Psych Textbook

Research Methods
-ob-ob mouse case
-study for hunger and ingestive behaviours
-mouse is a result of agentic mutation, resulting in extreme obesity
-why are the mice so fat?
-mutation in the genome of these animals results in their bodies converting
almost all the food they eat into fat, leaving little food energy for the body
to actually run on
-then the mouse needs to eat more food, which still gets converted to fat
-mice eat so much because they’re fat then
-formal research method allows psychologists to study our ability to perceive the world
around us
-have a strong tendency to perceive what you expect to perceive, even when
expectations don’t match up with reality
-scientific method
-formal way of asking and answering questions about human behaviour to get
the most accurate, objective information possible and sidestep the inaccuracy of
our common sense beliefs and assumptions
-jaytee the psychic dog
-went out to porch every time Pam was coming home
-after scientific research they discovered that most of this was a coincidence and
the family just didn’t account for the times the dog didn’t do this
-intelligence is a construct
-theoretical idea
-hard to measure
-IQ can be a reasonable operational definition of intelligence
-operational definitions are essential and can be argued
-common level of analysis used
-learning, cognition, social development, evolution and neuroscience
-level that a researcher uses influences the kind of questions that can be asked
and
Answered
-researchers often operate in different paradigms based on the questions
and things they research
-different questions based on different levels of analysis may be asked about the
same subject matter and different answers may be formulated, but it is always
important to consider multiple levels of analysis in order to get the most accurate,
well rounded theories
-parsimony
-scientists tend to prefer the simpler of the two theories
 -like a shoot out, better team wins
-natural order
-only to be applied in situations when comparing the same effects
-attributing the same effects to the same causes
-generalizability
-ensuring the causes and effects observed in scientific practice are
applicable in all situations involved the same causes
-conservatism
-skepticism towards new theories until new evidence is undeniable
-aristotle’s statement was accepted not based on facts but because he worded
his argument so well ppl just believed him
-empiricism
-approach that emphasizes that knowledge should be based on actual
observation and not on reason alone
-Inductive reasoning
-specific observations to general theories
-allows us to build theories based on various incidents of observed phenomena based
on the testable claims of a particular theory
-deductive reasoning
-specific predictions then test the hypothesis to see if it holds
-theory is used to generate a prediction
-allows us to make predictions about certain phenomena based on the testable claims of
the particular theory
-scientific theory generates testable predictions
-step 1. Generate theory
-step 2. Generate a testable hypothesis
-the testable predictions generated by a theory
-step 3. Choose a research method
-step 4. Collect data
-step 5. Analyze data
-step 6. Report findings
-only summarized data are presented for the example study
-level of detail is minimal
-step 7. Revise theories
-reliability
-ability of any test to give the same output when the same input is entered
-stepping on and off a scale and getting different weight
-same input different output
-validity
-construct validity
-the ability of a test to measure what we intend to measure
-if testing for depressive disorder need to make sure you aren’t
accidentally testing for anxiety or something else
-case studies
-case studies involve the meticulous, long term study of an individual or small group of
individuals, but are not necessarily generalizable to populations
-important starting points for much research and active replication and further research
can help establish theories formulated
-correlational studies
-seek to point out relationships between two or more variables by examining the
direction (positive or negative) and strength (how far from zero in either direction) of
observed relationships
-can help us make accurate predictions but they do not indicate causes and effects; two
variable may be strongly related but other unknown variables may actually be
contributing to the observed relation
-positive correlation
-as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other also
increases
-negative correlation
-as the value of one variable increases, the value of the other also
decreases
-zero correlation
-no relationship
-correlation coefficient
-positive or negative sign refers to the direction not strength of
relationship
-can’t tell a cause and effect story
-can’t have a correlation between three or more variables
-Margo Wilson and Martin Daly
-homicide rates in chicago to predict value of income inequality
-found r=+0.73
-as income inequality increases so did number of homicides
-binary variables
-have only two possible values
-constant
-only one value
-independent variable
-the one we manipulate
-extraneous variable (confounding variables)
-variable the researcher didn’t manipulate or measure but can still affect the outcome of
the experiment
-every EV turned into constant limits scope of the experiment
-can equate the groups with respect to the EV to try and solve the problem
-experimental research
-allow us to establish cause and effect relationships but the amount of control in
lab settings may deem the experiments inaccurate representations of how things
 occur in the real world; this emphasizes the need for a variety of research
techniques
-case studies
-advantages:
-lots of in-depth information; can be helpful to provide direct evidence of a theory
particularly when studying an unusual phenomena
-disadvantages:
-not generalizable to the population; can be subjective if researcher expects to
find support for a specific theory
-direct observation
-advantages:
-if done in natural environment there is reduced artificiality compared to research
lab setting; can allow for long periods of data collection rather than a snapshot
observation or measure of behaviour; useful technique when little is known about
subject ot phenomenon of interest
-disadvantages:
-often observers cannot avoid being noticed or being intrusive which could bias
response of phenomena under study; difficult to explain rationale of behaviours
observed; observers may be biased or have subjective interpretations of what is
observed
-experiment
-advantages:
-researcher has strict control over manipulation of variables and setting; allos for
high accuracy in drawing conclusions of cause and effect relationships
-disadvantages:
-setting can be artificial and results may not translate to those found in natural
settings; due to ethical and moral constraints many experiments cannot be
conducted in this environment
-interviews
-advantages:
-often conducted one-on-one which allows interviewer to ask follow up questions
for clarification and assess the honesty of the interviewee; can gather information
on behaviours that may otherwise be difficult to observe
-disadvantage:
-interviewees may not be comfortable answering some questions or may be
either unintentionally or intentionally dishonest due to social desirability bias,
memory lapses
-questionnaire

-advantages:
-can gather information on behaviour that might be otherwise be difficult to
measure or observe; usually relatively simple to collect data from large samples;
allows for collection of self-report or observations by someone other than the
researcher
 -disadvantages:
-difficult to asses truthfulness of self-report data due to social desirability bias,
memory lapses, wishful thinking, response set; participant may not finish all
questions rendering data inadmissible and difficult, if not impossible, to draw
conclusions
-samples in research
-samples are groups of individuals selected for scientific study and are used as a
representation of the larger population to which they belong
-sample selection
-in order to ensure samples are accurate representations and data collected is
generalizable to the population, participants must be selected randomly (all must have
equal opportunity to participate) and assigned randomly to control and experimental
groups
-same number of women and men in each group
-descriptive statistics
-organize and describe sample data
-common methods include measures of central tendency (mean,median and mode)
used to simplify and summarize immediately available data and deal with issues of
distortion
-mean is a good representation of the whole study without going into a lot of detail
-outliers make the mean useless
-extreme data point
-experiment for money and you include Bill Gates
-this blows up the mean by a lot
-median reduces the influence of outliers
-rank ordering is arranging the numbers from greatest to least
-inferential statistics
-employ a number of methods to answer questions about why the data are the way they
are and to test whether differences between groups are due to significant, legitimate
cause and effects
-vital role of variability
-describes how much the population strays from the mean and its vital to understand for
it allows us to explore whether groups are significance different or difference are due to
chance
-frequency distribution curves
-show us high and low points and the range
-measure of standard deviation
-allows us to answer questions about differences when combined with measure of the
overlap and variability of the distributions of groups in an experiment
-the less overlap, the smaller the variability, the stronger the differences between the
groups and the more likely differences are not due to chance
-mean can be related to this
-average difference from the mean
-normal distribution
 -type of distribution commonly seen in psychological research
-referred to as bell curves with a single peak
-lower variability is good
-means it is less likely we could have obtained the difference between group
means by accident
-replication
-when other scientist’s test a new theory after it has been published in a scholarly journal
-this helps with the validity of the theory
-theory will change if other scientists find different conclusions
-basic errors
-errors are inevitable in research, but employing the scientific method properly through
replication and error controlled, they can be strongly reduced
-Type 1 errors involve claims that there are effects of the independent variable when
differences are actually the result of sampling errors
-type 2 errors involve claims that manipulations do not have effects when they actually
do
-human error
-self report biases involve errors of human perception such as responding in
experiments in manner we feel is expected of us (social desirability bias and placebo
effect) and responding a certain way no matter the content of the experiment (response
sets)
-response sets: answering C to everything no matter what
-experimenter biases involve the influence of experimenters’ presumptions on the
experimental design and interpretation of data
-how to deal
-many measures are put in place to counter this such as bline (participants are unaware
of the condition they are in) and double blind (experimenter’s and participants are
unaware of the conditions participants are in) procedures, but error is nearly impossible
to completely eliminate

Classical Conditioning
-mechanisms of behaviour
-learning is distinct from merely performance or changes in behaviours; learning is often
context specific and goes beyond natural responses to stimuli
-latent learning
-acquiring associations that aren’t immediately expressed or expressed only in
appropriate contexts
-rat experiment where some rats were given access to a maze with food at the
end and other rats were given access to maze with no food. When they
performed the experiment the rats who had trained before with food ran right to
the exit whereas the other rats tended to wander around the maze
-third group of rats wandered the maze for 11 days with no food (like second
group) but on the 12th day food was applied and they ran directly to the goal box
with almost no wrong turns
 -illustrates a cognitive map was formed in their heads
-they just weren’t motivated to go to the goal box
-important distinction between learning and performance
-learning is endured and based on experience
-not all learning is permanent, but it’s often retained relatively strongly over time even if
the behaviours involved aren't continuously expressed
-experiences throughout life are key to learning and often distinct from developmental
changes; adaptations to environmental cues through realizing associations from the
foundations of learning
-John and his morphine overdose
-drug tolerance is the decreased effectiveness of a drug over the course of repeated
administration
-environment that drugs are administered in matters
-environment becomes associated with the drug administration
-stimulation provided by the drug is the unconditional stimulus
-counteraction is the unconditional response
-being in his bedroom, the usual environmental cues weren't’ there and the physiological
response that helped counteract the drug effect was not triggered, exposing him to the
full effect of all that morphine
-methods
-testing rats for pain sensitivity
-two environments were used
-one that had functional experience with the procedure during the tolerance
acquisition and one that had non-functional experience
-results
-experimental groups had lower pain sensitivity
-as sessions increased morphine groups displayed greater pain sensitivity
-habituation
-an orienting response refers to an automatic shift of attention toward novel or salient
stimulus
-through repetitive experience with a stimulus and lack of consequences, habituation
often occurs such that responses to the stimulus gradually diminish, thuse reserving
attention for more important stimuli
-sensitization
-sometimes repetitive experience with a stimulus actually leads to sensitization, or
heightened responsiveness, ensuring that we respond appropriately to salient or
threatening stimuli
-thought to play a role in drug dependence, asthma, depression and anxiety disorders,
allergies & epilepsy
-habituation and sensitization are non-associative learning
-they modify an existing stimulus-response relation rather than create a new association
-associative learning
-hot pan equals pain and you learn from that
-things are unconditional because it happens automatically without prior learning or experience
-pavlov’s dog experiment with salivating etc
-conditional only emerges after some learning has taken placE
-wide spread implications
-classical conditioning is central to our lives and has been observed in many other
species
-it plays an adaptive role by attunning us to important, biologically relevant events
-acquisition
-the gradual process by which a US and CS are repeatedly presented together through
conditioning trials, thereby forming a contingency between them
-acquisition of the CR
-when the CS becomes associated with the US, causing the CS to elicit the CR
-contiguity
-continuity refers to the finding that stronger contingencies form when the US and CS
are presented closer together in time and space
-short delay conditioning
-when the CS is presented shortly before the US, often by only a few seconds
-conditioning tends to become less effective when the CS-US interval is too great
-asymptotic responding
-the CR will increase in strength over successive conditioning trials, but eventually
asymptotes when the maximum physical response is elicited or the continency is already
maximally learned
-the maximum conditioning possible with the given specific stimulus pair has
been reached
-extinction
-the process whereby contingencies are extinguished by repeatedly presenting the CS
without the US (extinction trials)
It is adaptive for learned responses to be extinguished so that mental resources are not
consumed unnecessarily
-test trials differ from extinction trials in that the CS is only presented once without the
US, meant to test the strength of a contingency
-evidence against the ‘erasure’ view of extinction
-extinction doesn’t simply lead to the erasure of a contingency, as evidence by the
phenomena of reacquisition, spontaneous recovery, and renewal
-reacquisition describes how the relearning of a contingency following extinction is often
faster than the original learning
-reacquisition is faster
-spontaneous recovery describes how a contingency can spontaneously re-emerge
following extinction
-renewal describes when a contingency is extinguished in an environment different than
the original environment of acquisition, but the CR again occurs when the CS is
presented in the original environment
-inhibitory conditioning
-the complexity of extinction suggests it may be driven by inhibitory learning in that the
subject learns a contingency with a stimulus and the absence of another simulus
 -this view suggests we learn a new inhibitory contingency ‘on top of’ the original
excitatory contingency, but that the original learning is not simply erased
-homeostasis is a special case of classical conditioning when the body learns to anticipate and
counteract biologically relevant events
-physiological regulation
-homeostasis and compensatory responses
-homeostasis is general term that refers to how biological systems engage in
physiological regulation, counteracting changes in functioning that arise due to
perturbations in the environment
-a compensatory response describes any biological response from the body that
maintains homeostasis
-morphine overdose and environmental specificity
-studies show that classical conditioning plays a critical role in drug overdose
-the body learns a contingency between a drug’s effect (US) and the environment in
which it is usually administered (CS), thus eliciting a compensatory response (CR) to
mitigate the drug’s effects when in that environment. This compensatory response
explains how people grow tolerant to drugs they take repeatedly
-however, if someone who has built up tolerance to a drug in one environment
administers a regular dose in a new environment, they are prone to an overdose
because the compensatory response (CR) is not triggered as effectively
-generalization
-the process by which a contingency between the CS and US broadens, thus eliciting a
CR to a gradually increasing range of stimuli based on how similar they are to the
original CS
-this process is vital for allowing us to generalize from our prior experiences by
responding appropriately to a range of novel stimuli
-discrimination
-the opposite process by which a contingency between the CS and US narrows, thus
making the CR more precisely tuned to a range of stimuli that closely resemble the
original CS
-This process is vital for allowing us to refine our responses to more specific stimuli
-CS can predict the absence of a US (CS-)
-Higher-order conditioning
-the established CS is paired with a new stimulus, allowing the new stimulus to become
yet another CS capable of eliciting a CR

Instrumental conditioning
-skinner and his pigeons
-trained them by reinforcing different behaviours
-reality that actions can be shaped by the environment, and maintained by their
consequences, are principles that are widely used in many applied settings including
cognitive behaviour therapy, game design, and educational psychology
-skinner believed these principles could be used to positively change society as a whole
-non-associative forms of learning
 -allow you to orient toward stimuli and either respond more (sensitization) and focus
attention or respond less (habituation) and ignore
-instrumental learning is another form of associative learning
-forming new voluntary behaviours that direct goal-centered actions
-thorndike’s law of effects
-is problem solving conserved across species?
-while Pavlov was investigating conditional reflexes with dogs in russia, thorndike was
investigating a different type of learning with cats in america
-cats in a box
-cats were placed in a box with food on the other side of a door
-in order to get the food the cats would have to perform a certain action to open
the door
-thorndike would observe how long it took the cats to figure out and remember
the action
-cats start of just meowing and clawing at the door
-over time they’ll accidentally claw at the string that opens the door
-they then get better and better at finding the string that opens the door
-associate this string with their freedom and food
-when placed in the box they’re immediate reaction will now be to
go to the string
-cats show a gradual decline across repeated trials
-learning curve for the cat suggested that the escape response
was gained in small increments with no evidence of insight into
problem-solving
-cats in box initially engaged in a variety of responses like biting, jumping, clawing, and
meowing that were unrelated to the final target response
-across trails frequency of these irrelevant behaviours gradually decreased and cat’s
tendency to perform correct response increased
-target get responses got stamped out

-stamping in
-in any random environment, voluntary behavior leading to satisfying
consequences becomes more frequent, is ‘stamped in’, and behaviour
leading to displeasing consequences diminishes
-the strength depends on the consequences (how satisfying or
unsatisfying they are)
-Thorndike’s box didn’t provide anything that elicited an involuntary response
-stimuli associated with the box acted as an occasion setter for many possible
voluntary responses
-the problem solving behaviour was more accurately described as a change in the
probabilities of the various possible responses
-skinner and operant behaviour
 -essential to instrumental condition is the association between stimuli and
voluntary behaviours that operate to produce certain consequences, a reinforcer;
anything that increases the probability of the behaviour occurring again
-subject’s behaviour directly causes the satisfying or unsatisfied consequences
-operant
-describes these behaviours, as these voluntary actions operate on the
environment to produce change leading to a specific consequence
-instrumental conditioning is often referred to as operant
conditioning
-reinforcer
-implies no assumptions about judgments being made in the mind of the
individual responding
-it’s he ‘satisfying effect’ or reward that followed a response
-chosen as an objective descriptor of behaviour
-it’s nothing that increases the probability of response being emitted again
in the future
-primary reinforcers
-have intrinsic value
-access to food or water or a mate
-secondary reinforcer
-come to be reinforcing through previous learning
-money, grades, gold stars
-can be powerful motivators of behaviour
-important only to the extent that they’ve been associated with
other primary reinforcers
-operant chamber (Skinner box)
-consisted of a special chamber with a lever or other mechanism by which
an animal could respond to produce a reinforcer such as a food pellet
-trials could be shorter, there were no restraints on responding,
and after completing a response and experiencing its effects, the
animal remains in the box, and is free to respond again
-response rate was recorded with a cumulative recorder
-animal would stay in for a period of time and be recorded
-major phenomena of instrumental conditioning
-many parallels in the mechanisms of learning exist between classical and instrumental
conditioning, such as the role of environmental cues
-positive discriminative stimuli (S+) indicate the presence of a positive reinforcer based
on the response, whereas negative discriminative stimuli (S-) indicate the absence of a
reinforcer in order to fine tune behaviour in response to generalization
-children learn eating spinach (response) leads to ice cream (reinforcer) when
her father is present (S+), but not on her mother’s watch (S-)
-instrumental conditioning can undergo extinction the same way you do in classical
conditioning
-the response isn’t unlearned but inhibited
 -can still under spontaneous recovery
-CS+ informs you about what WILL happen, S+ informs you about what COULD happen
If you produce the appropriate behaviour
-CS- informs you of what WILL NOT happen, and the S- informs you that a response-
reinforcer is not currently valid
-training types
-reward training involves the presentation of an appetitive stimulus after the desired
behaviour is performed that will increase the likelihood of the behaviour
-escape or avoidance training involves the removal of an aversive stimulus to increase
desired behaviour
-punishment involves the presentation of an aversive stimulus in order to decrease
undesired behaviour
-omission training involves the removal of an appetitive stimulus in order to decrease
undesired behaviour
-consequence timing
-the most effective way to ensure associations are formed between behaviours and
consequences is to present consequences immediately after the behaviour
-getting a new pet there’s an adjustment period
-gotta train them
-takes time and works best if you punish or reward them right after an action
-this may not be ideal in real-world settings, but we are often raised to be able to deal
with delayed gratification and still learn the response
-waiting for payday
-we don’t get paid after every cup of coffee we pour for example
-ability to tolerate delay of gratification behind to develop in childhood, and young
children who show difficulty tolerating such delays tend to have more difficulty in
coping with stress and frustration later as adolescents
-however, the immediately rewarding consequences of drug taking
behaviour may overshadow the delayed, and possibly greater, benefits of
abstinence
-roediger and the testing effect
-the phenomena that learning is better facilitated by testing-forced memory recall- then
repeated episodes of studying and reviewing material
-test material must hav a level of difficulty that allows for relatively high success rates if
teachers are just going to constantly test their students
-role of feedback
-allows you to learn why you made mistakes and how to avoid them
-effect results from processes of encoding during studying and testing
-when material is studied, the processes used to retrieve the items when
attempting to recall is also encoded
-process of retrieval is what is activated during testing, and by testing, individuals
have practice accessing the material, something that simple reviewing material
can’t offer
-shaping and chaining
 -shaping by successive approximations is the method used to train organisms to perform
complex behaviour by breaking the behaviour into its component parts and reinforcing
their acquisition through successive levels of difficulty
-chaining involves adding on increasingly complex behavioural requirements to the
original requirements in order to receive the original reinforcer
-step by step a chain of responses can be built leading to a final sequence of
behaviours that can appear to be quite complex
-indications of complexity
-contrast effects are changes in reward values
-negative contrast: lowering of reward value
-would be if we switched high reward rats (10%) to 2% glucose
-their response rate decreases
-positive contrast: increasing reward value
-vice versa for above example
-rat experiment
-one group pulls lever to get 10% glucose solution, other group same but for 2%
glucose soln
-10% group are more motivated and respond at a higher rate
-not always the level of reinforcement, but how that reinforcement compares to previous
reinforcement that will determine its motivational value
-the overjustification effect displays how changes in reinforcement i.e presentation of
rewards for behaviours already naturally performed, alter the perception of the behaviour
-kids in school drew pictures. Those that drew nice pictures were given a
certificate
-this then motivated kids to draw more
-when certificates ran out, however, their time spent drawing dropped drastically
lower than the kids who never received certificates
-they chose to spend their time doing other things
-schedules of reinforcement
-continuous reinforcement: reinforcers for all correct responses
-partial reinforcement: reinforcers for a portion of correct responses
-much more resistant to extinction than continuous
-ratio schedule
-the more responses made, the more reinforcements will be obtained
-interval schedule
-not how often a response is made, but rather when a response is made
-variable ratio schedule: reinforcement after random number of responses around a set
mean
-VR-5 schedule, rat is reinforced, on average, after 5 responses have been
completed
-number of responses from trial to trial can be different
-post-reinforcement pause decreases with this
-it almost doesn’t exist
-fixed interval schedule: reinforcement after a fixed period of time
 -FI-1 min schedule, rat is reinforced for the first lever press that occurs at least 1
minute after the last reinforcement was delivered
-subject can respond at any time
-won’t get anything until after a minute though
-FI scallop
-characteristic pattern of responding
-responses are produced at a low rate at first then slowly increase
-studying for a test example
-you don’t study right after you’ve done a test
-slowly start to study as the next test nears
-then cram a couple days before the test
-then you stop
-fixed ratio schedule
-reinforcement follows after a fixed number of responses
-FR-5 schedule, a rat’s reinforced after completing 5 lever presses
-continuous reinforcement would be FR-1
-cuz you’re reinforced after every press
-as number of responses required increases, post-reinforcement pause
increases
-a.k.a ratio strain
-if the required responses continue to increase, the organism will
reach a break point and stop responding completely
-variable interval schedule: reinforcement after a random period of time around a set
mean
-VI-5 min schedule, a rat is reinforced for the first lever press that occurs after an
average interval of 5 minutes
-actual amount of time that could elapse before reinforcement is available again
will vary from trial to trial
-there’s a steadier rate of responding here
 -variable schedules are more resistant to extinction than fixed schedules

-receiving messages is based on a variable interval schedule of reinforcement

-there’s a high resistance to extinction
-even though we don’t always get messages we constantly check
-check in hopes of the reward of receiving a message
-observational learning
-associative learning involves direct experience and often leads to imitation or avoidance
behaviours when appropriate, especially in unfamiliar situations
-children were placed in a room with a bobo doll
 -those that had been show a clip prior of an adult attacking the doll also attacked
this doll very aggressively in the room
-they were imitating what they had learned
-children who hadn’t seen the video didn’t go directly to the doll to attack it
-addresses concern that children maybe shouldn’t be exposed to violent things in
the media
-i.e video games and violent shows
-mirror neurons
-cell that responds in the same way when performing an action as it does
when the animal processing that cell observes someone else perform the
action or even imagines performing the action
-if these cells are activated when you reach for an object, they will also be
activated if you see someone else reach for an object, or you imagine
reaching for an object
-understanding learning in such ways has applications for behavioural issues as well as
understanding the neurological basis of imitation
-need not involve any immediate change in behaviour

Problem Solving and Intelligence

-fluid intelligence
-how well you tackle a new task rather than what facts you possess
-assumed it was a fixed attribute
-is highly inheritable, but it can be honed
-flynn effect
-measured intelligence has increased
-working memory
-short-term memory
-leeps vital information at the ready
-key component of fluid intelligence
-as training progresses, the brain regions taxed by working memory become less active
-as if they become more efficient in their functioning
-1990s scientists made discoveries, in particular importance of prefrontal cortex
-klingberg and his specialized computer program
-exercises working memory
-tested seven ADHD kids and another seven with ADHD to play easier computer games
-after five weeks those who practiced the working memory saw lessening of
symptoms
-squirmed less, raised scores,
-tested again on a larger group and found same results
-other scientists did their own experiments
-training kids’ attention has been shown to lead to higher intelligence scores
-musical instruction offers benefits too
-children from low socioeconomic backgrounds experienced large jumps in IQ in 20 hours of
playing
-older adults improve their fluid intelligence too
-played Rise of Nations and exercises that tax working memory
-n-back test
-participants are asked to keep track of an image, number or letter that appeared N
positions back in a series
-in 2 back version subjects viewed series of squares at different locations on a blank
computer screen
-had to determine if a new square was in the same position as the shape shown
before last
-n-dual back task requires participants to match both a visual and auditory cue
-locations on a screen and say a letter spoken out loud
-can adjust the difficulty by raising the value of n in the n-back test
-by raising difficulty it keeps your brain constantly working
-does brain training make you smarter or better at that particular task?
-ppl training for a memory competition for example
-have amazing recall ability but they’re not necessarily smarter
-they’ve just memorized all of this stuff
-memory training is like learning how to shoot an arrow
-archery skill improves but your overall fitness stays the same
-took five different groups
-four were trained for 1-4 weeks and one remained untrained
-at the end the untrained group stayed the same but all four other groups attained higher
scores on the intelligence test
-more training led to greater achievement
-children displayed greater variability
-devised a version of the n-back test that resembled a video game
-on average nine years old, trained for four weeks
-second group ~9 years old spent the month using a ‘knowledge trainer’
-software that coached them on general facts and vocab items to develop
what is known as crystallized intelligence
-not all children with n-back test succeeded
-some showed little interest, some got frustrated as difficulty increased
-children who showed most improvement got higher scores on intelligence tests
-even three months later, they preserved a good amount
-those using the knowledge trainer saw no benefits
-n-back training renders ppl psychologically more conservative overtime
-those who practiced learned to resist the impulse to respond automatically to a stimulus
-children who become more cautious of n-back test show greater reservation in a related
exercise in which they’re told to say yes to any letter except X
-90% weren’t X and children got into the habit of just saying yes
-after course of n-back training they become slower to respond and # of
incorrect yesses dropped
-MRI scans
-found greatest activation in parts of the prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex
 -after training saw less activation in these regions
-n-back test elicited less neural activity after a week of practice
-people use less brainpower to play tetris as they become increasingly adept at the
game
-scans of resting brains showed higher levels of blood flow after training than before in
selected regions that overlapped the ones mentioned before
-parts of the brain that become more efficient during training are left better
prepared for the task while at rest
-they’re more fit
-explains how n-back training leads to improvements on different working memory tasks
-effects induced by these activities can outlast the training period itself
-individual’s beliefs about the malleability of intelligence can affect how much they improve
-those who have intrinsic motivation to train also find the endeavor more effective

Language
-arbitrary associations
-words used to represent concepts in language are made up and arbitrary
-this is why various languages exist-the same concept is represented by different words
in different languages as a result of this arbitrary nature of language
-allow various languages to use different sounds to label the same item
-onomatopeia however are words that use the same sounds associated with their
meanings
-attempt to imitate natural sounds to reflect their meaning
-productive
-with the limited set of sound combinations and words in a language, a potentially infinite
number of expressions can be made, including completely novel expressions
-rule governed
-with each language, rules about what makes sense still exist despite the productive
nature of language
-first box
-one word can change the whole meaning of a sentence
-can give it a negative connotation
-can make it true or false
-no other species of animal except humans use language
-morphemes and phonemes
-morphemes are the smallest unit of sound or signing that contains meaning; these can
be full words or parts of words
-phonemes are the smallest units of sound; the number, type, and how they may be
combined varies across languages
-transparent orthographics
-languages that have a consistent letter-to-sound correspondence
-this means that a given letter will always make the same sound
-grammar
 -unique to each language, grammar represents the rules that govern how morphemes
and words may be combined in order to make sense
-this includes gender assignment, the order of types of words, and so on
-grammar is commonly automatically understood although difficult to describe
-split infinitive
-adverb occurs between to and the verb
-ex was you have to really be careful
-overregulations
-indicate that children or people are in the process of learning the rules of
language but have yet to master the exceptions to the rules
-sentences like ‘my foots is growing fast’
-i runned home
-semantics
-the meaning that is produced through the use and combination of certain words and
morphemes
-can understand different meanings for a words depending on the context
-universal phoneme sensitivity
-within the first year of life, infants are able to discriminate between the phonemes of all
languages, as measured by the conditioned head turn procedure
-perceptual narrowing, the loss of universal phoneme sensitivity, occurs when individuals
begin to specialize in a particular language and suggests that this phenomenon is
somewhat inherent but shaped by early experiences such as infant directed speech
-this is lost after the first year of life
-infant directed speech (motherese)
-when ppl talk to infants they tend to speak in higher-pitched voices and
exaggerate changes in pitch and use of rhythm
-help 6-7 month old kids discriminate between different vowel sounds
-early language skills
-language related skills are present quite early in development
-the still face procedure demonstrates understanding of expectations of face-to-face
social interaction
-pragmatics, the understanding and use of appropriate communication, develops
through conversational cooing and vocalizing with a parent
-cooing and babbling represent precursors for the holophrastic and word spurt phases,
as well as rapid vocabulary growth
-holophrastic= a single word is used to indicate the meaning of an entire
sentence
-word spurt occurs between 18-24 months
-fast mapping
-children learn the meaning following only 1 or 2 encounters with the new word
-six you’ve learned most of your words
-girls have better vocab and language skills than boys between 2 and 6 years old
-birth order can also play a role
-first borns develop a larger vocab earlier than second born kids
 -girls start using words about social relations and for objects that need to be cared for
earlier than boys
-boys start using words for loud moving objects earlier than girls
-receptive and expressive vocabulary
-expressive vocabulary refers to spoken words used to express languages
-receptive vocabulary refers to the understanding of more complex words and
expressions by children that they are not yet able to use; language comprehension is
just as important as production for language development
-damage in Broca’s area in left frontal lobe leads to difficulties in production of fluent speech
-damage to wernicke’s area in left temporal lobe allows ppl to speak fluently, but they don’t
make sense
-foreign accent syndrome
-patients suffered a stroke or head injury
-damaged areas of left hemisphere
-after recovery they can speak their native language, but they have a foriegn accent
-with therapy the accent can diminish though
-monolingual patients often start using an accent of a language they have never used or
heard
-sounds like they’re speaking with an accent, but this perception is caused by fairly
simple but consistent changes in the way they speak
-speech is modified in its basic timing, and rhythmic properties, or prosody
-foreign language perceived depends on the listener
-early language
-early language development, 10-18 months of age, is characterized by certain errors
such as overextensions, where specific words are used to refer to a more general group
of related items, and underextensions, where terms that are too general are used to
refer to more specific items
-overextensions in production persist longer than overextensions in
comprehension
-pattern is consistent with the pattern of expressive vocabulary developing later
than receptive vocab
-this phase is also characterized by telegraphic speech
-overregulation errors, where grammatical rules are used too broadly, begin to occur
with increased complexity in language development
-Whorfian Hypothesis
-the Whorfian hypothesis suggests our perceptions and experiences are shaped by
language, specifically the particular language(s) we use
-evidence in support comes from the Piraha of Brazil and their difficulty in discrimination
numbers over 2
-the study of the arapaho has brought counterevidence though: although they had one
word for a number of family members, they could still discriminate their relations to each
member
-Language has an effect on our thoughts, as well as our perception of and interactions
with the world.
-there was a theory that bilingual children were not as smart as monolingual ones
-not true though
-can perform worse for language processing and proficiency
-are also better at other things like inhibition of distractors, task switching etc
-may be due to underdeveloped vocab
-bilinguals have a smaller vocab for each language than native, monolinguals do
-have improved episodic and semantic memory
-increased flexibility too
-social learning theory
-suggests that language abilities are acquired through imitation and operant
conditioning, with support from case studies of language deprivation during development
(eg Genie)
-criticism includes the suggestion that language is too complex and acquired too rapidly
to be learned, errors early in development are not performed by adults so they cannot be
imitated, and patterns of reinforcement used are insufficient
-innate mechanism theory
-chomsky has suggested the existence of a language acquisition device and basic
universal rules for all languages; support comes from the spontaneous development of
sign language in deaf children, preference for speech sounds and neurophysiological
responses to native languages
-criticism includes evidence that infant monkeys and chinchillas show the same
neurophysiological responses to language
-interactionist theories
-nature or nurture si insufficient, both are needed to explain language
-children’s experiences and experimentation with language and individuals that already
use language, combined with brain maturation, produces language abilities
-Integrate three influence on language development: biological maturation of the brain,
social interaction, and cognitive preparedness
-in sign language symbols, for a vast majority, represent their sign and aren’t a copy of the
physical item
-error in development study
-struggling with the difference between you and me and when to use the words
-kids who signed from young age started off using me and you correctly
-was then found that they got confused when they learned the proper grammar and fell
into the same trap as children learning in say english and in signing
-developmental trajectory indicates that the children were using the signs as much more
than a direct point; they were using them as symbols representing meaning and assigning that
meaning correctly was a learning process

Science of Learning
-why are bad study habits developed ?
-circulua are developed to highlight the content that teachers should teach, so the focus
is on providing content and not on training students how to effectively acquire it
 -emphasis is on WHAT students need to learn
-little emphasis on HOW
-teacher preparation
-strategies on how to study aren’t in current textbooks
-strategies that do exist, though, have limited applicability or benefit
-teacher preparation doesn’t emphasize the important of teaching students to
study effectively
-ten learning strategies
-practice testing
-distributed practice
-weekly quizzes
-interleaved practice
-schedule of practice that mixes different kinds of problems etc
-elaborative interrogation
-generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept it true
-self-explanation
-rereading
-highlighting and underlining
-summarization
-keyword mnemonic
-imagery for text
-there are other strategies but they may require advanced tech that teachers don’t have or may
take up too much class time for the teacher to have to explain
-not all of these are effective strategies
-the strategies differ with respect to the kinds of learning they promote
-some are focused on improving a students’ memory for core concepts or facts
-others may be best for promoting student’s comprehension of what they’re reading
-others are good for enhancing memory and comprehension
-practice testing and distributed practice are the two most effective
-enhance learning and comprehension of a large range or materials
-can boost student achievement
-practice tests
-when students correctly retrieve an answer from memory, the correct retrieval can a
direct effect on memory
-also indirectly helps cuz if you can’t recall something from memory you know
you need to study that more
-creating flashcards while taking notes is good
-create tests that don’t have a bank of answers
-primary purpose is to recall answers from memory when taking the test
-test yourself continuously
-distributed practice
-massed practice
-when a student studying for a spelling test goes to one word, repeatedly writes it
underneath that word and then moves on to the next word
-distributive would be to go through each word and write it once below, then go back to
the beginning when you finish the list and write every word once below again
-retain everything longer by using this technique even though students think massed is
better than distributed
-if you spend equal time massing and distributing you’ll still do better with the
latter
-using the masses strategy makes us feel smarter in the moment
-see distributive practice in hobbies
-video gaming
-dancing
-teachers should help students map out when they should study
-also if weekly quizzes are a thing make them cumulative
-always test things from previous weeks
-interleaved practice, elaborative interrogation and self-explanation are promising
strategies but not the most effective
-interleaved practice
-involved distributing practice across study sessions and mixing up the order of
materials across different topics
-involves spaing one’s practice across time, but it’s different types of problems,
whereas distributive is one type of problem
-students believe they are learning but their learning is actually fleeting
-can improve achievement in the long term though
 -especially for problem solving

-this strategy didn’t work though, when college students were learning french
vocab for different categories (body parts, dinnerware, etc)
-students who massed vs those that interleaved did equally well
Also didn’t help high school students learn various rules for comma usage
-elaborative and self-explanation
-elaborative you try to explain why a fact is true
-use for studying general facts about a topic
 -self interrogation you try to explain how new info is related to info you
already know
-use when reading or solving practical problems in math and
science
-strategies encourage students to actively process the content that are
focusing on and integrate it with their prior knowledge
-rereading and highlighting, summarization, keyword mnemonic and imagery for text are not the
best strategies
-summarizing
-not effective for long term understanding of something
-imagery and mnemonics
-good for short term memory
-lots of school content is not imagery friendly
-complex and abstract ideas are hard to create imagery for
-while there are good strategies here, they’re only effective if students use them correctly
-teaching students content may help them succeed in any given class, but teaching them how to
guide their learning of content using effective strategies will allow them to successfully learn
throughout their lifetime

Categories and Concepts

-are our brains wired article
-when thinking about a hammer and a dog two different areas of the brain are activated
-the dog activates the part of your brain that processes animate objects
-hammer activates part that processes inanimate objects
-visual cortex’s organization of categories is the same for ppl born with sight and without
-disproves the notion that the two separate processing areas exist solely as a
result of learning to recognize the differences in the visual appearance of the
living and nonliving
-connections to other brain areas might be driving this
-information about living and nonliving things gets shuffled to different areas of the brain
-this triggers appropriate reactions
-the wiring system that connects different areas of the visual cortex with appropriate
regions in the rest of the brain is innate
-doesn’t have to form gradually based on visual inputs
-organization of the brain has to be understood in terms of our evolutionary history
-don’t know much biology article
-experiment
-showed university students a long list of words one at a time very rapidly
-some words were names of plants, others, animals, and still others, and
nonliving things
-the nonliving things were further divided
-into nonmoving man-made objects (brooms), nonmoving artifacts
(trucks), moving natural phenomena (rivers)
-wanted to see how quickly and accurately they used movement and
“naturalness” to classify something as living or nonliving
-mistakes would be evidence that primitive ideas of childhood still retain
some power
-plants in particular are interesting
-kids often misclassify plants as non living things
-college students were more hesitant to classify plants as living
-had to slow down while being tested
-students were also slower at classifying moving things
-performed the experiment with biology professors
-they did better than the regular college students
-didn’t do as well as one would think
-were also worse at classifying plants vs animals
-so even a lifetime of scientific training didn’t help a lot
-there’s still a tendency to view plants as artifacts
-were also not much better than undergrads at classifying non living
things
-i.e clouds and rivers
-children are natural-born taxonomists, but they’re not all that good at it
-cuz they have a deep-wired urge to see the world as designed and simple
Attention
-flashbulb memories
-vivid experiences
-have a ‘live’ quality feeling, almost as if a person is looking at a photograph of a
moment locked in time
-hunters needed to focus on relevant visual, or olfactory, and auditory stimuli that directed them
to their prize
-gatherers needed to carefully analyze the details of a potential patch that would yield fruits,
nuts, and roots
-both groups had to worry about distant sound cues that could indicate predators
-psychologists are interested in how attentional processes are guided by two competing needs
-focusing limited mental resources on the immediate task
-monitoring ongoing stimuli to evaluate their potential significance and shifting the
allocation of mental resources
-cocktail party effect
-when engaged in a task our attention is still able to attend to relevant stimuli, such as
our name being called, from the background of our focus
-this effect is demonstrated with dichotic listening task, where some information from the
unattended channels are remembered in addition to information from the attended
channels
-can switch between ears easily
-i.e repeating information being told to an individual ear
-bottom up and top down
-a two-way flow of information guides our attentional selection
-bottom up: attention is guided by salient stimuli or environmental changes; automatic
-top down: attention is guided by conscious directed in order to fulfill a goal or meet
memory expectations; controlled
-can track people’s eyes to see how they categorize things
-when asked how many old people were in a painting people looked at faces
-when asked who was financially stable they looked at clothes
-orienting
-the act by which attention moves across a scene
-cuing
-spatial cueing paradigm: measures the movement of attention across a scene and
factors involved
-overt attending: the direction of attention is made clear through eye movements
-covert attending: direction of attention not guided by eye movements but can be
measured by spatial cuing where cues lead to faster target detection in periods too short
for eye movement
-the staring in the middle of two boxes experiment is an example of this
-inhibition of return
-if the gap between the onset of the cue and the target is more than about 300
milliseconds, you’re actually slower to detect the target at cued locations than at uncued
locations
 -like looking for waldo you know to look for something red
-you see a flash of red and look but realize it’s a fire hydrant
-you continue your search but now avoid the area of the fire hydrant because you
know you already looked there
-visual search and contextual cuing
-the visual search paradigm allows attention to be measured as a function of
environmental complexity i.e set size
-the pop out effect indicates that visually salient information automatically captures
attention regardless of set size whereas conjunctive searches slow down processing
-familiar environmental settings and our general knowledge about their contexts
(schema) guide our attention in a more efficient manner
-inattentional and change blindness
-inattentional blindness demonstrates that when the focus of attention is placed strongly
on a particular stimulus, even highly salient stimuli may go unnoticed
-change blindness demonstrates that salient changes in the environment often go
unnoticed, even when we are looking for them
-like the part in the module where we had to identify the differences in the scene
-it was the M on the coffee mug
-we’re faster at identifying the change if the intervening blank scene is removed
-i.e no black screen in between
-also faster if we know which part of the scene is being altered
-the stroop task
-not all complex processes require attention, numerous experiences or practice with
tasks allows us to perform them almost automatically
-an example of how this automatic processing can be a hindrance is the stroop
paradigm--the automatic processing of words interferes with colour naming
-schema
-a representation depicting the range of plausible objects and likely configurations of
those objects within particular scenes
-no explicit memory for unattended message content
-can shape how you understand the meaning of sentences tho
-we saw this in an experiment
-you wrote everything you hear from the attended ear
-but unknowingly what you hear in the unattended ear can shape the
understanding you have of the sentences you’re reading
-word meaning may be processes pre-attentively or before attention is selectively
committed
-spotlight model
-early attempts to describe attention mechanisms suggest they operate in the likeness of
a spotlight
-focus moves towards different stimuli and when in the focus of the spotlight are more
easily perceived and processes, however, this model is limited with more complex
spatial paradigms
-early filter models
 -further work came to suggest attention acts more like a filter, where selected
information goes on towards conscious awareness
-broadbent’s early selection theory suggests physical information is filtered before
semantic processing, accounting for the dichotic listening task but not the cocktail party
effect
-treisman's attenuation theory attempted to compensate by suggesting physical
information is just attenuated and if relevant may be brought to the focus of attention
-late filter models
-late filter models suggest filtering occurs after physical and semantic analysis and only
selected information goes on for further processing due to limitations in processing
capacity
-both this model and the attenuation model may be able to account for the cocktail party
effect

Memory
-attention and memory work together to create our current experience, the world as we
remember it, and plans for the future
-encoding
-selective process that is highly dependent on attention
-storage
 -how the record of memory is maintained over time
-not fixed and can be modified
-retrieval
-act of retrieving information
-relies on retrieval cues
-sensory memory
-represents brief, transient perceptual and physical information about immediate
experiences and isn’t limited by attention
-representations exist for each of the senses, such as iconic memory for visual
information and echoic memory for auditory information, and decay after approximately
50ms
-sensory representations are displaced or overwritten by new incoming information from
the same modality
-short term memory
-information selected for further processing in sensory memory is held in conscious
awareness for short periods of time, but not permanently
-information can be stored for about 20 seconds if unrehearsed
-rehearsal of information increases the amount of time it can be held online
-if distracted, though, you will forget what you were thinking of
-short term store can be increased by chunking
-chunking is the process by which information is organized into sets of familiar
groups or categories of items
-working memory
-represents a refined version of short term memory and consists of 3 buffers
-like short term memory 2.0
-upgrade to the original conceptualization of short term memory
-phonological (or articulatory) loop: storage of information through verbal rehearsal
-encapsulates the original 7 plus or minus 2 theory
-visuospatial sketchpad: represents and manipulates visual information
-like trying to remember the mental map of how to get to the pizza restaurant
-episodic buffer: uses other buffers and long term memory to remember and hold online
past episodes
-remembering specific experiences in the past
-the central executive is responsible for managing and manipulating the buffers
-allows working memory to be more flexible
-LTM and Its systems
-schemas are knowledge structures and expectations built through experiences and
memories and aid in navigation--memory is reconstructive though and we often let
schemas take control even if they lead to false judgements
-declarative memory: memory for specific facts or episodes; general knowledge or
semantic memories
-nondeclarative memory: implicit and procedural memories, not overtly recalled but
apparent in functioning
 -you know how to ride a bike but it may be hard to describe all the motions
involved
LTM storage
-patients with amnesia have revealed much of what is known about LTM
-the hippocampus has been shown to be vital for STM memory formation and trace
formation but LTM processes are apparent throughout the cortex
-the hippocampus is still thought to be important for the coordination of memories for
activation in consciousness
-rehearsal
-the multi-store model suggests we have 3 stores for memory: sensory memory receives
sensory information which is selectively held online by STM and with rehearsal through
STM components may be transferred and stored in LTM
-evidence for this comes from the free recall paradigm through primacy and recency
effects
-recency effect is dependent on information stored in STM
-encoding
-mnemonic strategies are tricks used to make to-be-remembered information more
relevant and easier to remember i.e self-referent effect, especially if it takes advantage
of deep processing
-encoding specificity points out how memories aren’t encoded in isolation but along with
the context they are a part of and thus context can act as a retrieval cue
-transfer appropriate processing suggests memory is enhanced when encoding and
retrieval utilize the same or similar processes
-those who rhymed did better than those who looked for semantic meaning
-forgetting
-forgetting can be helpful in reducing interference from irrelevant memories
-decay theory suggests forgetting is based on the passage of time, but can only account
for STM loss
-forgetting is often attributed to interference-cues are no longer associated with a certain
memory but with other memories
-interference and repression
-proactive interference occurs when knowledge learned prior to a memory prevents its
retrieval
-retroactive interference occurs when new knowledge prevents the retrieval of old
memories
-tip of the tongue experiences display how memories can be temporarily forgotten
-repression of negative memories is a controversial topic due to the fact that it’s difficult
to determine whether repressed memories remembered are true or not
-people who were in the same internal state performed well
-if they had smoked weed for memorizing but had placebo during testing they didn’t do
as well
-a word is said to become more associated with the error-prone retrieval process each time it’s
on the tip of your tongue
-you get used to making this mistake
-misinformation effects
-the misinformation effect occurs when new information is thought to be part of an old
memory and false memories are in turn formed
-this can occur simply by introducing associations between new information and old
memories
-source confusion
-source monitoring errors occur when we fail to recall the true origins of memories and
often occur when we attribute familiarity and ease of processing to the source of
memories
-reality monitoring is our ability to discriminate false memories from true memories
-this is like the false fame effect
-thinking someone is famous because you recall memorizing their name

Forming Impressions
-mrs. Elliot and her low key experiment
-told the kids brown eye children were better than blue eyed children
-this totally affected how they interacted
-then the next day she said blue eyed children were better than brown eyed children
-again the children’s behaviours shifted
-this demonstrated people can be heavily influenced by what they’re told
-our impression can shift so easily
-social isolation experiment with monkeys
-baby monkeys left alone suffered extreme disturbances
-rarely moved
-didn't’ play or explore the environment
-when they became mothers they were neglectful and abusive
-rehab only produced moderate improvements
-illustrates the importance of connections and social interactions
-we define ourselves by others
-we are always looking to make attributions for behaviour
-fundamental attribution error
-we sometimes have a tendency to overestimate dispositional attributes and under-
estimante situational attributes
-this is particularly true when evaluated by others
-we exhibit a self-serving bias when evaluating our own performance; success is
associated with dispositional factors and errors are associated with situational factors
-cognitive heuristics
-using the representative heuristic we tend to judge a sample to be more likely to occur if
it’s similar to the population from which it was selected, regardless of statistical
probability
-tested people of all intelligence for the linda example
-very little difference between everyone
-seems regardless of your education you fall victim to this
 -using the availability heuristic our probability judgements are affected by how easily we
can think of examples
-consensus and stereotypes
-the false consensus effect makes us overestimate how much others agree with our
opinion
-this helps with our self esteem
-we want to fit in
-believe everyone thinks alike
-illusory correlation causes individuals to believe that two variables are related even
though there’s no evidence
-stereotypes are typically formed because of illusory correlations
-prejudice is on the decline
-implicit association test
-example: asked to sort cards
-diamonds and hearts on left, spades and clubs on right
-this is a very easy task (compatible)
-diamonds and spades on left, clubs and hearts on right
-this is difficult task (incompatible)
-would be easy for bridge players though
-ran this experiment to prove we are unconsciously still racist
-it’s because it’s been ingrained in our society to think this way
-actor observer effect
-this was the debate example
-we think if you choose your side, you believe that
-sometimes we can think you believe in the side even if you’re assigned to it
-we have trouble discounting the behaviour of others

Influence of others
-persuasion has three components
-communication, message, and audience
-several techniques can make individuals more persuasive
-foot-in-door, low ball, door-in-face
-ppl who are smiling find things more amusing, regardless of why they’re smiling
-trustworthiness sometimes trump's expertise in a subject
-a moderate amount of fear can convince ppl to do things
-door in the face
-start with something outrageous then scale back your request
-other techniques advertisers use
-making things seem like stuff we need
-being subtle
-using buzz words
-knowing our desire to own luxury items
-conformity levels decrease with reduced group size and when dissension occurs within a group
-just need a model for dissent in order to be independent
-why do people obey?
-to be polite
-don’t like confrontation
-can’t explain why you wanna quit or why you’re uncomfortable
-had been giving the learner shocks this entire time
-just in higher voltage
-norms depend greatly on culture
-when you’re in bigger groups you believe you can get away with more things
-if you’re in a run down neighborhood, you feel like you can get away with stealing etc, more
easily
-group dynamics can cause hostility towards an out-group, but forced cooperation can bring the
groups tgt again
-wisdom of the crowd
-groups can actually be more reasonable, trustworthy and accurate than individuals
-bystander effect
-less likely to receive help from an individual than a group
-more ppl means less individual responsibility, more anonymity, and loss of
individual identity
-in individualistic countries we believe ppl are responsible for themselves
-he knew what he was getting into when he jumped in the water
-we consider cost vs benefit
-is it worth risking my life to save him?
-we’re also self-conscious
-i’ll look stupid if I jump in to save a splashing man
-female bystanders are equally likely to help males and females
-male bystanders are more likely to help females
-harming others
-aggression towards others can be a learned behavior
-males and females show different types of aggression
-males tend to display hostile aggression
-females tend to display relational aggression
-the norm of reciprocity
-we are expected to reciprocate when someone else treats us well
-the norm of social responsibility
-as a member of society, we’re expected to contribute to its welfare in a positive way
-empathy-altruism hypothesis
-altruism results from empathy
-negative state relief model
-we elp because we would feel distressed (and guilty) if we didn’t
-heroes aren’t born, they’re made
-heros are socially centered
-interact in a positivity way with others frequently