Theory of Mind and the Sally Anne Test Daniel Storage 2019-12-24 | In this video, we continue our discussion of developmental psychology (that is, child psychology) by learning about theory of mind. We also discuss false belief tasks, the way we test theory of mind abilities in children, and a famous false belief task in particular known as the Sally-Anne Test. Theory of Mind: The ability to reason about what other people know or believe; the understanding that others have different thoughts or preferences. Sally-Anne Test: A traditional false belief task designed to test whether children understand that other people can have different—and even inaccurate—knowledge states than themselves.
Cognitive Interventions to Reduce Prejudice Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In our last video, we discussed behavioral interventions for reducing prejudice. Now let’s discuss cognitive ones. Cognitive interventions—that is, interventions that involve a change in thinking or thought exercise—are often considered to be preferable because they require less social engineering and planning than interventions based on cooperative intergroup contact. Cognitive Interventions: Interventions aimed at reducing prejudice that involve a change in thinking or thought exercise. Stereotype Inhibition: Deliberately monitoring and suppressing the expression of one’s automatic prejudices.System 1 Thinking: Automatic thoughts, which are informed by our preexisting beliefs and biases. System 2 Thinking: Effortful thinking that examines and questions our automatic thoughts and biases. Stereotype Substitution: Replacing negative beliefs about a social group with more positive associations.
Behavioral Interventions to Redjuce Prejudice Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | Now that we’ve discussed what individuals can do to cope with stigma, let’s shift our attention more globally to the ways in which we can reduce prejudice in our society. In this video, we’ll discuss behavioral interventions that can be used to reduce prejudice, and in our next we’ll discuss cognitive ones. Contact Hypothesis: Contact with socially-different others should break down stereotypes and prejudicial feelings of uncertainty, fear, or judgment; the focus of Intergroup Contact Theory. Typicality: Being seen as a “typical” or representative member of a group. Indirect Intergroup Contact: Virtual contact with a member of a different group via observation. Imagined Intergroup Contact: Virtual contact with a member of a different group via imagination or remembering. Intergroup Contact Theory: Proposes that intergroup contact is effective (e.g., at reducing prejudice) because it lessens our reliance on social categories and stereotypes.
Strategies for Coping With Social Stigma Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | Thus far, we’ve focused almost exclusively on the perspective of the biased person—that is, on the person who has stereotyped, is being prejudiced, or discriminates. Now, however, we’ll consider the perspective and the experience of the person who is experiencing prejudice, and we’ll think about ways to cope while experiencing prejudice. Social Stigma: The experience of being socially discredited or being perceived as flawed by a trait or characteristic.Stigma Management: Strategies (at the individual-level) for coping with stigma.Withdrawal: The tendency to avoid people who treat a stigmatized person stereotypically; a strategy for managing stigma by gaining social acceptance. Passing: Methods and strategies for concealing one’s stigmatizing attribute or condition from others; a strategy for managing stigma by gaining social acceptance.Visibility: Refers to how visibly obvious (vs. concealable) an attribute, condition, or status is. Self-Promotion: Showing other people that you are multi-dimensional and competent in several areas; a strategy for managing stigma by gaining social acceptance.Compensation: Deliberately presenting to others behavior that contradicts the assumptions held about your abilities or character; a strategy for managing stigma by gaining social acceptance.Attributing Negative Outcomes to Prejudice: Discounting some failure or negative evaluation by recognizing the possibility that it may have been the result of prejudice; a strategy for managing stigma by protecting psychological well-being. Devaluing Negative Outcome Dimensions: Choosing to care less about the attribute, status, or condition that tends to be targeted by prejudice; a strategy for managing stigma by protecting psychological well-being.Self-Affirmation: Rebuilding self-worth when threatened by focusing on an important, positive aspect of one’s self-concept that has not been threatened; a strategy for managing stigma by protecting psychological well-being.Virtual Identity: Identities that other people see or assume of you. Actual Identity: Identities that you see in yourself or actually have. Mindfulness: A technique that shifts the focus to engaging and responding to, rather than disengaging and trying to escape from, people’s thoughts and reactions to stigma; a strategy for managing stigma by protecting psychological well-being.Self-Stigma: Internalizing others’ negative assumptions about oneself.
Ageism and the Paradox of Being Biased Against Your Future Self Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll focus on the stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination that older adults have to face, as well as how these can affect older adults in various contexts. We’ll discuss the paradox of being biased against your future self—since everyone ages—and why having a more optimistic outlook on getting old can benefit everyone. Ageism: Negative attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and behavior toward people based on their (typically, old) age.Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Phenomenon in which the awareness of some expectation causes a person to behave in ways that confirm that expectation (e.g., an elderly person acting feeble because this is what others expect).
Communicating With People With Disabilities Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In our last video, we discussed encounter anxiety, which is a form of anxiety that is associated with being unsure about how to navigate an encounter with a person with a disability (PWD), often due to a lack of experience with PWDs. Encounter anxiety can lead to poor communication with PWDs. For example, people often infantilize PWDs (e.g., college students in one study used more words and a higher voice pitch when giving directions to a person in a wheelchair compared to a person not in a wheelchair; Liesner & Mills, 1999). Patronizing PWDs is a form of ableism and should be avoided. In this video, then, we will briefly discuss a set of suggestions for how to navigate an encounter with a PWD.
Ableism (Attitudes, Anxiety, and Employment Discrimination) Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll discuss ableism—broadly defined as discrimination against people with disabilities—as well as the attitudes people have toward people with disabilities, the anxiety people feel when interacting with people with disabilities, and the employment discrimination that people with disabilities face. Ableism: Prejudice against or a disregard for the needs of people with disabilities that “is created by social, political, and environmental obstacles… that turn impairments into disabilities.” Aesthetic Anxiety: Anxiety about physical differences or differences of appearance. Existential Anxiety: Anxiety about losing one’s own physical abilities.Encounter Anxiety: Anxiety about how to navigate an encounter.
Lookism and Weightism in Relationships, School, Work, & Healthcare Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll discuss stereotypes and discrimination based on weight. We’ll define terms such as “lookism” and “weightism,” and we’ll specifically explore how weight-based discrimination affects people in multiple contexts (e.g., in relationships, in school, at work, and in the healthcare system). The “What Is Beautiful Is Good” Stereotype: Physically-attractive people are rated more favorably than physically-unattractive people, for example on dimensions related to social competence, intelligence, and overall, but not on dimensions related to morality and integrity. Lookism: The combination of positive stereotypes and preferential treatment given to physically-attractive people (and the opposite for physically-unattractive people). Anti-Fat Bias: Negative attitude toward, belief about, or behavior against people perceived as being overweight. Weightism: Discrimination against people because of their weight; the behavioral component of anti-fat bias. Weightism By Association: Discrimination against a person of normal weight who is associated with someone who is overweight or obese. Perceived Controllability: Assumptions about who is responsible for the attribute, status, or condition.
Stereotype Threat and Gender Discrimination in the Workplace Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll continue our discussion of the consequences of sexism by briefly reviewing how sexism affects women’s careers. We’ll also take a much deeper dive into stereotype threat—another consequence of gender stereotypes and sexism—than we have in the past.Gender Bias: A broad term reflecting biased perceptions based on gender (e.g., differences in explanations for why men and women succeed, differences in how men and women are evaluated). Stereotype Threat: The phenomenon whereby people of stereotyped groups perform more poorly on (and also experience more anxiety, have fewer cognitive resources, etc., while engaging in) tasks that are relevant to the stereotype. Cognitive Load: Having to balance many things in your mind at once (or, equivalently, having fewer cognitive resources).
Role Congruity Theory and the Consequences of Being Counterstereotypical Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | Now that we’ve learned quite a bit about gender stereotypes and the different forms of sexism, let’s transition to focusing on the impacts. For example, how might these gender stereotypes and forms of sexism affect hiring decisions? What happens when who you are doesn’t match people’s gender stereotypes and gender role attitudes? There are many different ways we could take this discussion, but in this video we’ll focus on Alice Eagly’s Role Congruity Theory and the consequences of being counterstereotypical, as well as how we can use these ideas to explain the discrimination-affect paradox that we learned about in a previous video. Role Congruity Theory: Proposes that people observe women and men in their social roles and, from these observations, draw conclusions about their characteristics.
Forms of Sexism (Old-fashioned, Modern, & Ambivalent Sexism) Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll discuss several different forms of sexism—for example, old-fashioned sexism, modern sexism, and ambivalent sexism—as well as the methods that psychological scientists use to measure them. Old-Fashioned Sexism (or OFS): A scale used to measure old-fashioned (more direct) forms of sexist ideologies (e.g., “Women are generally not as smart as men,” “It is more important to encourage boys than to encourage girls to participate in athletics”). Modern Sexism (or MS): A scale used to measure modern (more indirect) forms of sexist ideologies (e.g., “Discrimination against women is no longer a problem in the United States,” “On average, people in our society treat husbands and wives equally”).Ambivalent Sexism (or AS): Sexism that involves a mix of negative (i.e., “hostile”) and positive (i.e., “benevolent”) sexist ideologies; the Hostile Sexism Scale and the Benevolent Sexism Scale together make the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. Hostile Sexism (or HS): A set of attitudes that regards women as inferior to men, assigns women to traditional and subordinate roles, and considers women as sexual objects (e.g., “Women are too easily offended”). Benevolent Sexism (or BS): A set of paternalistic and positive attitudes toward women that regards women as refined objects to be protected and cared for (e.g., “Every man ought to have a woman whom he adores”). Patriarchy: A social system in which men have more power, status, and resources than women. Status Quo Maintenance: Keeping things the way they are.
If “Women are Wonderful,” Why is there Sexism? (Gender Subtypes) Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | In this video, we’ll discuss attitudes and feelings that people have about gender, the discrimination-affect paradox, and how the concept of gender subtypes can help explain that paradox. The “Women Are Wonderful” Effect: The global category “women” is rated more positively than the global category “men.”The Discrimination-Affect Paradox: People have a generally positive view of women, yet gender-based discrimination (sexism) is widespread. Gender Subtypes (or Subgroups): More specific social categories that make up the global category “women.”
The Origins and Content of Gender Stereotypes Daniel Storage 2021-07-22 | All cultures have established sets of beliefs about men and women, including the traits they should possess and the roles they should occupy (e.g., Becker & Sibley, 2016). Broadly speaking, we call these beliefs the culture’s gender belief system, which encompasses many different beliefs and attitudes about gender. In this brief video, we’ll begin to explore these beliefs and attitudes, along with the stereotypes that extend from them. Gender Belief System: A culture’s—or a person’s—beliefs and attitudes about gender, including the traits different genders should possess and the roles they should occupy. Gender Stereotypes: Beliefs, positive or negative, about the characteristics or traits different genders have or should have; part of a gender belief system. Gender Role Attitudes: Attitudes about the roles that men and women should occupy in society; part of a gender belief system.Beliefs About One’s Own Gender Roles: Attitudes and beliefs a person has about their own gender identity, including what role they should play in society as well as the various skills, abilities, preferences, and so on they believe extend from their gender; part of a gender belief system. Perceptions of Role Violators: How a person views, feels about, and—as a result—treats people who do not fit with their gender role attitudes; part of a gender belief system.Beliefs About Sexual Orientation: Beliefs a person has about their own or other people’s sexual preferences (e.g., whether it is okay for someone to have sexual preferences that differ from the norm); part of a gender belief system. Agentic Traits: Traits that involve action and/or self-sufficiency, such as “independent,” “strong,” “self-confident,” “competent,” “industrious,” and “intelligent;” stereotypically associated with men.Communal Traits: Traits that involve relating to others, such as “emotional,” “helpful,” “kind,” and “empathetic;” stereotypically associated with women.
Gender Stereotypes About Intelligence in Academia and Beyond Daniel Storage 2021-07-14 | In this video, I’ll tell you a little bit about my own research regarding gender stereotypes about intelligence and how those stereotypes affect the representation of women in higher education and beyond. This video might feel a bit different as I’ll be digging into the research itself in much more detail, but I hope that many of you will find it interesting. Implicit Association Test (or IAT): A computer-based task designed to test participants’ stereotypes and/or associations between categories (e.g., social groups).
Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality Daniel Storage 2021-07-13 | In this video, we’ll wrap up our discussion of racism—at least for now—and begin to transition to sexism. We’ll briefly discuss Critical Race Theory (CRT), an intellectual movement and orientation for understanding race as it exists in the context of society, and we’ll specifically highlight intersectionality as one of several central tenets of CRT that we’ll refer back to in future videos. Critical Race Theory (or CRT): A collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.Racism is Ordinary: Racism is not rare but rather exists in both explicit and implicit forms across many layers of society; a central tenet of CRT. Material Determinism: Racism benefits the people who are in power; a central tenet of CRT. Social Constructionism: The concept of race is socially constructed (i.e., invented by society); a central tenet of CRT. Differential Racialization: Race is not a static entity, and majorities, minorities, and labels can and do change over time; a central tenet of CRT. Unique Voice of Color: Including voices of people of color (e.g., in academia) is important to introduce new and different perspectives; a central tenet of CRT. Intersectionality: People are multifaceted and hold multiple identities simultaneously, and these multiple identities change the way people experience the world; a central tenet of CRT.
Is Racism Still a Problem in America Today? Daniel Storage 2021-07-12 | Is racism still a problem in America today? It might sound like a simple question with a simple answer, yet it is also a somewhat controversial one depending on who you ask. In this video, I will seek to answer this question definitively by summarizing data from an article published recently in Business Insider. Racist Behavior: A behavior that discriminates against a person based on their racial group membership.Racism: Discrimination that has become institutionalized in the policies and practices of an organization.
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) Daniel Storage 2021-07-09 | Not all stereotypes are created equal. In fact, psychological scientists have developed a model that describes the content of stereotypes toward different social groups. This model is known as the Stereotype Content Model, abbreviated “SCM,” and it proposes that the content of stereotypes varies along two dimensions: competence and warmth. Let’s explore those dimensions as well as some of the predictions that stem from the model. Stereotype Content Model (or SCM): A model that seeks to describe the content of stereotypes toward different social groups; proposes that stereotypes vary along two dimensions (competence and warmth). Competence (or C): Capability, assertiveness. Warmth (or W): Friendliness, trustworthiness. Envious Prejudice: Prejudice associated with envy and jealousy; typically directed toward HC-LW (high competence, low warmth) social groups.Paternalistic Prejudice: Prejudice associated with pity and sympathy; typically directed toward LC-HW (low competence, high warmth) social groups.Contemptuous Prejudice: Prejudice associated with anger and resentment; typically directed toward LC-LW (low competence, low warmth) social groups.
Colorism (Racism Within Race) Daniel Storage 2021-07-09 | As we’ve already learned, race labels typically reflect physical differences between groups of people. Racial stereotypes are based largely on skin color, and skin color varies within groups as well. Discrimination based on differences in skin color within groups is called colorism. In this video, we’ll define colorism and discuss a study that demonstrates what colorism looks like in the real world. Colorism: Discrimination against individuals with darker skin tones (vs. others in the same racial or ethnic group with lighter skin tones).
Implicit Stereotypes About Race Daniel Storage 2021-07-08 | As psychologists, how can we measure stereotypes? In this day and age, it can be difficult to do so by simply asking people explicitly. Most people downplay their biases because they realize those biases aren’t socially acceptable; we call this tendency “social desirability.” In this video, then, we’ll explore several examples of how psychological scientists have circumvented this problem by using implicit measures of bias. We’ll specifically discuss implicit stereotypes about race, but keep these methods in mind because we’ll use them again as we learn about other dimensions of diversity in future videos. Social Desirability: The tendency for people to conceal negative aspects of their beliefs or personality when asked, in part to preserve a positive self-image. Cultural Stereotype: The set of traits and characteristics that people associate with a particular social group.Personal Social Beliefs: Aspects of a cultural stereotype that people themselves believe.Implicit Association Test (or IAT): A computer-based task designed to test participants’ stereotypes and/or associations between categories (e.g., social groups).
The Importance of (Social) Labels Daniel Storage 2021-07-07 | As we start to transition from general discussions about the psychology of diversity to more specific discussions of racism, sexism, heterosexism, weightism, ableism, ageism, and more, I want to pause to acknowledge the importance of labels and, in particular, social labels. Many sub-disciplines within psychology have shown that labels—as well as words and framing more generally—play a large role in shaping how we think about something. We’ll discuss some of this research in this video, as well as the relevance for our study of the psychology of diversity. Race Labels: Labels that typically reflect differences in physical characteristics (e.g., bone structure, skin color, hair color).Ethnicity Labels: Labels that typically reflect differences in cultural identification (e.g., nationality, ancestry, dress, cuisine, language).Latinx: People who are from Latin America, excluding Spain; the “x” replaces the “o” or “a” to be more gender neutral and inclusive. Hispanic: People of Spanish-speaking descent, encompassing countries from Latin America and Spain, excluding Brazil; Spanish people are considered Hispanic but Brazilians are not since they speak Portuguese. Moniker: A name or label.
Effortless but Error-prone Thinking (Effects of Social Categorization) Daniel Storage 2021-07-07 | In our last video, we discussed several causes of social categorization broadly and of stereotypes specifically. Now let’s take a look at a few of their effects, both positive and negative. Cognitive Misers: A term used to describe how we, as humans, typically prefer to use as little effort as possible to complete a required cognitive task. Need For Cognition: A psychological scale used to describe individual differences in people’s preferences for and enjoyment in engaging in effortful thinking.Out-Group Homogeneity Effect: We tend to think of out-group members as highly similar to one another, but in-group members as unique. Ultimate Attribution Error: Assuming out-group behavior is caused by inner causes whereas in-group behavior is caused by circumstances; a specific case of the fundamental attribution error.Fundamental Attribution Error: Assuming that others’ behavior is caused by inner causes and underestimating the power of situational forces on others’ behavior; also known as correspondence bias.
Where Do Stereotypes Come From? (Causes of Social Categorization) Daniel Storage 2021-07-07 | Where do stereotypes come from? While I won’t attempt to fully answer this question in this short of a video, I’ll describe several cognitive, neurological, and social factors that underly our propensity to stereotype. In our next video, I’ll describe several of the effects that stereotyping has on how we think and how we perceive those around us, and in future videos we’ll explore in much more depth both the causes and effects of stereotyping using examples from many different social groups. Social Categorization: Thinking about people primarily as members of social groups rather than as individuals.Primary Social Categories: Social categories that are processed in the brain first (e.g., race, sex, and age). Secondary Social Categories: Social categories that are not processed in the brain first, often because they require additional information and/or are invisible (e.g., someone’s political affiliation). Visible Social Categories: Social categories that are typically visibly apparent when looking at someone (e.g., their race, sex, and age). Invisible Social Categories: Social categories that are typically not visibly apparent when looking at someone (e.g., their sexual orientation). Amygdala: The part of the brain that controls emotion-related responses, especially fear. Executive Control: Housed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, this refers to the ability to plan and behave in goal-directed ways (e.g., thinking before you speak); also commonly referred to as inhibitory control or executive functioning. Solo Status: Being the only member of a certain group in a given situation (e.g., being the only female in your philosophy class). Accessible Categories: Categories that we think about commonly and use often when describing people. In-group: A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.Out-group: A group that we don’t belong to and/or that we view as fundamentally different from us. Socialization: The process by which a person learns to adjust to society (or a group) and behave in ways that society (or that group) deems acceptable.
A Quick Primer on Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination Daniel Storage 2021-07-05 | In this video, we’ll very briefly define and differentiate between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, which are interrelated but are fundamentally different from one another. Understanding the differences between these terms will be important for future videos, so be sure to ask questions now if you have them! Stereotype: A belief, positive or negative, about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally to most members of the group; can lead to prejudice. Prejudice: Drawing negative conclusions about a person, group of people, or situation prior to evaluating the evidence; can lead to discrimination. Discrimination: Negative behavior toward members of out-groups. In-group: A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.Out-group: A group that we don’t belong to and/or that we view as fundamentally different from us. Intersectionality: The study of the relationships among multiple dimensions of social identities and relationships (e.g., investigating the experience of being a black female, rather than investigating the experience of being only black or being only female).
Perspectives on Diversity (Politics, Ideologies, Social Justice, & Psychology) Daniel Storage 2021-07-05 | This video marks the beginning of a series of videos focusing on the Psychology of Diversity. In this video specifically, we’ll explore several ways that we can think about diversity. That is, we’ll investigate several different perspectives on—or lenses through which we can look at—diversity. Diversity: The presence of difference; in psychology, the presence of social differences among people. Social Differences: Categorical differences between groups of people, organizations, or situations (e.g., “being Christian” vs. “being Jewish”). Individual Differences: Dimensional differences between people (e.g., how religious Tom is vs. how religious Sally is on a scale of 1 to 10). Compositional Diversity: The statistical representation of different groups of people within a given environment (e.g., a classroom, an office, the government). The Melting Pot: An ideological approach to diversity that accepts others’ differences as long as they are devoted to the majority groups’ values and goals. Multiculturalism: An ideological approach to diversity that promotes the recognition, appreciation, celebration, or preservation of social difference. Color-Blindness: An ideological approach to diversity that considers people strictly as individuals, ignoring or de-emphasizing racial or ethnic group membership. Social Equality: Ensuring that all social groups are offered the same (i.e., equal) opportunities; for example, giving everyone in America a stimulus check in the amount of $2,000. Social Equity: Ensuring that all social groups are offered the same (i.e., equitable) outcomes; for example, giving everyone in America a stimulus check that varies in size based on need. Psychology of Diversity: The psychological study of how thoughts, feelings, and behavior are intertwined with peoples’ social environments and identities. Social Perceiver: People are social perceivers in that they perceive and make assumptions about those around them. Social Actor: People are social actors in that they act on their environments, thereby influencing those around them.
What is Bystander Nonintervention? Daniel Storage 2021-04-28 | In this video, we’ll discuss what the bystander effect is, why it happens, and how we can combat it when it comes time to help someone in need.Bystander Effect (or Bystander Nonintervention): A phenomenon in which a witness or bystander does not volunteer to help a victim or person in distress and instead simply observes what is happening. The Helping Paradox: The more people around, the less likely it is that someone will help. Pluralistic Ignorance: The error of assuming that no one in a group perceives things as we do. Diffusion of Responsibility: A reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others.
Stereotypes vs. Prejudice vs. Discrimination Daniel Storage 2021-04-28 | In this video, we’ll differentiate between stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, and we’ll discuss several important social psychological concepts and hypotheses related to each, including what causes them to arise in the first place. Stereotype: A belief, positive or negative, about the characteristics of members of a group that is applied generally to most members of the group; can lead to prejudice. Prejudice: Drawing negative conclusions about a person, group of people, or situation prior to evaluating the evidence; can lead to discrimination. Discrimination: Negative behavior toward members of out-groups. In-group: A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.Out-group: A group that we don’t belong to and/or that we view as fundamentally different from us. Implicit Stereotypes and Prejudice: Stereotypes and prejudice that we are unaware of. Explicit Stereotypes and Prejudice: Stereotypes and prejudice that we are consciously aware of. Confirmation Bias: The tendency to seek out evidence that supports our beliefs and deny, dismiss, or distort evidence that contradicts them.Cognitive Misers: A term used to describe how, as humans, we seek to use only minimal cognitive resources when explaining the world around us. In-group Bias: The tendency to favor individuals within our group over those from outside our group.Ultimate Attribution Error: The assumption that behaviors among individual members of a group are due to their internal dispositions.Out-group Homogeneity: The tendency to view all individuals outside our group as highly similar. Scapegoating: The act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal.
Conformity vs. Obedience – Zimbardo and Milgram Daniel Storage 2021-04-28 | In this video, we’ll discuss conformity, compliance, and obedience, and we’ll specifically look at several classic—although ethically questionable—studies that revealed a great deal about these social processes. Conformity: The tendency for people to alter behavior in response to group pressures, even when disagreeing with the group. Confederate: A trained, undercover experimenter who pretends to be a regular participant (but actually isn’t). Compliance: Going along with a request or demand, even if you do not agree with it.Asch Effect: The influence of the group majority on an individual’s judgment.Deindividuation: The tendency for people to engage in uncharacteristic behavior when they are stripped of their usual identities. Obedience: The tendency for people to alter behavior to comply with a demand by an authority figure.
What is Social Psychology? Major Theories and Ideas Daniel Storage 2021-04-28 | In this video, we’ll kick off a series of videos all about social psychology. We’ll discuss what the study of social psychology involves, and we’ll learn about several major theories and ideas that stem from it. Social Psychology: The study of how people influence one another, and of the power of situational forces on behavior.Need-to-belong Theory: Posits that humans have a biologically-based need for interpersonal connections. Social Contagion: The idea that we look to others for knowledge or to decide how to act. Social Comparison Theory: Posits that we seek to evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them to others. Downward Social Comparison: Comparing yourself to someone who performed more poorly than you or is otherwise worse off than you (e.g., you received a C- on an exam, but you feel better because your friend received a D-). Upward Social Comparison: Comparing yourself to someone who performed better than you or is otherwise better off than you (e.g., you follow fitness pages on social media because seeing people in great shape motivates you to follow your nutrition and exercise plans). Social Facilitation: The presence of others can enhance our performance in certain situations. Social Disruption: The presence of others can disrupt our performance in certain situations (e.g., “choking” when lots of people are watching you at an important moment in a sporting match). Fundamental Attribution Error: The assumption that the things people do are caused by dispositional factors rather than situational factors; also known as “correspondence bias.”Dispositional Factors: Internal causes of a person’s behavior, such as their personality. Situational Factors: External causes of a person’s behavior, such as social pressures or circumstances. Actor-observer Bias: Attributing other people’s behavior to dispositional factors (fundamental attribution error) while attributing our own behavior to situational factors. Self-serving Bias: Attributing our successes to dispositional factors while attributing our failures to situational factors.
Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (Approaches to Therapy) Daniel Storage 2021-04-21 | In this video, we’ll discuss several different forms of psychotherapy, including what makes each approach unique as well as a few of the techniques that each approach uses. We’ll end with a brief discussion on the relative effectiveness of these approaches as well as the three factors that determine whether therapy will be successful for a given client. Psychodynamic Therapy: A Freudian approach to therapy that can last several years and emphasizes the importance of brining unconscious, repressed impulses and childhood trauma to the conscious so they can be dealt with. Free Association: A technique in which the client expresses themselves without censorship.Resistance: Analysis of the client’s attempts to avoid confrontation and anxiety associated with therapy.Dream Analysis: Analysis of the content of the client’s dreams.Transference: Analysis of the client’s projection of their own intense, unrealistic feelings onto therapist.Humanistic Therapy: A form of therapy that focuses on helping people achieve their full potential by becoming more self-aware and self-accepting.Person-centered (Rogerian) Therapy: A form of humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers that is nondirective in that the therapist doesn’t give advice but instead simply listens and helps the client understand and process their thoughts and feelings.Nondirective Therapy: An approach to therapy in which the therapist avoids giving direct advice or interpretation and instead simply listens and helps the client identify conflicts and understand feelings. Unconditional Positive Regard: Creating a safe space by avoiding judgment; a person-centered, Rogerian principle. Empathy: Understanding and sharing the client’s expressed feelings; a person-centered, Rogerian principle. Reflection: Restating the client’s thoughts; a person-centered, Rogerian principle. Congruence: The therapist’s positive comments should match his or her actual actions and thoughts; a person-centered, Rogerian principle. Gestalt Therapy: A humanistic form of therapy developed by Fritz Perls in which the therapist seeks to help the client become a “whole person” by challenging inconsistencies in thoughts and behavior, analyzing body language, and practicing role-playing conversations. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): An approach to therapy which assumes that our beliefs about a situation play a crucial role in determining our feelings about it, which in turn determine how we respond to that situation; CBT involves assigning homework (e.g., thought exercises, keeping a journal) that aims to break this cycle. Rational Emotive Therapy (RET): One of the first forms of therapy, developed by Albert Ellis as a reaction to Freudian psychoanalysis, which assumed that behavior is caused by how a person thinks about an event, not by the event itself. Cognitive Therapy: A form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts lead to feelings of distress.Behavior Therapy: An approach to psychotherapy that employs learning principles and techniques (e.g., classical conditioning and exposure therapy) to help clients change undesirable behaviors. Exposure Therapy: A technique in which the therapist presents the client with the object or situation they’re afraid of, with the idea being that they will eventually get used to it or, if paired with classical conditioning, develop more positive associations with it. Systematic Desensitization: A form of exposure therapy in which the client is taught to relax as they are gradually exposed to what they fear. Flooding: A form of exposure therapy in which the client is exposed to what they fear most right away and for an extended period of time. Response Prevention: The therapist prevents clients from engaging in their typical avoidance behaviors (which could be negatively reinforcing).
Pathways to a Career in Psychotherapy Daniel Storage 2021-04-20 | In this video, we'll discuss the treatment of psychological disorders, including a few basic concepts and terms as well as the different careers you can pursue if you're interested in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Psychological intervention aimed at helping people resolve emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal problems and improve the quality of their lives. Inpatient Settings: Psychological treatment in a hospital or residential institution.Outpatient Settings: Psychological treatment while living in a community; usually less severe symptoms. Involuntary Treatment: Therapy that is not the patient’s choice (e.g., therapy that is required by the criminal justice system as a condition of parole). Voluntary Treatment: Therapy that is sought out to relieve mental health symptoms.
The Mythical Link between Vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder Daniel Storage 2021-04-19 | In this video, we'll discuss Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the belief that vaccines can cause the disorder (based largely on Wakefield et al., 1998), and why that belief isn't rooted in valid scientific evidence. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A group of complex disorders of brain development, often arising in childhood, characterized by deficits in social interaction, deficits in communication, and repetitive behaviors or interests.
Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia Daniel Storage 2021-04-16 | In this video, we'll learn about schizophrenia, including the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia as well as the disorder's etiology (i.e., its causes). Schizophrenia: A severe pattern of disturbed thinking, emotion, perception, and behavior that most often develops in adolescence or early adulthood. Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: An addition or excess of atypical behaviors, emotions, or drives. Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: An absence or decrease of typical behaviors, emotions, or drives. Hallucinations: Subjectively compelling but false perceptions.Delusions: Subjectively compelling but false beliefs.Paranoid Delusions: Delusions that involve the false belief that other people or agencies are plotting to harm the person.Grandiose Delusions: Beliefs that one holds special power, unique knowledge, or is extremely important.Somatic Delusions: Beliefs that something highly abnormal is happening to one’s body.Disorganized Behavior: Unusual behaviors such as repeated useless movements or excessive giggling.Disorganized Speech: Rambling, exhibiting loose associations, making illogical statements that reflect disorganized thought.Loose Associations: Rapidly shifting from talking about one topic to talking about another, which reflects disorganized cognition. Flat Affect: Lack of emotion.Alogia: Lack of speech.Avolition: Lack of motivation or goals.Asociality: Lack of social interest.Anhedonia: Inability to experience pleasure.Catatonic Behavior: Minimal reactivity to environmental stimuli, for example holding a rigid posture for long periods of time.Paranoid Schizophrenia: An unofficial subtype of schizophrenia in which the primary symptoms exhibited are hallucinations and delusions.Disorganized Schizophrenia: An unofficial subtype of schizophrenia in which the primary symptoms exhibited are disorganized thoughts, behaviors, and speech.Catatonic Schizophrenia: An unofficial subtype of schizophrenia in which the primary symptoms exhibited are catatonic behaviors; very rare and typically the result of a progression of untreated schizophrenia. Dopamine Hypothesis: Proposes that schizophrenia is caused by an overabundance of dopamine or too many dopamine receptors.
Mood Disorders – Major Depressive and Bipolar Disorder Daniel Storage 2021-04-14 | In this video, we'll discuss the symptoms and etiology (i.e., the causes) of various mood disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Bipolar Disorder (BD), and several subtypes of mood disorders. Mood Disorders: A category of psychological disorders that is characterized by severe disturbances in mood and emotions—most often depression, but also mania and elation.Depressive Disorders: A group of disorders in which depression is the main feature.Depression: Extremely negative mood (e.g., sadness, hopelessness) that can be so severe that regular drives such as hunger and sex are reduced.Bipolar and Related Disorders: A group of disorders in which mania is the defining feature.Mania: Extremely positive mood in which a person is extremely talkative and may behave recklessly. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A mood disorder characterized by depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, and anhedonia. Anhedonia: An inability to experience pleasure; decreased motivation to engage in—and decreased pleasure when engaging in—activities that were previously enjoyable. Psychomotor Agitation: The person is noticeably fidgety and jittery, demonstrated by behaviors like the inability to sit, pacing, hand-wringing, pulling or rubbing of the skin, clothing, or other objects.Psychomotor Retardation: The person talks and moves slowly, for example, talking softly, very little, or in a monotone.Suicidal Ideation: Thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), thinking about or planning suicide, or making an actual suicide attempt.Seasonal Pattern Depression: Experiencing the symptoms of MDD only at particular times of the year (e.g., fall, winter).Peripartum Onset: Experiencing the symptoms of MDD during or in the four weeks following pregnancy.Persistent Depressive Disorder: Consistent depression lasting ≥ 2 years, accompanied by ≥ 2 symptoms of MDD.Bipolar Disorder: A disorder characterized by extreme shifts in mood, commonly from mania to depression and back. Manic Episode: A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased activity or energy lasting at least one week that lasts most of the time each day. Flight of Ideas: A behavior commonly observed during a manic episode in which a person frequently shifts from talking about one topic to talking about a different, unrelated topic.Rapid-Cycling Subtype: A subtype of Bipolar Disorder in which a person experiences at least four manic episodes—or some combination of at least four manic and major depressive episodes—within one year.Learned Hopelessness: A cognitive theory of depression proposing that negative expectations about what will happen lead to depression; these expectations tend to be stable (“it will always be this way”) and global (“it will affect every area of my life”). Cognitive Triad: A contributing factor to the development and perpetuation of mood disorders characterized by negative thoughts about the self, the world, and the future.
Anxiety Disorders – GAD, PD, Phobias, and OCD Daniel Storage 2021-04-13 | In this video, we'll discuss the difference between anxiety and anxiety disorders, a host of specific anxiety disorders such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and the etiology (that is, the causes) of anxiety disorders.Cognitive Anxiety: Anxious apprehension, worry. Somatic Anxiety: Anxious physiological arousal.Anxiety Disorder: Anxiety that is long-lasting and disruptive to everyday functioning; characterized by excessive and persistent fear and anxiety, and by related disturbances in behavior. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Excessive and long-lasting (≥ 6 months) anxiety that is “free floating” or otherwise unjustified. Free-floating Anxiety: Diffuse anxiety that is not focused on any specific object or situation.Panic Disorder (PD): A pattern of recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and ≥ 1 month of concern over the possibility of having another panic attack.Panic Attack: A period of extreme fear or discomfort that develops abruptly and reaches a peak within 10 minutes; symptoms include accelerated heart rate, sweating, trembling, choking sensations, hot flashes or chills, dizziness or lightheadedness, fears of losing control or going crazy, and fears of dying. Specific Phobias: Intense and persistent fears of an object or situation (e.g., spiders, flying) that are greatly out of proportion to the actual threat. Agoraphobia: Intense anxiety and avoidance of situations in which it would be difficult to get help or escape if one experiences the symptoms of a panic attack (e.g., dense crowds).Social Anxiety Disorder: Extreme and persistent fear or anxiety and avoidance of social situations in which the person could potentially be evaluated negatively by others. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A cycle of thoughts and urges that are intrusive and unwanted (obsessions) that prompt the need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). Obsessions: Recurrent, intrusive thoughts or images that generate significant distress (e.g., contamination, harming the self or others, need for symmetry).Compulsions: Repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing or preventing distress (e.g., cleaning, checking, arranging, repeating, counting).Catastrophizing: Seeing minor problems as catastrophes. Rumination: Thinking about a problem over and over. Anxiety Sensitivity: Fear of anxiety-related sensations.
What Causes Psychological Disorders? Daniel Storage 2021-04-12 | In this video, we'll continue our discussion of psychological disorders by discussing their etiology—that is, their causes. We'll focus on broad explanations that apply to a range of psychological disorders before discussing the causes of specific types of psychological disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, mood disorders) in future videos.Biopsychosocial Model of Psychological Disorders: A model that explains the development of psychological disorders as due in part to biological factors (e.g., brain chemistry, genetics), psychological factors (e.g., maladaptive thoughts), and sociocultural factors (e.g., interpersonal interactions, lifestyle).Diathesis-Stress Model of Psychological Disorders: A model that proposes that psychological disorders are the joint products of diathesis and stress.Diathesis: Predispositions to develop a disorder; can be biological (i.e., genetic vulnerabilities) but can also be, for example, psychological (e.g., having a pessimistic view of the world and the future). Stress: Environmental or psychological events that can trigger diathesis (e.g., childhood maltreatment, trauma).
What Counts as a Psychological Disorder? Daniel Storage 2021-04-09 | In this video, we'll kick off a series of videos about psychological disorders. Here, we'll specifically address the question of what counts as a psychological disorder. How can you tell if the sadness you're experiencing is actually depression? We'll get into these issues in this video.Psychopathology: The study of psychological disorders, including their symptoms, etiology (i.e., their causes), and treatment. Etiology: The causes of a psychological disorder. Prevalence: The percentage of people who currently have that disorder at this slice in time.Lifetime Prevalence: The percentage of people who get a given disorder at some point in their lives. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM): A categorical classification system of psychological disorders created by the American Psychiatric Association; currently in its 5th edition. Interrater Reliability: The extent to which different raters—in this case, clinicians—agree (e.g., on a diagnosis). Comorbidity: Having more than one diagnosis at once. Categorical Model: A way of classifying psychological disorders in which people either have a psychological disorder or not. Dimensional Model: A way of classifying psychological disorders that considers the extent to which a person’s thinking, feeling, or behaving are disordered.
What Causes our Personality? Genetics vs. Environment Daniel Storage 2021-04-07 | In this video, we'll attempt to answer the question of what causes our personality—that is, why we are the way we are. We'll discuss several different psychological approaches to answering this question, and we'll specifically address the extent to which our genetics vs. environments influence our personality. Monozygotic (MZ) Twins: Twins who share 100% of their genetic material; identical twins.Dizygotic (DZ) Twins: Twins who share 50% of their genetic material; fraternal twins.Biological Determinism: The belief that personality traits are inborn.Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality: Posits that both learning (the focus of behaviorists) as well as cognitive factors are sources of individual differences in personality. Reciprocal Determinism: The idea that behavior and thought both influence and are influenced by the social environment; the Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality proposes that all of these factors influence each other. Observational Learning: A vicarious form of learning that is driven by observing someone else’s behavior and its consequences; Social-Cognitive theorists believe that observational learning plays a role in forming personality in that we develop behavior patterns based on our observations of others. Self-efficacy: The level of confidence we have in our own abilities; influenced by our social experiences (e.g., the feedback we get from others) and affects how we approach future challenges. Freudian Slip: A slip of the tongue in which we say something we didn’t intend to, presumably because the statement was associated with some thought or urge lingering in the unconscious. Id: An aspect of personality that consists of our most primitive drives or urges, including impulses for hunger, thirst, and sex. Superego: An aspect of the personality that serves as one’s moral compass, or conscience.Ego: An aspect of personality that represents the self, or the part of one’s personality that is visible to others.
Rorschach Inkblot and the Thematic Apperception Test Daniel Storage 2021-04-06 | In this video, we'll continue our discussion of personality by learning about how psychologists measure and assess personality. We'll talk about the difference between structured and projective tests, and we'll go over specific examples of each (e.g., the MMPI and the Rorschach Inkblot Test). Structured Personality Tests: Personality tests in which people answer direct questions about themselves, typically on a scale. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): A structured personality test that takes 1-2 hours to complete and produces a clinical profile composed of 10 scales: hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviance (social deviance), masculinity versus femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia (obsessive/compulsive qualities), schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion. Projective Personality Tests: Personality tests in which people interpret ambiguous stimuli; these tests rely on the projective hypothesis.Projective Hypothesis: An idea taken from Sigmund Freud, according to which people will “project” their personality onto ambiguous stimuli. Rorschach Inkblot Test: A projective personality test in which people must interpret ambiguous inkblots. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): A projective personality test in which people must “tell a tale”—or create a narrative—about an ambiguous image. Barnum Effect: Named after the showman P.T. Barnum, this effect describes the tendency for people to quickly believe feedback about themselves, even when that feedback is in reality vague enough to apply to just about anybody; the Barnum Effect poses a challenge for validating the accuracy of personality tests.
The Big 5 Personality Traits, OCEAN Daniel Storage 2021-04-05 | In this video, we'll begin our discussion of personality by reviewing one of the most widely-used and best approaches to categorizing and conceptualizing people's personalities: the Big 5 (OCEAN). After reviewing the Big 5 Personality Traits, we'll touch on how personality changes over the lifespan as well as cultural differences in personality. Personality: An individual’s characteristics, emotional responses, thoughts and behaviors that are relatively stable over time.Big 5 Personality Traits: A dimensional, trait approach to understanding and quantifying personality; seeks to boil down personality to its elemental parts by breaking down personality into five dimensions (“OCEAN”). Openness: The tendency to enjoy new experiences and ideas.Conscientiousness: One's sense of duty, discipline, and orderliness. Extraversion: Tendency to seek stimulation and company; extraversion (vs. introversion) is defined and determined by whether social interaction energies or drains you. Agreeableness: Degree to which you are willing to upset others.Neuroticism: Tendency to experience and express unpleasant emotions.
Motivation – Drive and Incentive Theories Daniel Storage 2020-01-10 | What motivates us? In this video, we discuss how human motivation works from a biological perspective. We'll talk about our wants, needs, drives, and how it all works together to motivate us. Motivation: Drives—that is, wants and needs—that push us toward a specific direction.Drive Reduction Theory: Our drives (e.g., hunger, thirst, sexual frustration) motivate us to minimize negative feelings associated with these drives; some drives push us to approach whereas others push us to avoid.Incentive Theories: Theories that propose we are often motivated by positive goals (e.g., pleasure, pride, or applause) rather than only by negative goals (e.g., satisfying unpleasant drives). Intrinsic Motivation: A desire motivated by internal goals (e.g., interest, curiosity, pride). Extrinsic Motivation: A desire motivated by external goals (e.g., grades, praise, money). Primary Needs: Biological needs such as hunger and thirst. Secondary Needs: Psychological needs such as the need for achievement.
Where do Emotions Come From? Theories of Emotion Daniel Storage 2019-12-27 | In this video, we shift gears to discuss human emotion. We focus specifically on psychological theories of emotion–that is, theories about the origins of emotion. Evolutionary Theories of Emotion: Theories which assume that emotions precede (i.e., come before) thought; these theories posit that emotions are innate, universal, and serve adaptive functions. Cognitive Theories of Emotion: Theories which assume that thoughts produce emotions; these theories posit that emotions arise out of the interpretation of bodily arousal or the external context. Discrete Emotions Theory of Emotion: An evolutionary theory of emotion which assumes that humans experience only a small number of biologically-rooted and evolutionarily-useful “primary” emotions that are combined in complex ways to produce the full range of human emotion; assumes that emotional reactions precede thoughts. Primary Emotions: Innate, biologically-rooted emotions that, according to the Discrete Emotions Theory, all humans share (i.e., they are universal); the primary emotions are happiness, sadness, surprise, anger, disgust, contempt, and fear. Secondary Emotions: More complex emotions that, according to the Discrete Emotions Theory, are the result of combining primary emotions; for example, “hate” is a combination of “anger” and “disgust.” James-Lange Theory of Emotion: Cognitive theory of emotion which assumes that emotions result from the interpretation of our bodily reactions to stimuli. Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion: Cognitive theory of emotion which assumes that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously, yet independently. Schachter-Singer Two Factor Theory of Emotion: Cognitive theory of emotion which assumes that two psychological events are required for emotion: (1) an undifferentiated state of physiological arousal or alertness and (2) an appraisal of the external context to determine what caused that state of arousal.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Daniel Storage 2019-12-26 | In this video, we'll finish our discussion of developmental–or child–psychology by discussing moral development. We'll specifically focus on Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development and we'll go through an exercise that will allow you to assess where your moral reasoning abilities fall, according to Kohlberg. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development: A tool designed to categorize children’s and adolescences’ moral reasoning abilities into one of three stages: pre-conventional, conventional, or post-conventional; each stage contains two levels. Level 1 Morality: The first level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the first level of pre-conventional morality, characterizing individuals who have the most basic moral reasoning abilities; for individuals who possess Level 1 Morality, behavior is driven by avoiding punishment. Level 2 Morality: The second level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the second level of pre-conventional morality; for individuals who possess Level 2 Morality, behavior is driven by self-interest and rewards.Level 3 Morality: The third level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the first level of conventional morality; for individuals who possess Level 3 Morality, behavior is driven by social approval.Level 4 Morality: The fourth level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the second level of conventional morality; for individuals who possess Level 4 Morality, behavior is driven by obeying authority and conforming to social norms. Level 5 Morality: The fifth level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the first level of post-conventional morality; for individuals who possess Level 5 Morality, behavior is driven by a balance of social order and individual rights. Level 6 Morality: The sixth level in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development and the second level of post-conventional morality; for the few individuals who make it far enough to possess Level 6 Morality, behavior is driven by internal moral principles or “universal ethics.”
Parenting Styles and their Effects on Children Daniel Storage 2019-12-26 | In this video, we continue our discussion of developmental–or child–psychology by learning about parenting styles. We'll focus specifically on the outcomes associated with each parenting style, as well as which parenting style is best long term. Parenting Styles: The standard practices and strategies that parents use in their child rearing; parenting styles vary along two dimensions: warmth (or affection) and control (or structure). Authoritative Parenting: The first style of parenting in which the parent gives reasonable demands and consistent limits (high control), expresses warmth and affection (high warmth), and listens to the child’s point of view; children of authoritative parents tend to have the best outcomes, including high self-esteem, better grades, and excellent social skills.Authoritarian Parenting: The second style of parenting in which the parent places high value on conformity and obedience; the parent is strict, tightly monitors children (high control), and expresses little warmth (low warmth). Permissive Parenting: The third style of parenting in which the children run the show and anything goes; the parent makes few demands and rarely uses punishment (low control), trying to play the role of friend rather than parent (high warmth); permissive parenting is associated with good social outcomes, but poor academic outcomes and often substance abuse problems later in life. Uninvolved Parenting: The fourth style of parenting, sometimes referred to as neglectful parenting, in which the parent is indifferent, uninvolved, and sometimes neglectful; the parent does not respond to the child’s needs and makes very few demands; uninvolved parenting is associated with the poorest outcomes for children.
Children’s Attachment and the Strange Situation Test Daniel Storage 2019-12-26 | In this video, we'll continue our discussion of developmental–or child–psychology by learning about the types of attachments that children can have with their parents and/or caregivers, and how we measure those attachment styles. Attachment: A long-standing connection or bond with another; infants differ in the quality and style of attachment they have with their caregivers. Strange Situation Test: A test devised to determine a child’s attachment to a caregiver by observing how the child reacts to the caregiver returning after leaving the child alone or with a stranger. Secure Attachment: A healthy attachment in which the child prefers their caregiver over the stranger, the parent acts as a secure base, and the child is relieved and comforted once the parent returns. Secure Base: A parental presence that gives the child a sense of safety during exploration and play in a strange environment.Insecure-Avoidant Attachment: Also called an “avoidant” attachment; an unhealthy attachment in which the child is unresponsive to the parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if the parent leaves; the child is slow to show a positive reaction when parent returns. Insecure-Anxious Attachment: Also called a “resistant” attachment; an unhealthy attachment in which the child tends to show clingy behavior but then rejects the parent’s attempts to interact with them; these children are too fearful to explore the room or play, they become angry with the parent during separation, and they are difficult to comfort when the parent returns. Disorganized Attachment: An unhealthy attachment in which the child behaves oddly during the test, freezing, running around the room erratically, or running away when the parent returns; this attachment style is most often seen in children who have been abused and reflects an inability to regulate emotions.
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Daniel Storage 2019-12-24 | In this video, we take our first step into developmental psychology–that is, child psychology–by learning about Jean Piaget and his famous theory of cognitive development. We also discuss Renee Baillargeon's work and how the Violation of Expectation (VOE) paradigm that she pioneered challenged Piaget's theory.Cognitive Development: How we acquire the ability to learn, think, communicate, and remember.Jean Piaget: A famous Swiss psychologist who many call “the father of developmental psychology” because he developed the first major theory of cognitive development; a stage theorist who devised a domain-general account and who believed that learning was experience based. Sensorimotor Stage: The first stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; a stage lasting from 0 to 2 years of age in which the world is experienced through senses and actions, marked by a focus on the here and now with no thought beyond immediate physical experiences (i.e., no mental representations); children in this stage lack object permanence. Object Permanence: The understanding the objects are permanent and continue to exist even when hidden from view. Preoperational Stage: The second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; a stage lasting from 2 to 6 years of age in which children use words and images to represent things (i.e., mental representations), but lack logical reasoning; children are limited by egocentrism and are unable to perform what Piaget called operations. Concrete Operational Stage: The third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; a stage lasting from 7 to 11 years of age in which children understand concrete events and analogies logically but lack abstract logic and moral reasoning abilities. Formal Operational Stage: The fourth and final stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; a stage that emerges in adolescence (at approximately 12 years of age) in which children can think abstractly and reason hypothetically.
How do Humans Perceive Color? Daniel Storage 2019-12-19 | In this video, we discuss how humans perceive color. We learn about different, competing theories of color vision and we experience a few demonstrations (e.g., afterimages) that illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of these theories.Light: A form of electromagnetic energy that has a wavelength, which determines its color. Trichromatic Theory: A theory of how we perceive color which suggests that our color vision is based on three primary colors—red, green, and blue—since we have three different kinds of cones that are each maximally sensitive to the different wavelengths associated with these colors. Monochromats: People with a specific form of color blindness in which they only have 1 out of the 3 different types of cones, resulting in total color blindness (monochromacy affects 1 in 30,000 people).Dichromats: People with a specific form of color blindness in which they only have 2 out of the 3 different types of cones, resulting in partial color blindness (e.g., red-green color blindness).Opponent Process Theory: Another theory of color vision which suggests that we perceive colors in terms of three pairs of opposing colors: red vs. green, blue vs. yellow, and black vs. white; afterimages always appear in opposing colors, providing evidence for this theory.
Structure of the Human Visual System Daniel Storage 2019-12-19 | In this video, we continue our discussion of perception by learning more about how we see (i.e., more about the human visual system). We also learn what causes nearsightedness and farsightedness, and we foreshadow our next video on how we perceive color.Sclera: The white part of the eye. Iris: The colored part of the eye. Pupil: A circular hole through which light enters the eye; constricts or dilates as needed, based on the amount of light available in the environment. Lens: Structure that bends light to fine-tune an image; changes shape in a controllable process known as accommodation. Cornea: A curved, transparent layer covering the iris and the pupil, designed to bend light to focus images on the retina; problems with the curvature of the cornea can lead to visual impairments. Retina: A thin membrane in the back of the eye that contains sense receptor cells (rods and cones) that transduce light and send that information to parts of the brain for processing. Fovea: The central part of the retina, responsible for visual acuity; densely packed with cones for processing detail and color. Optic Nerve: Structure containing axons of ganglion cells that travels from the retina to the rest of the brain. Rods: Receptor cells in charge of night vision; the fovea has no rods, which his why we see stars at night better with our peripheral vision. Cones: Receptor cells in charge of color vision and visual acuity; they require more light than rods but give us greater detail; the fovea is densely packed with cones. Myopia: Nearsightedness, in which light is focused in front of the retina instead of on it; caused by the cornea being too steep or the eye being too long. Hyperopia: Farsightedness, in which light is focused behind the retina instead of on it; caused by the cornea being too flat or the eye being too short.
Monocular and Binocular Depth Cues Daniel Storage 2019-12-18 | In this video, we continue our discussion of the human perceptual system by discussing how we perceive depth. Using a variety of examples and demonstrations, we focus specifically on the two types of cues critical for depth perception: monocular depth cues and binocular depth cues.Monocular Depth Cues: Depth cues that only require one eye to see.Binocular Depth Cues: Depth cues that require both eyes to see. Relative Size: The first monocular depth cue, which states that, all else being equal, more distant objects tend to look smaller. Texture Gradient: The second monocular depth cue, which states that object textures become less apparent farther away.Interposition: The third monocular depth cue, which states that if Object A blocks our view of Object B, Object A must be closer to us than Object B; also known as “occlusion.” Linear Perspective: The fourth monocular depth cue, which states that parallel lines converge as distance increases, eventually meeting at a vanishing point. Height in Plane: The fifth monocular depth cue, which states that distant objects tend to appear higher in our visual planes than closer objects. Light and Shadow: The sixth and final monocular depth cue, in which objects cast shadows that tell us their 3-dimensional shapes.Binocular Disparity: The first binocular depth cue; because our two eyes are offset, they produce two different images; our brains use the disparity between these images to calculate depth, with larger disparities meaning closer objects. Binocular Convergence: The second and final binocular depth cue; looking at closer objects causes our eyes to converge; our brains use this information to calculate depth, with more convergence meaning closer objects.
The Gestalt Principles Daniel Storage 2019-12-18 | In this video, we turn our attention from sensation to perception. We focus on the ways in which we perceive, illusions that mess with our perpetual experiences, and finally, the Gestalt Principles. Bottom-Up Processing: Perceiving the parts and using them to create the whole.Top-Down Processing: Beliefs and expectations about the whole are used to process the parts. Perceptual Hypotheses: Educated guesses that we make while interpreting sensory information to generate a perceptual set. Perceptual Set: A predisposition to perceive things in a certain way, driven by our expectations. Perceptual Constancy: We perceive stimuli consistently across varied conditions; there are many forms of perceptual constancy, including color constancy and size constancy. Gestalt Psychology: A field of psychology which assumes that the brain creates a perception that is more than the sum of the available sensory inputs, and it does so in predictable ways (the Gestalt Principles). Proximity: The first of the Gestalt Principles, which states that objects close together tend to go together.Similarity: The second of the Gestalt Principles, which states that similar things tend to go together more than dissimilar things. Continuity: The third of the Gestalt Principles, which states that we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines. Closure: The fourth of the Gestalt Principles, which states that we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than a series of disconnected parts.Symmetry: The fifth of the Gestalt Principles, which states that symmetrical objects are more likely to be arranged as wholes than non-symmetrical objects.Figure-Ground: The sixth of the Gestalt Principles, which states that we make an instantaneous decision to focus our attention on what we believe to be the central figure and largely ignore what we believe to be the background.
How Attention Affects Perception Daniel Storage 2019-12-17 | In this video, we discuss the role that attention plays in determining our ability to attend to things and in what we pay attend to in the first place. We discuss a major theory of how attention works as well as several limitations to our attentional abilities through demonstrations. Selective Attention: The ability to select one sensory input and ignore or minimize others; adaptive in that it prevents sensory overload, such that we do not have to attend to every stimulus in our environment. Broadbent’s Filter Theory of Attention: Theory which states that attention is a bottleneck through which information passes, allowing us to take some and ignore the rest. Cocktail Party Effect: A limitation of Broadbent’s Filter Theory of Attention which shows that attention cannot always be controlled; phenomenon in which you might instinctively hear and subsequently attend to your name spoken in a conversation that didn’t involve you. Inattentional Blindness: A failure to notice something that is completely visible because of a lack of attention.Change Blindness: A failure to notice a change in one’s environment because of a lack of attention.
