Foundations of Psychology: From Structuralism to Cognitive Approaches
CH1:TOPIC 1
Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior & mental processes. Psychologists approach human behavior as scientists who think critically & who are curious, skeptical, & objective. Two founders of the science of psychology are Wilhelm Wundt & William James. What was so special about this experiment? Wundt’s study was about the workings of the brain: He was trying to measure the time it took the human brain & nervous system to translate information into action. At the heart of this experiment was the idea that mental processes could be measured. This focus ushered in the new science of psychology. Wundt & his collaborators concentrated on discovering the basic elements, or “structures,” of mental processes. Their approach was called structuralism because of its focus on identifying the elemental parts or structures of the human mind. The method they used in the study of mental structures was introspection, which literally means “looking inside.” You have likely engaged in introspection when you have thought deeply about your feelings or have sought to quietly monitor your own responses to some event. For Wundt’s introspection research, a person sat in a laboratory & was asked to think (to introspect) about what was going on mentally as various events took place. For example, the individual might be subjected to a sharp, repetitive clicking sound & then might be asked to report whatever conscious feelings the clicking produced. What made this method scientific was the systematic, detailed self-reports required of the person in the controlled laboratory setting. Although Wundt is most often regarded as the founding father of modern psychology, it was psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910), perhaps more than anyone else, who gave the field an American stamp. From James’s perspective, the key question for psychology is not so much what the mind is (that is, its structures) as what it is for (its purpose or function). James’s view was eventually named functionalism. Structuralism emphasized the components of the mind. In contrast, functionalism probed the functions or purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual’s adaptation to the environment. Whereas structuralists were looking inside the mind and searching for its structures, functionalists focused on human interactions with the outside world to understand the purpose of thoughts. If structuralism is about the “what” of the mind, functionalism is about the “why.533. TOPIC Approaches to psychology include biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, evolutionary, and sociocultural. All of these perspectives consider important questions about human behavior from different but complementary vantage points. The bio approach focuses on the body, the brain and the nervous system (EX: sweating when you lie). The behavioral approach emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants. It focuses on an organism’s visible behaviors, not thoughts or feelings. The psychologists who adopt this approach are called behaviorists. Under the intellectual leadership of John B. Watson (1878–1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), behaviorism dominated psychological research during the first half of the twentieth century. The psychodynamic approach emphasizes unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives, such as the drive for sex, and society’s demands, and early childhood family Page 10experiences. Practitioners of this approach believe that sexual and aggressive impulses buried deep within the unconscious mind influence the way people think, feel, and behave. The humanistic approach emphasizes a person’s positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one’s destiny. Humanistic psychologists stress that people have the ability to control their lives and are not simply controlled by the environment (Maslow, 1971; Rogers, 1961). They theorize that rather than being driven by unconscious impulses (as the psychodynamic approach dictates) or by external rewards (as the behavioral approach emphasizes), people can choose to live by higher human values such as altruism. According to cognitive psychologists, your brain houses a “mind” whose mental processes allow you to remember, make decisions, plan, set goals, and be creative (Slotnik, 2017). The cognitive approach, then, emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems. evolutionary approach that uses evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors. David Buss (2016) argues that just as evolution molds our physical features, such as body shape, it also influences our decision making, level of aggressiveness, The sociocultural approach examines the influences of social and cultural environments on behavior. Socioculturalists argue that understanding a person’s behavior requires knowing about the cultural context in which the behavior occurs (Blaine & McClure, 2018). (Culture refers to the shared knowledge, practices, and attitudes of groups of people and can include language, customs, and beliefs about what behavior is appropriate and inappropriate.) Topic 3 Scientific Method: Observing some phenomenon, Formulating hypotheses and predictions, Testing through empirical research, Drawing conclusions Evaluating conclusions. Three types of research commonly used in psychology are descriptive research (finding out about the basic dimensions of some variable), correlational research (finding out if and how two variables change together), and experimental research (determining the causal relationship between variables). In an experiment, the independent variable is manipulated to see if it produces changes in the dependent variable. Experiments involve comparing two groups: the experimental group (the one that receives the treatment or manipulation of the independent variable) and the control group (the comparison group or baseline that is equal to the experimental group in every way except for the independent variable). Experimental research relies on random assignment to ensure that the groups are roughly equivalent before the manipulation of the independent variable. Validity refers to the soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment. Two broad types of validity matter to experimental designs. The first is external validity, which refers to the degree to which an experimental design really reflects the real-world issues it is supposed to address. That is, external validity is concerned with the question, do the experimental methods and the results generalize—do they apply—to the real world? The second type of validity is internal validity, which refers to the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable. In the case of internal validity, we want to know whether the experimental methods are free from biases and logical errors that may render the results suspect. Experimenter Bias Demand characteristics are any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave. One such influence is experimenter bias. Experimenter bias occurs when the experimenter’s expectations influence the outcome of the research. No one designs an experiment without wanting meaningful results. Consequently, experimenters can sometimes subtly communicate to participants what they want the participants to do. Research participant bias occurs when the behavior of research participants during the experiment is influenced by how they think they are supposed to behave or their expectations about what is happening to them. One example of the power of participant expectations is the placebo effect. Ethics: Today colleges and universities have a review board, typically called the institutional review board, or IRB, which evaluates the ethical nature of research conducted at their institutions. Proposed research plans must pass the scrutiny of a research ethics committee before the research can be initiated. In addition, the American Psychological Association (APA) has developed ethics guidelines for its members. The APA code of ethics instructs psychologists to protect their participants from mental and physical harm. APA’s guidelines address four important issues:Informed consent:Sleep is a natural state of rest for the body and mind that involves the reversible loss of consciousness. The biological rhythm that regulates the daily sleep/wake cycle is the circadian rhythm. The part of the brain that keeps our biological clocks synchronized is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a small structure in the hypothalamus that registers light. Such things as jet travel and work shifts can desynchronize biological clocks. Some strategies are available for resetting the biological clock. We need sleep for physical restoration, adaptation, growth, and memory. Research studies increasingly reveal that people do not function optimally when they are sleep-deprived. Stages of sleep correspond to massive electrophysiological changes that occur in the brain and that can be assessed by an EEG. The human sleep cycle is defined by stages. In Stage W, the person is awake. In the non-REM stages (stages N1 to N3), the person does not experience rapid eye-movement but moves from light sleep to deep sleep. Stage N3 is the deepest sleep. Most dreaming occurs during stage R or REM sleep. A sleep cycle of five stages lasts about 90 to 100 minutes and recurs several times during the night. The REM stage lasts longer toward the end of a night’s sleep.
The sleep stages are associated with distinct patterns of neurotransmitter activity. Levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine decrease as the sleep cycle progresses from stage N1 to N3. Stage R, REM sleep, begins when the reticular formation raises the level of acetylcholine.
Sleep plays a role in a large number of diseases and disorders. Neurons that control sleep interact closely with the immune system, and when our bodies are fighting infection our cells produce a substance that makes us sleepy. Individuals with depression often have sleep problems.
Many people in the United States suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders that can impair normal daily functioning. These include insomnia, sleepwalking and sleep talking, nightmares and night terrors, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea.Contrary to popular belief, most dreams are not bizarre or strange. Freud thought that dreams express unconscious wishes in disguise. The cognitive theory of dreaming attempts to explain dreaming in terms of the same cognitive concepts that are used in studying the waking mind. According to activation-synthesis theory, dreaming occurs when the cerebral cortex synthesizes neural signals emanating from activity in the lower part of the brain. In this view, the rising level of acetylcholine during REM sleep plays a role in neural activity in the brain stem that the cerebral cortex tries to make sense of. PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG: Psychoactive drugs act on the nervous system to alter states of consciousness, modify perceptions, and change moods. Humans are attracted to these types of drugs because they ease adaptation to change.
Addictive drugs activate the brain’s reward system by increasing dopamine concentration. The reward pathway involves the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). The abuse of psychoactive drugs can lead to tolerance, psychological and physical dependence, and addiction—a pattern of behavior characterized by a preoccupation with using a drug and securing its supply. Depressants slow down mental and physical activity. Among the most widely used depressants are alcohol, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and opioids.
After caffeine, alcohol is the most widely used drug in the United States. The high rate of alcohol abuse by high school and college students is especially alarming. Alcoholism is a disorder that involves long-term, repeated, uncontrolled, compulsive, and excessive use of alcoholic beverages that impairs the drinker’s health and work and social relationships.Page 163
Stimulants increase the central nervous system’s activity and include caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, and MDMA (Ecstasy). Hallucinogens modify a person’s perceptual experiences and produce visual images that are not real. Marijuana has a mild hallucinogenic effect; LSD has a strong one. HYPNOSIS: Hypnosis is a psychological state or possibly altered attention and awareness in which the individual is unusually receptive to suggestions. The hypnotic state is different from a sleep state, as confirmed by EEG recordings. Inducing hypnosis involves four basic steps, beginning with minimizing distractions and making the person feel comfortable and ending with the hypnotist’s suggesting certain events or feelings that he or she knows will occur or observes occurring.There are substantial individual variations in people’s susceptibility to hypnosis. People in a hypnotic state are unlikely to do anything that violates their morals or that involves a real danger. Two theories have been proposed to explain hypnosis. In Hilgard’s divided consciousness view, hypnosis involves a divided state of consciousness, a splitting of consciousness into separate components. One component follows the hypnotist’s commands; the other acts as a hidden observer. In the social cognitive behavior view, hypnotized individuals behave the way they believe hypnotized individuals are expected to behave. MEDITATION:Hypnosis is a psychological state or possibly altered attention and awareness in which the individual is unusually receptive to suggestions. The hypnotic state is different from a sleep state, as confirmed by EEG recordings. Inducing hypnosis involves four basic steps, beginning with minimizing distractions and making the person feel comfortable and ending with the hypnotist’s suggesting certain events or feelings that he or she knows will occur or observes occurring.There are substantial individual variations in people’s susceptibility to hypnosis. People in a hypnotic state are unlikely to do anything that violates their morals or that involves a real danger.Two theories have been proposed to explain hypnosis. In Hilgard’s divided consciousness view, hypnosis involves a divided state of consciousness, a splitting of consciousness into separate components. One component follows the hypnotist’s commands; the other acts as a hidden observer. In the social cognitive behavior view, hypnotized individuals behave the way they believe hypnotized individuals are expected to behave.Meditation refers to a state of quiet reflection. Meditation has benefits for a wide range of psychological and physical illnesses. Meditation can also benefit the body’s immune system. Research using fMRI suggests that meditation allows an individual to control his or her thoughts in order to “let go” of the need to control.Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool for managing life’s problems. How we think about our lives and experiences plays a role in determining whether we feel stressed and worried or challenged and excited about life. Seeking times of quiet contemplation can have a positive impact on our abilities to cope with life’s ups and downs. The goal of lovingkindness meditation is the development of loving acceptance of oneself and others. This type of meditation fosters feelings of warmth, friendliness, compassion, and appreciative joy.CH 5 TYPES of LEARNING:Learning is a systematic, relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs through experience. Associative learning involves learning by making a connection between two events. Observational learning is learning by watching what other people do.Conditioning is the process by which associative learning occurs. In classical conditioning, organisms learn the association between two stimuli. In operant conditioning, they learn the association between behavior and a consequence. Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus and comes to elicit a similar response. Pavlov discovered that an organism learns the association between an unconditioned stimulus (US) and a conditioned stimulus (CS). The US automatically produces the unconditioned response (UR). After conditioning (CS–US pairing), the CS elicits the conditioned response (CR) by itself. Acquisition in classical conditioning is the initial linking of stimuli and responses, which involves a neutral stimulus being associated with the US so that the CS comes to elicit the CR. Two important aspects of acquisition are contiguity and contingency.Generalization in classical conditioning is the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response. Discrimination is the process of learning to respond to certain stimuli and not to others. Extinction is the weakening of the CR in the absence of the US. Spontaneous recovery is the recurrence of a CR after a time delay without further conditioning.In humans, cOperant conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence. Skinner described the behavior of the organism as operant: The behavior operates on the environment, and the environment in turn operates on the organism. Whereas classical conditioning involves respondent behavior, operant conditioning involves operant behavior. In most instances, operant conditioning is better at explaining voluntary behavior than is classical conditioning.Thorndike’s law of effect states that behaviors followed by positive outcomes are strengthened, whereas behaviors followed by negative outcomes are weakened. Skinner built on this idea to develop the notion of operant conditioning.Shaping is the process of rewarding approximations of desired behavior in order to shorten the learning process. Principles of reinforcement include the distinction between positive reinforcement (the frequency of a behavior increases because it is followed by a rewarding stimulus) and negative reinforcement (the frequency of behavior increases because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus). Positive reinforcement can be classified as primary reinforcement (using reinforcers that are innately satisfying) and secondary reinforcement (using reinforcers that acquire positive value through experience). Reinforcement can also be continuous (a behavior is reinforced every time) or partial (a behavior is reinforced only a portion of the time). Schedules of reinforcement—fixed ratio, variable ratio, fixed interval, and variable interval—determine when a behavior will be reinforced.Operant conditioning involves generalization (giving the same response to similar stimuli), discrimination (responding to stimuli that signal that a behavior will or will not be reinforced), and extinction (a decreasing tendency to perform a previously reinforced behavior when reinforcement is stopped). Punishment is a consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will occur. In positive punishment, a behavior decreases when it is followed by a (typically unpleasant) stimulus. In negative punishment, a behavior decreases when a positive stimulus is removed from it. Applied behavior analysis involves the application of operant conditioning principles to a variety of real-life behaviors. COGNITIVE FACTOR IN LEARNING:Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior. Purposiveness refers to Tolman’s belief that much of behavior is goal-directed. In studying purposiveness, Tolman went beyond stimuli and responses to discuss cognitive mechanisms. Tolman believed that expectancies, acquired through experiences with the environment, are an important cognitive mechanism in learning. Köhler developed the concept of insight learning, a form of problem solving in which the organism develops a sudden insight into or understanding of a problem’s solution. Biological constraints restrict what an organism can learn from experience. These constraints include instinctive drift (the tendency of animals to revert to instinctive behavior that interferes with learned behavior), preparedness (the species-specific biological predisposition to learn in certain ways but not in others), and taste aversion (the biological predisposition to avoid foods that have caused sickness in the past).Although most psychologists agree that the principles of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning are universal, cultural customs can influence the degree to which these learning processes are used. Culture also often determines the content of learning.In addition, what we learn is determined in part by what we believe we can learn. Dweck emphasizes that individuals benefit enormously from having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.CH 6 MEMORY:
MEMORY STORAGE The Atkinson-Shiffrin theory describes memory as a three-stage process: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory holds perceptions of the world for only an instant. Visual sensory memory (iconic memory) retains information for about ¼ of a second; auditory sensory memory (echoic memory) preserves information for several seconds. Short-term memory is a limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for as long as 30 seconds. Short-term memory’s limitation is 7 ± 2 bits of information. Chunking and rehearsal can benefit short-term memory. Working memory involves a combination of short-term memory and attention that allow us to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. Baddeley’s model of working memory has three components: a central executive and two assistants (phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad). Long-term memory is a relatively permanent type of memory that holds huge amounts of information for a long time. Long-term memory has two main subtypes: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events. Implicit memory affects behavior through prior experiences that are not consciously recollected. Explicit memory has two dimensions. One dimension includes episodic memory and semantic memory. The other dimension includes retrospective memory and prospective memory. Implicit memory is multidimensional too and includes systems for procedural memory, priming, and classical conditioning. MEMORY RETRIEVAL The serial position effect is the tendency to recall items at the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle items. The primacy effect is the tendency to recall items at the beginning of the list better than the middle items. The recency effect is the tendency to remember the items at the end of a list better than the middle items.
Retrieval is easier when effective cues are present. Another factor in effective retrieval is the nature of the retrieval task. Simple recognition of previously remembered information in the presence of cues is generally easier than recall of the information. According to the encoding specificity principle, information present at the time of encoding or learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue, a process referred to as context-dependent memory. Retrieval also benefits from priming, which activates particular connections or associations in memory. The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon occurs when we cannot quite pull something out of memory. Five special cases of retrieval are autobiographical memory, emotional memory, memory for trauma, repressed memory, and eyewitness testimony. Autobiographical memory is a person’s recollections of his or her life experiences. Autobiographical memory has three levels: life time periods, general events, and event-specific knowledge. Biographies of the self connect the past and the present to form our identity. Emotional memories may be especially vivid and enduring. Particularly significant emotional memories, or flashbulb memories, capture emotionally profound events that people often recall accurately and vividly. Memory for personal trauma also is usually more accurate than memory for ordinary events, but it too is subject to distortion and inaccuracy. People tend to remember the core information about a personal trauma but might distort some of the details. Personal trauma can cause individuals to repress emotionally laden information so that it is not accessible to consciousness.Repression means forgetting a particularly troubling experience because it would be too upsetting to remember it. Eyewitness testimony may contain errors due to memory decay or bias. FORGETTING:Encoding failure is forgetting information that was never entered into long-term memory. Retrieval failure can occur for at least four reasons.First, interference theory stresses that we forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what we want to remember. Interference can be proactive (as occurs when material learned earlier disrupts the recall of material learned later) or retroactive (as occurs when material learned later disrupts the of information learned earlier).Second, decay theory states that when we learn something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this chemical trail disintegrates.The third reason for retrieval failure is that motivated forgetting occurs when we want to forget something. It is common when a memory becomes painful or anxiety-laden, as in the case of emotional traumas such as rape and physical abuse.Finally, amnesia, the physiologically based loss of memory, can be anterograde, affecting the retention of new information or events; retrograde, affecting memories of the past but not memories of new events; or a combination of both Effective encoding strategies when studying include paying attention and minimizing distraction, understanding the material rather than relying on rote memorization, asking yourself questions, and taking good notes. Research on memory suggests that the best way to remember course material is to relate it to many different aspects of your life. Autobiographical memories, particularly self-defining memories, play a significant role in identity and social relationships. Our self-defining memories provide a unique source of identity, and sharing those memories with others plays a role in social bonding.Taking on challenging cognitive tasks throughout life can stave off the effects of age on memory and lessen the effects of Alzheimer disease. Engaging in everyday life means living memorably. Mindfulness to life events provides a rich reservoir of experiences upon which to build a storehouse of autobiographical memory. CHAPTER 7: Cognition is the way in which information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing. The advent of the computer in the mid-twentieth century spurred a cognitive revolution in which psychologists took on the challenge of understanding human information processing. Artificial intelligence (AI), the science of creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people, is a byproduct of the cognitive revolution.Concepts are mental categories used to group objects, events, and characteristics.
Problem solving is an attempt to find a way to attain a goal when the goal is not readily available. The four steps in problem solving are to (1) find and frame the problem, (2) develop good problem-solving strategies, (3) evaluate solutions, and (4) rethink and redefine problems and solutions over time. Among effective strategies for solving problems are subgoals (the intermediate goals and problems that put you in a better position to reach your goal), algorithms (strategies that guarantee a solution), and heuristics (shortcuts that suggest, but do not guarantee, a solution to a problem). Reasoning is the mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions. Inductive reasoning is reasoning from the specific to the general. Deductive reasoning is reasoning from the general to the specific. Decision making involves evaluating alternatives and making choices among them. Biases and heuristics that may lead to problematic decision-making include loss aversion, confirmation bias, base rate neglect, hindsight bias, the availability heuristic, and the representativeness heuristic.Critical thinking and creativity improve problem solving. Creative thinkers are flexible and playful, self-motivated, willing to face risk, and objective in evaluating their work.Intelligence consists of the ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from everyday experiences. Traditionally, intelligence has been measured by tests designed to compare people’s performance on cognitive tasks.
A good test of intelligence meets three criteria: validity, reliability, and standardization. Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure. Reliability is how consistently an individual performs on a test. Standardization focuses on uniform procedures for administering and scoring a test and establishing norms.Binet developed the first intelligence test. Individuals from age 2 through adulthood take the current Stanford-Binet test. Some intelligence tests are unfair to individuals from different cultures. Culture-fair tests are intelligence tests that are intended to be culturally unbiased.
Genes are clearly involved in intelligence. The proportion of differences in intelligence that is explained by genetic variation (or heritability) is substantial. Environmental influences on intelligence have also been demonstrated. The fact that intelligence test scores have risen considerably around the world in recent decades—called the Flynn effect—supports the role of environment in intelligence.
At the extreme ends of intelligence are giftedness and intellectual disability. People who are gifted have high intelligence (IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent for a particular domain. Research has shown that individuals who are gifted are likely to make important and creative contributions. Intellectual disability is a condition of limited mental ability in which the individual has low cognitive ability (for instance an IQ below 70); has difficulty adapting to everyday life; and has an onset of these characteristics during childhood. Intellectual disability can have an organic causE. or can be social and cultural in origin
Instead of focusing on intelligence as a single, broad cognitive ability, some psychologists have broken intelligence up into a variety of areas of life skills. Sternberg’s triarchic theory states there are three main types of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical. Gardner identifies nine types of intelligence, involving skills that are verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, and existential. Critics maintain that multiple-intelligences theories include factors that really are not part of intelligence, such as musical skills. Critics also say that there is not enough research to support the concept of multiple intelligences.Language is a form of communication that is based on a system of symbols. All human languages have common aspects, including infinite generativity and organizational rules about structure. Any language has five characteristics: phonology, the sound system of a language; morphology, the rules for combining morphemes, which are meaningful strings of sounds that contain no smaller meaningful parts; syntax, the ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences; semantics, the meaning of words and sentences; and pragmatics, the uses of language.
Although language and thought influence each other, there is increasing evidence that they evolved as separate, modular, biologically prepared components of the mind. Evolution shaped humans into linguistic creatures. Chomsky said that humans are biologically prewired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way. In addition, there is strong evidence that particular regions in the left hemisphere of the brain are predisposed to be used for language. Experience is also crucial to language development. It is important for children to interact with language-skilled people. Children are biologically prepared to learn language but benefit enormously from being in a competent language environment from early in development.
CH 8: DEVELOPMENT:Development is the pattern of change in human capabilities that begins at birth and continues throughout the life span. Both nature (biological inheritance) and nurture (environmental experience) influence development extensively. Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to thrive during difficulties at every stage of development. Development is characterized along three interrelated levels—physical, cognitive, and socioemotional aspects of experience. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTPrenatal development progresses through the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods. Certain drugs, such as alcohol, can have an adverse effect on the fetus. Preterm birth is another potential problem, but its effects may depend on experiences after birth. The infant’s physical development is dramatic in the first year, and a number of motor milestones are reached in infancy. Extensive changes in the brain, including denser connections between synapses, take place in infancy and childhood.Puberty is a period of rapid skeletal and sexual maturation that occurs mainly in early adolescence. Hormonal changes lie at the core of pubertal development. Most adults reach their peak physical performance during their 20s and are healthiest then. However, physical skills begin to decline during the 30s. Even in late adulthood, the brain has remarkable repair capacity and plasticity. COG DEVELOP: Jean Piaget introduced a theory of cognitive development. From his view, children use schemas to actively construct their world, either assimilating new information into existing schemas or adjusting schemas to Page 324accommodate it. Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. According to Piaget, cognitive development in adolescence is characterized by the appearance of formal operational thought, the final stage in his theory. This stage involves abstract, idealistic, and logical thought.
Piaget argued that no new cognitive changes occur in adulthood. However, some psychologists have proposed that the idealistic thinking of adolescents is replaced by the more realistic, pragmatic thinking of young adults. Longitudinal research on intelligence shows that many cognitive skills peak in middle age. Overall, older adults do not do as well on memory and other cognitive tasks and are slower to process information than younger adults. However, older adults may have greater wisdom than younger adults. In infancy, among the key basic ingredients of socioemotional development are temperament—the child’s overall emotional demeanor—and attachment. Erik Erikson proposed an influential theory of eight psychosocial stages that characterize socioemotional development from infancy to late adulthood. In each stage, the individual seeks to resolve a particular socioemotional conflict. The childhood stages involve a movement from trust to industry. Adolescents experience Erikson’s fifth stage, identity versus identity confusion.
Marcia proposed four statuses of identity based on crisis and commitment. Psychologists refer to the period between adolescence and adulthood as emerging adulthood. This period is characterized by the exploration of identity through work and relationships, instability, and self-focus.
Erikson’s three stages of socioemotional development in adulthood are intimacy versus isolation (early adulthood), generativity versus stagnation (middle adulthood), and integrity versus despair (late adulthood). Researchers have found that remaining active increases the likelihood that older adults will be happier and healthier. They also have found that older adults often reduce their general social affiliations. Older adults are motivated to spend more time with close friends and family members. Gender development involves physical (biological), cognitive, and socioemotional processes. Biological factors in gender development include sex chromosomes and hormones. Cognitive factors include gender schemas and gender roles, with the latter being strongly influenced by culture. Socioemotional aspects of gender include parental and peer responses to gender-related behavior. With regard to gender differences, research indicates that men and women are more similar than different. Moral development encompasses both cognitive and socioemotional processes. Kohlberg proposed a cognitive-developmental theory of moral development with three levels (preconventional, conventional, and postconventional). More recent research, such as Carol Gilligan’s, has focused on the development of prosocial behavior and the influence of socioemotional factors in putting moral reasoning into action. Understanding the physical reality of death requires consideration of its socioemotional features. Terror management theory research has shown that awareness of death leads to investment in cultural worldviews. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross proposed a stage model of confronting death, in which the dying individual progresses from denial to acceptance. George Bonanno has shown that grief unfolds in four patterns—resilience, recovery, chronic dysfunction, and delayed grief. Awareness of death can render life more meaningful and satisfying.Development is an ongoing process that is influenced by the active developer at every point in the life span.CHAPTER 9 Motivated behavior is energized, directed, and sustained. Early evolutionary theorists considered motivation to be based on instinct—the innate biological pattern of behavior.A drive is an aroused state that occurs because of a physiological need or deprivation. Drive reduction theory was proposed as an explanation of motivation, with the goal of drive reduction being homeostasis: the body’s tendency to maintain equilibrium. Optimum arousal theory focuses on the Yerkes-Dodson law, which states that performance is best under conditions of moderate rather than low or high arousal. Moderate arousal often serves us best, but there are times when low or high arousal is linked with better performancetomach signals are one factor in hunger. Glucose (blood sugar) and insulin both play an important role in hunger. Glucose is needed for the brain to function, and low levels of glucose increase hunger. Insulin can cause a rise in hunger.Leptin, a protein secreted by fat cells, decreases food intake and increases energy expenditure. The hypothalamus plays an important role in regulating hunger. The lateral hypothalamus is involved in stimulating eating; the ventromedial hypothalamus, in restricting eating.Obesity is a serious problem in the United States. Heredity, basal metabolism, set point, and fat cells are biological factors involved in obesity. Time and place affect eating. Our early ancestors ate fruits to satisfy nutritional needs, but today we fill up on the empty calories in sweets.Motivation for sexual behavior involves the hypothalamus. The role of sex hormones in human sexual behavior, especially in women, is not clear. Masters and Johnson mapped out the human sexual response pattern, which consists of four physiological phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolutioN. . Sexual orientation—heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual—is most likely determined by a combination of genetic, hormonal, cognitive, and environmental factors. Based on scientific evidence, the APA supports marriage equality for gay people. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, our main needs are satisfied in this sequence: physiological needs, safety, love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow gave the most attention to self-actualization: the motivation to develop to one’s full potential.Self-determination theory states that intrinsic motivation occurs when individuals are engaged in the pursuit of organismic needs that are innate and universal. These needs include competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Intrinsic motivation is based on internal factors. Extrinsic motivation is based on external factors, such as rewards and punishments.
Self-regulation involves setting goals, monitoring progress, and making adjustments in behavior to attain desired outcomes. Research suggests that setting short-term goals is a good strategy for reaching a long-term goal. Emotion is feeling, or affect, that has three components: physiological arousal, conscious experience, and behavioral expression. The biology of emotion focuses on physiological arousal involving the autonomic nervous system and its two subsystems. Skin conductance level and the polygraph have been used to measure emotional arousal.The James-Lange theory states that emotion results from physiological states triggered by environmental stimuli: Emotion follows physiological reactions. The Cannon-Bard theory states that emotion and physiological reactions occur simultaneously. Contemporary biological views of emotion increasingly highlight neural circuitry and neurotransmitters. LeDoux has charted the neural circuitry of fear, which focuses on the amygdala and consists of two pathways, one direct and the other indirect. It is likely that positive and negative emotions use different neural circuitry and neurotransmitters. Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory states that emotion is the result of both physiological arousal and cognitive labeling. Lazarus believed that cognition always directs emotion, but Zajonc argued that emotion directs cognition. Both probably were right.Research on the behavioral component of emotion focuses on facial expressions. The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial expressions can influence emotions, as well as reflect them.Most psychologists believe that facial expressions of basic emotions are the same across cultures. However, display rules, which involve nonverbal signals of body movement, posture, and gesture, vary across cultures. Emotions can be classified based on valence (pleasant or unpleasant) and arousal (high or low). Using the dimensions of valence and arousal, emotions can be arranged in a circle, or circumplex model. Positive emotions likely play an important role in well-being by broadening our focus and allowing us to build resources. Resilience is an individual’s capacity to thrive even during difficult times. Research has shown that one way resilient individuals thrive is by experiencing positive emotions. CH 10 Freud developed psychoanalysis through his work with patients suffering from hysterical symptoms (physical symptoms with no physical cause). Freud viewed these symptoms as representing conflicts between sexual drive and duty. Freud believed that most personality—which, in his theory, includes components he called the id, ego, and superego—is unconscious. The ego uses various defense mechanisms, Freud said, to reduce anxiety. A number of theorists criticized and revised Freud’s approach. Horney said that the need for security, not sex or aggression, is our most important need. Jung developed the concept of the collective unconscious, a storehouse of archetypes. Adler’s individual psychology stresses that people are striving toward perfection. Weaknesses of the psychodynamic perspectives include overreliance on reports from the past and overemphasis of the unconscious mind. Strengths of psychodynamic approaches include recognizing the importance of childhood, conceptualizing development through stages, and calling attention to the role of unconscious processes in behavior. Maslow developed the concept of a hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization being the highest human need. In Rogers’s approach, each of us is born with a tendency toward growth, a sense of what is good and bad for us, and a need for unconditional positive regard. Because we are often denied unconditional positive regard, we may become alienated from our innate growth tendencies. In order to reconnect with these innate tendencies, Rogers felt, a person required a relationship that included unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness. The humanistic perspectives promote the positive capacities of human beings. The weaknesses of the approach are a tendency to be too optimistic and an inclination to downplay personal responsibility. Trait theories emphasize that personality consists of traits—broad, enduring dispositions that lead to characteristic responses. Allport stated that traits should produce consistent behavior in different situations, and he used the lexical approach to personality traits, which involves using all the words in the natural language that could describe a person as a basis for understanding the traits of personality.The current dominant perspective in personality psychology is the five-factor model. The big five traits include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Extraversion is related to enhanced well-being, and neuroticism is linked to lowered well-being.Studying people in terms of their traits has value. However, trait approaches are criticized for focusing on broad dimensions and not attending to each person’s uniqueness. Social cognitive theory states that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors are important in understanding personality. In Bandura’s view, these factors reciprocally interact.
Two key concepts in social cognitive theory are self-efficacy and personal control. Self-efficacy is the belief that one can master a situation and produce positive outcomes. Personal control refers to individuals’ beliefs about whether the outcomes of their actions depend on their own internal acts or on external events.IIn 1968, Mischel’s controversial book Personality and Assessment stressed that people do not behave consistently across different situations but rather tailor their behavior to suit particular situations. Personality psychologists countered that personality does predict behavior for some people some of the time. Very specific personality characteristics predict behavior better than very general ones, and personality characteristics are more likely to predict behavior in weak versus strong situations.Mischel developed a revised approach to personality centered on a cognitive affective processing system (CAPS). According to CAPS, personality is best understood as a person’s habitual emotional and cognitive reactions to specific situations. A particular strength of social cognitive theory is its focus on cognitive processes. However, social cognitive approaches have not given adequate attention to enduring individual differences, to biological factors, and to personality as a whole. Eysenck suggested that the brain’s reticular activation system (RAS) plays a role in introversion/extraversion. He thought of these traits as the outward manifestations of arousal regulation. Gray developed a reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality, suggesting that extraversion and neuroticism can be understood as two neurological systems that respond to rewards (the behavioral activation system, or BAS) and punishments (the behavioral inhibition system, or BIS) in the environment.Dopamine is associated with behavioral approach (extraversion), and serotonin with behavioral avoidance (neuroticism). Studies of biological processes in personality are valuable but can overestimate the causal role of biological factors. he most popular test for assessing the big five traits is the NEO-PI-R, which uses self-report items to measure each of the traits. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is the most widely used empirically keyed personality test. Projective tests, designed to assess unconscious aspects of personality, present individuals with an ambiguous stimulus, such as an inkblot or a picture, and ask them to tell a story about it. Projective tests are based on the assumption that individuals will project their personalities onto these stimuli. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective test that has been used in personality research. Other assessment methods include behavioral observation, obtaining peer reports, and psychophysiological and neuropsychological measures. CH 11: Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to other people. This subfield of psychology is relevant to everyday life, it is broad, and it typically relies on experimental methods. An example of social psychology in action is provided by classic research on the bystander effect: the tendency for an individual who observes an emergency to help less when other people are present than when the observer is alone. Social cognition refers to the ways we process social information. The face conveys information to social perceivers, including attractiveness. Self-fulfilling prophecy means that our expectations of others can have a powerful impact on their behavior. Attributions are our thoughts about why people behave as they do and about who or what is responsible for the outcome of events. Attribution theory views people as motivated to discover the causes of behavior as part of their effort to make sense of it. The dimensions used to make sense of the causes of human behavior include internal/external, stable/unstable, and controllable/uncontrollable.The fundamental attribution error is observers’ tendency to overestimate traits and to underestimate situations when they explain an actor’s behavior. Self-serving bias means attributing our successes to internal causes and blaming our failures on external causes. Heuristics are used as shortcuts in social information processing. One such heuristic is a stereotype—a generalization about a group’s characteristics that does not consider any variations among individuals in the group. Stereotype threat is an individual’s fast-acting, self-fulfilling fear of being judged based on a negative stereotype about his or her group. According to cognitive dissonance theory, our strong need for cognitive consistency causes us to change our behavior to fit our attitudes or to change our attitudes to fit our behavior. Self-perception theory stresses the importance of making inferences about attitudes by observing our own behavior, especially when our attitudes are not clear.Altruism is an unselfish interest in helping someone else. Reciprocity often is involved in altruism. Neurobiological factors involved in aggressive behavior include the neurotransmitter serotonin and the hormone testosterone. Psychological factors in aggression include frustrating and aversive circumstances. Sociocultural factors include cross-cultural variations, the culture of honor, and violence in the media. T Social exchange theory states that a relationship is likely to be successful if individuals feel that they get out of the relationship what they put in. The investment model focuses on commitment, investment, and the availability of attractive alternatives in predicting relationship success.Conformity involves a change in behavior to coincide with a group standard. Factors that influence conformity include informational social influence (going along to be right) and normative social influence (going along to be liked).Obedience is behavior that complies with the explicit demands of an authority. Stanley Milgram conducted landmark research on obedience, demonstrating its power. Another such demonstration is the Stanford prison experiment, illustrating the potential effects of obedience not only on individuals who obey but also on those who exercise authority.People often change their behaviors when they are in a group. Deindividuation refers to the lack of inhibition and diffusion of responsibility that can occur in groups. Social contagion refers to imitative behaviors involving the spread of behavior, emotions, and ideas. Our performance in groups can be improved through social facilitation and lowered because of social loafing.Risky shift refers to the tendency for a group decision to be riskier than the average decision made by the individual group members. The group polarization effect is the solidification and further strengthening of a position as a consequence of group discussion or interaction. Groupthink involves impaired decision making and avoidance of realistic appraisal to maintain harmony in the group.Social identity is the way individuals define themselves in terms of their group membership. Social identity theory states that when individuals are assigned to a group, they invariably think of it as the in-group. Identifying with the group allows the person to have a positive self-image. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to favor one’s own ethnic group over others. Prejudice is an unjustified negative attitude toward an individual based on membership in a group. Prejudice can be based on ethnicity, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, or any characteristic that makes people different from one another.Prejudice is also based on stereotypes. The cognitive process of stereotyping can lead to discrimination, an unjustified negative or harmful action toward a member of a group simply because he or she belongs to that group. Discrimination results when negative emotional reactions combine with prejudicial beliefs and are translated into behavior. A key outcome of prejudice and discrimination is health disparities. An effective strategy for enhancing the effects of intergroup contact is to set up task-oriented cooperation among individuals from different groups. Implicit biases can be targeted by bringing mindful attention to one’s thoughts when interacting with people from different backgrounds.Abnormal behavior is deviant, maladaptive, or personally distressful. Theoretical perspectives on the causes of psychological disorders include biological, psychological, sociocultural, and biopsychosocial approaches. Biological approaches to disorders describe psychological disorders as diseases with origins in structural, biochemical, and genetic factors. Psychological approaches include the behavioral, social cognitive, and trait perspectives. Sociocultural approaches place emphasis on the larger social context in which a person lives, including marriage, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, and culture. Biopsychosocial approaches view the interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors as significant forces in producing both normal and abnormal behavior.The classification of disorders provides a shorthand for communication, allows clinicians to make predictions about disorders, and helps them to decide on appropriate treatment. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the classification system clinicians use to diagnose psychological disorders. Some psychologists contend that the DSM perpetuates the medical model of psychological disorders, labels everyday problems as psychological disorders, and fails to address strengths. Neurodevelopmental disorders are a class of psychological disorders that are diagnosed in childhood and often traced to atypical brain development, genetic differences, or prenatal exposure to substances that adversely affect development. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed in early childhood and involves deficits in communication and social relationships. The level of impairment experienced by people with ASD is variable. ASD is linked to genetics and brain development but no single cause has been identified. Treatments include intense behavioral-oriented therapies as well as medication. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by problems maintaining attention, excessive, inappropriate activity, and high levels of impulsivity. ADHD is typically diagnosed in childhood and, left untreated, can have numerous negative consequences for people. Genetic and brain differences, especially in the prefrontal cortex and reward centers, are linked to ADHD. Treatment for ADHD typically involves stimulant medications. Nonmedical treatments such as psychotherapy, often offered in conjunction with medication, can also be effective in treating ADHD. Neurodevelopmental disorders are a class of psychological disorders that are diagnosed in childhood and often traced to atypical brain development, genetic differences, or prenatal exposure to substances that adversely affect development. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed in early childhood and involves deficits in communication and social relationships. The level of impairment experienced by people with ASD is variable. ASD is linked to genetics and brain development but no single cause has been identified. Treatments include intense behavioral-oriented therapies as well as medication. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by problems maintaining attention, excessive, inappropriate activity, and high levels of impulsivity. ADHD is typically diagnosed in childhood and, left untreated, can have numerous negative consequences for people. Genetic and brain differences, especially in the prefrontal cortex and reward centers, are linked to ADHD. Treatment for ADHD typically involves stimulant medications. Nonmedical treatments such as psychotherapy, often offered in conjunction with medication, can also be effective in treating ADHD.Personality disorders are chronic, maladaptive cognitive-behavioral patterns that are thoroughly integrated into an individual’s personality. Two common types are antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by guiltlessness, law-breaking, exploitation of others, irresponsibility, and deceit. Individuals with this disorder often lead a life of crime and violence. Psychopaths—remorseless predators who engage in violence to get what they want—are a subgroup of individuals with ASPD.
Borderline personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions. This disorder is related to self-harming behaviors such as cutting and suicide.hree approaches to treating psychological disorders are psychotherapy, biological therapies, and sociocultural approaches. Psychotherapy is the process that mental health professionals use to help individuals recognize, define, and overcome their disorders and improve their adjustment. Biological treatments involve drugs and other procedures that change the functioning of the body. Sociocultural approaches to treating psychological disorders emphasize that helping a person requires acknowledging the relationships, roles, and cultural contexts that characterize a person’s lifeBiological factors for ASPD include genetic, brain, and autonomic nervous system differences. The potential causes of BPD are complex and include biological and cognitive factors as well as childhood experiences.In Freudian psychoanalysis, psychological disorders stem from unresolved unconscious conflicts, believed to originate in early family experiences. A therapist’s interpretation of free association, dreams, transference, and resistance provides paths for understanding the client’s unconscious conflicts. Although psychodynamic therapy has changed, many contemporary psychodynamic therapists still probe the unconscious mind for early family experiences that might provide clues to clients’ current problems.In humanistic therapies, the analyst encourages clients to understand themselves and to grow personally. Client-centered therapy, developed by Rogers, is a type of humanistic therapy that includes active listening, reflective speech, unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness.
Behavior therapies use learning principles to reduce or eliminate maladaptive behavior. They are based on the behavioral and social cognitive theories of personality. Behavior therapies seek to eliminate symptoms or behaviors rather than to help individuals gain insight into their problems.The two main behavior therapy techniques based on classical conditioning are systematic desensitization and aversive conditioning. In systematic desensitization, individuals with anxiety are treated by helping them to associate deep relaxation with increasingly intense anxiety-producing situations. In aversive conditioning, repeated pairings of the undesirable behavior with aversive stimuli decrease the behavior’s pleasant associations.In operant conditioning approaches to behavior therapy, an analysis of the person’s environment determines which factors need modification. Applied behavior analysis is the application of operant conditioning to change behavior. Its main goal is to replace maladaptive behaviors with adaptive ones.Cognitive therapies emphasize that the individual’s cognitions (thoughts) are the root of abnormal behavior. Cognitive therapies attempt to change the person’s feelings and behaviors by changing cognitions. The most popular form of therapy is cognitive-behavior therapy, which combines cognitive and behavior therapy techniques and emphasizes self-efficacy and self-instructional methods.Stress is the response of individuals when life circumstances threaten them and tax their ability to cope. Selye characterized the stress response with his concept of a general adaptation syndrome (GAS), which has three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.Chronic stress takes a toll on the body’s natural disease-fighting abilities. Stress is also related to cardiovascular disease and cancer.Taking control of our appraisals allows us to see potentially threatening events as challenges. Hardiness is associated with thriving during stressful times.The Type A behavior pattern, particularly the hostility component, is associated with stressing out angrily when things are going badly. This hostility leads to poor health outcomes. There is growing interest in the Type D behavior pattern, seen in individuals who experience generalized and frequent distress, negative emotions, and social inhibition; research has associated this pattern with an elevated risk of cardiovascular problems. When a person is unable to manage stress alone, stress management programs provide options for relief. Distontinuit hypothesis is that abnormal behavior is entirely different from normal problems. Personality: interview. Cooperates with everyone: organizational citizenship. Reflection: therapist mimics. Mood disorders can be empirically tested