Semester 2

Question 1

What are the approaches for understanding intelligence?

Answer 1

Psychometric
Information-processing
Sternberg’s triarchic theory
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Question 2

Name and briefly describe each of the components of Sternberg’s Triarchic theory of intelligence

Answer 2

Sternberg’s theory describes intelligence as having analytical, creative and practical dimensions.

Analytic intelligence is the kind that is measured by traditional intelligence tests, and could be used to help solve a physics problem for example.

Creative intelligence involves dealing with new problems, which you would use to compose music.

And practical intelligence involves adapting to one’s environment and could be used to figure out what to do if you were stranded on a lonely island.

Question 3

Describe what motivates us according to arousal theory. In your answer, explain the relationship between arousal levels and performance, based on the Yerkes-Dodson law (also known as the Inverted-U hypothesis)

Answer 3

The arousal theory states that people are motivated to behave in ways that maintain what is for them an optimal level of arousal.

In relation to the Yerkes-Dodson law, an individual’s performance is best when arousal is at a moderate level and is poorest when arousal is very low or very high.

Question 4

Theories of motivation

Answer 4

Instinct doctrine - innate biology produces instinctive behaviour

Drive reduction theory - behaviour is guided by biological needs and learned ways of reducing drives arising from those needs

Arousal theory - people aim to seek an optimal level of physiological arousal

Incentive theory - behaviour is guided by the lure of positive incentives and the avoidance of negative incentives

Question 5

Primary drives

Secondary drives

Answer 5

Drives that arise from biological needs

Drives that arise from learning and can be as motivating as primary drives

Question 6

Homeostasis

Answer 6

Is the tendency for organisms to keep their physiological systems at stable, steady level by constantly adjusting themselves in response to change

Question 7

Most psychologists in western cultures see emotions as organised psychological and physiological reactions to changes in our relationship to the world. These reactions are partly private, or subjective. The subjective experience of emotion has five characteristics. List and describe these.

Answer 7

1. Emotion is usually temporary; it tends to have a relatively clear beginning and end, as well as a relatively short duration.
2. Emotional experience can be positive (joy), negative (sadness) or a mixture of both (bittersweet).
3. Emotional experience alters thought processes, often by directing attention towards some things and away from others.
4. Emotional experience triggers an action tendency, the motivation to behave in certain ways.
5. Emotional experiences are passions that you feel, usually whether you want to or not.

Question 8

Attribution

Answer 8

Is the process of explaining the causes of an event

Question 9

Identify and describe each of the three levels (corresponding to six stages) in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. (first)

Answer 9

Preconventional - moral reasoning that is not yet based on the conventions or rules that guide social interactions in society

1. Obeying and avoiding punishment from a superior authority
2. Making a fair exchange, a good deal

Question 10

(second)

Answer 10

Conventional - moral reasoning that reflects the belief that morality consists of following rules and conventions

3. Pleasing others and getting their approval
4. Doing your duty, following rules and social order

Question 11

(third)

Answer 11

Postconventional - moral reasoning in which judgements are based on personal standards or universal principles of justice, equality and respect for human life

5. Respecting rules and laws but recognising that they may have limits
6. Following universal ethical principles, such as justice, reciprocity, equality and respect for human life

Question 12

Moral development

Answer 12

The growth of an individual’s understanding of right and wrong

Question 13

Schemas

Answer 13

Mental representations of categories of objects, events and people

Question 14

Assimilation

Answer 14

The process of trying out existing schemas on objects that fit those schemas

Question 15

Accommodation

Answer 15

The process of modifying schemas when familiar schemas do not work

Question 16

Stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 16

1. Sensorimotor (birth - 2 years) - when the infants mental ability is confined to sensory perception and motor skills
2. Preoperational (2 - 7 years) - where children begin to use symbols to represent things that are not present
3. Concrete Operational (7 - 11 years) - where children’s thinking is no longer dominated by visual appearances
4. Formal Operational (over 11 years) - when abstract thinking first appears

Question 17

Attachment

Answer 17

A deep and enduring relationship with a caregiver with whom a baby has shared many early experiences

Question 18

Ainsworth’s attachment styles

Answer 18

Secure - infant is happy when caregiver is present, distressed when separated and comforted by return

Insecure - Avoidant - infant displays minimal signs of distress when separated and still avoids caregiver when they return

Insecure - Ambivalent - Infant is upset when caregiver leaves, but when they return they vacillate between clinging to her and angrily rejecting her

Disorganised - infant is inconsistent, disturbed and disturbing

Question 19

Describe the cognitive changes that occur in early, middle, and late adulthood, and explain what may slow cognitive decline in older age.

Answer 19

Early - increases continue in knowledge, problem-solving ability and moral reasoning

Middle - thought becomes more complex, adaptive and global

Late - reasoning, mathematical ability, comprehension, problem solving and memory may decline

Genetics and lifestyle are the main factors which may slow cognitive decline in older age

Question 20

Stress

Answer 20

The internal processes that occur as people try to adjust to events and situations, especially when perceived to be beyond their coping capacity

Question 21

Stressors

Answer 21

Events or situations to which people might adjust

Question 22

Name and describe the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome (a theory of stress responses according to Hans Selye).

Answer 22

Alarm reaction - when initially exposed to a stressor and body’s resistance to the stressor creates high arousal levels

Resistance - body attempts to cope with the persisting stressor on a long-term basis

Exhaustion - body’s resistance is weakened and is more vulnerable to illness.

Question 23

Name and briefly describe the 6 Stages in Coping with Stress

Answer 23

1. Assessment - identify the sources and effects of stress
2. Goal setting - list the stressors and stress responses to be addressed. Designate which stressors are and are not changeable
3. Planning - list the specific steps to be taken to cope with stress
4. Action - implement coping plans
5. Evaluation - determine the changes in stressors and stress responses that have occurred as a result of coping methods
6. Adjustment - alter coping methods to improve results, if necessary

Question 24

Personality

Answer 24

The pattern of psychological and behavioural characteristics by which each person can be compared and contrasted from others

Question 25

List and briefly describe each of the five traits on the Big 5 model of personality

Answer 25

1. Openness to experience - artistic, curious, insightful etc.
2. Conscientiousness - efficient, organised, reliable etc.
3. Extraversion - outgoing, assertive, energetic etc.
4. Agreeableness - appreciative, generous, forgiving, compassionate etc.
5. Neuroticism - anxious, self-pitying, impulsive, worrying etc.

Question 26

What are the main differences between projective and non-projective personality measures? Give an example of each

Answer 26

Projective - personality assessments made up of ambiguous stimuli that can be perceived and responded to in many ways

Non-projective - paper - and - pencil tests containing direct, unambiguous items relating to personality of the individual being assessed

Question 27

When determining causes of psychopathology, 3 main criteria are used in assessing abnormality. Name and describe these 3 criteria.

Answer 27

Deviance - refers to highly unusual behaviours that stray far from the social norms. These include chronic stealing or lying, as well as hearing voices when no one is around

Distress - is caused by behaviours and feelings that impact the individual or those around the individual

Dysfunction - refers to behaviours and feelings that interfere with an individual’s ability to function in daily life, at the workplace or in close relationships

Question 28

Identify and describe three types of anxiety disorders

phobia

Answer 28

Involves strong, irrational fear of an object or situation that does not objectively justify such a reaction

Question 29

(Panic disorder)

Answer 29

An anxiety disorder involving sudden panic attacks

Question 30

(Obsessive compulsive disorder)

Answer 30

Involves repetitive thoughts and urges to perform certain rituals

Question 31

Anxiety disorder

Answer 31

A condition in which intense feelings of apprehension are longstanding and disruptive

Question 32

Dissociative disorder

Answer 32

Rare conditions that involve sudden and usually temporary disruptions in a person’s memory, consciousness or identity

Question 33

Affective disorder

Answer 33

A condition in which a person experiences extreme moods, such as depression or mania

Question 34

Define group therapy and list three benefits of group therapy for treating clients

Answer 34

Group therapy involves several unrelated clients

1. Clients discover that they are not alone as they listen to others and realise people struggle with similar problems
2. Group members can boost one another’s self-confidence and self-acceptance as they come to trust each other
3. Allows therapist to view clients interacting with one another, which can be helpful in identifying problems in clients’ interpersonal styles

Question 35

Describe the cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of attitudes and give an example of each

Answer 35

Cognitive - is a set of beliefs about the attitude object (thinking about how someone became homeless)

Affective - includes feelings about the object (feeling sad for someone who lives on the street)

Behavioural - is the way people act towards the object (avoids engaging with homeless/gives money to them)

Question 36

Social cognition

Answer 36

Mental processes associated with people’s perceptions of and reactions to other people

Question 37

Self-concept

Answer 37

The way one thinks of oneself

Question 38

Social comparison

Answer 38

Using other people as a basis of comparison for evaluating oneself

Question 39

Social perception

Answer 39

The process through which people interpret information about others, draw inferences about them and develop mental representations of them

Question 40

Conformity

Answer 40

Is changing one’s behaviour or beliefs to match those of others, generally as a result of real or imagined, though unspoken, group pressure

Question 41

Compliance

Answer 41

Adjusting one’s behaviour because of an explicit or implicit request

Question 42

Obedience

Answer 42

Changing behaviour in response to a demand from an authority figure

Question 43

Describe what social norms are and how they influence social behaviour. In your description, explain the difference between descriptive and injunctive norms.

Answer 43

Social norms are socially based rules that prescribe what people should or should not do in various situations. Norms are so powerful that people usually follow them automatically making social situations less uncertain and more comfortable.

There are two types of social norms which are injunctive and descriptive norms. Injunctive norms refer to the perceptions of what is approved or disapproved by others, whereas descriptive norms refer to the perceptions about how people do in fact behave.

Question 44

List five characteristics of Indigenous Psychology

Answer 44

1. They represent attempts to understand human behaviour and experience within the context of the culture they emerge from
2. They are usually a reaction against or a rejection of the dominance of Western psychological understandings
3. They often draw on the traditions of philosophical thought within the indigenous culture
4. They generally challenge the universal reliability and validity of Western psychological research methods
5. They have often been criticised by non-indigenous psychologists from within the culture - primarily because of the threat posed to professional identity if Western-trained indigenous psychologists are forced to contemplate the inherent weaknesses of their discipline