Comprehensive Photo Album Part 2

David Monti

Chapter 7B

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

A schedule that reinforces a behavior after a determined number of responses have occurred. For example, I will reinforce (or fill) my gas tank in my car after a fixed ratio of 265 miles have passed.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

Variable ratio schedule is a reinforcement schedule that reinforces behavior after an unpredictable amount of responses. For example, it is unknown how many responses (or shots) I will have to take at a basketball hoop before one goes in.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that reinforces behavior after a certain amount of time has elapsed. For example, if it is 6:01 pm and Seinfeld comes on at 6:30

pm the reinforcement will occur in the fixed interval of 28 minutes.

Variable-Interval Schedule

A variable interval reinforcement is one that occurs after an unknown or unpredictable period of time. For example, it is unknown how much time will pass until I receive my next Facebook notification, thus it is a variable interval.

Chapter 8

Recall

Recall is the ability to remember information in verbatim and recite that information in an answer or recollection. An example of recall would be a free response question on a math test where a student is asked to recall the proper functions and variables to manipulate and produce the correct answer.

Recognition

Recognition is the ability to remember information by spotting it in a crowd of incorrect information. A multiple choice question is an example of recognition because a student can recognize the correct answer hidden among the incorrect ones. For this reason, recognition is also easier than recall because what someone can recognize they might not be able to recite.

Iconic Memory

Iconic memory is a few-second mental image of what something looks like or is. For example, upon viewing this scene and looking away quickly, one can have a short (or iconic) memory of the details of the scene. However, after a few minutes, this person might forget how many candles there were or what the color of the wall is. This is what iconic memory represents; a mental snapshot.

Chunking

Chunking is a memorization technique that separates information into homogeneous groups for memorization of those groups, making learning that information easier. A great example of this is a chapter in a textbook, which has a collection of similar information “chunked” into one specific section in the book which makes learning it easier.

Chapter 10A

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis is the manner by which homogeneous sections on a test are analyzed and scored in these associative sections. For example, the reading and writing portions of an exam might be scored together as a factor because they involve similar mental skills. So basically, factor analysis is just the scoring of a test through similar groupings of material.

Savant Syndrome

Savant Syndrome occurs in people who are considered mentally limited in other capacities but have one particular skillset which they excel at. An example of this would be a specific program such as Microsoft word. This program is considered to be “limited” in many areas such as mathematical computations, but it excels in that one particular area, which is word processing and writing.

Stanford-Binet

Stanford-Binet was an intelligence test that evaluated a subject’s mental age and then used that to calculate their IQ. This test was based more heavily on academic subjects, which is why a calculator and pencil are pictured above. It was not as skilled at measuring common sense intelligence, so it was meant more for young students.

WAIS

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is the most popular intelligence today. It involves multiple tests that evaluate overall mental capacity, not just in the academic subject areas. An example would be an objective test of block stacking, as pictured above, that asks a subject to match the design of a card with the physical blocks. This test is much more effective than Stanford-Binet at measuring overall intelligence.

Chapter 10B

Standardization

Standardization is used to extract meaning of a person’s test scores because that score is compared with the average of a very large test group, which has been “standardized.” For example, the AP tests are scored from 1 to 5 based on the average results of the standardized test group.

Reliability

Reliability is how consistent a test is at producing similar results among the tested group. The test needs to work almost like a refrigerator, different food (or test-takers) might be exposed to it, but the refrigerator must be a reliable and consistently cold temperature, just like how a test must be of consistent difficulty.

Validity

Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. An example of this would be drugs used to alleviate symptoms of disease. Just like the drug claims to reduce the symptoms, the test also claims to measure a certain skill or ability. The test is only valid if it in fact does measure this.

Predictive Validity

Predictive validity is the extent to which a test can predict future success. For example, a student who does well on a predictively valid test is therefore expected to excel at the skills it measures in their future career. It almost works like a weather reporter, which tells us the temperature and the conditions of the future. If the weather does in fact match up with the predictions, then it is predictively valid.

Chapter 11

Drive-Reduction Theory

Drive-reduction theory of motivation states that people are motivated to do things though an innate drive or instinct for survival. For example, the drive of hunger would motivate me to reduce it by eating a pear.

Optimum Arousal Theory

The optimal arousal theory of motivation states that people do things to feel a high level of stimulation. So, a person who is considered a “dare devil” would have a high optimal arousal, and would be motivated to watch intense movies like The Hurt Locker to reach this arousal.

Incentive

An incentive is a consequence or result that motivates a person to do something. An example of an incentive would be knowing that if one studies hard, he/she will be able to attend a great college. This fact acts as an incentive for someone to be academically diligent.

Homeostasis

Homeostasis describes our bodies’ tendency to maintain a state of biological equilibrium. Similarly, the battery life of a computer represents homeostasis because we maintain a balance of battery life by charging it or letting the battery run low as we move the computer around.

Chapter 12A

James-Lange TOE

The James-Lange Theory of Emotion states that people respond to a stimulus with a physiological response, and that response then triggers an emotional feeling such as fear. This is somewhat analogous with a car key, which is the stimulus that triggers a response from the car when it is turned in the keyhole, which then causes the cars response (emotion).

Schachter’s two-factor TOE

The Schachter two-factor Theory of Emotion states that upon seeing a stimulus, there is a physiological response that then needs to be cognitively interpreted as an emotion. For example, seeing my dog almost get hit by a car causes my heart to pound and adrenal glands to arouse my sympathetic nervous system. This feeling then needs to be cognitively labeled by me as fear given that the situation at hand is a fearful one.

Facial Feedback

Facial feedback is the theory that our facial expressions can actually cause us to feel a certain way about a situation. For example, if I maintain an annoyed and frustrated expression, I will continue to be in a bad mood. But if I were to smile, I might actually begin to feel better.

Paul Ekman

Paul Ekman came up with the idea of a Duchenne smile, or genuine smile. So, the photo on the left would be my posed or feigned smile, while the one on the right is one of genuine happiness.

Chapter 12B

Adaptation-Level Phenomenon

Adaptation-level phenomenon is the idea that people tend to judge their current environments based on their prior knowledge or judgments. For example, if I were to play my music at the highest volume possible, I would probably want to lower it before hearing a single note because from prior judgment and experience, I know which volume is a safe loudness.

Relative Deprivation

Relative deprivation states that a person will feel incompetent or inadequate in comparison with those around them. For example, if I receive a 91 on a math test, I might feel good initially. However, if I look around and see that all of my friends got 100s, relative deprivation would cause me to feel unintelligent.

General Adaptation Syndrome

General Adaptation Syndrome is Selye’s theory of how people adapt or reach to high-stress situations. An example of a high stress situation would be the recent attacks at the Boston Marathon. Although I took this picture the day after, that day people must have gone through the initial shock of the event, the resistance of coping with that stress, and overwhelming exhaustion at the end.

Type A Personality

A person with a Type A personality is one who is aggressive, opportunistic, and doesn’t go with the flow. My mother is an example of a person with a Type A personality. She even broke her arm playing tennis and continues to play!

Chapter 13

Id

According to Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind, the Id is the force inside our heads that drives us to do absurd things and do whatever we want whenever we want. An example of an Id driven behavior would be to eat all of the ice cream bars in the box because I am hungry.

Ego

The Ego is the part of the unconscious mind that compromises between the Id and the Superego. Following along with the ice cream example, the Ego would be the part of my mind that decides that there is a happy medium between eating a lot of ice cream and not eating anything and going to the gym. This happy medium might be an apple.

Superego

The superego is the part of the unconscious mind that completely opposes the Id to the point of extremes. Following along with the ice cream example, the superego would be the part of my head that says ice cream is a horrible idea, and I should instead eat nothing and go to the gym for 5 hours.

TAT

Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT) are a form of projective test that explores the unconscious mind by having a subject apply a story or narrative to a scene held before them. For example if this picture was shown during a TAT test, a subject could apply a story such as a father comforting a son after the loss of his mother. This story would hold value in the unconscious mind of the subject.