created intelligence testing

said hallmarks of intelligence are reasoning and judgement

measured by a comparison between mental and chronological age

intelligence quotient

child's intelligence level relative to his/her age

IQ= 100 x (mental age/chronological age)

Large increases in IQ across generations

possible because:

- better nutrition

-  educational system

           - more testing experience

scholastic performance

occupational attainment (but NOT occupational performance)

"practical intelligence", or knowing how to do specific tasks

one-factor theories of intelligence

(and person)

-  people who do well one test tend to do well on others, intelligence is global factor

-  every test measures 'g' --> general intellectual ability

-  's' some specific abilities

- Charles Spearman

places g at top of hierarchy

next level: verbal, quantitative, and spacial ability

thought there was no 'g' or general intellectual ability

proposed 8 intelligences

Howard Gardner

-  linguistic

-logico/mathematical

-musical

-spatial

-bodily-kinesthetic

-naturalist

-interpersonal

-intrapersonal

mental efficiency (ex. spatial rotation task)

ability to deal with new problems

rises until young adulthood, then decreases

fact oriented (ex. vocab test)

acquired knowledge

rises well into middle age, then levels off

combination of fluid and crystallized intelligence

rises into middle age then decreases

genetic contribution to intelligence in families with high socioeconomic status

little genetic contribution in low SES families

identical and fraternal twins show same IQ correlation

environment may not allow genetic potential to emerge because of inadequate schooling, health care, nutrition

2 tests -- 

army alpha test - literate people

army beta test - illiterate people

problems - comparisons with peers

understanding of intelligence needs to be taken into account in cultural context

people in different cultures have different abilities and understandings of test-taking situations

testing experience

stereotype threat -- (performance changes if reminded about a stereotype of one's group)

stereotypes effect positively and negatively

people with high emotional intelligence:

have fewer conflicts with their peers

and are more tolerant of stress

Conclusions about IQ tests

(reasons to use)

(reasons to be cautious)

reasons to use

-  predict academic success

-  comparisons among children

reasons to be cautious

-  possible biases

-  limited view of intelligence

development of new skills

acquisition of new knowledge

learning involves formation of simple associations

complex learning - many associations layered upon each other

the tendency for stimuli similar to those used during learning to elicit a reaction similar to the learned response.

because of this, the cr can be elicited by stimuli that are similar to the cs

the cr is not identical to the ur

cr prepares us for the us

sometimes the preparation takes the form of a compensatory response, ex. drug addiction and drug tolerance

instrumental conditioning

law of effect

-  performance is strengthened if it's followed by a reward and weakened if it's not

voluntary responses, strengthened by reinforcement

b.f. skinner and the skinner box

-       a stimulus delivered after a response that makes the response more likely to reoccur in the future (serves to strengthen the behavior)

-       the magnitude of a reinforcer depends on several factors, including the magnitude of other reinforcers that might be available

-       come from the satisfaction of doing the behavior

-       the response is reinforced only some of the time

o   schedule of reinforcement

-  in ratio schedules

- in interval schedules

Discriminative Stimulus

-       a positive discriminative stimulus is labeled S+ and a negative is labeled S-

-       tells the animal what type of reward will be given

-       CS+ - positive condition stimulus

-       the process of eliciting a desired response by rewarding behaviors that are increasingly similar to that response

occurs without any apparent change in behavior

learning without intentionally learning it, learning from living

Learned Helplessness

-       an acquired sense that one has lost control over one’s environment --> leads to giving up and feeling helpless

-       look at dogs example page 289

Observational Learning

-       many animals can learn simply by watching how others behave

o   vicarious conditioning (strengthening or weakening of an operant response due to observing whether a model is reinforced or punished, respectively, for producing that response. It is a type of observational learning.)

o   imitation

taste aversion learning

o   an example of one-trial learning

o   beneficial for survival

Species-Specific Learning

-       certain forms of learning are particular to one species

o   in humans, specialized forms of learning include:

-  language

-  ability to learn by observing others

Neural Basis of Learning

-       involve diverse mechanisms, such as:

-  increase in neurotransmitters released

-  the increased sensitivity of post-synaptic receptors

-   this is called long-term potentiation (LTP)

acquisition - gathering info and placing into memory

storage - holding info for later use

retrieval - draw info from storage and use it

memory proceeds through these steps in this specific order

intentional learning - memorizing something deliberately to be used later

incidental learning - not aware that learning is actually taking place

in both cases, person must pay attention to material

holds onto input briefly in sensory form

duration of sensory memory varies for different senses, but not very long at all

ionic (seeing)

echoic (hearing)

hepatic (touch)

 (short-term) holding info while you process/interpret it

serves 2 major purposes:

maintaining info for short period of time

manipulate info so it can be utilized

has limited capacity

declines quickly with time

primary effect - more likely to recall info presented early in list

requires retrieval from long term memory

but longer time to attend to those items

stronger

more likely to recall info presented recently on list

retrieved directly from working memory

can be encoded w/o retrieving it from long memory

we retain info better when we rehearse over a longer period of time

better then memorizing over short period

help a person form memory connections

use vivid imagery and devices in aiding memory

active imagery better than passive imagery

memory trace - physical record that preserves a memory

long term memory depends on memory consolidation

new connections formed among neurons

takes several hours

Retrieval-

recognition

recall

recognition - identify an item amongst choices

recall - retrieve info with no clues

retrieval cal fail - partially - top-of-the-tounge effect

consciously recalled

processed mostly by hippocampus

not consciously recalled but can be indirectly tested

processed mostly by cerebellum

episodic - concern specific episodes

semantic - concern broader knowledge

type of episodic memory

vivid and detailed

last a long time

result of emotionally important events

inability to retrieve info due to poor acquisition, storage, or retrieval

forgetting can occur at any memory stage

poor durability of stored memories lead to their decay

ebbinghaus showed this with this forgetting curve

learning new info can disrupt retrieval of other info

misinformation effect: info learned after an event gets encoded as part of the event

sleep prevents interference and leads to better recall

cannot form new memories after the injury

can learn something new but won't remember doing it

difficult to pay attention

we want to identify perpetrator

stressful and traumatic events can make memories more difficult

false memories

(+ who studied creation of false memories)

people are suggestible

memory can be easily influenced

Elizabeth Loftus

expression thought

conveying info

expressing and solidifying social/cultural bonding

functions can be conscious or implicit

air flow from lungs passes through larynx through mouth and nasal cavities

vowels created by lips and tongue

consonants created by temporarily restricting air flow through vocal tract

sound categories that matter in language

smallest significant unit of sound

combined to for syllables

approx 40 in english

smallest language units that carry meaning

words are made by combining morphemes

2 types of morphemes - context and function

carry main burden of meaning

ex. man, tree, bake

add details to meaning, ex. plural tense

serve various grammatical purposes

suffixes, ex. 'er', 's', 'ed'

connecting words - 'and', 'which'

(skinner)

environmental influences

reinforcement and imitation

(chomsky)

LAD: language acquisition device

universal grammar

the meaning of words

define word's meaning and its representation in our mind

ex. concept of apple is constructed by putting together red, round, sweet, etc

to understand what we're hearing, we integrate the sentence with what we see in the world

influence helps us interpret full meanings

speech motor area

(left hemisphere)

auditory cortex

(left hemisphere)

0-2 months - reflexive verbilizations

(burps hiccups crying)

2 months - cooing

4-12 - babbling

12-14 - one word at a time

word combinations: the 2-word stage

(telegraphic speech)

1.2-2.5 years

begin combining words

called telegraphic speech

content words remain but function works left out

gradual increase in length of sentences

function words added

ex. ball red --> the ball is red

overregularization

run --> runned

characteristics of motherese (infant-directed speech)

(6)

higher pitch

increased pitch range

smooth and expanded pitch contours

shorter sentences

clear pronunciation

distinct pauses between speech segments

sources of motivation

(4)

biological 

cognitive

social

emotional

arises from genetically endowed set of instincts

humans all share instincts

when organism is cold:

when overheated:

sympathetic branch is activated

increased heart rate, blood vessels contract, shivering

parasympathetic branch is activated

blood vessels dilating, sweating and panting occur

genetics

obesity in some people may represent 'thrifty genes'

not necessarily a defecit

-       our response to threat is controlled by the autonomic nervous system

o   our body becomes ‘activated’

o   increased heart rate and respiration

-       referred to as ‘fight or flight’ response  but we really have many more patterns of responses

-       males more likely to engage in physical aggression

o   pushing hitting acting out

-       but females more likely to engage in relational (or social) aggression

o   aim to hurt others through non-physical means

-       personality related to aggression

o   high sensation-seeking (seek out new and different things) tend to be higher on risk-taking

social/cultural exposure matters as well

strong correlation between viewing media violence and engaging in violent acts

good example of observational learning