GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

REVIEW 2

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Attachment
Having a strong emotional attachment with a primary care-giver Parents -> Peers -> Partner Keys to attachment
Psychical contact Familiarity

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
John Bowlby
Was at the forefront of attachment research in the 50s and 60s

Mary Ainsworth
Bowlbys student Came up with an attachment style test called the Strange Situation Test

Hazan & Shaver

Found that early attachment styles reflected later romantic relationships (correlation not causation!) Also, later in life, those with secure attachment styles were more emotionally competent in later childhood and adolescense

THE STRANGE SITUATION

STRANGE SITUATION TEST

1. Secure the only healthy attachment style
Explore the room with mother as touch-base Look for mothers reaction to stranger Usually upset when left alone; can be comforted by stranger, but cannot compare to mothers comfort Mother was loving, warm, and sensitive

2. Later relationships
Happiness, trust, friendship Accept and support partners faults

STRANGE SITUATION TEST

1. Avoidant
Willing to explore but no touch-base No response to stranger No interest when mother left Mother was unresponsive and insensitive

2. Later relationships
Fear of intimacy Emotional highs and lows Jealousy

STRANGE SITUATION TEST

1. Ambivalent
Clingy and unwilling to explore Upset by strangers Hard to soothe Mixed behaviour of demanding to be picked up and pushing mother away Mother had inconsistent responsiveness and was insensitive

2. Later relationships
Obsessive love Emotional highs and lows Desire for reciprocation/union

STRANGE SITUATION TEST

1. Disorganised/Disoriented discovered later on
Similar to ambivalent Mothers return led to avoidance, fearfulness, and depressed looks Mother was abusive and/or neglectful

TEMPERAMENT
Attachment also factors into temperament Temperament behavioural and emotional characteristics that are established at birth Thomas & Chess (1950s)
Longitudinal NY study of several participants from infancy through adulthood Can we predict adult personality from infant traits?

TEMPERAMENT
3 Basic Styles of Temperament
Easy
Regular with their schedules Adaptable to change Easily soothed

Difficult
Irregular schedules Inflexible Loud and active

Slow to warm up
Less negative and more regular than difficult children Slow to adapt to change Change has to come gradually

TEMPERAMENT
Buss & Plomin
Believed that these 3 styles were to specific and that some children may be a combination of styles SO they created broad personality dispositions They believed that how dispositions developed into traits depended upon how they interacted with their environment They examined activity, sociability, and emotionality (i.e. distress, fearfulness, anger).

Longitudinal research suggests that temperament styles last well into adulthood, but there is an environmental influence

PARENTING STYLES
Parents personalities as well as their parenting styles affect childs personality development and temperament
Temperament Parenting Style

Attachment

Parent Characteristics

DIMENSIONS OF PARENTING
Baumrind asked how can we define parenting? There are 2 domains and 4 different parenting styles
Warm/Responsive
Affectionate and involved Response to emotional needs Time spent with children

Control/Demandingness
Control over childrens behaviour Level of communication to these standards Consistently enforced (because I told you so)

DIMENSIONS OF PARENTING
4 Parenting Styles
Authoritarian
Permissive
Imposes rules and expects obedience Aim to cultivate hard work, respect and obedience Make few demands and use little punishment Offers warmth Both demanding and responsiveness Impose rules, but also explain reasons for rules High level warmth No warmth or control May meet physical, but not emotional needs

Authoritative

Neglectful

DIMENSIONS OF PARENTING
Control/Demand

Cold/Unresponsive

Warm/Responsive

No Control

DIMENSIONS OF PARENTING
Correlational Studies
Authoritarian children with lower self-esteem; poorer social skills Permissive aggressive and immature children; impulsive Authoritative children with higher self-esteem; selfreliance; social competence Neglectful low self-esteem; social and emotional issues

ADOLESCENCE
Cognitively
Think abstractly and hypothetically Inductive and deductive reasoning

Limitations
Egocentric Imaginary audience Risk-taking behaviour (i.e. drinking, drugs, unsafe sex) Personal fable

Feeling of invulnerability (Thats not gonna happen to me!)

ADULTHOOD
Adolescence doesnt end at a certain age; cant be measured by physical maturation Sociocultural factors also play a role Jeffry Arnett (200,2004)
Large, diverse samples of 18-24 year olds This group said they were inbetween

EMERGING ADULTHOOD
Left adolescence but are still some distance from taking on adult responsibilities Emphasized psychological qualities Independent choices, financial independence, equal relationship with parents, and taking responsibility for your actions are the self-sufficient qualities Collectivists cultures (Hispanic, African-American, etc.) also place emphasis on attaining certain roles Age of Identity Exploration (most risk-taking) Age of Instability Age of Self-focus Age of Feeling in-between Age of Possibilities
Self-sufficiency

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Erik Erikson
Emphasis on important social relationships in development 8 stages Each stage has an emotional crisis in personality Infant, toddler, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood

Just the basics

All the details

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development
Pre-conventional consequences determine morality; if behaviour is rewarded, then right; if punished, then wrong
Whats in it for me?

Conventional conformity to social norms is morally correct; if it is non-conformity, then it is wrong

Good girl, good boy

Post-conventional moral principles determined by the person are used to determine right and wrong; may disagree with societal norms (i.e. the Holocaust)

LEARNING
Learning any permanent change in behaviour brought about by experience or practice Not all changes in an individual is based on learning
Ex. Toddlers learning to walk
Not based solely on experience or practice Maturation makes it possible
Nervous system, muscles strength, and sense of balance reach a point

Pavlov
The conditioned reflex Learning to make a reflex respond to stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that produce the reflex

LEARNING
Stimulus any object, event, or experience that causes a response Response reaction of an organism Reflex involuntary response Unconditional stimulus (UCS) unlearned or naturally occurring leads to reflex (ex. Food) Unconditional response (UR) reflex response to UCS or naturally occurring stimulus (ex. Saliva) Conditional stimulus stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned reflex response by being paired with the original UCS. Needs to be initially neutral stimulus! (ex. Bell) Conditional response learned reflex response to a conditioned stimulus. Usually not as strong as the original UR (aka UCR). (ex. Saliva) CR and UCR are the same they simply differ in what Acquisition process of acquired learning

they respond to!

LEARNING
Basic Principles of Classic Conditioning
CS must come before UCS CS and UCS must come close together in time (within secs) NS must be paired with UCS several times before conditioning is complete CS- stimulus that is distinct from other competing stimulus

Stimulus generalization tendency to respond to stimulus that is similar to original CS in the CS-CR pairing Stimulus discrimination tendency to stop making generalized response to a stimulus that is similar to original CS Extinction disappearance/weakening of CR following removal of US
Why does it happen? UCS becomes reinforcer of CS-CR association. Remove reinforcer and CR will weaken/disappear
Closeness of Car

Similar stimulus is never paired with UCS

CS

UCS
Crash

UCR/CR
Cringing

LEARNING
Higher-Order conditioning
NS CS

Strong CS paired with NS (neutral stimulus)

Rang Bell Salivate

Snap Fingers

CR

Loud noise

UCS

UR/CR
Fear

Conditioned Emotional Response (CER)

John Watsons Little Albert experiment
Interest in phobias Demonstrated that a phobia can be learned

NS becomes a second CS!

CS
Rat

Can be some of the easiest forms of classical conditioning to accomplish

Other similar stimuli (i.e. rabbit, fur coat)

CS

LEARNING
Vicarious Conditioning
People can be classically conditioned just by observing how others respond to the stimulus Ex. Children lined up to get vaccinations; Jacks swim lessons

Conditioned Taste Aversion

Development of nausea or aversive response to particular taste because taste was followed by nausea reaction Can occur in 1 association Survival mechanism Quickest type of conditioning Ex: birds and monarch butterflies and moth

LEARNING
Edward Thorndike
Puzzle box Law of Effect If the behaviour is followed by a pleasurable consequence (food), the behaviour will become stamped in the mind Operant Conditioning (OC)

B. F. Skinner

Learning of voluntary behaviour through the effects of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to response

Had the greatest influence and termed OC Skinner box/Operant chamber

Animal (usually pidgeon) presses lever to get food or water Reinforcement Vs. Punishment

LEARNING

REINFORCEMENT VS. PUNISHMENT

Reinforcements differ in the way they are used
Positive reinforcement involving a pleasurable consequence (i.e. reward) Negative reinforcement involving removal, escape from or avoidance of unpleasant stumuli (ex. Child lies to avoid scolding)
Primary reinforcer reinforcer that meets a biological need (ex. Hunder, thirst, touch) [*primarily used with animals/toddlers] Secondary reinforcer reinforcer that becomes reinforcing after being paired w/ primary reinforcement (ex. Given money to trade in for food) Shaping reinforcement of simple steps in behaviour that lead to desired, more complex behaviour Extinction removal of reinforcement Generalization responses generalized to stimuli that are similar to original Ex. Baby starts saying ma-ma to all women As other women fail to reinforce her response, baby learns to discriminate Mom becomes discriminative stimulus

Subtypes of Positive Reinforcements

Key Concepts to know for Operant Conditioning

REINFORCEMENT VS. PUNISHMENT

Schedules of Reinforcement
Timing of reinforcement will affect how quickly learning occurs and strength of response Continuous reinforcement reinforcement for each and every correct response Partial reinforcement reinforcement after some, but not all correct responses Ex. Feeding cats
Isabella gets $1 each night she remembers to feed the cats Grace gets $7 at the end of the week if she fed that cats every night Isabella is more likely to stop doing the chore. Extinction would happen faster in her case. Extrinsic motivation intrinsic motivation is the goal

REINFORCEMENT VS. PUNISHMENT

4 Types of Partial Reinforcement
Fixed ratio rewarded for certain number of responses Variable ratio number of responses required for reinforcement is different for each trial Ex. Slot machines Produces high rates of responding Fixed interval reinforcement after fixed time period (ex. Paycheck) Variable interval interval of time that must pass before reinforcement will vary (ex. Pop quizzes; fishing)
Decreases likelihood of behaviour occurring Doesnt always eliminate behaviour, however, will stop it immediately Good to use when child is exhibiting dangerous/self-injurous behaviour Doesnt teach appropriate behaviour. Tells you what not to do

Punishment

Types

Punishment by application (positive punishment) Addition or experiencing of an unpleasant stimulus (i.e. getting spanked) Punishment by removal (negative punishment) Removal of pleasurable stimulus Schools use the latter- only one permitted

REINFORCEMENT VS. PUNISHMENT

How to Make Punishment More Effective
Should immediately follow the inappropriate behaviour Should be consistent- follow through with same or increased intensity Pair punishment with reinforcement

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Why does it work?
Cognitive perspective
CS provides information on our expectancy about the coming UCS

Robert Rescorlas experiment

Groups of rats; both groups hear a tone and receive a shock; first group gets a shock half way through the tone; second group gets a shock a few seconds after tone has stopped First group feels feat at beginning of tone; second group feels fear when the tone stops

COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY

Pavlov and Skinner focused on observable behaviour only Some psychologists believe you cant ignore cognition that occurs during behaviour Cognition mental events that take place in a persons mind Edward Tolman
Latent learning learning that remains hidden until application becomes useful 3 groups of rats
1st rewarded every time they exited maze 2nd rewards began after 10th day 3rd (control group) no reward

Took 1st group 17 days or so to get out of the maze in 30 sec Skinner would then predict 27 days for group 2 BUT it didnt take that long. It took about 15.

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Learning new behaviour through observation of a model
Albert Bandura
Placed a child in a room with an experimenter and a model
One condition interact appropriately with toys Second condition acted aggressively toward Bobo doll

Children imitated the model when left alone

4 Elements of Observational Learning

Attention observer must pay attention to model Memory retain information of what was done (e.g. remember the steps) Imitation has to be capable of reproducing or imitating actions of the model Motivation must have desire to perform the action

MEMORY
Different types of Memory
Short-term memory (stm) information is held for brief periods of time while being used (average stm is 7 items) Working memory active system that processes the information in stm Long-term memory (ltm) information is placed to be kept more or less permanent
State-dependent memory memory formed during particulars physiological or psychological state Recall vs. recognition memory (recognition has visual reminders) Tip of your tongue phenomena Serial position effect information at beginning and end of list easier to remember
Primacy effect Recency effect

Difficulties retrieving LTM

MEMORY
Earliest Memory
Infantile Amnesia inability to retrieve memories from before the age of 3 Influences
Most have a clear self-image (around the age of 2) Language skills are emerging Can create a life story Hippocampus more fully developed Parents encouragement of recalled memories

Repetitive Elaborative Preschoolers who experienced elaborative style, recall more information about past events Also produce more organisation and detailed memories

MEMORY
Children and Eyewitness Memory
Descriptions of past events Infer others motives and intentions

Younger the child, the more prone to memory errors

Number of reasons

How suggestible are child witnesses?

Ceci, Loftus, Leichtman, Bruck (1994)

Responding to interviewers questions is hard Poor source monitoring More likely to agree with adults yes-or-no questions Less competent at using narratives Less skilled in inhibition

Plausibility

Preschoolers and 5-6yr old given a false memory

Pezdek and Hodge (1999)

Demo that 1/3 of 5-7 year olds remember being lost in a mall 1 in 19 (5%) remember being given an enema More detail to true memories compared to false memories

MEMORY
Implications of Infantile Amnesia
For most states, its rare to have a child 5 and under to testify 6-10 yr old are often called as witnesses Need to place limitations on ways children are interviewed Ask non-leading questions Limit number of times children are interviewed Reassure children that its better to say I dont remember Interviewer should be friendly and patient

MEMORY
Elizabeth Loftus
Focus on inaccuracies of memory retrieval

Constructive processing - retrieval of memory in which memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer info Early research how a question is worded can alter a persons memory of that particular event Presupposition if question presupposes an event, later questioning leads one to incorporate it in recalling the memory Argued that need to consider the process of reconstruction when looking at recall memory What you recall is not original event, but reconstruction of it Implications in criminal investigations and eyewitness testimony
Video of a 5-car accident Diary of a Student Revolution- three minute clip

Memory is constantly changing How you question someone affects their ability to recall accurate information

THINKING
Tools used for thought process
Mental images representations that stand in for object or events and have a picture-like quality Takes longer to view mental images that are larger or covers more distance Mental images
Use it everyday Helps us to remember things Able to mentally rotate or turn images One form of mental representation

Concepts

Ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities Use to think about categories vs. specific examples of category Represents different levels of objects and events
Superordinate concept most general form Basic level type type of concept around which other similar concepts are organised Subordinate concept most specific type (i.e. foods fruits apples)

THINKING
Formal Concepts
Defined by specific rules or features Fairly rigid with rules Ex: psychological terms- unconditioned stimulus; prenatal stage of development; double-blind experiments Must fit very specific features to be considered true examples What about things that dont fit the rules or features of a concept?

Natural Concepts
i.e. is a platypus a mammal or a bird? Concepts we form as a result of our experiences in the world Helps us understand surroundings in less structured manner than formal concepts

THINKING
Prototypes
Mental image that closely matches the defining characteristics of concept people with different experiences will have different prototypes Culture also matters in formation of prototypes Apples vs. Papaya Greater differences of prototypes between cultures that are dissimilar Process of cognition that occurs when goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways
Trial and error (mechanical solution) keep trying until find solution that works; also involves solving by rote or learned set of rules Algorithms specific, step-by-step, procedures for solving certain types of problems; always leads to solution if one is to be found Heuristics rule of thumb simple rule that is intended to be applied to many situations; work backwards; educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down possible solutions; WILL NOT ALWAYS LEAD TO CORRECT SOLUTION; quicker than algorithms Availability Heuristics making decisions based on what comes to our mind; big reliance on the media Insight sometimes solution suddenly pops into your head; like an aha moment; what usually happens when insight occurs

Problem-Solving and decision-making

Methods used to solve problems and make decisions

THINKING
Problems with Problem Solving
Have different types of barriers to make solving problems difficult
1. Functional Fixedness think about objects only in terms of their typical functions 2. Mental sets using problem-solving patterns that worked in the past 3. Confirmation bias search for evidence that fits ones beliefs while ignoring any evidence to the contrary

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
How do children learn language?
2 months of age
4-5 months of age
Cooing - vowel-like sounds Babbling intentional vocalizations that lack specific meaning Gradually more complex over first year (Jargoning)
Da and Ba are easiest to form Comprehension of words (receptive) comes before production (expressive)

Figuring out Phonemes

Learning Words

Begin with basic global phoneme categories 10 months of age phonemes are similar to adult Comprehension of name begins as early as 6 months Receptive skills precedes expressive language skills First works produced near 1st birthday Overgeneraliztion vs. Undergeneralization

Errors in word meaning

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
How do children learn language? (cont.)
Syntactic Development
Holophrases single-word phrases used in early development to convey an entire thought Understand basic syntactic rules before they can express them

Telegraphic Speech (2 word utterances)

Begins to emerge when toddler has approximately 200 words

Pronunciation Errors
Common, usually related to production difficulty with complex sounds

Three-word sentences (2-3 years)

Also beginning to engage in conversational turn-taking and topic maintenance