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Exam Review Ch. 7 Cognition What is cognition? o Mental images, concepts (levels, clarity, prototypes, organization) Problem solving strategies and obstacles What is intelligence? Theories? How is it measured? Issues in measurement? o Extremes of intelligence o Nature vs. Nurture Ch. 8 Lifespan Development Research Designs Know physical, cognitive and psychosocial development theories for o Infancy and childhood development o Adolescence o Adulthood o STUDY EVERYTHING! Stages of death and dying o Criticisms of that theory Ch. 9 Motivation What is motivation? o Be able to identify What is emotion? o 3 components o Theories o Culture and gender differences
Ch. 7 Cognition = knowing o Mental activity associated with processing info o Content and processes Cognitive Psychology arose in the 1950’s o Approach that explains observable behavior by investigating mental processes o Backlash against behaviorism o The invention of the computer helped give them the idea of how the brain can process information Mental processes/cognition = software Our physical brain = hardware How We Think Mental imagery: mental representations that stand for visual objects o Picture-like quality o Includes mental maps Mental manipulation of mental images similar to manipulation of real objects o More detailed questions take longer to answer o “How many windows are in your house?” o Daydreaming, remembering mental processes Concepts: mental grouping of similar objects, events or people o Allow us to learn & remember
o Think of a fruit An apple Concepts tend to be mentally organized as: o Schemas: generalizations about categories of objects, events and people. Remember what Mrs. Davis taught her students o Scripts: schemas about familiar sequences of activities Going out to eat Behaviors which occur in certain situations Problem Solving Mental processes and behaviors necessary for reaching a goal o Does not refer to something immediately obvious o Something that is actually a problem Steps o Identify problem o Analyze problem o Think of solution o Analyze solution o Make decision Problem Solving Strategies Trial and Error o Trying one solution after another until goal is achieved o Effective is you have a lot of time o Works best when you have very limited choices Algorithms o Specific, step-by-step procedures
o Guarantees solution to problem Ex. Cooking w/ a recipe Ex. Multiplication rules Solving anagrams Heuristics o Educated guesses that narrow down possible solutions Insight o Sudden “a-ha” moment of realizing solution o Something that your brain does, generally when you aren’t thinking about the problem you’re trying to solve Heuristics
Representative heuristic: decide whether example belongs to
category based on similarities to members of category o Is the person a librarian or a farmer? o He seems like a librarian due to his characteristics o Leads to a lot of stereotypes
Availability heuristic: judging probability of event based on
examples/experience that can be brought to mind.
Work backward from goal
o Very effective o Must know what the goal is
Hill climbing: moving continually closer to the goal
o Do not work your way back
Ex. Like writing a paper
Sub-goals: breaking a problem into smaller pieces
Theories of Intelligence Spearman’s Theory: 2 different abilities o G factor: the ability to reason and solve problems General intelligence o S factor: the ability to excel in certain areas Specific intelligence Theories of Intelligence o Gardner’s theories o Remember everything Teaster taught us. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: 3 types of intelligence o Analytical: “book smarts” Tend to not to have a lot of “common sense.” o Creative: divergent thinking As many solutions as possible o Practical: “street smarts” Common sense To get along in life Measuring Intelligence Alfred Binet developed first intelligence test in 1904 o Mental Age (MA): Individual’s level of mental development relative to that of other. o Chronological (CA): actual age of individual Stern: Intelligence Quotient (IQ) o IQ = (MA/CA) * 100 Mean IQ = 100
Terman developed English version of Binet’s test (1916): Stanford-Binet test o Used IQ scoring, called IQ test Allows comparisons of different age groups Other popular IQ tests today o Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) o Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) Verbal, working memory, processing speed Validity: the degree to which a test actually measures what it is supposed to measure o Accuracy of test Ecological validity: accuracy in the real world o Is what we’re measuring in a lab what we’re measuring in the real world o Internal validity Reliability: the tendency of a test to produce the same scores repeatedly each time it is given to the same people. o Consistency of test o Testing the same person or a group of people twice. Unreliable and Invalid o A useless test o Worst case scenario Reliable but Invalid o Not measuring what you think you’re measuring Reliable and Valid test o Get the same score every time you take it
Heredity accounts for about 50% of intelligence o Nurture: environment (parents, teachers, home environment) o Gene-environment interactions Certain genes for certain things but if the environment stalls it, they will not manifest. Ch. 8: Lifespan Development Human Development Scientific study of changes that occur in humans from conception until death o Personality, cognitive, biological, social Developmental Psychology Longitudinal Designs o Same group of the people followed over time to examine age-related changes o “Follow the same group of people for a LONG time. Ex: test IQ at 5, 10, 15 over ten year period Think of the chart of people as they age: infant, toddler, child, etc. It is almost like a map. o Advantage: can look at changes within people due to age o Disadvantage: takes a long time to get data; expensive, and participants may move, drop out or die. Attrition: where people drop out of your study Cross-sectional design o Group of different aged participants studied at one point in time to determine age-related differences
Ex: compare IQ scores at 5, 10 and 15 years Advantages: quick, cheaper, retention is not an issue. Disadvantage: less sure age is what contributes to differences observed (cohort effects) Cross-Sequential Designs o Combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs o Compare different age groups at several points in time Ex: select participants 5, 10, 15 yrs. old and test them every 5 years. o Capitalizes on advantages and reduces disadvantages associated with longitudinal and cross-sectional designs. Infancy and Childhood (read pgs. 299-302) Physical Development Reflexes o Genetically wired, which are innate Grasping, startle, rooting, stepping, sucking Rooting and sucking are tied into each other If these actions do not happen, could be an issue Sensory Development o All but vision fairly well-developed at birth They have no color vision Cones have not developed o Preference for human voice & face Preference for human voices over anything else They prefer to look at human faces to anything else; abstract art, etc.
Coordinating sensory experiences w/ motor actions Development of object permanence If something is not physically in front of them, they now know that it is not gone forever. Starting to be able to move Start to learn language o Preoperational Stage (ages 2-7)
Beginning of symbolic thinking
Cannot thinking logically
Develop language and concepts
o They can talk!
Egocentric thinking
o Unable to take on the perspectives of others
Centration
o Focusing on only one feature of an object o Concrete Operational Stage (ages 7-11)
Successful conservation task, ability to “reserve”
o Formal Operational Stage (ages 12+)
Abstract thinking possible
Hypothetical thinking
Thinking about possibilities and future
Criticisms o He studied his own children o He studied white, middle class children o Cognitive development is gradual and slow process. Vgotsky’s Theory Emphasized role of social interactions on cognitive development
Scaffolding: learning technique whereby more skilled person aids child in learning o You only provide as much help as needed and once the skill is acquired, you help less. Zone of proximal development (ZPD): what a child can do alone versus what child do with help. Language Development Language acquisition device (Chomsky) o Our brains are naturally wired to understand and produce language Stages common across all cultures o Clearly some natural factor contributing to language o 2 months: Cooing o 6 months: babbling o 1 year: one-word speech (holophrases) o 18 months” telegraphic speech o 2-3 years & up: whole sentences o 6 years: as fluent as an adult Psychosocial Development Development of personality, relationships, and sense of gender Temperament: behavioral and emotional characteristics present at birth How you act o Easy: regular, adaptable and happy o Difficult: irregular, nonadaptable and irritable o Slow to warm up: need to adjust gradually to change
Easy going, but it takes them a little longer to warm
up.
Makes changes gradually
o Developing sense of independence o If you are not successful in being independent, you may develop shame and doubt. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years) o Assuming more responsibility for self If not able to be responsible, you may feel shame or guilty Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years to puberty) o Mastering knowledge and intellectual skills o If you have success in this stage, it builds confidence and self-esteem. o If not, may make you feel inferior. Adolescence o Period of life from about 13 to early 20s o Transition between childhood and adulthood Physical development o Growth spurt o Puberty: physical changes that occur in the body as sexual development reaches its peak. Takes about 4 years Cognitive Development o Frontal lobes last to mature o Piaget’s Formal Operations stage (12+) Abstract, hypothetical thinking possible Egocentrism still present: own thought Personal fable o Believe your story is unique to you o Nothing bad can happen to them Imaginary Audience o Everyone is watching me! Metacognition: think about your thinking Moral Development
Cognitive Development Carol Gilligan: Women’s morality is based on a standard of caring for others. o Men’s morality is based on a standard for justice. Psychosocial Development Erikson’s Theory o Identity vs. Role Confusion (13-early 20’s) Identity: who you are and who you are becoming Psychosocial moratorium: time out from adult roles. o Parent-teen conflict normal Usually only about matters of personal taste, not moral issues. Adulthood Physical Development Young adulthood (20-39): minimal signs of aging begin in 20s. Middle Adulthood (40-65): moderate signs of aging o Female: menopause o Males: andropause Late Adulthood (65+): advanced signs of aging present Physical Development Theories of Physical Aging o Cellular-clock o Wear-and-tear Stress, physical exertion o Free-radical Our body does it to itself Oxygen molecules w/ unpaired electrons which travel around and cause damage.
Ch. 9 Motivation & Emotion What is Motivation? Motivation: “to move” o Process that moves people to behave, think and feel to meet physical or psychological needs Types of motivation o Intrinsic: motivation provided by activity itself Intrinsic: inside o Extrinsic: motivation comes from consequences of activity Extrinsic: outside Approaches to Studying Motivation o Instinct o Drive-reduction o Arousal o Incentive o Humanistic Hierarchy of needs theory Self-determination theory Instinct Approaches Evolutionary theory of motivated behaviors involving instincts o Biologically determined, innate patterns of behavior o E.g., instinct to reproduce responsible for sexual behavior Could name behaviors, but could not explain them
Drive-Reduction Theories Physiological need -- aroused state (tension) Motivated behavior is attempt to reduce tension and return body to steady state o Homeostasis: balanced internal state Primary drives: Hunger, thirst, sex, sleep. Secondary drives: learned behaviors; earning $$$, learning habits Does not explain all human motivation Arousal Approaches Yerkes-Dodson Law o Performance is best under conditions of moderate arousal, rather than low or high arousal. o Inverted U on a graph o High arousal for easy task o Low arousal for difficult task o Moderate amount is the best Incentive Approaches Incentive: things that attract/lure people into action Expectancy-value theories o Attempt to explain behavior in terms of reward associated with a stimulus Humanistic Approaches Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs o Levels of needs that one must strive to meet before highest level can be reached
