Classical Conditioning Quiz
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Questions and Answers

What is the primary distinction made in the learning-performance distinction?

  • How learning influences motivation
  • The difference between what is learned and what is displayed (correct)
  • How responses are conditioned
  • The difference between skills and knowledge
  • Which of the following statements accurately describes acquisition in classical conditioning?

  • It refers to the gradual weakening of the conditioned response.
  • It results from simultaneous presentation of stimuli.
  • It leads to spontaneous recovery after a period of extinction.
  • It is the process where conditioned responses first appear and strengthen. (correct)
  • Which scenario best exemplifies spontaneous recovery?

  • A bell rings and food is presented immediately.
  • A person forgets learned behavior after a long time without practice.
  • A dog salivates before food is presented after a long absence of food. (correct)
  • A conditioned response diminishes due to lack of reinforcement.
  • What is a key factor in the process of classical conditioning?

    <p>The timing of the stimulus presentation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does stimulus generalization refer to?

    <p>Automatically extending conditioned responses to similar stimuli</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In classical conditioning, an unconditioned response is best defined as:

    <p>A behavior that does not require learning to occur</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which example demonstrates habituation?

    <p>A person becomes less responsive to a repeated loud noise.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning?

    <p>A neutral stimulus that can elicit a behavior after conditioning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive stimulus following a behavior?

    <p>Escape conditioning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of memory requires conscious effort to recall specific facts or events?

    <p>Explicit memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In observational learning, what factor increases the likelihood of an observer imitating a model's behavior?

    <p>The model receiving reinforcement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which schedule of reinforcement provides reinforcement after an average number of responses?

    <p>Variable-ratio</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of memory is characterized by holding brief sensory experiences before they are processed?

    <p>Sensory memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary difference between reinforcement and punishment in behavior modification?

    <p>Reinforcement always increases a behavior, while punishment may not</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the limited capacity of short-term memory, as proposed by Miller's magic number?

    <p>7 +/- 2 items</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of punishment involves the removal of a desirable stimulus following a behavior?

    <p>Negative punishment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What cognitive process involves mental representation of information based on sensory input?

    <p>Encoding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of operant conditioning, what is defined by behaviors followed by satisfying consequences becoming more likely?

    <p>Law of Effect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of memory is specifically related to storing knowledge about how to perform tasks?

    <p>Procedural memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which cognitive component of working memory is responsible for processing visual information?

    <p>Visuospatial sketchpad</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What will likely decrease the probability of imitating a behavior observed in a model?

    <p>Observing the model being punished</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of processing at encoding has been shown to be the most effective for retention during retrieval?

    <p>Semantic encoding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of serial position effects, what describes the improved recall of items at the end of a list?

    <p>Recency effect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of mnemonics in memory enhancement?

    <p>Associating new information with familiar concepts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which trait theory is characterized by 16 broad factors derived from factor analysis?

    <p>Cattell's 16 Personality Factors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What psychological theory posits that behavior is largely influenced by powerful unconscious forces?

    <p>Psychodynamic theory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the levels of processing theory, which of the following represents the shallowest level of processing?

    <p>Structural encoding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key characteristic of traits in the Big Five Model?

    <p>They are influenced by genetic factors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Eysenck's personality dimensions, which factor is associated with emotional stability versus instability?

    <p>Neuroticism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is proactive interference in the context of memory retrieval?

    <p>Older memories disrupt the acquisition of newer information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What trait is associated with high levels of aggression and impulsive behavior according to psychoticism?

    <p>Serotonin deficiency</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are prototypes used for in memory categorization?

    <p>Average representations of a category</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Freud's concept of fixation in psychosexual development mainly affects which aspect of personality?

    <p>Adult personality characteristics</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does elaborative rehearsal enhance memory retention?

    <p>By linking new information to existing knowledge</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The concept of schemas primarily contributes to which cognitive function?

    <p>Interpretation and understanding of situations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the ID primarily operate on?

    <p>Pleasure Principle</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes the superego?

    <p>It is the storehouse of society’s values and morals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of defense mechanisms?

    <p>To defend the ego against anxiety and conflict.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following criticisms is NOT typically associated with Freud's theories?

    <p>Overemphasis on the role of the environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What motivates behavior according to humanistic theories?

    <p>Innate tendencies and learned behaviors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs emphasizes that:

    <p>Meeting lower needs is essential before progressing to higher needs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What concept is central to Carl Rogers' Self Theory?

    <p>Self-concept.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens when there is a larger discrepancy between one's self-perception and experiences according to Rogers?

    <p>Heightened psychological problems.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What key factor influences self-efficacy according to Bandura?

    <p>Vicarious experiences and observations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Social-cognitive theories are criticized for overlooking what aspect?

    <p>The impact of emotion and unconscious motivation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Theory, which cognitive affective unit involves our emotional responses?

    <p>Affective responses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of praise in developing an intrinsic locus of control?

    <p>It must be sincere and focused on effort.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following aspects differentiates social-cognitive theories from trait theories?

    <p>Focus on environmental factors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential consequence of denying or distorting reality to maintain self-consistency?

    <p>Increased psychological distress.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of personality psychology?

    <p>The assessment of individual differences in thinking, feeling, and behaving</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which learning method primarily involves learning through reinforcement and punishment?

    <p>Operant Conditioning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of memory is characterized by conscious recall and includes episodic and semantic memories?

    <p>Explicit Memory</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of social psychology, what does groupthink refer to?

    <p>The loss of individual creativity in decision-making</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What concept does attribution theory primarily investigate?

    <p>The reasons for individual behaviors and actions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes the relationship between classical conditioning and a conditioned response?

    <p>A conditioned response is a learned reaction to a previously neutral stimulus.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What defines implicit (non-declarative) memory compared to explicit (declarative) memory?

    <p>Implicit memory involves procedures and skills, whereas explicit memory focuses on facts and events.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a major criticism of behaviorism as a psychological approach?

    <p>It rejects introspection entirely.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect of memory is responsible for maintaining information over time?

    <p>Storage</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in Pavlov's experiment?

    <p>The food presented to the dog</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What concept reflects the tendency to behave differently in a group versus individually?

    <p>Social Loafing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a characteristic of observational learning?

    <p>It requires cognitive understanding of the behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of social influence, what is the concept of compliance?

    <p>Changing behavior in response to a direct request</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a key component of Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

    <p>Self-actualization needs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one limitation of the psychodynamic theories in understanding personality?

    <p>They apply retrospective predictions of behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the concept of psychic determinism relate to Freud's theories?

    <p>It posits that earlier experiences shape mental reactions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect of Carl Rogers' Self Theory emphasizes the development of self-concept?

    <p>Congruence between experience and self-perceptions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a central premise of Bandura's Social-Cognitive Theory?

    <p>Behavior results from the interaction of individual factors, behavior, and environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which criticism is often directed towards Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?

    <p>Vague concepts that are not operationally defined.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of Behavioral Genetics, what is the implication of higher correlation between identical twins compared to fraternal twins?

    <p>Genetic factors play a significant role in behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does Maslow's concept of self-actualization influence humanistic theories?

    <p>It drives individuals to fulfill their potential despite conflicts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What flaw is noted regarding the evaluation of social-cognitive theories?

    <p>They primarily emphasize current behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What term describes the mental strategies used by the ego to minimize conflict between the id and superego?

    <p>Defense mechanisms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following reflects a primary drive according to Freud's theories?

    <p>Sexual desires.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following accurately describes the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning?

    <p>Classical conditioning involves associations between stimuli, whereas operant conditioning focuses on learned behaviors through rewards and punishments.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of the central executive in working memory?

    <p>To coordinate and integrate cognitive processes across different resources.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes implicit memory compared to explicit memory?

    <p>Implicit memory allows for unconscious recall without awareness, whereas explicit memory involves active thought.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best defines proactive interference?

    <p>Difficulty in learning new information due to previously stored facts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the significance of Miller's magic number in memory theory?

    <p>It refers to the recognized limit for short-term memory capacity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In terms of encoding, which method provides the deepest processing of information?

    <p>Semantic encoding.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which component of working memory is specifically responsible for managing visual and spatial information?

    <p>Visuospatial sketchpad.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key characteristic of the primacy effect in memory recall?

    <p>Enhanced memory for items encountered first in a sequence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does chunking contribute to the improvement of short-term memory?

    <p>It helps organize and group information into manageable units.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do schemas aid in cognitive processing?

    <p>They act as frameworks for understanding new information and experiences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What feature distinguishes the Big Five personality model from other personality theories?

    <p>It categorizes individuals based on behavioral consistency across various situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does elaborative rehearsal aim to achieve?

    <p>Fostering deeper connection and understanding of the material.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which personality theory is characterized by the identification of 16 source traits?

    <p>Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements about declarative memory is correct?

    <p>It refers to memories that are consciously recalled and verbalized.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Learning

    • Learning involves consistent behavior change based on experience.
    • The learning-performance distinction refers to the difference between what is learned and what is displayed.
    • Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus due to repeated exposure.

    Classical Conditioning

    • A form of learning where one stimulus predicts another, creating learned associations.
    • Discovered by Ivan Pavlov while studying canine digestion.
    • Key elements include stimuli and reflexes.
    • Pavlov observed dogs salivating before food, associating external cues like sounds with food.

    Conditioning Terms

    • An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) naturally elicits a behavior.
    • An unconditioned response (UCR) is the behavior elicited by the UCS.
    • A conditioned stimulus (CS) is a neutral stimulus that, after association with the UCS, can elicit behavior.
    • A conditioned response (CR) is the behavior elicited by the CS.

    Features of Classical Conditioning

    • Repeated pairing of a neutral stimulus with a biologically significant stimulus turns the neutral stimulus into a conditioned stimulus.
    • Observed in reflexes like salivation, pupil contraction, and knee jerks.
    • Pairing stimuli with naturally eliciting reflexes leads to associating the stimulus with the behavior.

    Processes of Conditioning

    • Acquisition is the process where the conditioned response is first elicited and strengthens over repeated trials.
    • Extinction is the weakening of the conditioned response due to the absence of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.
    • Spontaneous recovery is the sudden reappearance of the conditioned response after a period without exposure to the unconditioned stimulus.

    Acquisition & Timing

    • Timing of stimulus presentation is crucial for acquisition.
    • Different presentations include:
      • Forward-short delay (bell ringing followed by food).
      • Forward-trace (bell ringing, then stopping, and then food).
      • Simultaneous (food and bell at the same time).

    Processes of Conditioning

    • Stimulus generalization is the automatic extension of conditioned responses to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus.
    • Stimulus discrimination is learning to respond differently to stimuli that differ from the conditioned stimulus.

    Classical Conditioning Applications

    • Used in behavioral therapies to treat phobias and anxieties by pairing a feared stimulus with a relaxing, positive experience.

    Operant Conditioning

    • Learning procedures that manipulate behavior consequences to observe their impact.
    • Edward Thorndike’s Law of Effect proposes that behaviors followed by satisfying consequences become more likely to occur.
    • Based on the idea that behaviors are emitted voluntarily and influenced by the environment and their consequences.

    Schedules of Reinforcement

    • Partial reinforcement effect suggests that responses acquired under partial reinforcement are more resistant to extinction compared to continuous reinforcement.
    • Reinforcers can be delivered according to ratios (number of responses) or intervals (time).

    Schedules of Reinforcement

    • Fixed-ratio: Reinforcement after a fixed number of responses.
    • Variable-ratio: An average number of responses between reinforcers is predetermined.
    • Fixed-interval: Reinforcement for the first response after a fixed period of time.
    • Variable-interval: An average interval between reinforcers is predetermined.

    Reinforcers

    • Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an aversive stimulus after a behavior, leading to an increase in that behavior.
    • Escape conditioning allows escape from an aversive stimulus.
    • Avoidance conditioning allows avoidance of an aversive stimulus before it begins.

    Punishment

    • A punisher is any stimulus that decreases the likelihood of a response when made contingent upon it.
    • Punishment is the delivery of a punisher after a response.
    • Positive punishment involves the delivery of an aversive stimulus after a behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
    • Negative punishment involves the removal of a desirable stimulus after a behavior, leading to a decrease in that behavior.

    Reinforcement vs. Punishment

    • Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior, while punishment decreases it.

    Observational Learning

    • Learning through observing the experiences of others, also known as social learning.
    • Individuals may exhibit similar behavior after witnessing another person's behavior being reinforced or punished.

    Bandura & Social Learning

    • Bandura's Bobo doll experiments demonstrated that children imitated aggressive behavior they observed in a model.
    • Observing a model being rewarded increases the likelihood of imitating that behavior, while seeing the model punished would decrease it.

    Bandura & Social Learning

    • Factors contributing to a model's influence include reinforcement, similarity to the observer, and the complexity of the observed behavior.

    Memory

    • The ability to store and retrieve information.
    • Dynamic and ever-changing, as current experiences influence past memories.
    • Types of memory are influenced by different parts of the brain.

    Memory

    • Implicit memory: information is available without conscious effort (e.g., typing).
    • Explicit memory: conscious effort is needed to recover information (e.g., testing).
    • Procedural memory: memory for how to do things (e.g., making dinner).
    • Declarative memory: recollection of facts and events (e.g., remembering a formula).

    Information Processing Theory

    • Sensory information is taken into the brain.
    • Information is processed, analyzed, and stored for later use.
    • Stored information forms the basis for behaviors and interactions.

    Memory Processes

    • Encoding: mental representation in memory based on information processing.
    • Storage: retention of encoded information over time.
    • Retrieval: recovery of stored information at a later time.

    Sensory Memory

    • Sensory register/Sensory memory briefly holds each sensory experience until it is processed.
    • It allows large amounts of information to be stored for very brief durations (approximately 0.5 seconds).
    • The auditory version is called echoic memory.

    Short-Term Memory (STM)

    • STM is the mechanism for focusing cognitive resources on a small set of mental representations.
    • STM involves preservation of recent experiences involving retrieval from long-term memory (LTM).
    • Miller’s magic number: STM has a limited capacity of 7 +/- 2 items.
    • Strategies for improving STM include rehearsal and chunking.

    Working Memory

    • Working memory (WM) is involved in tasks such as reasoning and language comprehension.
    • WM is the foundation for the fluidity of thought and action.
    • WM consists of three components:
      • Phonological loop/phonological encoding: processing sounds and words.
      • Visuospatial sketchpad/visual encoding: processing visual information.
      • Central executive/motor encoding: coordinating and controlling the other components.

    Long-Term Memory (LTM)

    • LTM is the storehouse of experiences, events, information, skills, words, categories, rules, and judgments acquired from sensory and short-term memories.
    • LTM involves the preservation of information for retrieval at any later time.
    • LTM has an unlimited capacity, although not all information from working memory becomes a long-term memory.

    Retrieval Cues

    • Retrieval cues are stimuli that help search for a particular memory and can be generated internally or externally.
    • Recall: reproduction of previously learned information.
    • Recognition: realizing that a certain stimulus is one you have seen or heard before.
    • Recognition cues are often stronger and more straightforward than recall cues.

    Encoding and Retrieval Process

    • Encoding specificity: memories emerge most efficiently when the context of retrieval matches the context of encoding.
    • Context-dependent memory: recall is influenced by the context and distinctiveness of the experience.
    • Transfer-appropriate processing: memory is best when the type of processing at encoding transfers to processes at retrieval.
    • Priming: the first experience of an item "primes" memory for later experiences and makes it more likely to be recalled.

    Serial position effect

    • Primacy effect: better memory for items at the beginning of a list.
    • Recency effect: better memory for items at the end of a list.

    Levels of Processing Theory

    • Information processed at a deeper level is more likely to be retained.
    • Structural encoding (shallow): focusing on the structural properties of words (how it looks).
    • Phonological encoding (intermediary): focusing on the sound qualities of words.
    • Semantic encoding (deepest): focusing on the meaning of the words.

    Improving Memory

    • Elaborative rehearsal: enhancing memory by elaborating on the material to be learned.
    • Mnemonics: devices that encode a long series of facts by associating them with familiar and previously encoded information.

    Structures in LTM

    • Concepts are mental representations of categories, based on family resemblance or prototypical features.
    • Objects are categorized best at a basic level using a hierarchical representation of concepts.
      • Example: piece of fruit, apple, Granny Smith.
    • Schemas: frameworks or knowledge clusters about objects, people, and situations; generalizations used to interpret situations.

    Using Concepts in Memory

    • Prototypes: a representation of the average member of a category (e.g., a chair with a back and four legs).
    • Exemplars: categorization based on comparison to examples in memory (dining chairs vs. lawn chairs).

    Forgetting

    • Interference: retrieval cues fail to point effectively to one specific memory.
    • Proactive interference: past information makes it difficult to acquire new information.
    • Retroactive interference: new information makes it difficult to remember old information.

    What is Personality?

    • A complex set of psychological qualities that influence an individual’s behaviors across different situations and over time.
    • Described as being fluid and stable.
    • Personality theories are used to understand, predict, and classify individual behaviors.
    • Three common characteristics of personality:
      • Individuals differ in their personalities.
      • Behavior is caused by internal factors.
      • Personality guides and directs our behavior.

    Personality “Traits”

    • Enduring qualities or attributes that predispose individuals to behave consistently across situations.
    • Describe our typical ways of acting, thinking, and feeling, contributing to individual uniqueness.
    • Traits are placed on a continuum.

    Universal Traits?

    • Cattell's 16 Personality Factors (16PF):

      • Identified source traits by surveying all words in the English language that described personality characteristics, resulting in 170 adjectives.
      • Used Factor Analysis to create 16 broad factors on a continuum.
    • Eyesenck’s Dimensions of Extraversion and Neuroticism:

      • Linked to Hippocrates' Humours.
      • Reticular Formation: regulates arousal levels, influences approaches and avoidance behaviors.
      • People fall anywhere in the circle between extraversion and introversion, and neuroticism and stability.

    Extraversion-Introversion

    • Driven by levels of cortical arousal in the brain.
    • Introverts have higher base levels of activation, avoid further stimulation, and have low pain tolerance.
    • Extroverts have lower base levels of activation, seek further stimulation, and have high pain tolerance.

    Neuroticism-Stability

    • Driven by the limbic system and autonomic nervous system.
    • People with high neuroticism experience more labile and longer-lasting autonomic nervous system reactions.

    Psychoticism

    • Driven by hormonal function and neurotransmitters.
    • Increased levels of androgens (testosterone) and reduced serotonin levels lead to heightened aggressiveness, impersonal attitudes, and antisocial behavior.

    Big 5 Traits

    • Costa and McCrae’s Big Five Model (NEO):
      • Describes five broad traits that underlie all personality traits.
      • Used today, with cross-cultural validation.

    Five Factor Model Dimensions

    • Openness to Experience
    • Conscientiousness
    • Extraversion
    • Agreeableness
    • Neuroticism

    Evaluating Trait Theories

    • Advantages:
      • Describe individuals' personalities.
    • Disadvantages:
      • Do not explain how behavior is generated or how personality develops.
      • Only portray a static view of personality.
      • Need for a profile and change in traits.

    Traits & Personality

    • Behavioral Genetics:

      • Studies the heritability of traits by examining the degree to which traits and behavioral patterns are linked in identical (MZ) and fraternal (DZ) twins.
      • MZ twins have a higher correlation for similar traits (.50) compared to DZ twins.
    • Consistency Paradox/Person-Situation Controversy:

      • If traits predict behavior and are stable, why is there a paradox of consistency in behavior across different situations?
      • The answer lies in the interplay of state and traits, or nature and nurture.

    Psychodynamic Theories

    • Psychodynamic theories assume powerful unconscious inner forces shape personality and motivate behavior.
    • Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: one of the most influential theories suggesting all behavior is motivated by psychic energy.
      • Innate drives form tension systems.
      • Two basic drives: self-preservation and sexual drive (eros).

    Psychosexual Development

    • Psychic Energy: manifests in forms of libido/eros (sexual desires) and thanatos (death instinct).
    • Eros operates from birth and manifests in stages.
    • Linked to pleasure in different erogenous zones and conflicts to be resolved (e.g., Oedipus complex).
    • Too much gratification or frustration in any stage leads to fixation.
    • Fixation is linked to adult personality characteristics.

    Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

    • Psychic Determinism: all mental and behavioral reactions (symptoms) are determined by earlier experiences.
    • Emphasizes how unconscious processes shape behavior.
    • Manifest Content: thoughts and feelings in awareness.
    • Latent Content: concealed thoughts and memories, revealed through Freudian slips and dreams.

    Structure of Personality

    • ID:
      • Storehouse of fundamental drives (unconscious, irrational, impulsive).
      • No contact with the outer world.
      • Operates on the Pleasure Principle.
    • SUPEREGO:
      • Storehouse of society's values, standards, and morals (conscience).
      • In conflict with the ID.
    • EGO:
      • The reality-based aspect of self (acts as a referee between the ID and SUPEREGO).
      • Conscious level, logical thinking.
      • Operates on the Reality Principle.

    Defense Mechanisms

    • Ego Defense Mechanisms:
      • Mental strategies used by the ego to defend itself against daily conflicts between ID impulses seeking expression and the SUPEREGO's demand to deny them.
      • Repression: the primary defense mechanism, with additional defenses used when anxiety is present.

    Evaluating Freud’s Theories

    • Theories were criticized for:
      • Vague and non-operationally defined concepts.
      • Unable to reliably predict behavior, applied retrospectively.
      • Developmental theory not based on studies with children.
      • Minimal attention to traumatic experiences.
      • Focus on clinical populations.
      • Androcentric (male-centered) bias.

    Humanistic Theories

    • Key aspect: self-actualization.
    • The constant striving to realize one's inherent potential.
    • Motivation for behavior: comes from unique tendencies (innate and learned) to develop and change towards this goal (Rogers, Maslow, Horney).
      • The goal is unique to each person.
      • Self-actualization sometimes conflicts with the need for approval from self and others.
      • Unconditional positive regard from others is critical.
      • This helps us cope with interpersonal and intrapsychic defenses.

    Humanistic Theories

    • Holistic: explain people's separate acts in terms of their entire personalities.
    • Dispositional: focus on innate qualities within a person that exert a major influence over the direction of behavior.
    • Phenomenological: emphasize an individual's frame of reference and subjective view of reality rather than the observer.

    Hierarchy of Needs

    • Human needs are organized from most basic to personal and advanced needs (Maslow).
    • Lower needs must be met first, allowing higher-level needs to be activated.

    Humanistic Approach: Rogers

    • Carl Rogers' Self Theory:
      • Central concept: self-concept.
      • Organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself.
      • In early life, children cannot separate themselves from their environment.
      • Self-concept develops over time (the "Me" and the "not Me").
      • Once established, individuals are motivated to maintain it.
      • Self-Consistency: consistency among self-perceptions.
      • Congruence: consistency between self-perceptions and experience.

    Roger’s Self-Concept

    • Self: the person I think I am.
    • Ideal Self: the person I think I want to be.
    • Congruence: consistencies between the two.
    • Larger discrepancies between self-perception and experiences lead to more psychological problems.
    • Individuals may deny or distort reality to maintain self-consistency.
    • Healthy Adjustment/Fully Function Self: achieved when there is congruence.
    • Karen Horney believed individuals require specific conditions to create a flourishing "real self".

    Evaluating Humanistic Theories

    • Theories were criticized for:
      • Fuzzy concepts that are hard to research.
      • Lack of focus on individual characteristics compared to human nature.
      • Neglect of important environmental variables.

    Social-Cognitive Theories

    • These theories highlight the role of learning and environmental contingencies in personality.
    • Personality is learned behavior.
    • Behavior influences future learning experiences - specific circumstances are crucial for understanding why.

    Julian Rotter and Expectancy Theory

    • Expectancy: the likelihood of consequences given a specific behavior.
    • Reward Value: the desirability or dread of consequences.
    • Reinforcement: the impact of rewards or punishments on future behaviors.

    Expectancy Theory

    • Expectancy and Reinforcement: behavior is governed by two factors (Rotter).
      • Expectancy: the likelihood of consequences given a specific behavior.
      • Reinforcement: how much we desire or dread consequences.
    • Intrinsic and Extrinsic Locus of Control

    Intrinsic and Extrinsic Locus of Control

    • Intrinsic Locus of Control: motivation comes from the inherent nature of the activity.
      • People are motivated by the inherent nature of the activity, mastering something new, or the natural consequences of the activity.
      • Affected by how praise is given - needs to be sincere, focused on effort, and not in comparison to others.
    • Extrinsic Locus of Control: motivation is external to the activity and activated by external rewards or threats of punishment.
      • Must be desired by the person to be a motivator.
    • Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events.

    Social-Cognitive Theories

    • Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Theory:

      • Behavior is an interaction of persons and situations.
      • Depends on person variables and situational variables, moving beyond traits.
      • Comprised of five cognitive affective units:
        • Encoding strategies: how we perceive and interpret situations.
        • Expectancies and beliefs: our predictions about the consequences of our actions.
        • Goals and values: what we desire to achieve.
        • Affective responses: our emotions and feelings.
        • Competencies and self-regulatory skills: our abilities to control our thoughts and behaviors.
    • Bandura also believed self-efficacy was central to personality.

      • Self-efficacy is an individual's beliefs about their abilities and expectations about achieving success based on those abilities.

    What Influences Self-Efficacy?

    • Mastery Experiences: actual accomplishments.
    • Vicarious Experience: observations of others' successes or failures.

    Evaluating Social-Cognitive Theories

    • Social-cognitive theories argue that personality is shaped by a complex interplay of individual factors, behavior, and the environment.
    • Criticized for overlooking emotions and unconscious motivation.
    • Also criticized for vaguely explaining the development of personal constructs and competencies.
    • These theories are well-defined and researched.
    • They emphasize the importance of understanding current behavior.
    • Despite criticism, they have contributed significantly to psychology, education, and treatment.

    Milgram Experiment Replication

    • Jerry M. Burger replicated Milgram's study in 2009.
    • The replication involved recruiting participants through advertisements in the Mercury News and Craigslist.
    • The study found that 70% of participants had to be stopped from delivering a 150-volt shock.
    • This replication highlighted the powerful influence of situational factors on behavior.

    Social Psychology

    • Explores how individuals are influenced by others.
    • Key concepts include social influence, group dynamics, attribution theory, prejudice and discrimination, and interpersonal relationships.

    Social Influence

    • Refers to the process by which individuals are persuaded or influenced by others.
    • Includes concepts like conformity, compliance, and obedience.

    Group Dynamics

    • Examines how individuals behave within groups.
    • Topics include groupthink, polarization, and social loafing.

    Attribution Theory

    • Explains how individuals interpret the behavior of others.
    • Differentiates between dispositional (internal) and situational (external) attributions.

    Prejudice and Discrimination

    • Investigates the causes, effects, and reduction strategies for prejudice and discrimination.

    Interpersonal Relationships

    • Studies factors that influence attraction, love, and attachment styles.

    Personality

    • Focuses on individual differences in patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

    Trait Theory

    • Attempts to identify and measure specific personality traits.
    • The Big Five personality traits include Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

    Psychoanalytic Theory

    • Developed by Sigmund Freud.
    • Emphasizes the unconscious mind, the id, ego, and superego.
    • Uses concepts like defense mechanisms to explain personality.

    Humanistic Theory

    • Emphasizes self-actualization and individual growth.
    • Prominently recognized in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

    Personality Assessment

    • Objective tests involve standardized assessments like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Big Five Inventory (BFI).
    • Projective tests utilize ambiguous stimuli for individuals to project their thoughts and feelings. These include tests like the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

    Memory

    • The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

    Types of Memory

    • Sensory Memory: Briefly holds sensory information for a short duration.
    • Short-term Memory: Stores a limited quantity of information for a short period (usually 15-30 seconds).
    • Long-term Memory: Holds information for an extended period, possibly for years.
    • Explicit (Declarative) Memory: Involves conscious recall and can be further categorized into episodic (personal experiences) and semantic (general knowledge) memories.
    • Implicit (Non-declarative Memory): Includes unconscious skills and actions, known as procedural memories.

    Key Processes in Memory

    • Encoding: Converts information into a format suitable for storage.
    • Storage: Maintains information over time.
    • Retrieval: Accesses stored information when needed.

    Learning

    • A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.

    Types of Learning

    • Classical Conditioning: Learning through association, as exemplified by Pavlov's experiments with dogs.
    • Operant Conditioning: Learning through reinforcement and punishment, demonstrated in Skinner's experiments.
    • Observational Learning: Learning by observing others, famously illustrated in Bandura's Bobo doll experiment.

    Key Concepts in Learning

    • Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of a behavior.
    • Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of a behavior.
    • Cognitive Learning: Learning that involves mental processes and can occur without direct experience, including insight learning.

    Founders of Behaviorism

    • John Watson founded the school of thought known as behaviorism.
    • Ivan Pavlov conducted research on classical conditioning.
    • B.F. Skinner is known for his work on operant conditioning.

    Classical Conditioning

    • A form of associative learning where learned associations are made between stimuli.
    • Pavlov's experiments showed that dogs began to salivate in anticipation of food, even before the food was presented, after repeated exposure to stimuli associated with food.

    Classical Conditioning Terminology

    • Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally elicits a behavior.
    • Unconditioned Response (UCR): The natural behavior elicited by the UCS.
    • Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to elicit a response after being associated with the UCS.
    • Conditioned Response (CR): The learned response to the CS.

    Key Points about Classical Conditioning

    • It is a fundamental learning process that explains how we acquire associations between stimuli.
    • The process involves the pairing of a neutral stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that naturally elicits a response (UCR).
    • It is applied in many areas, from understanding animal behavior to treating phobias and addiction.
    • Classical conditioning is distinct from operant conditioning, which focuses on the consequences of behavior.

    Memory

    Implicit vs. Explicit Memory

    • Implicit memory includes unconscious skills and actions acquired through experience without conscious effort.
    • Explicit memory requires conscious effort to recall information.

    Procedural vs. Declarative Memory

    • Procedural memory is memory for how to do things.
    • Declarative memory is recollection of facts and events.

    Key Processes in Memory

    • Encoding: Converts information into a format suitable for storage.
    • Storage: Maintains information over time.
    • Retrieval: Accesses stored information when needed.

    Short-Term Memory (STM)

    • STM is the mechanism for focusing cognitive resources on a small set of mental representations.
    • STM involves the preservation of very recent experiences & brief retrieval of information from Long-Term Memory (LTM) when needed.
    • STM capacity is limited (often referred to as Miller's magic number: 7 +/- 2 items).

    Strategies for STM Improvement

    • Rehearsal: Involves repeating information repetitively.
    • Chunking: Involves grouping items based on similarity or other organizing principles.

    Working Memory

    • Involves resources for reasoning and language comprehension.
    • Foundation for the fluidity of thought and action and integration of information.
    • Three components:
      • Phonological loop/phonological encoding
      • Visuospatial sketchpad/visual encoding
      • Central executive/motor encoding

    Memory Tests

    • Recall: Reproduction of information to which you were previously exposed.
    • Recognition: Realization that a certain stimulus is one you have seen or heard before.

    Types of Memories

    • Episodic: Memories for personally experienced events.
    • Semantic: General, categorical memories, not linked to specific episodes where memory was obtained (e.g., brushing your teeth).

    Priming

    • First experience of an item primes memory for later experiences, making it more likely to be recalled.

    Serial Position Effect

    • Primacy effect: Improved memory for items at the start of a list.
    • Recency effect: Improved memory for items at the end of a list.

    Encoding Levels

    • Structural encoding: Paying attention to the structural properties of words & how it looks (shallow).
    • Phonological (phonemic) encoding: Paying attention to the sound qualities of words (intermediate).
    • Semantic encoding: Paying attention to the meaning of the words (deepest processing).

    Elaborative Rehearsal

    • Enhances memory by elaborating on the material to be learned.

    Mnemonics

    • Devices that encode a long series of facts by associating them with familiar and previously encoded information.

    Concepts

    • Mental representations of the categories we form.
    • Based on family resemblance or prototypical features.
    • Objects are best categorized at a basic level (hierarchical representation of concepts).

    Schemas

    • Conceptual frameworks, or clusters of knowledge, regarding objects, people, and situations.
    • Generalizations that can be applied to interpret situations.

    Using Concepts in Memory

    • Prototypes: Representation of the average member of a category (e.g., chair – a back, four legs).
    • Exemplars: Categorization based on comparison to examples in memory (dining chairs vs.lawn chairs).

    Interference

    • Interference occurs when retrieval cues do not point effectively to one specific memory.
    • Proactive interference: Information previously acquired makes it more difficult to acquire new information.
    • Retroactive interference: Acquisition of new information makes it difficult to remember old information.

    Personality

    • A complex set of psychological qualities that influence an individual’s characteristic patterns of behaviour across different situations and over time.
    • Personality is fluid versus stable.
    • Personality theories seek to understand and predict behaviour.
    • Three underlying characteristics:
      • People differ and are consistent across situations.
      • Behaviour is caused by internal factors, not environmental factors.
      • Behaviour is guided and directed by internal factors.

    Approaches to Classifying Personality

    • Approaches classify people according to types or traits of personality.

    Traits

    • Enduring qualities or attributes that predispose individuals to behave consistently across situations.
    • The sum total of typical ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that makes a person unique.

    Cattell’s 16 Personality Factors (16PF)

    • Identified source traits.
    • Surveyed all words in the English language that described personal characteristics (170 adjectives).
    • Used Factor Analysis to create 16 broad factors on a continuum.

    Eysenck’s Dimensions

    • Dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism are linked to Hippocrates’ humours.
    • Reticular formation is linked to approach or avoidance behaviour.
    • People fall anywhere in the circle.

    Costa and McCrae & the Big Five (NEO)

    • Five factor model describes broad traits that are argued to underlie all traits we have.
    • Model is still used today and is cross-cultural.
    • Advantages:
      • Describe people’s personalities.
    • Disadvantages:
      • Don’t explain how behaviour is generated and personality develops.
      • Only portray a static view of personality.
      • We need a profile and change in traits.

    Behavioural Genetics

    • Examine the degree to which traits and behaviour patterns are linked with identical (MZ) and fraternal (DZ) twins.
    • Some studies predict MZ twins to be similar (0.50 correlation) – lower for DZ twins.

    Psychodynamic Theories

    • All psychodynamic theories share the assumption that powerful inner forces (our unconscious) shape personality and motivate behaviour.
    • Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is one of the most influential.
    • All behaviour was motivated by psychic energy.
    • Innate drives form tension systems
    • Two basic drives: self-preservation and sexual desires (libido)
    • Eros operates from birth and manifests in stages.
    • Too much gratification or too much frustration at any stage leads to fixation.
    • Fixation is linked to adult personality characteristics.

    Object Relations Theory

    • People are motivated by a need to have relationships with others.
    • Personality forms in the relationship between children and their caregivers.
    • These relationships become working models/unconscious influence.

    Psychic Determinism

    • Assumption that all mental and behavioural reactions (symptoms) are determined by earlier experiences.
    • Freud emphasized how unconscious processes can shape behaviour (iceberg concept).
    • Manifest content – thoughts and feelings in awareness.
    • Latent content – concealed thoughts and memories (revealed through Freudian slips and dreams).

    Components of the Psyche:

    • ID: Storehouse of fundamental drives (unconscious, irrational, and impulsive).
    • Superego: Storehouse of society’s values, standards, and morals (our “conscience”).
    • Ego: Reality-based aspect of self (referee between id and superego).

    Ego Defence Mechanisms

    • Mental strategies the ego uses to defend itself in the daily conflict between id impulses that seek expression and the superego’s demand to deny them.
    • Repression is the primary defence mechanism.

    Criticisms of Freud’s Theories

    • Concepts are vague and not operationally defined.
    • Doesn’t reliably predict behaviour, applied retrospectively.
    • Developmental theory but not based on studies with children.
    • Minimizes traumatic experiences and its interpretation as dreams.
    • Looked at clinical populations.
    • Androcentric (male-centred) bias.

    Humanistic Theories

    • Key aspect is self-actualization.
    • Constant striving to realize one’s inherent potential.
    • Motivation for behaviour comes from unique tendencies (innate and learned) to develop and change towards this goal (Rogers, Maslow, Horney).
    • Self-actualization sometimes conflicts with the need for approval from self and others (role of unconditional positive regard from others).
    • Positive regard helped us to cope with interpersonal and intrapsychic defences.

    Carl Rogers Self Theory

    • Central Concept = self-concept.
    • Organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself.
    • Our early lives children cannot separate themselves from their environment.
    • Self-concept develops over time (e.g., the Me and the not Me).
    • Once established, tendency to maintain it (self-consistency).
    • Consistency among ‘self-perceptions’.
    • Congruence – consistency between self-perceptions and experience.

    Social-Cognitive Theories

    • Bandura stresses interaction of individual factors, behaviour, and environment (self reflection & self reactiveness, reciprocal determinism, Triarchic Reciprocal Causality).
    • Must examine all components to understand personality.

    Learning Theories

    • Past theories have neglected to consider the role of learning and environmental contingencies in personality.
    • Personality is learned behaviour.

    Julian Rotter & Expectancy Theory

    • Behaviour is motivated by the expectation of rewards.
      • Expectancy – likelihood of consequences given behaviour.
      • Reinforcement – how much we desire or dread consequences.
      • Intrinsic – motivated by inherent nature of an activity (make oneself feel good).
      • Extrinsic – motivation is external to the activity, not inherent (activated by external rewards).

    Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Theory

    • Behaviour is an interaction of persons and situations (goes beyond traits).

    Criticisms of Social-Cognitive Theories

    • Theories overlook emotion and the impact of unconscious motivation.
    • Vague explanations of development of personal constructs and competencies.
    • Only focus on current behaviour.

    Conclusion

    • Social-cognitive theories have led to major contributions to psychology, education, and treatments.
    • Multiple perspectives are coming together, as well as being well defined and researched.

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    Test your knowledge on classical conditioning concepts such as learning-performance distinction, acquisition, and spontaneous recovery with this quiz. Explore key terms and examples that illustrate the various principles of classical conditioning.

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