Terms (SL) Flashcards
Biological principles
- There are biological correlates of behaviour.
- Newcomer et al. (1999) - Animal research can provide insight on human behaviour.
- Rosenweig and Bennett (1972) - Human behaviour is, to some extent, genetically based (do not rule out environment)
- Bouchard et al. (1990)
Cognitive principles
- Human beings are information processors; mental processes guide behaviour (schemas)
- Darley and Gross (1983 - The mind can be studied scientifically, and can be combined with biological/sociocultural levels of analysis for a deeper meaning.
- Loftus and Palmer (1974) - Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors.
- Bartlett (1932)
Sociocultural principles
- Human beings are social animals with a basic need to belong.
- Baumeister and Leary (1995) - Culture influences human behaviour.
- Berry (1967) - Humans have a social self which reflects their group memberships.
- Tajfel (1970)
Brain plasticity
Capacity of environment to always be causing changes in the brain.
An enriched environment is characterized by multiple opportunities to learn new things. Deprived environment lacks this.
If a child was neglected as a child, their brain does not grow as much as a child that was raised with much love and care, and is often much smaller.
- Rosenweig, Bennet, and Diamond (1972)
Schema theory
A schema is a mental representation of knowledge stored in the brain. It is a network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about particular aspects of the world.
- Darley and Gross (1983)
Multi-store model of memory
A basic structure/architecture of memory. Developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
- Sensory input goes into sensory memory, where it can either decay, or with selective attention, can move on to short-term memory
- While in short-term memory, it can either be displaced, or if rehearsed often enough, can be encoded into long-term memory.
- While in long-term memory, it can be retrieved and put into short-term memory or it can be lost (not available)
Keep in mind that only while a memory is in SHORT-TERM MEMORY can it truly be interpreted.
- Scoville and Milner (1957)
fMRI
Functional magnetic resonance imaging.
- Neuroimaging
- Can be used to study cognitive processes while they are taking place
- Can register changes in blood flow in the active brain (oxygen and glucose consumption). Use this to map where cognitive processes are related in the brain
- Association of blood flow to oxygen and neural activity during information processing
- Can use to see what tasks activate certain parts of the brain.
Flashbulb memory
A type of episodic memory (explicit) that is highly accurate and exceptionally vivid of the moment a person first hears about a shocking event. (Place; ongoing activity; informant; own affect; other affect; aftermath are all remembered)
Neurotransmission
When a nerve impulse reaches the end of the neuron, the neuron fires and neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap where they travel to the neuron at the other side of the synaptic gap. The neurotransmitter will then bind to specific receptors on the other side.
If the neurotransmitter is not absorbed it can be re-uptaken, diffused, or destroyed.
If a neurotransmitter is blocked or replaced (interference of another chemical) then it can change the physiological system, cognition, mood, and/or behaviour.
- Dopamine
Dopamine
A neurotransmitter involve in motivation such as pleasure seeking, control of movement, emotional response, and addictive behaviour.
- Released in brain’s reward system
- Addictive drugs/substances often increase amount of dopamine in reward system
- Associated with pleasure
- *Nicotine adds dopamine into system, causing feelings of pleasure and relaxation
Cortisol
A hormone produced by the adrenal cortex in response to stress and to restore homeostasis (the body’s normal balance).
Chronic stress may result in prolonged cortisol secretion caused by atrophy in hippocampus, which can lead to physiological changes such as:
- Damaged immune system
- Impairment of learning and memory
- Newcomer et al. (1999)
Stressor
Any event that threatens to disrupt the body’s normal balance and starts a stress response such as secretion of stress hormones.
Can either be acute (single event) or chronic (constant worry).
Traumatic events produce intense fear. Take note of post-traumatic stress disorder as an example.
Evolutionary explanation of disgust in pregnant women
Nausea/loss of appetite may have been evolved to protect the mother/fetus. Food rejection response may be used to prevent the spread of illness into either organism.
Note that theory is under investigation (was it truly evolved?)
- Fessler et al. (2005)
Pro-social behaviour
Actions that help another person
Altruism
Actions aimed at helping another person that involve cost to the helper with no obvious reward
Diffusion of responsibility
(For Latané and Darley 1970)
“Someone else will do something.”
Responsibility is diffused when more bystanders are present. This reduces the psychological costs of not intervening.
Informational social influence
(For Latané and Darley 1970)
aka Pluralistic ignorance
“No one else is doing anything…”
If the situation is ambiguous people will look to other people around to see what they do.
Evaluation apprehension
(For Latané and Darley 1970)
Fear of being judged.
Individual bystanders are aware that other people are present and may be afraid of being evaluated negatively if they react (fear of social blunders)
Cognitive decision model
(Latané and Darley 1963)
Suggest that helping requires that the bystander:
- Notice the situation
- Interpret the situation as an emergency
- Accept some personal responsibility for helping even though other people may be present
- Consider how to help (even if there is no clear way as to how/doubt of skills)
- Decide how to help
At/After going through all of these stages, the bystander may choose to help or not
Attribution theory
Heider (1958)
Based on assumption that people are naive scientists who try to explain observable behaviour.
- Tend to look for causes and reasons for other people’s behaviour because they feel that there are motives behind behaviour
- “Intuitive psychologists” who construct their own causal theories of human behaviour
- Construct causal behaviours because they want to be able to understand, predict, and control the environment around them
People want to be able to predict the world, so they look for causes, rational or irrational.
Dispositional attribution
Belief that behaviour is caused by something within a person (personality; internal factors)
Situational attribution
Belief that behaviour is caused by something outside of a person (situation; external factors)
Fundamental attribution error (FAE)
Ross (1977)
When someone places more emphasis on internal factors (personality) rather than the circumstances.
- Ross, Amabile and Steinmetz (1977)
EVALUATION:
+ Promoted common understanding of how people are judged in the world.
+ Many supporting studies
- Culturally biased (focus on individualism)
- Original studies do not look at how long an interaction is made between two people (which can change judgement)
Self-serving bias (SSB)
Tendency to attribute successes to personal qualities and failures to situational factors.
- Kashima and Tradis (1986)
- Posey and Smith (2003)
EVALUATION:
+ Can explain why some people explain their failures as being caused by situational factors
- Theory is culturally biased and cannot explain why some cultures emphasize modesty bias
