I.
History and Approaches (2-4%)
A.
Logic, Philosophy, and History of Science (Psychology comes
in waves)
Introspection: important to the science but have little to no
influence on current psychological thought. Structuralism
(mind operates by combing subjective emotions and objective
sensations) & Functionalism (an organism uses its perceptual
abilities to function in its environment).
Gestalt Psychology: how people perceive and experience
objects as whole patterns.
Psychoanalysis: Freudian psychology. Unconscious mind,
dream analysis, and word association.
Behaviorism: studies only observable and measurable
behavior. Watson and Pavlov.
Multiple Perspectives: current school of thought that
combines elements of all approaches
Approaches
Biological (neuroscience): psychology is regulated by
genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
Evolutionary (Darwinian): examines our thoughts and urges
in regards to natural selection.
Behavioral: conditioning is the key element, only examine
observable behaviors
Cognitive: examines how we interpret, process, and
remember environmental events.
Humanistic: emphasizes nonverbal experience and altered
states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full
human potential.
Psychodynamic: behavior results from psychological
dynamics that interact within the individual, often outside of
conscious awareness.
Socio-cultural: emphasize the influence culture has on the
way we think and act.
1.
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B.
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7.
II.
A.
Methods (6-8%)
Experimental, Correlational, and Clinical Research
1. Correlational: The strength of a correlation is expressed by a
number between –1 and +1, where –1 is a perfect, negative
correlation and +1 is a perfect, positive correlation.
Correlation of –1 and +1 are equally strong and 0 denotes the
weakest possible correlation-no correlation.
2. Experimental:
a) Naturalistic Observation: observe subjects in their
natural habitats without interacting with them at all.
b) Experiments
c) Surveys
d) Case studies
e) Validity vs. Reliability
i. Validity: ability of a test to measure what it has
been designed to measure
ii. Reliability: Ability of a test to produce
consistent and stable scores
B.
Statistics
1. Descriptive: yield results summarize a sample population.
2. Inferential: used to determine whether or not findings can be
applied to the larger population from which the sample was
selected.
3. Terminology:
a) Standard deviation: measure of variability in a group of
scores or other values.
b) Mean: arithmetic average by dividing the sum of values
by the total number of cases
C.
Ethics in Research: APA Ethical Guidelines:
1. Animal Research: clear scientific purpose, care for animals in
a humane way, must acquire animal subjects legally, must
design experimental procedures that employ the least amount
of suffering feasible.
2. Human Research: Informed consent, deception (deception
must be minimal), coercion (subjects cannot be coerced in any
way), anonymity (identities and actions must not be revealed),
risk (patients cannot be placed at significant mental or physical
risk), debriefing (subjects must be told the nature and purpose
of the study).
III.
A.
Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%)
Neuroanatomy:
1. Dendrites: root-like parts of the cell, dendrites grow to make
synaptic connections with other neurons.
2. Cell body (Soma): contains the nucleus and others parts of
the cell needed to sustain its life.
3. Axon: wire-like structure ending in the terminal buttons that
extends from the cell body.
4. Myelin sheath: a fatty covering around the axon the speeds
neural impulses.
5. Terminal buttons: the branches end of he axon that contains
neurotransmitters.
6. Neurotransmitters: chemicals contained in terminal buttons
that enable neurons to communicate.
7. Synapse: the space between the terminal buttons of one
neuron and the dendrites of the next neuron.
8. Know how a Neuron “fires”
B.
Nervous System
1. Afferent Neurons: take information from the senses to the
brain.
2. Efferent Neurons: take information from the brain to the rest
of the body.
3. The Central Nervous System: brain and spinal cord,
encased in bone.
C.
D.
E.
F.
4. Peripheral Nervous System: all the other nerves in the body,
not encased in bone.
a) Somatic Nervous System: controls voluntary muscle
movements
b) Automatic Nervous System: automatic functions of the
body, controls lungs, heart. Internal organ, and glands.
c) Sympathetic Nervous System: Mobilizes Body to
Respond to stress.
d) Parasympathetic nervous system: slows down the body
after a stress response.
Neural Transmission: messages transmitted by neurons to
various locations throughout the body.
Endocrine System: internal network of glands that release
hormones directly into the bloodstream to regulate body
functions.
1. Adrenal Glands: prepares body for fight or flight.
2. Ovaries and Testes: sex hormones (estrogen for women and
testosterone for men).
Genetics: study of how traits are transmitted from one
generation to the next.
1. Every human cell contains 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs (sex
cells have half this total)
2. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA): genetic material that makes up
chromosomes.
3. Genes can be dominant or recessive
4. Twins:
a) Monozygotic twins (identical): develop from one
fertilized egg, used in many tests to study heredity,
high IQ correlations.
The Brain
1. 3 Brains:
a) Hindbrain: life support system of the brain; consists of:
the medulla (blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing),
the pons (connects the hindbrain with the midbrain and
forebrain), and the cerebellum (coordinates fine muscle
movements).
b) Midbrain: controls simple movements with sensory
information.
c) Forebrain: thought and reason; consists of: the
thalamus (receives the sensory signals coming up the
spinal cord and sends them to the appropriate areas in
the rest of the forebrain), hypothalamus (body
temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst, and the
endocrine system), and the amygdala and
hippocampus process and perceive memory and
emotion).
2. Cerebral Cortex: the outer surface of the two hemispheres that
regulates most complex behavior.
a) Frontal Lobe: responsible for voluntary movements;
abstract thought and emotional control
b) Parietal Lobe: somato-sensory cortex, receives
sensory information from throughout the body.
c) Occipital Lobe: receives and interprets visual
information.
d) Temporal Lobe: regulates hearing, balance, and
equilibrium, and certain emotions and motivations.
3. Hemispheres of the brain:
a) Left hemisphere: controls the motor functions of the
right half of the body, more active during spatial and
creative tasks.
b) Right hemisphere: controls the motor function of the
left half of the body, more active during logical and
sequential tasks.
IV.
A.
Sensation and Perception (7-9%)
Thresholds:
1. Absolute threshold: least amount of energy that can be
detected as a stimulation 50% of the time.
2. Just noticeable difference (jnd): smallest change in stimulation
that can be detected 50% of the time.
3. Weber’s law: the principle that the jnd for any given sense is a
constant fraction or proportion of the stimulation being judged.
B.
Sensory Mechanisms:
1. Vision: parts of the eye
a) Cornea: transparent protective coating
b) Pupil: small opening in the iris through which light
enters the eye.
c) Iris: the colored part of the eye.
d) Lens: the transparent part of the eye inside the pupil
that focuses light onto the retina.
e) Retina: the lining of the eye containing receptor cells
that are sensitive to light.
f) Fovea: Area of the retina that is the center of the visual
field.
g) Rods: receptor cells in the retina responsible for night
vision and perception of brightness
h) Cones: receptor cells in the retina responsible for color
vision.
i) Theories of sight:
i.
Trichromatic theory: all color perception
derives from three colors in the retina
(red, green, and blue).
ii.
Opponent-process theory: Three sets of
color receptors (yellow-blue, red-green,
black-white) respond to determine the
color you experience.
j) Types of vision:
i.
Trichromats: people with normal color
vision
ii.
MonochromatsL people who are totally
color blind
iii.
Dichromats: people who are blind to either
red-green or yellow-blue.
2. Hearing: Key terms
a) Sound wave: changes in pressure caused when
molecules of air or fluid collide with one another and
then move apart again.
b) Frequency: number of cycles per second in a wave,
determines pitch.
c) Pitch: auditory experience corresponding primarily to
frequency of sound vibrations, resulting in a higher or
lower tone.
d) Hertz: Cycles per second; unit of measurement for the
frequency of sound waves.
e) Amplitude: magnitude of waves, determines loudness.
f) Decibel: unit of measure for the loudness of a sound.
g) Timbre: quality of texture of sound.
h) Hammer, anvil, stirrup: bones in the middle ear that
relay vibrations of the eardrum to the inner ear.
3. Smell: Key Terms
a) Olfactory epithelium: nasal membranes containing
receptor cells sensitive to odors.
b) Olfactory bulb: the smell center in the brain.
c) Pheromone: Chemical that communicates info. to other
organisms through smell.
d) Vomeronasal: Location of receptors for pheromones in
the roof of the nasal cavity.
4. Taste: Key Terms
a) Taste buds: structures on the tongue that contain the
receptor cells for taste.
b) Papillae: small bumps on the tongue that contain taste
buds.
C.
Sensory Adaptation:
1. Light/Dark adaptation:
a) Light to dark: approximately 30 minutes
b) Dark to light: approximately 1 minute
D.
Perceptual Processes:
1. Size constancy: perception of an object as the same size
regardless of the distance from which it is viewed.
2. Shape constancy: tendency to see and object the same
regardless of the angle it is viewed
3. Brightness constancy: brightness is the same regardless of the
light
4. Color Constancy: perceiving familiar objects as retaining color
despite changes in sensory info
V.
A.
States of Consciousness (2-4%)
Levels of Consciousness
1. Conscious level: info. about ourselves and your environment
you are currently aware of.
2. Nonconscious level: controls your heartbeat, respiration, &
digestion
3. Preconscious level: Info. about yourself or your environment
that you are not currently thinking of.
4. Subconscious level: Info. that we are not consciously aware of
but we know must exist due to behavior.
5. Unconscious level: Psychoanalytic psychologists believe some
events and feelings are unacceptable to our conscious mind
and are repressed into the unconscious mind.
B.
Sleep and Dreaming
1. REM sleep: rapid eye movement; most vivid dreaming (brain
waves appear as active as waking time).
2. Non-REM sleep: non-rapid-eye movement stages that
alternate with REM stages during sleep cycle.
3. Sleep Cycle: lasts approximately 40 minutes.
4. Sleep Disorders:
a) Apnea: difficulty breathing during the night
b) Narcolepsy: sudden nodding off during the day
c) Insomnia: difficulty in falling asleep
C.
Altered States of Consciousness
1. Meditation: various methods of concentration, reflection, or
focusing
2. Hypnosis: trancelike state in which a person responds readily
to suggestions
D.
Drug-Altered Consciousness
1. Psychoactive drugs: chemical substances that change moods
and perceptions.
2. Depressants: slow down behavior or cognitive process, consist
of Alcohol, Barbiturates, and opiates
3. Stimulants: stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and
produce feelings of optimism and boundless energy, consists
of amphetamines and cocaine.
4. Hallucinogens: distort visual and auditory perception, consists
of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and Marijuana (mild).
VI.
A.
Learning (7-9%)
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
1. Unconditioned stimulus (US): stimulus that invariably causes
an organism to respond a specific way (food)
2. Unconditioned response (UR): a response that takes place in
an organism whenever an US is presented (salivation).
3. Conditioned stimulus (CS): an originally neutral stimulus that is
paired with an US and eventually produces the desired
response in an organism when presented alone (bell).
4. Conditioned Response (CR): After conditioning, the response
of an organism produces when only a conditioned stimulus is
presented (salivation from the bell).\
5. Stimulus generalization: the transfer of a learned response to
different but similar stimuli.
6. Stimulus discrimination: learning to respond to one specific
stimulus.
7. Response generalization: giving a response that is somewhat
different from the response originally learn to that stimulus.
B.
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
1. Operant behavior: Behavior designed to operate on the
environment in a way that will gain something desired or avoid
something unpleasant.
2. Reinforcer: A stimulus that follows a behavior and decreases
the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.
a) Positive reinforcer: any event whose presence
increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will
recur.
b) Any event whose reduction or elimination increases the
likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur.
c) Primary reinforcer: food, water, and sex.
d) Secondary reinforcer: value is acquired through
association with other primary or secondary reinforcers
(money).
3. Punishment: any even whose presence decreases the
likelihood that ongoing behavior will recur.
a) Avoidance training: learning a desirable behavior to
prevent the occurrence of something unpleasant
(punishment).
4. Law of Effect (Thorndike): Consistently rewarded behavior
will be “stamped in” and behavior that brings about discomfort
will be “stamped out.”
5. Skinner box: a box often used in the operant conditioning of
animals.
6. Schedules of reinforcement:
a) Fixed-ration: reinforcement after a fixed number of
responses.
b) Variable-ratio: reinforcement after a varying number of
responses.
c) Fixed-interval: reinforcement after a fixed amount of
time has passed.
d) Variable-interval: reinforcement of first response after
varying amounts of time.
C.
Social Learning: The ability to learn by observing a model or
receiving instructions, without firsthand experience by the
learner.
1. Observational or vicarious learning: learning by observing
others.
D.
Cognitive Learning: learning that depends on mental
processes that are not directly observable.
1. Latent Learning: learning not immediately reflected in a
behavior change.
2. Cognitive map: a learned mental image of a spatial
environment.
3. Insight: learning that occurs rapidly as a result of
understanding all the elements of a problem.
VII.
Cognition (8-10%)
A.
Memory:
1. Sensory Registers (visual & auditory)---Short-term memory--Long-term memory.
a) Short-term memory (STM): working memory; can hold
5-9 chunks of information.
i.
Chunking: the grouping of info. into
meaning units for easier usage in STM.
ii.
Rote rehearsal: retaining info. in STM
simply by repeating it over and over.
iii.
Elaborative rehearsal: the linking of new
info. in STM to familiar material stored in
Long-term memory.
2. Long-Term memory (LTM): the portion of memory that is more
or less permanent, corresponding to everything we know.
a) Semantic memory: the portion of LTM that stores
general facts and information.
b) Episodic memory: the portion of LTM that stores more
specific information that has personal meaning.
3. Explicit memory: information intentionally committed to
memory.
4. Implicit memory: information unintentionally committed to
memory.
5. Flashbulb memory: a vivid memory of a certain event.
6. Eidetic memory: ability to reproduce unusually sharp and
detailed images one has seen.
7. Mnemonics: techniques used to improve memory.
8. Forgetting and interference:
a) Decay theory: the passage of time causes forgetting.
b) Interference theory: inference from other information
causes forgetting.
c) Retroactive interference: new information interferes
with old information already in memory.
d) Proactive interference: old material already in memory
infers with new information
B.
Language: system of communication.
1. Language acquisition device (Chomsky): internal mechanism
for processing speech that is present in all humans.
2. Language relativity hypothesis (Whorf): idea that the patterns
of thinking are determined by the specific language one
speaks.
2. Phonemes: basic sounds that make up any language.
3. Morphemes: smallest meaningful units of speech (simple
words).
a) Semantics: criteria for assigning meaning to the
morphemes in a language.
4. Surface structure: particular words and phrases used to make
up a sentence.
5. Deep structure: the underlying meaning of a sentence.
6. Grammar: rules that govern how sounds and words are
combined to communicate meaning within a language.
a) Syntax: rules for arranging words into grammatical
sentences.
C.
Thinking:
1. Divergent thinking: thinking that meets the criteria of originality,
inventiveness, and flexibility.
2. Convergent thinking: thinking that is directed toward one
correct solution to a problem.
D.
Problem Solving:
1. Steps in problem solving: Preparation—Production---Judgment
(some theories add an “incubation stage”).
a) Problem representation/Preparation: interpreting or
defining the problem.
2. Algorithm: step-by-step method of problem solving that
guarantees a correct solution.
3. Heuristics: rules of thumb that help in simplifying and solving
problem, although they do not guarantee a correct solution.
a) Examples: Hill climbing, subgoals, means-end
analysis, working backwards,
4. Obstacles in problem solving:
a) Set: tendency to perceive and to approach problems in
certain ways.
b) Functional Fixedness: tendency to perceive only a
limited number of uses for an object.
VIII.
A.
Motivation and Emotion (7-9%)
Theories of Motivation and types of motivation:
1. Drive reduction theory: motivated behavior is aimed at
reducing a state of bodily tension or arousal and returning the
organism to homeostasis, balance.
a) Primary drives: biological needs, ex. Thirst and hunger.
b) Secondary drives: learned drives, associated with a
primary drive, ex. Money
2. Yerkes-Dodson law: there is an optimal level of arousal for the
best performance of any task.
3. Incentive theory: behavior is pushed by am incentive (desire).
4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs: must achieve lower level needs
before we strive for the higher needs (low to high):
a) Physiological needs: hunger thirst, and sex.
b) Safety needs: security and out of danger.
c) Belongingness and love needs: need to feel accepted
and to belong.
d) Esteem needs: achieve and gain approval and
recognition.
e) Self-actualization need: fulfill your unique potential.
5. Hunger Motivation: Need for food
a) Eating disorders:
i.
Bulimia: characterized by binging
(eating large amounts of food in a short
period of time) and purging (vomiting).
ii.
Anorexia nervosa: starving one’s self
below 85% of normal weight and
refusing to eat due to their obsession
with their weight.
iii.
Obesity: severely overweight.
6. Sexual Motivation: desire to reproduce
a) Sexual Response cycle (masters and Johnson): Initial
excitement, plateau phase, orgasm, and resolution
phase.
7. Social Motivation:
a) Achievement motive: the need to excel and to
overcome obstacles.
b) Extrinsic motivation: desire to perform a behavior to
obtain an external reward or avoid punishment.
c) Intrinsic motivation: desire to perform a behavior that
originates within the individual.
d) Affiliation motive: need to be with others.
e) Power motive: need to win recognition or to influence
and control others.
B.
Theories of Emotion:
1. James-Lange Theory: environmental stimuli bring on
physiological changes in or bodies and emotions then arise
from those physical changes.
2. Cannon-Bard theory: the processing of emotions and bodily
response occur simultaneously.
3. Cognitive theory: emotional experience depends on one’s
perception or judgment of the situation one is in.
C.
Stress:
1. Seyle’s General Adaptation Syndrome:
a) Alarm reaction: organism readies itself to meet the
challenge through activation of the sympathetic
nervous system.
b) Resistance: Hormones are released to maintain
readiness. The body’s resource can be depleted if the
resistance stage persists for a long period of time.
c) Exhaustion: return to normalcy and need to recover.
IX.
A.
Developmental Psychology (7-9%)
Life Span Approach: studying the changes that occur in people
from birth to old age.
B.
Research Methods
1. Cross-sectional study: method of studying developmental
changes by examining groups of subjects who are of different
ages.
2. Longitudinal study: A method of studying developmental
changes by examining the same group of subjects two or more
times as they grow older.
C.
Physical Development:
1. Prenatal Development: development from conception to birth.
e) Embryo: developing human between 2 weeks and 3
months after conception.
f) Fetus: developing human between 3 months after
conception and birth.
g) Placenta: the organ by which an embryo or fetus is
attached to its mother’s uterus and that nourishes it
during prenatal development.
9. The newborn baby
a) Rooting reflex, sucking reflex, swallowing reflex,
grasping reflex, stepping reflex.
b) Vision: developed but poor.
c) Depth perception: occurs after four months.
d) Senses are developed for the most part.
10. Infancy and Childhood:
a) weight and length grow rapidly for the first year of life.
11. Adolescence
a) Puberty: onset of sexual maturation.
b) Menarche: First menstrual period.
c) Growth spurt: rapid increase in height and weight that
occurs during adolescence.
D.
Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget):
1. Sensory-motor stage (birth-2 years): individual develops object
permanence (concept that things exist even when they are out
of sight) and acquires the ability to form mental representation.
2. Preoperational stage (2-7 years): individual becomes able to
use mental representations (symbols used to think or
remember an object, person, or event) and language to
describe, remember, and reason about the world, only in an
egocentric fashion.
4. Concrete-operational stage (8-12 years): individual can attend
to more than one thing at the time and understand someone
else’s point of view.
5. Formal-operational stage (12-adult years): individual becomes
capable of abstract thought.
E.
Psychosexual Development (Sigmund Freud)
1. Oral Stage (0-1): infants seek pleasure through their mouths.
2. Anal Stage (1-3): toilet training occurs
3. Phallic stage (3-6): children realize gender differences.
Oedipus and Electra complex (child is jealous of the same sex
parent because of their relationship with the opposite sexed
parent).
4. Latency period (6-puberty): period of sexual rest, sex-role
identities are developed.
5. Genital Stage (puberty on): desire for heterosexual
relationships. Libidinal satisfaction comes from genitals.
F.
Psychosocial development (Erik Erikson):
1. Trust vs. mistrust (0-1): child develops trust if needs are met.
2. Autonomy vs. doubt (1-3): toddler develops a sense of
independence through toilet training.
6. Initiative vs. guilt (3-5 1/2): child learns to initiate actions.
7. Industry vs. Inferiority 5 1/2-12): child competes against peers
in schoolwork.
8. Identity vs. role-confusion (adolescence): teenager searches
for his/her sense of identity.
9. Intimacy vs. isolation: building successful relationships with
others.
10. Generativity vs. stagnation: look critically at our life path.
11. Integrity vs. despair: reflection of our accomplishments.
G.
Moral Development (Lawrence Kohlberg):
1. Preconventional: decisions made to avoid punishment;
question asked: “How does it affect me?”
2. Conventional: able to look at a problem from another’s
perspective; want to be seen as good by other people.
3. Postconventional: universal ethical principles, act on principles
of justice and altruism.
X.
Personality (6-8%)
A.
Personality Theories and Approaches
Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)
d) Psychosexual development (See IX E).
e) Libido: sexual energy, force that controls us.
f) Aspects of personality:
i.
Id: seeks immediate gratification,
pleasure principle.
ii.
Ego: reality principle, referee between
the id and superego.
iii.
Superego: conscience, ego ideal, social
and parental standards.
d) Defense Mechanisms: Repression, denial,
displacement, projection, reaction formation,
regression, rationalization, intellectualization,
sublimation.
Psychodynamic Theory (Neo-Freudians):
a) Unconsciousness has two levels (Jung):
i.
Personal unconscious: repressed
memories, coincides with Freud’s
unconscious.
ii.
Collective unconscious: conscious
passed down through the species,
common bond of all mankind.
Trait Theory:
a) Personality trait: dimensions or characteristics on
which people differ in distinctive ways.
b) Allport and Odbert: 18,000 personality traits.
c) Cattell rated people on 200 personality characteristics.
d) The “Big Five” Dimensions of personality: Extroversion,
Agreeableness, Conscientiousness/Dependability,
Emotional Stability, Culture/Intellect/Openness.
Biological Theory
a) Little evidence exists for the heritability of personality.
Behaviorist Theory (Watson,Skinner):
a) Personality is determined by environment.
b) Reinforcement contingencies: patterns of
reinforcement the individual has received throughout
life.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Social-Cognitive Theory:
a) Walter Mischel: we look for behaviors to validate our
assumptions about the consistency of someone’s
behavior.
b) Albert Bandura: We develop behaviors based on
observational learning.
c) Julian Rotter: Locus of control
i.
Internal Locus of control.
ii.
External Locus of Control.
7. Humanistic Theory:
a) William James: concept of self
i.
Material self: material possessions.
ii.
Social self: how we are perceived by
others
iii.
Spiritual self: our reasoning, emotions,
and psychological faculties.
iv.
Pure ego: the person’s internal stream
of consciousness.
b) Carl Rogers:
i.
Actualizing Tendency: drive of an
organism to fulfill its biological potential.
ii.
Unconditional positive regard: the full
acceptance and love of another person
regardless of that person’s behavior.
iii.
Conditional positive regard: acceptance
and love that are dependent on
behaving in certain ways and fulfilling
certain conditions.
B.
Assessment Techniques
1. Objective tests: personality tests that are administered and
scored in a standard way (example: Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory, MMPI)
2. Projective tests: subject interprets ambiguous stimuli
(example: Rorschach inkblot test).
12. Reliability & Validity (See section: II, A, 2, e)
XI.
Testing and Individual Differences (5-7%)
A.
Standardization and Norms
Standardized: test items have been piloted on a similar
population of people as those who are meant to take the test.
Norm: a shared idea or expectation about how to behave.
Reliability and Validity (See section II, A, 2, e)
Types of Tests
Aptitude test: measure ability or potential
Achievement test: measure what one has learned or
accomplished.
Ethics and Standards in Testing (See section II, C)
Intelligence: the ability to gather and use information in
productive ways.
Spearman: believed intelligence was like a well and flowed in
all aspects and could be expressed by a single factor, g.
1.
2.
B.
C.
1.
2.
D.
E.
1.
2. Thurstone: 7 man abilities--spatial ability, perceptual speed,
numerical ability, verbal meaning, memory, word fluency, and
reasoning.
3. Guilford: more than 100 different mental abilities.
4. Daniel Goleman: “EQ” Emotional intelligence.
5. Sternberg: Triarchic theory of intelligence—componential
intelligence (ability to acquire new knowledge), experiential
intelligence (ability to adabt creatively in new situations), and
Contextual intelligence (ability to select contexts in which one
can excel).
6. Gardner: multiple intelligence—linguistic, logical-mathematical,
spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal.
F.
Intelligence tests
1. Binet-Simon Scale: first intelligence test, tested children.
2. Intelligence quotient: numerical value given to intelligence, 100
is the average score.
3. Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Terman’s adaptation of the
Binet-Simon Scale.
4. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III):
individual intelligence test for adults.
5. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISCIII): individual intelligence test developed for children.
a) Formula:
Mental Age
IQ= Chronological Age X 100
G.
Heredity/Environment and Intelligence
1. Heredity (Twin Studies): correlation in IQ (strongest to
weakest)— Identical (monozygotic) twins reared together,
Identical twins reared separately, Fraternal twins reared
together, Fraternal twins reared separately.
2. Environment: Socio-economic background plays a role in
intelligence, Project Head Start.
H.
Human Diversity
1. Gender: no difference in intelligence, men have an advantage
in spatial abilities.
2. Culture: differences in culture can have an impact on
intelligence.
3. Mental Retardation: Mild (50s-70s), Moderate (30s-50s),
Severe (20s-30s), Profound (20-25).
4. Giftedness: I.Q. above 130.
XII.
Abnormal Psychology (7-9%)
A.
Definitions of Abnormality:
It is maladaptive and/or disturbing to the individual.
It is disturbing to others.
It is atypical, not shared by many members of the population.
It is irrational and doesn’t make sense to the average person.
Theories of Psychological disorders:
1.
2.
3.
4.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
1. Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic: Internal, unconscious
conflicts.
2. Humanistic: failure to strive toward one’s potential or being out
of touch with one’s feeling.
3. Behavioral: Reinforcement history, the environment.
4. Cognitive: Irrational, dysfunctional thoughts/ways of thinking.
5. Sociocultural: Dysfunctional society.
6. Biomedical: Organic problems, biochemical imbalances,
genetics predispositions.
Diagnosis of Psychopathology
1. The DSM-IV is used to assess a person’s disorder.
Anxiety Disorders: anxiety is a characteristic feature or the
avoidance of anxiety seems to motivate abnormal behavior.
1. Phobia: an intense unwarranted fear of a situation or object;
claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces), arachnophobia (fear of
spiders), agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), social phobia
(fear of embarrassing one’s self in public).
2. Obsessive-compulsive disorder: persistent, unwanted thoughts
(obsessions) cause someone to feel the need (compulsion) to
engage in a particular action.
3. Posttraumatic Stress disorder: involves flashbacks or
nightmares following a person’s involvement in or observing
an extremely troubling event (war or natural disaster).
Somatoform Disorders: disorders in which there is an
apparent physical illness for which there is no organic basis.
1. Somatization disorder: recurrent vague somatic complaints
without a physical cause.
2. Conversion disorders: dramatic specific disability has no
physical cause but seems related to psychological problems.
3. Hypochondriasis: when a person interprets insignificant
symptoms as signs of serious illness.
4. Body dysmorphic disorder: when a person becomes so
preoccupied with his or her imagined ugliness normal life is
impossible.
Mood Disorders: disturbances in mood or prolonged
emotional state.
1. Depression: overwhelming sadness, lack of interest in
activities, and excessive guilt or worthlessness.
2. Mania: euphoric states, extreme physical activity, excessive
talkativeness, distractedness, and sometimes grandiosity.
3. Bipolar disorder: periods of mania and depression alternate.
Schizophrenic Disorders: severe disorders in which there are
disturbances of thought, communications, and emotions,
including delusions (false beliefs about reality) and
hallucinations (sensory experiences in the absence of external
stimulation).
1. Disorganized schizophrenia: bizarre, child-like behaviors are
common.
2. Catatonic schizophrenia: disturbed motor behavior, states of
movement.
3. Paranoid schizophrenia: extreme suspiciousness and
complex, bizarre delusions.
4. Undifferentiated schizophrenia: do not meet all the
characteristics of 1-3 or share characteristics of all three.
H.
Personality Disorders:
1. Schizoid personality disorder: a person is withdrawn and lacks
feeling for others.
2. Paranoid personality disorder: person is inappropriately
suspicious and mistrustful or others.
3. Dependent personality disorder: person is unable to make
choices and decisions independently and can’t be alone.
4. Avoidant personality disorder: person fears rejection by others,
which leads to social isolation.
5. Narcissistic personality disorder: person has an exaggerated
sense of self-importance and needs constant admiration.
6. Borderline personality disorder: characterized by marked
instability in self-image, mood, and interpersonal relationships.
7. Antisocial personality disorder: pattern of violence, criminal, or
unethical and exploitative behavior and an inability to feel
affection and remorse for others.
I.
Dissociative Disorders: some aspect of the personality seems
separated from the rest.
1. Dissociative amnesia: loss of memory for past events without
organic cause.
2. Dissociative fugue: flight from home and he assumption of a
new identity, with amnesia for past identity and events.
3. Dissociative Identity disorder: person has several distinct
personalities that emerge at different times.
J.
Insanity: Legal term for mentally disturbed people who are not
considered responsible for their criminal actions.
XIII.
A.
Treatment of Psychological Disorders (5-7%)
Treatment Approaches
1. Psychoanalysis:
a) Hypnosis: an altered state of consciousness where
people are less likely to repress troubling thoughts.
b) Free association: saying whatever comes to mind
without thinking.
c) Dream Analysis:
i. Manifest content: what the patient reports from
a dream.
ii. Latent content: revealed only as a result of the
therapist’s interpretive work.
2. Humanistic:
a) Client-centered therapy (Carl Rogers): Non-directional
form of therapy that calls for unconditional positive
regard of the client by the therapist with the goal of
helping the client become fully functional.
b) Gestalt Therapy: Insight therapy that emphasizes the
wholeness of the personality and attempts to reawaken
3.
4.
5.
B.
1.
2.
3.
C.
1.
people to their emotions and sensations in the hereand-now.
Behavioral:
a) Counterconditioning (Mary Cover Jones): classical
conditioning in which an unpleasant conditioned
response is replaced with a pleasant one.
b) Aversive conditioning: eliminates an undesirable
behavior by teaching the person to associate pain and
discomfort with the behavior.
c) Systematic desensitization: reduces a person’s fear
and anxiety by gradually associating a new response
(relaxation) with the stimuli that have been causing the
fear or anxiety.
d) Implosion/flooding: combating a problem by subjecting
the patient to their greatest fear.
e) Modeling: observe more appropriate behavior.
Cognitive:
a) Stress inoculation: trains client to cope with stressful
situations by learning a more useful pattern of self-talk.
b) Rational emotive therapy: A directive cognitive therapy
based on the idea that clients’ psychological distress is
caused by irrational and self-defeating beliefs and that
the therapist’s job is to challenge such dysfunctional
beliefs.
c) Cognitive Therapy: depends on identifying and
changing inappropriately negative and self-critical
patterns of thought.
Biological:
a) Drug therapies (most common):
i. Antipsychotic drugs: used to treat severe
psychological disorders, schizophrenia.
ii. Antidepressant drugs: Prozac (best-selling
medication in US); treats depression.
b) Electroconvulsive therapy: mild electrical current is
passed through the brain for a short period, often
producing convulsions and temporary coma; used to
treat prolonged depression.
f) Psychosurgery: brain surgery performed to change a
person’s behavior and emotional state; rarely used.
Group therapy:
Family therapy: therapy used to treat problems within a family
and sees an individual’s problems as stemming at least partly
from their family.
Couple therapy: therapy used to help troubled partners
improve communication and interaction.
Self-help groups: ex. Alcoholics Anonymous, groups of people
with the same problem come together to help one another with
their problem.
Community and Preventive Approaches
Deinstitutionalization: treating people with severe
psychological disorders in the larger community, or in small
residential centers, such as halfway houses, rather than in
large public hospitals.
2. Prevention: reducing the incidence of emotional disturbance in
society.
a) Primary prevention: efforts to improve the overall
environment so that new cases of mental disorders do
not develop.
b) Secondary prevention: identification of groups that are
at high risk for mental disorders.
c) Tertiary prevention: help people adjust to community
life after release from a mental hospital.
XIV.
Social Psychology (7-9%)
A.
Group Dynamics
Norms: a shared idea or expectation about how to behave.
Cultural norm: a behavioral rule shared by an entire society.
Stereotypes: set of characteristics presumed to be shared by
all members of a social category.
Attribution Processes:
3 Kinds of attribution: Consistency, distinctiveness, and
consensus.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: when a person’s expectation about
another elicits behavior from the second person that confirms
the expectation.
Primacy effect: theory that early information about someone
weighs more heavily than later information in influencing ones
impression of that person.
Interpersonal Perception and Attractiveness:
Most important factor in determining attractiveness; how close
two people live to each other.
Physical attractiveness: the way one appears physically.
Similarity: sameness in attitudes, interests, values,
backgrounds, and beliefs.
Exchange: trading rewards among partners.
Intimacy: genuine closeness and trust achieved in
communication with another person.
Conformity, Compliance, Obedience
Conformity: voluntary yielding to social norms, even at the
expense of one’s own preference.
Compliance: Change of behavior in response to an explicit
request from another person or group.
Obedience: Change of behavior in response to a command
from another person, typically an authority figure.
Attitudes and Attitude Change
Attitude: set of beliefs and feelings.
Mere exposure effect: the more one is exposed to something,
the more one will come to like it.
Racism: prejudice and discrimination directed at a particular
racial group.
a) Prejudice: unfair, intolerant, or unfavorable attitude
toward a group of people.
1.
2.
3.
B.
1.
2.
3.
C.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
D.
1.
2.
3.
E.
1.
2.
3.
4.
F.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
G.
1.
2.
3.
b) Discrimination: unfair taken toward an entire group of
people or individual members of this group.
Cognitive dissonance theory: people are motivated to have
consistent attitudes and behavior.
Organizational and Group Behavior:
Deindividuation: the loss of a sense of personal responsibility
that makes possible violent, irresponsible behavior.
Altruistic behavior: help without expectation of reward.
Bystander effect: bystander effect: tendency for an individual’s
helpfulness in an emergency to decrease as the number other
bystanders increases.
Risky shift: greater willingness to take risks in decision making
in a group than independent individuals.
Polarization: shift in attitudes by members of a group toward
more extreme positions that the ones held before group
discussion.
Social loafing: the tendency of a people to exert less effort on
a task when working in a group that when working individually.
Industrial/organizational psychology: Application of
psychological principles to the problems of human
organizations, especially work organizations.
Hawthorne Effect: people will alter their behavior because of
researchers’ attention and not necessarily because of any
treatment condition.
Aggression and Antisocial Behavior:
Instrumental aggression: aggressive act is intended to secure
a particular end.
Hostile aggression: no clear purpose the aggression.
Frustration-aggression hypothesis: the feeling of frustration
makes aggression more likely.