Final Exam Review Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology

Definition
Psychology: studies the mental processes & the behavior of
individuals
Sociology: studies human relationships, their causes & consequences,
& the social structures that people build around them (group)
Anthropology study of the origin, behavior, physical, social & cultural
development of humans (human difference between animals) [Physical,
cultural (ethnography, archeology) anthropologists]
ANTHROPOLOGY:

Evolution
Darwins theory: Environmental conditions change over time. As a
result, species change through continuous modification. All species are engaged
in a struggle for survival.
Natural selection/Survival of the fittest: The species best adapted to
changing environment will have better access to scarce resources allowing
better reproducing capabilities. (Bipedalism (See Further), eyes in front instead
of side (depth perception), Sweat Glands (cool body)
Bipedalism: As the landscape changed, carrying food as a bipedal was
easier
Ape to man
Neanderthal: Large brain, short & powerful, strong smell, stone tech,
family groups
Homo Erectus (Java Man): fire, tall & learn, sweat glands, family, art,
2/3 size of our brain
Taung Child: Africa as ancestral home
Homo Habilis: Start of stone tech, Questioned scientist if modern
humans had more than one ancestor
Lucy: bipedal, small brain, ape-like

Culture (definition, how it's imparted to its members)

The abilities, ideas, & behaviors people have acquired to become
members of the society.
Symbols: something that represents something else (flag)
Values: standards of what is considered right & morally acceptable
Norms: rules that indicate what people should do or how they should
act
Change: changes in the natural environment, new discovery &
inventions, interaction between cultures
Rites of passage 3 stage process
1.

You are changed from what you were to something new (Girl to women)

2.

You removed yourself from society temporarily (central event) (Stay in hut until
circumcision is healed)

3.

You are re-admitted to society as a new person (faithful wife without sexual
urges)

Rites
Individuals: relieve stress & understand growth
Communities: continuation, stable & unified/Entertainment
Culture: pass on traditions & religious or moral values
Initiations:
Social & internal transformation
Make sure new group members are reliable members
Endure pain & humiliation to show that they wont dessert the group
in similar situations & value belonging Delicacies:
Rare or luxurious meal
Culture differentiates themselves with what they eat

Bodily relive in past connection with of our ancestors

You are what you eat
Language & culture

Language
Brocas area: involves speech
Open: changes over time to evolve with new concepts & culture (LOL)
Discrete: doesnt blend with other messages (Different words)
Slang: abbreviated (shortened) speech, precise reference, group
solidarity
Androcentric: sexist language
Extinction:
o Brain lose linguistic inventiveness(how people perceive &understand the
world connected to ones environment *English vs other languages in hue of
colors)
o Spoken & written history is lost(culture)
o Reason: Communicates witt &straight forward because of globalization due
to industrialization and scientific progress

PSYCHOLOGY:
Freud's theory, defense mechanisms
Freuds theory
Sex is root of neurotic sicknesses
Unconscious mind is revealed in dreams
Freudian slip: something on our unconscious mind said (Free
association: without censor)
Models of mind
o ID:

unconscious mind

biological urges reside (sexual, emotional, protective)

evident in new born

demands immediate gratification, ruled by pleasure principle

regardless circumstances

immoral

(Steal RM100)

o Superego:

Unconscious & conscious

Conscience: forces ego to be morally acceptable (right & wrong)

Ego ideal: aims to reach goals instilled by society

guilt & self-reproach to enforce rules

acceptable things done rewards with pride & self-satisfaction if

Morality

(I shouldnt steal as I can get caught)

Ego:

Unconscious & conscious

Balances needs of id & reality by suppressing ids urges

Ruled by reality principle

Enables individual to be a self

Amoral

(return it as jail time is not worth it)

Defense mechanisms: to calm anxiety (ego realizes ID will harm

oneself or superego is making impossible demand)
Repression: defense mechanism in its own right & the aim of all
other defense mechanism (woman continues to have children even
though childbirth is painful)
Denial: refuse to acknowledge a threat
Regression: involves a return to behaviors characteristics of
earlier stage in life
Reaction formation: anxiety-producing impulse or feeling its
replaced by its direct opposite (porn is disgusting from a man who
loves porn)
Projection: ones own objectionable impulses to others (accuses
wife of being unfaithful when he is the one)
Displacement: transfer of unacceptable feelings form their
appropriate target to a much safer one (Scolded by boss, vents on
wife/children)
Sublimation: Forbidden impulses are redirected towards socially
desirable goals (Painting of mothers shows long reunion from separated
of mother at an early age)
Rationalization: occurs when one attempts to explain failure or

shortcoming in non-threatening ways (rejected by uni, proceeds to calls

the uni overrated)

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning
Unconditioned stimulus: ball thrown to bill/puff of air with pencil
tapping
Unconditioned response: failed catch hit his face & he closed his
eyes/blinking
Conditioned stimulus: close his eyes when ball is near/tapping pencil
without blowing puff
Conditioned response: closes his eyes/blinking
Operant conditioning
Reinforcement used: behavior that value a stimulus
(negative/positive)
Reward or punishment: reward
Direct or indirect: direct to sally (reward or punishment) & indirect
Outcome:

Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory (identity vs. role confusion,

intimacy vs. isolation)

Human development is influenced by environment
Identity vs. role confusion: adolescence become aware of their
uniqueness but may not be able to identify what future role is appropriate
Intimacy vs. isolation: Early adulthood are seeking relationship but
also fear rejection

 Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development

Analyses quantity & quality of information acquired at each level

The sensorimotor stage:
o Age0-2
o no understanding of objects or people outside immediate environment
o developing motor skills & awareness that people or objects exist even if they
disappear from the immediate environment
o (Peak-a-boo)
The preoperational stage:
o Age2-7
o experience develop language & view the world from own perspective
The concrete operational stage:
o Age7-12
o develop logical thinking & conceptualize ideas & principles such as realizing
that an action can be reversed by other action
o (rewards & punishment can develop good habits)
The Formal Operational stage:
o Age12 to adulthood
o Perceive the world differently than previous stage due to of increased ability
to examine issues from multiple perspectives using problem solving skills

Nature and nurture

Anthropology:
o Behavioral adjustments: cultural responses to environment stresses such as
climate & changing environments such as food sources
o Acclimation adjustments: reversible physiological changes to environmental
stress, or the ability to adapt to severe environmental situations such as
dressing properly in cold climates
Blank state: John Locke believes in 100% nurture
Different from animals:
o developed sense of morality
o understanding of good & bad/right & wrong/meaning to suffer not only our
own pain but the pain of others
o Brain: equipped with moral grammar (frontal cortex)
Parenting
o Authoritian: strict & demand rigid obedience from their children
o Permissive: provide lax or inconsistent direction for their children & demand
little from them
o Authoritative: firm but set realistic limits for their children

Cognitive psychology/the brain

Cognitive psychology: examines on how the brain learns with consideration
for ones mental state on human perception, thought & memory
Teen brain:
o grey matter tissue processes information
o white matter connects areas of grey matter for communication
o Frontal lobe controls social activity develops significantly
o Brain stops developing at mid-20s
STM+WM
o Automation, attention & perception is guided by prior knowledge
o STM: information is processed for meaning limited to capacity & duration
o Working memory: contains the current contents of consciousness (rehearsal
&repetition)
o LTM: memory over long period of time stored permanently
1.

Stored when life threatening or prioritized for important curtail

purposes

2.

Declarative knowledge (what) & procedural knowledge (how)

3.

Encoding information:
Mediation: remember items to something meaningful
Imagery: use image to remember things

Mnemonics: pairs to be learned info with well learned info to make it

more memorable

4. Retrieval:
Encoding specificity: enhanced when conditions at retrieval is
matched with encoding
Generation effect: create part of the material to be committed to
memory to be more retrievable. This is because of using prior knowledge
when creation
State-dependent learning: information is more easily retrievable when
psychological/emotional states are similar at encoding & retrieval
o Psychometric testing: categorizes peoples personality & interests,
aptitudes & abilities & serves as an educational measurement
SOCIOLOGY: Structural functionalism & conflict theory
Structural functionalism

function to meet social needs by providing stability & benefit to

society
Institutions: Law, political system, family
Change can occurs if structures maintain societys equilibrium but can
only happen slowly
macro approach that assumes the organization of society is based on a
consensus about functionalism
(Womens movement)
Conflict theory
Criticizes society
power rather than function interdependence holds society together

Exists between groups due to inequalities in power

Society is divided into groups accordingly to power & to encourage
competition to meet needs
Competition: needs arent met equally, exploitation by individuals in
group with greater powers over others
Karl Max describe the class divisions within capitalist society in the 19th
century with conflict theory
Values, norms, roles

Values: standards of what is considered right and morally acceptable

Norms: rules that indicate what people should do or how they should
act
Roles: gender roles, etc.
Social institutions: definition; family, economic, political, educational, religious

Organized way a society develops to meet its basic needs

o Family: replace societys members, protect &socialize the next generation
o Economic institutions: meet society members physical needs
o Political institutions: Assist society in group decision making, Empower
individuals, Require that all members agree to the decisions made
o Educational institutions: passes on culture, knowledge & values to the next
generation
o Religious institutions: find purpose in their lives, aids the spiritual side of society,
guidelines for personal behavior & social interaction
Agents of socialization: (primary) family; (secondary) schools, peers, religion,
media, work
Socialization is the process of learning the values and norms
appropriate for a particular community or social group
Anticipatory: behavior that will be expected in a future social context
(Avoid procrastination)
Re-socialization: transform old, sometimes unacceptable behavior
into new, social acceptable behavior (stop smoking indoors)

Primary: teaching the individual the basic skills to survive in society

o Family:Identity,Importanceofself-love&familylove
Secondary: teaching individuals how to act appropriately in group
situations
o Education: Reinforce gender roles, Respect authority and value
of hard work, Interact and co-operate with others, Assume their share of work,
Demonstrate initiative and comprehension
o Peers: Similar experiences, Learn to express culture in a non-violent way
o Workplace: tolerate others, teamwork, responsibility, obeying rules & ethics
o Media: Norms and values of the current culture, innovative thinking
o Religion: Guide for this life & earned rewards for the next, Respect for authority,
Care of the underprivileged, Living a life free of harmful temptations
Groups & group behavior; conformity
Groups influence behavior:
Social roles, group norms & sanctions shape behavior
Roles: Roles are not fixed (daughter, father, friend, student)
Norms: guidelines for behavior for our different life roles
o MORLES: highly regarded moral views on behavior which are rarely broken
o FOLKWAYS: everyday habits like manners, interactions, or personal appearance
(washing hands before eat, current fashion, say hello on phone)
Sanctions: a formal or informal penalty or reward given to ensure conformity to
norms (Praise/cristism [People laughing at you])
Conformity:

yielding to group pressures

Factors affecting conformity

o Group attractiveness: the more attractive the group, the more likely the
members will to conform. The lower the social position of the individual
member in the group, the more that person can be influenced to conform to
the group (new kid in school trying to fit in)

o Group unanimity: groups that are unanimous or in total agreement can exert
great pressure to conform. When even one person has a dissenting view in a
group, the pressure to conform to the groups view is reduced considerably
(group projects, debate)
o

Public vs Private response: when group members have to express their views
in front of others, they are more likely to conform than if they could do so in
private, such as by filling out an opinion survey (Interviews vs surveys)

o Nature of the task: tasks or questions that are vague or have no clear answer
are easier to have people conform to. When they are clearer, factual, or on a
topic you feel competent about relative to the group, you are less likely to
conform (education, career)
Groupthink: a desire to reach a consensus or agreement that is so
strong that group members lose their ability to critically examine other
alternatives (elevator experiment)
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Stereotypes: widely held fixed & oversimplified image of an individual

or group (teenagers do not think before decision)
Prejudice: a judgment based on irrelevant considerations or lack of
knowledge, either favorable or unfavorable (Change is bad and women will
are happiest doing traditional roles)
Scapegoating: one that bears the blame for others (CEO for failure)
Authoritarian & prejudice: British though they were superior to
others and tried to civilize everybody which is wrong and prejudice.
Racism: prejudice or discrimination against a person or group because
of a difference of race or cultural or ethnic background
Discrimination: creating the rule that young people arent allowed to
participate in decision making (blacks are disallowed)
Self-fulfilling prophecy: behavior in accordance with a widely held
belief caused by believing the belief to be true