, language, memory, thinking, and consciousness Mental process or mental function are terms often used interchangeably for all the things that individuals can do with their minds ie. perception, memory, thinking (such as ideation, imagination, belief, reasoning etc.), volition and emotion Cognitive psychologists believe that mental processes can and should be studied scientifically → use of experiments to create theories → reach conclusions - rigorous scientific methods

Answer 4

- Information processing - Units of knowledge - Attention - Human intelligence + Memory

Answer 5

Memory: the mechanism we use to create, maintain, and retrieve information about the past

Answer 6

Encoding: processes used to store information in memory Storage: processes used to maintain information in memory Retrieval: processes used to get information back out of memory

Answer 7

False memory: A memory which is a distortion of an actual experience Many false memories involve confusing or mixing fragments of memory events, some of which may have happened at different times but are remembered as occurring together

Answer 8

Types of memory: *Sensory, *short-term (less than a minute) (things are rehearsed in your brain until you either remember it long term or forget/ discard it), *working, and *long-term

Answer 9

Social/ observational learning: learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining, and replicating behavior observed in others Species can learn associations that help them thrive or survive What we learn influences both out behavior and attitudes Sometimes we can think our way out of intended associations (placebo affect) When other people get rewarded, our reward sensors light up (mirror neurons) What we learn as children is not easily replaced Bobo Doll study: 1963 66 nursery children were divided into 3 groups All 3 watched a video of an adult kicking a “bobo” doll 1 group watched the adult get rewarded Adopted the agressive behaviors Invented new ways to attack the doll Increased agttraction to guns, even though the model didn’t use guns 2nd group watched the adult get punished for being agressive Never hit the bobo doll Less agressive 3rd group saw the adult neither rewarded or punished Original thought was that exposure to aggression would be cathartic Violence has 4 major affects: Teaches aggressive styles of behavior Weakens restraints over aggression Desensitizes and habituates viewers to cruelty Shapes viewers images of reality

Answer 10

People could “remember” things that never happened to them, if they were convinced that the false memory occured People who didn’t actually get lost in a mall when they were children still believed it happened because they were convinced it did

Answer 11

People could remember false memories of things that they saw often through television (ie. patients “remembered” things they saw on TV) He believed that people who watched things on tv could be convinced that they were memories He made people watch videos and than select what things in life they had experienced and people believed some things they watched were memories, but things they read weren’t

Answer 12

Main idea: the way to understand people is to sit down and talk to them, share their experiences, and be open to their feelings (the patient plays a role in their own recovery)

Answer 13

** Motivation is an internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behavior ** Humanistic theories of motivation are based on the idea that people have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions

Answer 14

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who developed a hierarchy of needs to explain human motivation. Humanist psychologist Self-actualization: reaching one’s full potential. A knowledge of one’s purpose in life, completion of what one feels one’s life is for Basis of Maslow’s theory of motivation: the hierarchy of needs → basic needs must be fulfilled before higher order needs can be met Must go through each complete step to be a “complete person” Drawbacks: this theory does not have any scientific research or experimentation Maslow agreed that there are other forms of motivation (ie. values and condtioning) Hierarchy of needs: basic → self-fulfillment needs

Answer 15

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997): (diff. Than Maslow bc. People in Auschwitz didn’t have comfort or safety) Theory developed out of experience in Auschwitz Suffering meaningless → difficult to bear. Those who survived held onto meaning Logotherapy: form of psychotherapy that tries to help the patient find aim and meaning in life without accessing the medical aspect of mental health Everyone has an innate inclination to seek the meaning in their existance - or risk depression Humans motivated by the need of meaning When human priorities are not balanced, this causes an imbalance in the way humans act

Answer 16

Based on how children focus on pleasure as they age Could cause people to over indulge in adulthood Oral (birth-18m) focuses on oral pleasure like sucking, chewing, biting Can lead to nail biting, smoking, and overeating Anal (18m-3y) learning to control anus (toilet training) Can lead to concern with perfection (anal retentive) or overly messy (anal expulsive) Phallic (3-6y) Oedipus complex: boys unconsiously desire their moms and compete with their dads Can lead to over indulgence or avoidance of sexual activity and weak sexual behavior Latency (6y-puberty) sexual feelings dormant (plays mainly with same-gender friends) Genital (puberty->) directs sexual urges to opposite gender

Answer 17

Carl Rogers (1902-1987): Client centred model of therapy: client plays an active role in their recovery/ self-discovery Provided a warm environment to express feelings and thoughts without judgement Clients explore their attitudes and emotions → understand the triggers to their issues Focus on present and future (not past) Value on conscious thought (unlike Freud) Basis of modern psychotherapy Psychotherapy: treatments that can help with mental health problems, emotional challenges, and some psychiatric disorders Aims to enable patients, or clients, to understand their feelings, and what makes tham feel positive, anxious, or depressed

Answer 18

IQ partially based on genetics but needs proper environment Gifted children are interested in everyday things around them Started the enrichment curriculum called “Evolution of Common Things” Learning about food, clothing, transportation, etc helped them academically Gifted children still need attention/ help from adults

Answer 19

Surrogate mother experiment with rhesus monkeys The monkeys preferred the cloth monkeys for warmth over the wire mother for food Need for affection > need for physical needs (eg. food) No affection early in life causes psychological issues later

Answer 20

Mother leave baby in a room with stranger Stranger tries helping baby Mother comes back in Repeat Secure attachment: Baby was upset when mother left but relieved when she came back Forms when caregiver is emotionally available and responsive Avoidant attachment: Upset when mother left, and refused to play when she returned Caregiver who is rejecting Resistant attachment: Did not explore room a lot Little emotion when mother left and returned Forms when caregiver is sometimes responsive and sometimes rejecting

Answer 21

Extreme Nature Position: Nativism (Heredity) Fact: It has long been demonstrated that certain physical characteristics (ie colour of eyes, straight or curly hair, pigmentation of skin etc) are determined by genetic inheritance = heredity This led many to speculate whether psychological characteristics (behavioural tendencies, personality, mental abilities) are ‘wired in’ before we are born

Answer 22

The extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited (ie genetic) or acquired (ie learned) influence The debate is concerned with the relative contribution that both influences make to human behaviour (ie personality, cognitive traits, temperament, psychopathology)

Answer 23

Extreme Nurture Position: Empiricism (Environment) Basic Assumptions: John Locke: At birth, the human mind is a tabula rasa (Latin for “a blank slate”) The slate is gradually filled as a result of experience Psychological characteristics and behavioural differences are the results of learning It is how one is brought up (nurtured) that governs child development Importance of family, peers, socio-economic factors, school, religion, and the media

Answer 24

Twins: 2 people who are born in the same pregnancy (can be identical or fraternal) Psychologists study both identical and fraternal twins to understand the influence of environment and heredity The theory for identical twins was that any difference could be explained by environmental factors However, genetically, female twins are more likely than male twins → in female twins, each has two X chromosomes, and in females one chromosome is more dominant that the other = would not be genetically similar ** Still, twins raised apart appear to have astonishing similarities ** Conclusions and criticisms: Jim Twin Studies Dr. Bouchard concluded that there is a genetic component between personality and behavior As the twins were raised in different environments, similarities could only be from genetics Psychologists argue that these similarities are not entirely the result of genetics There are still limitations to twin studies: Polygenic inheritance: multiple genes (often thousands) collectively contribute to specific behaviors Eg. depression is a polygenic trait (thought to be influenced by about 1000 genes) Difficult to determine which behaviors are genetic tendencies In spite of this, studies demonstrate that identical twins who were raised in different households have similar IQs

Answer 25

Stayed in a room locked to a chair for 13 years Could not chew solid food or walk properly Not toilet trained Beaten when she made noise - couldn’t speak Smaller brain because of neglect Scientists wanted to study if she could learn language but her mother stopped experimenting because they didn’t take proper care of her

Answer 26

Left outside at age 3 by alcoholics and slept in dog kennels for warmth Sometimes went indoors but maily lived with dogs for 5 years Could hardly speak and walked on 4 legs Brute strength Likes attention Mental capacity of 6 year old and low boredom tolerance Learning difficulties (cannot read or spell)

Answer 27

Aaron Stern raised his daughter to be a genius by exposing her to classical music and daily studying - he wanted to prove that a genius could be created through nurture, but she could have inherited intelligence Aaron Stern raised his daughter Edith on classical music and flashcards Wanted to see if geniuses were born or raised Read encyclopedia at age 5 PhD at 18

Answer 28

Children in the institutions had smaller heads and less brain activity than kids randomly placed in foster homes Therefore, environment does make a difference. But so do genes. The issue of nature versus nurture in the role of intelligence does not have a clear winner: both are important factors. What psychologists are still trying to determine is just how much influence each exerts.

Answer 29

The Flynn Effect: phenomenon where, on average, IQ test scores worldwide have been increasing over time; younger generations perform better than older generations (Per generation, the average IQ test scores increase by 10 points) Environmental Influences on IQ Improved education Improved nutrition Higher quality of home environment More informative and engaging environment Smaller family sizes

Answer 30

Introversion directing ones interests inwards (need downtime for energy) Extraversion directing ones interests outwards, especially in social contexts (gain energy from energy of others)

Answer 31

Cognitive dissonance: we feel a level of discomfort when we realise that our behaviours don’t match our attitudes To relieve the discomfort we change our attitude

Answer 32

What are implicit and explicit attitudes? Implicit: Unconscious attitudes expressed automatically and unconsciously Unaware that we have them or that we are expressing them Explicit: Based on our conscious thoughts and beliefs

Answer 33

Can attitude predict behavior? The marshmallow experiment Conducted by psychologist David Walsh 4/ 5yos were placed in a room with a marshmallow for 15 minutes to see their self-regulation Promised a second one if they waited Followed children over 18 years Conducted in order to gauge self-discipline In the future, kids who had self-control (only 30%) were more successful later in life

Answer 34

- Consistency theories: individuals need consistency between attitude and behavior (cognitive dissonance theory) - Learning theory: view attitude as being learned and suggests that attitudes can be changed by using classical and operant conditioning techniques - Social judgement theory: believe that attitudes shape the perception of interaction and that attitude can be changed by learning how to be fair and unbiased - Functional theories: questions purpose of attitudes and changes attitude by creating inconsistency between an attitude and it's function

Answer 35

Ethics: moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

Answer 36

Coined by psychologist Fritz Heider who studied the way that people explain the behavior of others Attribution theory: suggests that we link the behaviors of others to an external situation

Answer 37

Social/ observational learning (Bandura): learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining, and replicating behavior observed in others

Answer 38

According to GENDER SCHEMA THEORY children view themselves through gender lens based on their cultural learning of what it means to be male or female

Answer 39

Gender: refers to the way members of the two sexes are perceived, evaluated, and expected to behave. Sexual Dimorphism: the physiological differences between men and women. ***U.S. culture recognizes only two genders, male and female, but other cultures recognize a combined male/female gender*** Masculinity: The social definition of maleness, which varies from society to society. Femininity: The social definition of femaleness, which varies from culture to culture. Sex: the distinguishing biological or anatomical characteristics Sexual Orientation: One’s sexual attraction to others (Heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual

Answer 40

Classical conditioning explains virtually all learning that comes from REFLEXES - heart rate, perspiration, muscle-tensions, etc. As the above group of reflexes are signs of excitement (including FEAR), they may explain unusual or undesirable behavior (eg. Phobias) Classical conditioning is the basis of BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (ie. adversion therapy) Pavlov’s work demonstrated the value of using experiments within psychology to study internal processes objectively

Answer 41

Operant conditioning: a type of learning that uses rewards and punishments to achieve a desired behavior Skinner argued that most human behvior occurs voluntarily before conditioning, and that Classical conditioning does not explain certain kinds of voluntary behavior Eg. slowing down at a red light to avoid an accident Skinner argued that voluntary behavior is strengthened or weakened by things that precede it (antecedent) or follow (consequence) Operant conditioning is more deliberate than classical Learn to behave in certain ways The Experiment - The Skinner Box: Skinners operant conditioning box attempted to teach rats that when a lever was pushed, they would receive food This behavior (pushing a lever) was not natural to rats, so operant conditioning with positive and negative reinforcement were performed in order to teach the behavior A rat was rewarded with food when it pushed the lever (Positive reinforcement) A rat was able to turn off electric shocks produced by the floor by pushing the lever (Negative reinforcement) Key Terms: - Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated - Reinforcers: responses fron the environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be positive or negative - Punishers: responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior

Answer 42

Different models to represent how thinking works → most popular = Information processing approach ** the mind is like a computer with thoughts and memories broken down into smaller units of knowledge ** As information enters the mind through the senses, it is manipulated by the brain which determines what to do with the information Some info triggers an immediate response Other units of info transferred into long-term memory for future use

Answer 43

3 different types: Concept: a large category of knowledge A broad category - similar items grouped together (eg. concrete concepts: dog or cat; abstract concepts: love, beauty, democracy) Prototype: the most recognisable example of a particular concept (eg. what do you picture when you hear the word chair?) Schema: mental framework that you use to make sense of the world around you Pattern of thought or behavior that organises categories of information Concepts are the building blocks to create schemas (eg. stereotypes, worldviews) Like folders in the brain (eg. math, childhood memories) If you don’t use it you lose it You either assimilate or accommodate the information when you come across info that doesn’t fit with existing schemas Assimilate: broadening current schema Accommodate: changing your previously held schemas altogether

Answer 44

A state of focused awareness on some aspect of the environment The ability to focus your attention allows you to take in knowledge of relevant stimuli, and filter out unimportant Focus on the things essential for survival At any given time, taking in an intense amount of info from all of your senses As the human brain has a limited capacity for handling this information Attention is both limited and selective

Answer 45

** the first level of memory ** Retains the brief impression of a sensory stimulus after the stimulus itself has ended High capacity form of memory registration of visual data (you remember visual things) Not interpretive - just what you see Sensory memory short → visual information faded away in less than a second Eg. you see an object. When it disappears it will not be vivid in your memory

Answer 46

Limited and brief We can hold about 5-9 items in short-term memory for approx. 20-30 seconds The info in short-term memory has been encoded and does not fade away as quickly as in the sesnory memory. If actively rehearsed moves to long term memory Individual items of information can be grouped using the Chunking mnemonics method Eg. the word t-a-b-l-e contains five letters but this word constitutes as one chunk Short term memory can hold 7 chunks of information Easier to remember 4 words than 10 letters, because the letters are chunked in a word

Answer 47

Working memory: Retain AND use information The information we are focusing on at any given moment Duration short (5-20 seconds) unless it is activated through: Maintenance rehearsal: repeating the information Elaborative rehearsal: associating the information with something you already know Can enhance space in memory through: Chunking: grouping individual bits of info into larger meaningful units (eg. phone numbers) Automaticity: learning something so thoroughly that it becomes second nature. Does not require conscious effort (eg. driving after 10 years)

Answer 48

Long-term memory: Everything that you have ever learned or experienced might be stored and available for retrieval if you can find a way to access it Much more durable, but still susceptible to forgetting Information can last days to decades When new information is added to the long-term memory, it is associated with a lot of existing information that bares a relationship with it → elaboration Organisation: it is easier to understand organised info Context: the context in which we are learning is learned along with the info Emotion to retrieve memory (i.e songs and scent)

Answer 49

Primacy refers to recalling information from the beginning of a sequence Recency refers to recalling information from the end of a sequence Spacing info spaced over time more likely to be remembered Distinctiveness how distinctive is the item compared to the rest? Clustering the grouping of related concepts

Answer 50

1. Sensorimotor stage: birth - 2 When babies experience the world through their senses **Lack object permanence -> should gain it by the end of the stage Some language and symbols understood 2. Preoperational stage: 2 - 6 or 7 Egocentrism Have a hard time imagining someone else’s point of view Develops language and use of symbols, memory and imagination Non-logical thinking 3. Concrete operational stage: 7 - 11 Starting to think logically about concrete events they experienced 4. Formal operational stage: 12 - death Sophisticated moral reasoning Not all adults reach this stage

Answer 51

Trust develops (birth-1) Supportive environment fosters autonomy (2-3) Initiative increases with sense of responsibility (3-5) Interest in knowledge develops; want to be productive (6-puberty) Concern for how others see them (teens-20s) Well formed identity allows for ability to form close relationships (20s-40s) Feel a need to guide another generation (40s-60s) Re-examining life (65+)

Answer 52

Volunteer teachers “shocked” people behind a wall if they got questions wrong The person wasn’t really being shocked, but would make loud sounds The teachers thought they were really hurting people 65% of people didn’t stop shocking them - they were told not to stop To see how far someone would go to follow an authority figure Game of death (2010) Contestants shocked actors when they got questions wrong Pressured by host, audience, and music No expected reward 80% went to the end (deadly shock)

Psych -unit 2 Flashcards

(76 cards)