Language – “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my

mouth?”

Language Features Language is arbitrary, that is, words, rarely

sound like ideas that they convey Language has a structure that is additive in a

certain sense› i.e.; words are added together to form sentences,

sentences to form paragraphs Language has multiplicity of structure,

meaning that it can be analyzed in a number of different ways

Language is dynamic, meaning that it is constantly changing and evolving

Language Subcomponents Phonemes – smallest unit of speech

sound in a given language that are still distinct in sound from each other› An example of a phoneme is the /t/ sound

in the words tip, stand, water, and cat Morphemes – smallest meaningful units

of speech, such as simple words, prefixes, and suffixes.

Phonemes & Morphemes Most morphemes are a combo of

phonemes› i.e.; Farm is made up of 3 phonemes

(sounds) and 1 morpheme (meaning)

Language Grammar – set of that determine how

sounds and words can be combined and used to communicate meaning

Syntax – word order Semantics – word meaning or word

choice

Language – Babies Babbling – product of phonemes, not limited to

the phonemes which the baby is exposed (4 months)

Holophrase – one word to convey meaning (1st B-day)

Overextension – Error in speech as a result of not knowing enough words

Telegraphic speech – verb and noun› i.e.; “eat cookie”› 2 – 3 years of age, language expands › 3 years old follow rules of grammar

Language - Babies Overgeneralization (overregularization)

– children apply grammatical rules without making appropriate exceptions› i.e.; “I goed to the store.”

Language Nativists – biological predisposition for

language (Noam Chomsky)› Prewired for language› Language acquisition device – grammar switches

are turned on as children are exposed to their language

› Critical period - (Feral Children) Behaviorist – we develop language by imitating

sounds we hear to create words (B.F. Skinner)› Learn language by association (reinforcement/

imitation)

Language Noam Chomsky

› Transformational grammar – generative grammar, especially of a natural langauge

› Surface structure of language – superficial way in which words are arranged in a text or in speech

› Deep structure of language – underlying meaning of words

Benjamin Whorf Thinking affects our language, which in

turn affects our thoughts. Linguistic relativity hypothesis –

speakers of different languages develop different cognitive systems as a result of their differences in language.› i.e.; Garo people of Burma – many words

for rice, English only a few words to describe it. Why? Because rice has more meaning to the Garo people

Cognition Cognition – thinking Reasoning – drawing conclusion from

evidence (deductive/inductive reasoning)› Deductive reasoning – draw a logical conclusion

from general statement i.e.; All politicians are trustworthy, Janet is a

politician, Therefore, Janet is trustworthy› Inductive reasoning – drawing general inferences

from specific observations i.e.; You may notice that everyone who plays football

is a good student. Not necessarily true, you are drawing inference based on common occurrence

Problem Solving and Creativity

Divergent Thinking – does a problem have one or more solutions› i.e.; brainstorming

Convergent Thinking – Problem solved by one answer› i.e.; narrowing many choices available

Problem Solving and Creativity

Heuristics – intuitive rules of thumb that may or may not be useful in given situation › Availability Heuristic – judge by what events

come readily to mind i.e.; many people feel air travel is more dangerous

than car, because crashes reported are so vivid › Representativenss Heuristic – judge objects and

events in terms of how closely they match the prototype of that event or object i.e.; people view H.S. athletes as less intelligent

Problem Solving and Creativity

Algorithms – systematic, mechanical approaches that guarantee an eventual answer to a problem

Problem Solving and Creativity – Kohler’s Chimps

Insight – sudden understanding of a problem or a potential strategy for solving a problem› i.e.; Kohler’s chimps reached the Banana’s

outside the cage by combining to sticks to reach out further than they would individually

Problem Solving and Creativity

Mental set – fixed frame of mind› Trouble solving problems this way

Functional Fixedness – tendency to assume that a given item is only useful for the task which it was designed for.

Problem Solving and Creativity

Confirmation bias – search for info that supports a particular point of view, which hinders problem solving

Hindsight bias – tendency after the fact to think you knew what the outcome would be › i.e.; Monday morning QB’s

Belief perseverance – Individual only sees the evidence that supports a particular position, despite evidence presented to the contrary

Framing – way a question is phrased, can alter the objective outcome of problem solving/decision making › Loftus Palmer – car accident study

Problem Solving and Creativity

Creativity – process of producing something novel yet worthwhile.

Intelligence and Psychological Testing

Standardization and Norms Psychometricians – measurement of

mental traits, abilities, and processes› Measurement of some constructs (behavior

that distinguishes among people) i.e.; we can not measure happiness in feet

Standardization – group of people who represent the entire population

Norms – standards of performance against which anyone who takes a given test can be compared

Standardization and Norms Flynn Effect – supports the need to

standardize because data indicate that the population has gotten smarter over the past 50 years› i.e.; IQ of 100 may mean something

different in different years

Reliability and Validity Reliability – measure consistent a test is in

the measurement it provides› i.e.; An individual would get a similar score if they

took the test on separate occasions Test-retest – two sets of scores are compared

and a correlation coefficient is computed between them

Split-half – one group takes half the test (odd questions) another group takes the other half (even), and equivalent form (different but similar tests covering same concepts)

Reliability and Validity Validity – refers to the extent that a test measures

what it intends to measure› i.e.; Develop a new IQ test you want to know if it was valid,

you might compare your results to those that the same participants had achieved on other IQ measures

Predictive Validity – correlation between the test and future performance › i.e.; ACT

Content Validity – measures the degree to which the test measures what it is supposed to measure › i.e.; AP Psychology Exam – College Board

Construct Validity – (True Validity) – the degree which the test indeed measures what it is supposed to test

Types of Tests Projective – ambiguous stimuli, open to

interpretation › Rorschach Inkblot Test› Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Inventory-type – participants answer a standard series of questions › Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-

2 (MMPI-2)› No free response typically

Types of Tests Power Tests – gauge abilities in certain

areas › Extremely difficult, really hard to get all right

Speed tests – Very easy to answer, but timed makes it difficult to answer

Achievement Tests – assess knowledge gained› i.e.; AP Test

Aptitude Test – evaluate person’s abilities › Road test before driver’s license

Intelligence Intelligence – goal-directed adaptive

thinking › Difficult to measure all aspects of

intelligence Alfred Binet – French Psychologist who

first began to measure intelligence› Stanford-Binet Scale

Originally measure child development – overtime became 1st intelligence test

Intelligence Intelligence Quotient (IQ) –

› Mental age/chronological (physical) age X 100› Under 20 (Profound) › 20-34 (Severe)› 35-49 (moderate)› 50 - 70 (mild) Mental Retardation › 130 Gifted› 145 sometimes considered geniuse

Most common children intelligence test› Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale› Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Intelligence Charles Spearman

› General intelligence (g factor)› Specialized abilities (s)› Factor analysis – statistical procedure that

id common factors among groups of items by determining which variables have a high degree of correlation (used to id, g)

Intelligence Louis Thurstone – researcher in the field of

intelligence, posited that we need to think of intelligence more broadly, because intelligence can come in many different forms

Howard Gardner – multiple intelligences› Verbal & Mathematical › Musical› Spatial› Kinesthetic› Environmental› Interpersonal (people perceptive)› Intrapersonal (insightful, self-awareness)› Naturalistic

Intelligence – Triarchic Theory

Robert Sternberg – stats intelligence could be more broadly defined as having 3 major components: › Analytical - facts› Practical – “street smarts”› Creative intelligence – seeing multiple

solutions 3 separate and testable intelligences

Intelligence John Horn and Raymond Cattell –

identified two intelligence factors› Fluid intelligence – those cognitive abilities

requiring speed or rapid learning that tends to diminish with adult aging

› Crystallized intelligence – learned knowledge and skills, such as vocabulary, which tends to increase with age

Intelligence Emotional intelligence – ability to

perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions which is similar to Gardner’s interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences › Peter Salovey and John Mayer

Motivation and Emotion

Motivation & Emotion Motivation – psychological process that

directs and maintains behavior toward a goal› Motives – needs/desires that energize behavior› Social motives – learned motives acquired as

part of growing up in a particular culture Emotion – psychological feeling that

involves › Physiological arousal› Conscious experience › Overt behavior

Theories of Motivation Darwin – Natural Selection

› Survival & reproduce Instincts – inherited behavior, done automatically Ethologist (Animal behaviorist)

› Konrad Lorenz – worked with baby geese› Imprinting – forming of attachment to first moving

object they see/hear after birth Sociobiology – relate social behaviors to

evolutionary biology› Look at mating behaviors in males as opposed to

females

Drive Reduction Theory Drive reduction theory – behavior is

motivated reducing drives such as sex, hunger, thirst. › Need = motivated stated caused by lack of› Drive = psychological tension induced by

need Homeostasis – body’s tendency to

maintain an internal steady state of metabolism (sum total of all chemical processes that occur in our bodies)

Incentive Theory Push – primary motives to satisfy basic

biological needs Pull – environmental factors (little to do

with biology) Incentive – either positive/negative

environmental stimulus that motivates behavior pulling us to a goal.› Secondary motives are motives learned by

society pull

Arousal Theory Arousal – level of alertness,

wakefulness, activation caused by nervous system

Yerkes-Dodson – law states that we usually perform most activities best when moderately aroused, and efficiency of performance is usually lower when arousal is to high/low.

Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs

Physiological Motives: Hunger

Hypothalamus = hunger Lateral hypothalamus – brings on

hunger› Stimulate = even a well fed animal will eat› Lesion = starving animal will have no

interest in food Ventromedial hypothalamus -

depresses hunger› Stimulate = animal will stop eating› Lesion = animal will continue to want to

eat

Hypothalamus Leptin v. Set Point

Leptin – hypothalamus sense rise in leptin and will curb eating and increase activity

Set Point – Hypothalamus acts as a thermostat › Were meant to be a certain weight

Eating Disorders Anorexia Nervosa – don’t eat Bulimia – Eating but purging

Social Motivation Achievement motive – desire to meet some

internalized standard of excellence Intrinsic – desire to perform an activity for its

own sake Extrinsic – desire to perform an activity to

obtain a reward such as money, applause, and attention

Overjustification effect – promising a reward for doing something they already like to do results in them seeing the reward as the motivation for performing

Social Conflict Situations Approach-approach conflicts

› 2 positive options, only one you can choose› i.e.; accepted to both Harvard and Yale

Avoidance-avoidance conflicts › 2 negative options, must choose one› i.e.; Rock and a hard place

Approach-avoidance conflicts› Whether or not to choose an option that has both

a positive/negative consequence › i.e.; Order a rich dessert ruins your diet but

satisfies your chocolate craving

Social Conflict Situations Multiple approach-avoidance conflict

› Most complex form of conflict› Several courses of action that have both positive

and negative aspects.› i.e.; if you take the bus to the movies, you’ll get

there in time to get a good seat and see the coming attractions, but you won’t have enough money to buy popcorn.

› i.e.; If your parents drive you, you’ll have to help make dinner and wash the dishes

› i.e.; if you walk there you may be late, but you can afford popcorn, and you wont have to do the dishes

Theories of Emotion Emotion – conscious feeling of

pleasantness or unpleasantness accompanied by biological activation and expressive behavior.› Emotion has both cognitive, physiological,

and behavioral components

Theories of Emotion – James-Lang Theory

When we see a vicious looking dog growl at us, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in, we begin to run immediately, and then we become aware that we are afraid› What’s this mean? We can change our feelings

by changing our behavior Consistent with facial-feedback hypothesis,

our facial expressions affect our emotional experiences› i.e.; smiling induces positive moods

Theories of Emotion – Cannon-Bard Theory

Theorized that the thalamus simultaneously sends info to both the limbic system (emotional center), and the frontal lobes (cognitive center) about an event› i.e.; we see a vicious growling dog, our

bodily arousal and our recognition of the fear we feel occur at the same time

Thalamus relays sensory info to amygdala and hypothalamus

Theories of Emotion – Opponent – Process Theory

When we experience an emotion, an opposing emotion, will counter the first emotion, lessening the experience of that emotion. When we experience the first emotion on repeated occasions, the opposing emotion becomes stronger and the first emotion becomes weaker, leading to an even weaker experience of the first emotion› i.e.; About to jump out of an airplane for the first

time, we tend to feel extreme fear along with low levels of elation. On next jump we experience less fear and more elation

Theories of Emotion Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory

Our emotional experiences depend on our interpretation of situations. Their studies suggest we infer emotion from arousal, then label it according to our cognitive explanation for the arousal.› i.e.; if we feel aroused and someone is

yelling at us, we must be angry

Theories of EmotionCognitive-Appraisal Theory

Lazarus’ theory› Our emotional experiences depends on our

interpretation of of the situation we are in. Primary appraisal, we assess potential

consequences of the situation Secondary appraisal, we decide what to do

› The theory suggest that we can change our emotions if we learn to interpret the situation differently

Stress and Coping Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome

(GAS)› A = alarm – sympathetic nervous system› R = resistance - › E = exhaustion

Stressors – stimuli we see as a threat to well being

Stress and CopingStressful Life Events

Catastrophes – unpredictable, large-scale disasters which threaten us

Daily hassles – everyday annoyances

Stress and Health Type A personality – high achievers,

competitive, impatient, multi-taskers, who walk, talk and eat quickly

Type B personality – relaxed calm approach in life

Coping Strategies Defense mechanisms