Psych 1000

March
2013
S t u d y G u i d e
WUCK

EXAMS

Language
Intelligence
Motivation & Emotion
Development
Social thinking & Perception

3
9
20
31
39

This guide contains notes on Psychology: Frontiers and Applications Fourth

Canadian Ed. by Passer, Smith, Atkinson, Mitchell and Muir.

This guide is intended for supplementary purposes only. Reading this is no

substitute for going to class and reading the book. We hope we can help
you as much as possible, but your grades are your responsibility.

LANGUAGE CHAPTER 9
Language - system of symbols and rules to generate infinite possible meanings
Psycholinguistics - study of psychological aspects of language

COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Grammar
Syntax
Semanticity
Generatively

Rules of how symbols can be combined

Displacement

Allows us to communicate things that arent

Noam Chomskys
Transformation Grammar

Rules that govern order of words

Conveys meaning

Surface structure

Deep structure

Finite symbols can be combined to an infinite

number of messages

Symbols and the

their order

Underlying meaning,
semantics

physically present (imaginary, past, future)

Phoneme

No meaning on
their own. About
pronunciation.

Morpheme

Smallest unit of
meaning. Letter s
conveys pluralness
so it is a morpheme.

Ex. Letter L or D
Ex. Dog, pre-, s

Words

Almost anything in
english can be said
with a vocabulary
of 850 words.

Phrases

Sentences

Discourse

Sentences
combined into
paragraphs,
articles, books,
conversations.

PSYCH WITH MIKE

Q.

How many morphemes in crosswords?

Two. (Tilt screen to see answer)
Explanation: Crossword is one and s is
another. Cross and word arent conveying
separate meaning so they are one morpheme. S
conveys separate meaning than the rest of the
word, pluralness, so it is also its own morpheme.

Bottom up processing:
Top down processing:

patterns syllables meaning

interpreting things based on expectations
(Reading The Bead Store as The Bread Store)

Humor
Phonological ambiguity - confusion of
sounds (Knock knock jokes)
Lexical ambiguity - double meaning (a
baker kneads the dough)
Syntactic ambiguity - confusion in
structure (man eating salmon vs maneating salmon)
Semantic ambiguity - meaning (Call me
a cab. Okay youre a cab.)

THE BRAIN
Broca's Area
Wernicke's Area

Speech segmentation - how do we know when words end?

We learn certain sequences are more likely to be at the end of words
Context also makes it easier to tell when words end

Pragmatics - knowledge of the practical aspects of using language

Using language requires more than vocabulary and grammar
You must know not only what people are saying but what they mean
and want you to do (Social context)

Speech
Comprehension

Women have language in both hemispheres,

men have it in the left
If you acquire a language earlier in life, both
languages use the same neural network
If you learn a language later in life, it gets its
own neural network and you use a different
part of the brain when you use that language
Even if you learn early and fluently, the

inferior frontal gyrus goes off when you use a

second language, indicating it requires more
effort

LANGUAGE LEARNING

Motherese

Infants vocalize (cry, babble) from the first moments of life - even deaf infants
Show phoneme discrimination by 2 months (PA vs BA)
Babies are equally sensitive to phonemes from foreign languages - were hard
wired to acquire languages
At 6-12 months, they can only discriminate between sounds in their native tongue
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) - humans are born with an innate biological
mechanism that contains general grammar rules (nouns, verbs)
A huge electrical switchboard that is calibrated to your language
Is language learned as a result of imitation and reinforcement (Skinners idea)?
Not really. Parents dont correct kids grammar but they still learn it.
Language Acquisition Support System (LASS) - social environment that
facilitates language learning. Mutually supportive with LAD

The One-Word Speaker

The Two-Word Speaker

5-8 months of age - respond to

parents words
10 to 20 months - talking begins
The early vocabulary simple. The #1
word is no.
Vocab more likely to include objects
they can manipulate (ball vs ceiling)
Difficult to tell what kids mean when
they use single words, they tend to
undergeneralize

Around 2 years old - telegraphic speech

Vocabulary of several hundred words
Speech shows proper organization:
throw ball not ball throw
By 2.5 years child moves beyond 2 words,
and sentences become more complex
The 4 or 5 year old makes mistakes in
tense (runned not ran, eated or ate)
Child now overgeneralizes rules
Formal schooling takes over

High pitch, slow rate,

exaggerated tone mothers use
when talking to babies
Adults shift automatically
Infants prefer this speech to
normal adult speech
Learning about pausing, pitch,
characteristics of speech

Bilingualism
Children mixing two language when
they learn is not an issue, they can
discriminate by age 2
Bilingual children have
Superior cognitive processing
Better understanding even before
they read
Better symbolic understanding of
the nature of print
Preform better on attention
inhibition tasks (flexibility of
thinking)
Teaching immigrants both English
and their native language in school
causes better English fluency,
academic performance & self-esteem.

PSYCH WITH MIKE

Critical Periods

Will language develop on its own?

The white crowned sparrow must be

exposed to an adult song between day
7 and 60 or it will never be able to sing

A. Feral children (Amala and Kamala) did not learn language on

their own.
B. Isolated children might learn language depending on how early
they are introduced to it. 6yo is fine, 14yo is too late.
C. Children with no models may be able to learn language. Ex. Deaf
children with hearing parents who dont sign.
D. Can other animals learn language? No. Languages have been
taught to chimps but they have no real syntax or propositional
thought.

Humans must be exposed to language

between 3 months to around puberty
(early teens) or they will not be able to
learn to speak

Second language critical periods:

You definitely learn the language better
if you learn it earlier, but a biological
critical period is debated.

THINKING
Thought and language are closely related.
Telling people to talk out loud can be used
to study thinking patterns (called directed
thinking).

Linguistic Influences on Thinking

Linguistic relativity hypothesis - language determines what we are
capable of thinking
For example: would a culture with fewer words for colors actually be
less able to tell colors apart? Studies testing this are inconsistent.
Language doesnt determine what you think, it influences it
Chinese language uses ten-one, ten-two instead of eleven and twelve so
children learn math easier in Asian countries

Propositional thought - inner speech

TYPES OF
THOUGHT

Concepts - basic units of semantic memory (objects, abstractions, activities)

Some concepts are defined by prototypes (most typical members of the class)
Propositions are statements about concepts that may be true or false

Imaginal thought - images we see, hear or feel in our mind

Motoric thought - mental representations of motor movements

Organization of
Thought
Hierarchical structure
Goal-direct
Schema driven

Text

REASONING

Obstacles to Reasoning

Deductive reasoning - reasoning

Inductive reasoning - reasoning

from the top down, based on logic

and premises
If X, then Y
Syllogism - classical deductive
argument

from the bottom up

Evaluating facts to from general
principles
Inductions are less certain - they
form likelihoods, not certainties

Distraction from relevant info

Belief bias - abandoning logical
rules to favor your opinions
Emotions and framing - same info
presented in a different way (50%
success rate vs 50% failure rate)

PROBLEM SOLVING
Framing the problem - looking at it the right
way can make the answer seem obvious
Testing solutions - mental sets are
tendencies to stick with solutions that worked
in the past and can cause inefficiencies

Problem Solving Schemas - mental blueprints

Algorithms - procedures that auto generate correct solutions
Heuristics - general problem solving strategies that apply to
certain classes of situations (shortcuts)

Representativeness heuristic - infer how

Availability heuristic - we

Confirmation bias - looking

closely something fits into our prototype of a

concept.

think things that are easier to

think of are more likely to
happen.
This is why we think murder
is more likely than suicide
(its not)

for evidence to confirm your

beliefs
You can be sure you are
wrong, but its hard to be
sure you are right
Best to look for evidence to
disprove your hypothesis

ex. Which coin toss sequence is more likely,

HHHTTT or HTHTTH? They are equally likely,
HTHTTH is just more representative of our
heuristic of randomness.

Means-ends analysis Framing effect - the phrasing of the

situation affects how you interpret it, even if
the information is identical

identify difference between

present state and goal and
make chances to get to goal

Subgoal analysis formulate intermediate

steps to the solution

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERTISE AND WISDOM

Schema - mental framework (concepts, categories)
Scripts - type of schema concerning sequence of events (going
shopping, going to the movies)

Experts - rely on many schemas and

knowing of when to apply them
Schemas are enhanced by experience
Once you become an expert, you use
long term memory instead of working
memory, which is much more efficient.

Wisdom - system of knowledge about the meaning and conduct of life

1. Rich factual knowledge about life.
2. Rich procedural knowledge about life (strategies, handling conflict)
3. Understanding of lifespan contexts: life involves many contexts
(family, friends, work)
4. Awareness of the relativism of values and priorities
5. The ability to recognize and manage uncertainty

Mental Imagery
Mental rotation - asking people if two shapes are the same
Mental images involve spatial representation - if you
imagine a map, it takes longer to mentally go from two
places that are further apart
Some argue that mental imagery is more like language:
when you think of a brick wall it is represented by various
linguistic concepts (brick, mortar, spread)
Is mental imagery a perception?
Hemispatial neglect also affects your ability to form
mental images
There is a lot of brain overlap between visual and mental
perception

Q.

Metacognition - knowing your own cognitive

abilities
If you have good metacomprehension, you
are good at knowing what you do and dont
understand
Metamemory is your knowledge of what you
do and dont remember
Metacognition is very important for a student
Writing summaries of chapters helps you find
out what you truly know and dont know

How many deep and surface structures does the phrase

smoking volcanoes can be bad for your health have?
2 deep and 1 surface. (Tilt screen to see answer)

INTELLIGENCE CHAPTER 10
Intelligence - ability to acquire knowledge, to reason
effectively, and to deal adaptively with the environment.
Intelligence is a socially constructed concept. People that
live in farming communities in different countries dont
solve logical problems the same way as others but it
doesnt mean theyre less intelligent.

SIR FRANCIS GALTON

ALFRED BINET

Believed that intelligence was inherited

and that smart people were more fit for

French government asked him to find out

why certain kids didnt learn in school as well

thinking than dumb people

Measured reaction speed, hand strength, and

Believed that intelligence was a collection

of higher-order abilities meaning there

sensory acuity to test intelligence

Believed intelligence was unitary (based on
mental quickness)
Thought skull size was related to intelligence
Turned out to be totally wrong about
intelligence but he did create interest in the
field.
He also developed the correlation

coefficient so he wasnt totally useless

would be no correlation between each of the

abilities that make up intelligence
Assumed that a) mental abilities develop with
age and b) rate of development is constant
Developed a standardized test measuring
memory, math, vocabulary etc.
Also correlated his test with the teachers
ratings of the children to make sure the results
were meaningful (criterion validity)
Developed a testing score called mental age

WILLIAM STERN
Built on Binets idea of mental age and
came up with IQ

BINETS LEGACY

Stanford-Binet

IQ = mental age actual age

Todays IQ tests are no longer based on
mental age because:
It only really works with children
Mental age of 80 isnt actually 2x better
than a mental age of 40
So Weshler comes up with deviation IQ
based on z-score
IQs have a mean of 100 and a standard

deviation of 15

Correlation between IQ & Academics

IQ and high school grades: 0.6
University grades: 0.3 - 0.5
US university entrance examinations: 0.5
Correlation high enough to justify using it but not
just it alone

Correlation between IQ & Other Things

Army Alpha

A prof at Stanford developed an IQ test for

american culture. Initially verbal based, now
includes Verbal Reasoning, Abstract/Visual
Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and ShortTerm Memory.

IQ test for army recruits

IQ test for army recruits that couldnt read

Army Beta

Lorge-Thorndike
Intelligence Test &
Otis-Lennon School
Ability Test
Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale
(WAIS-IV)

Wechsler
Intelligence Scale
for Children (WISC IV)

Still used by school districts today

Measure verbal and non-verbal abilities, most

popular intelligence tests in North America.

Separate scores for Verbal Comprehension,

Perceptual Organization, Freedom from
Distractibility, and Processing Speed
As kids mature, general intelligence remains
stable but specific abilities become more
differentiated

IQ and socioeconomic status: 0.4 - 0.7

IQ and achievement: 0.3 - 0.7

People with higher intelligence perform better on their jobs, especially during training
IQ predicts job performance better than experience, specific abilities, or personality
People high in intelligence show better recovery from brain injuries
Higher childhood IQ = significantly greater survival to age 76

TEST CONCERNS

Validity - does test measure what it s supposed to?

Construct validity - To what extent is the test actually

Reliability - consistency of measurement

Test-retest reliability - are scores stable over time?
Internal consistency - do all items seem to be

measuring the same thing?

Interjudge reliability - do different raters/scorers
agree on their scoring?

measuring the thing of interest?

Content validity - Do the test questions relate to all
aspects of the thing being measured? (Cant just test
addition if youre testing math)
Criterion-related validity - Do scores on the test predict
some present or future behavior related to what its
supposed to measure? (Like what Binet did with the
teachers ratings)

Culture Fairness
Standardization
The development of norms - test scores from a large
sample that represent particular age segments of the
population

Is the test culture-fair or does it require knowledge only

available to specific cultures? I.e. asking an urban community
farming related IQ questions.
Chitterling

test is bias to people in Southern US states

THE NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE

Psychometric Approach
Psychometrics - statistical study of psychological tests
What are the mental abilities of the human mind?
Is intelligence a general mental capacity, or several
specific mental abilities?
Uses factor analysis to see if there are clusters of
abilities that are correlated with each other (ex. if reading,
writing and speaking are correlated maybe there is an underlying
skill that makes you good at all of them)

SPEARMAN
Modern Galton - believed intelligence is a based
on one general skill
Called this general skill the g-factor
The g-factor is what most people call intelligence today
G-factor predicts job success even better than measures
of specific ability tailored to specific jobs

THURSTONE
Modern Binet - believed intelligence is more
complex than just a g-factor
Believed there are 7 independent primary
mental abilities
Believed not all tests are necessarily
correlated because they are measuring

Thurstone' 7
Spacial ability
Verbal
comprehension
Word fluency
Number facility
Perceptual speed
Rote memory
Reasoning

different primary mental abilities

These types of measures are much more
useful for education, because you can help
children succeed in specific subjects

CATTELL & HORN

Believed there are two subtypes of the g-factor:
crystalized and fluid intelligence

Crystallized intelligence (gc) - ability to apply

previous knowledge to current problems
Vocab, info tests
Based on long term memory
Fluid intelligence (gf) - ability to solve new problems
Reasoning, creative problem solving
Towers of hanoi, 9 dot problem
Based on working
We use more fluid intelligence when were children,
and more crystallized when were adults

CARROLL
The Three Stratum Model

Stratum III - General intelligence (g)

Stratum II - Eight broad intellectual factors, in

Cognitive Approach
Attempt to explain why people vary in mental skill
Explore specific info-processing that underlies intellect

order of their correlation with g

Fluid, Crystalized, Memory/learning, Visual,
Auditory, Cognitive speediness, Processing speed

Stratum I - 70 highly specific cognitive abilities

These correlate on average 0.3 with one another,
indicating the influence of g

STERNBERG
Triarchic theory of intelligence
Metacomponents - higher order processes used to plan
and regulate task performance

(Smart people spend more

time framing problems and developing strategies)

Performance components - actual mental processes used

to perform task

(Perception, memory, schema retrieval)

Knowledge-acquisition components - learn from

experience, story info in memory, combine new insights
with old info

Beyond Mental Competencies

Sternbergs Classes Of Intelligence

Analytical intelligence - academic style problem solving
Practical intelligence - skills to cope with everyday

GARDNER

demands, manage oneself and others

Creative intelligence - skills needed to deal adaptively

Gardners Multiple Intelligences

with novel problems

Intelligence is made up of independent intelligences that relate

These classes also have an underlying g-factor but

to different adaptive demands

sometimes they are completely distinct

Linguistic intelligence - the ability to use language well

Logical-mathematic intelligence - ability to reason
mathematically and logically

Visuospatial intelligence - the ability to solve spatial problems

Musical intelligence - the ability to perceive pitch and rhythm
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence - the ability to control body
movements and skillfully manipulate objects

Interpersonal intelligence - the ability to understand and

relate well to others

Intrapersonal intelligence - the ability to understand oneself

Naturalistic intelligence - the ability to detect and understand

Emotional Intelligence

Perceiving emotions
Using emotions to facilitate thought
Understanding emotions
Managing emotions
Measured by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso
Emotional Intelligence Test

phenomena in the natural world

Existential intelligence - oriented ability to ponder questions

about the meaning of one's existence, life, death
The first three are measured by existing tests, the others are
not. Einstein, Tiger Woods and a street-smart gang leader all
exhibit adaptive forms of intelligence says Gardner.

Proponents suggest that emotionally intelligent people

Form stronger emotional bonds with others

Enjoy greater success in careers, marriage, and childrearing
Modulate their own emotions to avoid depression, anger, anxiety
Work more effectively toward long-term goals
More effective coping strategies

PSYCH WITH MIKE

In class, Mike gave the example of a sea serpent underwater to explain the
multifaceted nature of intelligence. You can only see some parts above the
water so you cant properly tell if its one serpent? or two? four?

Aptitude vs Achievement
Achievement testing

Aptitude testing

Pro: is usually a good predictor of future

Pro: It is fairer
Con: It is difficult to construct

performance in a similar situation

Con: it assumes that everyone has had the same
opportunity to learn the material being tested

a test that is independent of

prior learning

Static vs Dynamic Testing

Static testing

Dynamic testing

Completely standardizing test

environment so everyone is
responding to the same
stimulus and all that is being
tested is their ability

Standard testing followed up by the

examiner giving the subject
feedback, and then measuring their
ability to improve and respond to
feedback

The Flynn Effect

The worlds population is progressively
scoring higher and higher on

intelligence tests
The nature of IQ allows its meaning to be
preserved even when this happens because the
mean is always calibrated to be 100 - IQ is a relative
measure
IQs increase 3 points per decade in the west
Why? Better nutrition? Technology? Complex
learning environments?

Dynamic test scores correlate more

highly with education outcomes
Very useful when testing people
without equal educational
opportunities, and people not
accustomed to Western-style testing

Intelligence in Other Cultures

Sternbergs Theory Of Successful Intelligence:
intelligence is what is required to meet adaptive
demands of the culture
Ravens Progressive Matrices - non-verbal
task where one must decipher rules of the
pattern and pick the next figure
Good example of a non culture-specific
measure of intelligence
Other approach is to tailor culture specific
questions for that culture
Ravens Progressive
Matrices

INTELLIGENCE & BIOLOGY

Galton Revived: Intelligence
and Neural Efficiency

Brain Size & Intelligence

In some ways, Einsteins brain was smaller than the average
person. His parietal lobes were 15% wider and extremely
densely packed
Neanderthals had bigger brains than us
Womens brains are larger
Men have 6.5x more grey matter (related to general intelligence)
Women have 10x more white matter (related to connectivity)
So, it would appear men have better info processing and women
have better connectivity
Womens general intelligence tends to be more centralized (e.g.
in frontal lobe)

Genes, Environment & Intelligence

0.5 to 0.7 heritability coefficient for intelligence
Genetic factors become even more important as
we age
30-50% variation accounted for by environment
IQ Scores correlate 0.4 with socioeconomic
status a child is raised in
When deprived children are adopted into
middle/upper class homes, their IQ increase
10-12 points
Environmental factors explain the Flynn effect
(better schooling, parenting, tech, etc.)

Modest relations have been shown between IQ and

brain responses to visual and auditory stimuli
Intelligent people use less glucose when solving
problems, suggesting they work more efficiently
Some believe differences in brain plasticity brains ability to change in response to
environment - may be key
There may be a critical period for growth of neural
circuits that ends around age 16, the same time
when crystalized intelligence stabilizes

Early Childhood Intervention

Children in early intervention programs have lower
crime rates, need less welfare, better grades, and higher
incomes
These programs only work for disadvantaged children,
they do little for children in middle/upper class homes
who already have these resources at home

Effective Schooling to raise IQ

Teach specific program solving approaches, not general
mental ability (focus on specific skills, not g)
Less repetition, more instruction about how to learn,
critical thinking and application
Teach memory enhancement strategies first rather than
waiting for lower-level skills to be mastered

ETHNIC GROUP DIFFERENCES

There are consistent differences in the intelligence test scores of
members of different racial/national groups
Asian > White > African-American in terms of average scores
Asians have lower verbal scores but higher spatial/math scores

Explanation for Differences

Black people are less likely to be schooled in enriched
environments
As more black people had access to school because of social
changes over the last 25 years, the IQ gap dropped
Family environmental factors account for 2/3 of the test
score gap
In reality, there is more variation within groups than
between them

GENDER DIFFERENCES

Outcome bias

Predictive bias - if test

Extent that a test

underestimates a
persons true ability

predicts criterion (e.g.

school performance) for
some groups but not
others

Explanation

Men are better at

Women are better at

Spatial tasks
Target directed skills (throwing)
Math reasoning

Perceptual speed
Verbal fluency
Math calculation
Precise manual tasks

Different social experiences (boys catch balls when

they grow up)
Evolutionary: men hunt (visuospatial), women raise
kids + make tools (verbal + precise manual abilities)
Hormones affect brain organization
Women 7 days before period have more estrogen
and perform better on precise motor tasks

Q.

A woman should do better than a man at all but:

A game of darts
Tests of mathematical calculation
Tests of fine motor coordination
Tests of perceptual speed
Tests of verbal fluency

A game of darts. (Tilt screen to see answer)

MENTAL DISABILITY
3-5% (10 millions people) of the population is cognitively disabled
4 forms: Mild, moderate, severe, profound
Mild (85%): Can attend school but difficulty with reading, writing, memory, math
With social support, can function normally in society
Variety of causes (genetic, biological, environmental)
28% genetic abnormalities
Profound retardation is caused by genetic accidents, so it doesnt run in families
Mild retardation is much more likely to run in families
Also could be caused by oxygen deprivation, disease/drugs during pregnancy
For 75-80%, no clear biological cause can be identified

PSYCH WITH MIKE

SAVANT SYNDROME
The term idiot savant was coined by J. L. Down, the
guy that discovered Down Syndrome
Idiot was an accepted category of mental retardation
(IQ < 25), although savants usually have higher IQs
than that
Savants are people with mental disabilities that excel
in a very narrow range of abilities
Most common combination: blind and autistic with
very high musical skill
May have multiple skills (usually just one)
All seem to be right hemisphere based skills
All linked with phenomenal (but narrow) memory
Savants are very rare: less than 100 reports, only 25
living
6x more likely in males
About half of savants have autism

Example of Skills Some

Savants Have

Lightening-fast math
Music
Calendar calculations
Art
Mechanical or spatial abilities
Time estimation
Sensory discrimination
ESP?

CAUSES?
1. Eidetic Imaging

2. Heredity

Perhaps photographic memory?

Unlikely.
Some can make calculations
beyond things they have seen
High % are blind

Early studies suggest family

relationship but recent data
suggests no

4. Reinforcement
3. Sensory Deprivation
Sensory deprivation resulting
from autism promotes intense
concentration. But 90% of autistic
kids dont develop any
exceptional skills so there must
be something more.

Social attention serves as

reward for display of
talent.
Unlikely: many crave
attention without
developing exceptional
talent

5. Lateralization - the most likely cause

Most savants have left hemisphere deficits
Right hemisphere develops before the left in the womb
If damage occurs while left is still developing (10 to 18th week),
neurons in left die
Right hemisphere recruits neural connections across the corpus
callosum
Effect can be triggered by testosterone (explains why its more likely
in males)

PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENT DISORDER

Other forms of Autism

Is a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Aspergers disorder - highest functioning

Retts disorder
Childhood disintegrative disorder

1 in 50 births
More common in males when IQ > 35
Universal, in every society in the world
Symptoms develop before 36 months

Symptoms

Causes

Impaired social interactions

Not vaccines

No friends
No eye contact, even with mom

Dr. Andrew Wakefield

faked the data for the
studies linking autism
to vaccines

Impaired communication

Not poor parenting

Has a genetic tag

If one child has autism, risk
increases by a factor of 10,000

Limited or unusual speech

Echolalia - they repeat what you say

Brain damage likely

Restricted behaviors, interests

MRI scans show abnormally small cerebellum (responsible

for fine tuned motor behaviors)
Only visible around age 3, brain is normal at birth
Cortex and white matter overload the cerebellum and
destroy Purkinje cells

Like things to stay the same

Ritualistic behavior, e.g.
Spinning around
Looking at hand for hours

Treatment

Drugs not really effective

Intense social stimulation and care are the best option
Effectiveness of treatment depends on IQ loss
The higher IQ is, the more stimulation can help

MOTIVATION & EMOTION CHAPTER 11

INSTINCT THEORY

HOMEOSTASIS AND DRIVE THEORY

Instinct - inherited predisposition to

Homeostasis - state of internal physiological equilibrium that the body

behave in a specific and predictable way to

a particular stimulus
Genetic, universal within species and
doesnt depend on learning
Human instinct theories are questionable
and often rely on circular reasoning
Today scientists examine hereditary
contributions to motivation by looking at
how much specific behaviors are
hereditary

strives to maintain
Homeostasis requires a sensory mechanism to detect environmental
changes, a response system and a control centre to activate the response
system

Drive Theory (Clark Hull) - disruptions to homeostasis produce drives

that motivate the organism to restore the balance (hunger, thirst)
Proposed that reducing drives is the ultimate goal of
motivated behavior
Problem with the theory: people often do things that
increase arousal like diet or watch horror movies

INCENTIVE AND EXPECTANCY THEORIES

Drives are internal push factors, incentives are environmental pull factors
Hull believed incentives are things that reduce biological drives (food reduces
hunger) but nowadays it is believed that stimuli can be incentives in absence
of biological drive, for example:
Eating desert even if youre full
People take drugs to make themselves feel good, not to avoid withdrawal

Extrinsic motivation - doing something for reward/avoid punishment

Intrinsic motivation - doing something for its own sake
Over-justification hypothesis - giving extrinsic motivation for something
you already intrinsically value makes you want to do it less. Once you stop
being rewarded for it, you no longer want to do it.

Expectancy value theory

(AKA just Expectancy theory)
Goal-directed behavior is determined by
Strength of expectation that
behavior will lead to goal
(expectancy)
Value person places on goal (value)

Motivation = expectancy * value

If you have low expectancy or low
value, you wont be motivated

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES

HUMANISTIC THEORIES

To Freud, unconscious impulses struggling

Maslows Need Hierarchy - once the bottom needs are

for release motivate our behaviors

satisfied, then we move up to the next need

SELF
ACTUALIZATION

Fulfilling
our potential

ow

th

Ne
e

ds

His theories prompted research into selfesteem and relatedness

COGNITIVE NEEDS

those they are connected to.

Workers given freedom to develop their own plans feel
more bond with their company.

ed

ESTEEM NEEDS

Knowledge
Approval,
Recognition

ne
fic
ien
cy

contradictory. People feel freer to be themselves around

De

Autonomy and relatedness are complementary, not

Self-determination theory - three fundamental needs:

Competence - need to master new challenges & perfect skills
Autonomy - people experience their actions out of free choice
Relatedness - desire to form meaningful bonds with others

Beauty

Gr

MORE HUMANISTIC THEORIES

AESTHETIC NEEDS

BELONGINGNESS & LOVE NEEDS

SAFETY NEEDS
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

Acceptance,
Affection
Security
Food, Drink

Critics say: Why do prisoners of war endure torture instead of

betray their county? Why do women starve themselves to be thin?

HUNGER
Metabolism - bodys rate of energy utilization
Your body regulates this short-term (hunger) and
long-term (how much fat you have)
Hunger is not necessarily linked with immediate
energy needs. Homeostatic mechanisms are designed
to prevent you from running low in the first place.

Signals that Start/End Meal

Hunger pangs and fullness can be experienced even if all the nerves
from the stomach to the brain are cut, or if the stomach is removed.
Fullness is caused both by physical signals and chemical signals
Glucose is the bodys main source of useable fuel
Hypothalamus and liver monitor glucose levels
Intestines release peptides to help terminate meal
CCK (cholecystokinin), for example, makes you feel full

Signals That Regulate Appetite & Weight

Brain Mechanisms

Fat secrets leptin, which decreases appetite (the

The lateral hypothalamus (LH) appeared to be the hunger-on centre

fatter we are, the less appetite we have)

Leptin would make you feel full sooner by
increasing your sensitivity to your bodys chemical/
physical fullness signals
Genetic problems with leptin production or
reception can cause obesity

Stimulating it makes a rat hungry, destroying it makes the rat starve itself
The ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) appeared to be the hunger-off
centre
But it turned out that many brain nerves funnel through the
hypothalamus, so it was probably something else
Paraventricular nucleus - cluster of neurons within hypothalamus
Secrets neuropeptide Y which makes us very hungry
Leptin inhibits this, so when we are dieting we lose leptin and feel very
hungry

Psychological Aspects of Hunger

Food is positively reinforced by taste and
negatively reinforced by hunger suppression
Women think they are fatter than they should be,
men dont as much
Women think men want skinnier bodies than they
actually do, men think women want bulkier bodies
than they do
Women restrict eating to restore self-esteem

OBESITY

Cultural and Environmental Factors

Peoples eating is sensitive to portion size, # of people present and
amount others eat
People eat more if there is more variety (buffets)
Smells, sights and sounds classically conditioned with foods we like
can make us hungry even if we already ate

Obesity is not caused by a lack of willpower or emotional disturbances.

Maybe obese people react more strongly to food cues? (Schachter, 1968).
Evidence for this is mixed.
Genetics accounts for 40-70% of variation in body mass
Obesity is linked to a combined effect of genes (not one gene)
Environment matters too (USA has more obesity)
Abundance of cheap fatty food
Cultural emphasis on getting the best value (supersizing)
Technology that decreases physical activity
Pima Indians of Arizona were genetically predisposed to obesity that their
cultural lifestyle prevented. However, after WWII, they became exposed to
American food and now they have very high obesity rate.

DIETING

Being fat primes you to stay fat

Obese people have more insulin which increases conversion of glucose to fat
Dieting decreases your metabolism because you have less energy to spend
We dont have good estimates of weight-loss success rates because so many people just do
it on their own without clinics and are never heard from
It is important to avoid cues that make you hungry
Eating a small amount of food before a meal makes you hungrier (appetizer)
It increases variety which increases consumption
Stimulates insulin secretion which increases hunger
Weight lost through exercise is regained much slower than weight lost through dieting
Exercising makes your metabolism better because all you lose is fat (not lean body mass
too like with dieting)

SEXUAL MOTIVATION
Peer pressure is more important than sexual gratification when
predicting who will have sex earliest
Men have sex for the first time 1 or 2 years later than women
10-20% of women find sex not pleasurable
Non-married cohabiting partners have the most sex of all groups

Hypothalamus pituitary gland gonadotropins

gonads secrete androgens (testosterone) and estrogens
Sex hormones direct development of male/female characteristics in womb
(organizational effects)
Males constantly release hormones (always sexually receptive), women
follow estrus cycle (only receptive during high periods)
Contrary to popular belief, short term hormonal fluctuations have little
effect on sex drive
Androgens are primary influence of sex desire (in both men and women)
Removing androgens produces gradual loss of sexual desire, desire
does not go up and down like a yo-yo with regular changes

Sexual response cycle

excitement phase

plateau phase

orgasm phase

resolution phase

refractory period
Orgasm not possible for
a period. This period is
shorter for women.

Violent pornography increases aggression

Research shows that giving men info about sexual assault
reduces rape myths
Sexual orientation is a combination of genetics and
environment - 50% concordance rates with identical twin

ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
Motivation for success - outperforming others, mastery goals
Fear of failure - performance avoidance goals

High-need achievers perform best when

Doing challenging/important tasks

Perception of personal responsibility
Perception of possibility of not succeeding
Opportunity for performance feedback

Having both is NOT better

than just being motivated for
success - stress is bad!

High achievers choose tasks with medium difficulty

because outcome is uncertain.
People with fear of failure choose tasks where
success is either assured or not expected at all.
High-need for achievement develops when parents
encourage achievement but do not punish failure.

MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICT
Approach-approach conflict - picking between two desirable things
Avoidance-avoidance conflict - two undesirable choices
Approach-avoidance conflict - attracted and repelled by the same thing
Avoidance tendency increases faster than approach as we approach the goal
Delay discounting - value of a reward decreases the longer you have to wait for it

PSYCH WITH MIKE

NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR
Paralanguage

Non-content aspects of speech

Tone of voice
Speed
Amplitude
Rise time/fall time
Hesitations and pauses

Interpersonal distance
Halls Interaction Zones - the distance we use in interaction conveys
the social significance of the people interacting
Intimate zone: Touch-0.5m (close friends, lovers)
Personal zone: 0.5 - 1.25m (talking to acquaintances, strangers)
(strangers in a mall)
Social zone: 1.25 - 3.5m
(public speaking)
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures prefer closer distances

Public zone: 3.5 - 7.5m

Eye Contact
Typical conversation: 60-70%
gazing
30% mutual eye contact
1-3 second eye contact at a time
Eye contact longer than 7
seconds is a stare (people really
dont like stares from strangers)

Facial expressions
Typically emotions
May reflex other cognitive
states (e.g. comprehension)

Body movement/position
Kinesics - movement, posture, etc.
Gestures - hand signals
Ekman & Friesen (1969) - types of gestures
Emblems - meaningful substitutes for language
(huge cultural differences)
Illustrators - Accompany speech, accent a point, etc
Regulators - maintain or change speakers

LYING

EMOTION

Intentional falsehoods
Eye-contact is a good indicator of lying
Women are better at lying and at detecting it

Ekman: nonverbal cues that escape attempts to conceal lies

Can detect lying with microexpressions
Ekmans study: its easier to detect deception in the body than in
the face. Its easier to control your face than your body.
Average ability to detect deception is 55%
Are customs officials or police officers better at detecting lying? No.
What about police and customs officials detecting lying in kids? Still
no. But they thought they did well.

Orienting responses or taxes

Overall musculature response toward
(positive taxes) or away way from (negative
taxes) a stimulus
Example: Moths have a positive phototaxis
(response to light) moths, cockroaches have
a negative phototaxis

Autonomic Nervous System

Sympathetic nervous
system: gears up for action
Accelerated heart rate
Inhibition of peristalsis
Vasoconstriction

vs

Parasympathetic nervous
system: conserves energy
Decelerated heart rate
Stimulation of peristalsis
Vasodilation

These are antagonistic - they have rebound effect. If you activate one, you
activate the other.
Some emotions have distinct arousal patterns, others dont (jealousy, tenderness)
Anger and fear both speed up heart rate but where blood gets pumped differs
Anger causes blood to go to hands a feet, whereas fear reduces blood there
Polygraph tests try to use this but they have very high rate of false positives

Pupil Dilation
Hess & Polt (1960)
Showed people interesting
slides and recorded their eyes
The more interesting the slide,
the wider your pupils dilate
Men found women more
attractive if the womans pupils
were retouched to be larger
Maybe because the men
interpret it as a sign that the
women are interested

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLEASURE & AROUSAL

Stimulus intensity and novelty cause fear: why do we like
new and intense things?
Berlynes set point theory: everyone has a set point of
neutral arousal
If we raise or lower arousal a little bit, we like it
(relaxation or excitement)
But if we raise of lower it too much, we dont like it
(boredom or stress)

Darwin: expression

Freud: expression

intensifies experience

reduces experience
In a study by Tourangeau &
Ellsworth, highly aroused subjects
show little expressiveness.

THEORIES OF HOW EMOTION WORKS .

Common Sense Theory
Emotion provoking event

Perception (danger)

Perception of emotion (fear)

Bodily Arousal

James-Lange Theory - the body informs the mind of emotions (somatic theory)
Emotion provoking event

Perception (danger)

Bodily Arousal

Perception of emotion (fear)

Canon-Bard Theory - brain simultaneously causes both

Bodily Arousal
Emotion provoking event

Subconscious
thalamus
activity

Perception of emotion (fear)

Ekman

Izard: Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Low heart rate emotions

Happiness
Disgust
Surprise
High heart rate emotions
Anger (high skin temperate)
Fear or Sadness (low skin temperate)

Facial expressions cause emotions

Number of studies indicate that the adoption of the
appropriate expression yields that emotion

Laird: Subjects asked to smile OR frown

Self reported happiness is higher in the group thats smiling
Stimuli are seen as funnier for smile group

Is movement of facial muscles really

necessary to experience emotion?
Patient with bilateral facial paralysis did report
feeling emotional.
However, after Botox (when facial expressions are
inhibited), there is less activity in the emotional parts
of the brain (amygdala).
Subjects report higher happiness when told to hold a
pencil in their mouth, simulating smiling

Q.

Whenever John sees June, his heart starts to race, his

breaching rate goes up, and his pupils dilate. Whats being
activated?
Sympathetic nervous system. (Tilt screen to see answer)

The difference between Bard-Cannon and Lazarus

Theory is that Lazarus is based on appraisal. Two
people would only experience the same emotion
in the situation if their appraisals of the situation
and of their own arousal were the same.

COGNITIVE-AFFECTIVE THEORIES OF EMOTION .

Perception of emotion (fear)

Lazaruss Theory

Emotion provoking event

1

Appraisal of situation

Bodily Arousal
2

Schachters Two Factor Theory

Emotion provoking event

Perception

Bodily Arousal

Type of emotion

Intensity of emotion

Emotion

Perception and arousal determine

separate aspects of the ultimate
emotion. If you inject people with
epinephrine (arousal), they report more
happiness from a comedy and more
fear from a horror movie. But if you
warn them of the effects of the drug, the
effect goes away. So, if you think your
heart rate is going up because youre
happy, you become happier.

The Amygdala
Evaluates the emotional significance of
sensory input
Generates immediate reaction
Removal of amygdala results in psychic

Dutton & Aron (1974)

Excitation Transfer

Men who see a woman while on a

scary bridge find the woman more
attractive. They misattribute the
arousal of the bridge as arousal
from the woman.

Residual arousal from one event is

transferred to another situation
Working out at the gym will make
you feel more emotional
People rate others as more attractive
after a roller coaster than before

blindness
Objects lose psychological significance
Fearful stimuli no longer cause fear
Subject no longer desires food or sex
Can no longer identify facial expressions
Hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus &
prefrontal cortex are also all involved in
emotion
Dual system: amygdala responds first with
emotion, then cortex analysis situation

Lateralization of Emotion
Right hemisphere plays greater role than left in emotion
However, damage to the left frontal lobe can be just as bad for emotional perception
You can see emotions more & earlier in the left side of the face (because the right
side controls it)
Left hemisphere activates positive emotions, right activates negative ones
Damage to left depression, damage to right indifference/euphoria

NATURE AND
FUNCTIONS OF EMOTION

Lazarus: There is always a link between motives and emotions

Motivations are internal stimuli to direct behavior
Emotions are responses to events that relate to important goals
Emotions have adaptive value: rousing us to action, helping us
communicate, eliciting empathy and help

Features of Emotion (Averill)

Response to external/internal stimuli
Response of cognitive appraisal of this stimuli
Body responds physiologically to appraisal
Include behavior tendencies
Is an ongoing dynamic process

THE BEHAVIORAL COMPONENT

Empathy - others emotional displays evoke similar emotions in us
Expressive behaviors - emotional displays from which we can
infer others emotions
University students responded to angry/happy faces with subtle
facial responses within a third of a second

Display rules - norms indicating when and how

emotions are expressed
Thumbs up in Greece means fuck you
Spitting on someone in Masai tribe is a compliment
Japanese cultures have more subdued emotions
than Western cultures
In Utku Inuit culture, anger is absent (except to dogs
and exiled people)

EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS
Darwin argued that emotional displays are products of evolution
(both humans and wolves show their teeth when angry)
There is evidence of fundamental emotional patterns
Expressions of rage/terror are similar across cultures
The expression of winning athletes at the olympics are universal
In general, there is 40-70% agreement among cultures regarding
emotions
Children blind from birth express these basic emotions the same
as sighted children
Still, some cultures express some emotions differently
Women are better at reading emotions (maybe because of womens
evolutionary role, or cultural encouragement)

Q.

If an individual was completely unable to experience arousal, but

still reported an experience of emotion, this would argue strongly
against which theory of emotion?

James-Lange. (Tilt screen to see answer)

Performance and Arousal

There is an optimal level of arousal, you can either
have too much or too little
The optimal level depends the complexity of the
task. More complex tasks require less arousal.

NOTE: Does not cover the

Adolescence and Adulthood section
of this chapter. You should skim that.

DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 12
Nature vs Nurture

Stage vs Continuous Development

Nature picks the maximum (how tall you

can be, nature decides what you end up
with (ex. proper nourishment).

Stages are discontinuous and separated by rapid

growth (like caterpillar butterfly). Continuous
development is a smooth gradual change (like a
growing tree).

Critical periods vs Sensitive Periods

Critical periods are age ranges where certain
experiences must occur for proper
development (ex. experiencing language).
Sensitive periods, rather, are optimal periods
for certain experiences.

Stability vs Change
Do our characteristics remain
consistent as we age?

PSYCH WITH MIKE

DEVELOPMENTAL FUNCTIONS
A) No change - present at birth and remains high (sound
discrimination, figure ground perception)
B) Continuous change - develops over life (intelligence)
C) Stages - motor development (rolling, crawling,
standing, walking)

D) Inverted U-shaped - peaks mid-life and goes back

down (visual acuity over life, separation anxiety)

E) U-shaped function - high at birth, disappears midlife but later returns (newborns turning toward offcentered sound, stepping with support)

Individual Testing

Normative Testing
Look for typical sequence of change, look for
consistency. Uses cross-sectional methodology: take a
bunch of people of different ages and test them at once,
then compare how different age groups performed.

vs

The consistency is not there, focus on the individual.

Uses longitudinal methodology: take the same group
of people and retest them over time as they grow older.
Sequential design is when you simultaneously follow
several age groups as they grow older.

PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
germinal stage
embryonic stage
fetal stage
age of viability

first two weeks, called a zygote (fertilized egg)

Sex Determination

2nd to 8th week, called an embryo now

8 weeks on, called fetus
28 weeks, can survive out of womb

Egg always has X chromosome, sperm

can have X or Y
Y chromosome contains TDF (testis

Environmental Influences
During the end of the pregnancy baby moves when they hear a loud sound
Fetuses learn: they stop responding to repeated sounds, indicating that
they have short term memory
Newborns prefer the sounds they get to know in last months of pregnancy
Fetuses learn about odors from mothers diet - if mom likes anise-flavored
foods, so will they

determining factor) gene that triggers

male development
At six to eight weeks, TDF causes testes
to develop, which secrete androgens
(testosterone)
If androgens arent secreted, female
development happens instead

Teratogens - environmental agents that cause abnormal prenatal development

Fetal alcohol syndrome - facial

STDS - 25% of mothers with syphilis

Smoking increases the risk of

abnormalities and small, malformed

brains. IQ and motor impairments.
A third to a half of alcoholic
mothers kids have FAS
No amount of exposure to alcohol is
safe for fetus

have stillborns, 25% of mothers with

HIV give it to their kids

miscarriage, premature birth, and

low birth weight

Heroin/cocaine causes addiction for the

baby, loss of cognitive function, arousal
regulation, attention

NEWBORN DEVELOPMENT
Newborn Learning
Can distinguish mother from stranger
within hours of birth
Prefer looking at novel stimuli
Prefer hearing novel stimuli, will turn
away from habituated sounds
Can learn through classical, operant or
observational learning

Brain Development

100-200 billion neurons at birth

No more neurons produced after the second trimester
Increase in brain weight over time due to glial cells & myelination, not neurons
Number of synapses increases rapidly
Cortical development mirrors the emergence of abilities
Different parts of the brain develop at different times
Frontal lobe develops last

Hearing
Taste & Smell

Very much like adult

Suck faster for sweet liquids
Reject salty liquids
Pleased expression for bananas
Frown for rotten eggs
These preferences must be hard wired

Visual System
Infants prefer complex patterns, human
faces to solid colors

Prefer complex sounds to monotone ones

Especially sensitive to sounds in range of the human voice
Prefer voice most similar to moms
First few days: turn head towards sounds, discriminate sound sequences
Sound localization - will turn their head towards an off-center sound. This
behavior follows a U-shaped function - it disappears in the second month and
returns in 4/5th month (reason unclear).
Another U-shaped function: newborns can discriminate between foreign
language phonemes at birth, but they lose this when they learn their native
tongue. However, they can relearn a foreign language later in life.
Young infants also appear to perceive music as adults do

1st day

3-4 months

Visual tracking: turn head to keep object

in view (especially moms face)
Visual accommodation not well
developed, but can focus 18-38 cm away
Visual acuity about 20/600 (thats terrible)
Improves steadily over first eight months

Some depth perception

Binocular vision only, can not judge
distance with one eye covered
(monocular depth cues are learned)
Pattern perception organized by
Gestalt principles of closure and
proximity, others come later

4-5 months: can reach for nearby toys

6-7 months: ability to accurately grasp
9-10 months: avoid the deep end of visual cliff

Motor Development

Environmental and Cultural Influences

Bundle of reflexes at birth

Babinski reflex: toes fan when sole of foot is touched

Grasping: fingers clench object in hand
Rooting: head turns towards object on cheek
Moro reflex: if theres a sudden head shift, babys arms swing up
Most disappear as child grows older (Babinski is gone by 8 months)

Rats raised in enriched environment have heavier

brains, larger neurons, more synapses, and more
neurotransmitters that enhance learning
Physical touch affects growth - massaging premature
babies speeds up weight gain and neurological
development
Experience and culture affect what age you will walk

Motor development is:

Cephalocaudal - progresses from head to feet
Proximodistal - proceeds from centre to extremities

PIAGET & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Most cited theorist after Freud

Observed his own kids
Found that kids dont think the same way as adults
Observed four stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor Stage (0-2yrs)

Understand world entirely though

sensory and motor experience

Coordination of activities not present
until 5 months
No self concept
Object permeance - understanding that
objects continue to exist even when they
cannot be seen. Happens at 8 months.
Pseudo-imitation is present - child can
imitate but only if the action was just
produced (11-12 months)
Symbolic/representational thought
emerges towards end

Assimilation - new experiences are incorporated into existing schemas

Young infant sees new object, they will try to suck it
Child sees horse for the first time: these are big doggies

Accommodation - new experiences cause existing schemas to change

Some things cant be sucked
Big doggie doesnt do dog things

Pre-operational Stage (2-7yrs)

Symbolic thinking: images and words

to represent objects
Dont understand conservation - the
idea that quantity of something (ex. a
liquid) is the same regardless of what
container it is put it
Thinking displays egocentrism (cant
view the world from other peoples
perspective), irreversibility (cant
imagine reversing an action), and
centration (focus on one aspect of a
situation)

Conservation. If you pour the water

from B into C and ask a pre-operational
child which container has more, theyll
say C has more water than A.

Concrete Operational Stage (7-11yrs)

Can think logically about concrete events/objects, but

thinking is still tied to the real world
Trouble thinking abstractly
Less centration
Grasp concepts of conservation, reversibility (7yo)
and serial ordering (put these in order of height)
Rigid thinking

Concrete Operational Stage (7-11yrs)

Can think more logically, abstractly, and flexibly

Thinking like adults
Can form hypotheses and test them systematically
If you ask them to play 20 questions, they start by asking general
questions (is it a person?). Younger kids just guess specific things right
away (is it Elmo?).
Thinking is no longer rigid - can use reversible thinking

CRITICISM OF PIAGETS STAGES

Universality
The general stages occur cross-culturally,
although Piaget equated cognitive
development with scientific-logical thinking,
and not all cultures do that.

Zone of proximal development

Theres a difference between what a child can do
independently and with assistance from adults.
We can move a childs development forward
(within the limit of the zone).

Object Permeance

Conservation

Some suggest infants have earlier

understanding of object permeance that Piaget
suggest. According to the violation of

Maybe there is a methodology problem with

conservation experiments. If a powerful figure
like the experimenter changes something
(pours the water from B to C) and asks you if its
different now, you feel like you should say yes.

expectancy method, infants stare longer if

they are surprised by something. Spelke did
studies with moving rods behind blocks to
show 4 month olds have some understanding of
object permeance, because they stare longer
when the rod doesnt come back on the other
side.

Egocentrism
Children can show non-egocentrism if its a
familiar scene. Piagets tests used unfamiliar
scenes.

False Beliefs Test

1. Child and Teddy (a teddy bear)
examine a green and red box. Candy
is in the red box, nothing in the green.
2. Teddy leaves the room.
3. Child and the experimenter move the
candy to the green box.
4. Teddy comes back. Child is asked
where will teddy look for the candy?

3-4yr olds say: green box. They cant

see the world from Teddys perspective.
4-5yr olds say: red box. They are
exhibiting non-egocentrism. This is
troubling for Piagets theory.

Formal Thinking
Mortonano studies 11-18 year olds and
argues that even 18 year olds dont have
format thinking, much less 11 year olds.

Theory of the mind - ability to understand other peoples mental states

Piaget said that children under 7 have trouble understanding what people are thinking
But by age 4, children can tell other people have different info than them
Children 3-7 can lie convincingly: parents, strangers, trained officials cant detect the lies
Children can tell elaborate lies, but they become more detectable
3-months old have joint-attention - if you are looking at them and then switch to an object, they
look at the object too
1.5 - 2 years: child will only attach name to an object if the adult is looking at it as they say the name
By age 4, children only attach words to objects if adult appears certain about objects name

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL & PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Temperament - general style of reacting emotionally and behaviorally to the environment
2-year-olds that were highly shy/unshy continued being shy/unshy 7-year-olds
Shy 3 year olds had fewer adult relationships, undercontrolled 3 year olds were more antisocial

Eriksons Psychosocial Theory

Personality develops through 8 major
psychosocial stages involving a
different crisis.

Age

Crisis

Description

0-1

Basic trust vs Basic mistrust

Depending on how well our needs are met (how much

love and attention we get), we trust or distrust the world

1-2

Autonomy vs Shame and doubt

If parents restrict and make harsh demands, children

develop shame and doubt their abilities

Initiative vs Guilt

If they are allowed freedom to explore, they develop a

sense of initiative. If held back or punished, they
develop guilt about their curiosity.

3-5

6-12

Industry vs Inferiority

12-20

Identity vs Role confusion

20-40

Intimacy vs Isolation

40-65

Generatively vs Stagnation

Children who experience pride and encouragement

develop industry: strive to achieve. Children with
repeated failure and lack of praised develop inferiority.

Etc etc. The names of the stages are pretty clear. Focus
more on the theory in an abstract sense rather than the
details of each specific stage.

ATTACHMENT
Attachment - strong emotional bond

Cupboard theory (Freud) - attachment to mom

between children and caregivers. In

humans, it involves a sensitive period.

is a side-effect of her ability to give food

In reality, contact is more important in fostering
attachment than nourishment
Premature babies develop faster if they are
touched and held

Imprinting - biologically primed form of attachment

Birds follow whoever they see when they hatch
Occurs in birds, and a few mammals
Involves critical period

Attachment Phases
Indiscriminate attachment Newborns cry, smile to everyone and
this evokes caregiving from adults

Discriminate attachment - At 3
months infants direct attachment to
familiar caregivers

Strange Situation Test (SST)

Infant plays with mom in a room. Then a
stranger (the experimenter) enters the room
and mom leaves. In a few minutes, mom
comes back. The way the infant reacts to her
return determines the childs attachment

style.

Attachment is a predictive characteristic. It

describes you later in life too.
Avoidant subjects report never having been in love at
18, secure subjects report enduring relationships
Children with higher levels of avoidance have less
sexual satisfaction later in life

Specific attachment behavior - 7-8

months, develop first meaningful attachment.
Caregivers become secure base.

Attachment Styles
Securely attached infants -

Anxious resistant infants -

reacts positively to strangers,

distressed when mom leaves,
greets her when she returns
(50-75% of infants)

fearful of stranger when moms

there, demand attention, highly
distressed when she leaves, not
soothed when she returns

Anxious avoidant infants few signs of attachment, self cry

when mom leaves, dont seek
contact when she returns

Attachment Deprivation

Daycare

Infancy is a sensitive period, not critical period, for

attachment development
Prolonged attachment depravation creates risks but when
placed in a nurturing environment at a young enough
age, many if not most become attached to caretakers and
grow into normal adults

If daycare is high quality doesnt disrupt

attachment to parents
No differences in social development as long
as the care is good
Can actually improve cognitive development

Parenting Styles
Freud: 5 Psychosexual Stages

Q.

If you predict a monkey would rather

have a cold wire-frame mother that
gives it food, than a warm soft
comforting mother that doesnt give it
food, you are following which theory:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

CONTROLLING

dad to overcome this

4. Latency (5-13yrs)
5. Genital (13+)

WARM

PERMISSIVE

1. Oral stage (1st year)

2. Anal stage (2nd year)
3. Phallic (3-5yrs)
Oedipal crisis - psychologically become

Piagets theory
Kohlbergs theory
Cupboard theory (freuds theory)
Lack of attachment
Contact comfort

Authoritative
Clear rules, consistently
enforce them, reward
compliance with affection.
Positive outcomes in life.

COLD

Authoritarian
Low self esteem, less
popular in school, perform
poorly in life.

Neglectful
Indulgent
Immature, self-centered
children.

Insecurely attached
children, low achievement,
disturbed relationships,
aggressive.

These factors are bidirectional - an irritable child causes his

parents to be harsher.

C (Tilt screen to see answer)

Q.

William can draw a map showing the route to school and shows
reversible thinking. Which Piagentan stage of child development
is he probably in?

Concrete Operational Stage (Tilt screen to see answer)

SOCIAL THINKING & PERCEPTION CHAPTER 13

Personal (internal) attributions - people's behavior is caused by their own characteristics
Situational (external) attributions - aspects of the situation cause peoples behavior

Your friend Kim says Calc 1000 is a bad class. To evaluate, we use:
Consistency - Does she always say its bad, or does she like it at other times?
Distinctiveness - Does she only think Calc 1000 is bad, out of all her courses?
Consensus - Does everyone think its bad?
If all three are high, we make a situational attribution: Psych 1000 really is shitty.
If consistency is low, transient conditions are in play: Kims in a bad mood maybe.
If consistency is high, but the other two are low, we make a personal attribution: Kim is too critical.

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR

Humans tend to overestimate personal attribution and underestimate situational attribution.
We expect actors to have the same personality as their characters.
We expect a student to agree with the paper they wrote, even if we know their position in the paper was assigned
by the teacher.
But we dont make this error about ourselves
We have more info about the situation
Figure-ground relations - when we watch people, they are the focus and the situation is the background
Self-serving bias - failures are situational, successes are personal

Culture Differences in Attribution

Individualistic cultures make more personal
attributions than collectivistic ones (India, Korea)
More holistic thinking in those cultures results in
considering more info when making attributions
Chinese culture values modesty so people make have less
self-serving bias

Impressions
Primacy effect - tendency to attach more importance to
the initial info that we learn about a person
Recency effect takes over when we are told specifically
to avoid making snap judgements

Schemas

Self-fulfilling prophecy - your wrong expectation

If you are told a person is cold, you think theyre cold

If told theyre shy, same behavior makes you think theyre shy
Stereotypes are schemas
Study: A girls performance on answering questions is rated
higher if participants think her parents are upper class

causes the expected behavior to happen

You smile less to the person you think is cold, so
they act colder to you

ATTITUDES
Theory of Planned Behavior
Intention to do something is strongest when:
We have a positive attitude toward that behavior
When subjective norms (our perceptions of what other people
think we should do) support our attitudes
When we believe that the behavior is under our control

Attitudes influence behaviour more when

counteracting situational factors are weak
Attitudes have a greater influence on behaviour
when we are aware of them and when they are
strongly held
General attitudes are better at predicting general
classes of behaviour, and specific attitudes are
better at predicting specific behaviors

Cognitive Dissonance
Festingers Study:
1. Bring people into a lab and get them to do something really boring
2. When they come out, ask them to do you a favor and tell the guy in the lobby that the task is really fun (guy in the
lobby is actually a confederate)
3. After they lie to the guy, give them either $1 or $20 for lying
4. Then ask them how fun they actually found the task
The people that you give $1 for lying say they like the task more than the people you gave $20 for lying. Why? People
like to think they are honest. But they just did something dishonest (counterattitudinal behavior). To overcome this
dissonance between their actions and their self-perception, they change their opinion on the task. If it was fun, theyre
no longer lying and they can continue feeling honest.

Counterattitudinal behaviour (such as lying when you think youre an honest

person) only produces dissonance if our actions were freely chosen
It is maximized when behavior has consequences, or threatens self-worth
It is reduced by thinking the behaviour wasn't important, finding external
justification, or making other excuses

Self-perception theory (Daryl Bem)

You make inferences between your
own behavior and attitudes just like
you do with others. You actually dont
know if you liked it or not. Its not
dissonance, you just feel you must have
liked it if you did it for $1.

Difference between dissonance and self-perfection theory:

Dissonance assumes heightened arousal caused by
counterattitudinal behavior
If participants are made to think the arousal is caused by a pill,
the effect of dissonance is reduced
In situations where behavior doesnt threaten self-image, or if we
didnt have strong opinions to begin with, the effect is caused by
self-perception theory
Both are right depending on situation

ATTRACTION
Causes of Attraction
Physical proximity

50% of brides and grooms live within 20 blocks before marriage

You like your neighbors more than people from different buildings
You like people more if you can talk to them easier
We prefer familiarity - you friends prefer a normal photo of you, but
you prefer mirror image (what you normally see in the mirror)

Craig Hill: Four Reasons We Affiliate

To obtain positive stimulation

Receive emotional support
Gain attention
Permit social comparison

Average - people find averaged

faces of many people the most beautiful

Beauty - people date people of similar

attractiveness (matching hypothesis)

Mere exposure effect - repeated exposure increases your liking

under any circumstance (but only if initial reaction isnt negative)

Halo effect - attractive people are seen as having other

positive attributes (except in the courtroom)

Context makes a difference - if Charlies Angels is

playing the background, you rate people less attractive.
You find opposite sex more attractive when the bar/cafe
is about to close.

Similarity

PSYCH WITH MIKE

Straight men prefer baby-faced, thin & seductive,

confident women. High consensus among men.
Straight women prefer mature, dominant faces,
muscular. Lower consensus among women (they
are more selective).
Gay people are inconsistent.

Emotional State - can music

influence attractiveness?

Social Exchange Theory

A relationship is determined by rewards + costs the partners face
Comparison level - outcome one expects from relationship,
determines satisfaction with it
Comparison level for alternatives - potential alternatives,
determines commitment

Sexual strategies theory - men seek fertile young mates, women

Qualities people seek in

ideal long term mates:
1. Mutual attraction/love
2. Dependable character
3. Emotional stability
4. Pleasing disposition
These vary with culture. Cultural differences
are stronger than gender differences

seek older more committed and protection providing mates

Social structure theory - differences in sexual preferences occur due to

society - more gender equal societies have more similar preferences

LOVE
Passionate love -

Companionate love -

intense emotion, arousal,

and yearning for the
partner (less stable)

affection, deep caring about

their well-being, and a
commitment to being there
for them

Making Relationships Work

Gottman: after studying how couples interact, he can predict with 83%
accuracy which marriage would fail
Signs of failure:

Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling

Successful couples experience conflict but make frequent repair attempts,
listen to each other, and deescalate the conflict by soothing each other
Also they make the effort to get to know each other's psychological world
their fears and dreams, philosophy of life, attitudes, and values

Sternbergs Triangular Theory of Love

Love is based on combinations of intimacy,
passion and commitment. Non-love is
absence of all 3.

PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

Amygdala activity is related to implicit racism.

Even when groups are assigned randomly, we display

In-group favoritism
Out-group derogation
Out-group homogeneity - other groups members are

Prejudice confirms itself

more similar to each other than our groups members

Motivational Roots of Prejudice

Displaced aggression - shown to not be true
Realistic conflict theory - competition for limited resources fosters
prejudice

Social identity theory - prejudice stems from a need to enhance

our self-esteem. We take pride in our groups accomplishments,
and threats to our group threaten us. Derogating other groups
makes us feel better.

Prejudice is attitude, discrimination is behavior.

Both negative and unjustified.

Prejudice causes black applicants to be treated worse

by interviewers, which makes they perform worse in
the interview
Stereotype threat - the fear that you will live up to
a stereotype about your group causes you to perform
poorly and actually causes the stereotype to be true
Ex. If a test is described as an intelligence test
black people do worse than white people. If it is
called a lab test they do not.

HELPING OTHERS
Social learning and cultural influences
Norm of reciprocity - we should reciprocate when
others treat us kindly

Norm of social responsibility - we should help

others and contribute to the welfare of society

Empathy-altruism hypothesis - altruism

produced by empathy

Negative state relief model - high empathy

causes us to feel distress when others suffer, so
by helping them we reduce our own personal
distress

Bystander intervention in an emergency

Social comparison is very important in determining if something is an emergency
Bystander effect - presence of multiple bystanders inhibits each person's
tendency to help, due to social comparison and diffusion of responsibility

Who do we help?
Similar people
Men like helping women more, women dont care
People who are not perceived as responsible for their problem
Just world hypothesis - people get what they deserve
(victim blaming) so they are responsible for their situation
and I dont need to help them

AGGRESSION
Frustration-aggression hypothesis
1) All frustration causes aggression
2) All aggression is caused by frustration
Proven false. Some people respond peacefully or
with despair. Pain, provocation, crowding, and
heat also cause aggression.

Learning
When aggression produces positive results, it will
be repeated
It can also be learning by observing others, as with
the Bobo Doll experiments where kids learn how to
attack a Bobo doll

We are more likely to help when we are

in a good mood
guilty about something else
observing a helpful role model
not in a hurry

Biology of Aggression
There is a genetic predisposition to aggression
No one brain structure that turns aggression on and off, its multiple
neural circuits
Hypothalamus - stimulate it in a cat and it will arch its back and attack

Amygdala - defensive aggression decreases if it is destroyed

Frontal lobe - impulse control, impulsive killers had less activity here
Testosterone - social aggression (weaker in humans)

Psychodynamic Factors
Attribution of intentionality - when others negative behavior is

intentional, we are more aggressive (more aggressive people are more

likely to see intent)
Empathy - if someone apologizes, reaction depends on how well we

can understand their viewpoint

Regulation of emotions - cultural and cognitive factors

Psychodynamic Theory
Aggression is an instinctive, never-ending cycle of
buildup and release
Catharsis - aggression discharges aggressive energy
and temporarily reduces impulse to aggress
Problem with this theory: violent porn and vigorous
exercise make you more likely to be violent

Exposure to TV violence is related to aggression

(Social Learning Theory)

Learn new aggressive behaviors through modeling

Believe aggression is rewarded/rarely punished
Desensitized to violence and suffering
Fear of becoming target increases violence
Boys are more susceptible to TV violence
Negative stimulus must be present to trigger it
Aggression highest when situation matches the TV
program situation

Q.

Joyce is opposed to abortion. She is told that she had to

write an essay in favor of it. Will this cause cognitive
dissonance?

No, only voluntary behavior does. (Tilt screen to see answer)

TV/ Aggression Studies

Modeling studies - kids copy the behavior they
see in a TV show and attack a Bobo doll.
Lab studies - Libert & Baron got kids to watch a
violent or non-violent film. Then they are given
the opportunity to help or hurt another child.
Violent film kids spend more time pressing the
hurt button. When kids get older, men are more
violent than women.
Long-term field studies - steady diet of violent
movies makes you more violent.

Playing violent video games has a weak association with

increasing aggression.

SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Social Facilitation (Zajonc) - The presence of
another person increases our arousal and
increases our dominant response. If we are good
at something or if its easy, other people make us
perform better. If we are learning something or
its very complex, they make us perform worse.

Nickolas Cottrell theorized that this effect is due to evaluation

apprehension - the presence of others creates anticipation of
positive or negative outcomes
If your audience is expert, you have higher expectation of
evaluation, and the effect is higher
If audience is blindfolded, you get no effect
But, you do get the effects with mannequins. This effect also
happens in animals. So is it really evaluation apprehension?

GROUPS
Group Performance
Social loafing - people put in less effort when working
in a group
Most likely when
people believe that individual performance within the
group is not being monitored
the task has less value or meaning to the person
the group is less important to the person
task is simple and the person's input is redundant
with that of other group members
Men do it more
Individualist cultures do it more
Fatigue increases it
If the goal is highly desired, social compensation
occurs - working harder to make up for loafing of others

Deindividuation - a loss of individuality

that leads to disinhibited behaviour
Anonymity to outsiders is the key
Deindividuation was a big factor in the
Stanford Prison Experiment, where a mock
jail experiment got way out of hand

Groups Decision Making Is Influenced by:

Acceptance of common goals

Status structure (leaders talk too much)
Group size (effectiveness decreases as group size increases)
Cohesiveness (we-feeling)

Group polarization - ex. conservative groups become more

conservative, liberal groups become more liberal, etc.
Normative social influence - adopt more radical views to
be accepted
Informative social influence - people hear arguments
supporting their positions that they had not previously
considered

Groupthink - tendency for group members to

suspend critical thinking because they are striving
to seek agreement
Most likely when the group:
is under high stress to reach a decision
is insulated from outside input
has a directive leader who promotes his personal
agenda
has high cohesion, reflecting a spirit of closeness and
ability to work well together

CONFORMITY
Informational social influence - follow people because we believe they are right (private acceptance)
Normative social influence - follow people to avoid rejection (compliance)
Nonconformity

Independence - doing what you believe

Anti-conformity - disagreeing not because you think its right, but just to be different

Aschs Line Studies

Factors affecting conformity

Had people look at three lines and pick the

longest one (very easy task)
Everyone in the group but one person (the
subject) was working for the experimenter and
picked the wrong answer
Only 23% of subjects didnt conform to the group
33% yielded to group pressure 7/12 times

Group size - after 4 or 5 conformers, it doesnt

matter how many more you add. Larger groups
only increase conformity up to a certain point.
Presence of a dissenter greatly reduces conformity
If there is economic incentive, conformity
decreases for easy tasks but increases for hard
ones

Compliance Techniques
Foot in the door
Get a small compliance first, then ask for a bigger one.
Will you sign this petition? Will you also donate $5?

Norm of Reciprocity
If others treat us well, we should treat them well.

Door in the face

Make huge request first, then ask the real one.
Will you volunteer 10 hours? Well, will you donate $5?

Law-ball technique
Give a low price and gradually increase it with extra
fees.

Milgrams Obedience Experiment

Volunteers were told the experiment was testing learning. They had to give electric
shocks to the student subject in the other room whenever they got a question wrong.
The shocks are getting gradually more powerful. The student (actually just a recording)
would eventually scream with pain and complain about a heart condition. Would
people still administer the shocks if the experimenter told them to?

65% were completely obedient - this surprised even Milgram

Making the screaming happen earlier only reduced it to 62.5%
40% were still fully obedient if the student was in the same room
30% were willing to manually put the students hand onto a shock plate
When they dont do the shocking themselves, but are one step removed from the act
(i.e. telling someone else to do it) 37 out of 40 subjects comply 100%
When people choose their own shock voltage, they shocked much lower amounts
If there are two authority figures and one tells you to stop but the other doesnt,
obedience is greatly reduced (disobedient models)
Personal characteristics of the participants were not a factor
Making the subjects feel personally responsible for the learner decreases obedience

Models - behavior shaped in absence of direct

intentional influence

Response disinhibitation - model performs a desired,

but prohibited act (jaywalking)
Increase in suicide following highly publicized ones
Response facilitation - copying perfectly allowable
behavior (yawning)

Q.

Katie punches Laura. If you assume that Katie has a

very aggressive personality, you have committed
the...

Fundamental Attribution Error (Tilt screen to see answer)

YOU MADE IT!

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