PSYCH 101 Test 3
How does conception occur? How long do sperm or ovum live? Can conception occur if a woman ovulates on Monday and then has intercourse on Wed. - how so?
Conception occurs when the egg meets the sperm in the fallopian tube and attaches to the uterus. The sperm can live up to 5 days in the uterus, and therefore this can occur.
How did he believe personality developed?
Humans have an innate drive for personal growth, and studied psychologically healthy individuals.
What did Freud believe was the structure of personality?
Id vs ego v superego. Id- reservoir of psychic energy, primitive urge seeker with no influence of society- primary processing, pleasure principle Ego- primitive urge seeker but is influenced by society and the role one must play in society. Secondary processing, reality principle Superego- moral component, takes awhile to develop, internalizes cultures values, when too strong= irrational
What does it mean to be a "stage theory?" What are common problems of stage theories?
Individuals must progress through specified in particular order because each stage builds upon the previous stage Progress through stages related to age Development marked by discontinuities that usher in dramatic transitions in behavior Problems: Qualitative differences, Each stage builds upon a previous stage, universal/maturation
What is a stage theory? What are common problems of stage theories? Which theorists proposed a type of stage theory? What are commonalities between these different stage theories?
Individuals must progress through specified in particular order because each stage builds upon the previous stage Progress through stages related to age Development marked by discontinuities that usher in dramatic transitions in behavior Problems: Progression not always in the correct order/ ages don't line up Hard to test People: Erik Erikson, Freud, Kohlberg
What does "interpersonal attraction" mean? What sorts of factors influence this? Which of the following is more true: "birds of a feather flock together" or "opposites attract"? What research support do you have for your conclusion?
Interpersonal attraction is the attraction felt between two individuals typically resulting in relationships. Factors which influence this are physical attractiveness, similarity, and reciprocity effect. Typically birds of a feather flock together is more reasonable.
Do disease symptoms in a pregnant woman reflect the amount of damage which may occur in the developing fetus?
It can -> but not likely. I.e. chickenpox In early (embryonic stage) can potentially lead to birth defects etc If in the middle of pregnancy will not affect the child And if within 2 weeks of the birth, the baby could potentially contract the disease.
What sorts of factors make it more likely that one would make a favorable impression? (i.e. person perception?) How does physical appearance/attractiveness influence person perception? Does it matter for things like getting a job? salary? being judged in court? a mother's love?
Physical attractiveness increases likelihood for getting a job, a high salary, innocent in court, and increased affection by mother
What do the humanists believe about personality development?
Personality develops as an attempt to lower incongruence. A strive to fulfill self- concept. Striving to be at a higher state of being. More positive psychology.
What are implicit (vs. explicit) attitudes? Why should we care about implicit attitudes? How can we assess implicit attitudes? If we wanted to change someone's attitude about something (that is, persuade them), what sorts of factors matter and how so?
We Can assess via the implicit association test, Implicit attitudes are evaluations that occur without conscious awareness towards an attitude object or the self. Illicit attitudes can result in discrimination without forethought,
What sorts of things could you do to decrease chances of groupthink?
Working in isolation, us v them phenomena, pressure to make a decision quickly,
Proximodistal
development begins with the center of the body and moves outward
Cephalocaudal
development of body starting with the head and moving outward
What do you know about higher vs. lower needs—which, for example, are more motivating?
lower needs are more motivating
Is there a such thing as empty nest syndrome?
nope
social psychology
the study of how people influence each other
How has the internet affected relationships? Can you have a "real relationship" via the internet? What are some of the advantage of online dating sites?
→ yes you can The internet has led to greater accessibility to certain people, more upfront knowledge about someone prior to meeting them, as well as sorting potentials for similar individuals.
Explain Festinger's cognitive dissonance and Petty & Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model - and how these theories explain attitude change.
(Festinger): cognitive dissonance may lead to attitude change e.g. effort justification (Petty & Cacioppo): Elaboration Likelihood Model central/high elaboration route: change someone's attitude by carefully processing the info longer-lasting change more resistant to changing better prediction of behavior peripheral/low elaboration route: ot really thinking about it but associated it with positive/negative things
What is a cognitive schema? Why have humans been designed to use cognitive schemas? Explain how stereotypes are a type of a cognitive schema. How are "confirmation bias" and "illusory correlation" involved with cognitive schemas? What do those terms mean?
A cognitive schema is a pattern of thought, typically portraying people in certain groups as similar. A stereotype invokes a pattern of thinking that individuals in a certain group are similar. Confirmation bias is the idea that as individuals we primarily look for information which reiterates previously held stereotypes Illusory correlation is when someone has a stereotype, and thinks that they have more evidence to support their idea than they typically do.
What test can be used to detect pregnancy? When should such a test be done?
A home pregnancy test is utilized to test pregnancy. It tests the levels of human gonadotropic hormone. Typically can test 10 days after conception. An in clinic test can detect pregnancy within 6 days.
What did Maslow believe was the pinnacle of healthy personality development?
Accurately tuned into reality, Comfortable with themselves, Open & spontaneous, Appreciates world, Sensitive to others' needs, Enjoys relationships but are not dependent on others' approval, Thrives on work, Enjoy sense of humor, ↑ # of peak experiences (profound emotional highs), Balance between polarities of personality
What did Adler believe were the critical factors involved with personality development? (so how did his theory differ from Freud's?)
Adler looked more at the individual → believed that personality developed from the sense of striving for superiority.
What are some major family life transitions? e.g., Is the adolescent period a period of turmoil? Why do some say it is? What do the rest of the researchers say? What do we know about the search for identity?
Adolescence → emerging adulthood → married → parenthood → death Adolescence according to erikson is tricky due to the search for identity, high peer influence, etc
What is an attitude and what dimensions do attitudes have? How are attitudes formed?
An attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior. Dimensions: strength, accessibility, and ambivalence. Attitudes are formed via persuasion, implicitly. Learning (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observational learning)
What does it mean to make an attribution? Why have humans evolved to do this? How might attributions vary, as according to Heider? as according to Weiner? Are we good at making attributions?
An attribution is assigning a reason for why an individual did something. We have evolved this trait in order to better understand the world around us. ' According to Heider: attributions can be internal or external According to Weiner: attributions can be internal or external or stable or unstable. Internal: personal reason for the cause of an event External: outside reason for the cause of an event Stable: something is caused by unchanging factors Unstable: something is caused by changing factors We aren't great at making attributions
Describe Asch's studies and what it shows.
Asch study indicates conformity Had one person in a room with actors. The actors told the wrong answer to see what the response of the actual study participant would be. Study indicated that participant would often times conform to what the others said in an attempt to not stand out.
What does "attitude alignment" mean?
Attitude alignment is the tendency of interacting partners to modify their attitudes in such a manner as to achieve attitudinal congruence
What were the criticisms of his theory? Any benefits?
Benefits: the unconscious, first to propose comprehensive theory of personality, childhood experiences affect adulthood, Criticisms: poor testability, unrepresentative samples, over- reliance on case studies, SEXISM
What is personality? Does it even exist? (What do Mischel and Buss say?)
Buss argues that the Big 5 personality traits arose due to evolutionary advantages, Mischel would argue that personality changes with certain situational factors. Big 5: Openness, Conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
When it comes to group behavior, which phenomena are thought to involve the diffusion of responsibility (e.g. bystander effect, social loafing, group polarization, groupthink)?
Bystander effect
Give an example of the cases or studies which exemplify these group effects (i.e. bystander effect, social loafing, group polarization, groupthink).
Bystander effect- Kitty Genovese murder in NYC with hundreds of witnesses but no one stood up or called the police Social loafing- Ingham 1974 participants were blindfolded and put on rope pulling machine, would pull less if more people were present than if alone Group polarization- Myers and Bishop 1970 had two groups divided into high- and low- prejudiced groups to discuss racial issues Groupthink- Janis
What theory did Jean Piaget propose? How did he come up with this theory? Know the different concepts included in his theory, e.g. object permanence, lack of conservation, egocentrism, animism,etc
Cognitive theory Sensorimotor -> object permanence- even when you cant see an object it continues to exist Preoperational - centration- tendency to focus on one aspect of problem neglecting other features - egoism- failure to see others points of view -irreversibility- inability to think of reversing an action Concrete operational - conservation- idea that changing shape doesn't change the contents
What factors are involved with whether or not it is an easy transition into married life?
Cohabitation, similarities, common goals, expectation of roles,
What is a disadvantage to conforming? What factors influence how likely it is that someone would conform? For example, what is "normative influence?" What is "information influence?"
Conforming can lead to groupthink, Factors that influence: group size, group unanimity, normative and informative influences Normative influence: fear of negative social consequences Information influence: information for ambiguous situations
What is the difference between conformity and obedience? Why have humans evolved to conform?
Conformity is changing one's behavior due to social factors, obedience is changing one's behavior due to a direct order.
According to the Big Five, what are the major components of personality? How does Eysenck's theory differ from the Big Five?
Conscientiousness Openess Narcissism Agreeableness Extraversion Eysenck theorized that genetics was the largest player that influenced psychology
On what types of dimensions are married or dating couples similar on? Do these factors influence who we become friends with as well?
Couples tend to be similar in physical attractiveness, age, race, religion, social class, education, intelligence, attitudes, these factors also play a role in who our friends are.
What are "defense mechanisms" and what do they do? Did Freud believe them to be "healthy" or "unhealthy?"
Defense mechanisms are ways in which people attempt to lessen anxiety for misunderstood stimuli. Freud thought that defense mechanisms were healthy to certain extents.
Is it OK to drink during pregnancy? How does the brain of an infant with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome differ from the brain of a normal infant?
Don't drink when pregnant, especially not in excess. Fetal alcohol syndrome can lead to microcephally, decreased metal cognitive abilities (its not good)
What did Erik Erikson (remember that his theory was in the chapter about development, Chapter 10) believe were the critical factors involved with personality development? Can you give a couple of examples? How did Erikson's theory of personality development differ from that of Freud's?
Erik Erikson had the psychosocial development of psychology. He argued that personality developed from certain crises that arose at each age between the individual and the needs of society. Erikson had less focus on psychosexual determinants of personality.
How does language develop? Know the concepts involved, e.g. overregularizations, overextensions,underextensions, telegraphic speech, ETC.
Fast mapping- child map understanding of an object after one exposure Overregularization- using grammatical rules incorrectly to irregular cases where they dont exist Overextension- using one word to describe a wider set of word Underextension- using one word to describe a narrower set of words
Why did he believe there was an "unconscious?" How does the "unconscious" relate to the structure of our personality? How does the "unconscious" relate to treatment when our personalities do not develop properly?
Freud believed in the unconscious stating that some things could not well be described or understood. Argued that paraplexes, when a person misspeaks actually speaks from the unconscious. Utilizes dreams to argue for the unconscious → deep level of thinking and idea processing
What sorts of errors do we tend to make when making attributions? How do cultures vary with regards to making attributions?
Fundamental attribution error:the tendency people have to overemphasize personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others' behavior. Typically done by an observer in an attempt to explain another's actions Self- serving bias: when an actor overemphasizes situational factors (external to the individual) in an attempt to explain one's actions, downplaying the actors actions.
What are the different stages of prenatal development and what sorts of things characterize these stages (e.g. when is the most vulnerable period—and why is it considered to be the "most vulnerable
Germinal stage- first two weeks Placenta begins to form, Zygote? Embryonic stage2-8 weeks Development of vital organs → most vulnerable period,Embryo Recognizably human Cephalocaudal and proximodistal Core organs develop first Sensitive period of development, vital organs are developing, most miscarriages happen around this time b/c should errors occur Fetal stage Development of fat deposits, can hear sounds etc "Age of viability" is somewhere between 23-25 weeks because it has a high likelihood of surviving outside of womb following this time 8-38 Weeks Fetus 12 weeks: basic structures are completed Fetus can detect stimulation and movement Quickening 22-26 weeks= age of viability, 85% chance of survival Teratogens: environmental agents which can cause developmental malformations Maternal malnutrition: increased risk of birth complications and neurological deficits Maternal stress and emotion Drug exposure Disease Environmental toxins Fetal origins of adult disease Postnantal development Physical growth is uneven Rapid, but slows in time
When it comes to group behavior, which phenomena are thought to involve emphasis on group cohesion (e.g. bystander effect, social loafing, group polarization, groupthink)?
Group think
Describe normal aging in terms of physical changes and cognitive changes (is it normal to be senile in later age? what physical changes occur? One thing we didn't explicitly talk about in class was how there is no such thing as being "a little senile." If you are senile, then you are in an abnormal cognitive state. This is an either or condition. Thus, saying that someone is "a little senile" is like saying that someone is a little pregnant." See how that doesn't work very well?
Loss of neurons (mostly normal) + shrinkage of active neurons Momory fairly stabel and/ or cognition but research is mixed Speed of processing slows down Senility and dementia are not normal 75+(10-15% w dementia) Graying hair, thinning/balding, increase in fat, menopause, some psychological factors seem to be involved with "aging well"
Would Maslow's theory be able to explain a "starving artist?" Why or why not?
Maslow's theory would not be able to explain a starving artist because he is not meeting his basic needs and instead is attempting to reach higher levels of the pyramid prior to meeting the lower levels of the pyramid.
According to the evolutionary perspective, how do men and women differ in terms of their interests when it comes to potential mates? According to the evolutionary perspective, why might men be interested in facial symmetry and women's waist-to-hip ratio?
Men look for physical attractiveness (large hips and symmetrical face) waist to hip → quality birthing ability Facial symmetry→ means that they had good internal/ external developmental environments Women look for high earning potential →
Describe Milgram's study and what the implications are. Has this study been replicated?
Milgram's study was of the Nuremberg defense. Would someone blindly follow orders even when someone else is being injured? Indicated that individuals would go against their beliefs if told to do so by someone with authority or perceived authority. It has been replicated.
What is morning sickness and what does it indicate when someone has it? Do most pregnant women experience this? Why would it be advantageous to experience morning sickness?
Morning sickness is nausea during pregnancy due to an increase in hormones, it is beneficial and most people that experience it don't have spontaneous abortions
What is "outgroup homogeneity?" Why do you think humans have evolved to exhibit "outgroup homogeneity?" What is a problem with the fact that humans can experience "outgroup homogeneity?"
Outgroup homogeneity is the idea that as individuals we think that people in other "out" groups are more similar than we would attribute to our specific group. We have evolved this to better understand concepts of "friend" vs. "foe". It is a problem because it oftentimes leads to prejudice and discrimination
How does parenthood affect individuals?
Parents have less marital satisfaction than non- parents, Mothers have less marital satisfaction than males
Is passion necessary for marriage? How so or not? What cultural differences exist with regards to marriage? Do Western/individualistic ideas of marriage result in the best marriages?
Passion is not necessarily needed for marriage- as seen in collectivist societies. Western/ individualistic ideas of marriage tend to result in divorce so who are we to say not to marry for the country??
What are "reciprocity effects?" Why do reciprocity effects occur?
People like people that like them. Occurs fro self- enhancement, self- verification, makes you feel good.
How did he believe personality developed?
Personality developed in stages from oral to anal to phallic to latency and to genital
Describe postnatal physical development. How does the "growth spurt" relate to sexual development?Are there sex differences in terms of physical growth and sexual growth?
Physical development happens in sputs -- secondary sex characteristics develop prior to the growth spurt, and primary sexual characteristics typically develop after the growth spurt during puberty, men tend to develop later
Describe Maslow's hierarchy of needs/motivations.
Physiological needs must be met before higher needs can be met. Need for self actualization Aesthetic needs Cognitive needs Esteem needs Belonging and Security needs Safety and Security needs Physiological needs
Describe Kohlberg's theory of moral development. What are the problems of this theory? What are the things which are supported about his theory? (When it comes to researcher's theories, always consider which sections have been supported by later research and which sections have not been.)
Preconventional theory- seeing reasoning as the punishments/ rewards as reason to complete a task Conventional level- following the letter of the law Postconventional- creating one's own code of ethics Problems: sexist, doesn't apply to all cultures, mixing of stages evident, some state that it overemphasizes the impact of reasoning and forgets about other factors
Describe sexual development. For example, what is the difference between primary sexual characteristics and secondary characteristics?
Primary sexual characteristics are essential for reproduction i..e ovaries, testes, etc Secondary sexual characteristics aren't necessary for reproduction i.e. broad shoulders for men, breasts for women etc
Is it OK for an obese person to diet when they are pregnant? Why or why not?
Probably as long as the diet is not extreme
What was Freud's theory of personality development?
Psychoanalytic theory, that the unconscious and sexual urges influence one's behavior. Childhood experiences set personality by the age of 5.
Despite this rapid growing,infants are always practicing their motor skills. When does rolling over, sitting up or walking without assistance occur?
Rolling over: 3 months Sitting up: 5.5 month walking : 12 months
What sorts of things could you do to decrease chance of social loafing?
Smaller group size, protestant work ethic, collectivist society
Why are we interested in knowing people's attitudes? Why might attitudes be a mediocre predictor of actual future behavior?
So that we understand how to persuade-> to sell things, also to know what implicit biases there may be. Attitudes are a mediocre predictor of actual future behavior because in certain situations, an attitude may change.
What does it mean to give the "median ages" at which these motor milestones occur?
Some do this at earlier ages, some do activities at later ages.
Describe Zimbardo's study and the implications. What factors are believed to have played a role in what we observed in Zimbardo's study?
Stanford prison experiment -> indicated that individuals when placed in a position of power with little oversight or reprimand would do terrible things to the subservient players.
Give examples of teratogens. Why might airline attendants be at particular risk for miscarriage?
Teratogens are environmental factors that influence the likelihood of birth defects in children Ex. air pollution, radiation, and certain flame retardant materials Airline attendants have greater exposure to radiation and therefore have a greater chance of miscarriage.