Psychology final

Chapter 10: Human Development

Special Considerations in Human Development

Human development examines the changes in physical, cognitive, and social abilities across the lifespan. Scientific thinking in developmental psychology involves evaluating evidence and considering both genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) influences.

• Nature vs. Nurture: Both genetic inheritance and environmental factors shape development.

• Attachment: Harlow’s studies with monkeys demonstrated the importance of comfort and security in attachment, not just food. Bowlby proposed that attachment is an evolved, adaptive system for survival.

• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation: Identifies attachment styles: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-anxious, and disorganized. These styles predict later social and emotional outcomes.

• Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning: Preconventional, conventional, and postconventional stages describe how moral reasoning matures. Criticisms include cultural bias and overemphasis on reasoning over behavior.

• Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages: Eight stages, each defined by a central conflict (e.g., trust vs. mistrust in infancy). Recognizing the stage helps understand developmental challenges.

Example: A child in the preoperational stage (Piaget) may struggle with conservation tasks, showing egocentrism.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development theories explain how thinking changes with age.

• Piaget’s Stages: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each stage has characteristic abilities and limitations.

• Assimilation vs. Accommodation: Assimilation involves integrating new experiences into existing schemas; accommodation is modifying schemas for new information.

• Object Permanence: Understanding that objects exist even when out of sight, typically develops in the sensorimotor stage.

• Symbolic Representation: The ability to use symbols (e.g., language) emerges in the preoperational stage.

• Egocentrism & Theory of Mind: Young children may struggle to see perspectives other than their own; theory of mind develops around age 4–5.

• Aging and Cognition: Some cognitive abilities decline with age, but others (e.g., vocabulary) remain stable or improve.

Example: Testing for object permanence involves hiding a toy and observing if the infant searches for it.

Natural & Environmental Influences

Development is shaped by biological and environmental factors.

• Teratogens: Substances (e.g., alcohol, drugs) that can harm prenatal development, especially during the embryonic stage.

• Parenting Styles: Authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles impact child outcomes differently.

• Media Exposure: Excessive TV can affect attention and behavior in children and adults.

• Family Structure: The role of fathers, divorce, and family composition influence development.

• Physical Development: Milestones from conception (zygote) to death, including puberty, adulthood, and aging.

• Old Age: Concepts like stereotype embodiment (internalizing age stereotypes) affect health and well-being.

Example: Authoritative parenting (high warmth, high control) is linked to positive child outcomes.

Chapter 11: Motivation & Emotion

Theories of Motivation

Motivation refers to the processes that initiate, direct, and sustain behavior.

• Drive Theory: Behavior is motivated by biological drives (e.g., hunger).

• Incentive Theory: External rewards motivate behavior.

• Maslow’s Hierarchy: Needs are arranged from physiological to self-actualization.

• Mindsets: Fixed vs. growth mindsets influence achievement and persistence.

Example: A student with a growth mindset is more likely to persevere after failure.

Hunger & Eating

• Brain Areas: Hypothalamus regulates hunger; hormones like leptin and ghrelin signal hunger and satiety.

• Genetics: Influence body weight and eating behaviors.

• Environmental Factors: Availability of food, cultural norms, and stress affect eating.

• Eating Disorders: Anorexia nervosa (restriction), bulimia nervosa (binge-purge cycles).

• Obesity: High rates due to environmental and genetic factors.

Sexual Orientation

• Genetic and Environmental Influences: Both contribute to sexual orientation, though no single factor is determinative.

Emotion

• Components: Physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.

• Theories: James-Lange (emotion from physiological response), Cannon-Bard (simultaneous), Schachter-Singer (cognitive appraisal).

• Universal Emotions: Evolutionary theory posits basic emotions are universal.

• Display Rules: Cultural and gender norms influence emotional expression.

• Emotion Regulation: Strategies include reappraisal, suppression, and acceptance.

Example: Smiling when happy is a universal expression, but the appropriateness of smiling varies by culture.

Lying & Lie Detection

• Lie Detection: People are generally poor at detecting lies; polygraphs measure physiological arousal but are not reliable.

• Alternatives: Cognitive interviews, brain imaging, and behavioral cues.

Happiness

• Correlates: Social relationships, income (to a point), and personality traits.

• Myths: Money and youth do not guarantee happiness.

• Affective Forecasting: People are often inaccurate in predicting their future emotional states.

Attraction & Love

• Factors: Proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness, and reciprocity.

• Mate Selection: Evolutionary theories suggest different strategies for men and women.

Chapter 12: Stress, Coping & Health

Stress & Health

Stress is a response to perceived threats or challenges. It is studied through physiological, psychological, and behavioral approaches.

• Types of Stressors: Major life events, daily hassles, and chronic stressors.

• Subjectivity: Stress perception varies by individual.

• Lazarus & Folkman’s Model: Stress arises from appraisal of events as threatening or challenging.

• Physiological Responses: Activation of the sympathetic nervous system; hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

• Selye’s GAS Model: General Adaptation Syndrome: alarm, resistance, exhaustion.

• Health Consequences: Chronic stress impairs immune function and increases risk for illnesses (e.g., heart disease).

• SES & Personality: Socioeconomic status and personality traits (e.g., hostility) influence stress and health outcomes.

Example: Chronic work stress can lead to hypertension and weakened immunity.

Coping & Social Support

• Coping: Efforts to manage stress. Types include problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance coping.

• Flexible Coping: Adapting coping strategies to the situation increases effectiveness.

• Social Support: Emotional, informational, and instrumental support from others. Perceived support may be more beneficial than received support.

• Potential Pitfalls: Unwanted or mismatched support can be unhelpful.

Health Behaviours

• Life Expectancy: Increased due to improved health behaviors and medical advances.

• Predictors: Personality, social support, and socioeconomic status.

• Behavior Change: Influenced by knowledge, motivation, and environmental factors.

• CAM Approaches: Complementary and alternative medicine includes practices like acupuncture and herbal remedies. Scientific support varies.

Chapter 13: Social Psychology

Attitudes and Attitude Change

• Components: Affective, behavioral, and cognitive.

• Attitude-Behavior Link: Stronger when attitudes are accessible and specific.

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs leads to attitude change.

• Persuasion: Factors include source, message, audience, and channel. Techniques: foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face.

Conformity, Deindividuation & Obedience

• Conformity: Adjusting behavior to group norms (Asch studies).

• Obedience: Following authority (Milgram study). Psychological distance affects obedience.

• Deindividuation: Loss of self-awareness in groups (Stanford prison experiment, Halloween study).

• Groupthink: Poor decision-making in cohesive groups due to pressure for consensus.

Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination & Racism

• Definitions: Prejudice (attitude), stereotype (belief), discrimination (behavior).

• Causes: Social, cognitive, and motivational factors.

• Effects: Self-fulfilling prophecies, stereotype threat.

• Attribution Errors: Fundamental and ultimate attribution errors explain bias in judging others.

• Remedies: Intergroup contact, education, and perspective-taking.

Prosocial Behaviour & Aggression

• Bystander Effect: Presence of others reduces likelihood of helping.

• Aggression: Influenced by situational and individual factors.

Chapter 14: Personality

Behavioural & Genetic Influences

• Twin & Adoption Studies: Show genetic and environmental contributions to personality.

• Birth Order: Weak or inconsistent effects on personality.

• Genes: No single gene determines personality traits.

Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory

• Core Assumptions: Unconscious processes, psychic determinism, symbolic meaning.

• Structure: Id (instincts), ego (reality), superego (morality).

• Defense Mechanisms: Repression, denial, projection, etc.

• Psychosexual Stages: Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

• Criticisms: Lack of scientific support, overemphasis on sexuality.

• Neo-Freudians: Modified Freud’s ideas, emphasizing social and cultural factors.

Behavioural and Social Learning Theories

• Skinner: Personality is a result of learned behaviors.

• Bandura: Observational learning and reciprocal determinism shape personality.

Humanistic Perspectives

• Rogers: Self-concept and unconditional positive regard shape personality.

• Maslow: Self-actualization as the highest human motive.

• Criticisms: Concepts are difficult to test scientifically.

Trait Theories

• Factor Analysis: Statistical method to identify personality dimensions.

• Big Five: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

• Culture: May influence trait expression; some propose more than five traits.

• Stability: Traits are relatively stable but can change over time.

• Mischel: Situations can be better predictors of behavior than traits.

Measuring Personality

• Structured Tests: Standardized questionnaires (e.g., MMPI). Strengths: reliability; Weaknesses: response biases.

• Projective Tests: Ambiguous stimuli (e.g., Rorschach, TAT). Strengths: insight into unconscious; Weaknesses: low reliability/validity.

Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

Psychiatric Disorders: History, Criteria, Myths & Misconceptions

• Historical Perspectives: From supernatural to medical models.

• Defining Abnormality: Criteria include statistical rarity, distress, dysfunction, and deviance. Each has limitations.

• Myths: E.g., mental illness is rare or always dangerous.

• Culture: Influences definitions and expressions of disorders.

• DSM-5: Diagnostic manual; strengths: standardization; limitations: overdiagnosis, cultural insensitivity.

• Vulnerability: Diathesis-stress model: predisposition + stress = disorder.

Mood Disorders

• Major Depression: Persistent sadness, loss of interest, and other symptoms.

• Bipolar Disorder: Type I (manic episodes), Type II (hypomania + depression).

• Seasonal Affective Disorder: Depression related to seasonal changes; light therapy is effective.

• Risks: Suicide risk is elevated in mood disorders.

Schizophrenia

• Symptoms: Positive (hallucinations, delusions), negative (flat affect, withdrawal).

• Myths: Not all individuals are violent or have multiple personalities.

• Diathesis-Stress: Genetic vulnerability + environmental stressors.

Anxiety, Personality, & Dissociative Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders: Generalized anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, OCD.

• Dissociative Disorders: Dissociative amnesia, depersonalization, dissociative identity disorder (controversial).

• Personality Disorders: Enduring patterns of maladaptive behavior (e.g., borderline, antisocial).

Mental Illness & the Law

• Insanity Defense: Legal concept; myths include its frequent use and success.

Childhood Disorders

• Controversies: Debates over diagnosis and treatment (e.g., ADHD, autism).

Chapter 16: Treatment of Psychological & Biological Disorders

Stigma

• Definition: Negative attitudes and discrimination toward those with mental illness.

• Levels: Public, self, and institutional stigma.

• Theories: Social, cognitive, and evolutionary explanations.

• Reducing Stigma: Education, contact, advocacy.

Psychotherapy: Clients & Practitioners

• Who Seeks Treatment: Individuals with distress or impairment; anyone can benefit.

• Practitioners: Professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists) and paraprofessionals.

• Good Therapists: Empathy, experience, and appropriate credentials.

Insight Therapies

• Psychoanalysis: Focus on unconscious conflicts; criticized for lack of evidence.

• Person-Centered Therapy: Rogers emphasized unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness.

• Family & Group Therapy: Address relational dynamics; suitable for systemic issues.

Behavioural & Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Behavioural Therapy: Uses conditioning to change behavior (e.g., exposure therapy).

• CBT: Combines cognitive restructuring with behavioral techniques; effective for many disorders.

• Third Wave Approaches: Mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies.

Biomedical Treatments

• Medications: Antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics; risks include side effects and dependency.

• Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Used for severe depression; effective but with potential memory side effects.

• Psychosurgery: Rarely used; reserved for severe, treatment-resistant cases.

Effectiveness of Therapy

• Placebo Effects: Ineffective therapies may appear effective due to placebo or spontaneous remission.

• Comparisons: Some therapies are more effective for specific disorders; evidence-based practice is essential.