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John Locke
0-25%
Suppose you believe that the greater the amount of money a university spends on their football team, the greater the success of their team and you further believe that this relationship is quite strong. Which of the following correlations would best support your hypothesis?
c. 0.75
A researcher finds that the more teenagers play violent video games, the more likely it is that they will engage in violent, criminal behavior. She suggests, as one possible reason for this relationship, that teenagers may differ in terms of an underlying "aggressiveness" trait which influences both their selection of leisure activities and their social behavior. What type of explanation of the relationship between video game selection and criminal behavior is this?
c. causal relationship
Think back to the Wundt-type response-time experiment to determine the time it takes to make an elementary decision. Subjects would either respond as fast as possible to any signal or they would respond differently on the basis of the stimulus color. What is here the independent variable and what is the dependent variable?
D) Whether subjects have to respond to any signal or discriminate the color is the dependent variable and the response time is the independent variable.
The central nervous system consists of the
a. brain, spinal cord
Neurons that are confined to the central nervous system are called
B. interneurons
You accidentally dip your hand into hot water and later realize that you jerked your hand out of the water before you felt pain. Which of the following is the most likely explanation?
A) Motor neurons operate more quickly than sensory neurons
Under conditions of stress, which of the following prepares the body for possible "fight or flight"?
C. sympathetic division of autonomic system
The cerebral cortex is divided into left and right hemispheres, each with four visible lobes. Which of the following would not be considered one of the four lobes?
b. sensory lobe
The bumps and folds of the cortex are known as _____, while the grooves in between these folds are _______.
gyri, sulci
Which of the following patterns are very unlikely to occur in a split-brain patient:
b. information presented in the left visual field is drawn with the right hand.
Which brain area is most likely SPARED in a patient who can perform simple movements (e.g., single key strokes), but who has problems in producing smooth, correctly timed sequences of movements?
a. premotor cortex
b. cerebellum
c. basal ganglia
d. primary motor cortex
d. primary motor cortex
Which of the following principles accurately reflects the human nervous system's control of movement?
a. Evolution has led to more sophisticated control mechanisms that have replaced earlier systems.
b. Evolution has led to more sophisticated control mechanisms that control earlier systems.
c. Systems that are simpler and less prone to error generally stand at the top of the control hierarchy.
d. In general, the right hemisphere controls the right half of the body, and the left hemisphere controls the left half of the body.
b. Evolution has led to more sophisticated control mechanisms that control earlier systems.
In the primary motor cortex, the amount of cortical space devoted to a given body part depends on the:
a. Size of the body part.
b. Strength of the body part.
c. Fineness of motor control in the body part.
d. Evolutionary emergence of the body part.
c. Fineness of motor control in the body part.
The research on somatosensory and motor areas in amputees allows to make the following general point:
a. Neuroanatomy is hardwired and fixed at birth.
b. There are no inborn constraints on neuro-anatomical locations of particular brain functions.
c. Neuroanatomy is influenced by experience.
d. Both b. and c.
c. Neuroanatomy is influenced by experience.
Where is the DNA that contains the entire genetic code for a particular individual?
d. In the nucleus of each of the body's cells.
The genetic material in the four egg or sperm cells produced from a single precursor cell through the process of ___________________ is _____________________.
d. meiosis; different
The term phenotype refers to
a. those observable properties of the body and traits that are caused by the environment and not genes.
b. those observable properties of the body and traits that are caused by genes and not the environment.
c. the observable properties of the body and the behavioral traits.
d. a photographic representation of chromosomes in a single cell.
c. the observable properties of the body and the behavioral traits
The gene for brown eyes is dominant, whereas that for blue eyes is recessive. Suppose you have a friend with blue eyes. What do you know about his parents?
a. both parents have a gene for blue eyes
A song that was played while you got romantically engaged with your partner elicits a positive emotional reaction, whenever you hear the song, even when your partner is not present.
b. unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response
Although in the days following a serious car accident, Christine’s muscles tensed every time she got into the car, this reaction eventually disappeared and Christine no longer felt tense. Christine was quite surprised when, several months later, she got into the car and her muscles tensed. This renewal of the conditioned reflex with the passage of time is called:
a. extinction
b. spontaneous recovery
c. generalization
d. discrimination training
b. spontaneous recovery
Which of the following responses can be learned through classical conditioning?
a. immune system responses
b. emotions
c. motor actions
d. all of the above
d. all of the above
For each experiment you participate in you receive credit. A) fixed ratio,
B) variable ratio,
C) fixed interval,
D) variable interval
You are always really nice to your girlfriend/boyfriend. There are times when he/she is nice in return, and there times when he/she is not. But you never know which will happen when.
A) fixed ratio,
B) variable ratio, C) fixed interval,
D) variable interval
“Usually when I go out with a guy he turns out to be a jerk. However, sometimes, after a random number of bad guys I find a good one. That’s why I keep doing it!”
A) fixed ratio,
B) variable ratio,
C) fixed interval,
D) variable interval
1: A) fixed ratio

2: D) variable interval

3: B) variable ratio
A behavioral therapist treats a child who shows deviant behavior patterns. The goal is to establish positive behavior patterns that continue after therapy. What is the best way of proceeding?
a. Every positive behavior is immediately reinforced.
b. As long as the child shows positive behavior it is rewarded, but after varying time intervals.
c. The child is rewarded after a number of positive behaviors, but the number of positive behaviors required between rewards varies.
d. Negative behavior is punished, but the number of negative behaviors required between rewards varies.
a. Every positive behavior is immediately reinforced.
Food aversion learning is difficult to explain in terms of classical conditioning because:
a. It involves taste and smell as conditioned stimuli.
b. It cannot be explained in terms of any reinforcement schedule.
c. The large temporal separation between neutral stimulus and unconditioned response.
d. The digestive system should be immune to conditioning.
c. The large temporal separation between neutral stimulus and unconditioned response.
According to traditional behaviorist theory, through mere wandering around in a maze (i.e., in the absence of reinforcement) an animal acquires
a. a general liking of the maze. b. a mental map.
c. a sequence of simple responses.
d. no new knowledge.
c. a series of simple responses
Hunger is an example of a(n) _______ and food is an example of the corresponding ______.!
a. drive, incentive
An extremely obese individual is found to have a genetic effect that affects leptin production. This individual most likely has _____ levels of leptin and correspondingly ______ levels of neuropeptide Y.
a. higher, lower
b. lower, higher
c. higher, higher
d. lower, lower.
higher, lower
John repeatedly loses weight through dieting and subsequently gains it back. Which of the following consequences of this behavior may contribute to its perpetuation?
a. Dieting makes one more likely to keep eating once one has started to eat.
b. Repeated periods of weight gain have caused John's body to create additional fat cells.
c. Losing weight will tend to result in lowered basal metabolism.
d. All of the above.
d. All of the above.
You get a surprise call from a friend asking you to join him to your favorite restaurant. There you enjoy your favorite meal. Which neurotransmitter response will dominate when?!
A. surprise call=dopamine, enjoying meal=endorphines!
B. surprise call=dopamine, enjoying meal=dopamine!
C. surprise call=endorpines, enjoying meal=endorphines!
D. surprise call=endorphines, enjoying meal=dopamine
surprise call= dopamine

enjoying meal=endorphines
Based on the concept that reward has multiple components, experiencing satisfaction after being praised by your professor for a good class presentation would be identified as:
a. wanting
b. achievement
c. a dopaminergic kick
d. Liking
e. depends on how unexpected the praise is
d. liking
You wake up in the middle of the night and try to see the clock in the dim light. You will be more likely to be able to read the time if you look at the clock with your____________ because it has the largest number of ____________.
b. periphery; rods
A critical part of the neural code consists of
a. the length of spikes that wander down the neural axons.
b. the duration of each spike wandering down the neural axons.
c. the frequency of spikes that wander down the neural axons.
d. the chemicals that wander down the neural axons.
c. the frequency of spikes that wander down the neural axons.
Which of the following constellations is achieved through high neuronal convergence between rods on the one hand and ganglion cells on the other.
a. high light sensitivity, high spatial resolution
b. low light sensitivity, low spatial resolution
c. high light sensitivity, low spatial resolution
d. low light sensitivity, high spatial resolution.
c. high light sensitivity, low spatial resolution
If light falls on parts of the off-region of a ganglion cell's receptive field but not on the on-region:
a. the cell's response does not change.
b. the cell's response is increased.
c. the cell's response is reduced. d. the receptive field starts to shrink.
c. the cell's response is reduced.
There are reasons to believe that the basic way in which neurons in the retina interact
a. Is a unique feature of this neural system.
b. tells us something about photoreceptors and ganglion cells, which are not actual neurons.
c. can be found all over the brain.
d. Is far too complex to be fully understood.
c. can be found all over the brain.
The ganglion cells whose firing rates are being decreased during the detection of edges are being inhibited by:
a. adjacent cells stimulated by light
b. light falling on the center of their receptive fields
c. light falling on the surrounds of their receptive fields
c. light falling on the surrounds of their receptive fields
As we go upstream from V1, receptive fields
A. Generally become smaller and sensitive to more complex patterns
B. Generally become larger and more sensitive to more complex patterns
C. Either become larger and less complex or smaller and more complex.
D. Either become larger and more complex or smaller and less complex.
C. Either become larger and less complex or smaller and more complex.
Of two objects that assume the exact same size on the retina the object that according to surrounding depth cues is CLOSER
a. will appear smaller
b. will appear larger
c. will appear less dark
d. will appear closer.
a. will appear smaller
When enjoying Monet's paintings of water lilies, you notice that some lilies appear to be more distant than others because they have been painted smaller and more densely packed. This perception is based on the pictorial cue for depth known as:
a. texture gradient
b. occlusion
c. familiar size
d. relative image size.
a. texture gradient
Which of these terms do not fit to an automatic search:
A) attention
B) specialized visual module
C) flat search function
D) pop-out
a. attention
Which of these terms do not fit to the finding of a steep search function
A) feature conjunction
B) attention
C) serial, effortful search
D) parallel processing
d. parallel processing
When we obtain a flat search function (i.e., response time to identify an object is independent of the number of distractor objects) we know that the search
a) ...was utilizing a basic visual feature.
b) ...was based on a conjunction between basic features.
c) ...was serial and effortful
d) ...b and c
a) ...was utilizing a basic visual feature.
The integration of basic features through attention as described in the feature-integration theory is reminiscent
of___________, the fact that basic features can be much more than just simple sensory experiences fits with _____________ .
a) structuralism and empiricism; mentalism and gestalt psychology
b) Kant; Wundt
c) mentalism and gestalt psychology; structuralism and empiricism;
d) b and c
a) structuralism and empiricism; mentalism and gestalt psychology
"Non-accidental features" are visual features that
a. are perceived only under very specific lighting and from close distance
b. require binocular input to be perceived accurately.
c. are defined by the value of only a single feature, like color or orientation
d. are perceived the same way regardless of the angle from which they are viewed
d. are perceived the same way regardless of the angle from which they are viewed
Between which of the following pairs of views can you detect a "theoretical tension" (i.e., which do not fit together very well)?
a. Feature-integration theory and recognition-by- components theory.
b. Gestalt theory and the idea that faces are presented in a holistic manner.
c. Gestalt theory and feature-integration theory.
d. The idea that objects are recognized via templates and the view that faces are presented in a holistic manner.
c. Gestalt theory and feature-integration theory.
Dreaming is an example of...
a. top-down processing that is strongest in thinking areas, but also has some effect in sensory areas
b. top-down processing that fully extends to sensory areas
c. bottom-up processing that is limited to early sensory areas
d. bottom-up processing that affects both sensory and higher-level (thinking) areas.
b. top-down processing that fully extends to sensory areas
Our internal representation of the visual world is fairly accurate:
a. across much of our visual field.
b. for the current focus of visual attention only.
c. as long as we are trying really hard to register all details.
d. if the visual scene is one we are familiar with.
b. for the current focus of visual attention only.
The idea of a “cartesian theater” is incorrect because...
a. it does not solve the homunculus problem
b. visual perception it is more like a TV screen than a theater stage.
c. It assumes that all potentially relevant information is actually processed in our mind.
d. a) and c)
e. b) and c)
d. a) and c)
Which of the following could NOT be used as a basis for selective attention according to early selection theory?
a. the topic of a message
b. the spatial location of stimuli
c. the color of stimuli
d. the pitch of a speaker's voice.
a. the topic of the message
Which of the following is NOT true about extended practice in a consistent task environment:
a. Frontal lobes become less and less important b. The practiced skills become harder to resist
c. It should be more and more possible to think about other things while doing the task
d. Making use of frontal representations of goals and rules becomes more and more efficient
d. Making use of frontal representations of goals and rules becomes more and more efficient
Which statement about the typical pattern of results in the Stroop task is incorrect:
a. The Stroop interference effect when naming colors indicates that frontal lobes are no longer necessary after extended practice in a consistent environment.
b. The Stroop interference effect when naming colors is particularly large after a number of congruent trials.
c. The Stroop interference effect when reading words shows that color information interferes with word processing.
d. The Stroop effect arises because a highly automatized and a less automatized type of processing are pitted against each other.
c. The Stroop interference effect when reading words shows that color information interferes with word processing.
The former musician with severe amnesia we saw in the video, had no conscious memories of things more
than a few minutes past. However, he was able to maintain a conversation and he was able to play cards. He also was still able to perform music. This pattern is incompatible with:
a. a distinction between implicit and explicit memory
b. a distinction between short-term and long-term memory
c. The idea that memory is a unitary entity
d. the idea that highly automatized skills are not part of our conscious memory system
c. The idea that memory is a unitary entity
The primacy effect found at the early part of the serial-position curve is thought to reflect_______________ whereas the late, recency part is thought to reflect _____________ .
a. transfer of information from short-term into long-term memory, information maintenance in short-term memory
b. long-term memory, short-term memory c. short-term memory, long-term memory
d. information maintenance in short-term memory, transfer of information from short-term into long-term memory
a. transfer of information from short-term into long-term memory, information maintenance in short-term memory
Which system in Atkinson and Shiffrin’s modal memory model involves more than simply storing information?
A. sensory memory B. short-term memory C. long-term memory D. random access memory
b. short term memory
In an experiment, subjects are asked to learn a list of 20 words (i.e., encode them into long-term memory) while trying to maintain a short-term memory load of either 2 or 7 digits. What is the result and its interpretation?
a. High short-term memory load has a very detrimental effect on the word- learning task, thus suggesting that a fixed-capacity short-term-memory system is the bottleneck for bringing information into long-term memory.
b. High short-term memory load has only a moderate effect on the word- learning task, thus suggesting that short-term memory may not be a unitary structure with a fixed capacity.
c. High short-term memory load has a very detrimental effect on the word- learning task, thus suggesting that both the digits and the words are maintained in short-term memory.
d. Subjects show no interference at all, suggesting that short-term memory and long-term memory are completely separate structures.
b. High short-term memory load has only a moderate effect on the word- learning task, thus suggesting that short-term memory may not be a unitary structure with a fixed capacity
In verbal short-term memory tasks, people have a hard time remembering...
A) lists of similar sounding words B) lists of words with similar meaning C) lists of words that looks similar D) lists of words that are particularly short
similar sounding
The result referred to in the previous question demonstrates the role of the...
A) articulatory system in short-term memory B) phonological system in short-term memory
C) the visual-spatial sketch pad in short-term memory
D) the central executive in short-term memory.
phonological
Which is not a valid statement about the 70ties modal memory theory?
a. The only way into long-term memory is through short-term memory.
b. There is a separate short-term and long-term memory store.
c. There are different short-term memory structures for different kinds of information.
d. Short-term memory has a fixed capacity.
c. There are different short-term memory structures for different kinds of information.
Temporally graded retrograde amnesia refers to
a.! a loss of memory for events occurring after brain injury, with greater memory loss for events close in time to the injury
c.! a loss of memory for events occurring before brain injury, with greater memory loss for events close in time to the injury
e.! a loss of memory for events occurring after brain injury with more forgetting of events that are farther in the future relative to the time of injury
d. a loss of memory for events occurring before brain injury with more forgetting of events that
are farther in the past relative to the time of injury.
c.! a loss of memory for events occurring before brain injury, with greater memory loss for events close in time to the injury
Which of the following factors have positive effect on encoding verbal information into long‐term memory?
a. rehearsing information in short‐term memory
b. having a strong intention to learn
c. thinking about the semantic content of the to‐be‐learned material
d. a and b.
e. b and c.
c. thinking about the semantic content of the to‐be‐learned material
What is the main reason why memory researchers o>en use an “inciden3al memory” situa3on when studying factors affec3ng learning?
a. Because this is the type of learning situa3on that is most common in the real world.
b. Because we know that the inten3on to learn has large effects and this aspect can be controlled through an inciden3al learning condi3on.
c. Because, when combined with a orien3ng task it allows the experimenter to focus subjects’ aFen3on on a par3cular type of informa3on while avoiding idiosyncra3c learning strategies.
d. Because it is par3cularly compelling to see how much we can learn uninten3onally.
c. Because, when combined with a orien3ng task it allows the experimenter to focus subjects’ aFen3on on a par3cular type of informa3on while avoiding idiosyncra3c learning strategies.
Which of the following is associated with excep3onal memory skills? a. A par3cularly large short‐term memory capacity b. An increased hippocampus c. Rehearsal of informa3on in short‐term memory
d. Efficient use of chunking and hierarchical encoding/retrieval structures.
d. Efficient use of chunking and hierarchical encoding/retrieval structures.
Which of the following is FALSE?
a. phonological/maintenance rehearsal is less effec3ve than elabora3on for encoding informa3on into long term memory.
b. elabora3on requires less thought about the meaning of a s3mulus than maintenance rehearsal.
c. phonological/maintenance rehearsal rehearsal requires less effort than elabora3on.
d. elabora3on can aid long term memory encoding even if subjects are not trying to remember the informa3on that is processed.
b. elabora3on requires less thought about the meaning of a s3mulus than maintenance rehearsal.
Assume somebody tells you about an experiment demonstra3ng that people's learning ability is worse when they are on drugs. Which ques3on do you want to ask before believing this conclusion?
a. Was the drug manipula3on strong enough?
b. Was the match between encoding and retrieval, in terms of the drug‐ taking, controlled?
c. Were drugs applied during the learning phase?
d. Was the to‐be‐learned material seman3cally associated with drugs?
b. Was the match between encoding and retrieval, in terms of the drug‐ taking, controlled?
A cri3cal feature of content‐addressable memory systems is... a. ...that once the address is lost, there is no way to find the memory.
b. ...that pieces of the original memory allow to recreate the en3re memorized episode.
c. ...that it cannot explain the importance of the similarity between encoding and retrieval situa3ons for learning and remembering.
d. ...that it cannot explain the effects of marijuana on memory.
b. ...that pieces of the original memory allow to recreate the en3re memorized episode.
What is the theore3cally most important difference between storage of informa3on in a computer and in our brain?
A. Our brain does not store 0s ad 1s.
B. Our brain does not use arbitrary addresses to find a par3cular memory.
C. Our brain is not as efficient as a computer memory.
D. Our brain is more efficient that a computer memory.
B. Our brain does not use arbitrary addresses to find a par3cular memory.
We talked about the experiment in which subjects had to try to maintain a short nonsense letter combination in short-term memory across varying amounts of delay times while counting backwards in threes. The results differed dramatically depending on whether one looked at the results of the average across all trials of an experimental session or only on the very first trial. The average result showed_____; the first-trial result showed______ .
A. an improvement as a function of delay time; a loss of memory as a function of delay time
B. a loss of memory as a function of delay time; an improvement as a function of delay time
C. a loss of memory as a function of delay time; almost perfect performance independent of delay time
D. almost perfect performance independent of delay time; a loss of memory as a function of delay time.
C. a loss of memory as a function of delay time; almost perfect performance independent of delay time
The data pattern obtained in the experiment described in the preceding question is most consistent with
A. decay theory of forgetting
B. interference theory of forgetting C. encoding-specificity theory of forgetting
D. the view that there is no real forgetting.
b. interference theory of forgetting
Schemas are closely associated with... A) the episodic/hippocampal memory system B) sequential memory C) working memory D) implicit memory
d. implicit memory
One of the things that is special about people who believe that they had been abducted is that
A) they suffer from hallucinations
B) they are particularly prone to schema-congruent interference during memory tasks
C) they usually live near regions with major UFO sightings
D) their implicit memory is overactive.
B) they are particularly prone to schema-congruent interference during memory tasks
Susanne goes into therapy because she is continually anxious and has trouble sleeping due to disturbing nightmares. Her therapist diagnoses Suzanne with posttraumatic stress disorder and encourages her to talk about distressing childhood memories. Eventually, Suzanne recalls having been abused by her uncle as a child. The problem which this recovered memory poses is that:
a. b.
c. d.
her therapist has implanted a false memory no one will believe that her kind uncle was abusive
it will distract her from her real problems it is difficult to know whether her memory is accurate
d. it is difficult to know whether her memory is accurate
Given what you have learned about memory, can you think of a possible manner in which a memory for a significant event can be lost for a substantial amount of time and then all of sudden recovered? This could happen through...
a. variation in the match between encoding and retrieval situation over time
b. c. d.
variation in proactive interference over time variation in retroactive interference over time
variation in semantic elaboration over time
a.variation in the match between encoding and retrieval situation over time
When performance is assessed across a large variety of intellectual tasks in a particular sample of subjects,
A) there are many pairs of tasks that show no correlations.
B) there are task pairs that show positive correlations and there are pairs that show negative correlations.
C) fluid intelligence tasks correlate negatively with crystallized intelligence tasks.
D) basically all task pairs show at least some degree of positive correlation.
D) basically all task pairs show at least some degree of positive correlation.
Where in Spearman's model of intelligence would be a place for the effect of experience on intellectual performance?
A) Experience would affect the general factor "g"
B) Experience would affect the ability-specific factors "s"
C) Experience would affect both "g" and "s"
D) Experience would affect crystallized intelligence.
B) Experience would affect the ability-specific factors "s"
IQ tests probably reflect
A) "g" in a pure manner
B) aside from "g" also "non- intellectual" factors
C) brain size
D) nothing of much interest.
B) aside from "g" also "non- intellectual" factors
If a test is reliable it means that
A) it measures whatever it measures with high precision
B) it cannot be easily faked
C) it measures whatever it says it measures
D) most get above-average scores.
A) it measures whatever it measures with high precision
If a test is valid it means that
A) it measures whatever it measures with high precision
B) it cannot be easily faked
C) it measures whatever it says it measures
D) most get above-average scores.
C) it measures whatever it says it measures
All in all, intelligence tests ... A) are moderately reliable and have high validity
B) are moderately reliable and have moderate validity
C) are highly reliable and have moderate validity
D) are highly reliable and have high validity
C) are highly reliable and have moderate validity
Take two societies A and B. A puts a high emphasis on social equality so that social status is not a major factor
determining access to high-quality education. In B, social status is critical in determining access to education.
Everything else equal, in which of the two will the influence of genes on IQ be larger?
A) Society A
B) Society B
C) Both the same
D) Not enough information given to decide
A) society A
What is heritability?
A) The percentage of genes an individual inherits from each parent.
B) The proportion of variability in a given characteristic within a given population that can be attributed to genetic variation.
C) The proportion of characteristics in a given individual that can attributed to genetic as opposed to environmental influences.
D) A concept of no scientific relevance hat has been completely discredited.
B) The proportion of variability in a given characteristic within a given population that can be attributed to genetic variation.
There is ______ evidence that variability in genes is an important factor behind IQ variability between individuals. There is _____ evidence that variability in genes is an important factor behind IQ variability between groups of people.
A) strong, strong
B) weak, strong
C) weak, no
D) strong, no
D) strong, no
Start Lecture 1:
Empiricism/Associationism view (ie John Locke)
"New born's mind is a blank slate" -"No man's knowledge can go beyond his experience."
Problems with Introspection
1. Introspective reports are private. “Misperceptions” can be never detected, disagreements cannot be resolved.
2. Sole focus on conscious “products” and not on the unconscious processes that have led to them.
Behaviorism
=Antiintrospection + Associationism i.e. BF Skinner
Mentalism/Nativism
Immanuel Kant "Our mind is not a blank slate." -has pre-existing structures
Which statements are closer to a empiricist/structuralist/ associationist tradition? Which statements are closer to a mentalist/nativist tradition?
Our visual system first analyzes different dimensions (colors, shapes, textures, spatial layout) independently and only in later stages the information is combined.
Boys are born with a preference for toy cars, girls with a preference for dolls.
All learning can be explained by the mind’s ability to link a behavioral response to an environmental stimulus.
All languages of the world follow a set of common,
universal rules.
Empiricist or mentalist?
1. Empiricist
2. Mentalist
3. Empiricist
4. Mentalist
A common characteristic of structuralism/empiricism and behaviorism is:
a. that proponents of both traditions believed in inborn mental structures.
b. that proponents of both traditions endorsed introspectionism as a scientific method.
c. that in both approaches mental life is explained in terms of elementary components and associations between them.
d. There is no common characteristic.
c. that in both approaches mental life is explained in terms of elementary components and associations between them.
Functionalism
Mental functions and behavior patterns shaped by evolution must have some survival value.
Which of the following would contemporary psychologists be most likely to choose as the main limitation of introspection as a data- collection technique?
a. It’s data are not available to anyone but the individual producing the data.
b. It requires enormous skill and only few people master it.
c. It’s data pertain to mental constructs and not to behavior.
d. It is a very tedious way of obtaining data.
a. It’s data are not available to anyone but the individual producing the data.
Dualism as Religious Doctrine
The idea that the world is composed of 2 distinct categories of substance: mental substance (the soul, which cannot be studied scientifically) and physical substance (the body, which can be studied scientifically)
Peripheral Nervous System:
connects CNS to sensory organs via sensory neurons and to muscles and glands via motor neurons
Midbrain
Helps to govern basic movement patterns like walking, running, chewing, swallowing
Medulla and Pons
regulate vital reflexes like heart rate and breathing and complex reflexes like postural reflexes that help to maintain balance
cerebellum
fine coordination of movement parameters
basal ganglia
initiation and change of internal plans ex: parkinsons disease
Four lobes of the brain and their functions
parietal lobe-important for sense of touch and spatial layout of environment

temporal lobe-processing of auditory info. and memory

occipital lobe- vision

frontal lobe-concerned with planning and movement
left brain and right brain functions
left-language, sequential processing

right-visual-spatial processing
hierarchal control of movement and action in the brain
Prefrontal Cortex: Action plans

Supplementary motor cortex: Execution of action plans with help of basal ganglia (switching between subplans) and cerebellum (timing)

Motor cortex and upper brain
stem: Refinement of individual movement components

Midbrain: Regulation of spinal cord pattern generators

Spinal Cord: reflexes and pattern generators for repetitive movements (e.g., walking)
two types of learning and define them
classic conditioning-learning to adapt behavior to signals, associates existing behavioral patterns to so far neutral stimuli

operant learning-learning how to operate on the environment
biological preparedness
organisms are genetically prepared to fear certain objects more than others
dopamine
pleasure, reward, emotion, addiction, motivation
habituation
decreased response due to increase in exposure
leptin
hormone produced by fat cells proportionally to the amount of fat in the cells, high fat leads to leptin increase which leads to less hunger
sensation vs. perception
sensation: experience associated with a simple stimulus

perception: organization and interpretation of sensory info
3 stages of visual processing
modification, transduction, perceptual representation
temporal summation
Action potentials that follow each other within a certain time window will be integrated.
rods vs cones
rods=more light sensitive (higher neural convergence), responsible for night vision, less spatial resolution

cones-
Cerebral Achromatopsia
cannot discriminate colors, damage to the posterior temporal lobe
Visual Agnosia
damage to inferior temporal lobe, unable to identify objects by shape
the awake mind
produces more forgetting, more consistent with interference than decay
misinformation effect
A "drift" of the retrieved information in direction of the incorrect suggestion, basically a retroactive interference situation
fluid intelligence
The ability to perceive relations independently of experience (like Spearman’s g).
crystallized intelligence
products of life long learning
test reliability
How precise is the IQ score? Correlation between different testings of the same group is around .9
test validity
To what degree does IQ predict intellectual behavior in the real world?
There is a very tight empirical linkage between g, tasks working-memory, and prefrontal cortex. Some researchers claim: g = working-memory capacity = size and efficiency of prefrontal cortex
just to know.
Proactive Interference
old memory intrudes onto new memory ex: call new bf old boyfriends name
Retroactive Interference
new memory intrudes onto old memory ex: call old bf new bf's name
“positive manifold”
All intercorrelations are positive. This may indicate that there is one common factor underlying ability in all tests in varying degrees. Spearman also developed a statistical method (factor analysis) that allows do extract the factors underlying such a pattern of correlations
Spearman's Theory
The common factor that underlies all abilities is supposed to be “general intelligence”. Note, that this type of general intelligence can never be assessed directly. It is a statistical derivation. However, Spearman also believed that g reflects some yet to be detected basic, biological parameter.
stereotype threat
To the degree to which testing evokes stereotypes regarding test performance these stereotypes will actually affect performance
correlation between working memory tasks and fluid intelligence?
yes, high correlation
variability
between people in a group is expressed in terms of a “variance” score (the degree to which individuals within a group deviate from the average)
how to predict level of performance?
Only accumulated life- time, deliberate practicing alone predicts level of performance
(10 000 hour rule, 3 hours/day). Playing for fun, or with others gains nothing!
Underlying factors behind fluid intelligence?
Frontal-lobe based working memory capacity is certainly one, but probably not the only one.
what do twin studies determine?
to what degree a trait is genetically or environmentally determined