General Psychology Study Guide - Fourth Exam
Chapter 10 – Intelligence(pgs. 392-428; also, 315-322)
1)How is intelligence defined in the text? How is intelligence operationally defined? (class notes)
2)What practical problem motivated Alfred Binet to develop the forerunner of today’s intelligence tests? What did Binet mean by the term mental age?
3)IQ stands for intelligence quotient. What is the literal meaning of this term with respect to mental age and chronological age? How are individual IQ scores derived on IQ tests today?
4)Be familiar with the two most widely used individually administered IQ tests: the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. Which of these is organized into separate verbal and performance subscales? What sorts of tasks are included in each of these subscales? What is a disadvantage of both the Wechsler and Binet tests? (Hint: they are both individually administered, and aren’t practical for quick use with groups).
5)Understand the meanings of the terms standardization, reliability (split-half and test-retest), and validity(content andcriterion) as they apply to tests, and how they are assessed.
a)Can a test have high reliability and low validity? Can a test have high validity and low reliability?
b)What is the approximate reliability of current IQ tests for people of different ages?
c)How well do IQ tests predict school performance at different ages, and how well do they predict success in the workplace?
6)Understand the arguments both for and against the proposition that IQ tests reflect cultural bias.
7)Compare and contrast the perspectives of Spearman and Thurstone with respect to the structure of mental abilities. What is the purpose of the technique known as factor analysis? What is the “G” factor, and what are “s” factors?
8)Which of these perspectives lends itself to the view that intelligence can be represented as a single score, and why is that?
9)What physiological indicators have been found to correlate with intelligence, if any?
10)Be able to describe Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, and be able to recognize and provide examples of each of the seven types. What evidence does Gardner point to in support of the notion of multiple intelligences?
11)What is the argument advanced in the best-selling book “The Bell curve”, and what are some criticisms of that thesis?
12)Understand how the fact that intelligence runs in families can be interpreted from both an environmental and a hereditarian point of view.Be familiar with data that show the influence of genes on intelligence as well as data that show the influence of the environment (see Fig. 10.9). What is the best estimate of the heritability of intelligence, according to the textbook?
13)Understand why environments and genetic influence are not independent of one another (see fig. 10.10). How does the concept of family configuration relate to intelligence? Be familiar with research on the effects of intellectual enrichment programs such as Head Start.
14)Be familiar with the current differences in IQ scores obtained from populations of White, Black, and Asian American children. What cultural factors might account for these differences?
15)Understand why it is that the role of genes in determining intelligence (or any other trait) can vary from one population to another. For example, would genes be likely to play a greater role in accounting for IQ scores in a population where everyone is affluent and well educated, or in a population where there is a wide range in economic and social opportunities? (class notes)
16)Understand how behavioral geneticists use twin studies and adoption studies to estimate heritability. What is the estimated heritability of height? What is the approximate average estimate for heritability for most personality traits, as estimated by the “Minnesota Twin Studies”? (pg. 315-316)
17)Distinguish between the “shared” and the “nonshared” environment of siblings. Which of these components appears to have a greater impact on personality? According to Harris and other researchers, what aspect of the “nonshared environment” appears to have the greatest impact on children’s development? (pg. 319-321)
18)Be familiar with both the biological factors and the social/cultural factors that might contribute to gender differences in math and spatial relations?
19)Be familiar with Lewis Terman’s longitudinal study of genius, described on pg. 423.
20)What are the diagnostic criteria for mental retardation, and approximately what percentage of the population would qualify for that diagnosis?
21)Be familiar with research suggesting that IQ scores can create expectancies that become self-fulfilling prophecies. Understand how the concept of stereotype threat may contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Chapter 9- Childhood Development (pgs. 352-358)
- Be familiar with Jean Piaget's perspective on cognitive development in childhood. Understand the importance of schemas in cognitive development, and how they develop through the complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation. How does Piaget define intelligence?
- Be able to characterize each of the four Piagetian stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational), and the approximate ages associated with each stage. You may be asked to list these stages in their correct order.
- Be able to define and recognize examples of the following Piagetian terms and concepts: object permanence, egocentrism, and conservation. Why is the attainment of object permanence regarded as an important milestone in Piagetian theory?
- What are some of the major criticisms of Piaget’s theory?
Chapter 15– Personality (pgs. 581-616)
1)What was the principle finding of the study described on pgs. 579-580.
2)Understand the basic structure of personality according to Freud.
a)Distinguish between the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious in Freudian theory. Which of these levels is the most significant in determining personality?
b)What are the basic functions of the id, the ego, and the superego, and how do these three aspects of the psyche interact?
c)Understand what it means to say that the ego operates according to the reality principle and the id operates according to the pleasure principle.
d)What are the two components of the superego?
3)Be able to list the five stages of psychosexual development in their correct order, and the prominent conflicts associated with each stage.
a)Understand what is meant by the term fixation, and be able to identify personality traits associated with fixation at each of the psychosexual stages.
b)What do the terms Oedipus complexandidentificationrefer to?
c)Understand the reasons why the ego resorts to the use of defense mechanisms.
4)Be able to recognize examples of each of the following defense mechanisms (listed in Table 12.1): repression, denial, regression, rationalization, displacement, projection, reactionformation, and sublimation.
5)What do the theorists collectively known as neo-Freudians have in common with each other?
a)Be able to identify Carl Jung, and understand what he meant by the term collective unconscious.
b)Understand the role of the inferiority complex in AlfredAdler’s perspective on personality.
c)According to Karen Horney, what is the fundamental psychological need common to all human beings?
6)What is the core assumption underlying projective test, and what are two examples of such tests discussed in the text?
7)What are the three principle criticisms of the psychoanalytic perspective described in the text?
8)How do strict behaviorists such as B.F. Skinner conceive of personality?
9)Contrast the strict behavioral approach to personality exemplified by Skinner and the more cognitively oriented social-learning approach of Bandura, Rotter, and Mischel.
a)What are the five “person variables” that Mischel suggests determine how we interact with our environment?
b)Define locus of control and explain how this variable influences behavior. Under what circumstances is an internal locus of control not adaptive?
c)How does the concept of self-efficacy differ from locus of control?
d)What is meant by the term reciprocal determinism?
10)What is the distinctive focus of the humanistic approach to personality?
a)Describe Roger’s theory of personality. What are the two basic needs of all individuals?
b)Distinguish between unconditional positive regard and conditionalpositive regard.
c)According toself-discrepancy theory, what determines self-esteem?
d)What did AbrahamMaslow mean by the term self-actualization?
e)What are the basic criticisms of the humanistic-existential approach?
11)What are personality traits? Understand how factor analysis is used to identify which traits are the most fundamental.
12)Be familiar with the so-called Big Five personality traits, and be able to recognize examples of behaviors associated with each.
13)How are personality traits usually measured?
14)Be familiar with the most widely used multitrait inventory, the MMPI, and the method by which it was constructed.
15)What are two conclusions from twin studies of personality traits (pg. 609)? The textbook suggests that approximately what percentage of the variation in personality traits is attributable to variations in people’s genes?
16)Be familiar with research pertaining to the biological basis for introversion and extroversion, and the relationship between these traits and other personality traits.
17)What were Mischel’s two principle criticisms of trait theory, as described on pg. 614? Be familiar with research addressing the stability of personality over time.