Psychology Chapter 8 Quiz

Cognition and Problem Solving

• Cognition: Encompasses mental activities such as thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
• Algorithm: A logical, methodical procedure that ensures problem-solving; less rapid than heuristics but more reliable.
• Heuristics: Simplified strategies for efficient problem-solving; faster but prone to errors.
• Insight: Sudden realization of a problem's solution, differing from systematic strategies.
• Fixation: Inability to view a problem from a fresh perspective, hindering problem-solving.
• Confirmation Bias: A tendency to seek information that reinforces our beliefs while disregarding contradictory evidence.
• Overconfidence: Overestimating the accuracy of personal beliefs and judgments.
• Framing: The manner in which issues are presented, which can drastically influence decisions.

Language Development

• Language: Encompasses spoken, written, or signed words in combination to convey meaning.
• Babbling Stage: Occurs around 4 months, marked by infants producing various unrelated sounds.
• One-Word Stage: From ages 1 to 2, children predominantly speak single words.
• Two-Word Stage: Begins at age 2, characterized by child speech using two-word phrases.
• Telegraphic Speech: Early speech resembling telegrams; utilizes mostly nouns and verbs.

Intelligence and Testing

• Intelligence: Defined as the ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt using knowledge.
• General Intelligence: A foundational cognitive ability underlying specific mental faculties, measured by intelligence tests.
• Savant Syndrome: A condition where someone with limited mental ability displays exceptional skill in a specific area.
• Emotional Intelligence: Ability to understand and manage one's emotions as well as the emotions of others.
• Intelligence Test: Assesses mental aptitudes, yielding scores for comparison with others.
• Aptitude Test: Designed to predict future performance based on an individual's potential to learn.
• Achievement Test: Evaluates what a person has learned.
• Mental Age: A measure correlating intelligence test performance with chronological age norms.
• Stanford-Binet: An American revision of Binet's intelligence test, widely used for assessing intelligence.
• Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Ratio of mental age to chronological age, multiplied by 100; 100 is the average score.
• Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): Popular intelligence test featuring verbal and nonverbal components.

Psychometrics and Validity

• Standardization: Process of comparing test scores with a normative group.
• Normal Curve: A bell-shaped distribution representing a variety of attributes, with most scores clustering around the average.
• Reliability: Consistency of test results across different forms or occasions.
• Validity: The degree to which a test accurately measures or predicts what it intends to.
• Heritability: Genetic contribution to variations among individuals regarding a trait's expression.

Social and Ethical Considerations

• Stereotype Threat: Concern about being judged negatively based on stereotypes.
• Muted Speech: Phenomenon where ethnic minorities engage in self-censorship in speech due to fear of judgment.
• Culturally Fair Test: Aims to evaluate intelligence without being influenced by cultural or educational backgrounds.
• Transracial Adoption: Evidence shows that children adopted by families of different races can perform similarly on IQ tests, highlighting environmental influence on intelligence.

Key Figures and Theories

• Alfred Binet: Developed the first intelligence test to measure cognitive abilities.
• Charles Darwin: His evolutionary theory provided justification for social hierarchies based on intelligence.
• Sir Francis Galton: Proposed the theory of eugenics, suggesting that intelligence is inherited.
• William McDougall: Known for strong racist views in social psychology; minimized environmental context in understanding behavior.
• Arthur Jensen: Controversially argued for genetic inferiority in intelligence among different racial groups.
• Scarr & Weinberg: Demonstrated through research the environmental impact on IQ test outcomes.

Other Concepts

• Speech Therapy: Utilizes reinforcement principles to aid in speech development.
• Psycholinguistics: Focuses on the psychological aspects of language and communication.
• Sociolinguistics: Examines social patterns and differences in language use among groups.
• Habit: Automatic behavioral patterns established through repetition.